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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — President Barack Obama’s three-day trip won’t be remembered for his talk here on rising college tuition costs. Or for his flogging of clean energy proposals in Nevada and manufacturing tax breaks in Iowa. No, the enduring image of his tour through five key states this week will be Obama confronting Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer over months-old insults from her book, his dismissive mien facing down her French-manicured fingertip.

CAROL MARIN cmarin@suntimes.com January 27, 2012 8:26PM Updated: January 27, 2012 9:19PM If you contrast the get-well notes that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton wrote to Mark Kirk, you’ll understand why the president needs the Secretary of State to be his 2012 running mate. Sen. Kirk, the 52-year-old Republican who occupies Obama’s former seat, was felled by a massive stroke last week.
It was a shocker.

WASHINGTON — When Senator Barack Obama was photographed clutching a copy of “The Post-American World” as he left his campaign plane during the Democratic primaries in May 2008, some critics viewed it as a telling sign that he embraced a view of the United States as a waning world power.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, raising money for his campaign among tribal leaders, said Friday he wants American Indians to be “full partners” in the economy. Obama met with 70 to 75 supporters from Native American tribes. Democratic officials said the fundraiser would benefit the Obama Victory Fund, a joint committee of the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Tickets started at $15,000.

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union continued his administration’s curious negativism toward young people — including an ominous proposal that states should criminalize those who don’t stay in school. In effect, Obama accused 7.3 percent of Native American, 6.7 percent of black and 6 percent of Latino students of walking “away from their education,” as if they cavalierly wrecked their own futures. He might as well have accused the 8.5 percent of unemployed Americans of “walking away from their jobs.”

Updated MIAMI – A day after Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich fiercely attacked each other in the GOP presidential debate, they changed their focus Friday and trained their attacks on President Obama during a gathering here of Hispanic leaders. By Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images Elizabeth Cuevas-Neunder, CEO of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Florida, questions Newt Gingrich on Jan. 27 in Miami.
By Stan Honda, AFP/Getty Images

Vice President Biden claimed Friday that Leon Panetta was the only member of the inner circle who definitively urged President Obama to green-light the raid on Usama bin Laden's compound, as Biden discussed new details about the behind-the-scenes deliberations. Biden, speaking to the House Democratic Issues Conference in Maryland, candidly admitted that he told the president not to go forward with the mission.

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration said Friday that it will expand its signature foreclosure-prevention program to try to help those with heavy debt loads avoid losing their homes. The Home Affordable Modification Program will also be extended through 2013. The government will triple the financial incentives for private lenders to reduce the principal amount of mortgages for homeowners at risk of losing their homes.

For sale signs are posted on a foreclosed house in Glendale. The Obama Administration announced Friday an expansion of its foreclosure relief program. ( Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images ) January 27, 2012 , 12:16 p.m. Struggling homeowners are set to get more help from the federal government as the Obama Administration extends its key foreclosure prevention plan for a year.

Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Warren Buffett, chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg President Barack Obama said he will press Congress to revise tax breaks that help rich Americans pay lower tax rates than many wage-earners, as he rallied congressional Democrats around a populist election-year message.

(CNN) - President Barack Obama hit back Friday at a charge lobbed at him from Republican presidential candidates, saying the suggestion he's inciting class warfare was flat wrong. Speaking to Democratic lawmakers at a retreat on Maryland's Eastern Shore, Obama said he would actively rebut that charge in the coming election year. Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @politicalticker

January 27, 2012 WASHINGTON (JTA) -- President Barack Obama pledged to combat Holocaust denial in a message marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In his message, Obama said the United States would “pledge to speak truth to those who deny the Holocaust.” “As we celebrate the strength and resilience of survivors, we pledge to stand strong against all those who would commit atrocities, against the resurgence of anti-Semitism, and against hatred in all its forms,” he said.

By now, his critics , his defenders and a few in between have had their way with what the president said Tuesday in his State of the Union address . But what didn’t the president say? This was Barack Obama’s speech, and what he left out is as revealing as what he put in it. After all, the State of the Union is a statement of priorities. On this night, the weight or importance of an issue can actually be measured in words.

MIAMI -- A day after Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich fiercely attacked each other in the GOP presidential debate, they changed their focus today and trained their attacks on President Obama during a gathering of Hispanic leaders in Miami. The candidates were among the featured speakers at the Hispanic Leadership Network conference. BLOG: Rubio condemns harsh GOP talk
The Florida primary is Tuesday.

Campaign years are all about hedging. Why say something definitive and upset half the country when you can speak in circles and say nothing at all? That's the strategy President Barack Obama is going with when asked for his Super Bowl XLVI pick: "I can't call it. I can't call it," Obama said of the New England Patriots-New York Giants game in an ABC News exclusive with Diane Sawyer. "When the Bears are not involved, I can't make predictions because I will get into trouble. But both are great teams. Brady obviously one of the best quarterbacks we've ever seen.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Thursday evening released a copy of the hand-written letter she handed to President Obama in the confrontational meeting she had with him on an airport tarmac in Phoenix Wednesday. The meeting raised eyebrows Wednesday when Brewer, who has had a contentious relationship with Mr. Obama for years , was seen pointing her finger at the president. President Obama said reports of the meeting were " blown out of proportion ," adding that Brewer simply wanted to give him a letter.

By Mark Drajem and Katarzyna Klimasinska Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s promotion of fracking as a safe way to boost natural gas production is disputed by environmentalists who say the government lacks tough rules to safeguard air and water. Groups such as Protecting Our Waters say hydraulic fracturing -- in which a mix of water, sand and chemicals are shot underground to break apart rock and free gas -- is tainting drinking water and causing more pollution than is cut by the cheap gas.

As Republican presidential candidates aggressively campaigned to win the Latino vote Thursday, First Lady Michelle Obama spent the day in Florida promoting healthy eating among Latinos. The first lady was part of a sharper focus on Florida by President Barack Obama and his surrogates this week as they tried to claim some of the spotlight from the Republican candidates who are traversing the state in advance of Tuesday's critical GOP primary.

Newt Gingrich speaks to supporters during a campaign event in Coral Springs, Florida January 25, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton By David Adams and Steve Holland MIAMI, Florida | Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:25am EST MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) - Republican Newt Gingrich, cranking up the campaign rhetoric, mocked White House rival Mitt Romney's plan for self-deportation of illegal immigrants as a "fantasy" on Wednesday and assailed President Barack Obama's tax ideas as "stupid."

Sure, clean energy, the return of manufacturing, a boost in education spending 
 and saving the domestic car industry are awesome ways to revive the American economy. But another tactic President Obama might consider is more singing. Because a week after the falsetto singer-in-chief unleashed his version of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" at an Apollo Theater fundraiser, sales of the good Rev.'s most iconic hit have taken off.

PHOENIX — President Obama and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) appeared to exchange heated words in front of reporters and other public officials on Wednesday as Obama arrived in this Southwestern city for the second stop of his post-State of the Union tour. The unusual confrontation--which included Brewer pointing her finger at Obama, and Obama walking away--centered on Brewer’s newly published account of a meeting she and Obama had at the White House in June, 2010, officials said.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The key battleground state of North Carolina is still within President Barack Obama’s grasp, despite Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue’s surprise decision to drop her re-election campaign. Obama has been running commercials in the state for months, and the Democrats have staked so much on repeating his 2008 success in North Carolina that their presidential nomination convention will be held in Charlotte.

CAMBRIDGE, Md.— President Barack Obama's populist election-year pitch and middle-class message have unified House Democrats. The bitter divisions among Republican White House hopefuls have helped bring them together, too. "Long may it last," said Rep. Rob Andrews, D-N.J., on the prospect of a drawn-out, bare-knuckle GOP nomination fight between top candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

WASHINGTON - The parent company of an electric car battery maker that received a $118 million grant from the Obama administration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday. New York-based Ener1 said it has been affected by competition from China and other countries. Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel received a $118 million stimulus grant from the Energy Department in 2009, and Vice President Joe Biden visited the company's new battery plant in Indiana last year.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama heads to an event in Ann Arbor today holding a clear lead in the state over the two Republicans with the best chance to block his re-election in November. Two months ago, Obama trailed Michigan-born former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the Free Press/WXYZ-TV poll, 46%-41%. Now, the Democratic president leads Romney in the state, 48%-40% in a poll of 600 voters taken Saturday through Wednesday.

Republicans were quick to rebuke the Obama administration after a third clean energy company to receive taxpayer dollars, Ener1, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week. But absent from their critique of Ener1—which was awarded a $118.5 million grant from the Department of Energy in 2009 to expand an Indianapolis manufacturing plant— has been any mention that the electric battery manufacturer was also championed by one of the GOP's rising stars, Gov. Mitch Daniels.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer says she meant no disrespect when she pointed a finger at President Obama during an intense discussion on an airport tarmac. But the Republican governor says the Democratic president showed disrespect for her by abruptly ending their conversation. Obama, in an interview Thursday with ABC News, said it's "a classic example of things getting blown out of proportion."

For some enterprising University of Michigan students, President Barack Obama�s visit to Ann Arbor turned into a lesson in supply and demand. Take Jill Fowle, a 20-year-old sophomore from Grand Rapids. She was among the hundreds of U-M students and staff members who waited through the night Wednesday to get one of 3,000 free tickets to Obama�s speech Friday in the Al Glick Field House in Ann Arbor. And she was among those who actually got one.

President Obama delivers remarks on college affordability at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where, not surprisingly, football managed to sneak its way into his remarks. (Jason Reed - Reuters) President of the United States of America. Commander-in-Chief. Leader of the Free World. Barack Obama wears many hats, and “First Prognosticator” is a bonus cap the avid sports fan generally welcomes.

Debbie Bosanek, the long-time secretary of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, made surprise appearances in the presidential campaigns of two countries this week. On Tuesday, sitting alongside the First Lady in the US Congress, she witnessed President Barack Obama question the fairness of a tax system that sees Buffett pay a lower tax rate than his secretary .
Two days later, her case was taken up by the French Socialist Party's presidential nominee, François Hollande, as he unveiled his campaign platform for the spring presidential election .