Monday, January 04, 2010

Obama Meets With Intelligence Officials Jan. 5

The Obamas return

Update Jan. 5: List of attendees at the intel meeting.

Bill Burton addressed the press today. The first question regards Obama's intel meeting tomorrow:
Q Just one basic question -- will we hear from him tomorrow after the meeting?
MR. BURTON: Stay tuned. But there is, as of now, no travel, foreign or domestic, this week. I know there were some rumors to that effect. I want to put you all at ease.
Q The President was planning on and I presume still is planning on starting a jobs push in January. This is now perhaps being mixed up with the national security issue. What happens next on that front?
MR. BURTON: Well, as you know, when you're President of the United States you've got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, so you can anticipate there's going to be a very heavy push to get Americans back to work, to get the economy as strong as it can be, along with some of the other things that we left behind at the end of the year to get finished up here -- health care, financial regulatory reform, things like that. But then also along with what's happening on these counterterrorism measures and Yemen, we've also got issues to deal with with Iran and North Korea and Pakistan. And you can bet that the President and his principals and deputies will all be taking on their full plates of work with rested minds hopefully and we'll be able to make some good progress here right out of the starting gate.Read more at Time
Regarding Obama's upcoming State of the Union speech:
Q How much of the State of the Union is going to be taken up by this Christmas Day event?
MR. BURTON: Well, we're in the process of piecing together what it will be -- a speech that is going to have to cover quite a bit of ground. So at this point, it's hard to say with any specificity. Obviously it will have a role, but that speech is still very much in the midst of an ongoing process towards completion.
Q Do we have a date on that yet?
MR. BURTON: No.