FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: Joe Biden's recent gay marriage gaffe is only the latest example of the vice president stepping in it. And some are starting to openly wonder if Biden is the best running mate for President Obama in what is shaping up to be a close contest against Mitt Romney. Republicans are making a strategy of targeting Biden, following him closely on the campaign trail in the hopes that he slips up. A source close to Romney tells Politico that Biden is "a ticking time bomb. Who the hell knows what he's going to say?" And another Republican describes the veep as "the chink in the armor" - someone likely to commit unforced errors. Biden's off-script moments are legendary, from describing then-candidate Obama ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: The Catholic Church is suing President Obama for violating the freedom of religion that is guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. In what's being called the largest legal action of its kind, 43 separate Catholic institutions filed lawsuits in a dozen different federal courts this week. They are challenging the federal mandate in President Obama's health care law that requires employers to cover contraception in their employees' health plans. These Catholic groups include the University of Notre Dame, the Catholic University of America, the archdioceses of New York and Washington - along with those serving Dallas, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. The lawsuits say that the health care law violates the First Amendment guarantee of religious liberty. The Obama Administration tried to smooth ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: With Memorial Day weekend - and the unofficial start to summer - just around the corner, many Americans have no vacation time in sight. A recent study shows 57% of working Americans had unused vacation time at the end of last year. And most of them had about 11 days left over, or nearly 70% of their allotted time off. Who takes only 30% of their vacation? Well, one of the biggest reasons people skip their vacation is because they feel like they have too much work. Others say they can't afford to travel - no surprise in this economy. And still others say they are afraid to take time off from work in an unstable job market, also not surprising ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: JPMorgan Chase’s $2 billion trading loss highlights what could be a huge Wall Street problem for President Barack Obama as he faces re-election. Nearly four years after the financial crisis, little appears to have changed on Wall Street. These guys can still play fast and loose with whatever rules there are and in the process risk huge losses. JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon was on "Meet the Press" on Sunday doing damage control. There have already been several resignations at the company. Dimon acknowledges the $2 billion loss was due to a series of massive bets placed through credit default swaps - which is what nearly brought the country to its knees in 2008. In other words, what happened at JP ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: Washington hard at work. ABC News reports our government is just out with a study of a study of studies. Try to stay with us here. Back in 2010, Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained that his department was "awash in taskings for reports and studies." He wanted to know how much they cost. So the Pentagon commissioned a study to find out how much it really costs to produce all those studies. Fast forward two years: The Pentagon review was still going on - so Congress asked the government accountability office to check in on them. Now the GAO is out with its report - and the results aren't too promising. They found only nine studies that had been reviewed by ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: While President Obama's support for gay marriage is sure to fire up parts of the liberal base, it could alienate others - including black voters. In other words, backing gay marriage might be a risky position for the president in an election year when it comes to one of his core voting blocs. In 2008, African-Americans were crucial in making Mr. Obama the nation's first black president. Exit polls showed 96% of black voters supported him and they made up 13% of the electorate. Fast forward four years: While polls suggest America on the whole is moving toward support of gay marriage, ABC/Washington Post polling shows 55% of black voters are still against it. That compares to 43% of whites. And ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: "America's problems are still big. It's most of our leaders who have gotten small." That's a quote from a terrific piece today on Politico by Roger Simon. He hits the nail on the head in describing a Congress which used to do things, but now specializes in not doing things. Simon writes that Congress today is about making sure nothing gets done. Because if something actually gets done, then one party or the other will take credit for it. What a sad state of affairs. Our leaders, who used to be able to reach across the aisle, will no longer budge. And those who are seen as bipartisan - people like Republican Senators Dick Lugar and Olympia Snow or Democratic Senators ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: Today's definition of political opportunism? Gay marriage. President Obama has been in office for 3 1/2 years and has artfully dodged the question of whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry. Suddenly his vice president, Joe Biden, comes out publicly and says he doesn't see anything wrong with gay marriage. And right away people want to know where the president stands. Then the voters of North Carolina go to the polls and overwhelmingly pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Again the questions: Where does the president stand? Suddenly at 3 o'clock this afternoon, after 3 1/2 years of not answering the question, Mr. Obama decides to take a position. All of a sudden he thinks same-sex marriage is a ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: Less than four years after George W. Bush left Washington, Democrats are afraid of another Bush. If Jeb Bush were to become Mitt Romney's running mate, the former Florida governor would likely deliver his home state. Plus, he would likely attract more Hispanics, Catholics, conservatives and independents. That's exactly what Democrats fear, and why they're likely relieved to hear Jeb Bush isn't interested. People close to Bush tell Politico he means it, too. They say Jeb truly doesn't want to be on the ticket, that it's just not his time. It could mean 2012 is just too close to the eight years of his brother's presidency and that the country couldn't stomach another President Bush. Just think: Having a Bush in ... Continue reading →

FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: President Obama is sounding more like the hypocrite-in-chief. Contrary to statements he's made in the past, he's using the one year anniversary of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden in his re-election campaign. A web video narrated by former President Bill Clinton praises Mr. Obama's decision to order the killing of the Al Qaeda leader. Vice President Joe Biden used a bumper sticker slogan that thanks President Obama, "bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive." Biden suggests it might have been the other way around were Romney president. So much for what the Obama White House was saying when bin Laden was killed. In the days following the bin Laden raid, President Obama said he decided not to ... Continue reading →