Obama agenda seems to be weathering controversies

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President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks at Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore, Friday, May 17, 2013, during his second "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour". (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Obama agenda see... President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks at Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore, Friday, May 17, 2013, during his second "Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour". (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Treasury officia... Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the extra scrutiny the IRS gave Tea Party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Benghazi probe c... FILE - In this March 4, 2009 file photo, Thomas Pickering testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee has issued a subpoena to compel the co-chairman of the independent review board that investigated last year’s attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya to answer questions about its findings in closed session. California Republican Darrell Issa issued the subpoena on Friday to retired veteran diplomat Thomas Pickering to force him to appear at a deposition next Thursday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Hagel orders rev... Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, May 17, 2013, to discuss sexual assaults in the military and the promotion of Lt. Gen. Curtis "Mike" Scaparrotti to command U.S. troops in South Korea, among other topics. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
GOP hopes IRS sc... FILE - In this May 16, 2013 file photo, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Political scandals have strange ways of causing collateral damage, and Republicans are hoping the furor over federal tax enforcers singling out conservative groups will ensnare their biggest target: President Barack Obama’s health care law. But no one appears to have connected the factual dots yet, and it’s unclear whether they will. “Now we’ve learned that the IRS, which is tasked with enforcing this very unpopular bill of Obamacare, the IRS admitted they targeted Americans,” Bachmann said during floor debate this week on repealing the health care law. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)
US slams Russian... Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon, Friday, May 17, 2013. The Obama administration is criticizing Russia's decision to provide Syria with anti-ship missiles, which it says will only worsen the civil war. Dempsey said the missiles will embolden Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime and "prolong the suffering." (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
On jobs trip, Ob... President Barack Obama talks about jobs at Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore, Friday, May 17, 2013, during his second Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Tour. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
Michelle Obama s... First lady Michelle Obama points to the students as she sits with Bowie State University President Dr. Mickey L. Burnim, left, and Provost Dr. Weldon Jackson, right, at the commencement ceremony for Bowie State University, Friday, May 17, 2013, at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
The IRS and its ... Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Friday, May 17, 2013, prior to testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the extra scrutiny the IRS gave Tea Party and other conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Obama to host co... FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2011 file photo, singer-musician Carole King is seen in New York. President Barack Obama is putting on a show at the White House next week for King. She is the first woman to receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress. The White House says Obama will present the award to King during a concert Wednesday. (AP Photo/Charles Sykes, File)
Even after Cold ... This photo provided by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) shows Ryan Fogle, a third secretary at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, at the FSB offices in Moscow, early Tuesday, May 14, 2013. The embarrassing arrest of the suspected CIA officer in Moscow is the latest reminder that, even after the Cold War, the U.S. and Russia are engaged in an espionage battle with secret tactics, spying devices and training that sometimes isn’t enough to avoid being caught. (AP Photo/FSB Public Relations Center)
Rising consumer ... FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2009, file photo, bottles of Heinz organic tomato ketchup are on display inside Costco in Mountain View, Calif. The organic industry is gaining clout on Capitol Hill, prompted by rising consumer demand and its entry into traditional farm states. But that isn’t going over well with everyone in Congress. Tensions between conventional and organic agriculture boiled over this week during a late-night House Agriculture Committee debate on a sweeping farm bill that has for decades propped up traditional crops and largely ignored organics. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Tea party tax re... Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, center, accompanied by, from left, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, left, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., chair of the Tea Party Caucus, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., right, speaks during a news conference with Tea Party leaders about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups, Thursday, May 16, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Dozens of tea party groups and other conservative organizations of the kind subjected to improper scrutiny by the Internal Revenue Service operated with small budgets and rarely displayed overt partisan activities, according to an Associated Press review of public tax filings by 93 such activist groups. A few groups built million-dollar operations and political ties that could have been legitimate grounds for IRS investigation, tax law experts said. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Obama picks budg... President Barack Obama speaks on the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups for extra tax scrutiny in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday May 15, 2013. Obama announced the resignation of Acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, the top official at the IRS. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Obama vows susta... FILE - In this April 26, 2013, file photo, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey speaks during his lecture at Joint Staff College in Tokyo. One after another, the charges have tumbled out _ allegations of sexual assaults in the military that have triggered outrage, from local commanders to Capitol Hill and the Oval Office. But for the Pentagon there seem to be few clear solutions beyond improved training and possible adjustments in how the military prosecutes such crimes. Changing the culture of a male-dominated, change-resistant military that for years has tolerated sexism and sexist behavior is proving to be a challenging task. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)
Another round fo... House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio gestures toward a stack of paper representing the 20,000 pages of Affordable Health Care Act regulations during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Molly Riley)
Interior issues ... FILE - In this March 7, 2013 file photo, then-Interior Secretary nominee Sally Jewell testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Obama administration is proposing a rule that would require companies that drill for oil and natural gas on federal lands to publicly disclose chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations. The new "fracking" rule replaces a draft proposed last year that was withdrawn amid industry complaints that federal regulation could hinder an ongoing boom in natural gas production. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)
US, Turkey proje... As Marines hold umbrellas during a light rain, President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participate in a joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Thursday, May 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Badgered: Obama ... President Barack Obama leans out from under an umbrella to check if it's still raining, during a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Thursday, May 16, 2013, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
U.S. names veter... U.S. ENVOY TO THE AFGHAN OPPOSITION JAMES DOBBINS TALKS TO THE PRESS IN ROME.
Obama tells Mexi... U.S. President Obama delivers a speech during his visit to Mexico City
Obama blesses Me... U.S. President Obama alights from Air Force One as he begins his visit to Mexico City
Arizona governor... Arizona Governor Jan Brewer addresses the media about the Supreme Court's decision on SB1070 in Phoenix.
Rhode Island law... Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee uncaps his pen as he signs the Marriage Equality Act into law at the State House in Provide
Jury convicts tw... New York City Comptroller John Liu speaks in support of a demonstration against the NYPD's "stop and frisk" crime-fighting tacti
NRA to meet in T... Man rides down an escalator at the George R. Brown Convention Center, ahead of the National Rifle Association's annual meeting i
Florida lawmaker... Florida Governor Scott greets an attendee in the audience before the start of the final U.S. presidential debate in Boca Raton
BlackBerry devic... A new Blackberry Z10 smartphone is displayed at a store in New York
Analysis: Doubli... U.S. President Barack Obama nominates Pritzker and Froman at White House in Washington
Bloomberg makes ... New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg delivers the 2014 city budget in the Blue Room of New York's City Hall
States balk at m... President Obama's fiscal 2014 budget proposal is released and distributed to Senate staff members on Capitol Hill in Washington
Kerry to raise c... U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers a statement after a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani Army Ch
Maryland becomes... Maryland Governor O'Malley addresses the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte
Personality-driv... Democrat Colbert Busch makes a point during the South Carolina 1st Congressional district debate with former South Carolina Gove
Lawmakers call f... An aerial view shows the aftermath of a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, near Waco, Texas
Obama rounds out... U.S. President Barack Obama announces new nominees at the White House in Washington
Lawyers plot gam... A computer screen displays an online gambling website
Illinois Senate ... Chicago Mayor Emanuel smiles while attending U.S. President Obama's election night rally in Chicago
Obama quietly si... U.S. President Barack Obama is pictured as first lady Michelle Obama (not pictured) speaks during an event on finding employment
In Obama's jargo... U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington
Obama considers ... U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington
Obama taps ally,... U.S. President Obama announces Watt as his nominee for director of the FHFA and Wheeler to head FCC, in Washington
Fierce lobbying ... Men transport humanitarian food aid onto pirogues at Mopti
Obama won't rush... A man searches for survivors from the rubble of a damaged area in Al-Sukkari neighborhood in Aleppo