Jay Carney

President Obama on Tuesday became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Puerto Rico in a half-century, lauding the contributions residents have made in writing "the American story. " The visit fulfilled a campaign pledge made in 2008, when the island territory's votes were contested in the Democratic primaries, and signals the importance of the Latino vote to the president's reelection strategy for 2012. "When I ran for president, I promised to include Puerto Rico not just on my itinerary, but also in my vision of where our country needs to go. And I am proud to say that we've kept that promise," he said.

Emerging from a second round of talks on the budget, Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he remains optimistic about coming to a consensus plan to reduce the deficit, even as stark differences remain between the parties. Biden said members of the bipartisan working group went over their respective positions at the latest Blair House summit, and "agree on a lot. " But he acknowledged that it is unclear whether "we cross the finish line with [this] group. " In his April speech outlining his deficit reduction plan, President Obama tasked Biden with heading these negotiations with Republicans and Democrats from both chambers of Congress.

The White House declined Wednesday to weigh in on the scandal involving Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner, amid new pressure for him to step down. Tim Kaine, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee who is now running for a U.S. Senate seat in Virginia, told a local television station earlier that "lying publicly" about his behavior was "unforgivable and he should resign. " He was the first prominent Democrat to expressly call for him to do so. Asked for President Obama's position, press secretary Jay Carney said at his daily briefing that he had "no comment on that story.

President Obama plans to barnstorm the Midwest later this month in an effort to shift his focus back on the economy and boost his sagging poll numbers after the grueling debt-ceiling fight. The weeks of sausage-making in Washington during the spending fight took a toll on all involved. Obama's job approval rating sank to 40% last week in Gallup's daily tracking poll -- the lowest score of his term. Congress fared even worse; a CNN/Opinion Research poll showed just 14% of Americans approved of its performance, while 84% disapproved -- the worst score ever recorded.

Rick Perry proved he can play offense by threatening Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, but on Tuesday the Republican presidential candidate found himself playing defense as the White House and his Texas foes struck back. Speaking in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Monday, Perry was asked about Bernanke and his policy of quantitative easing, having the Federal Reserve buy Treasury securities as way to stimulate the economy. “If this guy prints more money between now and the election, I don't know what you all would do to him in Iowa, but we would treat him pretty ugly down in Texas,” Perry said.

Continuing his bid to court Jewish voters unhappy with President Obama's policy toward Israel, Mitt Romney Wednesday seized upon media reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Obama exchanged unkind words about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While the two leaders attended the G20 summit in Cannes last week. Sarkozy, apparently unaware that French journalists could hear him through headsets designed for simultaneous translation, reportedly said of Netanyahu: “I can't stand to see him anymore, he's a liar.” To which Obama replied, according to French translation of his remarks, “You are fed up with him, but me, I have to deal with him every day.” In a statement Wednesday, Romney questioned Obama's commitment to Israel.

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John A. Boehner has launched "Plan B" in budget talks, announcing Tuesday that he will bring for a vote his proposal to extend expiring tax breaks for all but the wealthiest Americans who earn more than $1 million a year. The Ohio Republican's decision, shared behind closed doors during a morning meeting of rank-and-file lawmakers, is an abrupt shift after he and Obama substantially narrowed their differences in the latest round of talks. The prospects in Congress for Boehner's proposal are unclear.

Two more Secret Service employees have resigned and another two have been cleared as part of the ongoing prostitution scandal investigation. According to the agency, the actions Tuesday bring to eight the number of employees who have resigned or left the agency for alleged misconduct in Cartagena, Colombia, ahead of President Obama's arrival for an international summit April 13. Three employees have now been cleared of serious misconduct but...

WASHINGTON -- At least they agreed on the sandwiches. President Obama and GOP congressional leaders emerged from a lunch meeting Wednesday to report they still don't agree on a strategy for deficit reduction, but the hoagies were tasty. White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the president used the meeting, the first since February, to urge House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to take up his short list of legislative priorities aimed at the economy.

President Obama plans to unveil his new job-creation plan in a speech to a joint session of Congress on the evening of Sept. 7, the White House announced Wednesday. In a tweet, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer first revealed that Obama had requested the rare speech to a joint session "to lay out his plan to create jobs, grow the economy and reduce the deficit. " "As I have traveled across our country this summer and spoken with our fellow Americans, I have heard a consistent message: Washington needs to put aside politics and start making decisions based on what is best for our country and not what is best for each of our parties in order to grow the economy and create jobs.