night everyone

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hold an economic meeting with senior advisors in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, June 21. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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The First Lady in South Africa – Wednesday:

WH: In the morning, Mrs. Obama is traveling to the Regina Mundi Church in the Soweto township, where she delivers the keynote address to a U.S.-sponsored Young African Women Leaders Forum.

The Regina Mundi Church, where the Forum is taking place, holds particular historical significance for the people of South Africa and the Soweto community. Political gatherings were banned during the anti-apartheid movement, and churches became hubs for activity.

During the Soweto student uprising of June 16, 1976, a number of young people sought cover in the Regina Mundi Church where they were followed by police and fired upon. Students like twelve year-old Hector Pieterson were shot and killed by apartheid government police, galvanizing international pressure on the apartheid regime. The church remains a national symbol of the struggle.

After delivering the keynote, Mrs. Obama is visiting the Hector Pieterson Memorial. The Memorial displays an iconic news photograph of Hector’s body being carried through the streets of Soweto, his distraught sister running along-side him.

The date Hector was killed, June 16th, 1976, has been commemorated as Youth Day in South Africa, and this year June has been declared Youth Month.

In the afternoon, the Young Leaders will participate in breakout sessions to build and foster networks among one another, and discuss the issues that are important to them.

The First Lady will visit several of the breakout sessions, before joining forum participants in a community service project at a local community center.

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Friend –

The President and I have a routine – we get lunch together almost every Friday.

But all I get is lunch. You could be one of four supporters to have dinner with him soon.

Donate $5 or more today to have your name automatically thrown in the hat here:

https://donate.barackobama.com/Dinner-with-Barack

I’m reminded every week that sitting down for a meal with the President of the United States – without TV cameras or a big crowd – is something only a few people will ever get to do.

You’re not going to want to miss this chance.

I wish you luck,

Joe

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Because 3,729 times just aren’t enough….

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😆

Found on a PL-infested site, of all places!

‘the disillusionment addicts of the left’

Michael Grunwald (Time): There was a telling confrontation at last week’s Netroots Nation gathering …. a bisexual volunteer for President Obama reelection campaign approached the stage to hand a flyer to Dan Choi ….. Choi dramatically ripped up the flyer and declared that he wouldn’t support Obama.

And why should he? What has Obama ever done to help gays serve openly in the military? Other than repeal don’t-ask-don’t-tell, so that gays can serve openly in the military? Ah, “the professional left,” never happy unless it’s unhappy…..

With friends like these, who needs Republicans?….

…..the disillusionment addicts of the left have concocted a narrative of Obama-as-sellout that bears little resemblance to his actual presidency…

….It was a similar story in the epic fight over health care reform. Obama finally achieved the eternal progressive dream of universal coverage, overruling aides who wanted to settle for incremental improvements. But the left was mad because his plan didn’t include a “public option,” a brand-new progressive dream. Earth to the left: He didn’t have the votes for a public option. There was nothing he could have said or done to get the votes for a public option. He’s a politician, not a magician.

…But when you’re convinced the president just isn’t that into you, the facts are irrelevant…..

It’s easy for activists to complain about imperfect achievements like the stimulus or Obamacare, especially when they’re not among the 3 million Americans who would’ve been unemployed without the stimulus or the 50 million Americans who would’ve been uninsured without Obamacare. Complaining is what activists do….

……Presidents are supposed to make progress, whether progressives like it or not.

Full article here

Thank you Rita, brilliant article 😉

the apartheid museum

First lady Michelle Obam and her daughters visit the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, June 21

….. posing for a photo with young women leaders during a visit to the Apartheid Museum

zandspruit, south africa

First lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia visit the Emthonjeni Community Center in Zandspruit Township, Johannesburg, June 21

Marian Robinson, mother of first lady Michelle Obama, takes a bow after dancing with children during a visit to the Emthonjeni Community Center

Michelle Obama and her daughters reading The Cat in the Hat to children at Emthonjeni Community Center

mandela!

IOL: US First Lady Michelle Obama met South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela at his home Tuesday, in a rare visit with the ageing icon whose legacy frames much of her journey here.

The meeting with the 92-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner was discreetly arranged after Obama and her daughters visited archives chronicling some of his 27 years as a political prisoner.

At the Mandela Foundation, his wife Graca Machel guided Obama, her mother, and her daughters Malia and Sasha through an exhibit of his personal photographs and journals, in which he meticulously drafted letters but also kept more mundane notes on his weight and daily routine.

“After leaving here, she proceeded to make a brief courtesy call on former president Mandela,” said Achmat Dangor, the head of the foundation, calling the first lady “a lovely woman without any airs”.

Their visit added to the symbolism surrounding Obama’s journey, with America’s first black family in the White House meeting South Africa’s first black president. President Barack Obama has called the anti-apartheid struggle his first political cause, and US officials say he has had periodic telephone contact with Mandela, who led the struggle against white-minority rule. The two men met in 2006 when then-senator Obama toured Africa. A simple cell-phone picture of that meeting is now in Mandela’s office, aides to the first lady said.

Mandela welcomed her entire family into his home, including a niece and nephew travelling with them. Such visits are increasingly rare. Mandela, who turns 92 next month, has received few guests since he was hospitalised with an acute respiratory infection in January.

Mandela’s legacy in the battle for South African democracy defines much of Obama’s visit. After leaving his home in the leafy Houghton neighbourhood, they travelled to the Apartheid Museum, which chronicles the rise and fall of white rule.

More here

oh no…..

JonHuntsman.com

Oh dear. According to Steve Benen, Huntsman’s people forgot to register JonHuntsman.com – so when you visit the site the image above greets you, ie that glowing letter Hunstman wrote the President when he accepted the position of Ambassador to China.

And …..

ABC: Every detail of Jon Huntsman’s long-awaited campaign launch was meticulously planned, except of course for one minor detail: the misspelling of the candidate’s name. Members of the media were handed a press pass that read “John Huntsman for President” – adding an unnecessary H in the candidate’s first name. Huntsman’s staffers promptly scrambled to remove the passes from reporters before they caught the snafu.

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Steve Benen: …. worse, visitors to Huntsman’s online donation page this morning saw this message alongside the contribution form:

If you prefer you can contact us by mail or by telephone.
Jon Huntsman for President
123 Main Street
Charlotte, NC 12345
(123) 456-7890

All of this is wrong, and was obviously just put in as placeholder text the campaign forgot to replace. As Jamison Foser noted, “So far today, Huntsman campaign has gotten his name, phone number & address wrong. That’s a rough day in first grade.”

That’s not all. The Huntsman campaign picked a location for the kick-off speech where the Statue of Liberty would be in the background, but put the television cameras in such a place where the Statue of Liberty wasn’t seen by viewers at home. Some pundits knocked the new candidate for a “bland, uninspiring speech,” and the cable networks didn’t stick with his remarks very long.

Well, at least Huntsman had a good crowd for the campaign launch, right? Wrong. Only “about a hundred” people showed up, and roughly 60 of them were political reporters…..

More here

newt’s campaign is moving along nicely….

AP: The top fundraisers for Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign have abandoned his struggling bid amid anemic fundraising and heavy spending.

Campaign spokesman R.C. Hammond is confirming to The Associated Press that fundraising director Jody Thomas and fundraising consultant Mary Heitman have left the team.

The former House speaker’s campaign has been on life support since earlier this month when 16 top aides and advisers resigned en masse over disagreements with the Republican candidate. Gingrich has insisted that he will stay in the race.

Thank you Proud 😉

tomorrow, 8.0

Thanks Blackwaterdog

rino?

Steve Benen: ….I can appreciate all of the reasons to take Jon Huntsman seriously as a candidate ….. but Huntsman is a moderate in an era when Republicans don’t like moderates.

Huntsman believes “health care is a right” …. He believes climate change is real and endorsed a cap-and-trade plan to address is …. He supported an individual mandate as part of health care reform … Republicans are on the opposite side of all of these issues. .. Oh, and he’s also a former member of the Obama administration who called President Obama a “remarkable leader.”

The Republican base has gone to great lengths to target so-called RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) … We’re to believe this same base will tolerate a moderate as their presidential nominee? Sure, Huntsman will start engaging in Romney-like flip-flops and try to reinvent himself. And sure, the media’s sycophantic adulation will give the guy a boost his rivals probably won’t enjoy.

But when push comes to shove, what are the chances Republican voters will nominate a former member of Obama’s team who doesn’t even want to describe himself as conservative? Strange things happen, but I’m hard pressed to imagine how anything this strange happens.

More here

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According to GOPolitico, Fox News was the first to cut away from Huntsman’s ‘big’ announcement today – half way through his speech. So, they’ll treat him with as much as respect during his campaign as they do the President.

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Thanks Ladyhawke

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More on Huntsman at The Reid Report

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Loriah just alerted me to Huntsman’s Google (Images) problem:

😆

run christie, run!

USA Today: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s approval ratings have dropped to a new low, driven by negative views from women.

A new poll by Quinnipiac University shows 47% of New Jersey voters do not approve of the job being done by Christie, whose handling of the state’s budget problems and dealings with public unions have caused Republicans to urge him to run for president. That’s one percentage point higher than April, the governor’s previous low.

On the flip side, 44% say they approve of the way Christie has done his job. A former federal prosecutor, Christie was elected in 2009.

Christie has ruled out running for president next year, saying he’s “100% certain” he won’t seek the White House. But what about the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket? A strong majority of New Jersey voters don’t see that happening for their outspoken governor: 61% say he would not make a good vice president.

As for the way he’s doing his job, the Quinnipiac Poll finds a big gender gap: Only 36% of women give high marks to the governor, compared with 53% of men. Maurice Carroll, director of the polling institute at Quinnipiac, believes Christie’s problem lies in his policies on education. The governor cut $820 million in state aid for education last year and has squabbled with the teachers’ unions over tenure.