http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/05/29/1654367/analysis-obamas-priority-more.htmlAnalysis: Obama's priority? More than an oil mess
By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama keeps reassuring the nation that stopping the Gulf oil spill and limiting the fallout on the region are his top priority.
Yet so is protecting the country against attack. And getting people back to work.
Presidencies usually don't allow for a dominant priority - just a list of priorities.
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-The Koreas could be edging to war. The South accuses the North of sinking one of its warships.
-Israel's prime minister visits the White House on Tuesday as Obama presses peace talks with the Palestinians.
-The terror threat isn't going away, as seen by the failed car bombing in New York City this month.
-A international standoff with Iran over its nuclear program is hardening.
-The economic recovery doesn't feel like much of one to the millions who are jobless.
-A sweeping overhaul of financial regulation hangs in the balance, with hopes of finishing it up by July.
-The president needs GOP support of two big initiatives, energy and immigration, but has little to show so far.
-Senators begin hearing in late June on his nominee for the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan.
-Fall elections are nearing, with Democrats facing losses and in need of campaign help from Obama.
Politics never stop, of course.
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Obama's ability to calmly handle many competing issues simultaneously is viewed as one of his strengths.
He has tried to let everyone know that what's unfolding in the Gulf is more than a momentary crisis. The spill, he said Friday from Grand Isle, La., is nothing less than "an assault on our shores, on our people, on the regional economy, and on communities like this one."
The president is also fond of saying he will not rest until the problem at hand gets fixed. The trouble is that there's always more trouble.