Politics Digest: Obama heads to Dover AFB for return of troops' remains

FALLEN TROOPS

Obama to attend return of remains

President Obama left the White House late Wednesday night bound for Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where he planned to attend the arrival of the remains of 18 U.S. personnel who were killed in two separate attacks in Afghanistan.

The fallen consist of seven soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents who died when their MH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed Monday, and eight soldiers killed Tuesday when their Stryker vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb blast in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province.

Press secretary Robert Gibbs said the president would travel by helicopter to the base to attend an arrival ceremony for the fallen troops and DEA agents before returning to the White House about 4 a.m. The visit was not listed on Obama's public schedule, and the reporters accompanying him were told just hours before his departure.

The president's attendance at the solemn rite will mark an emotional moment as his administration mulls over the way forward in Afghanistan. October has been the deadliest month for U.S. troops in the eight-year-old war, adding pressure to the administration's efforts to settle on a new strategy for the war.

-- Michael A. Fletcher

FUNDRAISING

Parties spar over White House visits

The White House fought back Wednesday against the suggestion by top Republicans that money can buy access to the Obama administration.

The charge from the chairman of the GOP came after a report in the Washington Times that the Democratic National Committee rewards its top contributors with perks, including small-group briefings with senior administration officials, conference calls and other exclusive access to policymakers.

Two DNC fact sheets posted online Wednesday by the newspaper explain the benefits of membership in the DNC's National Advisory Board and its National Finance Committee. Donors who give the maximum allowed by law to the party -- $30,400 -- or who bundle $300,000 from other contributors gain membership.

"Together with the National Finance Committee, the National Advisory Board meets four times throughout the year in Washington, DC to discuss current issues, policies, and strategies," one of the documents says. "They have an opportunity to meet senior members of the Obama administration and senior members of Congress, and to hear from political analysts and policy experts."

Democratic and White House officials shrugged off the meetings as part of normal "donor maintenance" that does not involve any quid pro quo.

"The DNC routinely identifies appropriate opportunities for party supporters to meet their leaders in the administration and the Democratic congressional majority," DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse said. "This is true for donors, grass-roots activists and others who are engaged and active on behalf of our party in different ways."

The Times story also noted the more informal perks of being a big fundraiser for Obama. Those included use of the bowling alley in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House; a family visit to the White House movie theater; and a birthday visit to the Oval Office.

White House officials rejected the criticism. They noted that the theater visit was by Eric Whittaker and his family, who have been friends with Obama for years and often visit. Whittaker, a doctor, is also a donor.

The briefings by White House officials were routine, the sources said, and similar to those given by the same officials to nondonors. And they said that they could find no evidence of the use of the bowling alley but added that low-level staffers are regularly allowed to reserve the lanes for their families and friends.

-- Michael D. Shear