Page 6 - 8-18-15 Tuesday's Edition

President Obama Preparing Exit Plan
Republican Presidential
President Obama is preparing for his postpresi- dency with the same fierce dis- cipline and fund-raising ambition that characterized the 2008 campaign that got him to the White House.
A long-running dinner this past February was a part of a methodical effort taking place inside and outside the White House as the President, First Lady and a cadre of top aides map out a postpresidential in- frastructure and endowment they estimate could cost as much as $1 billion.
The $1 billion — doubled what George W. Bush raised for his library and its various programs — would be used for what one adviser called a “digital-first” presi- dential library loaded with modern technologies, and to establish a foundation with a worldwide reach.
Supporters have urged Mr. Obama to avoid the mistake made by Bill Clinton, whose associates raised just enough money to build his library in Little Rock, Ark., forcing Mr. Clinton to pursue high-dollar donors for years to come. In- cluding construction costs, Mr. Obama’s associates set a goal of raising at least $800 million — enough money, they say, to avoid never-ending fund-raising. One top adviser
The real push for dona- tions, foundation officials said, will come after Mr. Obama leaves the White House.
Shailagh Murray, a sen- ior adviser, oversees an effort inside the White House to keep attention on Mr. Obama’s future and to en- sure that his final 17 months in office, barring crises, serve as a glide path to his life as an ex- President.
Mr. Obama’s recent visit to a federal prison indicates, advisers say, a likely emphasis on criminal justice reform after he leaves office. His eu- logy for one of nine African- Americans killed at a church in Charleston, S.C., is a fore- runner, they say, of a focus on race relations. Diplomacy with Iran and Cuba could serve as the foundation for foreign pol- icy work.
“His focus is on finishing this job completely, thor- oughly,” said Valerie Jar- rett, one of Mr. Obama’s closest confidantes inside the White House. But officials in the West Wing said the presi- dent’s thinking about some of his signature issues — includ- ing health care, economic in- equality and fighting climate change — also involves consid- ering their incorporation into his life after January 2017.
Super PAC To Spend $10M On Jeb Bush’s Presidential TV Ads
The heavily funded super PAC backing Re- publican Jeb Bush will spend at least $10 mil-
lion on televi- Former Florida
Officials with Right to Rise USA say they will buy time in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina TV markets and on cable television in the three states. Ads are scheduled to begin in Iowa and New Hamp- shire on Sept. 15, in South Car- olina a week later and then run continuously through the end of the year.
The plan, shared by the group with The Associated Press prior to Monday's buy, is the first evidence of Right to Rise USA's major strategic spending of the roughly $100 million it had on hand last month. It's also the first major move by the group, which was developed by longtime Bush adviser and California ad maker Mike Murphy, to run alongside Bush's own cam- paign organization, which is bound by federal fundraising limits.
Candidate Ben Carson Talks About
President Obama at the White House in June. The President’s 2-terms will end on January 17, 2017.
said that $800 million was a floor rather than a ceiling.
So far, Mr. Obama has raised just over $5.4 million from 12 donors, with gifts ranging from $100,000 to $1 million.
Black Lives Matter
groups are meeting with Dem- ocratic presidential campaigns after members disrupted sev- eral events to get out their message, but apparently have eschewed such a strategy with Republican candidates, which is OK with GOP contender Ben Carson.
Carson said Thursday he doesn’t agree with the groups' apparent strategy of forcing a meeting or their agenda upon 2016 candidates, by either dis- rupting or threatening to dis- rupt a campaign-related event.
“Of course not,” said Car- son. “I would like them to start paying attention to the carnage rather than making it a political issue. The most common cause of death for young Black males in cities is homicide.”
Carson, a retired pediatric neurosurgeon and social con- servative, also argued that black males killing each other is as large an issue as Black Lives Matter activists’ major concerns of criminal justice- reform and Blacks dying while in contact with police.
The campaigns of 2016 Democratic White House can- didates Hillary Clinton, Martin O’Malley and Ver- mont Sen. Bernie Sanders each confirmed earlier this
Ben Carson at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday.
week that their officials met with leaders of the loosely-knit Black Lives Matter move- ment.
But the specifics of the meetings, including whether the sides have reached any agreement to avoid further disruptions, remain unclear because the group will not allow the details to be made public.
‘Black Lives Matter’ Strategy
China’s Hunt Fugitives Could Cloud Its President’s Visit To U.S. Next Month
Hillary Clinton Meets With Black Lives Matter Activists
President Obama and China’s president Xi Jinping.
The pursuit Ling Wancheng could over- shadow a visit by President Xi Jinping to the U.S.
The U.S. administration has warned China to stop sending undercover agents to the country to pressurize Chinese fugitives, the New York Times reports.
Beijing began an initiative called Sky Net in April to help bring to justice allegedly cor- rupt officials who had fled overseas.
The New York Times re- ports a program called Fox Hunt involves clandestine op- erations to pressurize high- profile Chinese nationals into returning to China.
The U.S. state department has now resorted to warning Chinese officials about the ac- tivities, the report says.
The newspaper said the un- dercover agents were working under the direction of China's ministry of public security and probably entering the country on tourism or trade visas.
Their tactics reportedly in- clude threats to family mem- bers who remain in China.
More than 930 suspects around the world have been repatriated to China since last year under the programme, the newspaper said.
China has been pushing for talks with the U.S. on an extra- dition treaty.
Hillary Clinton met with five Black Lives Matter ac- tivists behind closed doors fol- lowing her campaign event on Tuesday evening, after the group tried to disrupt the forum, but arrived too late to get past security.
The group – affiliated with Black Lives Matter organi- zations in the Boston area — told reporters afterwards that they asked Clinton about “her and her family’s history with the war on drugs both at home and abroad, and how
she felt about her involvement in that violence that has been perpetuated, especially against communities of color and against Black folks,” said Daunasia Yancey.
“We wanted to know her reflections on her involvement as first lady, as senator, and as secretary of state.” Clinton’s response, which they declined to detail, was not a reflection on “her part in perpetuating white supremacist violence,” Yancey said. “I heard a reflec- tion on failed policy.”
sion time in the
earliest voting
presidential primary states, the first salvo in a massive TV ad campaign to support the for- mer Florida governor's bid for the Republican nomination.
Governor, Jeb Bush
White House News
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