Marine Lt. Gen. John R. Allen (right), President Obama's choice to lead U.S. forces in Afghanistan, prepares to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee at his nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, June 28, 2011. Navy Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, nominated as commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, sits at left. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich speaks to the media at the Federal Courthouse in Chicago on June 27, 2011. Blagojevich has been convicted of 17 of the 20 charges against him, including all 11 charges related to his attempt to sell or trade President Obama's vacated Senate seat. At right is his wife Patti. (Associated Press)
CRITIC: Former Vice President Al Gore says President Obama has "failed to use the bully pulpit to make the case for bold action on climate change." (Associated Press)
ASSOCIATED PRESS President Obama (seated, second from left), Vice President Joseph R. Biden (far left), Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (seated, second from right), Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates (seated, far right) and others follow the unfolding mission that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.
ASSOCIATED PRESS When gay supporters at a New York fundraiser pressed President Obama on whether he supports same-sex marriage, he said "gay couples deserve the same legal rights as every other couple" but avoided giving a definitive answer.
Spc. Gavin Fruge, 22, of Crowley, La., left, watches a rebroadcast of President Barack Obama's speech on proposed troop withdrawal with fellow soldiers at Kandahar Airfield Thursday, June 23, 2011, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
ASSOCIATED PRESS SACRIFICE: Army soldiers carry a casket containing the remains of Sgt. James W. Harvey II on Wednesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The remainder of the 33,000 troop "surge" that President Obama ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 will be withdrawn before September 2012.
ASSOCIATED PRESS President Obama is in the process of finalizing the number of troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan, according to a spokesman.
** FILE ** President Obama speaks in Pensacola, Fla., on Wednesday, June 15, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
