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Barack Obama has vowed to bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if he is elected President of the United States. The senator said today that he would work to bring to bring peace into the troubled region 'from the minute he is sworn into office.' Obama, who has flown into Israel, faces a packed schedule of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Obama After arriving in Jerusalem a day earlier, Obama said he hoped his administration would strengthen the historic special relationship between the United States and Israel. He also vowed that Israel as a valued ally with the...

President Barack Obama greets Chinese President Hu Jintao during the official arrivals for the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Monday April 12, 2010

President Obama’s honeymoon is beginning to fade. Members of Congress and old political hands say he needs to show substantial progress reviving the economy soon. Some Democrats have started to worry that voters don’t and won’t understand the link between economic revival and Obama’s huge agenda, which includes saving the banking industry, ending home foreclosures, reforming healthcare and developing a national energy policy, among much else. While lawmakers debate controversial proposals contained in the new president’s debut budget — cutting farm subsidies, raising taxes on charitable contributions, etc. — there is a growing sense that time is running out faster...

President Barack Obama, sounding weary of criticism over federal earmarks, defended Congress' pet projects Wednesday as he signed an "imperfect" $410 billion measure with thousands of examples. But he said the spending does need tighter restraint and listed guidelines to do it. Obama, accused of hypocrisy by Republicans for embracing billions of dollars of earmarks in the legislation, said they can be useful and noted that he has promised to curb, not eliminate them. On another potentially controversial matter, the president also issued a "signing statement" with the bill...

President Obama’s honeymoon is beginning to fade. Members of Congress and old political hands say he needs to show substantial progress reviving the economy soon. Some Democrats have started to worry that voters don’t and won’t understand the link between economic revival and Obama’s huge agenda, which includes saving the banking industry, ending home foreclosures, reforming healthcare and developing a national energy policy, among much else. While lawmakers debate controversial proposals contained in the new president’s debut budget — cutting farm subsidies, raising taxes on charitable contributions, etc. — there is a growing sense that time is running out faster...

The signs are becoming increasingly clear that Obama is in way over his head. Supporters tout the quick passage of the stimulus and omnibus, but those were practically inevitable given the large majorities enjoyed by the Democrats in Congress. Yet with the first fifty days of his presidency in the history books, his missteps far outweigh his achievements, and the early signs are that Obama and his team simply are not up to the job. Obama’s missteps are many. From the overabundance of withdrawn nominations for cabinet and other administration positions, to his complete and utter lack of decorum with...