“In his first year, the president seemed to be everywhere, talking about everything. In his fifth year, he is choosing his opportunities — even if it appears he is not always in command of events,” the New York Times says. “Some compare Mr. Obama’s approach to the ‘hidden hand’ style of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who often steered events behind the scenes without being public about his role. Jim Newton, the author of “Eisenhower: The White House Years,” a book with back-cover blurbs from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry, said Mr. Obama was like the former president in avoiding major international conflict, relying more on covert action and letting Congress take the lead in legislation.
The AP: “When President Barack Obama first addressed the death of Trayvon Martin last year, he did so passionately, declaring that if he had a son, he would look like the slain 17-year-old. His powerful and personal commentary marked a rare public reflection on race from the nation’s first black president. But now, with the man who fatally shot Martin acquitted and the burden of any future charges squarely on his own administration, Obama is seeking to inject calm into a case that has inflamed passions, including his own.”
USA Today: “It's a local television kind of day for President Obama as he tries to sell his immigration plan. Obama sits for interviews with the anchors of Spanish language television stations in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Denver.”
“The nonprofit group supporting President Barack Obama’s agenda paid the president’s re-election campaign nearly $700,000 during the past three months to rent the campaign’s extensive list of supporters and buy equipment,” the AP writes. “Organizing for Action was formed out of the president’s campaign earlier this year. Records released Monday show the group paid the president’s campaign an initial fee of $300,000 for the list of supporters and monthly fees of $87,500 to rent it.”
USA Today looks at the presidency of Gerald Ford. This past weekend, July 14, Ford would have been 100.
A Swedish professor nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Hill: “The one-year delay in ObamaCare's employer mandate won't have much effect on the law's costs or the number of people it covers, according to a new study from the Urban Institute.”
Politico has a health-care primer.