Obama: Engulfed (reuters photo)
A quick note from White House press secretary Robert Gibbs last night, around midnight:
“President Obama spoke tonight with Prime Minister Rudd of Australia, and with President Yudhoyono of Indonesia. President Obama expressed his deep regret that he has to postpone his trip to Asia that was scheduled for later this month. The President looked forward to rescheduling so that he can visit both countries soon.
“President Obama underscored his commitment to our close alliance with Australia and our deepening partnership with Indonesia. He plans to hold full bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Rudd and President Yudhoyono on the margins of the G-20 meeting in Canada.”
Obama was to leave later this month on a trip to Australia, Indonesia and Guam. It was a trip that had earlier been postponed in March so Obama could stay in town and work on health care reform.
But with the crisis in the Gulf, the White House decided to bag that trip — again. In an interview last night with CNN’s Larry King, Obama said he was furious about the spill and pushed back against criticism that he’s been acting a little distant.
“I would love to just spend a lot of my time venting and yelling at people,” the president said, “but that’s not the job I was hired to do. My job is to solve this problem.”
