Obama Won't Attend International AIDS Conference

Hmmmm! The White House has just sent out a press release which acknowledges that President Barack Obama will not be attending the 19th International AIDS Conference, which starts Sunday in Washington, DC despite previously lobbying for the event to come to the United States for the first time in 22 years.

From the press release:

THE WHITE HOUSEOffice of the Press SecretaryFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 16, 2012 Obama Administration to Participate in the 19^th International AIDS Conference “…we can end this pandemic.  We can beat this disease.  We can win this fight.  We just have to keep at it, steady, persistent -- today, tomorrow, every day until we get to zero.  And as long as I have the honor of being your President, that’s what this administration is going to keep doing.” --President Obama, World AIDS Day, December 1, 2011  As the 19^th International AIDS Conference comes to the U.S. for the first time since 1990 -- thanks to bipartisan action by Presidents Obama and Bush and the Congress to lift the ban on people living with HIV entering the country -- we are at a tipping point in the fight against AIDS.  Under the President’s leadership, the Administration has increased overall funding to combat HIV/AIDS to record levels. We have launched the first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States to prevent and treat HIV in America. Globally, the Obama Administration has committed to treating 6 million people by the end of 2013 and is increasing the impact and sustainability of our investments. Senior Obama Administration Officials will participate in the International AIDS Conference, including:  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius; U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby; Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy Grant Colfax; Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH; and others. Continuing his personal engagement on this issue, the President will provide a brief video message to welcome Conference attendees from around the world to Washington. The video will be played at the Conference venue and will be made available in coming days at www.whitehouse.gov.  In addition, the White House will also host a reception on July 26th to honor those people living with HIV and to thank men and women who have been fighting with dignity on the frontlines against this disease.  Further details about that event will be provided at a later date.
 For more information on the Obama Administration’s efforts to combat HIV/AIDS, see:www.whitehouse.gov/onap and www.aids.gov.

There were several AIDS groups which were lobbying the White House to have the President attend the event.