In Israel, O'Malley Talks Jobs, Foreign Policy and, of Course, 2016

JERUSALEM – Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland said Wednesday that he would spend the second half of this year mulling whether to run for president in 2016. He seems already to have a campaign theme: jobs and innovation.

At least that’s what he insisted was the sole focus of his eight-day trip to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, and pretty much all he wanted to talk about with a handful of reporters he had summoned to the King David Hotel for coffee. “I’m sure all of you will ask me foreign policy questions,” he said as he opened the floor. “I respect your right to ask them, and I hope you’ll respect my right to shy away from answering them.”

And so, on the news of the day — apparent differences between the Obama administration and the Israeli military on whether chemical weapons had been deployed by the Syrian military — Mr. O’Malley, a Democrat, deferred to the president’s judgment. “It’s certainly one of the great challenges,” he allowed.

Asked whether the American people, weary from a decade of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, would be ready to engage in another military operation to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Mr. O’Malley avoided specifics. “I believe that the president will make that call,” he said, “and the president will have the primary responsibility of making that case to the American people and also to Congress.”

How about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? “All of us hope for peace in the Middle East.”

Governor O’Malley, 50, said it was his third visit to Israel, and that he had brought with him about 50 high-tech executives, Jewish leaders, and Maryland officials for what is essentially a trade mission. After a side trip to Jordan in which he met with Prince Faisal – “What we spoke about was the huge challenge that the ongoing conflict in Syria has for the entire region” – much of his itinerary here is filled with companies that have offices in his home state, including one that makes radar for the vaunted Iron Dome missile defense system.

Mr. O’Malley was also set to meet with President Shimon Peres of Israel; two rising stars in Israeli politics, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, both of whom head economic ministries; and Salaam Fayyad, who resigned earlier this month as prime minister of the Palestinian Authority. (Scheduling with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was still being worked out.)

“I’m hoping in discussions with him to learn,” Mr. O’Malley said of Mr. Fayyad. “That’s part of the obligation that goes along with travel.”

The visit comes two months after Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican similarly put forth as a potential 2016 candidate, made headlines during his own trip here by referring to Jerusalem as its capital, a point of contention with the Palestinians. Might he face off against Governor O’Malley?

“I plan for the latter half of this year to dedicate some more thought time, reflection time, to the question of whether or not I would run,” he said Tuesday. “The key question in running for any office is having a clear and refined understanding of the shared reality we face and the better set of choices we need to make as a people to meet those challenges and to create a better future for our kids.”

For the latter half of this week, Mr. O’Malley plans to tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, the Western Wall and the Old City, and attend Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem with his 15-year-old son, one of four O’Malley children who attend Catholic schools, as their father did.

A reporter pointed out that on his way into Bethlehem, he would see the controversial separation barrier Israel has erected in the West Bank. Mr. O’Malley said he had seen something similar in Northern Ireland. “They call it the peace wall,” he noted.

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Democrats aim for sweeping deal in US debt talks - Reuters

WASHINGTON, July 10 | Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:57pm EDT

Democrats are willing to consider changes to popular benefit programs, but "Republicans are refusing to take yes for an answer" because they don't want to raise revenues, the source said.

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Medicare Cuts Go on the Table in Debt Talks (The Atlantic Wire)

The White House is putting tens of billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid on the table as it negotiates with Republicans on cutting the federal deficit as part of a vote to raise the debt ceiling, The New York Times' Robert Pear reports. Democrats hope that Republicans will accept the entitlement cuts in exchange for increasing revenue. Before debt limit talks led by Vice President Joe Biden broke down almost two weeks ago, both sides had "reached substantial agreement" on cutting the programs.

Lobbyists are furiously pushing back against the proposals, Pear reports. They include eventually stopping reimbursement of hospitals when patients don't pay their share of their bills; shrinking payments to teaching hospitals for training doctors, taking care of the sickest patients, and providing specialized care; and cutting the portion of the cost of treating low-income people and kids that the federal government pays, putting a larger burden on the states.

Related: Moving Closer to a Debt Deal by Delaying a Medicare Debate

Think Progress' Igor Volsky says the latter proposal "is possibly the most troubling of the three provisions" as it shifts the costs to states and patients. "As for the first two: the hospitals have launched a massive ad buy to forestall the cuts, but it’s difficult to feel much sympathy for providers who will see an increase of revenue as a result of the coverage provisions in the Affordable Care Act."

Change in Tone Do the concessions on entitlements mean a deal on the debt ceiling could be closer? Business Insider's Zeke Miller notes that on the Sunday talk shows over the weekend, Republican Sens. John McCain and John Cornyn indicated they would support some methods to increase government revenue, like eliminating tax subsidies.

Related: Kyl and Boehner Are Officially Not So Stressed About the Debt Limit

Who Has the Upper Hand? NBC News' First Read observes that swing voters want a deal done, which helps the White House, but they don't want taxes raised, which helps Republicans. "Bottom line: Republicans believe that on the SUBSTANCE, the middle is with them (if they sell it properly), even if on PROCESS, the middle might be more on the side of the president." Republicans, First Read says, don't want to give Obama a victory, but they "can already be granted a measure of victory for dictating the terms of the debate--all about spending cuts."

Related: Boehner Wants a Debt Ceiling Deal Sooner Rather Than Later

Is a Deal Possible? The Washington Post's Ezra Klein says cutting "tax expenditures" gives Republicans "an out" so they can tell their base they're streamlining the tax code instead of raising taxes. "But there's little evidence, at least as of yet, that Republicans are going to take the deal--or even that they can take the deal. That raises the question of whether they've gotten here by being savvy, tough negotiators, or whether the reason they keep saying 'no' is that they've lost the ability to say 'yes.'"

Related: The Many Images From Obama's Testy Press Conference

No Choice But to Compromise But The New York Times' David Brooks argues that Republicans have to strike some kind of deal, otherwise "independents voters will see that Democrats were willing to compromise but Republicans were not. If responsible Republicans don’t take control, independents will conclude that Republican fanaticism caused this default. They will conclude that Republicans are not fit to govern."

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Obama, Biden plan debt talks with Senate Democrats (AP)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden plan to meet with Senate Democratic leaders Wednesday, the latest step in debt negotiations with Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will make his second trip to the Oval Office this week. He will be joined by Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Chuck Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington.

Obama's involvement represents a new stage in the discussions. Biden had been leading bipartisan negotiations that had identified up to $1.3 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years. But the talks stalled because Republican negotiators objected to Democratic demands that any deficit reduction deal also include increases in tax revenue.

Obama also met with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell on Monday. No new meetings with Republicans are scheduled.

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Obama to hold more debt talks with Senate Democrats (Reuters)

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will hold another round of talks with Senate Democratic leaders on Wednesday on raising the U.S. debt ceiling, the White House said on Tuesday.

"We believe there is the opportunity here for a substantial compromise on a significant deficit reduction agreement that is done in a way that's balanced," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters traveling with the president.

He declined to say if other White House meetings with lawmakers were planned this week, including with Republicans.

The president met with Senate leaders of both parties on Monday to keep talks alive on raising the country's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, after negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden stalled. But neither side has hinted at compromise.

Republicans declared an impasse in the Biden-led talks over Democratic demands that tax revenue-raising measures be included in any deficit reducing deal, alongside deep cuts in spending. Republicans say tax hikes are off the table.

Obama must forge a budget deal that would pave the way for the country's borrowing limit to be raised by an August 2 deadline, or risk the country defaulting on its financial obligations with disastrous consequences for the economy.

(Reporting by Caren Bohan, writing by Alister Bull, editing by Vicki Allen)

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When Conservatives Walk Out on Budget Talks, Democrats Win Eventually (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | Republicans walked out on a member of the president's staff after a budget meeting. Discussions revolve around massive debt, taxes and lots of public bickering. It's not the 1995 to 1996 budget battles between President Bill Clinton and a conservative Congress. It's a repeat of the same events 15 years later.

President Obama sent his wing man, Vice President Joe Biden, to talk to Republican leaders in Congress about what the president wants from the budget. According to the Associated Press, Biden said we need to raise taxes. Speaker of the House John Boehner said raising taxes was "off the table."

The GOP then walked out of the discussions abruptly.

This budget discussion can go one of two ways. Either the sides compromise or they don't. The GOP walking out is just a symbolic gesture to let the American public know how they feel about raising taxes. The Democrats still have the upper hand, as they control one side of Congress.

Clinton compromised on his budget proposals with Newt Gingrich and the GOP-led Congress. When Clinton got re-elected, the Republicans made him pay for his popularity. They filed articles of impeachment against him regarding a lie under oath about having sex.

If history serves, the Republicans and Democrats will bicker back and forth for weeks. The two sides will come together in crunch time and get the work done. There will be a combination of what both sides want. In the end, it won't be perfect, but both sides will say they accomplished a lot.

Obama clearly understands Clinton's position. He got re-elected after a budget battle but paid a price. Obama will surely try to compromise, but only after making Republicans sweat out a deal. Plus, the current commander-in-chief probably won't be having sex with interns any time soon.

Obama and his team have surely learned from recent events. There are fears of citizens having their benefits reduced or removed altogether. Obama played into this argument after his speech about bringing troops home from Afghanistan. The president said it's now time to focus on domestic issues, not wartime problems.

The Republicans want to make cuts. They didn't learn from the special congressional election in May when a Democrat defeated a Republican in a conservative-leaning area. Instead of the GOP placing fear in people's minds over "death panels," now the Democrats can make voters feel like their entitlements will be taken away if conservatives stay in power. Kathy Hochul used Medicare cuts to win against her GOP opponent, Jane Corwin, in upstate New York, according to ABC News.

A walk out by Republicans is no big deal. This is still a process, and the work will get done eventually before something drastic happens.

It's a win-win for the Democrats if they can parlay as much budget-cutting as possible until the 2013 session of Congress starts. By that time, the 2012 election would have decided who controls Congress after the next president is elected.

Who wins when Republicans walk out? The Democrats do eventually because the president owns veto power.

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics. Born in St. Louis, Browning is active in local politics and served as a campaign volunteer for President Barack Obama and Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

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Porn actress: Weiner asked me to lie about talks (AP)

NEW YORK – A former porn actress who said she exchanged emails and messages over Twitter with New York Rep. Anthony Weiner said Wednesday that he asked her to lie about their online communications.

Ginger Lee said she and Weiner exchanged about 100 emails between March and June, beginning after Lee posted a supportive statement about the congressman on her blog. She said they mostly discussed politics, but he would often turn the conversation to sex.

"'I have wardrobe demands too. I need to highlight my package,'" Weiner wrote Lee, in an email read aloud at the news conference by Lee's attorney, Gloria Allred.

Weiner acknowledged last week that he had sent lewd photos and texts to women after a photo of his crotch was posted on Twitter. In an interview two weeks ago, he acknowledged that he had exchanged messages with Lee but didn't elaborate.

Lee said she did not send sexually suggestive messages to Weiner.

"Anytime that he would take our communications in a sexual direction, I did not reciprocate," she said.

Weiner sent Lee an email after the photo of his crotch was sent out on his Twitter account, and "he asked me to lie" about their contact, she said.

Lee said she put out a three-sentence statement on the matter at his request. She said she then went into hiding and on June 2, he called her and told her to avoid press.

She said she was coming forward now to tell the truth and to deny reports that she was in an online sexual relationship with him.

Allred is a Los Angeles attorney who has represented figures in high-profile sex scandals, including a woman who said she was a girlfriend of Tiger Woods and a former child actress who said she had an affair with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

A Weiner spokeswoman did not immediately return a request for comment. Weiner has taken a two-week leave from the House, in treatment for an undisclosed disorder at an undisclosed location.

House Democratic colleagues are looking for him to step down this week amid a growing chorus for him to resign. Even President Barack Obama has suggested he should leave.

Adding to the drama, Weiner's pregnant wife, Huma Abedin, returned Wednesday from a trip to Africa with her boss, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

A fellow member of Weiner's New York Democratic delegation, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, said she's heard from Weiner's friends that the congressman was waiting for his wife to come home before making any decisions about his political future. McCarthy also cited talk among Weiner's friends about the possibility he could resign this week.

House Democrats huddled behind closed doors Tuesday for their regular party meeting, but they decided against taking action against Weiner in hopes that he'll resign soon.

The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, reiterated her call for Weiner to quit, saying after the meeting that she wanted to make sure nobody missed her earlier resignation call while members were on a weeklong recess.

Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., said: "I think we should send a strong message to him that he should resign, and let's see what happens. The more of us who say it, the more telling it will be."

House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, had been content to let Democrats wrestle with the embarrassing scandal, but when asked Tuesday whether Weiner should resign, he responded, "Yes."

The furor over sexually suggestive photos and other revelations about the 46-year-old congressman has been a distraction for Democrats seeking momentum as they gear up for the 2012 elections. Besides Pelosi, several other Democrats have called for Weiner to quit, including the party chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

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Associated Press writer Andrew Miga in Washington contributed to this report.

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