Obama adviser compares Romney to Nixon
(CBS News) PARMA, Ohio - The Obama campaign is sharpening its attack on Mitt Romney's personal business and financial dealings.
In an interview with CBS Radio News on the sidelines of an Obama campaign rally Thursday evening in Parma, Ohio, senior campaign adviser David Axelrod called Romney, "the most secretive candidate we've seen probably since Richard Nixon."
Axelrod accused Romney of "trying to turn back the clock" on transparency by 40 years. The veteran Obama adviser criticized Romney for failing to release "a full set of (tax) returns like most candidates."
Continue »
White House: Obama wasn't booed in Boston
(CBS News) At a campaign stop in Boston on Monday, President Barack Obama jokingly thanked the Red Sox for trading popular infielder Kevin Youkilis to the Chicago White Sox - Obama's beloved hometown team. The comment invoked what sounded like a smattering of boos.
The White House was in damage control Tuesday. Spokesman Jay Carney insisted Boston fans at the event were yelling "Yooook" (Youkilis' nickname) and not "boo" when Mr. Obama made his comment.
Aboard Air Force One, Carney - a Red Sox fan - lauded Mr. Obama for refusing to pander on sports, noting the president once refused to wear a Red Sox cap. He said the president would never even pretend that he's not a White Sox fan.
Not surprisingly, the Romney campaign had a different take on the comment.
"Last night in Boston, President Obama went to the heart of Red Sox nation and committed an error by taunting fans over the Kevin Youkilis trade to the Chicago White Sox," the Romney campaign said in a statement.
Continue »
Obama goals at odds with summit leaders
In a clear signal that the president is, in effect, bringing his reelection campaign to the Summit of the America's, he made a quick stop in politically important Florida before traveling to Colombia. In an 11-minute speech, he told an audience at the Port of Tampa, "We want them (Latin American countries) spending money on American -made goods, so that American businesses can put more Americans back to work."
The port is a major shipping point for exports to Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and other trading partners. It is the latest backdrop in the president's election-year effort to remind voters that increased trade generates more jobs. The White House notes 40 percent of U.S. exports go to Latin America. (The president faces a political balancing challenge on the trade issue. Unions, a major Democratic power base, have often criticized trade deals with Latin America countries, fearing lower wages south of the border reduce job opportunities at home.)
Continue »
Obama: U.S. can afford to have fewer nukes
President Obama speaks at Hankuk University in Seoul, South Korea, March, 26, 2012.
/ AP(CBS News) SEOUL - Setting the tone for a nuclear security summit, President Obama reiterated Monday his call for a world without nuclear weapons.
Mr. Obama told a university audience in South Korea that the U.S. possesses more nuclear arms than it needs, and can reduce that arsenal without damaging America's security.
The remark will keep the president at odds with Republicans who believe any major cuts in the number of nuclear warheads would weaken the efficacy of the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
Continue »
Obama to hold live web chat during Iowa caucuses
President Obama.
/ AP Photo/Carolyn KasterThe Obama campaign is mapping out plans for the president to speak to his supporters via live web chat at locations across Iowa Tuesday night. A campaign official told CBS News the effort will use technology that was not available four years ago. Screens will show the president, in Washington, communicating with people simultaneously at various gathering places in the Hawkeye State.
Mr. Obama can be expected to sound some of the same appeals on "middle class" issues that he has used in recent speeches and his statements during the year-end fight over extending the payroll tax cut.
While the president is trying to stay above the fray for as long as he can heading into the campaign year, the Iowa remarks will offer an early preview of his 2012 script.
George H.W. Bush "unofficially" endorses Romney
Former President George H.W. Bush gives a smile to crowd after he was on the video screen during a baseball game between the Milwauakee Brewers and Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on April 30, 2011 in Houston, Texas.
/ Bob Levey/Getty Images"I think Romney is the best choice for us," Mr. Bush told the Houston Chronicle. He then addressed a fellow Texan in the presidential race, Gov. Rick Perry. "I like Perry, but he doesn't seem to be going anywhere; he's not surging forward."
A spokesman for Mr. Bush tells CBS News his expression of support for Mitt Romney should be viewed as an "unofficial" endorsement. The spokesman says Mr. Obama "expressed his preference" when asked by a reporter.
The spokesman says there will be no press release or press conference for the 87-year-old former president to announce an official endorsement.
Continue »
Lady Gaga to White House to talk bullying
Lady Gaga is visiting the White House Tuesday to meet with officials in the office of public engagement "to talk about the important issue of bullying," a senior White House official tells CBS News.
The flamboyant singer will not have a chance to discuss the issue with the president, who will be speaking in Kansas this afternoon.
The president and the performer did cross paths at a California fundraiser earlier this year, where Lady Gaga thanked Mr. Obama for hosting an anti-bullying conference.
The White House, whose "stop bullying" website specifically spotlights cyberbullying and LGBT bullying, is expected to reveal more about Lady Gaga's visit later today.
U.S. to increase military presence in Australia
US President Barack Obama speaks during a media conference at a G20 summit in Cannes, France on , Nov. 4, 2011.
/ AP Photo/Michel SpinglerThe Obama administration and Australian officials are completing final details of a plan for an increased U.S. military presence "down under." Diplomatic sources say the formal announcement will come when President Obama visits Darwin next week.
U.S.officials declined comment on the timing of the announcement but National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor noted work, "was underway to develop options to align our respective force postures in ways that would benefit the national security of both countries." He said options discussed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and their Australian counterparts remained "under consideration."
Continue »
Obama: I married Michelle to help my gene pool
First lady Michelle Obama speaks during a stop at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, in Hampton, Va, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011.
/ APFirst Lady Michelle Obama has played a major and at times humorous role on the final day of her husband's three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia.
Joining the president at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton, Virginia, Mrs. Obama announced a new private sector commitment to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses by the end of 2013. Improving the lives of the military is one of her causes.
Following the First Lady's introduction, the president went off-script as he commented on his wife. Looking out at a sea of military personnel in battle fatigues, Mr. Obama admitted, "I hate following Michelle. She's so good."
To the laughter of the service people he added, "See for you men out there who are not yet married, let me explain. The whole goal is to marry up--to try to improve your gene pool."
Continue »
White House makes final push for jobs bill
President Obama gestures during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Oct. 6, 2011.
/ AP Photo/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisUpdated 12:56 p.m. ET
As President Obama's job creation proposal faces almost certain defeat in a first vote in the Senate tonight, the White House plans to challenge Republican AND Democratic opponents to explain their stands.
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer told CBS Radio News, "that goes for every member of Congress who votes against the American Jobs Act. The question for them is this: If not this what? What is their proposal to create jobs now?"
In a bid to firm up support in his own party, Mr. Obama endorsed a plan by Senate Democratic leaders to fund the bill with 5.6 percent surtax on people who earn more than a million dollars a year. That idea replaced the president's original proposal to limit tax deductions for those earning more than $250,000 annually and halt government subsidies for oil and gas companies.
Continue »
Medal of Honor battle was "worst day of my life"
In this undated photo released by the U.S. Marines, Sgt. Dakota Meyer poses for a photo while deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Ganjgal Village, Kunar province, Afghanistan.
/ AP Photo/U.S. MarinesHours before receiving the nation's highest award for military valor, a humble Marine from Kentucky wonders, why he's being honored for "the worst day of my life." 23-year old Sergeant Dakota Meyer told CBS Radio News, "it's going to be a hard time" when President Obama presents the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony.
Wounded and facing heavy Taliban fire in a remote Afghanistan battle zone in September of 2009, Meyer was credited with saving the lives of 13 Americans and 23 Afghan troops. The military account describes how Meyer killed at least eight attackers despite suffering a shrapnel wound as he fired from a gun turret.
He was also determined to recover the bodies of four other Americans who had been killed in the ambush.
Meyer and two other soldiers dodged heavy gun and grenade fire to retrieve the bodies. Meyer steadfastly rejects the title hero.
"If I was a hero I would have brought them out alive that day. That's a hero. I was just doing my job," he told CBS News.
Continue »
Obama to speak at National Cathedral on Sept 11
President Barack Obama
/ JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty ImagesPresident Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will participate in a day-long series of events commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The White House had previously announced Mr. Obama's plans to visit New York's Ground Zero, the site of the United Flight 93 crash in Western Pennsylvania and the Pentagon memorial.
Today, a spokesman confirmed Mr. Obama and Michelle will also attend the "Concert of Hope" at the National Cathedral on the evening of September 11. The president will deliver remarks that will mark the end of the solemn observance.
Continue »White House in "move beyond it" mode on speech
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney
/ AP Photo/Carolyn KasterThe White House is in "move beyond it" mode following Wednesday's dust-up with House Speaker John Boehner over the date of President Obama's speech to Congress next week.
"We want to focus on the big issues, not the small ones, not the side shows. I think most Americans are probably not paying attention to this. This in terms of the scheduling issue was a Washington thing," White House spokesman Jay Carney said in an interview with CBS Radio.
"We were happy once it became clear Wednesday was not an option. Our focus is on the speech," Carney said.
Continue »WH: Depression possible if debt limit not raised
Following up on President Obama's debt ceiling speech to the nation, the White House is notching up the pressure on Republicans one week before the administration's stated deadline for the nation to avoid a potential government default.
In a dire assessment, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer told CBS Radio News, "We are seven days away from an unprecedented financial event in this country's history, one that could potentially put us towards a depression because the House Republicans led by Speaker Boehner are unwilling to compromise one inch." (listen to the interview above)
Pfeiffer added, "Right now the ball is in Speaker Boehner's court. "
Continue »Birther issue back, but now Democrats raising it
CBS/Peter Maer
Three months after President Obama moved to end what he described as "the silliness" of the controversy over his birth certificate, the issue is back.
But this time it is the Democratic National Committee raising the issue in a pitch for campaign money.
The envelope is to potential donors is stamped "HELP US COUNTER THE GOP'S DIRTY TRICKS."
A red-letter alert reads, "ENCLOSED: President Barack Obama's Birth Certificate."
Continue »- no previous page
- Next
1 / 10
