Obama Accepts Nobel Prize
President Obama accepted his Nobel Peace Prize earlier today — and explained that while peace must be pursued, war is sometimes necessary. “For make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies,” said Obama. “Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism – it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.”
Obama’s Day In Norway: The Nobel Peace Prize
President Obama and the First Lady arrived in Oslo, Norway, at about 8:45 a.m. Central European Time (2:45 a.m. ET), and attended a Nobel Peace Prize signing ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Obama met with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at 10:10 a.m., and they held a joint press availability at 10:45 a.m. The Obamas took an official photo with King Harald V and Queen Sonja at 12:10 p.m, had a private audience with the king and queen at 12:15 p.m., and attended a Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony at 1 p.m. Later on, the Obamas will attend a Nobel Banquet at 7:30 p.m.
Biden’s Day Ahead
Vice President Biden will spend the day in Washington, DC. In the morning, he will receive updates from senior staff, on stimulus implementation. Afterwards, he will speak by phone with members of the Senate, on health care reform legislation.
Gates Arrives In Iraq
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has arrived in Baghdad. “It is part of his routine engagement with the Iraqi leadership, as well as with the forces there,” said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.
Black Lawmakers Grow Impatient With White House
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are voicing dissatisfaction with the Obama administration, for what they see as insufficient attention to the needs of the black community. “Obama has tried desperately to stay away from race, and all of us understand what he’s doing,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO). “But when you have such a disproportionate number of African-Americans unemployed, it would be irresponsible not to direct attention and resources to the people who are receiving the greatest level of pain.”
Rove Predicts Big Gains For Senate GOP, But Probably Not A Majority
In his new Wall Street Journal column, Karl Rove predicts significant gains for Republicans in the Senate in 2010, bringing them to “44, 46 or more” seats. “The GOP probably won’t win control of the Senate, but Republicans lead five incumbent Democratic senators in the polls, often by double digits, and trail in just one seat of their own (by a point),” says Rove. “A lot can happen in a year, but if Democrats keep telling themselves that their greatest danger will come from not passing monstrosities like Mr. Reid’s health-care bill, Republicans will have a target-rich environment next year.”
Congressman Drops Effort To Give Gold Medal To Tiger Woods
Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) has dropped his proposed bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Tiger Woods, which Baca introduced in March. “In light of the recent developments surrounding Tiger Woods and his family, I will not pursue legislation awarding him the Congressional Gold Medal this session,” Baca said in a statement Wednesday.
