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Obama's submits his latest budget plan to Congress early next month. The White House drove home the point Thursday when it said Obama's budget would drop his past offer to cut spending on federal benefits with lower cost-of-living increases for beneficiaries.
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New White House political office an early warning system for Obama in fluid midterm year
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- For as long as Barack Obama has been president, Democrats have complained he's done far too little to help elect his party's candidates.
• Now the White House political office, shuttered by Obama three years ago, is back and in full swing. The six-person team set up shop last month, ahead of midterm elections in November in which Democratic losses could render Obama's final years in office an exercise in futility.
• Working out of the same building that houses Vice President Joe Biden's staff, the office provides real-time, constant communication between the White House and the myriad political groups working to elect Democrats this year.
• One White House official described the office as an "early warning system" in a year when Republicans will spend a fortune trying to use Obama's political weaknesses against his fellow Democrats.
• Democrats are anxiously protecting their fragile Senate majority and hope to gain House seats, while Obama is pushing legislative proposals that have hit roadblocks despite his insistence that they enjoy broad political support.
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Obama to host Dalai Lama for White House meeting over objections from China
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama is hosting the Dalai Lama at the White House over the stern objection of China, which warned the meeting would "inflict grave damages" on the U.S. relationship with the Asian powerhouse.
• Obama will greet the Tibetan spiritual leader and fellow Nobel laureate on Friday while the Dalai Lama is in the U.S. on a speaking tour. The White House did not announce the meeting until late Thursday, prompting a gruff complaint from Beijing in what has become something of a diplomatic ritual whenever Obama meets with the exiled Buddhist monk.
• Urging Obama to cancel the meeting, China's government accused the president (Continued on page 30)
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