Rand Paul careful about where family resemblance begins and ends in Iowa
Rand Paul’s potential bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is off to a promising start in the crucial state of Iowa, thanks in part to the fact that his father is Ron Paul. The family name opens important doors to networks of potential volunteers and contributors. It draws people to take a close look at a man who’s only in his first Senate term. But Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ultimately has to make it on his own. And that won’t be easy. | 05/13/13 12:38:51 By - By David Lightman
Rand Paul visits Iowa, triggers talk of 2016 White House bid
Sen. Rand Paul brought his national ambitions to Iowa on Friday, ripping potential Democratic rival Hillary Clinton while urging his own Republican Party to broaden its appeal as he campaigned like it was already 2016. | 05/11/13 09:46:52 By - By David Lightman
Obama aides scramble to defend edits to Benghazi talking points
The Obama administration insisted Friday that it acted in good faith and not to protect itself when it eliminated references to al Qaida and an allied group in talking points about the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. | 05/10/13 19:53:20 By - By Lesley Clark
In Costa Rica, Obama turns back to economy
Wrapping up a trip to Central America Saturday, President Barack Obama sought to put the focus firmly back on his top priority: the economy. | 05/04/13 16:31:54 By - By Anita Kumar
Family of Commerce pick Penny Pritzker was pioneer in troubled mortgage securities
President Barack Obama’s choice to be the new secretary of commerce is a powerful Democratic fundraiser and hometown friend whose family’s role in a controversial bank failure might raise questions during her Senate confirmation. | 05/02/13 18:00:51 By - By Kevin G. Hall
Obama vows anew to close Guantanamo
President Barack Obama said Tuesday that he’d redouble efforts on a failed first-term campaign promise to close the prison for terrorism suspects at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. | 04/30/13 20:25:48 By - By Anita Kumar
Lame duck? Obama says he still matters
President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that he’s still a force to be reckoned with, even as he faces a recalcitrant Congress, a stalled agenda, few options for containing civil war in Syria and new questions about U.S anti-terrorism efforts in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing. | 04/30/13 18:23:31 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama welcomes transportation nominee Anthony Foxx
President Barack Obama nominated Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Anthony Foxx on Monday to be his next transportation secretary, choosing a rising star from his own party to follow a popular Republican skilled at working across the aisle. | 04/29/13 19:03:43 By - By Franco Ordonez, David Lightman and William Douglas
Highlights from White House Correspondents Association Dinner
Annual event attracts thousands. | 04/27/13 12:28:18 By -
At White House correspondents’ dinner, D.C. is Hollywood East for a night
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this weekend has become an annual kind of prom for reporters, politicos and Washington insiders, who get to mingle with big names, starting with the president and first lady, and a lot of glitzy Hollywood stars. | 04/25/13 18:27:01 By - By Maria Recio
Obama to find new foreign-policy challenge in Mexico
On the eve of President Barack Obama’s trip to Mexico next week, the new government there looks to reboot a joint effort to combat violent drug traffickers, worries about piecemeal efforts in the United States to legalize marijuana and hopes to rebuild frayed relations with Cuba. | 04/22/13 16:37:56 By - By Kevin G. Hall and Hannah Allam
Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade, in his own words
Excerpts from an interview with Mexico’s new foreign secretary, Jose Antonio Meade, in advance of a May 2 visit to Mexico City by President Barack Obama. McClatchy interviewed him in Washington. | 04/22/13 16:36:21 By - By Kevin G. Hall
Obama assures a reeling Boston: ‘We will finish the race’
President Barack Obama on Thursday celebrated this city’s resilience in the face of a bomb attack that upended the legendary Boston Marathon and rattled much of the country, pledging that runners will return to the streets of an unbowed city next year. | 04/18/13 18:07:07 By - By Lesley Clark and Anita Kumar
Suspect arrested in Mississippi in poison letters to Congress, White House
The FBI arrested a Mississippi man Wednesday in connection with letters mailed to President Barack Obama and Republican Sen. Roger Wicker that tested positive for the poisonous substance ricin. | 04/17/13 21:33:08 By - By William Douglas, Greg Gordon and Anita Kumar
Some Democrats tacking left before possible 2016 White House runs
While the Republican Party grapples with a center-right divide after its election losses last fall, Democrats may be setting up a center vs. left battle for the 2016 election to succeed President Barack Obama. | 04/17/13 12:00:53 By - By David Lightman
Obama honors NASCAR champ Brad Keselowski at White House
President Barack Obama honored NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski at the White House on Tuesday for winning the 2012 Sprint Cup Championship for the first time and for his work with wounded veterans. | 04/16/13 18:43:34 By - By Emma Kantrowitz
Obama took his time in calling Boston Marathon attack ‘terrorism’
It took President Barack Obama nearly 24 hours to describe Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon the same way that lawmakers, experts and even his own staff did: as an act of terrorism. That was no accident. | 04/16/13 18:18:23 By - By Anita Kumar
America turns left on social issues, but not on government
Some saw Barack Obama as a modern-day Franklin Roosevelt, ushering in a 21st century version of New Deal liberalism. Others saw a John F. Kennedy, heralding the dawn of a new progressive age of expanding rights. | 04/15/13 16:42:52 By - By David Lightman
Obama’s 2014 budget has more new taxes than he talked about
President Barack Obama touted a proposal this week to collect $580 billion in new taxes from the wealthy to reduce the nation’s escalating deficit. | 04/12/13 18:51:10 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama proposes $3.78 trillion budget for 2014
President Barack Obama unveiled his $3.78 trillion budget proposal Wednesday for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, promising that it would boost the economy and cut projected deficits by investing in job growth and raising taxes on the wealthy. | 04/12/13 18:58:39 By - By Lesley Clark and Anita Kumar
White House employees will take unpaid leave because of sequester
The president’s staff will start implementing furloughs for 468 employees next month as part of the across-the-board budget cuts implemented March 1. | 04/11/13 14:39:20 By - By Anita Kumar
White House honors Florida scientist Jennifer Jurado for work on climate change
The White House on Thursday honored a Broward County, Fla., scientist who helped launch a multi-county initiative to address sea level rise and other consequences of climate change in South Florida. | 04/11/13 13:15:21 By - By Erika Bolstad
Rand Paul tries to spread GOP gospel to black students
Adding his voice to his party’s recent quest to broaden its minority appeal, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a potential Republican presidential hopeful in 2016, told an audience at a historically black university on Wednesday that his party “has always been the party of civil rights and voting rights.” | 04/10/13 18:32:43 By - By Matthew Schofield
One likely winner in budget fight – status quo
President Barack Obama’s $3.78 trillion budget Wednesday provided fresh, vivid evidence that Washington remains desperately divided over key spending and tax issues – and that government appears poised to keep limping along without a broad budget agreement. | 04/10/13 16:37:51 By - By David Lightman
Obama may trade one flawed Social Security formula for another
President Barack Obama’s coming push for less generous increases in Social Security benefits is angering his party and perplexing economists, many of whom question why he’d replace one ineffective measure with another. | 04/09/13 18:15:49 By - By Kevin G. Hall
Florida fifth-graders help plant White House garden
While the rest of his classmates were stuck in school Thursday, Emilio Vega, 11, planted bread wheat seeds with first lady Michelle Obama in her garden on the South Lawn of the White House. | 04/04/13 17:20:33 By - By Emma Kantrowitz
The really early 2016 line: Hillary, Biden look strong over potential GOP field
The 2016 presidential election is far off, but an early sign indicates that Republicans could face trouble if Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden becomes the Democratic nominee, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. | 04/02/13 17:05:36 By - By David Lightman
Democrats fear Obama group will siphon money from them
President Barack Obama’s decision to launch his own political organization has some Democrats wondering: Is he just in it for himself? | 04/01/13 14:33:03 By - By Anita Kumar
In Florida, Obama pitches new ways to attract private investment for public-works projects
Speaking briefly at PortMiami on Friday afternoon, President Barack Obama proposed new ways for governments to secure private dollars for big-ticket highway, bridge and other public works projects to boost the economy and create new construction jobs. | 03/29/13 17:10:21 By - Patricia Mazzei
Obama: ‘Shame on us’ if Congress does little about guns after Newtown
President Barack Obama delivered an emotional plea Thursday for lawmakers to pass legislation intended to curb gun violence, saying Americans couldn’t possibly have forgotten the horror three months ago of 20 children shot to death in their elementary school in Newtown, Conn. | 03/28/13 17:33:18 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama, moms to mark 100 days since Newtown shooting with White House event
President Obama will meet Thursday with mothers who want to see gun control efforts succeed, the White House says, amid questions of whether gun control legislation is lagging, some 100 days after the school shooting in Connecticut. | 03/27/13 14:25:25 By - Lesley Clark
Obama honors hockey and soccer champions at White House
President Barack Obama, a basketball devotee, displayed his soccer prowess and hockey knowledge Tuesday as he honored the National Hockey League Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings and Major League Soccer champ Los Angeles Galaxy at the White House. The president bounced a silver-colored soccer ball – a gift from the Galaxy, along with a white team jersey – off his head as cameras clicked to capture the shot. “I hope you guys caught that,” Obama quipped. “That doesn’t happen very often.” | 03/26/13 18:46:49 By - By William Douglas
Launching Mideast trip, Obama says he’s not sure about chemical attack in Syria
The two men appeared chummy during the visit, joking easily and saluting one another in a sharp departure from the often frosty rapport they’ve exhibited in the past. They met privately at Netanyahu’s residence, then again over a working dinner into the evening, with reports of a chemical weapon attack in Syria and continued fears of Iran’s nuclear program topping their agenda. | 03/20/13 19:13:27 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama turning to executive power to get what he wants
President Barack Obama came into office four years ago skeptical of pushing the power of the White House to the limit, especially if it appeared to be circumventing Congress. Now, as he launches his second term, Obama has grown more comfortable wielding power to try to move his own agenda forward, particularly when a deeply fractured, often-hostile Congress gets in his way. He’s done it with a package of tools, some of which date to George Washington and some invented in the modern era of an increasingly powerful presidency. And he’s done it with a frequency that belies his original campaign criticisms of predecessor George W. Bush. | 03/19/13 14:32:39 By - By Anita Kumar
Confirmation fight looms for Labor Secretary nominee Thomas Perez
The road to confirmation will likely be long and difficult for the first Latino picked to serve in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet during his second term. | 03/18/13 18:32:15 By - By Franco Ordonez
Obama looks to connect with Israeli people on his visit
President Barack Obama hopes to “connect with the Israeli people” when he arrives in Jerusalem on Wednesday, making his first visit in more than four years as president and facing a skeptical audience. | 03/18/13 16:12:32 By - By Lesley Clark and Sheera Frankel
Americans expect little from Obama’s Middle East trip
Few Americans expect much progress on Middle East peace during President Barack Obama’s trip to Israel and the West Bank, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. | 03/15/13 17:58:55 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama will face pressure on Middle East trip to do more on Syria
President Barack Obama will hear plenty about Syria when he steps off Air Force One in the Middle East next week, very likely facing new pressure from worried allies to help rebels oust Syrian President Bashar Assad but carrying no change in U.S. policy that could calm fears of the crisis spreading across borders and destabilizing the region. | 03/14/13 18:36:13 By - By Lesley Clark and Hannah Allam
Poll: Americans want background checks for guns, ban on assault weapons
Americans overwhelmingly support tougher background checks for prospective gun owners, and a majority support bans on assault weapons and big ammunition clips, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. The survey also found that Americans have widely differing views on how to proceed on immigration, another issue that’s high on the Obama administration’s priority list. Guns and immigration are expected to provide some of this year’s most heated congressional debate. | 03/12/13 15:04:02 By - By David Lightman
McClatchy-Marist poll shows Obama tumbling in voters’ eyes
If President Barack Obama had piled up political capital with his impressive re-election, it’s largely gone. His approval rating has dropped to the lowest level in more than a year, with more voters now turning thumbs down on his performance than thumbs up, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. The measure of how much people like him also has dropped. | 03/11/13 16:07:42 By - By Steven Thomma
Like Bush, Obama rebuffs pardon for boxing great Jack Johnson
For nine years, a pair Hill lawmakers have asked the president to posthumously pardon American boxing legend Jack Johnson. George W. Bush failed to act, but the congressmen thought they might be able to convince the nation’s first African-American president to do so on behalf of the world’s first African-American heavyweight boxing champ. But Obama hasn’t issued a pardon either, and his administration says it’s unlikely he will. That isn’t stopping the lifelong boxing fans from trying again. | 03/11/13 14:27:07 By - By Anita Kumar
Poll: Sequester has not hit home
The budget cuts in Washington have not hit home in America, at least not yet. | 03/10/13 13:17:49 By - By Steven Thomma
Report: Obama still secretive despite transparency vow
President Barack Obama has relied on state secrets and secret laws to make national security decisions with little congressional or public oversight much as his predecessor did, according to a report being released Sunday by a liberal government watchdog group. | 03/10/13 00:00:00 By - By Anita Kumar
White House official who bettered Hispanic media access steps down
Luis Miranda is leaving to return to the private sector as a communications consultant. The White House’s director of Hispanic media, Miranda is credited with helping to provide access not seen in previous administrations. The outreach came as the White House was courting the growing Hispanic vote, which helped President Barack Obama win-re-election. | 03/08/13 17:39:00 By - By Lesley Clark
White House staff to face pay cuts, furloughs
After weeks of questions, Obama administration finally revealed that the across-the-board spending cuts implemented last week will mean pay cuts and furloughs for White House staff. That includes the West Wing. | 03/08/13 15:06:03 By - Anita Kumar
Obama looks to reset relations with Benjamin Netanyahu in trip to Israel
President Barack Obama’s coming trip to Israel will focus as much on looking to restart a frosty relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as on any other issue. | 03/08/13 12:59:52 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama changing course, talking to Congress
President Barack Obama is doing something he rarely does: Talking to Congress. | 03/07/13 18:09:09 By - By Anita Kumar
Sequester starts, as does politicians parceling out blame
The federal government will start cutting spending as early as Saturday, with President Barack Obama and congressional leaders unable to bridge their fundamental disagreement over spending and taxes. | 03/01/13 18:40:45 By - By Lesley Clark and William Douglas
Did Obama go too far in warnings of sequestration?
For weeks, President Barack Obama has warned Americans about the dire consequences of allowing the automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as sequestration to go into effect . | 02/28/13 19:17:38 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark
Now the parties don’t even agree on when sequester starts
Republicans said the spending cuts start Friday. The White House said it’s really Saturday. Either way, the seemingly trivial dispute underscored the inability of the two sides to avert spending cuts neither side wanted when they were first enacted and signed into law in 2011. | 02/27/13 19:00:08 By - By William Douglas and Anita Kumar
As Congress wrangles, Obama warns naval shipyard workers of defense cuts
President Barack Obama journeyed Tuesday to military-rich Virginia to prod Congress to halt looming federal spending cuts, warning of the potential consequences on America’s armed forces and economy. | 02/26/13 17:53:02 By - By Anita Kumar and William Douglas
Obama urges governors to lobby their congressional delegations
President Barack Obama told the National Governors Association -- meeting today at the White House -- that members should lobby their members of Congress to avoid the looming series of spending cuts known as the sequester. | 02/25/13 14:24:08 By - Lesley Clark
White House warns again of budget cuts
The White House on Sunday ramped up its campaign to avoid across-the-board spending cuts scheduled to take place in less than a week by releasing detailed estimates of what reductions could mean in every state. | 02/24/13 20:09:38 By - By Anita Kumar
GOP governors turn pragmatic as election nears
Faced with tough re-elections and constituents clamoring for government services, Republican governors in some big swing states are turning pragmatic, pulling away from the conservative line that helped them win in 2010. | 02/24/13 15:32:59 By - By David Lightman
In efforts to tame deficits, Obama leans against spending cuts
President Barack Obama insists he wants a balance of more taxes and less spending to curb runaway budget deficits. His record suggests, however, that he leans against cutting spending. | 02/22/13 15:56:10 By - By Lesley Clark
Poll: Obama's approval rating up to 62 percent in California
President Barack Obama's job approval rating among California voters has climbed above 60 percent for the first time since 2009, the year he first took office, according to a new Field Poll. | 02/20/13 07:03:20 By - David Siders
Rich-poor spending gap on schools hurts kids, report says
America is failing too many of its children in public schools because it doesn’t spread the opportunity for a good education fairly to all, according to a report for the government released Tuesday. | 02/19/13 18:47:17 By - By Renee Schoof
Obama kicks off bid to stop automatic spending cuts
President Barack Obama is launching a public campaign to pressure Congress to avoid “brutal” spending cuts he said could hurt a still wobbly economy and increase the unemployment rate. | 02/19/13 18:44:53 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama golfs with Tiger Woods, shuts out White House press corps
The White House press corps that follows President Obama's every move has been barred from seeing or snapping a photograph of the president golfing with Tiger Woods. | 02/17/13 17:39:57 By - Lesley Clark
In North Carolina, Obama urges boost for manufacturing
. President Barack Obama used a bustling engine-parts factory that came back from the dead as the backdrop Wednesday to pitch his plans to boost U.S. manufacturing, part of the second-term agenda he’d rolled out in his State of the Union address the night before. | 02/13/13 17:05:51 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama’s State of the Union speech more somber than lofty
Newly elected second-term presidents traditionally use their first State of the Union address to promote themselves as visionaries with sweeping plans to unite the nation behind an ambitious, common goal. | 02/12/13 22:41:38 By - By David Lightman
Cayman account dogs Jacob Lew, Obama’s treasury pick
President Barack Obama’s pick to head the Treasury Department faces a tough grilling Wednesday from Republicans looking to spotlight his time at Citigroup, the troubled financial institution rescued by taxpayers. | 02/12/13 18:24:42 By - By Kevin G. Hall
Obama on State of the Union: ‘We can fix this’
President Barack Obama returned to the unfinished business of a still struggling economy Tuesday night, outlining a second-term agenda with proposals designed to create jobs, expand the middle class and spur financial growth. | 02/12/13 23:14:49 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark
Michelle Obama invites 102-year-old Miami woman to State of the Union address
At age 102, it’s possible Desaline Victor is the oldest guest ever to attend a State of the Union address. But the North Miami woman, known as "Granny" among the city’s Haitian community, was chosen less for her age than what she stands for. | 02/12/13 07:02:41 By - Erika Bolstad and Nadege Green
White House cites threat to Israel in explaining decision not to arm Syria’s rebels
The White House on Friday defended its decision not to endorse a CIA plan to arm the Syrian rebels, saying it was worried that U.S. weapons could “fall into the wrong hands” and worsen the situation in the civil war-torn country. | 02/08/13 18:21:13 By - By Lesley Clark
State of the Union could be ‘call to action’ on jobs, energy and immigration
A confident President Barack Obama is expected Tuesday to unveil an aggressive agenda in the first State of the Union address of his second term, calling for a rewrite of the nation’s outdated immigration laws, steps to prevent gun violence and ways to bolster a still fragile economy. | 02/08/13 15:45:11 By - By Lesley Clark and Anita Kumar
Obama administration embraces major new cut in nuclear weapons
Senior Obama administration officials have agreed that the number of nuclear warheads the U.S. military deploys could be cut by at least a third without harming national security, according to those involved in the deliberations. | 02/08/13 04:00:00 By - By R. Jeffrey Smith
Obama urges short-term budget fix, but GOP balks at more revenue
President Barack Obama urged Congress on Tuesday to pass a package of modest cuts and tax changes as a way to delay drastic, across-the-board federal spending reductions that could harm the economy. | 02/05/13 17:51:37 By - By Anita Kumar and David Lightman
Obama honors scientists, researchers at White House
President Barack Obama honored 23 scientists Friday at the White House. | 02/01/13 18:43:24 By - By Anne-Kathrin Gerstlauer
Obama: Women should get free contraception but church groups shouldn’t have to pay
After months of criticism and legal challenges, President Barack Obama’s administration proposed Friday that religious institutions no longer be required to provide their employees with health insurance coverage for birth control. | 02/01/13 18:22:35 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark
White House jobs council is now out of a job
President Barack Obama’s high-profile jobs council went out of business Thursday, despite reports that the economy shrank at the end of last year and the unemployment rate remains stuck at 7.8 percent, exactly the same as it was four years ago when the president first took office. | 01/31/13 18:47:12 By - By Emma Kantrowitz
Obama joins bipartisan Senate group on immigration, best shot at overhaul in decades
President Barack Obama proposed to rewrite U.S. immigration laws Tuesday, echoing a bipartisan group of influential U.S. senators in a one-two step that signaled a changing political landscape and the best chance in a generation to change the way the nation treats those who arrived here illegally. | 01/29/13 18:56:25 By - By Anita Kumar and Franco Ordonez
White House kicks off on gun control campaign
Vice President Joe Biden spoke Friday to Virginia leaders who responded to the worst school shooting in the nation’s history as the White House begins its try to sell America on a contentious gun control proposal. | 01/28/13 07:30:44 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama names longtime aide as new chief of staff
When it came time to select a new chief of staff, President Barack Obama didn’t look very far. | 01/25/13 18:55:55 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama will unveil immigration plans next week
According to the White House, Obama will introduce a plan that includes a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, which many Republicans oppose and liken to “amnesty.” | 01/25/13 18:51:27 By - By Franco Ordonez
Obama’s second term – lead from ahead this time?
Anywhere you look, President Barack Obama looks different heading into his second term. | 01/24/13 15:00:04 By - By Lesley Clark
At National Cathedral, prayers for Obama
More than 2,000 people filled the National Cathedral on Tuesday to offer a prayer for President Barack Obama as he enters his second term in office. | 01/22/13 17:14:31 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama’s inaugural speech a call to a new liberal era
No doubt anymore where President Barack Obama wants America, and history, to place him: As a tough-minded liberal. | 01/21/13 18:38:36 By - By David Lightman
Inaugural crowd is smaller than four years ago, but no less hopeful
The crowd that jammed the National Mall on Monday for President Barack Obama’s second inaugural may have been smaller and less ebullient than the 1.8 million people who attended his historical first swearing-in, but by no means was it somber. | 01/21/13 17:51:31 By - By William Douglas and Maya T. Prabhu
Obama summons nation for 2nd term: ‘We are made for this moment’
“America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive, diversity and openness, an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention,” he said on a crisp, sun-filled afternoon. “My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it, so long as we seize it together.” | 01/21/13 22:22:52 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark
Obama and weather don’t always get along
From a frigid 2009 Inauguration Day to a soggy 2012 Democratic convention, Mother Nature hasn’t always been kind to President Barack Obama. And meteorologists say that Monday’s inauguration is likely to be another chilly affair. | 01/20/13 12:39:42 By - By William Douglas
It’s official: Obama sworn in for second term
President Barack Obama was officially sworn into office for a second term Sunday in a small ceremony at the White House as the nation’s capital geared up for a full inauguration on Monday. | 01/20/13 22:35:21 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama, Biden kick off inauguration with volunteer work
President Barack Obama said Saturday his inauguration will be a symbol of U.S. democracy, as well as an “affirmation that we’re all in this together." | 01/19/13 16:22:11 By - By Lesley Clark
In second term, Obama will govern a nation worried about economy, anxious about safety
As President Barack Obama prepares to begin his second term, he will govern a nation where people feel insecure about their economic futures, worried about their personal safety and concerned that international threats are spiraling out of the United States’ control. | 01/18/13 15:29:36 By - By David Lightman
Obama’s second term: Guns, immigration, taxes – and warnings of hubris
Four years ago, President Barack Obama used his inaugural address to declare “an end to the petty grievances, and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.” | 01/18/13 15:22:27 By - By Lesley Clark and Anita Kumar
Monday’s inauguration is for show; real oath comes Sunday
When President Barack Obama raises his hand to take the oath of office Monday in a majestic inauguration ceremony, he’ll already be 24 hours into his second term. | 01/18/13 13:54:54 By - By Michael Doyle
Biden urges mayors to help sell Obama gun plan
Vice President Joe Biden looked to the nation’s mayors Thursday to help rally public opinion in support of the Obama administration’s push for new legislation aimed at curbing gun violence. | 01/17/13 18:29:35 By - By Franco Ordonez and Lesley Clark
In Marine Band, Fresno’s Jeffrey Strong will be part of ‘the president’s iPod’ at inauguration
This will be Strong’s first Inauguration Day performance, but the Marine Band’s 54th consecutive inaugural appearance. Don’t think it doesn’t know it, either: This is a musical organization that’s acutely aware of its heritage. | 01/17/13 16:47:02 By - By Michael Doyle
Top 10 inaugural address quotes
They have included some of the most stirring lines in U.S. history, often at times of great peril. They have included lines that marked moments of great change and defined an era. And many have been utterly forgettable. | 01/17/13 14:49:26 By - By Steven Thomma
From Washington to Obama, the inauguration is an American moment
Inauguration Days are the times America pauses to appreciate and reflect on the orderly transition, or reaffirmation, of power. | 01/17/13 14:48:44 By - By David Lightman
Campaign starts over guns, with children used by both sides
President Barack Obama’s call Wednesday to thwart gun violence – with four children by his side – signaled the start of what will be an intensive campaign to sway public opinion on one of the most hotly contested issues in recent history. | 01/16/13 18:56:50 By - By Lesley Clark and David Lightman
Obama’s and Martin Luther King’s stories will merge Monday
Both battled enormous odds to build historic multi-ethnic, multi-racial coalitions, one to advance the cause of civil rights, the other to win the nation’s highest office. Both won the Nobel Peace Price. Both could use soaring rhetoric to inspire millions. Both also had to overcome critics who accused them of socialist or communist sympathies, as well as black activists who maintained that they weren’t strong advocates for African-Americans. | 01/16/13 15:46:38 By - By William Douglas and David Lightman
Obama proposes assault-weapons ban, other controls on guns
President Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to put the full weight of his office behind the nation’s most aggressive gun-control plan in generations as he hopes to decrease the number of mass shootings and acts of random violence that occur every day in America. | 01/16/13 19:04:53 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama push for assault weapons ban, other gun restrictions faces steep climb in Congress
Obama will be joined at the White House announcement by Vice President Joe Biden and children who wrote to him after the shooting in Newtown, Conn. Gun control activists and lawmakers also have been invited. His proposals will include executive actions that don’t need congressional approval, as well as legislation. | 01/15/13 18:46:38 By - By David Lightman and Anita Kumar
Latino inaugural a party within a party
They helped elect him to a second term. Now, Latinos are going to make a splash at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration as never before. | 01/15/13 14:49:35 By - By Maria Recio
Obama to Congress: Raise debt ceiling without spending cuts
President Barack Obama urged Congress on Monday to lift the nation’s debt ceiling without spending cuts, warning of dire consequences to the economy if lawmakers again push deliberations to the brink. | 01/14/13 18:12:11 By - By Lesley Clark
The selling of an inauguration: Prices run from $5 to $1 million
The taxpayers will pick up the tab – as they do every four years -- for the official swearing-in ceremony, a luncheon with Congress and extra security. The rest comes from contributions. And Obama supporters -- both individuals and corporations -- are helping to raise the millions of dollars, sometimes in ways that alarm government-watchdog groups. | 01/14/13 18:28:06 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama quickens pace of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
President Barack Obama announced Friday that he’s accelerating the U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan, with the 66,000 American forces moving this spring into a largely training and advisory role and Afghan troops taking the lead throughout the country in fighting the Taliban-led insurgency. | 01/11/13 18:40:50 By - By Lesley Clark and Jonathan S. Landay
Pastor Louie Giglio withdraws from inauguration after criticism of ’90s anti-gay comments
Giglio said he was stepping aside because he thought his participation and his prayer would be "dwarfed by those seeking to make their agenda the focal point of the inauguration." | 01/10/13 16:53:05 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama signs 'fiscal cliff' bill
President Barack Obama, vacationing in Hawaii, signed the so-called fiscal cliff bill to avert massive tax hikes on most Americans and postpone spending cuts. He ordered the legislation be signed by autopen. | 01/03/13 06:45:07 By - Anita Kumar
White House website petition wants Westboro Baptist Church recognized as hate group
At 275,000 signatures and counting, the petition with the most signatures on the White House website as of Thursday seeks to have the federal government "legally recognize" the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group. | 12/28/12 07:09:09 By - Mike Hendricks
Much talk, little action from Obama on gun control
Even before he became president, Barack Obama stressed the need to curb gun violence. | 12/21/12 18:15:05 By - By Anita Kumar and Lesley Clark
Obama calls on public to lobby Congress on gun restrictions
President Obama will observe a moment of silence at 9:30 a.m. today at the White House, marking one week since a lone gunman opened fire in a Connecticut elementary school, killing 20 first graders before turning a gun on himself. | 12/21/12 08:01:53 By - Lesley Clark
Obama urges Congress to ban military-style assault weapons
President Barack Obama urged Congress on Wednesday to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips and said Vice President Joe Biden would lead an effort to stem an “epidemic of gun violence that plagues this country every single day.” | 12/19/12 17:58:25 By - By Lesley Clark and David Lightman
Obama: 'These children are our children'
An emotional President Barack Obama Friday decried what he called the "heinous crime" in Connecticut, saying "our hearts are broken" and calling for efforts to stem the tide of violence. | 12/14/12 15:37:46 By - Lesley Clark
No rush yet on inaugural tickets and hotel rooms
Plans for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration in January are in full swing. A reviewing stand is under construction in front of the White House, congressional offices are taking ticket requests and planners are mapping out parade logistics and street closures. | 12/03/12 16:09:32 By - Aimee Chen and Will Mendelson
Obama and Boehner talk, but not to each other
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Friday that budget talks with the White House to avert the so-called fiscal cliff were “nowhere" as his aides called an Obama administration’s budget proposal "unserious." President Barack Obama, meanwhile, visited a Pennsylvania toy factory, where he accused congressional Republicans of holding lower income-tax rates for the middle class “hostage” to prevent tax hikes on higher incomes. | 11/30/12 16:56:38 By - By William Douglas and Lesley Clark
Michelle Obama shows White House Christmas cheer
Michelle Obama unveiled the 2012 holiday decorations at the White House, kicking off a season that will bring 90,000 guests to the first family's adopted house. | 11/28/12 17:50:58 By - Anita Kumar
Barack ‘Black Eagle’ Obama loses his adoptive father
As a freshman senator campaigning for president in May of 2008, Barack Obama made a stop on the Crow Indian Reservation in southern Montana, where he became part of a new family. | 11/28/12 16:38:53 By - By Rob Hotakainen
Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto wants to help U.S. overhaul immigration
Mexico’s incoming president told President Barack Obama on Tuesday that he hopes to help him pass a comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration policy. | 11/27/12 18:54:41 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama and Congress make opening bids on budget fix
President Barack Obama and congressional leaders were optimistic Friday after opening talks aimed at avoiding a tumble over the “fiscal cliff,” offering hints of a compromise that would combine new tax revenue with steep spending cuts. | 11/16/12 18:08:21 By - By Lesley Clark and David Lightman
Shifting focus to Asia, Obama to visit Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia
Two weeks after winning re-election to a second term, President Barack Obama will embark on a four-day, three-nation trip to Southeast Asia as he continues to try to leave his imprint on a region increasingly influenced by China. | 11/14/12 15:36:22 By - By Anita Kumar
Obama: Voters support my plan to raise taxes on wealthy
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that his re-election showed that the majority of voters agreed with him that taxes should be raised on the wealthiest Americans as part of a solution to reduce the nation’s gaping budget deficit. | 11/14/12 18:59:13 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama, House speaker Boehner say they’re ready to deal, but will parties let them?
President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner said Friday that they want to work together to avert spending cuts and tax increases that could throw the economy back into a recession – but both also come to the negotiations with the same sharp differences they had before this week’s elections. | 11/09/12 17:39:33 By - By Anita Kumar and David Lightman
President Obama to UN: Denounce Middle East violence, stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon
President Obama pledged continued U.S. involvement in the turbulent Middle East at the United Nations Tuesday and vowed that the U.S. will do "what we must" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. | 09/25/12 06:28:28 By - Lesley Clark
Obama condemns death of US Ambassador Chris Stevens in Libya
President Barack Obama has condemned the "outrageous attack" on a U.S. consulate in Libya's second largest city which took the lives of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens. | 09/12/12 09:25:00 By - Lesley Clark
Obama to sign Lejeune bill at Oval Office signing ceremony on Monday
President Obama will sign a bill on Monday to give health care to thousands of sick Marine veterans and their families who were exposed to contaminated water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., according to a White House official. | 08/03/12 22:15:09 By - By Franco Ordonez
Obama asks Congress for limited extension of Bush tax cuts
President Barack Obama expressed confidence Monday that he can win an election-year fight with Republicans over taxes and the economy despite three straight months of weak job growth. | 07/09/12 12:52:12 By - By James Rosen and David Lightman
Obama daughters showing up in public comments, campaign ads
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama fiercely protect the private lives of their daughters, Sasha and Malia, as they raise the girls in the fishbowl that is the modern White House. Yet, the Obama girls – ages 13 and 11 – increasingly are making public appearances: starring in remarks by their father, appearing in a campaign video celebrating Father’s Day and now in a campaign ad that’s airing in seven battleground states. | 07/02/12 00:00:00 By - By Lesley Clark
Health care ruling vindicates Obama, but could galvanize Republican opponents
The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the most significant achievement of President Barack Obama’s first term delivers a major boost to his legacy and political fortunes. It comes with a price, however: the risk of galvanizing conservative critics who rose up in the aftermath of the law’s passage, delivering the first tea party lawmakers to Congress. | 06/28/12 18:07:19 By - By Lesley Clark
Haitian in Miami ask Obama to grant families visas
Haitian advocates in Miami made an emotional appeal to President Barack Obama on Tuesday, hours before he came to town for a campaign event. | 06/27/12 07:08:59 By - Daniela Guzman
Obama asserts presidential powers he once spoke critically of
President Barack Obama is starting to channel his inner Cheney. For years, Obama talked about the limits on presidential power. Now, driven either by principle or political expediency, he’s working to build and maintain a powerful presidency that pushes the edge of what it can do, while often telling Congress and the courts to mind their own business. | 06/21/12 19:08:31 By - By Steven Thomma and William Douglas
At G-20’s closing, Obama prods Europe to boost growth
President Barack Obama expressed confidence Tuesday that European leaders will act aggressively to boost growth in their countries and contain a crisis that threatens to slow the U.S. economy and imperil his chances of retaining the White House. | 06/19/12 20:57:51 By - By Lesley Clark
At G-20 summit, Obama presses Putin on arms to Syria
President Barack Obama pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday over arms shipments to Syria’s government but emerged with only a general agreement on the need to end violence in the country. | 06/18/12 19:43:57 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama acts to halt deportations, politics ensues
The Obama administration announced plans Friday to prevent the deportations of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children. | 06/15/12 19:40:55 By - By Franco Ordonez
Did Obama exert too much executive power on deportations?
With his unilateral decision to reprieve hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants from the threat of deportation, President Barack Obama is flexing some executive muscle that some fear is overly juiced. | 06/15/12 17:39:57 By - By Michael Doyle
Europe hangs over U.S. future as Obama heads to summit
President Barack Obama – whose re-election might hinge as much on Europe as it does on such domestic political battlegrounds as Florida and North Carolina – will head to a global summit Sunday that’s unlikely to settle the overseas debt crisis. | 06/15/12 15:44:35 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama announces U.S. will stop deporting some young illegal immigrants
President Obama will appear in the Rose Garden today to expand on the administration's decision to stop deporting some illegal immigrants -- who were brought to the U.S. as children. | 06/15/12 10:43:09 By - Lesley Clark
Obama to set aside criticism of Bush, salute him at White House portrait unveiling
President Barack Obama has made him a foil for more than three years, the man he blames for the “mess” he inherited of an economy in free fall and wars gone astray. But it will be smiles and handshakes Thursday when Obama welcomes former President George W. Bush to the White House. | 05/30/12 18:58:13 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama awards medals to Bob Dylan, Toni Morrison, others
President Barack Obama took a point of personal – and professional – privilege Tuesday, bestowing the nation’s highest civilian honor on a group of people whom he said included some of his own heroes. | 05/29/12 19:51:01 By - By Lesley Clark
Fifty years on, Dylan awarded Medal of Freedom
Few recipients of the presidential Medal of Freedom have carried more cultural and artistic weight than Bob Dylan, who received the recognition from President Barack Obama on Tuesday at the White House for contributions to American life and culture. | 05/29/12 19:38:37 By - By Kevin G. Hall
‘Golfer-in-chief’ Obama nears 100th round of his presidency
Most modern U.S. presidents have played golf, but it’s touchy, since many people view it as an expensive, elite sport. President Barack Obama plays golf a lot, but he won’t let the news media see him do it. | 05/26/12 15:04:54 By - By Steven Thomma
Josh Earnest went from baseball in Kansas City to hardball at White House
The 37-year-old Earnest, who grew up in Kansas City, Mo., is the principal deputy White House press secretary. Before Earnest even sets foot inside the White House gates and enters the West Wing, it’s his job to know what’s been said over the past 12 hours, who said it and what the fallout has been. | 05/24/12 19:13:52 By - By David Goldstein
Secret Service chief says there’s no culture of misbehavior
Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan apologized Wednesday before a Senate panel for the prostitution scandal that’s embarrassed his agency, but he said he didn’t believe that it had arisen from an agency culture of misbehavior. | 05/23/12 14:30:29 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama dominates global summits, but do U.S. voters care?
President Barack Obama dominated the world stage over the weekend, but U.S. voters aren’t focused much on that. | 05/22/12 19:53:48 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama addresses Joplin High School grads on eve of tornado's anniversary
President Barack Obama told the graduating seniors of Joplin High School Monday night that they and their city had inspired the world. Speaking on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the mile-wide tornado that shredded their city, Obama said Joplin’s lesson is that lives are defined not by what happens to people, but by how they respond. | 05/22/12 07:00:14 By - Steve Kraske
New French leader Francois Hollande wins Obama’s backing for EU economic growth
President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande agreed Friday that Europe must deploy "strong growth" measures along with austerity as it grapples with how to pull out of its economic morass. | 05/18/12 18:20:42 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama to announce Africa farm plan to relieve poverty
President Barack Obama will announce an alliance Friday with nearly 50 companies to boost productivity among small farmers in Africa with the goal of lifting 50 million people out of poverty. | 05/18/12 06:00:00 By - By Lesley Clark
Obama will meet with NATO to ponder Afghanistan’s future
President Barack Obama will host the NATO alliance Sunday in Chicago to talk of long-term commitments to Afghanistan, tempered by the fact that the countries are tired of the war, their budgets are strained and they see a need to resist what one analyst called “a rush to the exits.” | 05/17/12 16:04:05 By - By Steven Thomma
White House expands reach of sanctions on Syria, Iran
The Obama administration on Tuesday granted the Treasury Department authority to blacklist foreign nationals and companies that help Iran and Syria evade U.S. and international sanctions. | 05/01/12 17:57:08 By - By Kevin G. Hall
Obama rejects criticism that he’s politicizing bin Laden’s death
President Barack Obama on Monday rejected criticism of his handling of the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death – and questioned whether his Republican presidential challenger would have made the same decision to take out the al Qaida leader. | 04/30/12 18:37:23 By - By Lesley Clark
In North Carolina, Obama seeks to reassure college students
In his first stop on a two-day college tour, President Barack Obama tried to reassure the seniors venturing into a fragile job market that the American dream is still realistic. | 04/24/12 07:11:39 By - By John Frank
In Mexico, Biden shoots down talk of drug legalization
Vice President Joseph Biden said Monday that "there is no possibility" that Washington would heed a growing call by some Latin American presidents to move toward drug legalization. | 03/05/12 19:06:33 By - Tim Johnson
Religious leaders continue to protest Obama administration's contraception ruling
Religious leaders of different faiths stoked the national debate over contraception Thursday, converging on Capitol Hill and charging the Obama administration with attempting to violate their religious freedoms. | 02/16/12 14:30:46 By - Franco Ordoñez
Obama compromises on contraception mandate, but reservations remain
Changing course after a week of controversy, President Barack Obama Friday said religious institutions won't be required to provide contraceptive coverage to their employees, but that women will still have access to the services through their insurance companies. | 02/10/12 11:08:47 By - Steven Thomma and Erika Bolstad
Michelle Obama shares meal, Let's Move campaign with Dallas parents
Monica Calton saw history Thursday. After stopping at a far north Fort Worth Olive Garden, only because she saw news media vehicles and police cars parked outside, she got a glimpse of first lady Michelle Obama. | 02/10/12 07:30:29 By - Anna M. Tinsley
'You guys inspire me,' President Obama tells science fair winners
President Barack Obama praised a group of student science fair winners from around the country — including Shree Bose, a senior at Fort Worth Country Day School — in a boost to science education Tuesday at the second annual White House Science Fair. | 02/08/12 07:33:17 By - Maria Recio
VP Biden touts college tuition program in South Florida
Vice President Joe Biden was on his way to a prom years ago when he saw his father pacing outside. His father had just been turned down for a loan to pay for Biden's education at the University of Delaware. The anecdote, delivered in a speech Monday to students at Florida State University, was used to promote President Barack Obama’s new college affordability plan — which would reward states for keeping costs low. | 02/07/12 06:51:43 By - Kim Walmath
Google Plus chat with Obama has big impact on Texas family
Jennifer Wedel's life has turned upside down since Monday. That's when she chatted online with President Barack Obama about a controversial program to hire highly skilled foreign workers — and the president ended up asking for her husband's résumé. | 02/03/12 07:19:22 By - Anna M. Tinsley
Texas woman talks to President Obama in Google Plus 'hangout'
Jennifer Wedel was all ready Monday afternoon to challenge President Barack Obama on an issue that hits her where she lives: her engineer husband's unemployment. "When you're given the opportunity to speak with the president, it's either take it or leave it," she said. | 01/31/12 07:27:34 By - Aman Batheja
At Disney World, Obama touts tourism initiatives to boost jobs
Standing before a sun-splashed Cinderella’s castle, President Barack Obama on Thursday called for America to become the world’s top travel destination with a program that could significantly increase tourism to South Florida. | 01/20/12 07:09:07 By - Jane Wooldridge
South Carolina hailed for insourcing jobs to U.S.
President Obama praised companies that are bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States from abroad at a White House conference Wednesday where he met with leaders of firms investing in South Carolina and other states. | 01/12/12 11:44:57 By - James Rosen
North Carolina furniture maker to share his views on jobs with Obama
The Lincolnton, N.C., owner of a small specialty furniture maker will be President Obama's guest at the White House today. The president has asked Bruce Cochrane, owner of Lincolnton Furniture, and several other business owners to join him to discuss what can be done to encourage companies to keep jobs in the United States. | 01/11/12 07:09:32 By - Franco Ordoñez
Budget director Lew to replace Daley as Obama’s chief of staff
President Barack Obama on Monday named his budget director, Jack Lew, to be his next chief of staff to replace William Daley, who’s leaving after a year in the job just as the White House begins to gear up for a bruising re-election campaign. | 01/09/12 14:25:00 By - Lesley Clark
Obama's defense strategy doesn't suggest more troops in Latin America
Don’t expect the Pentagon to grow its troop strength or expand its activities in Latin America under the National Defense Strategy unveiled Thursday by President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon. The much anticipated "Priorities for 21st Century Defense" makes a single reference to the region, in the same context as Africa. | 01/06/12 07:05:53 By - Carol Rosenberg
Obama defies Senate, appointing consumer, labor officials
A defiant President Barack Obama sidestepped Congress on Wednesday and appointed a new consumer watchdog, locking horns with Republicans, who immediately accused the president of exceeding his authority to appoint a director to an agency they oppose. | 01/04/12 11:18:23 By - Lesley Clark and Tony Pugh
Obamas thank troops, military families at Fort Bragg, N.C., for Iraq service
President Barack Obama came to Fort Bragg today to thank troops for their service in the nine-year war in Iraq and to mark their role in bringing the war to an end. He and first lady Michelle Obama also emphasized the commitments and sacrifices of military families. "You, too, have the thanks of a grateful nation," Obama said. | 12/14/11 07:25:30 By -
Obama to meet Iraq's Maliki on Monday, champion U.S. troop withdrawal
The White House this week plans to showcase the close of the war in Iraq, looking to highlight what it says is a 2008 campaign promise made good — and likely previewing a 2012 campaign theme. | 12/12/11 06:24:46 By - Lesley Clark
Obamas to visit troops returning from Iraq at Fort Bragg, N.C.
President Obama will visit Fort Bragg next week to speak to troops returning from Iraq, the White House announced this morning. First Lady Michelle Obama will accompany the president to North Carolina on Wednesday. | 12/08/11 11:16:19 By -
White House condemns storming of the British embassy in Tehran
From the Press Secretary: "The United States condemns in the strongest terms the storming of the British Embassy in Tehran. | 11/29/11 13:24:32 By - Lesley Clark
Obama's 9 days in Asia aim to assert growing U.S. stakes there
President Barack Obama will leave Friday on a nine-day trip to Hawaii, Australia and Indonesia, underscoring the region's rising profile but leaving town at a politically inconvenient time as he accuses Congress of not doing enough to goose the slumping economy. | 11/09/11 18:56:11 By - Lesley Clark
Press Secretary Jay Carney regarding McClatchy's Iraq article
Can I ask an Iraq question? There have been some reports that the President didn’t get very personally involved in the negotiations. Given that a lot of this had to do with Iraqi politics and unable to get to immunity, does it also show that ultimately the administration just didn’t think it was necessary -- | 10/26/11 23:46:59 By -
Congressional Black Caucus targets state voter laws as hostile
Minority voters have long had problems simply exercising their right to vote in certain parts of the country — and minority lawmakers fear the situation will become worse in 2012. | 10/25/11 18:42:43 By - William Douglas and David Lightman
Obama honors citizens 'who stopped to help'
President Barack Obama on Thursday personally thanked what he called "a remarkable group of Americans" for answering the call of service to their fellow citizens. | 10/20/11 18:21:33 By - Curtis Tate
Who should pay for Obama’s two-state bus tour, taxpayers or his campaign?
President Barack Obama’s bus trip this week through North Carolina and Virginia is generating questions about whether it’s just part of the job, and thus something that should be billed to taxpayers _ or is instead a campaign-style tour meant to generate votes next year in two states key to his re-election, and thus something his campaign should pay for. | 10/18/11 06:28:04 By - Steven Thomma
Obama starts bus trip through two swing states touting jobs plan
President Barack Obama on Monday launches a three-day bus tour across North Carolina and Virginia, championing his job creation package in two states that are critical to his reelection efforts. | 10/17/11 12:30:55 By - Lesley Clark and Tim Funk
Christmas book brings the White House to life
“Christmas With the First Ladies” is an attractive addition to the plethora of books on the history of the White House. Drawing on the materials from presidential libraries, Coleen Christian Burke has delved into history to put a human face on presidential Christmases as presented by our presidents and their wives. | 10/12/11 12:07:07 By - Tish Wells
Obama campaign says his jobs message is reaching populace
President Barack Obama hasn’t managed to nudge Congress toward approving his proposed jobs bill or the tax increases to pay for it, but his campaign says he’s making progress with the American people. | 10/11/11 00:00:44 By - Steven Thomma
Obama's fine with tax on millionaires, but wouldn't stop there
President Barack Obama said Thursday that he'd agree to a surtax on millionaires instead of other tax increases to finance his proposed jobs bill, as his fellow Democrats in the Senate suggest. | 10/07/11 14:00:35 By - Lesley Clark and David Lightman
Obama warns Pakistan over support for Afghan insurgents
President Barack Obama cautioned Pakistan on Thursday that it's jeopardizing long-term relations with the United States — including billions of dollars in military and civilian aid — by maintaining ties with insurgent groups that are fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. | 10/07/11 13:00:42 By - Jonathan S. Landay
Right is silent this time on Obama's back-to-school talk
President Barack Obama urged American high school students Wednesday to work hard, take some risks and continue learning past graduation, with none of the protests from the right that greeted his first back-to-school speech two years ago. | 09/28/11 14:12:01 By - Steven Thomma
Obama fails to persuade Palestinians to abandon quest for U.N. membership
President Barack Obama set the stage Wednesday for a U.S. veto of a Palestinian bid for full U.N. membership of an independent Palestinian state, telling world leaders that the issue can only be settled through direct peace talks and "each side learns to stand in the other's shoes." | 09/21/11 11:23:45 By - Lesley Clark and Jonathan S. Landay
Obama pledges U.S. support for Libya's new regime
President Barack Obama urged Libyans to continue pressing for democracy in remarks Tuesday at the United Nations, portraying the toppling of Moammar Gadhafi as a success story in the making, but underscoring perils ahead. | 09/20/11 14:09:26 By - Lesley Clark
Sacrifice of thousands recalled in solemn 9/11 ceremonies
With simple and solemn ceremony, the United States marked the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Sunday in emotional tributes that recalled the sacrifice of thousands of lives, not just on that day a decade ago, but in the bloody conflicts that have raged since. | 09/11/11 11:22:05 By - Lesley Clark and Steven Thomma
Obama's new economics team has few big-name players
The administration needs all the firepower it can muster, experts said. Yet the team is missing a key messenger in selling Obama's policies. The post of chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors — an influential position — is vacant and is likely to remain so at least into the fall. | 08/13/11 11:57:03 By - Jim Puzzanghera
Texas' Perry is running for president, his aides confirm
Putting an end to a months-long flirtation with Republican primary voters and the national press, Gov. Rick Perry is definitively in the race for president and will officially announce the launch of his campaign on Saturday in South Carolina, aides confirmed Thursday. | 08/11/11 18:31:16 By - By Aman Batheja and Anna M. Tinsley
Obama's Puerto Rico trip breaks 50-year record
President Barack Obama will break a 50-year record Tuesday, when he becomes the first president since John F. Kennedy to come to San Juan and meet with Puerto Ricans. But experts say the whirlwind visit to an island crippled by a soaring murder rate, mass exodus and 16.2 percent unemployment has less to do with the island’s overwhelming problems and much more to do with Florida’s I-4 corridor. | 06/13/11 06:59:16 By - Frances Robles
Obama names Dempsey as chairman of Joint Chiefs
President Barack Obama on Monday announced that a four-star Army general who commanded troops in Iraq through much of the war, Gen. Martin Dempsey, is his choice to be the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president’s top military adviser. Obama also named Adm. James Winnefield as vice chairman and said Army Gen. Ray Odierno would replace Dempsey as chief of staff of the Army. | 05/30/11 13:27:53 By - Renee Schoof
Obama promises Joplin that nation will stick by it
President Barack Obama, fresh off a six-day diplomatic tour of Europe, stood near the center of tornado-ravaged Joplin Sunday afternoon and promised a sustained federal response to revive the devastated city. | 05/29/11 23:52:03 By - Steven Kraske
Obama: U.S. will dispatch F-16s to Poland for training
The move, announced Saturday in Warsaw, was welcomed by Polish officials as a sign that the United States was strengthening its commitment to defend Central and Eastern Europe. Under the agreement the U.S. will rotate fighter jets and C-130 cargo aircraft to Poland four times a year for training, but won't base the planes there. | 05/28/11 11:09:03 By - Steven Thomma
Volcano ash cloud forces Obama to leave Ireland early
President Barack Obama will cut short a visit to Ireland and leave Monday evening as a plume of ash from a volcano in Iceland heads toward the British Isles, threatening to strand him on the ground. | 05/23/11 13:45:50 By - Steven Thomma
Obama visits his family's ancestral village in Ireland
President Barack Obama made a triumphant visit to Ireland Monday, where he was kissed and cheered as he visited the tiny village of a distant ancestor and toasted in a bar where he raised a glass of Guinness. | 05/23/11 13:29:04 By - Steven Thomma
Obama heads for Ireland, first leg of a six day European trip
President Barack Obama arrives in Ireland Monday, a sentimental visit to the home of one of his distant ancestors and a part of his personal heritage lost to the furor of past years over where he himself was born. | 05/22/11 16:02:56 By - Steven Thomma
Here's the text of Obama's AIPAC remarks on Israel
This is the text of President Barack Obama's speech Sunday to the America-Israel Political Action Committee, as released by the White House. | 05/22/11 15:58:29 By -
Netanyahu rebukes Obama's idea on Israel's '67 borders
In a public rebuke, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a White House appearance with President Barack Obama on Friday to flatly reject any suggestion that Israel might even consider withdrawing from territories it seized in the 1967 Six-Day War. | 05/20/11 14:49:17 By - Steven Thomma and William Douglas
Obama visits Ground Zero to honor bin Laden's victims
It took nearly 10 years. But long after one president stood amid the rubble of the World Trade Center to vow that the guilty would soon hear from an outraged America, another returned Thursday to mark the hard-won moment of justice. "When we say we will never forget, we mean what we say," President Barack Obama said during a sober but triumphant visit to New York. | 05/05/11 17:53:49 By - Steven Thomma
President Obama: U.S. kills Osama bin Laden in Pakistan
Osama Bin Laden is dead. President Barack Obama made the dramatic late-night announcement Sunday from the East Room of the White House, ending the long, elusive international manhunt for the leader of the al Qaida terror organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "Justice has been done," the president said in a 10-minute address shortly before midnight. | 05/01/11 22:46:44 By - Margaret Talev and Jonathan S. Landay
Will Obama rise to meet the next budget challenges?
It was, in the grand scheme, just a little change of course, but the decision to cut spending even a little after years of huge increases brought the government to the brink of a shutdown and sets the stage for a much bigger fight that will dominate Washington politics through the 2012 elections and perhaps for years to come. | 04/09/11 16:10:02 By - Steven Thomma
White House announces trade deal with Colombia
The White House on Wednesday is announcing a deal to ratify the long-stalled free trade agreement with Colombia — a move that backers say will boost the U.S. economy and improve the U.S. standing in Latin America. | 04/06/11 11:51:06 By - Lesley Clark
ANALYSIS: Obama earns high marks on South America tour
With Japan’s nuclear crisis, an escalating Libyan conflict and a bitter budget debate, the fact that President Barack Obama made it to Latin America at all was something of an achievement. In his first extensive trip to Latin America since assuming office, Obama has won high marks for his conciliatory tone and acknowledgment of Latin America as a powerful economic and political force that deserves a partnership of equals. | 03/23/11 06:52:07 By - Jim Wyss, Mimi Whitefield and Tim Johnson
Obama gets to know Brazil's people, including its poorest
President Barack Obama toured the favela, a squatter settlement created in the 1960s when authorities displaced thousands of residents from favelas closer to the center city, on the second day of his Latin American trip that also will take him to Chile and El Salvador. Later on Sunday, he gave a speech in which he reached out to the Brazilian people. | 03/20/11 19:46:29 By - Mimi Whitefield
Obama: Gadhafi must restore water, phones or face assault
Prsident Barack Obama said Friday that the United States will assist if international force is needed to stop Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi from killing his people, but will not send American ground troops to Libya or take over the effort. Any ceasefire must include an end to pro-Gadhafi troops marching on rebel-held cities. | 03/18/11 15:27:05 By - Margaret Talev
Obama's Latin America trip offers look at changed region
As President Barack Obama prepares for his trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador this week, there is optimism in the region that his swing south will begin a new relationship — one that reflects the profound changes Latin America has undergone in the past decade. | 03/14/11 06:58:45 By - Mimi Whitefield
Clinton, Crowley statements on Crowley's resignation
These are the State Department's statements on the resignation of Philip J. Crowley after his comments criticizing the prison treatment of Pfc. Bradley Manning, who's being held at the Marine Corps base at Quantico, Va., on charges related to documents that found their way to the WikiLeaks website. | 03/13/11 14:19:24 By -
In person, on camera, Obama calls for Gadhafi to go
For the first time, President Barack Obama called publicly and personally Thursday for Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi to go, said he'd authorized U.S. military aircraft to help evacuate refugees at the Libyan border and said the U.S. might need to intervene more there to get food to starving civilians. | 03/03/11 19:32:22 By - Margaret Talev
Text of President Obama's remarks Friday on Mubarak's resignation
This is the text of President Barack Obama's remarks Friday on the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. It was released by the White House. | 02/11/11 16:46:49 By -
Statement of President Barack Obama on Egypt
The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient. Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world. | 02/10/11 20:00:06 By -
Poll: Obama has public's support on his handling of Egypt
The poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press found that 57 percent of the respondents said the Obama administration is handling the situation in Egypt about right. | 02/08/11 17:11:40 By - Michael Muskal
Obama: Timing of Mubarak exit not up to United States
President Barack Obama said the decision of when the Egyptian leader leaves office will be made by Mubarak and the Egyptian people. He said he has warned Mubarak "going back to the old ways is not going to work." | 02/04/11 17:08:59 By - Margaret Talev
Text of President Barack Obama's remarks on Egypt
The following is the text of President Barack Obama's remarks after Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he would not seek reelection. The text was distributed by the White House. | 02/01/11 19:35:19 By -
Michelle Obama brings 'Let's Move!' campaign to Fort Jackson
Traffic around Fort Jackson — always heavy on basic training graduation days — will be even more challenging today as first lady Michelle Obama attends the ceremony. Obama also will meet at the fort with Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, who said the city is prepared to adopt the “Let’s Move!” program. | 01/27/11 07:36:19 By - Jeff Wilkinson
Michelle Obama to visit Fort Jackson
First lady Michelle Obama will visit South Carolina this week for the first time since moving into the White House when she comes to Fort Jackson to highlight the impact of childhood obesity and decreased physical activity on military recruitment. | 01/24/11 12:30:39 By - James Rosen
Guest list for state dinner for Hu Jintao of China
The White House released the following list of invitees to the state dinner honoring Hu Jintao. | 01/19/11 18:01:46 By -
Obama administration eases cultural travel rules to Cuba
The Obama administration Friday said it will allow for more U.S. travel to Cuba, making it easier for schools, churches and cultural groups to visit the island. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., a Cuban exile and the new chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, assailed the revisions. | 01/14/11 17:12:42 By - Lesley Clark
With Obama's Tucson speech, his presidency turns a corner
There are moments that define a presidency, and Barack Obama's speech Wednesday night to a memorial service for Arizona shooting victims may be one. | 01/13/11 20:08:14 By - Steven Thomma
At Arizona memorial, Obama urges a discussion that heals
President Barack Obama played the part of "healer in chief" Wednesday night, honoring the victims of Saturday's mass shooting while seeking to calm an increasingly angry political debate, urging all Americans to stop pointing fingers and "make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds." He also told the crowd of 26,000 gathered in Tucson, Ariz., that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords "opened her eyes for the first time." | 01/12/11 22:57:16 By - Sam Stanton
Obama's remarks on Arizona shooting
The White House released this transcript of President Obama's remarks on Saturday's shooting in Tucson, Ariz. | 01/08/11 19:46:35 By -
Gibbs' departure begins retooling of Obama's staff
President Barack Obama's departing chief spokesman said Wednesday that a "pretty major retooling" of White House staff will unfold over the next several weeks, giving Obama needed "different and fresh perspectives" as he enters the second half of his four-year term. | 01/05/11 11:25:28 By - Margaret Talev
Obama prepares to defy Congress's Guantanamo limits
The Guantanamo provisions, which include limits on where and how prisoners can be tried, were attached to a spending bill for military pay and benefits approved by Congress late last year. White House aides are recommending that President Obama sign the spending bill and then issue a "signing statement" challenging at least some of the Guantanamo provisions as intrusions on his constitutional authority. | 01/03/11 15:14:46 By - Dafna Linzer
Obama begins 2011 with slightly lower approval rating
The Gallup tracking poll released Thursday found that the president's approval rating was 47 percent, down from the 51 to 53 percent he enjoyed the week between Christmas 2009 and New Year's Day 2010. | 12/31/10 13:33:38 By - Michael Muskal
Obama's lame-duck lesson: 'We are not doomed to gridlock'
President Barack Obama basked in a series of year-end legislative victories Wednesday, calling them a testament to bipartisanship. “If there's any lesson to draw from these past few weeks, it's that we are not doomed to endless gridlock,” Obama said in a year-end news conference, his 11th since moving into the White House. | 12/22/10 18:34:52 By - Margaret Talev and William Douglas
Raucous crowd cheers as Obama ends 'don't ask, don't tell'
President Barack Obama signed the repeal of the military's prohibition against gays serving openly in the armed force on Wednesday at a ceremony that was packed with 500 advocates, lawmakers, members of the military and former soldiers who'd been discharged for their sexual orientation. The crowd was jovial and a little rowdy, chanting "Yes, we did!" and "U-S-A, U-S-A." Many shouted out, "Enlist us now." | 12/22/10 13:46:01 By - Margaret Talev
Lame duck? For Obama, it could be the golden goose
President Barack Obama's success this week in pushing the New START nuclear arms treaty to the verge of Senate passage is but the latest of an extraordinary string of victories he's won in the seven weeks since Republicans gave his Democrats a "shellacking" in the Nov. 2 midterm congressional elections. The unusually productive lame-duck session of Congress gave Obama a second chance to redeem his leadership skills in the eyes of voters. | 12/21/10 19:32:10 By - Margaret Talev and David Lightman
Congress repeals 'don't ask, don't tell' policy on gays in military
The Senate voted 65-31 Saturday to end the Pentagon’s “don’t ask don’t tell” policy on gays and lesbians in the military, as President Barack Obama declared “it is time to close this chapter in our history.” | 12/18/10 17:31:00 By - David Lightman
Levin urges Obama to let GOP bear blame for tax increases
Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, should force a New Year's Eve showdown with Republicans over tax cuts, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said Sunday. The Bush-era income tax cuts expire Dec. 31. Levin said Obama should insist that tax cuts for the wealthy be allowed to expire and if the Republicans don't go along, then he should make sure the country understands that it's the Republicans who are to be blamed for the expiration of middle class tax cuts too. | 12/12/10 14:47:02 By - David Lightman
Is Obama as lousy a negotiator as liberals say?
President Barack Obama isn't a great negotiator. He's not as bad as some liberals claimed this week. But he's seldom been able to match the promise of his campaign, when his soaring rhetoric and ability to sway voters suggested he might do the same in Washington. The key reason may have more to do with his office and his times than with the man himself. | 12/12/10 10:22:53 By - Steven Thomma
Holder blasts attempt to block 9/11 domestic trials
The Obama administration Thursday urged Senate leaders to reject a legislative ban on the transfer of any Guantánamo prisoner to U.S. soil, a move meant to corner the White House into staging a Sept. 11 mass murder trial at the U.S. Navy base in southeast Cuba. The House included the clause in a catchall spending bill Wednesday that passed by a 212-206 vote. The Senate has yet to vote on it. | 12/10/10 07:13:34 By - Carol Rosenberg
Obama: Tax cut deal is best Democrats can hope to get
President Barack Obama worked to sell a sweeping tax cut agreement to skeptical Democrats Tuesday, arguing that he took the best deal he could get from congressional Republicans and vowing to fight them again in two years when it expires. | 12/07/10 15:45:59 By - Margaret Talev and Steven Thomma
Democrats could scuttle Obama-GOP tax cut deal
President Barack Obama reached agreement Monday with congressional Republicans to extend and deepen tax cuts temporarily — and extend unemployment insurance — in hopes of stirring the economy and creating jobs. But in the bargain, he risked rebellion from his own party. | 12/07/10 14:18:42 By - Steven Thomma and David Lightman
Obama talks science, 'Sputnik moment' during N.C. visit
President Barack Obama downplayed politics Monday, emphasizing the need for Republicans and Democrats to work together and tested out talking points for his re-election campaign. Obama warned of a new "Sputnik moment," and said the United States is in danger of being left behind in the sciences and technology just as the Russians had bypassed America in the space race in the 1950s. | 12/07/10 07:25:00 By - Rob Christensen
Obama makes surprise visit to Afghanistan
President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to Afghanistan late Friday night amid renewed concerns about his administration’s plans to stabilize the country and bring American troops home. | 12/03/10 12:08:26 By - Dion Nissenbaum and Margaret Talev
Meet Bruce Reed, Obama's point man on cutting deficit
It's going to require sacrifice, it might not be pretty, and people across the political spectrum will have to come together to get it done, warns Bruce Reed, an Idaho Democrat who's the executive director of the presidential commission that's finding ways to stem the red ink of the nation's deficit. | 11/28/10 19:53:17 By - Erika Bolstad
Democrats in Congress worry that Obama will cave to GOP
Impatient and worried about their futures as their power wanes, the liberals who dominate Democratic congressional caucuses want to see President Barack Obama fight harder for their causes. | 11/22/10 13:26:49 By - David Lightman and Margaret Talev
Obama: GOP endangers U.S. with delay on START treaty
President Barack Obama emphatically put his personal prestige behind the pending New START arms control treaty with Russia, calling it a "national security imperative" that the Senate pass it by year's end as he huddled Thursday at the White House with a bipartisan cast of foreign-policy luminaries from previous administrations. | 11/18/10 16:12:46 By - Margaret Talev
China's shadow followed Obama throughout Asia
As President Barack Obama wrapped up his tour of Asian democracies this weekend, there's no question that the region has unique appeal for the U.S. as it tries to position itself for resumed economic growth. Yet China's rising economic and military clout, and the stagnant U.S. economy, inevitably asserted themselves at each stop. | 11/13/10 17:14:56 By - Margaret Talev, Tom Lasseter and Kevin G. Hall
Obama taps bank regulator for troubled Fannie, Freddie
President Barack Obama on Friday tapped North Carolina's top bank regulator to take over the troubled mortgage-lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, potentially putting him at the center of one of the major economic debates facing Congress next year. | 11/12/10 18:56:00 By - Barbara Barrett and Christina Rexrode
Obama: Pakistan's terror fight 'not as quick as we'd like'
President Barack Obama on Sunday defended the U.S. alliance with India's bitter rival Pakistan, but acknowledged that Pakistan's slow progress in rooting out terrorists "is not as quick as we'd like." But he implored Indians to trust Pakistan. | 11/07/10 20:44:11 By - Margaret Talev
Dancing first couple — but mostly Michelle — wows India
One of the biggest questions facing President Barack Obama in the wake of the Democrats' Election Day "shellacking" was whether he'd still have that "Yes We Can" charisma that energized people around the world. | 11/07/10 16:36:59 By - Dion Nissenbaum and Margaret Talev
Obama tells India Pakistan making slow progress on terror
President Barack Obama on Sunday touched on the sensitive topic of Pakistan during a question-and-answer session with Indian students, defending the U.S. alliance with India's bitter rival and saying Pakistan is making slow progress in rooting out terrorists. | 11/07/10 07:11:22 By - Margaret Talev
Obama makes it all about business on first day in India
The Obama administration on Saturday announced $9.5 billion in private sector export deals with India that it said would support an estimated 54,000 jobs in the United States as President Barack Obama began a three-day visit here intended to deepen U.S.-India trade ties. Most of the deals had been in the works for months, but the White House used them to underscore Obama's trade message that India shouldn't be seen as a competitor. | 11/06/10 17:53:21 By - Margaret Talev
White House list of U.S-India business deals
This is the list of U.S.-India business deals announced by the White House on Saturday. | 11/06/10 09:36:59 By -
Souvenirs and firecrackers as Mumbai awaits Obama
President Obama's arrival here tomorrow is having a ripple effect in this megacity of roughly 18 million people. Various Obama-themed souvenirs are for sale. Security precautions have sealed off Mani Bhavan, a former home to Gandhi that Obama will visit. And Diwali fireworks are banned once Obama arrives. | 11/05/10 14:35:44 By - Margaret Talev
White House seeks fuel efficiency standards for trucks, buses
The Obama administration on Monday proposed the first fuel-efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction standards for trucks and buses and said the new program would reduce the nation's use of oil, cut emissions of heat-trapping gases and save money. | 10/25/10 20:04:43 By - Renee Schoof
Report: White House squelched release of BP oil spill estimates
Government scientists wanted to tell Americans early on how bad the BP oil spill could be, but the White House denied their request to make the worst-case scenarios public, a report by staff for the national panel investigating the spill said Wednesday. The staff paper does not assign any motive to the administration's moves but says underestimating the flow "undermined public confidence in the federal government's response." | 10/13/10 08:09:26 By - Renee Schoof and Margaret Talev
Woodward's book hastened Jones' exit from Obama circle
Retired Marine Gen. James Jones resigned Friday as the White House National Security Adviser and was replaced by his deputy, Thomas Donilon. The change isn't likely to affect policy, but it could strain relations between the White House and the military. | 10/13/10 08:08:47 By - Steven Thomma and Nancy A. Youssef
Obama pushes infrastructure plan to create jobs
With the weak economy driving voter discontent three weeks out from congressional and state elections, President Barack Obama Monday renewed his call to spend an additional $50 billion on improving the nation's transportation infrastructure. | 10/13/10 08:08:16 By - Margaret Talev
Dissin' cousins? Obama, Limbaugh and Palin are related
Rush Limbaugh calls President Barack Obama "imam," even though he knows the president isn't a Muslim. Sarah Palin has openly doubted the president's "cojones." Turns out these two conservative firebrands have been dissin' their own cousin, according to Ancestry.com. | 10/13/10 07:58:30 By - Margaret Talev
Peace talks stall over Israel's West Bank settlement policy
Dozens of senior Palestinian leaders announced Saturday that they would support President Mahmoud Abbas’ refusal to take part in peace talks, as long as Israel continued to expand its settlements. Neither side seemed willing to compromise, though the Obama administration refused to give up hope. | 10/02/10 21:04:46 By - Sheera Frenkel
Obama's likely new staff chief was known as '101st senator'
Pete Rouse, who's widely expected to take over Rahm Emanuel's chief of staff duties at the White House, spent 25 years as the consummate Democratic insider in the U.S. Senate, including four years as chief of staff to then Sen. Obama. His political career includes a stint as an aide to a Republican politician in Alaska. | 09/30/10 17:27:47 By - Tom Kizzia
Jill Biden to host summit on community colleges
Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden and a community college instructor, will host the inaugural White House Summit on Community Colleges next month. The Oct. 5 summit aims to reduce stigmas about community colleges versus universities, to portray them as tools to keep the U.S. competitive globally and to highlight success stories of alumni with community college backgrounds. | 09/15/10 06:01:00 By - Margaret Talev
What Obama told America's school kids
This is the official transcript of President Barack Obama's back-to-school speech today. The transcript was distributd by the White House. | 09/14/10 14:49:04 By -
Obama praises TCU's champion all-female rifle team
The five members of Texas Christian University's national championship rifle team were already beside themselves to be on the South Lawn of the White House Monday evening at a celebration of all NCAA sports champions when President Barack Obama gave them the first shout-out. | 09/13/10 20:57:27 By - Maria Recio
Obama calls plans to burn Qurans 'bonanza' for al Qaida
Obama said the plans by a Florida pastor to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Saturday by burning the Muslim holy book could encourage violence in Muslim countries. Meanwhile, the State Department warned Americans overseas that anti-U.S. demonstrations are likely, and Iraq's prime minister urged the U.S. to stop the proposed burnings. | 09/09/10 12:38:16 By - Margaret Talev
Daley won't run in Chicago, opening way for Rahm Emanuel
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said Tuesday he won't run for re-election, a move that almost certainly will prompt White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to head home to seek the job himself. | 09/07/10 15:53:13 By - Steven Thomma
Following tradition, Obama redecorates Oval Office
When President Barack Obama moved into the White House last year, he didn't rush into the presidential tradition of redecorating the Oval Office. | 08/31/10 22:32:52 By - Margaret Talev
Text of President Obama's remarks on Iraq
This is the prepared text of President Obama's speech Tuesday, Aug. 31, marking the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq. | 08/31/10 20:00:00 By -
Obama's Iraq speech will come from a redone Oval Office
The White House didn't release the tab for the renovation of the president's office, but called it "a comparable level of redesign" to what Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton spent to redo the office. The cost was paid through the White House Historical Association with funds from the Presidential Inaugural Committee. In other words, not by taxpayers. | 08/31/10 12:43:28 By - Margaret Talev
Poll: Majority now disapproves of Obama's job performance
More than half of Americans now disapprove of President Barack Obama's job performance, new polling found, but it's unclear what that means to the political future. Presidents Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter all had job approval numbers as low or lower in the Augusts of their second year in office. | 08/17/10 19:08:02 By - Margaret Talev
Supreme Court rejects plea from 'birther' attorney Orly Taitz
Taitz wanted the court to toss out a $20,000 fine that was levied against her by a judge in Georgia who said she was filing baseless lawsuits questioning Obama's citizenship. On Monday, the court rejected her request. | 08/16/10 17:47:29 By - Alan Riquemy
Obama courts GOP's McConnell — a vision of life after November?
Is President Barack Obama preparing for a new political balance in Washington if Democrats lose or significantly narrow their congressional majorities in November's elections and he'll need more Republicans to get anything done? | 08/06/10 16:51:25 By - Margaret Talev and David Lightman
Obama won't campaign for Democrats when he visits Texas
When President Obama visits Texas on Aug. 9, the state's top-tier Democratic candidate, gubernatorial nominee Bill White, will likely be miles away, reaching out to voters in Johnson County near Fort Worth. Another Democratic hopeful for statewide office, Austin attorney Hector Uribe, says he'll be elsewhere, and Barbara Radnofsky, the Democrats' nominee for attorney general, says she too has no plans to attend an Obama event. | 08/01/10 09:36:12 By - Dave Montgomery
Senate likely to break deadlock on jobless benefits
President Barack Obama escalated his attacks on Republicans Monday, blasting them for opposing an extension of benefits for the out-of-work while pushing tax cuts for the wealthy. | 07/19/10 06:00:00 By - David Lightman and Steven Thomma
Obama calls for immigration overhaul, but prospects bleak
President Barack Obama on Thursday once again urged Congress to tackle comprehensive legislation to overhaul immigration law, citing the urgency of Arizona passing its own punitive statute in the absence of federal action. | 07/03/10 18:04:53 By - William Douglas
Obama, Europeans split on economic policy
President Barack Obama and European leaders failed Saturday to bridge a fast growing divide over government spending and will emerge from a weekend summit on Sunday charting different courses for ending the global recession. But the G8 leaders were united on North Korea, Iran's nuclear program, Afghanistan, and Israel's blockade of Gaza. | 06/26/10 17:59:39 By - Steven Thomma
BP defense: Palin pushes article comparing Obama to Hitler
Sarah Palin is urging her followers to read an article likening President Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler in the way Obama pressured BP to set aside $20 billion for oil spill damage claims. "This is about the rule of law vs. an unconstitutional power grab. Read Thomas Sowell's article," Palin tweeted. | 06/26/10 14:09:42 By - Steven Thomma
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