Paul Mirengoff, Power Line
The Washington Post has obsessed over an incident in which Mitt Romney allegedly cut the hair of a fellow high school student. The mainstream media paid plenty of attention to George W. Bush’s “irresponsible youth,” and speculated about whether he had used cocaine. Yet, the MSM has essentially ignored Barack Obama’s admission in his autobiography of cocaine use, of attending Socialist seminars while in college, and of being drawn as a young man to Marxists and Communists.

Michael Barone, DC Examiner
In the run-up to this weekend's G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European "austerity" with Barack Obama's economic policies.European spending cuts, the argument goes, have hurt people and are arousing political opposition, while Obama's proposals to keep federal spending at 24 percent of gross domestic product indefinitely are likely to succeed.Evil Republican spending cuts, in contrast, would deny the economy needed stimulus and wreak havoc on ordinary people.But the facts undermine the storyline. Veronique de Rugy of the Mercatus...

Lee Habeeb, National Review
She didn’t see it coming. One day, Oprah Winfrey turned around, and her nationally syndicated show was sliding in the ratings, and her audience was fleeing en masse. And it happened soon after a day she thought was one of the best in her life.Isn’t that how all the giants fall? When they least expect it?It was the day Oprah announced she was backing the African-American candidate, then-senator Barack Obama, over the highly qualified and experienced woman candidate, then-senator Hillary Clinton.

CAMP DAVID, Md. -- Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge.

"There's now an emerging consensus that more must be done to promote growth and job creation right now," Obama proclaimed after hosting unprecedented economic talks at Camp David, his secluded and highly secure mountaintop retreat. Seeking a second term amid hard economic times, Obama hailed a debate heading in the direction he likes, with nations now talking of ways to spark their economies instead of just slashing spending.

Yet there were no bold prescriptions at hand. Instead, leaders seemed intent on trying to inspire confidence by agreeing on a broad strategy no matter their differences. With all of them facing their own difficult political realities, they built some sovereign wiggle room into their pledge to take all necessary steps, saying "the right measures are not the same for each of us."

Obama played international host as Europe's debt crisis threatens to drag down the U.S. recovery and his own political future, underscoring the stakes for him in getting allies abroad to rally around some answers.

Much of the new emphasis on government-led growth seemed aimed at German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who came to the summit as the European leader who had demanded austerity as the most important step toward easing the eurozone's debt crisis. But the election of Socialist Francois Hollande as president of France, and Greek elections that created political chaos in the country were clear rejections of the belt-tightening Merkel represented.

Hollande, a new voice at the table in just his first week on the job, offered Obama a reminder of his own responsibilities to work to expand the economy, "even if he's in an electoral period and who has a Congress that's not necessarily easy to deal with."

Coping with shaky oil markets, the leaders set the stage for a united release of world oil reserves to balance any disruption in world markets when tough new sanctions are imposed on Iran's exports because of its disputed nuclear program. The leaders said they were ready to take "appropriate action" to meet any shortages.

The mere preparation to release oil reserves could help calm markets and ensure that oil prices, which have been dropping, don't climb again and anger consumers as U.S. elections approach.

The Group of Eight summit includes leaders of the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.

A joint summit statement reflected how urgently the countries must contain a financial crisis that could spread from the eurozone to the United States and infect the rest of the global economy. They declared unanimity in ensuring that Greece, which is crippled in debt and politically gridlocked, remains as part of the 17-member euro currency union.

"The leaders here understand the stakes," Obama said in summing up a packed, unusually intimate day of world talks. "They know the magnitude of the choices they have to make and the enormous political and economic and social costs if they don't."

Merkel said growth and deficit-cutting reinforced each other and that everyone around the table agreed. "That is great progress," she said. As for promoting growth, she said investments under consideration include research and development, Internet networks and infrastructure. But she said "this doesn't mean stimulus in the usual sense."

U.S. officials agreed, saying growth measures that the Europeans might pursue don't all require outright public spending, and could be in the form of public-private partnerships or in initiatives designed to loosen credit. And the leaders stayed away entirely from the world "stimulus," which has taken on an unpopular political connotation, including in the United States.

"The global economic recovery shows signs of promise, but significant headwinds persist," said G-8 leaders said.

The tension between austerity and growth – whether to slash debt by cutting budgets or use public money and other means to help spur economic growth – was the backdrop as Obama welcomed an emerging push for a balance between the two.

He seized the opportunity to cast the debate in terms favorable to his own re-election, closing the summit with the steps he took to right the U.S. economy and his economic vision for a second term. He said he was confident Europe could get on a path to recovery as has the United States.

"We know it is possible in part based on our own experience here," he said. "In my earliest days in office, we took decisive steps to confront our own financial crisis."

Obama chose Camp David in part to encourage a freewheeling discussion out of sight of most media and potential protests, allowing the leaders to sit around a cabin table to negotiate terms, or stroll through the leafy paths for chats that seemed a world away from the typical summit convention-hall setting.

It all came before Obama was to lead a much larger NATO summit in Chicago on Sunday and Monday that will be heavily focused on the Afghanistan war.

The drag of a eurozone crisis comes as joblessness and doubts about a life of better opportunities are already the chief concerns for American voters.

In their united view, the leaders conceded some points about Merkel's push for austerity, saying budget deficits must close.

But their joint statement added that budget cutting should "take into account countries' evolving economic conditions and underpin confidence and economic recovery." That suggested a willingness to let indebted countries take more time to reduce their deficits in line with eurozone rules in order to lessen the deadening impact of cuts on the economy.

It also called for "investments in education and in modern infrastructure," which would involve more government spending. That approach also meshes exactly with Obama's campaign-year strategy for accelerated economic growth, which is to keep spending money on core priorities while taking on the debt through cuts and higher taxes.

The statement of support for Greece remaining in the euro underlines the unpredictable damage to the global financial system that could come from a Greece departure. It follows a week of increasing speculation that Greece might not be able to stay the course, and in which a top European Union official said officials were working on emergency plans in case of a Greek exit. That country is facing the most acute financial crisis of the eurozone and is set to hold elections June 17 to end political deadlock.

At issue is whether Greece abandons the euro to escape austerity measures. Meanwhile, Europe's woes have given shudders to Wall Street.

The Fitch ratings agency dropped Greece to the lowest possible grade for a country not in default Thursday. Fitch said Greece's departure from the euro "would be probable" if elections next month do not reverse political trends there, which have brought in politicians opposed to the terms of Europe's bailout.

___

Associated Press writers David McHugh, Jamey Keaten, Nancy Benac and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.

George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, are expected to return to the White House later this month to be honored by President Barack Obama with the unveiling of their official portraits that will hang at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The White House confirmed on Friday that the Bushes are slated to revisit their Washington home of eight years on May 31 for a rare joint appearance between the current and past president.

Noam Scheiber, The New Republic
The Wall Street Journal has an intriguing story today about the anxiety in the White House over $2 billion-and-counting loss that JP Morgan announced last week. At first blush, the reason for the angst isn't entirely clear. After all, the loss would seem to strengthen the case for financial reform, which, as it happens, the president signed into law two years ago, and which Mitt Romney opposes. To the extent that JP Morgan revives the debate over financial reform, it would seem to benefit Barack Obama.  

MIAMI -- Sen. Marco Rubio has close ties to a colleague accused of questionable financial dealings. The freshman senator also once was enmeshed in a controversy over the use of the state party's credit card for his personal expenses. And he has faced increased scrutiny over his personal background since bursting onto the national political scene, including conflicting details of his parents' immigration from Cuba and his recently disclosed ties to the Mormon faith.

Will issues like those in Rubio's personal and political background hold back one of the GOP's fastest-rising stars? That's a question being debated in Republican circles in Washington, Florida and elsewhere as the Cuban-American senator with solid conservative credentials works to raise his profile beyond Florida, if not position himself for a national role within the GOP.

"Marco Rubio is a huge star in the Republican Party in much the same way that Barack Obama was in the Democratic Party between his convention speech in 2004 and his candidacy for the president," said Steve Schmidt, a top adviser to John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign. "There are a lot of plusses when you look at Marco Rubio as a potential vice presidential candidate, but there are also unknowns."

Rubio, who all but certainly has political aspirations that extend beyond the Senate, frequently is mentioned by Republican insiders as an attractive candidate to be Mitt Romney's running mate partly because the party needs to attract Hispanic voters in battleground states like Nevada and Florida in November.

While Rubio denies any interest in the No. 2 slot on the ticket this year, he's working hard to stay in the national spotlight. He recently gave a major foreign policy address in Washington, he's talking about writing a bill to allow some young illegal immigrants to remain and work in the country without citizenship, and next month he'll release a memoir.

The country is only just starting to get to know Rubio and his political vulnerabilities, though Florida residents know both well.

Rubio's relationship with fellow freshman lawmaker Rep. David Rivera, now facing a federal probe into tax evasion, and the credit card controversy surfaced during his 2010 Senate campaign. And they didn't have much effect. But that doesn't mean the country as a whole would overlook those eyebrow-raising issues.

"Floridians may be numb to these hits because of the rough-and-tumble nature of politics in the state, when it's looked at by a national audience it may not be as palatable," said Abe Dyk, a political strategist who managed the 2010 Senate campaign of Rubio's Democratic challenger.

Rubio and Rivera met in 1992, during the campaign of former Republican Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, a fellow South Florida Cuban-American. The two rose through the ranks in the statehouse with Rivera oftentimes playing bad cop to the more congenial Rubio.

During the legislative session, they shared a Tallahassee townhouse, which a bank began foreclosure proceedings on in 2010. Rubio made only partial payments on that mortgage for five months in 2010, even as he held jobs as a consultant, professor and TV commentator. He has said the missed payments were due to a dispute over the terms of the mortgage.

State officials closed a criminal probe into Rivera's personal financial dealings without filing charges but didn't clear him entirely. They cited Florida's brief statute of limitations and its lax campaign finance laws for not charging him with living off of his campaign funds and failing to disclose his income.

In the last year, Rubio has publicly kept some distance from Rivera and has said that his friend has some issues he must address on the campaign trail. Still, Rubio threw a small Washington fundraiser for Rivera last week. So far, Rubio hasn't faced blowback from his friendship with Rivera.

"It's tough to say how that will play out," says Emilio Gonzalez, a consultant who served in the Bush administration and sees Rubio as a potentially formidable presidential candidate in 2016.

If Rubio were to end up on the GOP presidential ticket or mount his own national campaign in the coming years, he all but certainly would face questions about the scandal over the use of state GOP funds when he was the speaker of the Florida House.

The head of the party, Jim Greer, was forced to resign following revelations he and his second-in-command charged $1.5 million on party credit cards, much of it on luxurious hotels, fancy restaurants, chauffeured sedans and lavish entertaining. Greer's trial is set to start July 30, just ahead of the Republican convention, and many Republican observers anticipate he will detail unethical use of party money by other high-ranking GOP officials.

Rubio himself spent more than $100,000 on the party card between 2006 and 2008, paying off about $16,000 in personal expenses and claiming the rest as official party business. His records from 2005, when he was lobbying to become Florida House speaker, never were released. When asked about using the party card for personal expenses, Rubio has said he sometimes just pulled the wrong card out of his wallet and he has called it a "lesson learned."

He also has had to answer criticism for how he spent money donated to two political committees he formed - including payments to relatives. He has acknowledged the bookkeeping for at least one of the accounts was sloppy.

And then there's the fuzziness around his family's background.

Rubio long claimed his parents fled Fidel Castro's regime. But it was recently disclosed that they arrived several years before Castro took power – although they quickly embraced the Cuban exile community as Castro turned toward communism. Rubio has said the dates he gave were based on his parents' recollections.

There's another part of Rubio's upbringing that long had gone undisclosed, and the revelation is one that could turn off evangelicals who make up the base of the GOP.

Rubio was baptized as Mormon when his family lived for a few years in Las Vegas, thanks to the influence of cousins who belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rubio returned to the Catholic Church as a young teen, and as an adult he has also frequently attended Baptist services.

When it comes to the vice presidency, Rubio's greatest liability may be one only time can resolve.

"I suspect that the Romney campaign is going to pick someone who is viewed as unquestionably qualified for the office," said Schmidt, who was intimately involved in McCain's selection of Sarah Palin. "To the extent that (Rubio's) in his first term, he's in the first two years of his term and he's 40 years old probably doesn't help him."

___

Farrington reported from Tallahassee, Fla.

Follow Laura Wides-Munoz on Twitter: (at)lwmunoz

WASHINGTON -- The reelection campaign of President Barack Obama reported raising $25.7 million in April, down from $35 million raised in March.

While the campaign raised fewer dollars last month than the previous one, its support from small donors remained high with 43.7 percent, or $11.23 million, coming from donors giving less than $200 in total.

Big donors were still a source of support with donors giving $2,500 and above contributing $3.69 million in April.

The employment categories that typically dominate presidential campaign finance filings continued to show big contributions. The leading donor group in April was Retired with $2,595,175. Self-Employed was a close second contributing $2,313,319 and the Not Employed category came in third with $1,682,106 in contributions.

Among individuals who listed an actual employer, tech companies and law firms dominated. The top tech firms in terms of employee giving were Microsoft ($51,747), Google ($28,061), and IBM ($13,768). Law firm donors included Bass Berry & Sims ($22,100), Blank Rome ($12,315), and WilmerHale ($13,359).

A few finance company employees gave their share to the Obama campaign: Goldman Sachs employees gave $14,150 while JPMorgan Chase employees combined to give $10,593.

Mississippi state Rep. Andy Gipson (R) weighed in on President Barack Obama's gay marriage decision last week, invoking a bible passage that calls for gay men to be "put to death."

In a May 10 Facebook post, Gipson called homosexuality a "sin," citing Leviticus 20:13 and Romans 1:26-28:

Leviticus 20:13 reads: "If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

On the same thread, he responded to a follower, calling same-sex relationships "unnatural" and suggesting that they will inherently "result in disease":

UnityMS flagged the post and issued a response to Gipson's comments:

Mr. Gipson needs to realize he represents all of his constituents. He should not cherry-pick which constituents he wants to work for. He should also realize his positions are neither popular nor Republican. LGBT individuals, couples, and families help pay Gipson’s salary. It’s important that he remember that.

While the nation's approval of gay marriage has trended upward, topping out at over 50 percent in a recent poll, a November 2011 survey found that only 13 percent of Mississippi voters thought it should be legal, while 78 percent said it should remain illegal. Even among Democrats, only 19 percent expressed support.

The Truth-o-Meter says: Half Flip | Did Mitt Romney flip-flop on the economic stimulus?

During his 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney has been no fan of the stimulus Democrats passed in 2009. On the third anniversary of its passage, Romney issued a news release titled, "Three Years Later, Obama's Stimulus is Still Failing." Democrats contend Romney has flip-flopped on it. On Nov. 28, 2011, the Democratic National Committee released two videos -- a 30-second version and a four-minute version -- that claimed he had flipped on several issues, including the stimulus:     On-screen text: "Opposed the stimulus."     Video clip ...

>> More

Alex Roarty, National Journal
In this Nov. 4, 2008 file photo, young supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama voice their support for him early on election day in New York. The day was a huge moment for Obama with some saying it was a defining moment for a generation of youth who played a key role in electing him. By Alex RoartyThe Great Recession took a sledgehammer to young job-seekers. As a Rutgers University study released this week reported, only half -- 51 percent -- of college graduates since 2006 are employed full-time. Eleven percent of them, the study found, are unemployed -- a...

At a fundraiser in Elbert County last weekend, Colorado Republican Congressman Mike Coffman shared some startling thoughts about President Barack Obama, raising the issue of the president's United States citizenship.

Toward the end of his speech, after citing the downturn in the U.S. economy, Coffman said:

I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that. But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American.

Listen to a clip from the Elbert County fundraiser speech that was uploaded to YouTube above, the remarks about Obama begin at 3:21.

9News, which first reported about Coffman's statement and has complete audio of his speech from Elbert County, spoke to Elbert County Republican Chairman Scott Wills who was in attendance and said that the comment was met with "deafening silence" at first, followed by applause.

Coffman apologized on Wednesday night, completely walking back from his original statement about Obama's citizenship. "I misspoke and I apologize," Coffman said about the comments in Elbert County in a written statement. "I have confidence in President Obama’s citizenship and legitimacy as President of the United States."

Coffman went on to say in his written apology: "However, I don't believe the president shares my belief in American Exceptionalism. His policies reflect a philosophy that America is but one nation among many equals. As a Marine, I believe America is unique and based on a core set of principles that make it superior to other nations."

Fox31 reports that the Democrat challenging Mike Coffman's seat, Rep. Joe Miklosi, slammed Coffman saying, "These outrageous comments once again make clear that Mike Coffman is Colorado’s version of Rush Limbaugh."

In 2011, a Colorado judge ruled in favor of Democratic-drawn redistricting map and in the process made Coffman's once solidly Republican suburban Denver seat (District 6) much more competitive by including a relatively even split of Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated voters, 7News reported.

Congressional boundaries are redrawn every 10 years by the state legislature to accurately reflect population changes.

House Republican leaders are quietly hatching a plan of attack as they await a historic Supreme Court ruling on President Barack Obama's health care law.

If the law is upheld, Republicans will take to the floor to tear out its most controversial pieces, such as the individual mandate and requirements that employers provide insurance or face fines.

The Truth-o-Meter says: Mostly True | Obama ad claims Romney, Bain left misery in wake of GST Steel takeover

Mitt Romney’s business record is the central narrative of his presidential campaign -- and the main line of attack by his rivals. Is he a savvy businessman who understands the factors that make economies thrive? Or a corporate raider who makes rich profits for himself while often leaving working people as collateral damage? You can guess which storyline President Barack Obama’s campaign is weaving. A new ad from Team Obama tells the story of GST Steel, a company taken over by Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney led for years before his entrance into ...

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Alan Simpson, the former Republican senator from Wyoming who co-chaired President Barack Obama's debt commission in 2010, took a swipe at one of his most fervent critics on Tuesday, saying that economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman's work often "borders on hysteria."

During an interview with Bloomberg TV, Simpson was asked what he thought of Krugman's argument that more U.S. government spending would help lift the economy.

"Paul Krugman is a great economist, but he ain't the best in the world," Simpson said. "I love to read his stuff because it borders on hysteria. He talks about the lost souls of the past, and he is in there, too."

Krugman, a Nobel Prize winner, accused Simpson of "blood lust" in 2010 for his affinity for spending cuts.

Simpson also commented on debt commission reforms he proposed with co-chairman Erskine Bowles, a Democrat. The initial Simpson-Bowles plan, which proposed for bringing the top tax rate down by repealing a number of tax cuts and credits, was ignored by lawmakers. A bipartisan budget modeled after their report was also rejected by the House this year. Simpson said he remains optimistic about his recommendations.

"It's like a stink bomb in a garden party, it ain't going away," Simpson, who is known for his colorful turns of phrase, said. "Buckle up your guts."

Simpson also relayed some advice to lawmakers on how to sell his plan to the American public. According to Simpson, it is essential to push the idea of a "shared sacrifice" to get the country out of debt.

"Everybody will get hit," he said. "If you tell people that and be honest with them, and let them bitch and roar and snort, you can make it through there."

Look through more of Simpson's history of colorful statements below:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Defense teams in the Sept. 11 case at Guantanamo are asking a military judge to order senior U.S. government officials to testify at the U.S. base in Cuba as part of a motion to dismiss charges, a lawyer for one of the defendants said Tuesday.

The motion to dismiss includes a request to compel testimony from eight "top officials" from the administrations of President Barack Obama and President George W. Bush, said Navy Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, who represents Saudi defendant Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi.

Ruiz declined to identify the officials, and the motion has not been released pending a security review. A Pentagon spokesman also declined to release the list until it has been cleared for release.

Lawyers for three of the five Guantanamo prisoners charged with aiding and planning the Sept. 11 attacks have joined the motion, which seeks a dismissal of the charges under what is known in the military legal system as "unlawful influence," or an improper attempt to sway the case.

Ruiz said American officials have made statements that have "tainted the entire process" of prosecuting the five Guantanamo prisoners, who include the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

"In the military, a commander of an installation or of a ship can't make public statements about what they believe to be the person's guilt or innocence and what kind of punishment they ought to get," Ruiz said in a telephone interview. "The only difference in this case is you have basically higher ranked officers and administration officials who are making much more public statements about the process and the expectations of the process."

Mohammed and his four co-defendants were arraigned May 5 on charges that include terrorism and murder and could get the death penalty if convicted.

Lawyers for Mohammed and Walid bin Attash have not joined the motion to dismiss but might do so later, Ruiz said.

It was not clear when the judge might rule on the request. The next hearing in the case had been scheduled for June 12 but several of the defense teams have requested a postponement.

Jon Meacham, Time
For me, perhaps the most striking tactical story of the 2008 presidential campaign was the surprising reaction to Barack Obama in the American South. As a native of the region, I was long skeptical about the Illinois Senator’s viability in the Old Confederacy and thus about his national viability.

The Truth-o-Meter says: No Flip | Mitt Romney has maintained consistent stance on same-sex marriage

With President Barack Obama's change of position on gay marriage -- which earned a Full Flop on our Flip-O-Meter -- we thought it was a good time to take a fresh look at Mitt Romney's position on the same issue. Shortly after Obama’s announcement, Romney was pressed about his own stance on same-sex marriage. In each case, he offered similar answers. At a campaign event in Oklahoma City, reporters asked Romney to clarify his position. "My view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman. ...

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The Truth-o-Meter says: False | Obama ad says Romney opposes gay adoption

Within a day of President Barack Obama announcing his support for same-sex marriage, his campaign released an ad chiding Republican rival Mitt Romney for opposing it. It’s true that Romney does not support gay marriage -- he reaffirmed that position the same day as Obama’s historic announcement. But the Obama campaign video claims that Romney would deny certain rights to gay partners, including the right to adopt children. The ad shows short clips of both candidates talking about gay marriage -- Obama saying he supports it, Romney saying he doesn’t -- then ...

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Mitt Romney walked back on his earlier comment that it's "fine" for gay couples to adopt, saying he will "simply acknowledge" that gay adoption is legal.

"Well actually I think all states but one allow gay adoption, so that's a position which has been decided by most of the state legislators, including the one in my state some time ago," Romney told Charlotte, North Carolina's WBTV on Friday. "So I simply acknowledge the fact that gay adoption is legal in all states but one."

Romney's thoughts on gay adoption came up just one day earlier in an interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto. Romney appeared on the show to discuss President Barack Obama's recent support of same-sex marriage when he made a comment on gay couples' parenting.

"I happen to believe that the best setting for raising a child is where this is the opportunity to a mom and a dad to be in the home," Romney said. "I know there are many circumstances where that is not possible, through death or divorce. I also know many gay couples are able to adopt children. That's fine."

Since Obama came out in support of gay marriage on Wednesday, Romney has continually reiterated his views on the issue. While delivering Liberty University's 2012 commencement address on Saturday, Romney again emphasized his stance, saying he believes "marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman."

Tim Stanley, Telegraph
Here’s the problem with the press coverage of Barack Obama: the mainstream media is so overwhelmed by his charisma that they often miss the important details. Every decision, speech, policy statement or impromptu visit to the bathroom is presented as a piece of “history” – the dawn of a new era. The Prez could go seal-clubbing and much of the media would see it as a new epoch for winter sports. “Barack Obama Becomes the First President to Kill Six Seals in Under One Minute,” the New York Times would proudly report, while Twitter...

-- In Europe, where more than 200,000 people thronged a Berlin rally in 2008 to hear Barack Obama speak, there's disappointment that he hasn't kept his promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and perceptions that he's shunting blame for the financial crisis across the Atlantic.

In Mogadishu, a former teacher wishes he had sent more economic assistance and fewer armed drones to fix Somalia's problems. And many in the Middle East wonder what became of Obama's vow, in a landmark 2009 speech at the University of Cairo, to forge a closer relationship with the Muslim world.

In a world weary of war and economic crises, and concerned about global climate change, the consensus is that Obama has not lived up to the lofty expectations that surrounded his 2008 election and Nobel Peace Prize a year later. Many in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America were also taken aback by his support for gay marriage, a taboo subject among religious conservatives.

But the Democrat still enjoys broad international support. In large part, it's because of unfavorable memories of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, and many people would still prefer Obama over his presumptive Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

"We all had high hopes for him," said Filomena Cunha, an office worker in Lisbon, Portugal, who said she's struggling to make ends meet. "But then things got bad and there's not much he can do for us over here."

Obama's rock-star-like reception at Berlin's Victory Column in the summer of 2008 was a high point of a wildly successful European campaign tour. The thawing of a harsh anti-Americanism that had thrived in Europe was as much a reaction to the Bush years as it was an embrace of the presidential hopeful.

Those high European expectations have turned into disappointment, largely because of the continued U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and Obama's failure to close Guantanamo Bay in the face of vehement congressional opposition.

Foreign policy expert Josef Braml, who analyzes the U.S. for the German Council on Foreign Relations, said many Germans give Obama too much of the blame because they don't understand the limits of his powers.

"There's a lack of understanding both of how the system of checks and balances works – or doesn't work any longer – and a lack of understanding of how big the socio-economic problems in the United States are, which cause the gridlock," Braml said in a telephone call from Greece, where he was on vacation.

Obama's views on Europe's financial crisis also have rankled some on the continent. In September, he said the crisis was "scaring the world" and that steps taken by European nations to stem the eurozone debt problem "haven't been as quick as they need to be."

The Obama administration describes the eurozone crisis as a European problem that needs a European solution. The U.S. and Canada last month refused to participate in boosting the International Monetary Fund's financial resources to manage the crisis.

"I think people see through his game to put the blame on Europeans – I think Germans and Europeans still know where the economic crisis had its beginning," Braml said. "That's just finger-pointing, not doing a fair analysis of the dire situation in the U.S., but I can understand Obama is doing that because he wants to get re-elected so they need to shift blame around on the Republicans or the Europeans."

Mehmet Yegin, a specialist in Turkish-American relations at USAK, the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization, said Europe still sees Obama as superior to Romney, "because they primarily evaluate Romney as a Republican and their memories about George W. Bush linger."

Many in the Mideast also would like to see Obama win a second term, though they feel he has not lived up to his Cairo speech, in which he extended a hand to the Islamic world by calling for an end to the cycle of suspicion and discord.

Obama has been the U.S. president "least involved in the Palestinian issue," said Mohammed Ishtayeh, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"We were very optimistic when Obama was elected. He talked in his meeting with us without looking into his notes; that tells how much he knows about our issue," he said.

But since Obama made his Cairo speech, Ishtayeh added, "he found his hands tied and couldn't make much progress."

The Palestinians have refused to conduct peace talks while Israel continues to expand its settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem – areas claimed by the Palestinians. Officials have quietly given up hope for any sort of breakthrough until after the presidential election.

Obama also has a strained relationship with Israel, where Bush was popular. Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been cool to one another in their handful of meetings. Obama's Mideast envoy, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, made no progress during two years of frequent meetings with both sides before quitting last year.

Despite the chilly relations between Obama and Netanyahu, overall ties between the allies remain strong. The U.S. has backed Israel on several key occasions at the United Nations, for instance, helping block a Palestinian attempt to join the world body last year without a peace deal and fending off attempts by other countries to charge Israel with human rights abuses.

"Concerning Israel, he has proved that he is not absolutely rigid but is willing to reconsider when confronted with facts that he would not have expected," said Avraham Diskin, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University.

"He began very inexperienced on all fronts, but he is a very intelligent person and Israelis see that," Diskin added.

In Iraq, site of the war that fed much of the international community's dislike of Bush, Obama has received some credit for pulling out combat forces last year.

"President Obama has removed so much of the cowboy image of America that has been imprinted in the mentality of Iraqis by Bush," Baghdad lawyer Raad Mehsin said.

But Carawan Ahmed, a high school teacher in Iraq's northern Kurdish capital of Irbil, said Obama has ignored the Kurdish minority, which continues to struggle against the Shiite-dominated government.

"When Democrats, including Obama, are in power, we lose the sympathy and support from America. To be frank, the Republicans protected the Kurdish people, while Obama's administration is not," Ahmed said.

In Mogadishu, former schoolteacher Fadumo Hussein retains a shaken support for Obama, but disapproves of the mounting casualties from U.S. drone attacks on Somalia's al-Qaida-linked insurgency while the country's humanitarian need is neglected.

"He only sent drones, not enough assistance," Hussein said. "We don't need bombs, but other means of assistance."

Obama remains popular in Japan, one of the United States' closest allies, though that may be a matter of style over substance, said Koichi Nakano, political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.

"The Japanese like Obama. Maybe they don't know all that much about him, but I guess he continues to be seen as a youthful, energetic, charismatic leader," he said.

America's stature has taken a hit in Japan since the 2008 financial meltdown, which highlighted the excesses of U.S.-style capitalism to many Japanese. They also fret about the increased attention Washington is giving China, which supplanted Japan as the world's second-largest economy.

While still widely admired in Japan, the U.S. "comes across as a more divided country and less self-confident, more concerned about its social harmony and less about the outside world," Nakano said. That's translated into "a general perception that Obama may not be that interested in foreign policy, period."

Obama, however, has tried to build on America's connections to Asia as authoritarian China grows. Adam Lockyer, a lecturer at Sydney University's U.S. Studies Center, said those efforts have been received more warmly in Australia because of who is in charge.

During a visit last year in which he received an overwhelmingly popular reception, Obama announced that up to 2,500 U.S. Marines will be stationed in Australia's north for joint training exercises. Australian government fears of a public backlash were never realized.

"The fact that Obama himself was making the announcement of U.S. troops in Australia quelled a lot of fears," Lockyer said. If Bush had made it, he said, "there would have been a lot more hostility."

"Democrat presidents tend to be a little bit more hesitant to define the world as good and evil, which tends to be more attractive to Australian ears," he said.

___

Don Melvin reported from Brussels, and Rod McGuirk from Canberra, Australia. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers David Rising in Berlin, Ian Deitch in Jerusalem, Mohammed Daraghmeh and Dalia Nammari in Ramallah, West Bank, Malcolm Foster in Tokyo, Mazin Yahya in Baghdad, Abdi Guled in Mogadishu, Somalia, Hamza Hendawi in Cairo, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, and Chris Torchia in Ankara, Turkey.

Accretive Health, a debt-collection company under fire from Minnesota and federal officials for aggressive tactics to squeeze money from hospital patients, is striking back at critics.

In a rebuttal to accusations made by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson (D), Accretive Health flatly denied it has violated federal or Minnesota laws governing debt collection and patient privacy and said its role in hospitals is to help patients find ways to pay for their medical care. "We are proud of what we do," the company said in 29-page report issued Friday evening. "Patients appreciate the education, expertise, and compassion that we provide."

Accretive Health has been battered in Minnesota, Washington, and on Wall Street since Swanson published a six-volume report on her website last month alleging that the Chicago-based company demanded that emergency room patients pay before receiving medical care, that collectors visited patients' bedsides asking for money, and that collectors employed harsh and deceptive tactics. Democratic lawmakers and federal agencies have made inquiries and Accretive Health shares lost more than half their value before rebounding after the company reported positive earnings Thursday.

The Friday report is the latest salvo in Accretive Health's counteroffensive. A week ago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), an ex-congressman and President Barack Obama's former White House chief of staff, came to the defense of the company , asking Swanson to ease off. Accretive Health hired well-connected Washington lobbyist Heather Podesta to "educate policymakers" about its services, according to a disclosure form filed with the Senate in March. In addition, Accretive Health has engaged a crisis public relations firm and its attorneys have hinted that the company may sue Swanson.

Accretive Health acknowledged that its employees or those of hospitals operated by Fairview Health Services in Minnesota spoke to nearly every patient about money during the appointment-making process, at registration, or in their hospital rooms. But the company said Swanson misrepresents these discussions. Emergency room patients were screened and stabilized first and no one was denied care, the company said. Accretive Health said the consultations have resulted in more than 250,000 people obtaining health coverage since 2003.

Swanson characterized these activities differently and said patients were made to think they wouldn't be treated if they didn't pay, which would violate federal law. Her reports alleged Accretive Health employees and hospital staff routinely badgered patients because they were under pressure from managers to collect the most money and were rebuked when they failed to meet targets.

Accretive Health also failed to protect confidential patient information, Swanson said. The attorney general sued Accretive Health in January over a case in which an employee's laptop computer, which contained information about more than 23,000 patients, was stolen from a parked car. Employees of Accretive Health's Medical Financial Solutions division also threatened to report patients to credit agencies, which isn't permitted, the attorney general said. The New York Times first reported Swanson's allegations.

The company may seek to contract the debt-collection work among the most criticized to other firms, Accretive Health CEO Mary Tolan said during a conference call with investors Wednesday.

Neither Friday's report nor any change in Accretive Health's business model is likely to end the controversy as federal agencies and lawmakers have taken an interest.

The Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Trade Commission, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) have joined Swanson in questioning whether Accretive Health goes too far in efforts to make sure hospital clients get paid. Accretive Health's report is in response to questions from Franken, who has scheduled a Senate committee hearing in St. Paul on May 30.

"It seems to me a new, aggressive way of approaching patients," Waxman said. "This is part of an ongoing concern we've had about hospitals charging more to uninsured patients." The federal health care reform law says nonprofit hospitals can only charge uninsured people the "amounts generally billed to individuals who have insurance," according to the Internal Revenue Service. Minnesota law requires hospitals to charge uninsured people the same rate as the insurance company that covers the largest number of their patients, Swanson's reports said.

Investigators from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services visited one of Fairview's hospitals last week to follow up on Swanson's report, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Friday.

The head of that agency, Marilyn Tavenner, wrote hospital industry groups this week to remind them of their obligations to patients and federal law. "We would have serious concerns with the legality of any hospital policy or procedure that may discourage individuals from seeking emergency care," Tavenner wrote to the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, and the Association of American Medical Colleges on Wednesday.

The Federal Trade Commission in March began looking into whether Accretive Health has violated federal debt-collection and credit-reporting laws, the company disclosed in its quarterly report Wednesday.

The American Hospital Association revised its guidelines on hospital billing and collection practices last week in response to the controversy surrounding Accretive Health and to incorporate new requirements from health care reform. "America’s hospitals are committed to doing everything possible to better serve patients and to treat them equitably, with dignity, compassion and respect from the bedside to the billing office," the document said. "Hospitals exist to serve. Their ability to serve well requires a relationship with their communities built on trust and compassion."

The Truth-o-Meter says: Full Flop | President Barack Obama's shifting stance on gay marriage

ABC broke into its daytime lineup May 9, 2012, to announce a historic shift: the president of the United States declaring his personal support for gay marriage. "I've been going through an evolution on this issue," President Barack Obama told ABC News. Indeed. While the president has consistently supported civil rights for gay couples — peppering his comments with specifics such as hospital visitation, transfer of property and Social Security benefits — his discussion of marriage has differed. He’s called same-sex marriage unstrategic, against his religious beliefs, and something ...

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