Barack Obama: Latest News on the Former President - Page 65

Analysis

Mar 21, 2011 1:39 PM CDT

Why Obama Really Went to War

Administration wanted to resurrect the idea of humanitarian intervention

(Newser) - The Obama administration didn’t really go to war to stop Moammar Gadhafi from committing human rights violations—or at least that wasn’t the only reason, sources tell Massimo Calabresi of Time . Senior officials say that many who pushed for the war pitched it in part as a way...

Gadhafi Letter
to Obama:
'I Would Still
Love You'

Mar 19, 2011 9:23 PM CDT

Gadhafi Letter to Obama: 'I Would Still Love You'

AP releases excerpts of Gadhafi's letters to president, other leaders

(Newser) - As reported earlier today, Moammar Gadhafi sent a letter to Barack Obama, and another to Nicolas Sarkozy, David Cameron, and UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon. AP has excerpts, and they're what you'd expect—and yet somehow, still surprisingly bizarre:

Addressed to Obama (or, in Gadhafi's words, "our son, the honorable

...

Sarah Palin on 2008 Loss:
'I Wasn't at Top of Ticket'

Mar 19, 2011 8:22 PM CDT

Sarah Palin on 2008 Loss: 'I Wasn't at Top of Ticket'

Asked about losing to Barack Obama while in India

(Newser) - Republicans might have fared better in 2008 if Sarah Palin was atop the ticket—suggests Sarah Palin. While speaking today at the India Today Conclave, the former Alaska governor was asked why Republicans couldn't defeat Barack Obama in the election, reports the Hill . She tipped her hat to Obama's strong...

How Restaurants
Handle the Obamas

How Restaurants Handle the Obamas

Chefs try to stay cool amidst Secret Service crush

(Newser) - Barack and Michelle Obama love to eat out, but how do restaurants handle a presidential visit? David Hagedorn of the Washington Post asked chefs around town, and found that the key is to remain calm. “We are in the business of creating perceptions,” says one general manager. “...

Barack H. Obama
Elementary School to Close

Mar 18, 2011 5:14 PM CDT

Barack H. Obama Elementary School to Close

Asbury Park school hit by declining enrollment over decade

(Newser) - Just a year after it was renamed to honor President Barack Obama, an elementary school in New Jersey's Asbury Park is closing, the Asbury Park Press reports. The school's enrollment has dropped 35% over the last decade, so it got the short straw when the district opted to shut one...

US Drones
Quietly Spy on
Mexico Drug Lords

Mar 16, 2011 7:48 AM CDT

US Drones Quietly Spy on Mexico Drug Lords

Flights kept hush-hush because they're probably illegal

(Newser) - The Obama administration has begun sending high-altitude spy drones deep into Mexican territory to keep an eye on the movements of drug traffickers, the New York Times reports. The information is intended to be shared with Mexican law enforcement, and Felipe Calderón formally agreed to the flights in his...

It's Time to
Come Together
on Gun Control

Barack Obama

Mar 14, 2011 11:07 AM CDT

It's Time to Come Together on Gun Control

Obama has faith the American people can find common ground

(Newser) - In the months since the Tucson shootings, 2,405 people have been shot dead , a fact President Obama laments in the Arizona Daily Star . How, he writes, was “a man our Army rejected as unfit for service; a man one of our colleges deemed too unstable for studies; a...

Obama Says Treatment of WikiLeaker Is 'Appropriate'

Mar 11, 2011 6:41 PM CST

Obama Says Treatment of WikiLeaker Is 'Appropriate'

State Dept. spokesman calls Bradley Manning conditions 'ridiculous'

(Newser) - President Obama today refuted accusations of the mistreatment of Bradley Manning, the Army private accused of giving documents to WikiLeaks. He said he had "actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic...

France First
to Recognize
Libyan Rebels

Mar 10, 2011 9:53 AM CST

France First to Recognize Libyan Rebels

...as NATO meets to discuss no-fly zone

(Newser) - France today became the first country to recognize the Libyan National Council as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, following a meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and two representatives from the upstart government, the New York Times reports. France says it will soon engage ambassadors with the rebel group,...

Huckabee: I Didn't Even
Bring Up Natalie Portman

Mar 9, 2011 6:37 AM CST

Huckabee: I Didn't Even Bring Up Natalie Portman

And as for Kenya comment, 'I made a mistake, I corrected it'

(Newser) - Mike Huckabee has more to say on both of his recent headline-making statements: That Barack Obama grew up in Kenya , and that Natalie Portman is setting a bad example with her out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Mediaite reports Huckabee’s comments from Sirius Radio’s POTUS channel:

On Kenya: “The reaction ranged

...

Obama Trying to Kill
Romney & Co. With Love

Election 2012

Mar 8, 2011 8:41 AM CST

Obama Trying to Kill Romney & Co. With Love

Administration praising Huntsman's China service, Romney's health care work

(Newser) - President Obama has a funny way of taking down his potential 2012 challengers: he’s praising them every chance he gets. The president has been furiously lauding Mitt Romney’s health care work in Massachusetts, and Jon Huntsman’s work for the administration in China, Politico observes, in what looks...

Sarah Palin:
I Know Africa Is
a Continent...

Mar 8, 2011 5:00 AM CST

Sarah Palin: I Know Africa Is a Continent...

She's tired of the lies, and might be too unconventional to run

(Newser) - Sarah Palin conceded she might be too "unconventional" a presidential candidate for American voters. It's a consideration that's holding up her decision whether or not to run—along with the war chest she'll need for the race, she tells the BBC . But the "unconventional" hesitation was a bit...

Obama Restarts
Guantanamo Trials

Mar 7, 2011 2:27 PM CST

Obama Restarts Guantanamo Trials

Administration ends 2-year military prosecution freeze

(Newser) - President Obama today reversed a two-year freeze on military prosecutions against Guantanamo Bay detainees, the AP reports. In an executive order, the president restarted the process of trying the high-risk detainees—the latest acknowledgment of the political difficulties of fulfilling his campaign promise to close the Cuban detention facility. Defense...

Obama Presses
Saudis to Arm
Libyan Rebels

Mar 7, 2011 7:30 AM CST

Obama Presses Saudis to Arm Libyan Rebels

No response yet to top secret request

(Newser) - The Obama administration is reluctant to take any obvious action to help rebels in Libya—so it's pressuring Saudi Arabia to do so instead, according to reports. Officials have asked the Saudis to airlift American weapons—paid for by the Saudis—into Benghazi. The Saudis haven't yet responded to the...

Obamas Hop
Into Beer
Brewing

Obamas Hop Into Beer Brewing

They may even grow hops in White House garden

(Newser) - The Obamas turned heads in the beer world when word broke that they’d served something called White House Honey Ale at their White House Super Bowl party. It turns out that ale was indeed brewed by White House chefs, using homebrewing equipment the Obamas bought out of their own...

Mitt Romney
Slams Obama's
'Misery Index'

Mar 5, 2011 4:15 PM CST

Mitt Romney Slams Obama's 'Misery Index'

And calls for a new president, at a speech to be given in New Hampshire

(Newser) - Mitt Romney isn't pussyfooting around: At what Politico is calling his "unofficial kickoff of his Granite State campaign," the Republican plans to lay into Obama. Romney, who will keynote the Carroll County Republican Lincoln-Reagan Day Dinner tonight, has this to say, according to his prepared remarks: "Senator...

Obama Joins Forces
With... Bush?

Mar 4, 2011 5:20 PM CST

Obama Joins Forces With... Bush?

Jeb Bush, that is, in education push

(Newser) - Barack Obama got a little help from an unlikely ally today in Florida, when Jeb Bush appeared with him at a speech promoting the administration's education agenda at Miami Central High School, the AP reports. Bush introduced Obama, saying that education shouldn't be a partisan issue. Obama shook his hand,...

Obama Cranks Up
the 2012 Money
Machine

Mar 4, 2011 11:02 AM CST

Obama Cranks Up the 2012 Money Machine

Donors asked to give $61,600 annually to DNC

(Newser) - Some of Barack Obama’s top operatives have embarked on a cross-country “listening tour,” pumping top donors for big 2012 donations, Politico reports. They’re asking donors who maxed out on donations to Obama and Hillary Clinton in 2008 to join a new “National Finance Council,”...

Face It, This
Is the Biden Administration

OPINION

Mar 3, 2011 12:05 PM CST

Face It, This Is the Biden Administration

Busy veep takes lead on everything; what's Obama doing?

(Newser) - President Obama has tapped Joe Biden to try to sort out the budget mess on Capitol Hill, hoping he can work the same magic he worked in passing December’s tax cut deal, and the 2009 stimulus, the Washington Post reports. Which makes Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times wonder:...

In Lieu
of Flowers,
Give to Beat
Obama in '12

Mar 2, 2011 12:48 PM CST

In Lieu of Flowers, Give to Beat Obama in '12

Recent obituaries want to unseat president from beyond grave

(Newser) - The dead people are mad as hell, and some of them aren't going to take it anymore: A recent obituary trend involves asking for donations in lieu of flowers ... specifically, donations to anyone running against President Obama in 2012. Salon , tipped off by a tweet from The Fix , found at...