Today?s Times
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Obama on Friday to discuss their visions for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but the meeting seemed to leave the prospect for new talks as remote as they have been since the last American push for peace last fall. The Israeli leader bluntly rejected compromises proposed by Mr. Obama the day before in hopes of reviving a stalled-out peace process. Instead, Mr. Netanyahu listed a series of nonnegotiable conditions that have kept the two sides at an impasse for years, The Times?s Steven Lee Myers reports. On Sunday, the issue of Israel will again be front and center when Mr. Obama addresses the AIPAC Policy Conference, which is meeting in Washington.
- The War Powers Resolution of 1973 says that a president must terminate military operations 60 days after notifying Congress that he introduced armed forces into actual or imminent hostilities. The Libyan operation reached that deadline on Friday. The Obama administration appears to have ignored it. In a letter from President Obama to congressional leaders about the mission, he expressed support for the idea of legislative endorsement, but he did not directly ask for a resolution authorizing the operation. Charlie Savage and Thom Shanker report on the decision to press forward with American participation in the NATO campaign and how it could affect a budding political controversy.
- The Times?s Helene Cooper investigates just how much of a split the president is willing to make not only with Prime Minister Netanyahu, but also with his own hand-picked Middle East adviser, Dennis B. Ross. Mr. Ross, Middle East envoy to three presidents, Israel?s friend in the Obama administration and one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in Washington, is known to King Abdullah of Jordan as simply the man who ?is giving wrong advice to the White House.? Mr. Netanyahu and Israel?s backers in the United States view Mr. Ross as key to holding at bay what they view as pro-Palestinian sympathies expressed by the president himself.
- Jon M. Huntsman Jr. was twice elected governor of Utah, but he has spent the last two years in China, where he could not practice the art of politicking. Now, that is all Mr. Huntsman does. First he hunkered down with a team of advisers to study the intricate details of campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. Jeff Zeleny reports that Mr. Huntsman is trying out what he has learned during a five-day visit to New Hampshire, a trip designed to introduce him to voters and introduce his family to the obstacle course a presidential race entails.
Weekly Addresses
- President Obama visited Memphis this week to deliver the commencement address to Booker T. Washington High School, which used to boast a dismal graduation rate but now sends 70 percent of its seniors to college. In his weekly address, Mr. Obama said that education reform is most effective when it comes from the bottom up, with change driven by principals, teachers and parents ? not Washington. ?The idea is simple: if states show that they?re serious about reform, we?ll show them the money,? he said. ?We need to promote reform that gets results while encouraging communities to figure out what?s best for their kids. That?s why it?s so important that Congress replace No Child Left Behind this year ? so schools have that flexibility. Reform just can?t wait.?
- Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas delivered the Republican address this week, imploring Mr. Obama to consider her party?s solution to high gas prices. Instead of seeking to impose more regulations and taxes on oil companies, which Ms. Hutchison says will actually increase pain at the pump, she suggests increasing domestic drilling for oil and gas. �?For nearly a year, American energy producers in the Gulf of Mexico ? our nation?s most abundant source of oil and gas outside of Alaska ? were sidelined by a drilling moratorium imposed by the administration,? she said. ?Though the moratorium was officially lifted in October, the permit approval process has been burdened by bureaucratic impediments. In energy-rich deep waters in the gulf, only 14 permits have been approved in the last full year.? This, Ms. Hutchison says, is a problem that can be fixed by the Senate?s passing of the LEASE Act, a bill she introduced to ?restore time lost to all leaseholders who were impacted by the moratorium,? with hopes of increasing the nation?s access to oil.
Around the Web
- Lawmakers in Wisconsin and Tennessee are making significant changes to state-funded health services, starting with Planned Parenthood, the Huffington Post reports.
Happenings in Washington
- Do you know your Constitution and Bill of Rights? Can you explain it in
American Sign Language? That?s what middle and high school students will be doing this weekend in a competition at Gallaudet University to test their knowledge of the country?s founding documents.
- Andrews Air Force Base will join in celebrating 100 years of naval aviation with the Joint Service Open House and Air Show, featuring the United States Air Force Thunderbirds.
The Women Who Would be President. Will They Run?
The women who would be president in 2012 are still sitting on the sidelines. But that could change soon.
Is the Ryan Budget a Litmus Test for 2012 Republicans?
Declared and undeclared candidates for the Republican nomination are treading carefully around Representative Paul D. Ryan?s budget proposal.
Is the Ryan Budget a Litmus Test for 2012 Republicans?
Declared and undeclared candidates for the Republican nomination are treading carefully around Representative Paul D. Ryan?s budget proposal.
Huntsman Criticizes Obama on Libya
Jon M. Huntsman Jr. said that President Obama should not have intervened in Libya and that military engagements should be weighed based on their financial toll.
Is the Ryan Budget a Litmus Test for 2012 Republicans?
Declared and undeclared candidates for the Republican nomination are treading carefully around Representative Paul D. Ryan?s budget proposal.
Democrats? New Tactic: Praising 2012 Republicans
What?s with all this Democratic praise of the Republicans eager to oust Mr. Obama from office? A hint: it?s not a sudden outbreak of bipartisanship.
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Obama?s Peace Tack Contrasts With Key Aide, Friend of Israel
By HELENE COOPER and MARK LANDLER
Dennis B. Ross, who favors painstaking diplomacy and eschews game-changing plays, is the chief Middle East adviser to a president with bold instincts.
Huntsman Takes His Potential Campaign for Test Drive in New Hampshire
By JEFF ZELENY
Ever since he returned from his post as ambassador to China, Jon M. Huntsman Jr. has been studying the intricate details of campaigning for the Republican nomination.
Supreme Court Memo: Keep the Briefs Brief, Literary Justices Advise
By ADAM LIPTAK
A trove of interviews finds eight Supreme Court justices discussing their influences and the art of legal writing.
Newspaper in Pakistan Publishes WikiLeaks Cables
By JANE PERLEZ
Pakistan?s leading English-language newspaper, Dawn, began publishing a selection of more than 4,000 American diplomatic cables obtained from WikiLeaks.
Source: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/21/the-early-word-nonnegotiable/
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