let’s stay together …. in 2012 ;-)

Apollo Theatre, New York, January 19

heads up

President Obama disembarks from Air Force One at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on January 19

C-Span

CNN Live Streaming

the 9,273rd gop debate (or does it just feel like that many?)

Anyone watching these guys tonight?

chat away

owillis: dnc tweaks romney’s offshore tax haven in new email

Thank you Alycee and JojoRaze!

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President Barack Obama talks with Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer aboard Air Force One en route to the Magic Kingdom Theme Park at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 19, 2012. Press Secretary Jay Carney walks by in background. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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More soon, chat away 😉

afternoon all

Freep.com (Thanks amk)

Steve Benen: One of the more clear-cut triumphs of President Obama’s first three years has been the success of his auto-industry rescue. Republicans predicted it would fail miserably. They were wrong and the White House was right.

Bloomberg reported this week that auto plants are operating at a capacity unseen in a long while, adding shifts and creating jobs. The Detroit Free Press reported today that GM has reclaimed the crown of world’s largest automaker. And perhaps best of all, Michigan’s unemployment rate has also dropped to its lowest levels since September 2008, buoyed by the auto industry.

More here

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Deadline: It will be Michelle Obama’s late-night debut as the First Lady when she appears on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on Tuesday, January 31.

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Political Carnival (Thanks again amk!)

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By a reader at The Atlantic: It’s pretty clear to me that Obama is the chessmaster. Stop looking at this politically – let’s look at policy. Obama has been a master of accomplishing things, even with the Tea Party Terrorists hell bent on shutting down the government and ruining the full faith and credit of the United States.

Look at this from liberal,conservative, and moderate perspectives.

Liberals: Obama will end two wars, ended DADT, created the CFPA, got $20b from BP in the face of strong opposition, saved Detroit, signed New START, and enacted universal healthcare – the defining goal of the liberal movement.

For conservatives: he finished the job successfully in two wars, sustainably entered Libya while ensuring our allies took the heavy burden, okayed two risky operations – one that killed pirates and the other killing Osama – and just did more to stabilize long term deficits than anyone since Ike.

Full post here

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Michael Tomasky: Maybe Mitt will win Saturday night, and the contest will be finished. But Newt is giving Romney a run for his money in South Carolina—and we all know the reason why.

…. Gingrich has re-re-returned, and this time it’s about simple racism. If he actually wins South Carolina, the nomination fight and the party are suddenly in turmoil. It may only be for a week, but even just for that week, it would reveal a primary electorate that is so consumed with its paranoias that it has turned politics completely away from the question of who might govern the country well to who can best embody our hatreds and revenge fantasies. Conservatism has been half that for 30 years anyway, but it is now on the cusp of dispensing with the artifice and becoming that entirely.

Full post here

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MSNBC

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What? These were posted already?! O…..kay:

January 17, 2012. President Barack Obama unexpectedly runs into Michelle on her birthday in the basement of the White House

Though official duties filled much of the day, Tuesday was also Michelle Obama’s 48th birthday. As the president returned to the West Wing in the evening, he unexpectedly met the First Lady. “Obama gave her several kisses and wished her a happy birthday then walked off,” Morris says. “It was the highlight of the day for me—something you can’t plan for as a photographer. It was the most interesting photograph for me of the day by far.”

Time (more photos at the link)

Thanks aamom

florida

Full speech asap

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President Barack Obama leaves Andrews Air Force Base for Florida

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President Obama is followed by commerce secretary John Bryson as they disembark from Air Force One at Orlando International Airport

What an impressive tourist attraction. The castle’s nice too:

Speaking at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista

rise and shine

Reuters – New applications for unemployment benefits dropped to a near four-year low last week, a government report on Thursday showed, pointing to continued improvement in the labor market.

The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 50,000 to 352,000, the lowest level since April 2008 and the biggest drop since September 2005…..

More here

Steve Benen: The general trend on initial unemployment claims over the last two months has been largely encouraging, though there have been setbacks. Last week, for example, was a step in the wrong direction. This week’s report, however, was a very pleasant surprise. Initial claims not only dropped sharply, they fell to a level unseen in nearly four years.

More here

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Today:

9:15: PBO departs the White House

11:40: Arrives in Orlando

12:35: Delivers remarks

2:15: Departs Orlando

4:30: Arrives in New York City

5:30: Delivers remarks at a campaign event (Daniel Restaurant, Print Pool)

6:30: Delivers remarks at a campaign event (Daniel Restaurant, Print Pool)

7:50: Delivers remarks at a campaign event (Private Residence, Print Pool)

9:25: Delivers remarks at a campaign event (Apollo Theatre, Pooled for TV)

11:05: Departs New York en route to Joint Base Andrews

12:20 Arrives at the White House

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ThinkProgress

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Charles Pierce: ….. The decision by the Obama administration to scuttle (for the moment) the Keystone XL pipeline for good already has been responsible for the birthing of many public cows among the president’s Republican opponents……

This was an act of authentic political courage. The Republicans have turned the pipeline into an idiotic campaign litmus test and hung a ridiculously short deadline on the approval process, a deadline that nobody directly affected by the project thought was in any way adequate….

More here

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Sun Times: President Obama’s top strategist, David Axelrod, is launching an Institute of Politics at his alma mater, the University of Chicago, to create bipartisan programs bringing big names in politics to campus and internships for students.

“If years from now I run across young people who have participated in this Institute who are now writers and staffers and yes, candidates, we’ll have done our job well,” Axelrod said in a conference call on Wednesday.

The U. of C. institute will be largely modeled on Harvard University’s Institute of Politics….

More here

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The Week

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Steve Benen: With Mitt Romney still refusing to release his tax returns, we can only speculate as to why he’s so afraid of disclosure. The widely held assumption has been that the Republican frontrunner is embarrassed by his “15% problem” …. But that’s not the only thing Romney’s returns might show. Reuters’ Sam Youngman reported on a related issue:

His vast fortune is invested in dozens of funds linked to Bain Capital ….. Several Bain funds have offshore connections and take advantage of tax breaks used only by the U.S. financial elite…..

It’s worth clarifying that no one has accused Romney of doing anything illegal … But it doesn’t exactly help paint a picture of Romney as a “man of the people”…..

Full post here

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TPM: Turns out Mitt Romney wasn’t the first GOP candidate in 35 years to take Iowa and New Hampshire. In fact, the certification of Iowa caucus votes conducted by the state GOP shows Rick Santorum likely won – by 34 votes, though officials are officially calling it a “split decision.”

More here

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In case you missed it last night:

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January 17, 2012. President Barack Obama unexpectedly runs into Michelle on her birthday in the basement of the White House.

Though official duties filled much of the day, Tuesday was also Michelle Obama’s 48th birthday. As the president returned to the West Wing in the evening, he unexpectedly met the First Lady. “Obama gave her several kisses and wished her a happy birthday then walked off,” Morris says. “It was the highlight of the day for me—something you can’t plan for as a photographer. It was the most interesting photograph for me of the day by far.”

Time (more photos at the link)

Thanks aamom

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Spring. In. Step:

President Obama walks towards Marine One before his trip to Florida and New York, January 19

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Morning everyone 😉