Barack Obama

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President Obama meets with Democratic governors Friday, Feb. 25, 2011, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

**FILE** House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, puts up a chart on Feb. 14 while delivering the GOP response to President Obama's budget submission for fiscal 2012 on Capitol Hill. The nation faces a possible government shutdown if Democrats and Republicans have not agreed by March 4 on an extension for funding the federal government. (Associated Press)

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President Obama prepares to salute as he steps off the Marine One helicopter at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are waiting for him to engage in the spending-cuts debate. (Associated Press)

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President Obama speaks about the uprising in Libya with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton present in the Grand Foyer of the White House on Wednesday. (Associated Press)

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President Obama addresses the Winning the Future Forum on Small Business at Cleveland State University on Tuesday in Ohio, which he has visited six times in two years. (Associated Press)

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President Barack Obama speaks at the Intel Corp. on Friday, Feb. 18, 2011, in Hillsboro, Ore. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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President Obama, right, is greeted by California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, third from right, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee as he arrives at San Francisco International Airport Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2011, in Washington, about America's Great Outdoors initiative. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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President Obama speaks on the America's Great Outdoors initiative Wednesday during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. (Associated Press)

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Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew appears before the Senate Budget Committee to defend President Obama's fiscal year 2012 budget as Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill square off on federal spending, in Washington on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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"In the last two years, under President Obama, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs," House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said Tuesday as the GOP outlined proposed budget cuts. "If some of those jobs are lost, so be it. We're broke." (Associated Press)

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President Obama presents the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to former President George H.W. Bush Tuesday at the White House. Mr. Obama said Mr. Bush's "humility and his decency reflects the very best of the American spirit." (Associated Press)

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Mr. Obama reaches up to present a Presidential Medal of Freedom to basketball legend Bill Russell on Tuesday. Mr. Russell was one of 15 recipients. (Associated Press)

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President Obama stands with Elizabeth Little, whose husband Dr. Tom Little, an optometrist killed in Afghanistan, was posthumously awarded a 2010 Medal of Freedom at the White House on Tuesday. (Associated Press)

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President Obama gestures Tuesday during a news conference on the White House complex in Washington. (Associated Press)

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President Barack Obama shakes hands with former President George H.W. Bush after presenting him the 2010 Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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President Barack Obama speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, during the Medal of Freedom recipients ceremony. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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President Barack Obama presents former President George H.W. Bush the 2010 Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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President Barack Obama awards the 2010 Medal of Freedom to artist Jasper Johns during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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President Barack Obama reaches up to present a 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom to basketball hall of fame member, former Boston Celtics coach and captain Bill Russell, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)