Hillary Clinton Says The U.S. Will Stand By Pakistan
Reuters reports: “The United States said on Thursday it would stand by its ally Pakistan despite the strains in the relationship exposed by the discovery and killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. troops close to the Pakistani capital. ‘It is not always an easy relationship, you know that,’ Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on a visit to Rome. ‘But, on the other hand, it is a productive one for both our countries and we are going to continue to cooperate between our governments, our militaries, our law-enforcement agencies, but most importantly between the American and Pakistani people.'”
Obama’s Day Ahead
President Obama will depart form the White House at 9:30 a.m. ET, and depart from Andrews Air Force Base at 9:45 a.m. ET, arriving at 10:35 a.m. ET in New York City. At 1:25 p.m. ET, he will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the National September 11th Memorial, and meet at 1:45 p.m. ET with 9/11 family members. He will depart from New York at 3:10 p.m. ET, arriving at Andrews Air Force Base at 4 p.m. ET, and arriving back at the White House at 4:15 p.m. ET. Then at 6 p.m. ET, the President and the First Lady will host a Cinco de Mayo reception.
Biden’s Day Ahead
At 10 a.m. ET, Vice President Biden will host a meeting at Blair House with a bipartisan, bicameral group of members of Congress, to work on a legislative framework for deficit reduction. At 1:30 p.m. ET, he will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon, and afterwards will meet privately with 9/11 family members and first responders.
Push To Punish Pakistan Diminishes
Roll Call reports: “Democrats and Republicans alike Wednesday warned against knee-jerk calls for an end to aid to Pakistan, reminding angry colleagues that the troubled government remains an essential partner in the war on terrorism.”
Biden’s Debt Talks Open Thursday With Parties Split On New Taxes
The Hill reports: “Tax policy is again dividing Democrats and Republicans as they begin negotiations Thursday on what budget process reforms to attach to legislation raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Rather than focusing on making specific spending cuts or tax increases now, the talks are shaping up to be about how to require such choices down the road.”
A Brief Victory Lap Before Budget Fight Strains ‘Unity’ Call
The New York Times reports: “On Monday night President Obama welcomed dozens of Congressional leaders to dinner at the White House and expressed hope that they “can harness some of the unity” forged by the death of Osama bin Laden “to confront the many challenges that we still face.” On Thursday comes the biggest test of that, and few see much prospect of a dawn of bipartisanship.”
AP, Reuters Sitting Out South Carolina Republican Debate
Politico reports: “First, a batch of top-tier Republican prospects — including Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Mitch Daniels and Mike Huckabee – decided to sit out tomorrow night’s GOP presidential primary debate, co-sponsored by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party. And now, major media organizations are sitting it out too. The Associated Press announced Wednesday night that it’s not going to cover tomorrow night’s Republican presidential debate, citing ‘restrictions placed on media access’…Reuters confirmed that it would not be covering the event photographically, because it shared concerns about access. However, Reuters did not confirm whether it would be going as far as AP and not filing text either.”
