Washington News

Obama And Putin Discuss Syria At G20 Summit President Obama's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico is the subject of a great deal of print coverage this morning, and was the subject of reports from all three network newscasts yesterday evening. However, few details of the behind-closed-doors talks were released, so much of the coverage focuses on the press corps' perception that the two men's "body language" is evidence lingering tension between the US and Russia.
Scott Pelley, on the CBS Evening News, said, "It wasn't exactly the return of the Cold War but there was a mighty chill between" Obama and Putin. Norah O'Donnell added, "The two leaders looked more like adversaries than friends," and "their body language seeming to indicate just how far apart the US and Russia still remain on Syria." However, O'Donnell also reported that "as for that tension, a top advisor insists there was nothing extraordinary about their interaction."
Similarly, Brian Williams, on NBC Nightly News, reported, "There is new tension between...the US and Russia over Syria and the uprising there and you could see the tension between the two of them today." Chuck Todd added, "US diplomats found some hope in what wasn't said, that Putin avoided publicly standing by Syrian President Assad," but, according to Todd, what was "most striking" was "the two leaders' apparent body language, which seemed tense and even cold."
On ABC World News, Jake Tapper also reported that "the dour expressions and lack of eye contact seem to personalize the serious tensions between the two men over Russia's continued aid to the Syrian government as it slaughters its own citizens, including children in the street." Tapper also noted that "US officials pushed back on the notion that the body language between President Obama and Putin meant anything."
On Fox News' Special Report, correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that "after weeks of intentional snubs and rising disagreement over Syria, the US and Russian presidents finally met face to face," but "neither leader looked at each other while making a few cursory remarks after their meeting." According to Griffin, "Their body language...suggested the gaps in their position had not been bridged and the relationship may not have been reset."
USA Today reports that the President and Putin "agreed...on the need for a political transition in Syria as they sought to work through 'tensions' in their relationship." USA Today says Putin "was upbeat following the meeting, which went on much longer than planned," but "despite the rhetoric, there were few smiles when the leaders finished their meeting."
According to the New York Times , the President "pressed" Putin "to work with him to ease" Assad "out of power, a move increasingly viewed by the West as the only way to end the bloodshed that has been under way there for more than a year. But after two full hours together, Mr. Putin was still balking."

Wall Street Hopes For Stimulus As Fed Begins Meeting On Interest Rate Policy USA Today reports, "Like a drug addict, a dependent Wall Street hopes the Federal Reserve will inject the economy and markets with a fresh dose of monetary stimulus to stave off withdrawal caused by the end of the Fed's current stimulus program, a slowing economy and debt-related turmoil in Europe." The Federal Reserve begins "a two-day meeting today on interest rate policy at a time when fears of an economic relapse are rising and investors are looking for assurances from the Fed that it is ready to act to keep the recovery on track."
The Wall Street Journal , meanwhile, reports that the economic recovery in the United States is influenced by a divide among Americans. There are those with access to credit and those with no access and this fact has made the recovery more difficult. Now, Federal Reserve officials are considering policy changes at their meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday and the credit divide is said to play a roll in those meetings.

Obama Meets With Merkel, Urges Action On European Crisis At the G20 summit in Mexico Monday, President Obama met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ABC World News reported that while at the summit, the President "is trying to persuade European leaders to create more stability by taking bold action." ABC (Tapper) added, "President Obama knows that the US economy and thus his re-election chances may be seriously infected by the contagion spreading from Greece to Spain and elsewhere if this problem is not contained. ... But the President knows the road to solve the economic crisis remains long and arduous."
Bloomberg News reports that while in Mexico, Obama, "working to help contain Europe's sovereign debt crisis, pressed leaders of the world's largest economies today, including Germany's Angela Merkel, to find a consensus plan as financial markets escalated pressure on Spain." Obama "met with Merkel for 45 minutes before the formal G-20 sessions began and is scheduled to meet...with the leaders of all five European nations at the summit."
Crisis Looms Despite Greek Vote ABC World News that "despite the collective sigh of relief across the world that the Greeks voted to stay with the euro, don't be fooled. There is still an Olympian-size crisis here. Unemployment is 22%. Youth unemployment is 51%. Here, in the main business areas of Athens, a third of all shops have closed. And the government is supposed to deliver even more cuts. Slash 150,000 its own workers and cut $14 million of its own budget in order to get new loans. Without those loans this country will be broke in just a few weeks and if that happens, expect the shock waves to hit American businesses and 401Ks."
NBC Nightly News reported, "There's been a narrow victory in this weekend's elections for a pro euro government. Greece will stay with the euro as its currency, but the crisis there continues, and the trouble seems to hopscotch from country to country right now in Europe resulting in big fears of course here in the US."
The CBS Evening News reported, "Europe remains the number-one concern here at the New York Stock Exchange, but in the end, the Greek vote left investors unimpressed. Wall Street may have breathed a sigh of relief, but there was no relief rally. The Greek vote averted one crisis, but others are still lurking."

McGurk Withdraws As Iraq Ambassador Nominee USA Today reports Brett McGurk, "President Obama's embattled nominee to be the next ambassador to Iraq," withdrew his nomination even as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was scheduled to vote on his nomination Tuesday. Six GOP senators offered "stiff opposition" to McGurk, questioning "his qualifications and his judgment" due to emails from 2008 between him and a newspaper reporter he later married. In his withdrawal letter, McGurk wrote that "it was in the best interest of the country and for his family to withdraw from consideration."
Politico reports that "despite the controversy" the White House had "defended its choice" of McGurk up until Sunday. White House senior adviser David Plouffe said on CNN's "State of the Union" that the Administration "would not withdraw McGurk."
The Washington Post reports National Security spokesman Tommy Vietor said, "While we regret to see Brett withdraw his candidacy, there is no doubt that he will be called on again to serve the country."

Campaign News

Romney Predicts He Will Win Wisconsin During a campaign stop in Janesville, Wisconsin Monday, Mitt Romney "boldly predicted he will beat President Obama in the state and claim the White House," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Romney's "Every Town Counts" bus tour stopped at "a steamy textile factory" where he said Obama "just assumed from the very beginning Wisconsin was going to be his. But you know what? We're going to win Wisconsin." Noting that no Republican presidential candidate has won Wisconsin since Ronald Reagan in 1984, the Journal Sentinel says that by "laying down such an audacious prediction so early," Romney "and his surrogates signaled that they intend to put Wisconsin into political play."
Politico notes, "Romney's prediction that he could win Wisconsin is a much bolder statement than the one he made Sunday night, speaking briefly to reporters on board his campaign plane. Then, he said he couldn't make any predictions 'other than we're going to work hard and have some fun tomorrow.'" Politico also notes that it was Romney's first appearance with Gov. Scott Walker since he "survived an aggressive recall effort, fueled by labor activists and Democrats."
The Washington Times notes that if Romney's Wisconsin prediction proves to be true, it "would be a bad omen for President Obama's re-election plans." The Times adds, "The latest realclearpolitics.com average of polls shows Mr. Obama with a slight lead in Wisconsin."
Bloomberg News reports that Romney "is keeping his focus on the economy as he nears the end of a bus tour through contested states, saying he will promote a climate friendlier to small business, domestic energy production and job creation, while asserting that President Barack Obama has mismanaged the recovery." Meanwhile, the Obama campaign "called Romney's Wisconsin remarks 'an exercise in angry and evasive rhetoric.'" Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in an e-mailed statement, "He offered no ideas of how to create jobs now or strengthen the economy."

Rubio Halts Work On DREAM Act Alternative Politico reports that the President's announcement that DHS will no longer deport illegal aliens who were brought to the US as children "appears to have sunk" Sen. Marco Rubio's "effort to push forward a Republican version of the...DREAM Act before the November elections." Rubio spokesman Alex Conant said Monday, "Frankly, the president's executive action takes a lot of momentum out of Sen. Rubio's push for a consensus, legislative solution. The president's action undermines the urgency to pass something before the election."
On ABC World News, Rubio was shown reacting got the President's announcement Friday. Rubio said, "I know that a lot of these kids will take this as good news because they are desperate for some sort of resolution, this is a short-term solution." Asked, "So, the President should not have done this?" Rubio replied, "I don't think he should have done this by executive order. I think he should have worked with Congress to try to get something balanced done."
The Hill says the President's new policy "might have downgraded Rubio's chance of becoming Romney's vice presidential pick by forcing Republicans to play defense on immigration." According to The Hill, "Picking Rubio as his running mate would highlight the issue of immigration and deportations, where Romney could be disadvantaged, instead of the economy."
Romney Criticizes Obama For Offering Short-Term Immigration Fixes According to Fox News' Special Report, Romney "blasted the President's executive directive on immigration last week, promising he will not use immigration as a political football." Romney: "I don't think we go jumping from one solution to the other. The President, I think, made a mistake by putting out there what he called a 'stop-gap measure.' ... Of course, it's partly political. And the right course here is not to have a nominee like myself going out and talking about short-term answers. I want to put in place a long-term solution to our illegal immigration challenge."
The Washington Times reports that many of those who attended Romney's events Monday "expressed a willingness to cut this group of illegal immigrants some slack -- a sharp departure from the past when presidential candidates were given little wiggle room on the issue." The Times adds, "The muted reaction on the ground -- and Mr. Romney's carefully modulated response over the weekend to Mr. Obama's surprise order -- could signal an unexpected shift in what has been one of the country's thorniest political issues, a shift that comes as the ranks of illegal immigrants in the country have stalled for the first time in years."
Also on Fox News' Special Report, Doug McKelway reported that the White House "is denying that politics played a role in the executive branch decision over immigration. ... But right after the White House announced the immigration decision, the Obama campaign blasted out [a] fundraising e-mail, asking DREAM Act supporters to 'stand up and support the President today.'"

West Virginia's Manchin, Rahall, Tomblin To Skip Democratic National Convention The Charleston (WV) Daily Mail reported on its website, "West Virginia's top three Democrats will not attend their party's national convention in September, the West Virginia Democratic Party said Monday. US Sen. Joe Manchin, Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and US Rep. Nick Rahall do not plan to help pick President Barack Obama as their party's nominee." Noting that the three are super-delegates, the Daily Mail added, "Republicans have been engaged in a concerted effort to tie each man to Obama, who is deeply unpopular in West Virginia."
Politico adds, "The news follows a state party resolution requiring all Democratic candidates to support the full Democratic ticket. Manchin and Tomblin have both mused publicly that they might not back Obama again."
The AP reports that Tomblin "says he won't attend the party's national convention, citing serious problems with President Barack Obama. A Tomblin spokesman, Chris Stadelman, said Monday that the governor has serious problems with Republican Mitt Romney, too."
The Hill reported on its website, "The West Virginia Republican Party was quick to condemn Tomblin and Manchin over the news. 'We all know the only reason they're refusing to attend the DNC Convention is they're afraid to tell the people of West Virginia who they support for President, and any attempt to suggest otherwise is political spin aimed at purposefully misleading the voters,' said West Virginia GOP Chairman Conrad Lucas in a statement."