Washington in 5 minutes

GUANTANAMO

Michigan eyed for Gitmo detainees

The Obama administration is sending officials to Michigan to tour a state prison that could be used to hold terrorism suspects now detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Two government officials said representatives of the Defense, Justice and Homeland Security departments would tour a state prison in Standish, Mich., on Thursday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the visit.

The maximum-security prison in Michigan and the military penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., are under consideration as possible locations.

There are 229 suspected al Qaeda, Taliban and foreign fighters now jailed at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay.

WHITE HOUSE

Obama lauds newest justice

President Obama rejoiced Wednesday in the ascendancy of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, saying her achievement will be an inspiration for generations.

“When Justice Sotomayor put her hand on that Bible and took that oath … we came yet another step to the more perfect union that we all seek,” Mr. Obama told a White House reception for Justice Sotomayor.

The ceremony was packed with family and friends of Justice Sotomayor, who has become the first Hispanic and third woman on the high court. Lawmakers, issue advocates, Hispanic community leaders and others who helped shepherd her confirmation through the Senate came to watch as she appeared with the president for remarks.

“While this is Justice Sotomayor’s achievement, the result of her ability and determination,” Mr. Obama said, “this moment is not just about her. It’s about every child who will grow up thinking to him- or herself, ’If Sonia Sotomayor can make it, then maybe I can too.’ ”

STATE DEPARTMENT

Spokesman tees off on Chavez

The State Department spokesman, a once-a-week golfer, teed off Wednesday on Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for criticizing the gentleman’s game as a “bourgeois sport.”

Describing himself as the department’s “self-appointed ambassador-at-large for golf,” P.J. Crowley swung hard at the leftist leader who last month said rich people who want to play golf at the public course in Maracay, Venezuela, can build another one on the city’s outskirts.

The government should take over some public courses in urban areas to make room for housing, Mr. Chavez said on television.

“It isn’t justified that in the middle of a city there’s a golf course, with so much land lacking for buildings for the people,” Mr. Chavez said.

Mr. Crowley, who describes himself as a seasoned golfer with a high handicap, launched the daily press briefing at the department to protest the “unwarranted attack” by Mr. Chavez on the game.

“The suggestion that golf, a truly global sport, is bourgeois is a mulligan,” Mr. Crowley said, referring to the term for retaking a bad shot with a new swing. “And once again Mr. Chavez, one of the hemisphere’s most divisive figures, finds himself out of bounds.”

REPUBLICANS

Santorum plans 2 events in Iowa

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, the blunt-talking conservative who once was the No. 3 Senate Republican, will make appearances this fall in the early caucus state of Iowa.

Mr. Santorum is scheduled to give a speech Oct. 1 at the University of Dubuque about the future of the Republican Party, John Brabender, his longtime political adviser, said Wednesday. Mr. Brabender said he’s also attending a luncheon in Des Moines with an anti-abortion group.

Mr. Brabender played down speculation that Mr. Santorum has presidential aspirations and said it’s not necessarily the first step of a presidential run.

“Rick Santorum certainly feels he has a lot to contribute to the party and feels that now is a good time particularly for conservatives to be willing to stand up and talk about some things,” Mr. Brabender said.

Mr. Santorum, 51, lost his seat to Democrat Bob Casey in 2006.

WHITE HOUSE

Obama to address VFW convention

The White House says President Obama will address the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans next week.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that Mr. Obama would speak at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention Monday in Phoenix. Mr. Gibbs said Mr. Obama will discuss the United States’ responsibilities to maintain the world’s finest military.

Mr. Gibbs also said Mr. Obama will speak about the nation’s responsibility to the men and women of the armed services when they return home from combat. Presidents typically address the convention. Mr. Obama spoke to the group last year as a presidential candidate.