Political Punch

Will It Get Ugly? Both Sides Prepared for Start of Sotomayor Hearings Monday

ABCNews.com — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 11:37:48 -0400

In a letter to the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee released by the White House this morning, Russell Laine, the chair of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, endorsed the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, saying...

Obama in Africa

ABCNews.com — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 07:54:57 -0400

Our "World News" report: - jpt

Out of Africa

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 17:17:14 -0400

Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller report: ACCRA, Ghana -- In a robust speech at the Kotoka International Airport shortly before departing Ghana after a whirlwind 22-hour visit, President Obama described how his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as president had...

Kenyan President should be “squirming”, says country’s political analyst

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 16:43:36 -0400

ABC News' Dana Hughes reports: NAIROBI -- President Obama’s mention of Kenya in his address today as being “badly outpaced” capped a week of pointed criticism at the country’s leadership; criticism many Kenyans agree with. In local television analysis, respected...

An Emotional President Obama Tours Former Slave Port with Family

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:46:44 -0400

Fom Jake Tapper, Karen Travers, and Sunlen Miller -- ACCRA, GHANA -- Standing with his family at the Cape Coast Castle, a port of no-return from which kidnapped African were shackled, sold and sent away in the trans-Atlantic slave trade,...

O Baby! The Obamas Visit Maternity Clinic in Ghana

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:50:01 -0400

From Sunlen Miller and Karen Travers “Nobody’s going to have a baby right now, right?” the President asked as he walked in with the First lady to an open-air women’s clinic at La General Hospital in Ghana today. About 20...

In Ghana, President Obama Gives Tough Love

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:09:19 -0400

Acknowledging "the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world," President Barack Obama told Africans Saturday that they needed to move beyond historical grievances about colonialism and exploitation by the West to move the continent into the...

2 Prez Obama: Questions Sent in Via Text, Email from Africa & the World

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:28:19 -0400

Sunlen Miller Reports: As the President is addressing parliament in Ghana today, the White House has solicited questions and comments from across the globe for President Obama. After collecting thousands of comments submitted via SMS, email and comments on partner...

Obama Campaign Plane Emergency: Report Shows it Could Have Been Catastrophic

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:00:00 -0400

ABC News’ Sarah Tobianski Reports: A report just out this week shows that the emergency landing of then-Senator Obama’s campaign plane made last July could have been a disaster, with catastrophic effects. Just over a year ago, on a charter...

Give it Some Time, Obama Says in Defending the Recovery Act

ABCNews.com — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:27:59 -0400

From Sarah Tobianski and Sunlen Miller After a week of foreign travel President Obama uses his weekly address to refocus on the domestic agenda, launching into a strong defense of the success of the recovery act, and shoots down the...

In Shift, US Calls for "Amnesty" for Journalists in NK

ABCNews.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:01:44 -0400

In an attempt to gain their release, the United States has shifted its carefully crafted language to imply the culpability of two American journalists who were convicted by North Korea of illegally entering the Stalinist country earlier this year. Today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even appeared to apologize for the incident.

Obama Pushes Back Amid Criticism Over G-8 Progress on Iran

ABCNews.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:01:21 -0400

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: Amid criticism that the outcome of the G-8 Summit’s work on Iran yielded only a statement rather than a punishment for Iran’s nuclear program, President Obama beat back, disputing that this was ever a goal...

While the President's Away, Health Care will Stray?

ABCNews.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:58:59 -0400

ABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: At the tail end of his trip abroad, President Obama was asked to refocus on his domestic agenda that has faced some setback in the United States during his 7-day trip to Russia, Italy and...

'My Cousin In Kenya Can't Get a Job Without Paying a Bribe': Obama Tells African Leaders to Get Their Houses in Order

ABCNews.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:05:41 -0400

In a meeting with leaders from African countries, President Obama stressed food security and stressed that development programs should reach the masses.

'Camp Obama' for Malia and Sasha

ABCNews.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:11:32 -0400

ABC News' Yunji de Nies and Sunlen Miller report: First lady Michelle Obama thought about sending her daughters away to summer camp, she said recently, but instead decided on another program -- "Camp Obama." It's not your everyday sleep away...

When In Rome...? Actually, not so much

ABCNews.com — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:20:18 -0400

The snapshot of President Obama caught in a moment of less than lofty analysis may not be what it seems.

President Obama Shakes Hands with Qadaffi

ABCNews.com — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:15:59 -0400

At the dinner hosted by the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, President Obama this evening shook hands with Libyan dictator Moammar Qadaffi, here representing African nations.

More Qs for O's WH - 7/9/2009

ABCNews.com — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:59:28 -0400

TAPPER: I was wondering, Froman talked about yesterday of the efforts that are being made to bring the developing nations onboard in time for Copenhagen in December. Can you talk a little bit about what those efforts will entail? And...

President Obama Urges Major Economies Forum Nations to Act on Climate Change

ABCNews.com — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:47:04 -0400

President Obama today pledged a strong U.S. role in global efforts to curb climate change and called upon his fellow attendees of the Major Economies Forum on Climate Change to work in the coming months to come up with commitments to lessen greenhouse gases.

Today's Qs for O's WH - 7/9/2009

ABCNews.com — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:38:20 -0400

I don’t have the transcript of my precise questions, but I asked White House press secretary Robert Gibbs and Denis McDonough, deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications, two basic inquiries. The first was: how does the US intend, in...