Administration

Robert Gibbs doubled down on Obama's pledge to veto bills with earmarks, despite Senate majority leader's call to "back off."

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The Obama administration is denying requests to make public the White House visitor logs, adopting a Bush administration policy and drawing the ire of ethics watchdogs.

Both MSNBC.com and the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) have been denied access to the logs, which would reveal who met with various White House officials. CREW is filing a lawsuit this afternoon to seek access to the documents.

"The Obama administration has now taken exactly the same position as the Bush administration, telling us the visitor logs are presidential records," Anne Weismann, the legal counsel for CREW, told the Washington Post. "I don't see how you can keep people from knowing who visits the White House and adhere to a policy of openness and transparency. The discrepancy between the rhetoric and the policy is especially great."

A federal judge rejected the Bush administration's plea to keep the documents secret, and it's unclear what has changed this time around.

Asked about the controversy today, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs defended the secretive policy.

"The policy, as you know, and I think many of you know...visitor logs have been involved in some litigation dating back to sometime in 2006," Gibbs said at his daily briefing. "The White House is reviewing that policy based on some of that litigation."

Greg Sargent points out an interesting Gallup poll yesterday in which Obama gets higher marks (for the most part) on foreign policy and national security than on domestic issues.



Sargent calls this a "reverse Nixon-to-China sybdrome." (The conventional wisdom is that it's easier for hawks to make "dovish" concessions. But Obama is a dove getting high marks for somewhat "dovish" positions, Sargent argues.)

Indeed, it doesn't look as though Obama's position on Guantanamo Bay and openness to talks with Iran is hurting him.

But it's important to note that Obama has shifted adopted (or just slightly modified) some of Bush's position since taking office, including the "state secrets privilege," military commissions, habeas corpus, and others. (See here for more on the similarity between Bush and Obama on terrorism issues.)

So I wouldn't conclude that Obama's high approval numbers on terror represent a victory for Bush's main critics.

Ed Morrissey flags a fascinating (if perhaps logical) aspect of President Obama's overseas trip:

A US "taster" tested the food being dished up to President Barack Obama at a dinner in a French restaurant, a waiter said on Sunday.

"They have someone who tastes the dishes," said waiter Gabriel de Carvalho from the "La Fontaine de Mars" restaurant where Obama and his family turned up for dinner on Saturday night.

Is this common practice for a President? Well, Morrissey points out that President Bush did the same thing when visiting Buckingham palace.

Not a bad gig for the taster, since you'd expect the President is getting the finest French cuisine while visiting, no?

Just days after Obama arrives home from overseas, he'll have to switch roles and play host for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi will drop by the White House on June 15.

From the White House:

President Obama will welcome Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy to the White House on Monday, June 15th. The United States and Italy, a NATO ally, have strong bilateral relations and partner together around the world to promote peace, prosperity, and democratic freedoms. The President looks forward to discussing preparations for the G-8 Summit that will take place in L'Aquila, Italy in July, and consulting with the Prime Minister on a broad range of strategic issues of mutual concern.

Berlusconi is a colorful character. If there's a press availability, it should make for some interesting TV.

President Obama denied today that he had snubbed Nicolas Sarkozy by turning down an invitation to have dinner with the French president and his wife.

At a joint press conference with Sarkozy today, Obama said he simply didn't have time for a long, diplomatic dinner.

"What it means is that I have a very tough schedule," Obama said in response to a question. "I would love nothing more than to have a leisurely week in Paris, stroll down the Seine, take my wife out to a nice meal, have a picnic in Luxembourg Gardens. Those days are over, for the moment."

Obama said the U.S-French relationship was strong enough to weather trivial P.R. snafus, and joked that he looks forward to spending more time in France once he's out of office.

"At some point, I will be the ex-President, and then you will find me in France, I'm sure, quite a bit, having fun," Obama quipped.

Sarkozy echoed Obama, saying he wasn't miffed that Obama turned town his invitation.

"Do you think our prime concern is what glossy magazine we'll be pictured in, or what restaurant we're going to go and spend an evening in, or whether we spend an extra night here or not?" Sarkozy asked.

"Do you think people are just waiting to see us hand-in-hand sitting here looking into one another's eyes? Of course not," he added.

Assistant press secretary Tommy Vietor wasn't scheduled to accompany the President overseas, but he made a surprise appearance yesterday to pop the question to his girlfriend.

Vietor's now-fiancee, Katie McCormick-Lelyveld, is press secretary to Michelle Obama and was traveling with the First Lady.

Vietor surprised McCormick-Lelyveld in a Paris hotel room to propose.

Via Jake Tapper:

In Paris, he solicited the aid of First Lady Obama's traveling aide Kristen Jarvis, who phoned McCormick-Lelyveld to tell her the Obama girls Sasha and Malia were ready early, and she needed to come to the Embassy residence as soon as possible.

Jarvis pointed McCormick-Lelyveld to a room where Vietor was waiting.

"Why are you here?" a stunned McCormick-Lelyveld asked.

"I thought she was going to pass out," Vietor recalls.

Vietor got down on one knee and presented a lovely ring he'd bought with the guidance of his mother.

Obama seemed impressed. "Pretty smooth move," he told an aide. When OBAMA thinks you're smooth, you've done something right.

President Obama marked the 65th anniversary of D-Day today with a speech at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

Among the attendees were Nicolas Sarkozy, Gordon Brown, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Prince Charles.

Obama emphasized the importance of that single battle in shaping the 20th century.

"It was unknowable then, but so much of the progress that would define the twentieth century, on both sides of the Atlantic, came down to the battle for a slice of beach only six miles long and two miles wide," Obama said.

After the speech, the President as well as foreign leaders mingled with veterans, thanking them for their service.

Bob Dole, who was awawrded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star for his service in World War II, was a special guest of the President. Tom Hanks, who directed the epic film Saving Private Ryan, also attended.

The conservative blogosphere seems pretty mixed in its reaction to Obama's Cairo speech. Of course, many bloggers have blasted the speech as naive and apologetic. But much more so than usual, a number of conservatives are speaking up in Obama's defense.

Dan Spencer at Red State loved it:

Credit where credit is due. Obama, as I suggested he do a year ago, finally confronted his, and our Muslim issue.

The first 15 minutes of President Obama's speech to the Muslim world was what I wanted to hear from candidate Obama a year ago. Had he given that portion of his speech during the presidential campaign much of the irrational fear of Obama as some sort of Muslim Manchurian candidate would have been relieved.

I found it Ironic that when Obama turned to democracy, religious freedom and women's rights, the speech was reminiscent of the remarkable series of speeches President Bush gave about the advance of freedom.

This was one of President Obama's more important speeches and he rose to the occasion and delivered a fine speech. There are numerous things about Obama's speech to the Muslim world I could criticize, but I will save that for another article.

Ed Morrissey at Hot Air called the speech "surprisingly good":

Did it work? Schneider says it only received light applause at the end, so perhaps Obama told a few too many hard truths for Egyptian tastes--which is why we questioned that decision. On the whole, though, Obama defended American positions on Israel and Afghanistan with more strength than he does here at home.

Of course, the big question will be whether this does anything at all for our standing in the Muslim world. Frankly, I doubt it; this may wind up eroding Obama's standing instead. Still, a much better effort than I'd feared.

Max Boot at Commentary:

Having just read Obama's Cairo speech, my reaction is: Not bad. It could have been better. But it also could have been a lot worse.

For dissenting views, see Erick Erickson, Ira Stoll, and Rachel Abrams, among others. For the most part, the speech is getting much better reviews by conservatives than Obama's previous overseas ventures.

James Bennet at the Atlantic has a pretty intriguing (if far fetched) idea: Obama should ask Mitt Romney to run GM.

Here's a modest proposal to drive things along: Obama should install Mitt Romney as GM's chairman. Romney grew up outside Detroit and around cars; his father, George W. Romney, saved American Motors from collapse in the 1950s--by killing failing brands and focusing on compact cars! George Romney successfully took on the Big Three with a "dinosaur fighter" strategy. The son would bring to GM that legacy, the turnaround expertise and credentials he developed at Bain & Company, and the outsider's eye that GM desperately needs. He would also usefully jack up even further the stakes and the drama of the undertaking.

Could Obama pull another Huntsman and turn a potential 2012 opponent into an administration dependant? (At least temporarily.) Romney prides himself on "turning things around" (i.e. the Olympics), and there aren't many things in more need of a turnaround than GM.

Even if it would take Romney out of the running in 2012, it'd be one heck of a 2016 launching pad (if he were successful...)