Plouffe: For GOP, anything short of sweep would be 'colossal failure' - Washington Post

Trying to reshape expectations for the midterm elections, David Plouffe said Thursday that the Republicans should be expected to make a full sweep of Congress - and key gubernatorial races - given the environmental advantages they have. Anything less, he said, should be seen as a disgrace.

"By their definition, success is winning back the House, winning back the Senate and winning every major governor's race," Plouffe, Obama's 2008 campaign manager, said. "When you've got winds this strong in your favor, that's the kind of election you need to have - or it should be considered a colossal failure."

Three weeks out, both parties are in a mad scramble to define what success would look like on Election Day. Although Republicans held a significant lead last month, it has appeared to narrow some, and whichever party winds up controlling Congress might do so by a narrow margin. Democrats would like to be considered winners if they merely hang on to the Senate, which some strategists in both parties expect them to do.

Plouffe, speaking to reporters at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, argued that Democrats are turning their trajectory around and are poised, 26 days out, to fare better Nov. 2 than it appeared they would last month.

But he said he expected Democrats to "show progress gradually," in contrast with Republicans who have "maxed out or close to it."

Plouffe, a key Democratic Party strategist, also embraced the tea party surge as a welcome development for the Democrats, calling it the "hijacking of the Republican Party."

kornbluta@washpost.com ruckerp@washpost.com

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Obama won't sign bill that would affect foreclosure proceedings - Washington Post

Amid growing furor over the legitimacy of foreclosure proceedings, White House officials said Thursday that President Obama will not sign a bill passed by Congress without public debate after critics said the legislation could loosen standards for foreclosure documents.

The bill, named the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act, would require courts to accept document notarizations made out of state. Its sponsors intended to promote interstate commerce. But homeowner advocates warn the bill could allow lenders to cut even more corners as they seek to evict homeowners.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president did not believe Congress meant to undermine consumer protections regarding foreclosure challenges. Still, Obama will use a "pocket veto" on the bill, which will effectively kill it.

Democratic leaders on the Hill were scrambling to figure out how the legislation managed to sail through the House and Senate without any objection. The episode may prove embarrassing for Democrats, who in recent weeks have been calling for federal investigations into flawed paperwork, forged documents and other misconduct in foreclosure proceedings initiated by big lenders.

The House passed the bill in April by a voice vote, meaning there's no record of who voted for or against the legislation. The Senate passed the bill on Sept. 27, just before recess, without any debate.

Even the bill's main sponsor, Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), was surprised by how quickly the legislation was greenlighted, according to D.J. Jordan, a representative for Aderholt.

Congressional staffers said lawmakers will revisit the bill to add protections for consumers.

Jordan said Aderholt had been working on the issue since April 2005, soon after hearing complaints from a court stenographer in his district that courts in other states were having trouble using documents notarized in Alabama.

"The authors of this bill no doubt had the best of intentions in mind when trying to remove impediments to interstate commerce," said Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director. "We will work with them and other leaders in Congress to explore the best ways to achieve this goal going forward."

This would be Obama's second pocket veto. Last December, he killed a short-term resolution that turned out to be unnecessary for extending defense funding.

Obama's veto comes as the uproar over document processing from lawmakers, law enforcement and union officials and other stakeholders intensified on Thursday, turning the foreclosure mess into a political issue.

National civil rights groups, including the NAACP, National Council of La Raza and the Center for Responsible Lending, joined labor unions Thursday in calling for an immediate national moratorium on foreclosures.

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Verizon says iPhone announcement would come from Apple - Apple Insider

Verizon says iPhone announcement would come from Apple

By Josh Ong

Published: 08:30 PM EST

A Verizon executive responded to reports of a Verizon iPhone by telling the press that any news would come from Apple, not Verizon.

Macworld reports that Verizon President and COO Lowell McAdam made the comments at a press conference at the CTIA conference in San Francisco.

When asked to comment about a story from The Wall Street Journal that Apple will begin building a Verizon-compatible iPhone by the end of the year, McAdam dismissed the story as "one of those things that rolls out every few weeks whether there's a basis for it or not."

"I can't give you any insights," he continued. "But I think Apple is the one that has to make that announcement."

McAdam remains hopeful that a deal will eventually be reached, especially as Verizon rolls out its Long-Term Evolution 4G data network.

?What I?ve always said is I expect at some point in time our business interests are going to align," McAdam said. "I think things like LTE are another great reason why they?d want a device or tablet on that network. But I don?t have anything to say today about timing.?

In September, Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg downplayed rumors of an upcoming Verizon iPhone by telling investors that he hopes Apple will work with Verizon to sell an LTE 4G smartphone.

Despite the remarks, rumors have persisted that a CDMA iPhone will arrive in early 2011.

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