Obama's Press Conference with Mideast Leaders Video

This was the last press conference of the day yesterday. Obama, President Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah of Jordan, Prime Minister Netanyahu of Isreal, and Palestinian Authority President Abbas speak:

Obama's Schedule Sept. 1 Includes Meetings With Mideast Leaders

Obama kicks off September with Mideast peace talks. Obama will meet individually with the heads of Israel, Palestinian Authority, Jordan and Egypt. He will speak to the press at 5:20 pm eastern and the leaders will hold a conference together at 7 pm. Live stream here. All times are eastern.

9:15 AM	The President participates in a call with FEMA Administrator Fugate on the preparations being made in advance of Hurricane Earl Oval Office Closed Press
10:45 AM	The President holds a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel Oval Office Pool Spray at the Top
1:30 PM	The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority Oval Office Pool Spray at the Top
2:45 PM	The President holds a bilateral meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan Oval Office Pool Spray at the Top
4:00 PM	The President holds a bilateral meeting with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt Oval Office Pool Spray at the Top
5:20 PM	The President delivers a statement to the press Rose Garden Open Press
7:00 PM	The President and visiting leaders deliver statements to the press East Room Open Press
8:00 PM	The President hosts a working dinner with visiting leaders Old Family Dining Room Closed Press

New Mid-East Peace Talks Date Set for Sept. 2

Hillary Clinton announced a relaunch of Mid-East peace talks tentatively set for Sept. 2, bringing together Mahmoud Abbas and Benjamin Netanyahu.
It's interesting that CBS labeled this video--"Obama's vacations" as opposed to "peace talks to resume." I guess no one would watch if it was about peace talks because we'd much rather speculate and gyrate and play the Obama vacation game.

Obama Speaks on His Meeting With Abbas

Now, we've just gone through a difficult period in the region. We saw the tragedy with the flotillas, something that I think has drawn attention all around the world to the ongoing problems in Gaza. As part of the United Nations Security Council, we were very clear in condemning the acts that led to this crisis and have called for a full investigation. And it is important that we get all the facts out. But what we also know is that the situation in Gaza is unsustainable. I think increasingly you're seeing debates within Israel, recognizing the problems with the status quo. And so President Abbas and I had very extensive discussions about how we could help to promote a better approach to Gaza.

We agree that Israelis have the right to prevent arms from entering into Gaza that can be used to launch attacks into Israeli territory. But we also think that it is important for us to explore new mechanisms so that we can have goods and services, and economic development, and the ability of people to start their own businesses, and to grow the economy and provide opportunity within Gaza. Read the full transcript

Obama Meets with Palestinian Authority's Abbas June 9

Obama speaks on buses at the rained out Memorial Day ceremony in Illinois

Update June 9: Obama speaks on his meeting with Abbas. Video.

Obama meets with Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority at 11:30 am eastern.
At 2 pm eastern, Obama will get an update on the oil spill. On Monday and Tuesday next week, he's headed back to the gulf states to have a look around.
Other than briefings, that's all that's on Obama's public schedule for the day.

Obama Urges Abbas Move Toward Direct Negotiations

From the White House:

The President spoke today with President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. The President congratulated President Abbas on the start of Israeli-Palestinian proximity talks. He reiterated his strong support for the establishment of an independent, viable Palestinian state living in peace and security with Israel. The President and President Abbas discussed the need for both parties to negotiate seriously and in good faith, and to move from proximity talks to direct negotiations as soon as possible in order to reach an agreement on permanent status issues. The President expressed appreciation for President’s Abbas recent outreach to the Israeli people by appearing on Israeli television, and urged that President Abbas do everything he can to prevent acts of incitement or delegitimization of Israel. The President confirmed his intention to hold both sides accountable for actions that undermine trust during the talks. He said he looks forward to receiving President Abbas at the White House soon.

Netanyahu Says No Can Do

I'm tired of the Middle East's inability to resolve its issues, leaving the rest of the world vulnerable. These people are all grownups, yet for decades they've been unable to solve their problems. Apparently, Obama has dropped the freeze requirement, so I guess the ball is now in Mahmoud Abbas' court and he's stated he wants a freeze first:

Prodding Israel and the Palestinian Authority to restart talks aimed at a permanent resolution of their decades-old conflict, President Obama dropped a demand for an Israeli settlement freeze, U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials said.

"Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward," Obama told reporters before a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"It is time to show the flexibility and common sense and sense of compromise that is necessary to achieve our goals," Obama said. CNN

Obama Says Middle East Peace Negotiations Must Persist

After Obama's climate change speech, he met with Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas:

Obama Meetup With Netanyahu and Abbas Sept. 22

Obama and Mahmoud Abbas. Below, Netanyahu

U.S. President Barack Obama will hold a joint meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to help restart peace talks between the two sides, the White House said.

Obama, who will be in New York for the U.N. General Assembly next week, will meet with each leader separately before convening the joint session with them.

"These meetings will continue the efforts of President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Special Envoy George Mitchell to lay the groundwork for the re-launch of negotiations, and to create a positive context for those negotiations so that they can succeed," the statement said.

U.S. envoy Mitchell recently returned from a shuttle diplomacy trip to Jerusalem and Arab capitals.

"It is another sign of the President's deep commitment to comprehensive peace that he wants to personally engage at this juncture," Mitchell said in the White House statement. Haaretz

Middle East on Verge of Restarting Peace Talks

This is rather exciting news:

From the Guardian:

Obama has pencilled in the announcement of his breakthrough for either a meeting of world leaders at the UN general assembly in New York in the week beginning 23 September or the G20 summit in Pittsburgh on 24-25 September.

The president, who plans to make his announcement flanked by Netanyahu and the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas – plus the leaders of as many Arab states as he can muster – hopes that a final peace agreement can be negotiated within two years, a timetable viewed as unrealistic by Middle East analysts.

Obama had hoped to unveil his plans before the start of Ramadan last weekend but failed to complete the deal with the Israelis or the Arab states in time. Read the whole thing

Obama and Abbas News Conference Video

Obama reiterates he's a believer in two-state solution.

Obama Meets with Israeli Palestinian Leaders

Obama's on a roll. He's doing the U.S. proud.

JERUSALEM — Senator Barack Obama opened a day of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Wednesday, sharing breakfast with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak before traveling to the West Bank to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Mr. Obama, who shuttled between morning meetings at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, also visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Wearing a white yarmulke, he rekindled a flame and paused for a few moments of quiet reflection as he laid a wreath on a tomb that contains ashes from Nazi extermination camps.

“At a time of great peril and promise, war and strife, we are blessed to have such a powerful reminder of man’s potential for great evil, but also our capacity to rise from tragedy and remake our world,” Mr. Obama said after visiting the memorial. “Let our children come here, and know this history, so they can add their voices to proclaim “never again.” And may we remember those who perished, not only as victims but also as individuals who hoped and loved and dreamed like us, and who have become symbols of the human spirit.”

Mr. Obama later met with Mr. Abbas and the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, Salam Fayyad, for one hour — 15 minutes longer than scheduled — at the Mukata, the Palestinian president’s compound in Ramallah.
.....
Mr. Obama received a warm reception from President Shimon Peres of Israel, who said his fondest wish was for a “great president of the United States. That is the greatest promise for us and the rest of the world.”

As he strolled with Mr. Peres just before their meeting, Mr. Obama said: “I’m here on this trip to reaffirm the special relationship between Israel and the United States, my abiding commitment to Israel’s security and my hope that I can serve as an effective partner whether as U.S. senator or as president in bringing about a more lasting peace in the region.”

“You are a person who has forgotten more than I will ever know on these issues and so I look forward to a robust discussion, having an opportunity to get your insights and your wisdom,” he told Mr. Peres.

.....

Mr. Obama also met with the opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, who told reporters that Israeli-Palestinian relations and Iran were the main points of his morning conversation. “The senator and I agreed that the primacy of preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear power is clear, and this should guide our mutual policies,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a statement.

He added that Mr. Obama told him “he would never seek in any way to compromise Israel’s security, and that this would be sacrosanct in his approach to political negotiations.”

Obama Travels to Israel July 22

On July 22, Obama will meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other Israeli officials. Obama also is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a trip to Ramallah on July 23.
From the Israel Project, a nonprofit that educates the press and public on Israel: 

With the looming threat of a nuclear Iran, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama plans to travel to Israel and the West Bank on July 22 and 23 as part of a diplomatic trip to the Middle East and Europe. [1]

“The Iranian regime supports violent extremists and challenges us across the region,” Obama said in a speech last month in Washington, D.C. “It pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race and raise the prospect of a transfer of nuclear know-how to terrorists. Its President denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off the map. The danger from Iran is grave; it is real; and my goal will be to eliminate this threat…I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally, Israel.” Iran, Obama said, is now enriching uranium and has reportedly stockpiled 150 kilos, or 331 lbs., of low enriched uranium. [2]

While in Israel, Obama is slated to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and other top Israeli officials. The Democratic presumptive nominee also is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a trip to Ramallah on July 23. [3]

“Israel is a strong and close friend of the United States, and is confronting grave threats from Gaza to Tehran,” said Obama in a statement to the press, referring to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and to Iran, which funds the terrorist group. [4] Israel voluntarily evacuated all of its roughly 9,000 citizens from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in 2005 in hopes of paving the way for peace.

Next week’s trip marks Obama’s second visit to Israel. [5] During his first trip in January 2006, Obama traveled to a town near the Lebanese border, where he visited the home of a family that had been hit by a missile fired by Iran-backed Hezbollah. [6] Hezbollah, which receives funding, weapons and training from Iran, started a war against Israel in July 2006 during which it kidnapped and killed Israeli soldiers inside Israel [7] and launched thousands of missiles at northern Israel. [8]

In his June 4 speech in Washington, D.C. Obama said that if he wins the presidency he would work to move the peace process forward. “Israelis understand that real security can only come through lasting peace,” Obama said in his speech. “I will work to help Israel achieve the goal of two states, a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security.” [9]

The Israel Project's everything you ever wanted to know about Israel. 

Obama's Trip Details

Update: Details and map of his trip

Update: Obama lands in Afghanistan
More details on Obama's trip overseas. Here are the people he'll meet:

Time: The campaign also provided a fuller list than we have seen to date of the foreign leaders with whom Obama will be meeting. They include: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Conservative Party Leader David Cameron; German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier; French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In Israel, he will meet with President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu. And in Ramallah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salaam Fayad.

I'm hoping Obama's trip is more than swooning folks, though it's exciting to know that Obama inspires so many, and yes, I want to see them swoon. 

I hope, and I think that he will, have meaningful discussions with all the leaders he meets.
Then, I hope Americans are satisfied that he's ready to be commander in chief and he gets back to the economy because people really want to hear more details on that. 

There's no sign that foreclosures are letting up. What's going to happen to the surplus of houses?
The economy is such a mess. It's like all the pieces of the puzzle went awry. How to put it back together?
Obama needs to blow McCain out of the water with more economy details.