Story Archives of 'Barack Obama'

Obama's Blaccent

By Derek John on Tuesday, October 27, 2009.

Sarah Jones is a Tony Award-winning playwright and performer. Her shows, like "Bridge and Tunnel" feature multiple characters - black, white and other races and ethnicities - all played by Jones herself. So she thinks about nuances in language and voice a lot.

Afghanistan: Obama's War

By Virginia Prescott on Tuesday, October 13, 2009.

Eight years on, Afghanistan is our nation’s longest-running war. The U.S. has tens of thousands of troops, a new commander, and a new counter-insurgency plan. Still, there’s no clear exit strategy. Tomorrow night President Obama will hold his fifth strategy meeting on Afghanistan with his national security team.

"Frontline" correspondent Martin Smith co-produced an hour-long special on the conflict, along with Marcela Gaviria. It’s called Obama's War, and it airs tonight on PBS. Martin Smith joins us to discuss the new counterinsurgency plan as conceived by the U.S.'s top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

As President Obama approaches a decision point on Afghanistan strategy and whether to increase troop levels, a 24-minute rough cut of the first act of Obama's War:

The New York Times: Situation Report: The Dilemma of Afghanistan

(Photo courtesy Martin Smith for "Frontline")

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Some Students Hear Obama Speech on Education

By Dan Gorenstein on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

Over the long weekend, political observers and educators debated the merits of President Barack Obama’s planned speech to school children.

Public school students in Laconia, Somersworth and Manchester didn’t see the speech after those districts decided not to broadcast the remarks.

Other schools left the decision up to teachers.

New Hampshire Public Radio’s Dan Gorenstein went to Nashua South High School and files this report.

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A Summer News Roundup

By Laura Knoy on Thursday, August 13, 2009.

Sparks flew at President Obama’s health care town hall in Portsmouth. US Senate hopeful Kelly Ayotte made her debut before Republican voters. And they’re “sweating it out” at the statehouse over possible layoffs of state workers and a court case that could create huge problems for the budget. We'll get the latest on these stories and more.

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President Obama's Town Hall Meeting in Portsmouth

By NHPR Staff on Tuesday, August 11, 2009.

President Obama holds a town hall meeting on health care at Portsmouth High School.

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Bearing With The Birthers

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, July 23, 2009.

A video circulating on the Internet is fortifying both sides of the so-called birther conspiracy.

The theory that President Obama has never adequately proven his U.S. citizenship is perpetuated by blogs and discussed on Rush Limbaugh’s and other conservative talk radio shows. The birthers are now dogging Republicans, as one vocal citizen did at a town hall meeting held by Republican Representative Mike Castle in June.

We turned to political analyst Dean Spiliotes for more on this story. Dean is the founder of nhpoliticalcapital.com.

A birther confronts Delaware Congressman Mike Castle:

(Photo by Jonathan Dresner via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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Obama's Online Efforts

By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, July 15, 2009.

The Obama campaign broke ground last year by harnessing new media and social networking. Can the Obama administration follow suit?

The president pledged to usher in an unprecedented level of transparency in government. In May, the White House launched an online forum where users could post ideas on how to make the government more open and transparent. Thousands wrote in with suggestions, including ideas to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act and improve government websites. Many also wrote in with off-topic comments, including requests for President Obama’s birth certificate and pleas to investigate UFO sightings.

The task of organizing this foray into crowd-sourced policy fell to Dr. Beth Noveck. She is President Obama’s deputy chief technology officer for open government and she joined us from Washington with an update.

Access the White House's Blog

The New York Times: Ideas Online, Yes, But Some Not So Presidential

The New York Times's Bits Blog: Can the Wonks Beat the Trolls on Government Sites?

(Photo by alexa 627 via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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Obama's New Hampshire Support Slipping But Still Strong

By Phil Sletten on Thursday, July 9, 2009.

A new University of New Hampshire Poll shows that President Obama continues to enjoy high popularity in the state.

But as New Hampshire Public Radio’s Phil Sletten reports, the President’s numbers have slipped in some key areas.

Will the stimulus package create green jobs?

By EarthTalk on Sunday, July 5, 2009.

EarthTalkTM
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

The "I Voted for Obama" Effect

By Virginia Prescott on Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

See if this scenario sounds familiar. You’re sitting around with a bunch of friends – generally white people – and someone says something that sounds racist, or at least racially insensitive. There’s an awkward pause and then the offending party comes back with a variation on “I have a lot of black friends who would make that joke.” It kind of makes you cringe.

Now that America has elected its first black president, scenarios like this may be happening more frequently. Daniel Effron is a doctoral student at Stanford University's Department of Psychology. He’s studying racial prejudice amongst white Obama voters since the election.

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology: Endorsing Obama licenses favoring Whites

(Photo by Adam Kuban via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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