west wing week: “to build stuff and invent stuff” (january 28)

your tube, your president

strength, pride, courage

The First Lady on The Oprah Winfrey Show, January 27

full steam ahead

Chicago Tribune: The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that Rahm Emanuel can stay on the ballot for mayor of Chicago.

The decision reverses a 2-1 Illinois Appeals Court decision Monday that ruled Emanuel ineligible on the grounds he did not meet the requirement of being a Chicago resident for a year before the election. Emanuel returned to Chicago last fall to run for mayor after serving as White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama.

The Chicago election board and a Cook County Circuit judge had earlier both ruled Emanuel met the residency requirements. The Supreme Court unanimously said the appellate court was in error in overruling them.

“So there will be no mistake, let us be entirely clear,” the Supreme Court wrote in its ruling today. “This court’s decision is based on the following and only on the following … read full article here

😉

“absolute trust”

meet the new press sec

Jay Carney, left, the new White House Press Secretary. (His wife Claire Shipman, Senior National Correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America, is on the right of the photo, ABC’s ‘Green Room Girl’ is in the center)

Washington Post: President Obama has chosen Jay Carney to serve as his new press secretary, replacing longtime loyalist Robert Gibbs who is leaving his post in mid February, according to a senior Administration official.

The White House will also name Office of Health Reform Nancy-Ann DeParle and current White House director of scheduling and Advance Alyssa Mastromonaco as deputy chiefs of staff.

Carney, who is currently communications director for Vice President Joe Biden, came to the White House in 2009 after a long career in journalism in which he served — among other posts — as Washington bureau chief of Time magazine.

More here

going green

First Lady Michelle Obama visits Fort Jackson, South Carolina, January 27

CNN : First Lady Michelle Obama took her campaign to battle childhood obesity to the military on Thursday. “It’s not just a health issue for children, its a national security issue,” Mrs. Obama said at Fort Jackson in South Carolina as she promoted her ‘Let’s Move!’ initiative. Fort Jackson is the Army’s largest basic training facility.

Obama attended a briefing led by Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the Army’s Deputy Commanding General for training, on the poor state of physical fitness for today’s youth, and the difficulty for the military to attract new recruits who can meet basic fitness standards. Of the 129,000 new recruits every year, approximately 40 percent are overweight.

While at Fort Jackson, Obama also toured the base and visited it’s “Go Green” dining program, which encourages healthy eating. She also attended a ceremony for 1,100 soldiers of the First battalion thirty fourth regiment, 165th brigade who were graduating from basic training.

More here

special guests

More information here

don’t forget….

2:30 PM EST today – The President answers questions about the State of the Union Address and the future

Live here