a face in the crowd

A young boy listens to President Barack Obama as he delivers remarks at a rally on health insurance reform at the Comcast Center, University of Maryland in College Park, Md., on Sept. 17, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

promises kept

It was two years ago today that Barack and I were sworn in, and I remember what he said like it was this morning: “The challenges we face are real, they are serious, and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.”

Even then, we knew it would take time. We knew it would be hard. And we knew we would sometimes make mistakes. But we did not lose sight of what we came to do.

Together, we took on difficult issues that had been put off for decades … take a look at the Promises Kept report of all the work we’ve done in two years … there’s a whole lot to be proud of.

Of course, the big ones come to mind first: historic health insurance reform … Wall Street reform … and the end of combat operations in Iraq, which brought more than 100,000 troops home … the Recovery Act, which saved and created more than 3 million jobs … we made critical investments in General Motors and Chrysler, saving tens of thousands of jobs … spurring a rebirth of the American car industry .. we wrote into law student loan reform and credit card reform, which ended the worst abuses of the banking industries and are making lending fair for American families … we put two new Supreme Court justices on the bench – Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, who bring rich and diverse experience to the Court … we finally repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” …

Telling the story of the past two years will be critical to the fights ahead… take a few minutes to read Promises Kept — and let’s keep moving…

Thanks for everything,

Joe

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omg …. it’s michelle!

First Lady Michelle Obama surprises visitors on a public tour in the Blue Room of the White House, Jan. 20, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

Video in this post

in memory

CNN video:

President Obama delivers remarks at the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s inauguration

 

two years ago…..

‘a good morning for the u.s. economy’

Salon: More good news for President Obama: Tuesday’s batch of economic indicators all point in the right direction

If Obama’s improving poll numbers are a reflection of where people think the economy is headed, then Tuesday morning’s batch of indicators might keep the president’s bounce going right up until next week’s State of the Union address.

•    Jobless claims fell sharply.

•    Existing home sales jumped more than expected.

•    The closely watched survey of manufacturing conditions released every month by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank indicated continued industrial growth.

•    The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators rose by 1 percent in December, compared to November.

The numbers don’t scream rapid growth. Slow and steady is still the watchword, and there are clear warning signs…but overall, the news is encouraging … today’s numbers continue the steady drop in the four-week moving average of new claims, which now rests at 411,750. The tale told by the shape of the four-week average graph is getting prettier and prettier as 2011 advances.

Full article here

the host with the most

Full video:

The First Lady & Bo surprise people touring the White House on the second anniversary of President Obama’s Inauguration

A couple of clips:

This clip cracks me up. Watch the young woman reading the map – she starts out in the video frame on the right.

“Nice to know that you’re focused.” 🙂

healthy progress

First Lady Michelle Obama speaks at the Walmart announcement initiative to make food healthier and more affordable in Washington, January 20

The Guardian: Michelle Obama is to back plans by the world’s biggest retailer, Walmart, to provide its customers healthier and more affordable food options as part of a drive to cut US obesity levels. The first lady has made promoting healthy eating her key initiative in the White House. She will join Walmart representatives at a press conference to launch the initiative later today.

Walmart is planning to cut prices on thousands of its packaged foods, reduce fat and salt content, and cut the prices of fresh fruit and vegetables. The retailer is also expected to address the problem of “food deserts” – poor urban areas that do not have supermarkets. By 2015, the company hopes to have lowered sodium content by 25% and sugar by 10% in its processed goods, and to have phased out any remaining trans-fats.

Full article here

slowly, surely

The Hill: Initial claims for unemployment dropped unexpectedly last week providing another signal that the job market is improving although at a slow pace.

Claims dropped by 37,000 to 404,000 in the week ended Jan. 15 from the previous week’s revised 441,000, the largest drop since February 2010, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 411,750, a better gauge than the weekly figures, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 415,750.

Small and large businesses have said they would accelerate hiring this year, and other sectors in the economy, such as the manufacturing sector and consumer spending have show positive signs of growth that could propel job creation….

Full article here

Graph from here

don’t move!

I haven’t made this up, honest – even though it sounds like something you’d read in The Onion. I’m not going to link this nonsense, but if you want yet more evidence of how desperate and idiotic these people are, read on.

A Washington radio station (which proudly carries Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity’s shows) interviewed a spokesman for The Governors Highway Safety Association regarding a 0.4 percent increase in pedestrian deaths in the first half of 2010 – the station’s report on its website claimed that “the First Lady’s program to get Americans to be more active could be partly responsible”!

The spokesman, Jonathan Adkins, said that Michelle Obama is “trying to get us to walk to work and exercise a little bit more. While that’s good, it also increases our exposure to risk”.

So, there you are, by encouraging people to exercise, the First Lady is actually sending them to their deaths. Does that mean her Let’s Move campaign is actually a dastardly plot to kill Americans?

😯