WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Shortly after taking office, U.S. President Barack Obama set the goal of eventually ridding the world of nuclear weapons as a central theme of his presidency and pledged dramatic steps to lead the way.

But after lofty rhetoric and a few steps forward, Obama is facing fresh doubts about whether he is willing to take the political, diplomatic and budgetary risks that may be needed to bring his vision closer to reality.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the window for a diplomatic solution with Iran over its nuclear program was shrinking and he encouraged Tehran to seize the opportunity of talks to avert even worse consequences than current economic sanctions.

Obama, speaking at a news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, said Iran’s tendency has been to stall talks with world powers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, arming himself against election-year attacks on his energy policies amid painfully high gas prices, received a report on Monday showing a 1 million barrel-per-day decline in U.S. oil imports in 2011.

Obama, a Democrat, is stepping up defense of his record amid concern that rising oil prices may lift gasoline to $5 a gallon in some parts of the country this summer, posing a potential threat to the president’s bid for re-election on November 6.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama, defending the switch in location of the Group of Eight (G-8) summit to Camp David from his home city of Chicago, said on Tuesday that the scenic retreat promised fine weather and a more intimate setting for world leaders to talk.

The May 18-19 gathering had initially been scheduled for Chicago, which hosts a NATO summit for leaders a few days later, and the switch to rural Maryland was claimed as a victory by activists who vow to flood the Midwest city with protesters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will host the Group of Eight summit at his Camp David retreat in the Maryland countyside, the White House said on Monday, instead of Chicago as initially planned.

The G-8 has attracted violent street protests in the past from activists who view it as a rich capitalist club that harms the interests of the poor.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama called a law student on Friday to express his support after she was branded a “slut” by controversial right-wing talk-show host Rush Limbaugh for her outspoken support of Obama’s new policy on contraception coverage.

Sandra Fluke, a student at Georgetown University in Washington, has been caught in the middle of a contentious election-year fight between Obama and Republicans over the policy, which requires health insurance plans to cover contraception.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – President Barack Obama returned to New York on Thursday for a series of high-end fundraising events, tapping Wall Street donors whose generosity has been strained by U.S. financial reforms that many bankers oppose.

Facing the multi-million dollar election warchests of his Republican rivals, Obama has raised $136 million so far in the 2012 presidential race, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

NASHUA, New Hampshire (Reuters) – Facing intensifying election-year attacks over rising energy prices, President Barack Obama will seek on Thursday to shift the spotlight onto oil and gas companies by calling for the repeal of tax breaks that benefit the industry.

Republicans hope to use the energy issue to deny the Democratic president a second term, and Obama plans to push back on that criticism during a trip to Republican White House candidate Mitt Romney’s backyard of New Hampshire.

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama
travels to New Hampshire on Thursday to talk about energy,
swooping into Republican front-runner Mitt Romney’s backyard to
discuss an issue that his opponents hope they can use to deny
him a second White House term.

Slammed for energy policies that Republicans say have
contributed to rising gasoline prices, Democrat Obama is
expected to push back hard over opponents’ claims that there are
simple fixes to pain at the pump.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders briefly put aside their election-year attacks on each other on Wednesday for a working lunch that the White House billed as an effort to find common ground on strengthening the economy.

Obama and his fellow Democrats are at odds with Republicans over how to tackle high unemployment and surging government deficits. Both sides have been seeking to highlight their sharply differing policy prescriptions to win over voters before the November elections.