Obama's news conference: fiscal cliff, Petraeus, Libya

USA TODAY	Aamer Madhani and Catalina Camia USA TODAY
	8:24PM EST November 14. 2012 - WASHINGTON — President Obama set a defiant tone Wednesday in his first news conference since he was re-elected, refusing to back down on taxes, defending his U.N. ambassador against GOP attacks and declining to criticize the FBI's handling of the investigation of his CIA director. Obama insisted that he was committed to keeping his promise to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, setting him at loggerheads with GOP lawmakers who say they are unwilling to consider raising taxes as the two sides ramp up negotiations on avoiding the looming "fiscal cliff."
(Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)   Story Highlights Obama insisted that he was committed to keeping his promise to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans He blistered two Republican senators who criticized United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice He hopes for a partisan deal on immigration	He blistered two Republican senators who criticized United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice for her explanation of the attack Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead. "If Sen. (John) McCain and Sen. (Lindsey) Graham and others want to go after somebody," he said, "they should go after me. ... To besmirch her reputation is outrageous." The president answered questions on topics ranging from his hopes for a partisan deal on immigration to his plan to collaborate on some issues with GOP presidential challenger Mitt Romney
Obama said a central facet of his successful re-election pitch to voters was a promise that the wealthiest Americans would see George W. Bush-era tax cuts expire at the end of this year. "I think every voter out there understood that that was an important debate, and the majority of voters agreed with me," he said.	He said he was "not going to slam the door" on Republicans if they offered alternatives to raising revenue to staunch the nation's deficit problem. But he underscored his and his advisers' long-standing opinion that it would be difficult to make up the revenue that would be lost if the Bush tax cuts were extended for America's top earners.
	Technorati Tags: Obama,was committed to keeping his promise,the wealthiest Americans,two Republican senators,United Nations Ambassador,Susan Rice,mmigration

read more "Obama's news conference: fiscal cliff, Petraeus, Libya" Read more: http://tomatoessource.blogspot.com/2010/07/auto-read-more-with-thumbnails.html#ixzz2CXiGWNFl IT Blog Program Tools Tricks

Obama defends Susan Rice against GOP attacks

	Aamer Madhani and Catalina Camia, USA TODAY
12:15AM EST November 15. 2012 - WASHINGTON — President Obama hasn't picked his nominee to replace Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, but he made clear Wednesday that he doesn't think much of Senate Republicans' warnings that he not choose United Nations envoy Susan Rice. In his first news conference in eight months, Obama fiercely defended his administration's handling of the attack Sept. 11 on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and pushed back against Sens. John McCain and Lindsay Graham's criticism of Rice's description of the incident. "If Sen. McCain and Sen. Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me," Obama said. "And I'm happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the U.N. ambassador?	Who had nothing to do with Benghazi? And was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received? To besmirch her reputation is outrageous." Hours earlier, McCain, R-Ariz., and Graham, R-S.C., as well as Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., called for a Senate investigation of the Benghazi incident, which left Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans dead. They threatened to block Rice if Obama nominated her to lead the State Department. STORY: Obama's news conference: fiscal cliff, Petraeus, Libya At issue are Rice's comments five days after the attack attributing the incident to a spontaneous uprising that was a response to an anti-Muslim video, and not a terrorist attack. U.S. intelligence agencies resolved within a day of the attack that the incident was a terrorist attack.
Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY	"We're all responsible for what we say and what we do. I'm responsible to my voters. She is responsible to the Senate of the United States," McCain said in an interview with CBS This Morning. "If you're going to tell the American people something, you better make damn sure it's true." The president said Rice, who made her comments based on talking points provided to her by the U.S. intelligence agencies, was not to blame. Obama said he hasn't made any decision about personnel matters but called Rice's work exemplary.
He called out McCain and Graham: "When they go after the U.N. ambassador apparently because they think she's an easy target, then they've got a problem with me." The president said he would nominate Rice if he thought she was the best person for the job, but "that's not a determination that I've made yet." Other possible contenders for the Cabinet position are Sen. John Kerry and Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon.	Graham fired back at Obama.     "Mr. President, don't think for one minute I don't hold you ultimately responsible for Benghazi. I think you failed as commander in chief before, during and after the attack," he said in a statement. "We owe it to the American people and the victims of this attack to have full, fair hearings and accountability be assigned where appropriate. Given what I know now, I have no intention of promoting anyone who is up to their eyeballs in the Benghazi debacle." Technorati Tags: Susan Rice,Obama,Obama defends Susan Rice against GOP attacks,President Obama defends Susan Rice,President Obama defends Susan Rice against criticism from John McCain

read more "Obama defends Susan Rice against GOP attacks" Read more: http://tomatoessource.blogspot.com/2010/07/auto-read-more-with-thumbnails.html#ixzz2CXiGWNFl IT Blog Program Tools Tricks