‘night everyone

oh, nearly forgot….

A new poll out tonight – you probably won’t see it mentioned in the media. 53%? 11 points higher than Quinnipiac! (But close to recent polls by CBS, CNN, Fox (!), ABC, Bloomberg and Reuters). Despite gas prices and worries over Libya?!

AP poll

Note the ‘strongly disapprove’ figure (29%) – the same as it’s always been for President Obama, even on his first day in office. Funny, it’s close to the ‘strongly approve’ figure the Tea Party usually gets. Just saying’.

😉

‘optimism among u.s. chief executives tops pre-slump high’

Bloomberg: Optimism among U.S. chief executive officers surpassed the highest level reached before the recession as more business leaders projected increased sales, investment and hiring, a survey showed.

The Business Roundtable’s economic outlook index increased to 113 in the first quarter, the highest point since records began in 2002 … Readings greater than 50 coincide with an economic expansion. The previous peak was 104 in the first three months of 2005.

“Companies have given strong signals about their willingness to expand,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chairman of the Business Roundtable. “As we keep a steady flow of capital investment, we’ll certainly see sales forecasts go up, and as we do that we’ll start to see hiring.”

None of the 142 CEOs surveyed said they expected a decline in sales in the next six months, and 92 percent projected an increase, paving the way for more hiring and investment in equipment. A gain in capital spending plans points to further strength in manufacturing, the industry that’s propelled the economic expansion.

…Fifty-two percent of CEOs said they will add to payrolls, up from 45 percent in the fourth quarter and the largest share on record. Some 62 percent said they plan to spend more on equipment, up from 59 percent.

The business leaders’ forecast supports March employment data. Companies in the U.S. added 201,000 workers this month after a revised 208,000 gain in February…

wonderful women

First lady Michelle Obama hosts a mentoring event to celebrate Women’s History Month in the East Room at the White House, March 30

Grammy Award winning violinist Miri Ben-Ari

Actress and comedienne Ali Wentworth

NASA Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes and actress Rashida Jones

Former basketball player Lisa Leslie

Actress Hilary Swank poses for a photo with a student

Kerry Washington

Recording artist Ledisi

Actresses Geena Davis, Hilary Swank and Vanessa Minnillo

Nancy Brinker, founder and chief executive of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and actress Tracee Ellis Ross

Actress Anna Deavere Smith

women’s history month …. one woman’s history

October, 2008: Barack Obama’s sister Maya Soetoro-Ng discusses the influence their mother had on their values and outlook

Thank you Proud of Obama 😉

Thank you Obamalia

survivor

President Barack Obama stops by Press Secretary Jay Carney’s meeting with James Brady in Carney’s West Wing office at the White House, March 30. Brady was former President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary during the assassination attempt on President Reagan thirty years ago. Brady’s wife Sarah, right, and son Scott, center, joined him for the meeting. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

the enthusiasm gap ;-)

Yep, looks like the ‘youth’ has lost interest in the President.

planting season

‘shrewd and sensible’

Fadi Tarapolsi holds up a pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag while standing vigil in front of the White House, March 28

Fred Kaplan (Slate): President Barack Obama’s speech on Libya Monday night was about as shrewd and sensible as any such address could have been.

Some of his critics hoped he would outline a grand strategy on the use of force for humanitarian principles. Some demanded that he go so far as to declare what actions he would or would not take, and why, in Syria, Bahrain, and other nations … still others urged him to spell out when the air war will stop, how we’ll exit, who will help the Libyan people rebuild their country after Qaddafi goes, and what we’ll do if he doesn’t go.

These are all interesting matters, but they evade the two main questions, which Obama confronted straight on. First, under the circumstances, did the United States really have any choice but to intervene militarily? Second, for all the initial hesitations and continuing misunderstandings, would the actions urged by his critics (on the left and right) have led to better results? For that matter, have any presidents of the last couple of decades dealt with similar crises more wisely?

The answers to all those questions: no.

…….For those who accuse Obama of “dithering,” it’s worth noting, as he did Monday night, that President Bill Clinton waited a year – and stood by while a real massacre took place – before taking similar action against Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. If Obama had waited for the citizens of Benghazi to be slaughtered by the thousands, his critics would be fuming, and rightly so.

The main reason they’re fuming now anyway seems pretty clear. As New York Times columnist Gail Collins wrote of Mitt Romney’s opinion of Libya, he “supports the current mission, except for the part where it’s run by Barack Obama.”….

Full article here

hey, hugs!

First Lady Michelle Obama visits students at Ballou High School in Washington, March 30

Politic365: First Lady Michelle Obama and some of the most powerful women across a variety of endeavors will fan out this week across Washington, D.C. area schools to promote mentoring for young people.

On Wednesday, March 30, Mrs. Obama and 22 guest mentors will split up to visit six high schools in Greater Washington. At each location, some of the featured women will participate in a Q&A session and share their personal and career experiences with students. The school-based events area open to all students, but will have a specific focus on mentoring for young women.

Later in the evening, the First Lady will host the guest mentors and 120 additional students for dinner and a program in the East Room of the White House.

See here for the list of guest mentors for Wednesday’s events

Actress Hilary Swank, actress Anna Deveare Smith and Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari pose with students at Eastern High School in Washington. Swank joined the prominent women to promote, along with US First Lady Michelle Obama, mentoring by successful women as part of Women’s History Month at the White House.