Obama insists WikiLeaks didn’t reveal anything that wasn’t already known

Obama acknowledged Tuesday he is concerned about the
“substantial” leak of more than 93,000 sensitive documents on the site
Wikileaks.org, but he said the information “doesn’t reveal any issues that
haven’t already informed our debate on Afghanistan.”

Without naming any names, Obama blamed the bad policies outlined in the leaked
documents on the previous administration, noting the documents predate his
new strategy announced in early December 2009.

{mosads}In comments from the Rose Garden, the president said the United States now has the right
strategy in the region, and Congress needs to act to provide the funds to “see
that strategy through.”



Obama’s remarks followed a meeting with Senate and House
leaders from both parties and were preceded by a 20-minute Oval Office huddle
with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and legislative director Phil Schiliro.

Obama said he pressed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to support and pass the war
supplemental act, which has already passed the Senate unanimously. The House is
to take up the Senate’s bill as soon as Tuesday.

The meeting with House and Senate leaders comes days before the House leaves
for the August recess and less than 100 days before the
midterm elections. Obama pleaded with Congress to ignore the “noise and the
chatter” of the campaign season and focus on the legislative priorities the
American people elected them to act upon.

The president voiced his tepid support for energy
legislation the Senate will soon take up, even though it does not include
provisions clamping down on carbon emissions.

“That legislation is an important step in the right direction,” Obama said.
“But I want to emphasize it’s only the first step.”

He said he would “keep pushing” for more comprehensive
energy legislation that deals with climate change.

The president also asked Congress to act on the small-business tax cuts package Senate Democrats have unveiled, saying such “commonsense steps” should be taken so small businesses are not “held hostage by
partisan politics.”

One Republican aide said that in the meeting, Obama and lawmakers did
not discuss any new ground, and Republicans and Democrats largely appeared to be at an impasse
over the Democrats’ remaining legislative agenda.