No pleasure in Osama death: Bush

Former president George W Bush says he experienced no pleasure when he heard about the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of Sept 11, 2001 terror attacks.

"He was sitting in a restaurant in Dallas when the Secret Service told him that President (Barack) Obama wanted to speak to him. He then learned about the assassination," documentarian Peter Schnall told.

Bush "said to us certainly there was no sense of jubilation (and) certainly no sense of happiness," Schnall stressed. "If anything, he felt that finally there was a sense of closure."

"We could see in the interview that the president was very taken by the events of that day," said Schnall, who interviewed Bush as part of a documentary on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. "He was very emotional."

Bush, who was in a Florida classroom for an education event when he first heard about the attacks told Schnall that initially he thought a small plane had hit one of the towers at New York's World Trade Centre.

"First, I thought it was a light aircraft, and my reaction was, man, either the weather was bad or something extraordinary happened to the pilot," Bush said.

But then-White House Chief of Staff "Andy Card's Massachusetts accent was whispering in my ear-'A second plane has hit the second tower. America is under attack.'"

In light of the intense controversy surrounding the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, asked if he had any regrets, Bush "kind of looked at me ... and said, 'I hate that damn question,'" Schnall said.

"He did not ever use the word regret. He did not ever say he would do anything differently." But Bush did acknowledge the controversy and division created by his decisions.

Obama Celebrates 50th Birthday at White House

President Barack Obama marked his 50th birthday at the White House on Thursday. It was the second day of celebrations for the president. 

Mr. Obama’s birthday celebrations started on Wednesday night in his home city of Chicago, with about 2,400 people attending a fundraising event for his 2012 reelection campaign.

Obama was born on Aug. 4, 1961, and he is turning 50 Thursday. Some friends and family are coming to celebrate his birthday from hometown Chicago. According to the White House, his mother in law Marian Robbinson and family friend Kaye Willington flew in with him Wednesday night aboard Air Force One from Chicago.
 
President Obama said, “I could not have a better early birthday present than spending tonight with all of you, I love you back! "

Supporters at the event were treated to music by jazz legend Herbie Hancock and singer Jennifer Hudson.

Those who paid almost $36,000 for the most expensive tickets were invited to a small, private dinner with the president.

Mr. Obama has been facing his milestone birthday with a sense of humor.  He told the crowd that as he gets older, he is paying more attention to social welfare programs for the elderly.

“And it is true that I turn 50 tomorrow, which means that by the time I wake up, I will have an email from AARP, asking me to call President Obama and tell him to protect Medicare," said Obama."

Joining the powerful senior citizens’ lobby AARP is almost a rite of passage for many Americans as they turn 50.

Mr. Obama is the fifth-youngest of the 44 U.S. presidents, and the seventh to celebrate his 50th birthday while in office.  Bill Clinton was the last, in 1996.
Days after solving the debt ceiling crisis, the Obama campaign has been using his birthday to garner support.

Obama announced a deal to raise the U.S. debt crisis

President Barack Obama on Sunday announced a last-minute deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avoid a catastrophic default and he urged lawmakers to "do the right thing" and approve the agreement.

Laying out the endgame in the U.S. debt crisis just two days before a deadline to lift the borrowing limit, the White House and congressional leaders said the compromise would cut about $2.5 trillion from the deficit over the next 10 years.

With Republican and Democratic leaders in agreement, the Senate will likely vote on the proposed agreement on Monday, a senior congressional aide said. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said he would bring it to a vote in that chamber as soon as possible.

 Obama told, "There are still some very important votes to be taken by members of Congress."

"But I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both chambers have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default. a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy.I want to urge members of both parties to do the right thing and support this deal with your votes over the next few days."

He said the the first phase of the two-stage plan called for about $1 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade. The next $1.5 trillion in savings must be found by a special congressional committee by the end of December.

Financial markets showed signs of relief at a deal in the making to meet Tuesday's deadline, as U.S. stock futures jumped and the dollar rebounded on Sunday.

A deal would ease the immediate crisis but repercussions will be felt for years to come. Bitter brinkmanship has turned dysfunction seemingly into the norm in Washington, undercut America's stature as the world's capitalist superpower and set the stage for a deeply ideologically 2012 presidential race when President Barack Obama is seeking re-election.