1. Administration Backs Suleiman, Comes Out Against Immediate Mubarak Exit  

With the political crisis unresolved in Egypt, the volume of US media coverage continues to dwindle – but remains considerable. For the first time since the protests began, not all three networks led with the story, which continues to receive coverage on the front pages of major dailies.
       Reports and analyses agree that the Obama Administration, after what the AP  describes as "several days of mixed messages about whether it wants to see [Hosni] Mubarak stay or go," yesterday "conceded Monday that it will not endorse the demands of Egyptian protesters" for the "embattled" president Mubarak "to step down immediately, saying a precipitous exit could et back the country's democratic transition." The Administration "coalesced around a position that cautiously welcomes nascent reform efforts begun by newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman that may or may not result in Mubarak's resignation before September."

       The CBS Evening News reported that President Obama "said...Egypt is making progress on a transition to democracy. But the Administration is easing the pressure on...Mubarak, saying forcing him to leave immediately could threaten that transition." The New York Times  reports on its front page that after "two weeks of recalibrated messages and efforts to keep up with a rapidly evolving situation, the Obama administration is still trying to balance support for some of the basic aspirations for change in Egypt with its concern that the pro-democracy movement could be 'hijacked,' as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton put it, if change were to come too quickly."

       Under the headline "US Eases Off Call For Swift Egypt Reform," the Los Angeles Times  says that the Administration "has reconciled itself to gradual political reform in Egypt, an approach that reflects its goal of maintaining stability in the Middle East but is at odds with demands of the protest movement in Cairo that...Mubarak relinquish power immediately." Fox News' Special Report similarly reported, "It appears...Obama's insistence that the transition in Egypt begin immediately does not, in fact, require...Mubarak to step down."

NSP Analysis: De Facto, Obama has opened the door for Mubarak's regime, led by Egypt's CIA-head and now VP Suleiman to a. repress the demonstrators if they don't give up soon, and b. install a phony process of "consultation" with the protesters that will in fact lead to an election in which the military dictatorship which installed Mubarak will remain in power with some changes to the names of the people at the top but little change in the economic suffering and political oppression of the Egyptian people.

2. Administration bows to the Corporate Hierarchy Running America--with Little Response

Obama Urges US Corporations To "Invest In America"   To mostly positive media reviews, President Obama yesterday addressed  the Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Though a number of stories describe the reception afforded the President as rather chilly, the coverage tends to present him as focused on the economic recovery, and reaching out to his political opponents in order to spark job creation.

       ABC World News said the President "delivered an urgent message to the companies to get in the game, start spending money and hiring workers -- throwing down a gauntlet but also trying to build a bridge." The CBS Evening News said "Obama continued his campaign to improve relations with business," urging "corporate America to invest the nearly $2 trillion it has saved up and start hiring again." The Los Angeles Times  recounts "there was little hearty applause, and after the president shook a few hands and walked back to the White House, Chamber members were guarded in their reviews of his message."

       The New York Times  reports that "the chamber, too, is eager to tone down the rhetoric, according to senior officials there. At the height of the high-profile fight with the White House, several big-name companies left its board, citing concern about the chamber's opposition to the administration's efforts."

       The Washington Post's  Dana Milbank writes that "Obama at times paused after what should have been applause lines, but the room was so quiet that the air could be heard coming out of the vents, as when he vowed to take 'domestic discretionary spending down to the lowest share of our economy since Eisenhower was president.' No applause."

       Bloomberg News  reports that in his remarks, "Obama said he is doing his part to improve the business climate after a free- trade agreement with South Korea, a deal to extend Bush-era tax cuts, and a State of the Union address that proposed more government support for infrastructure and 'innovation.'" Politico  says a "decoding of" Obama's speech "also offers the first whiff of the desperation inside the White House about the slowness of the economic recovery, the high unemployment figures, and the need to get the business community fully engaged in turning things around."

       The AP  reports that "some liberals bristled at Obama's outreach." Christy Setzer, "spokeswoman for US Chamber Watch, a pro-labor group," said, "While...Obama calls on businesses to invest in America, the only thing the US Chamber's investing in is their own bottom line -- lining the pockets of corporate CEOs while shipping the jobs of hard-working Americans overseas."

        News Analysis: Obama Wins Media Over With Centrist Moves   Politico  reports on Obama's reaction to the November election, noting that the "three-month metamorphosis says something about Obama's survival skills," but it "says even more about the mainstream media: Obama is playing the press like a fiddle." Obama is "doing it by exploiting some of the most long-standing traits among reporters who cover politics and government - their favoritism for politicians perceived as ideologically centrist and willing to profess devotion to Washington's oft-honored, rarely practiced civic religion of bipartisanship."

NSP Analysis: Instead of a New Deal Program to help Middle Income People, the Poor, those losing their homes and the 18% of Americans unemployed or severely underemployed, or at least trying to help Americans explain why the corporate elite has experienced a major economic recovery but pocketed the money rather than create jobs for the unemployed or agree to plans for government to help, OIbama chose to beg America's corporate elite to do what Democrats used to know was the task of government inside a capitalist society: provide help to allleviate the suffering of those most wounded by the "free marketplace." So what we get is a government pleading with the rich to be more generous, and the elites of wealth respond with indifference and private satisfaction that the forces that once might have challenged them are instead now simply wimpering in despair. And the rest of us? Too traumatized by the thought of a Republican victory in 2012 to seriously challenge the Obama Administration on any front. Not so, the NSP--please read and then help usn seek city council endorsements and endorsements from your other elected officials (particularly Congressional reps who will soon be approaching you for donations for their next campaigns) for our ESRA--Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution--the only way the power situation in the US could change back in favor of real democracy in the U.S.  Please read it at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be www.spiritualprogressives.org/ESRA.   

  Never say, "There was nothing I could have done." There is something you could do: join the Network of Spiritual Progressives as a dues paying member at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be www.spiritualprogressives.org, or at least make  a substantial donation,  help us build a campaign for the ESRA (you don't need anything more than a willingness to talk to your neighbors to get them to sign our petition and then to go to elected officials to insist that they embrace the ESRA--and if you are house-bound then you can write letters to our list of key media people at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php/media. You could also come to Tikkun's 25th anniversary celebration March 11-14 in Berkeley (details at MailScanner has detected a possible fraud attempt from "salsa.democracyinaction.org" claiming to be www.tikkun.org/celebrate ) to show public support for those who refuse to despair and who keep on putting  out the message that social justice, peace, generosity and love== The Caring Society--Caring for Each Other, Caring for the Earth==is still the best path to save our society and save the planet.