Obama Calls For Climate Deal This Year
At the G8 Summit, President Obama called for the member countries to make continued progress on climate change, before a new round of U.N. treaty talks this December. Press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters that Obama said “there was still time in which they could close the gap on that disagreement in time for that important (meeting).”
Obama’s Day In Italy
President Obama is in Rome today. At 3:30 a.m. ET (9:30 a.m. local time), he met with Brazilian President Lula da Silva. At 4 a.m. ET, he attended a meeting of leaders of the G-8, plus China, India, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt, with a working lunch at 6:30 a.m. ET. At 8:30 a.m. ET, he attended a meeting with representatives of the Junior 8, and he attended a world trade discussion at 9 a.m. ET. At 10:15 a.m. ET, he will attend a Major Economies Forum discussion on the environment, and will make a statement to the press at 12:30 p.m. ET. AT 2:30 p.m. ET, he will attend a G-8 working dinner, hosted by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will be holding an event at 10:15 a.m. ET, at the American Can Building in Cincinnati, Ohio, highlighting the progress of the Recovery Act. At 2:30 p.m. ET, he will stop at Shenendehowa High School in Saratoga County, New York, for a similar event. He will return to Washington in the evening.
Sotomayor’s Record Typical For Dem-Appointed Judge, With Unusual Level Of Detail
The Washington Post reports that a study of Sonia Sotomayor’s record shows a standard, mainstream point of view typical of Democratic-appointed judges: A degree of support for the rights of defendants and suspects, skepticism of corporations, sympathy to plaintiffs in discrimination cases, etc. On the other hand, her eagerness to better acquaint herself with the subjects at hand, ranging from car mechanics to population density studies, could be interpreted as stepping beyond the usual deference that appeals judges show to the trial-court records.
Report: Reid Promises Bipartisanship To Senate GOP
The Hill reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) met with a group of Republican Senators yesterday, assuring them that he was still committed to a bipartisan process on health care reform despite the new Democratic supermajority. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) said that Reid “understands the enormity of this issue and the challenges it presents and that it’s most important to be able to build a bipartisan consensus. If that requires more time, it requires more time.”
Cities Getting Short End Of Transportation Money From Stimulus
The New York Times reports that metropolitan areas — which are home to two-thirds of the country’s population — are getting less than half of transportation money from the stimulus, with rural areas getting a disproportionate amount. This is due to a combination of politics at statehouses, plus distribution formulas that have long favored rural areas or given priority to state-owned roads.
Lula Gives Obama A Signed Brazilian Soccer Jersey
President Obama received a special gift from Brazilian President Lula da Silva: an autographed jersey from the Brazilian soccer team, which had just recently come from behind a 2-0 deficit to beat the Americans by 3-2. Lula repeatedly said, “Yes we can,” invoking Obama’s campaign slogan. “Beautiful,” said Obama. “All right, wonderful. I like that.”
Jeb: GOP Needs To Update Message
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) said the Republican Party needs to update its message, away from the same speeches and phrasings of the 1990s. “I’m not saying abandon our principles. To the contrary: Find creative ways of expressing the principles,” said Jeb. “This should be a renaissance time. Whether it’s education or health care or energy or the environment, or whether it’s the scale and scope and size of the governments all around us. This should be our time. But it isn’t, is it?”
