Patricia Zengerle

President Barack Obama took a break from business during his four-countries-in-eight-days Asian trip on Tuesday to turn tourist with a quick visit to Beijing's Forbidden City. He seemed to relish the sightseeing trip, which took about 45 minutes, squeezed in after negotiating sessions with Chinese President Hu Jintao and before a meeting with U.S. embassy staff and a state dinner.

The sprawling Forbidden City, in the heart of Beijing, was built in the 15th century and home to China's emperors for 500 years. The 980-building complex was called "Forbidden" because no one could enter without the emperor's permission. Now a museum and a UNESCO world heritage site, it is normally thronged with visitors, but it lived up to its name when Obama visited, as no one was allowed in except his party, journalists and lots of security.

Guided by the Forbidden City museum director, Zheng Xinmiao, Obama walked through doorways and courtyards with names like "The Gate of Continuing Harmony," a soothing thought after talks on trade policy, global warming and denuclearization. However, he ended the visit in a spot with a name perhaps less benign, given that China is the largest holder of U.S. debt: "The Courtyard of Loyal Obedience."

Obama changed from a business suit into a brown leather bomber jacket for the outing on the sunny, but chilly, November afternoon.

"What a magnificent place to visit," he said. "It's a testament to the greatness of Chinese history."

A Chinese journalist asked if he would like to come back. "Of course," Obama answered, "with my girls and my wife," referring to his daughters Sasha and Malia and first lady Michelle Obama, who are not on the trip.

Obama, who was been in Alaska, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing since leaving Washington on Thursday morning, leaves Beijing for South Korea on Wednesday and spends one night in Seoul before heading home.

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Reuters photos by Jim Young (Obama tours the Forbidden City on Nov 17, 2009)

There are certain upsides to life as a first daughter -- travel on Air Force One, White House sleepovers, your new dog Bo -- but there are definitely downsides, like when you are 11 years old and your dad tells the world about how you got a C on your science test.

Parents could imagine the groans when President Barack Obama veered away from his prepared remarks during a speech at a Wisconsin middle school on Wednesday to talk about his own sixth-grade daughter and her 73.

"So Malia came home the other day.  She had gotten a 73 on her science test," Obama said.  "Now, she's a 6th grader.  There was a time a couple years ago when she came home with like an 80-something and she said, 'I did pretty well.'  And I said, 'No, no, no.  That's' -- I said, 'Our goal is -- Our goal is 90 percent and up.'" 

For our international readers, in most U.S. school systems, 90 percent and above is an A, the highest mark; 80 to 89 percent is a B, considered "good;" 70 to 79 percent is a C, for work deemed merely average; 60 to 69 is a D, for "just passing," and below 60 is an F, for failure.

Malia, the elder of Obama's two daughters and a student at an elite Washington private school, came home with the 73 more recently, Obama recalled.

"So she came and she was depressed," he said, and then recounted a conversation in which he asked his daughter what happened and she explained that the study guide the teacher had handed out had not conformed to the material on the test.

"So what's your idea here?" the president asked.

Obama told the story of how Malia had taken her setback to heart, by deciding on her own not to rely on teacher's study guides, but to study the entire chapter. "I'm going to change how I study, how I approach it," she said, according to her father, who added, "So she came home yesterday, she was -- 'I got a 95' - right? - so she's high-fiving," Obama said.

"But here's the point," the proud parent added, using the conversation to make his point that children must succeed on their own, but need their parents' support.  "She said -- she said, 'I just like having knowledge.'  That's what she said.  And what was happening was she had started wanting it more than us."

The crowd in Madison, Wisconsin, cheered, but maybe somewhere a certain middle-schooler was wishing dad had stuck to his text.

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PHOTO CREDIT: U.S. President Barack Obama is welcomed by his daughters Sasha (L) and Malia, who is holding their dog Bo, on his return to Washington after a day trip to Ohio and Pennsylvania, where he participated in labor and economic rallies, September 15, 2009. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

Conservative politicians and commentators got up in arms this week after the Pentagon said it would send doses of hard-to-get H1N1 swine flu vaccine to terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay.

The White House denied it on Tuesday, emphatically, but also carefully -- saying there is no vaccine at the U.S. military prison, or going there ... now.

"There is no vaccine in Guantanamo and there's no vaccine on the way to Guantanamo," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said when queried about the burgeoning controversy.

"I don't know what the Pentagon said.  I know in asking yesterday whether or not there was any vaccine there or whether there was any vaccine that was on its way, the answer to both those questions was no," he said.

The H1N1 swine flu virus has killed at least 1,000 Americans and infected an estimated 5 million.
Many U.S. states and cities say they have received about one-tenth as much H1N1 vaccine as they had expected to get by now. Given the shortage, the vaccine is being saved for high-risk groups, such as very young children and people with underlying health conditions. In many areas even they have been turned away as clinics have run short of the flu jab.

After Gibbs' remarks, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said H1N1 vaccines would go to Guantanamo detainees, but only after they'd been offered to every active-duty soldier, deployed U.S. contractors and civilians, and civilians working for the Department of Defense.

"Because there are limitations on supplies of H1N1 vaccine, we've established priorities... But we do have an obligation to provide appropriate medical care to everyone in our custody," he said.

Prison populations are considered at high risk for flu. What do you think of the controversy?

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Photo credit: Nurse vaccinates clinic employee with Pandemrix, a vaccine against H1N1 influenza at  UKE clinic in Hamburg Oct. 26, REUTERS/Christian Charisius; and A view of a common area inside Camp IV at the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Aug. 4, REUTERS/Deborah Gembara.

In eight U.S. states and the capital, Washington, D.C., being beaten by your spouse or domestic partner can be deemed a "pre-existing condition" that a company can legally use as a reason to deny health insurance coverage. Valerie Jarrett, a top adviser to President Barack Obama, raised the issue in a web chat making the White House's case for healthcare reform on Monday.

"In some states if you have been a victim of domestic violence, you can be considered as having a pre-existing condition," Jarrett said as she hosted the chat on the White House website and on the Facebook social networking site, taking questions on an array of issues, many having to do with healthcare issues faced by members of minority groups.

Some of the participants in the webcast responded by posting outraged notes after she said it.

"We need your engagement, we need your involvement," Jarrett said, urging chat participants to get involved in the reform push. "... It is extremely important that we have this passed and on the president's desk this year."

The National Women's Law Center said eight states -- Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming and Idaho -- and the U.S. capital city allow insurers to deem being a domestic violence survivor a "pre-existing condition." The center also notes that the list of such conditions, for which women can be denied coverage, in some states also includes pregnancy or having had medical treatment following a sexual assault.

The White House has been staging events targeting a variety of audiences to make its pitch for an overhaul of  the massive U.S. healthcare system. On Thursday, for example, Obama addressed small business owners and officials from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce business group. Jarrett's chat on Monday seemed to target a younger audience. And on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills were to meet with small business owners in Washington in an event also to be streamed on the Internet.

Denial of coverage to people who are sick, or have been sick -- i.e. those whom insurers deem to have pre-existing conditions -- is one of many emotional issues in the healthcare debate and health insurance companies have been a favorite target for many advocates of reform.

A health insurance industry spokesman said the industry backs efforts to change the policy.

"No one should be denied coverage because they are a victim of domestic abuse. Health plans strongly support the National Association of Insurance Commissioner's model legislation that prohibits discrimination against victims of abuse and we are urging all states to promptly adopt it," said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for the America's Health Insurance Plans industry group in Washington.

Photo credit: Valerie Jarrett, advisor to U.S. President Barack Obama, watches as he speaks about the need for health insurance reform this year, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, October 5, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed, and People protest against healthcare reform as the House Democrats' healthcare plan is unveiled on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 29, 2009. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Maybe it was a sign that someone wanted to put the press corps -- or possibly the White House staff -- in their place.

Who knows, but at the beginning of the daily White House press briefing on Wednesday, a disembodied voice sounded in the briefing room, saying: "THE PRESIDENT IS POWERFUL."

Reporters and White House staffers in the room laughed, and White House spokesman Robert Gibbs joked about it, to more laughter. But no one offered an explanation for the pronouncement.

"Was that happening just in my head, or did you all -- did you all hear that, too?" Gibbs asked.

"We didn't hear anything," someone answered.

"Wow. Wow. That's -- that was interesting, if inexplicable," Gibbs said.

And then, apologizing "for not having an equally grand introduction by which to call on the first reporter," he plunged into the usual routine of responding to, if not answering, questions on Afghanistan, healthcare reform and a news report that Democratic donors were being given special access to the White House.

So, did Halloween come early to the White House? Or is it some new get-out-the-message mechanism?

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Photo Credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Gibbs at daily White House press briefing on Sept. 28)

The APEC summit gives world leaders a chance to play a little dress-up and trade-in their typical business suits for the traditional wear of the host country.

This year it's in Singapore and we've got a description, but no photos yet, of what the leaders will wear for the group shot on Nov. 14.

Long-sleeved linen shirts with mandarin collars for the men, and a V-necked blouse with elaborate embroidery and lace for the women will be sported by President Barack Obama and the leaders of the 20 other nations attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next month.

This year's outfit was created by local Singapore designer Wykidd Song, the Straits Times reported, and is inspired by the Peranakans,  a local term for the descendants of the Chinese who settled in the Malay Archipelago from the 17th century.

"The Peranakan culture is a rich blend of the Chinese and Malay cultures with some influence from the Portuguese, Dutch, British, Thai, Indian and Indonesian cultures as well, " the Singapore Tourist Board says on its web site.

And there's a choice of color --  blue, red and green.

Some of the world's most powerful leaders don some of the world's most distinctive outfits at the annual APEC group photo shoot.

At the 2008 meeting in Peru, they wore traditional ponchos, and other years have featured long silk tunics or leather jackets.

PHOTO CREDITS: Bush in poncho, REUTERS/Pilar Olivares; Bush, Putin, Hu in traditional Vietnamese outfits at 2006 APEC summit, REUTERS/Reinhard Krause.

He almost said it, but he didn't. Vice President Joe Biden, who has a reputation for verbal gaffes, almost asked "Who cares?" but stopped himself, when he weighed in on the White House's latest war of words with his predecessor, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Cheney, a repeated critic of the Obama administration's foreign policy initiatives, this week accused President Barack Obama of "dithering" and being scared to make a decision on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.

“I think that is absolutely wrong. I think what the administration is doing is exactly what we said it would do.  And what I think it warrants doing. And that is making an informed judgment based upon circumstances that have changed ... to come up with a sustainable policy that has more than one dimension," Biden told pool reporters traveling with him at the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Prague.

But the Democratic vice president worked hard to keep his foot firmly out of his mouth, after looking piqued when asked about Cheney's suggestion that Republican former President George W. Bush's administration had left behind a thorough assessment of the Afghanistan war, according to a pool report.

"Well, look, I don’t ..." Biden said, and then paused, the report said.  "Who cares what ..." he began again, sounding annoyed. He paused again, looking as though he wanted to stuff the words back in his mouth.

"Well, let me put it maybe," he said, and he paused a third time, glancing at communications director Jay Carney with a smile, the report said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I can see the headline now," Biden said, shaking his head. "I’m getting better, guys. I’m getting a little bit better, you know what I mean?"

Obama has been holding meetings with top advisers to review a request for 40,000 more troops for Afghanistan from General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. and NATO commander there. Obama said he wants to make a thorough review of the request before making a decision.

"A whole lot has changed in the last year. A whole lot’s changed," Biden said. "So the idea – even if they did – let’s assume they left us a review that was absolutely correct, is that review relevant and totally applicable to today in light of the changes that have taken place in the region, in Afghanistan itself? So I think that is sort of irrelevant. Not sort of, I think it’s irrelevant."

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Larry Downing (Biden gestures during a ceremonial event with Cheney on Capitol Hill, January 6, 2009)

President Barack Obama, on a campaigning blitz for fellow Democrats facing tough fights to stay in office, or get there, is trying to tie the state races to national issues to convince voters their ballot will have a broader impact.

"People on Capitol Hill, they watch the news," he said.

On Wednesday, the president flew to New Jersey for a rally backing Governor Jon Corzine, who only just climbed into a tie with his Republican opponent, according to opinion polls.

Corzine is struggling in his bid for re-election Nov. 3, although New Jersey is a heavily Democratic state.

On Friday, Obama spent the afternoon at events for Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who also faces a stiff fight for re-election next year and low opinion poll numbers, although he too runs a state that is thoroughly blue.

Obama was set to visit Connecticut, another strongly Democratic state, Friday evening to help raise money for Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. His popularity has been hit by voters' perception that the five-term U.S. senator is too close to the finance industry largely blamed for the international economic slump. Dodd is up for re-election in 2010.

And next Tuesday, Obama will hold a rally for Creigh Deeds, a Virginia state senator trailing by double digits in that state's governor's race against its Republican attorney general, Robert McDonnell. Virginia and New Jersey are the only U.S. statehouses up for grabs on Nov. 3.

Virginia has a history of being a tough one for Democrats -- last year Obama became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win there since 1964 -- but its last two governors have been Democrats, as are its two U.S. senators.

"People on Capitol Hill, they watch the news," Obama told a crowd of Patrick supporters in Boston.

"And they say, 'well, gosh ... if that kind of governor isn't rewarded, then maybe I shouldn't, as a member of Congress or senator, take some chances, take some tough stands in pursuit of the same vision.'"

Will voters really see their state races through a national lens?

Photo credits: Obama and Patrick and Obama and Corzine, REUTERS/Jason Reed

Like millions of other readers, U.S. President Barack Obama and his older daughter are big fans of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. "I've got a lot of favorite books," Obama told excited children at a Silver Spring, Maryland, elementary school on Monday. "But Malia and I read those Harry Potter books, and we thought those were pretty good."

Obama visited Viers Mill Elementary School to recognize improvement in the students' standardized test scores and talk about the importance of reading. "I wanted to come by and introduce myself, to say I'm very proud of you. I am hoping that you guys will continue to read, read, read, and that all of you are going to be really working hard not just this year but all the way through high school and then all the way through college," Obama told the classes of mostly 8- and 9-year-olds assembled in the school's cafeteria.

After very short remarks, the president stopped at each table and shook hands with the thrilled children, asking them what they liked to read, and chatting with each group.  Besides sharing his thoughts on their reading selections (he hasn't read the "Goosebumps" series, but hears they are "pretty good."), he shared his opinion of the new movie, "Where the Wild Things Are," which was the most popular film at cinemas in North America during the weekend.

"When I was really small," Obama told the schoolchildren, "I used to love a book that they just made a movie of, and that's 'Where the Wild Things Are,'" he said. "We saw that on Saturday and I thought it was worth seeing."

Photo credit: U.S. President Barack Obama chats with third and fourth grade students at Viers Mill Elementary School in Silver Spring, Maryland, October 19, 2009. Jason Reed/REUTERS

Father Damien de Veuster, one of Hawaii's most revered figures, was remembered on Friday by the state's most famous -- U.S. President Barack Obama.

The 19th century Roman Catholic priest from Belgium cared for people with leprosy, also known as Hansen's Disease, who had been placed in government-sanctioned quarantine on the Hawaiian island of Molokai.

Father Damien, who eventually contracted the disease and died of it at age 49, is honored around the world as the "leper priest." He is also considered a patron saint of those who suffer from HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

Pope Benedict will canonize Father Damien as a saint on Sunday, making him the first saint with such close ties to Hawaii.

"I recall many stories from my youth about his tireless work there to care for those suffering from leprosy who had been cast out," said Obama, a Hawaii native, in a statement on Father Damien's upcoming canonization.

"In our own time as millions around the world suffer from disease, especially the pandemic of HIV/AIDS, we should draw on the example of Fr. Damien's resolve in answering the urgent call to heal and care for the sick," he said.

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Photo credit: REUTERS/Chris Helgren (Pope Benedict XVI walks with U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama during their meeting at the Vatican July 10, 2009)