DC Mayor & GW Alumnus Vincent Gray Arrested

Politico.com is reporting that D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has been arrested at Capitol Hill while protesting the current budget deal proposed by House Republicans in Congress. Gray, a GW alumnus, was among a crowd of more than 200 protestors who gathered near the Hart Senate Office Building to oppose the deal. Other members of the D.C. City Council were also arrested.

President Barack Obama is expected to support the proposed budget deal publicly at a press conference at GW's own Jack Morton Auditorium on Wednesday.

To read more from Politico, click here. And stay tuned to WRGW District Radio for updates on the mayor's arrest, the budget talks, and the President's visit to the SMPA building on Wednesday.

Obama Scrutinizes Standardized Testing, State Budgets

President Obama, in cooperation with the Univision television network and their Es El Momento campaign, hosted a town hall meeting at Bell Multicultural High School Monday evening. Bell was ranked as the 77th best high school in the country by Newsweek and requires students to enroll in two Advanced Placement classes in English in addition to language classes in Spanish or French.

Hosted by Emmy-award winning news anchor Jorge Ramos, the town hall focused on access to higher education. To subside any thoughts, Ramos quickly asked about Libya, to which Obama said he would address the nation at the National Defense University Monday evening. In addition, Ramos and members of the audience, comprised of parents, students, and teachers, asked about the Dream Act, the education budget, school bullying, parent involvement in schools, and technology in the classroom.

“I’m someone who believes money is not everything when it comes to schools ... You can do well even when you don’t have a lot of money,” Obama said in response to a question concerning California’s education budget.

Obama claimed that California spent too much on its prison system as opposed to education.

CDs Praise, CRs Condemn Obama's Address

President Obama focused on jobs, innovation, and education last night in his second State of the Union Address to Congress, highlighting bipartisanship and cooperation as the keys to success.

“Government will now be a shared responsibility,” exhorted the president. “We will move forward together or not at all.”

Obama stated that jobs are a priority and explained that if we fail to innovate, other countries in our globalizing world will overtake us, pointing to examples of China and India.

“In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives, it’s how we make a living,” he stated. “This is our generation’s Sputnik moment.”

Rove Speaks At CR Event

Karl Rove, Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff under former President George W. Bush, told the College Republicans on Friday that this year's elections were a referendum from independent voters on current president Barack Obama's policies.

Rove spoke to the College Republicans at a private event held at the Jack Morton Auditorium about the results of Tuesday's midterm elections, and what they showed about the college-age demographic.

Rove explained the results of Tuesday’s elections by providing statistics about the voting electorate, by ideology, age, and issues. Rove claimed that in the 2008 elections, the turnout among young voters aged 18 to 24 years old was 12 percent, while this past Tuesday, turnout for the same demographic was 11 percent. He also stated that more individuals from the 18-to-24-year-old age demographic voted Republican on Tuesday than in 2008.

A VIP meet-and-greet reception with Rove was held before the event for members of the College Republicans who had campaigned for local Republican candidates and volunteered with College Republicans' events throughout the last few months.

In a question and answer session moderated by the College Republicans Vice Chairman Will Frey, Rove reminisced on his years as a College Republican. He said it was a memorable experience where he traveled the country, meeting future legislators such as Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Rove campaigned throughout the South to become National Chairman of the College Republicans.

Rove promoted his book, Courage and Consequence, at the event by signing copies and often alluding to a few chapters during his speaking engagement.

Politics with James Reed: Republicans Weigh In on Obama Town Halls and O’Donnell

Disclaimer: Opinions stated herein belong to the individuals, and do not reflect the opinions of WRGW News or WRGW.

On Thursday, I had the pleasure of interviewing Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) at the Fourth Estate Dinner, hosted by the National Press Club. On Saturday morning, I briefly interviewed Ken Buck, the Republican Senatorial nominee for Colorado at a luncheon hosted by the GW College Republicans.

Regarding President Obama's recent town hall held at GW and its effect on the November general election:

“Obviously, it is an effort by the President to energize the youth vote,” Graham said. Graham attributed the youth vote to Obama’s victory in 2008. He also said that the youth have become “disillusioned” by the agenda of the Democratic Party, the “Obama spending machine,” and the expansion of government. As a result, Graham said, the youth are having “second thoughts” on the Democratic agenda pushed by the President.

On the other hand, Buck spoke positively on Obama’s town halls, saying, “Anytime President Obama opens his mouth, Republicans gain votes.” Buck welcomed Obama to Colorado in hopes of lowering his credibility and approval rating.

Obama Discusses Iraq From Oval Office; CRs Praise Bush, Blast Obama

For the second time this summer, President Obama addressed the nation Tuesday evening from the Oval Office. Declaring “the American combat mission in Iraq has ended,” while highlighting the current troop drawdown, the president said “it is time to turn the page.”

Although the United States will continue to have a presence in Iraq until next summer, the relationship between the two countries would be one of partners, “based upon mutual interests, and mutual respect,” Mr. Obama said.

In reference to his predecessor, President Obama explained that earlier in the day he had spoken to former-President George W. Bush, the original architect of the war.

“It's well known that he and I disagreed about the war from its outset,” the president explained.

“Yet no one can doubt President Bush's support for our troops or his love of country and commitment to our security. ”

Though the U.S. is exiting Iraq, Mr. Obama also used his address to reaffirm America’s commitment to winning the war in Afghanistan, explaining though “Al Qaeda continues to plot against us…we will disrupt, dismantle, and defeat Al Qaeda, while preventing Afghanistan from again serving as a base for terrorists.”

The president used the final few minutes of his speech to emphasize the responsibility we all have in honoring our veterans. Whether through healthcare, educational benefits, or job opportunities, “part of ending a war responsibly is standing by those who have fought it,” Mr. Obama explained.

In a press release released Wednesday, the GW College Republicans praised Mr. Bush “for his courageous decision-making,” while criticizing Mr. Obama for his failure to mention the 2007 troop surge, which, at the time, the current president and vice-president both opposed.

Opining about the overall mission of the war, the release stated that, “A tyrant has been silenced and a nation given a new destiny. Operation Iraqi Freedom was the right thing to do in March 2003 and eight years later it remains the right decision.”

The CRs also lambasted the president for his mention of the economy, a brief aside Mr. Obama made, when emphasizing, what he described as “our most urgent task.”