White House

White House spokesman Jay Carney was asked aboard Air Force One about President Obama's position on same sex marriage. He punted. Again. From today's pool report:

On whether the White House feels the need to clarify the president's gay marriage stance, Carney said he had no updates. He said he's sure POTUS will be asked about the topic in future interviews and press conferences and will discuss his views then.

President Obama is currently speaking at Washington-Lee High School, a luxury school just outside Washington, D.C., about the high cost of education. The president's mission is, we learn from the pool report, "to discuss the cost of college education and to build pressure on Congress to extend the low-interest student loan program that will expire on July 1 unless Congress acts."

The men and women who go the hard yards to cover the White House belong to an organization that calls itself the White House Correspondent's Association. This outfit puts on a little soiree every year, where members can decompress after the tortures of being condescended to, hour after hour, by spokesman Jay Carney.

The president was unaware of further allegations about Secret Service misconduct before reading about in today's newspapers, spokesman Jay Carney said at today's White House briefing.

In a Sunday story in the New York Times, former congressman Patrick Kennedy alleged "quid pro quo" access to the White House.

“Look, I want folks to get rich in this country,” Mr. Obama said. “I think it’s wonderful when people are successful. That’s part of the American dream.”—New York Times

But the president would, it seems, rather distract audiences by talking about the "Buffett Rule."

The White House sent out an email earlier today reminding folks that "President Obama created the Federal Taxpayer Receipt." (Previously, the White House promoted this very thing last year.)

Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an unemployment rate of 8.3 percent for February, which is equal to the rate in January and lower than the rate throughout 2011.

The estimable George Will is almost ready to hoist the white flag on the 2012 presidential election. Neither Mitt Romney nor Rick Santorum, he writes in his column for this Sunday (an advance copy of which was obtained by Politico), “seems likely to be elected.” And while conservatives, Will advises, should vote for whichever is nominated, there may well “come a point when … conservatives turn their energies to a goal much more attainable than . . . electing Romney or Santorum president. It is the goal of retaining control of the House and winning control of the Senate. . . . [C]onservatives this year should have as their primary goal making sure Republicans wield all the gavels in Congress in 2013.”

Matt Continetti, writing at the Washington Free Beacon, argues that the election is not just about the economy:

ABC News: "Senate Democrats Say Obama ‘Reinforced’ His Stance on Contraception Mandate at Democratic Retreat"

Jake Tapper: "The White House Has No Opinion About Whether the Senate Should Pass a Budget"

As British troops reached Washington on August 24, 1814, Dolley Madison was emptying the President’s House. As she packed up the silver and drapery, the object she most wanted to rescue was causing trouble: Gilbert Stuart’s full-length portrait of George Washington. So firmly was this fastened to the wall that the White House doorkeeper and gardener had to chop its frame to pieces before it could be ingloriously carted away to safety.