The L.A. Times: “Trayvon Martin’s parents applauded President Obama’s remarks on their son’s death Friday, saying they were ‘deeply honored and moved.’”
John McCain called Obama’s remarks “very impressive.”
With Obama set to make a series of economic speeches and immigration reform hanging in the balance the president, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi will meet with OFA. “Organizing for Action, which is run by former White House and campaign aides, has tried to build public pressure on members of Congress to enact the president’s second-term agenda,” the AP writes. “The group raised more than $8 million between April and June.”
“Drawing renewed attention to the economy, President Barack Obama will return this week to an Illinois college where he once spelled out a vision for an expanded and strengthened middle class as a freshman U.S. senator, long before the Great Recession would test his presidency,” AP writes. “The address Wednesday at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill., will be the first in a new series of economic speeches that White House aides say Obama intends to deliver over the next several weeks ahead of key budget deadlines in the fall. A new fiscal year begins in October, and the government will soon hit its borrowing limit.”
USA Today: “President Obama will kick off a several-weeks long effort Wednesday to barnstorm the country and press resistant Republicans to work with him to bolster the economy.”
Vice President Biden’s in India and on Thursday heads to Singapore. “American businesses have been pressuring the Obama administration to take up with India the need for stronger intellectual property protection,” AP writes. “In the past decade, bilateral trade has been growing steadily, but US business groups have complained about the slow pace of economic reform in India and have urged New Delhi open up its markets further. New Delhi is expected to air its concerns about proposals in the US Congress to curb visas for high-tech Indian workers. India and the United States will also discuss regional security, including efforts to end the conflict in Afghanistan. The U.S. increasingly views India as a partner in developing Afghanistan, where New Delhi has provided $2 billion in assistance. Washington also wants India to play a more active role in training Afghan security forces as the U.S. and its NATO allies withdraw combat forces by 2014.”
“A new USA TODAY/Bipartisan Policy Center poll finds that Americans by more than 2-1 say the best way to make positive changes in society is through volunteer organizations and charities, not by being active in government. Those younger than 30 are particularly put off by politics. They are significantly less likely than their parents to say participating in politics is an important value in their lives.”
Helen Thomas died Saturday. She was 92.
USA Today: “Presidents don't often comment on the deaths of reporters, but Helen Thomas wasn't your typical reporter. The first female journalist to cover the president full time, Thomas reported -- aggressively -- on 10 chief executives, from John Kennedy to Barack Obama.”
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on TODAY: “For more than half a century, she was the first lady of the White House press corps, covering 10 presidents, making history herself. … A pioneer woman in a man’s profession not afraid of asking pointed questions.”
Quinnipiac finds President Obama’s approval rating underwater in Iowa with just a 41% approval rating.