Obama’s Burger, Fries Hollande-aise By Margaret Talev | May 18, 2012 3:03 PM EDT | | 0 Comments “I just want to remember that cheeseburgers go very well with french fries.” So said President Barack Obama, as he closed his public appearance today with France’s new President Francois Hollande. They met for the first time today, at the White House, before traveling to Camp David in the Maryland mountains for the G-8 summit. They will travel on to Chicago tomorrow night for a NATO summit. Obama and Hollande expressed through their body language and public statements how much they want to get off to a good start. They indicated they’re on the same page about the need for more pro-growth policies versus austerity to deal ... Continue reading →

Obama, Hollande Meet for First Time Before G-8 Summit Convenes By Margaret Talev and Helene Fouquet - 2012-05-18T01:53:32Z Enlarge image France's President Francois Hollande Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg Francois Hollande, France's president. Francois Hollande, France's president. Photographer: Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Andrew Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray Asia Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong, talks about Europe's sovereign debt crisis, its implications for global financial markets and the outlook for this weekend's summit of leaders from the Group of Eight nations in Camp David, Maryland. He also discusses Facebook Inc.'s initial public offering. He speaks with Susan Li, John Dawson, Mia Saini and David Ingles on Bloomberg Television's "Asia Edge." (Source: Bloomberg) President Barack Obama meets today with France’s new Socialist president and self-described ... Continue reading →

Europe’s financial crisis and its political fallout are shaping back-to-back international summits hosted by President Barack Obama on the global economy and military cooperation, including funding for postwar Afghanistan. Leaders in the Group of Eight -- with the notable exception of Russian President Vladimir Putin -- convene tomorrow and May 19 at Camp David, Maryland, near Washington. Then, most will fly to Chicago, Obama’s hometown, for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization meeting. Both are venues for Obama, who is seeking re-election in November, to show U.S. audiences he is playing a leadership role on foreign policy. Still, Obama may have little say over how allies address the euro region crisis, including proposals to revive debt-ridden Greece’s economy at the same time its political system is ... Continue reading →

Obama’s Gay Marriage Turnabout Forced Public by Biden By Margaret Talev and Julianna Goldman - Thu May 10 04:00:02 GMT 2012 President Barack Obama. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg At a fundraiser with gay activists in New York last June, the day before state legislators passed a same-sex marriage law, President Barack Obama considered the choice they were making. He concluded he’d almost certainly have voted “yes” too. Conversations with staff, family, friends and supporters also moved him in that direction. So did religious reflection and his sense of shifting public sentiment, said administration officials who insisted on anonymity to describe private discussions about the president’s change on the issue. Obama reached a turning point early this year and decided to publicly back gay marriage, they said. ... Continue reading →

Even as opinion polls show growing approval of same-sex marriage nationally, opposition remains strong in some battleground states, as North Carolina voted to ban gay marriage and Colorado Republicans killed a measure to approve such civil unions. Such divisions also reflect the split in Washington, where President Barack Obama has been reluctant to echo endorsements of gay marriage by Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. “I don’t think it could cost him the election, but I think they’re scared it might, and they don’t want to take the chance,” said Jim Williams, issue polling specialist for Public Policy Polling, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based Democratic research firm. “Politicians are cautious people. Public opinion on gay marriage is shifting very quickly.” As North Carolina ... Continue reading →

This report is a study of 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC). They consist of electronic letters or draft letters, totaling 175 pages in the original Arabic and 197 pages in the English translation. The earliest is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011. These internal al-Qa`ida communications were authored by several leaders, most prominently Usama bin Ladin. In contrast to his public statements that focused on the injustice of those he believed to be the “enemies” of Muslims, namely corrupt “apostate” Muslim rulers and their Western “overseers,” the focus of Bin Ladin’s private letters is Muslims’ suffering at the hands of his jihadi “brothers”. He is at pain advising them to abort domestic ... Continue reading →

Enlarge image Secrecy Paramount on Obama Kabul Mission in 36 Hours of Darkness Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images President Barack Obama is greeted by Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, left, and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker upon arrival at Bagram Air Field, in Afghanistan, on May 1, 2012. President Barack Obama is greeted by Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti, left, and US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker upon arrival at Bagram Air Field, in Afghanistan, on May 1, 2012. Photographer: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images The cryptic call summoning reporters to the White House came at 12:19 p.m. Sunday from a private number and lasted only 25 seconds. By the following night, Air Force One was in the air. In the next 36 hours, the 13-member pool of reporters who ... Continue reading →

The White House’s calibration of words, images and details trumpeting the death of Osama bin Laden started the night President Barack Obama announced that U.S. forces had killed the terrorist leader in Pakistan. The administration supported a film documentary about the Navy SEAL raid against bin Laden, and the president visited the aircraft carrier that ferried bin Laden’s body to burial at sea. A year after the raid, six months ahead of Election Day, renewed reminders of bin Laden have prompted Republicans to say Obama has taken too much personal credit for the killing of the terrorist whose group attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, leading to a decade-long war in Afghanistan. This adds to the friction of Obama’s contest with presumed Republican ... Continue reading →