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George E. Condon Jr.

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How NSA Surveillance Jeopardizes Obama's G-8 Trip to Europe

June 17, 2013 FROM NEXTGOV arrow President Obama's task in Europe this week, already daunting as the death toll in Syria mounts and the pressure for a more assertive U.S. policy there grows, has been made even more challenging by the recent disclosures of American surveillance in allied countries. The president arrives in Northern Ireland early ...

Benghazi E-Mails Reveal CIA Handling of Talking Points

May 16, 2013 The White House, in an effort to calm the swirl of controversy about the reaction to last year’s attacks on U.S. diplomats in Benghazi, late Wednesday released more than 100 pages of e-mails leading to the development of talking points that attempted to explain the violence that left four Americans ...

Analysis: Obama Is Still Fighting Bush's National Security Legacy

April 30, 2013 President Obama is 100 days into his second term, 1,561 days into his presidency. But Tuesday’s press conference left no doubt that the foreign policy legacy of former President George W. Bush very much remains a driving force at today’s White House. That was clear from how Obama answered questions ...

Analysis: When Presidents Gather, Let the Healing Begin

April 25, 2013 There will be a bit of history in Texas Thursday when President Obama joins the four living ex-presidents at the dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. After all, it isn’t often that so many presidents are together. The picture of Bush flanked by Presidents Barack Obama, ...

From Laced Letters to Terror Attacks, This Feels Like 2001

April 18, 2013 With a whole floor of the Hart Senate Office Building evacuated, mail delivery suspended, and a White House press secretary cautiously sidestepping questions Wednesday, the echoes of 2001 were too loud to ignore. Then, as now, the nation was recovering from a traumatic case of terrorism. Then, as now, homeland ...

Obama: Boston Marathon Bombings Are Acts of Terrorism

April 16, 2013 President Obama today declared that the bomb explosions at the Boston Marathon are now being investigated as terrorism, stating that “any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror.” But, appearing briefly in the White House briefing room, the president stressed that much is ...

Obama Hits the Road to Spread State of the Union Message

February 13, 2013 President Obama took his State of the Union message on the road Wednesday, demanding that Congress act swiftly on the programs he outlined in his address to the nation and kicking off three days of travel to try to rally the public behind his economic agenda. Asheville, N.C., was the ...

Obama to draw few ultimatums in immigration speech

January 29, 2013 President Obama will make no ultimatums in his immigration speech on Tuesday other than to insist that any legislation must be comprehensive, according to administration officials. Obama also wants immigration legislation to establish a path to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants, a proposal that makes many Republicans uncomfortable. Sen. Mike ...

Biden: Buy a Shotgun If You Want To Feel Safe

January 24, 2013 Vice President Joe Biden took his fight against gun violence to a Google+ Hangout Thursday, but ended up recommending the best gun to buy for anyone hoping to protect themselves after a natural disaster. “If you want to keep people away during an earthquake,” he said, “buy some shotgun shells.” ...

Who might replace Hilda Solis as Labor secretary?

January 10, 2013 Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis submitted her letter of resignation on Wednesday. Here's an excerpt from a Nov. 7 National Journal magazine story on potential replacements: "[A] host of longtime Democratic officials are waiting in the wings, many of them holdovers from the Clinton era. Deputy Secretary Seth Harris worked ...