‘thank you’

Distriction.com: Stephon stood just a few feet away from Barack Obama. The president, busy shaking hands, looked right at him. “It was like he was waiting for me to say something,” he said later.

So the 26-year-old Prince George’s Community College student took his cue and spoke to President Obama in his first language: American Sign Language. “I am proud of you,” Stephon signed. The president, almost involuntary, instinctively, immediately signed back.

“Thank you,” Obama replied.

This is one of those moments that humanize the office of the presidency…..

Stephon: “The moment I will never forget was when he looked at me. He gave me a chance to talk to him. It was like he was waiting for me to say something. I took the moment and signed “I am proud of you,” and his response was “Thank u” in sign language back! Oh my gosh! I was like wow! He understood me after I said I was proud of him. It was so amazing…I was just speechless. Right after he thanked me, he smiled at another deaf lady who signed “I love you.” When I shook his hand it did not feel like he was superior to me. He was just a humble man. I am just impressed by him and know that he will have my vote and he will win second term without a doubt. Yeah, I feel safe to have him for another term.”

More here

Visit Stephon’s YouTube channel here

Thank you Meta

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Thanks again Meta

green day

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny came to Washington bearing a few special gifts for President Barack Obama.

Among them, an official certificate of Irish heritage. “These are rare, as rare as the man himself,” Kenny said, presenting the document to Obama at a White House reception.

The president, without missing a beat, said: “This will have a special place of honor, alongside my birth certificate.”

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First Lady Michelle Obama gestures as she pretends to pour a pint of beer alongside Fionnuala Kenny

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Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley performs with his Celtic rock band O’Malley’s March during a St. Patrick’s Day Reception at the White House

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President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner, and others applaud as Enda Kenny, Taoiseach of Ireland, is introduced during a St. Patrick’s Day lunch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

evening all

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Greg Sargent: I just got off the phone with Robert McIntyre, the director of Citizens for Tax Justice. His criticism of Paul Ryan’s new budget was unsparing: He ripped it as “smoke and mirrors,” and claimed it would increase the deficit.

“He’s a phony,” McIntyre said of Rep. Ryan. “But he’s always been a phony.”

More here

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Steve Benen

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Charles Pierce: The only reason that the zombie-eyed granny-starver Paul Ryan gets to present his own federal budget, as though he were the shadow president and not a guy elected by roughly 180,000 people in and around Janesville, Wisconsin, is that he managed early on to convince people that he was not your run-of-the-mill zombie-eyed, granny-starving, trickle-down Randian snake-oil salesman of the kind that have been running Republican economic policy since half-past Ronald Reagan’s lucidity.

More here

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Quinnipiac: President Barack Obama leads all the Republican presidential candidates in Virginia, with his 50 – 42 percent margin over Mitt Romney his biggest lead over Romney in this election cycle, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Putting Gov. Bob McDonnell on the ticket as the GOP vice-presidential nominee does not help the Republicans carry the state …. In a matchup of President Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden against Romney and McDonnell, the Democrats win 50 – 43 percent.

Obama wins head to head against other Republican contenders:

54 – 35 percent over Newt Gingrich
49 – 40 percent over Rick Santorum
49 – 39 percent over Ron Paul

More here

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Glenn Kessler: …. During an economic speech on Monday, Mitt Romney charged that the Obama administration “banned” Thomas Edison’s light bulb.

Really?

…. It’s a cheap political shot for Romney to blame “Obama’s regulators” for a proposal that was signed into law by a Republican president and was broadly supported at the time. Moreover, we don’t see how higher efficiency standards translates into a “ban,” especially when light manufacturers have embraced the new standards.

More here

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President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House John Boehner speak following a St. Patrick’s Day Lunch at the US Capitol, March 20

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failte

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White House live

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House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, President Barack Obama, Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny and Rep. Peter King walk down the steps of the Capitol in Washington following a St. Patrick’s Day luncheon

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Back in a while

(a very, very late) rise and shine

Morning everyone. Is this the latest rise and shine ever? 😳

Will catch up later today, meanwhile …. chat away.