Obama to host Philippine leader Thursday, then drink beer with police officer and professor
By APThursday, July 30, 2009
Philippine leader, beers on Obama agenda Thursday
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is hosting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (mah-kuh-puh-GAHL’ uh-ROY’-oh) of the Philippines at the White House.
Combating regional terrorism is on the agenda after suicide bombers blew themselves up in two hotels in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on July 17. The attacks killed seven people and wounded more than 50 others.
Later, Obama will serve beers to Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge, Mass., police department in an attempt to dispel a racial controversy that arose after Crowley arrested Gates for disorderly conduct. The charges were later dropped.
The event is planned for a picnic table outside the Oval Office, weather permitting.
