It’s pretty clear what defeated Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin thinks of President Barack Obama, but did you ever wonder what first lady Michelle Obama thinks of Palin?

Don’t count on finding out anytime soon.

Asked for her “read” on Palin during a round of television interviews Tuesday, Obama was frustratingly diplomatic.

“You know, I don’t have a read,” she told CNN’s “Larry King Live” program. “I mean I try not to make or set opinions about people that I haven’t had any … substantive interaction with.”

Those media naysayers are troubling President Obama again.

The U.S. leader, who hasn’t had a prime-time news conference in six months, made clear his aggravation with the scribblers in remarks Thursday to a Democratic fundraiser at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

As the tony crowd, who were asked to  pay $30,400 per couple, dined on beet salad, beef and Brussels sprouts, the president laid out his case against the unruly nabobs of negativism.

They were the ones who declared his presidential campaign dead about a dozen times.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said his focus on nuclear disarmament had strengthened U.S. diplomacy in dealing with North Korea and Iran, and he warned Tehran faced “growing consequences” over its nuclear program.

In his State of the Union address to Congress on Wednesday, Obama touched on some of the thorniest foreign policy issues he has faced in the past year, including his effort to develop a new approach toward Iran and North Korea as they expand their nuclear programs.

Obama, whose new initiative to curb nuclear weapons helped earn him the Nobel Peace Prize, said he was working with Russia to complete a major nuclear arms reduction treaty.

The two sides failed to reach an agreement on a replacement for the strategic arms reduction treaty, START, before it expired in early December. But they agreed to extend the protections of the treaty as they continue negotiations, which are due to resume on Monday in Geneva.

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama said his focus on nuclear disarmament had strengthened U.S. diplomacy in dealing with North Korea and Iran, and he warned Tehran faced "growing consequences" over its nuclear program.In his State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress on Wednesday, Obama touched on some of the thorniest foreign policy issues he has faced in the past year, including his effort to develop a new approach toward Iran and North Korea as they expand their nuclear programs.Obama, whose new initiative to curb nuclear weapons helped earn him the Nobel Peace Prize, said he was working with Russia to complete a major nuclear arms reduction treaty.The two sides failed to reach an agreement on a replacement for the strategic arms reduction treaty, START, before it expired in early December. But they agreed to extend the protections of the treaty as they continue negotiations, which are due to resume on Monday in Geneva."To reduce our stockpiles and launchers, while ensuring our deterrent, the United States and Russia are completing negotiations on the farthest-reaching arms control treaty in nearly two decades," Obama told Congress."And at April’s Nuclear Security Summit, we will bring 44 nations together behind a clear goal: securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world in four years so that they never fall into the hands of terrorists."INTERNATIONAL APPROACHObama said his focus on an international approach to reducing nuclear arms and preventing proliferation had "strengthened our hand in dealing with those nations that insist on violating international agreements in pursuit of these weapons."He referred specifically to North Korea and Iran, which says its uranium enrichment program is aimed at developing nuclear energy and not atomic weapons.The focus on nuclear arms control "is why North Korea now faces increased isolation and stronger sanctions — sanctions that are being vigorously enforced," Obama said."That is why the international community is more united, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is more isolated," he said. "And as Iran’s leaders continue to ignore their obligations, there should be no doubt: they too, will face growing consequences."North Korea detonated an underground nuclear device early in the Obama administration, its second test since 2006. And it test-fired short-range missiles on several occasions, rattling its neighbors.Obama took office calling for a new relationship with Iran, including a more direct dialogue. The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since 1980, when Washington broke off ties during the hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.Iran has resisted initiatives by the United States and other major powers aimed at curbing its nuclear enrichment activity and building international confidence that Tehran is not trying to develop atomic weapons.Tehran has so far rejected a proposal that would allow it to ship its partially enriched uranium abroad to be further enriched for use in a research reactor. The idea was proposed by a negotiating group that includes the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (Editing by Chris Wilson)

A lot is riding on President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday to a joint session of Congress.

The president is gambling he can reconnect with voters and turn the tide of populist anger that threatens his signature healthcare legislation.

Other folks are betting he’ll wear a red tie.

And speak between 51 and 53 minutes.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. General David Petraeus said on Thursday it was “disturbing” that a manufacturer had embossed biblical citations on rifle scopes sent to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the firm announced it would voluntarily halt the practice.

“This is a big concern to the Army and the Marine Corps, who have contracted for these particular sites,” said Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, noting the religious sensitivities American forces face in the two Muslim countries.

“This is of serious concern to me and to the other commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan because, indeed, it conveys a perception that is absolutely contrary to what it is that we have sought to do,” Petraeus told a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“It is disturbing to us, frankly, that this was done,” he added.

WASHINGTON, Jan 21 (Reuters) – U.S. General David Petraeus said on Thursday it was "disturbing" that a manufacturer had embossed biblical citations on rifle scopes sent to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the firm announced it would voluntarily halt the practice. "This is a big concern to the Army and the Marine Corps, who have contracted for these particular sites," said Petraeus, the head of U.S. Central Command, noting the religious sensitivities American forces face in the two Muslim countries. "This is of serious concern to me and to the other commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan because, indeed, it conveys a perception that is absolutely contrary to what it is that we have sought to do," Petraeus told a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "It is disturbing to us, frankly, that this was done," he added. President Barack Obama has sought to convince the Muslim world that the U.S. fight against al Qaeda militants should not be viewed as a war against Islam. Former President George W. Bush heightened those concerns shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington when he referred to his war on terrorism as a "crusade," a remark critics warned raised images of Christian knights attacking Muslim cities during the Middle Ages. The biblical citations on the scope data plates had largely gone unnoticed until they were publicized last week by Mikey Weinstein, the founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation. A photo on the group’s Web site shows a data plate with the citation 2COR4:6. That citation refers to 2 Corinthians 4:6, which in the King James Bible reads: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." ‘RECRUITING TOOL’ The company that makes the scopes, Trijicon Inc of Wixom, Michigan, said on Thursday it had voluntarily offered to stop putting scripture references on products made for the U.S. military. The firm agreed to provide 100 modification kits to enable the Pentagon to remove the plates on weapons already deployed. It also said it would offer the same remedies for foreign militaries that had purchased its scopes. "Our decision to offer to voluntarily remove these references is both prudent and appropriate," Stephen Bindon, the president of Trijicon, said in a statement. He said the company "will move as quickly as possible to provide the modification kits for deployment overseas." The Council on American-Islamic Relations welcomed the company’s decision. The group, the largest U.S. Muslim advocacy organization, warned on Wednesday that the gun sights were a "potential recruiting tool for anti-American forces." Petraeus, who said he had only learned about the inscriptions on the sights a day earlier, said, "I can assure you that there is much greater sensitivity among our troopers about this kind of thing than, apparently, there is in whatever contractor produced those sights." (Editing by Peter Cooney)

WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Pakistan received approval for a $1.2 billion loan payment from the IMF on Wednesday, a big boost for a top U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda as it tries to restore stability amid political and economic turbulence.

The International Monetary Fund approved the loan from an $11.3 billion standby arrangement after conducting a review of Pakistan’s economic performance and concluding it had made significant strides in reducing inflation and other areas but needed to work on budget discipline.

“Pakistan has made important gains despite a very difficult internal and external environment but much remains to be done and also the international community needs to better support its efforts,” said Adnan Mazarei, the Washington-based IMF mission chief for Pakistan.

He said Pakistan had managed to cut its inflation rate to 10.5 percent from a high of 25 percent in November 2008, when a balance of payments crisis unfolded and prompted the IMF to step in with a bailout.

A Senate healthcare vote in the wee hours Monday morning got Senator John McCain riled up and quoting Revolutionary War hero John Paul Jones.

The 60-40 procedural vote let Democrats limit debate on the healthcare bill and quashed any Republican hopes for a filibuster, where they could grab control of the floor and talk the measure to death. The move prompted Republicans to cry foul. War hero McCain gave notice that he wasn’t letting go. He invoked war hero and naval Captain John Paul Jones, who famously rejected suggestions of surrender and told his British opponent, “I have not yet begun to fight.”

McCain was rather less pithy. He vowed to travel the country, visiting town halls, senior centers and Rotary Clubs to rally opposition to the healthcare reform bill.

“We have just begun to fight,” he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveiled a U.S. human rights agenda on Monday calling for universal standards that apply to all nations, prompting rights groups to urge the administration to live up to its rhetoric.

Just days after President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize while defending the concept of a just war, Clinton outlined a human rights policy calling for people to be free from tyranny but also free to “seize the opportunities of a full life.”

Human rights experts said the speech was important, coming at a time when the Obama administration’s message on human rights had become increasingly muddied but they said the proof would be in the administration’s actions.

Clinton angered rights groups in February when she said U.S. concerns about human rights in China would not disrupt financial or other diplomatic relations with Beijing.