On This Day: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the Quirinale Palace, in Rome, July 8, 2008
****
Today (all times Eastern)
11:0: The President meets with NATO Secretary Rasmussen
12:35: Josh Earnest briefs the press
2:0: Hosts a reception for the diplomatic corps; East Room
4:20: The President departs the White House
5:55 MDT: Arrives Denver
****
The Week Ahead
Wednesday: In Denver, the President will attend a DSCC fundraising event. He will then travel to the Dallas, Texas area for a DCCC event. In the evening, he will travel to Austin, Texas, where he’ll attend a DNC event and remain overnight.
Thursday: While in Austin, the President will attend a DNC event, and will deliver remarks on the economy, before returning to the White House.
Friday: The President will attend meetings at the White House.
****
****
President Obama (in Haaretz): Peace is the only path to true security for Israel and the Palestinians
In an exclusive article for Haaretz’s Israel Conference on Peace, Barack Obama says that the only solution is a democratic, Jewish state living side-by-side in peace and security with a viable, independent Palestinian state.
As Air Force One prepared to touch down in the Holy Land last year, I looked out my window and was once again struck by the fact that Israel’s security can be measured in a matter of minutes and miles. I’ve seen what security means to those who live near the Blue Line, to children in Sderot who just want to grow up without fear, to families who’ve lost their homes and everything they have to Hezbollah’s and Hamas’s rockets.
And as a father myself, I cannot imagine the pain endured by the parents of Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar and Eyal Yifrach, who were tragically kidnapped and murdered in June. I am also heartbroken by the senseless abduction and murder of Mohammed Hussein Abu Khdeir, whose life was stolen from him and his family. At this dangerous moment, all parties must protect the innocent and act with reasonableness and restraint, not vengeance and retribution.
More here
****
WhiteHouse.gov
****
Michael Tomasky: Why You Don’t Know Obama Has Created 4.5 Million Jobs
Do you have any idea how many more jobs Obama has created than Bush did? You don’t, because liberals are less likely than conservatives to cheerlead.
The terrific June jobs report may be the signal we’ve been waiting for that we’re finally turning the psychic corner. The overall jobs number was great at 288,000, and the unemployment rate was down to 6.1 percent. But the most important number was that the employment-to-population ratio, which many economists think of as the truest measure of the jobs market, was up a bit to 59 percent, a high for the recovery, indicating that maybe more people are finally out looking for work than staying home.
A lot of liberals puzzle over why the Obama administration isn’t getting more credit, or doesn’t do a better job of making sure it gets credit, for such good economic news. There are a lot of theories, and most of them hold varying amounts of water. But the main reason to me is fairly obvious: Liberals don’t speak as one big fat propagandistic voice on this subject in remotely the same way conservatives do when a Republican president is in power.
More here
****
****
****
On This Day
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama arrive in Rome, Italy, to attend the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, July 8, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama meet with President Napolitano and his wife Clio Napolitano at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy, before departing for the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, July 8, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama arrives for the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, July 8, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
First Lady Michelle Obama meets with Clio Napolitano, wife of President Napolitano, at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy, July 8, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama confers with world leaders, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, while attending the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, July 8, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama attends the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, July 8, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama greets firefighters as he tours earthquake damage with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, while attending the G-8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, July 8, 2009 (Photo by Pete Souza)
****
President Obama waves to the crowd at a grassroots event for Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan at the Folly Theater Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., July 8, 2010 (Photo by Pete Souza)
****
President Obama meets with senior advisors in the Situation Room of the White House, July 8, 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
****
President Obama smiles as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House upon his return to Washington from Camp David on July 8, 2012
****
MoooOOOooorning again everyone – work is interfering with TOD life again, so hadn’t time to do a decent R&S. If you could fill in the newsie gaps in the comments, that would be greeeeeeeat!
The Obama Diary 
You must be logged in to post a comment.