evening all

President Barack Obama meets with former President George H.W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the Oval Office, Jan. 27, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The White House released a statement saying, “The three men enjoyed a personal visit in the Oval Office – as they have done on previous occasions when President Bush is Washington.”

The Bushes are in town to attend the exclusive Alfalfa Club dinner Saturday, an annual get-together for Washington power brokers that Obama also is scheduled to attend.

7:15 PM: PBO delivers remarks at the 99th annual Alfalfa Club Dinner in Washington. Michelle Obama attends.

Thanks Jovie

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President Barack Obama boards Marine One for departure from Cambridge-Dorchester Airport in Cambridge, Md., Jan. 27, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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White House

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The Week

Nick Anderson

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USA Today: Republicans were quick to rebuke the Obama administration after a third clean-energy company to receive taxpayer dollars, Ener1, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week.

But absent from their critique of Ener1 — which was awarded a $118.5 million grant from the Department of Energy in 2009 to expand an Indianapolis manufacturing plant — has been any mention that the electric battery manufacturer was also championed by one of the GOP’s rising stars, Gov. Mitch Daniels.

More here

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The line for President Obama’s speech in Michigan early this morning:

Freep.com

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Ta-Nehisi Coates (The Atlantic): All parties agree that Ron Paul is not, personally, racist and that he didn’t write the (newsletters) passages …. As I’ve said before, we all must make our calculus in supporting a candidate or even claiming he is “good” for the debate. But it must be an honest calculus.

If you believe that a character who would conspire to profit off of white supremacy, anti-gay bigotry, and anti-Semitism is the best vehicle for convincing the country to end the drug war, to end our romance with interventionism, to encourage serious scrutiny of state violence, at every level, then you should be honest enough to defend that proposition.

What you should not do is claim that Ron Paul “legislated” for Martin Luther King Day, or claim to have intricate knowledge of Ron Paul’s heart, and thus by the harsh accumulation of evidence, be made to look ridiculous.

More here

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They’re eating each other alive, part 2,372:

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Supporters of President Obama cheer at the press bus travelling with Newt Gingrich arriving at the Republican Jewish Coalition rally in Delray Beach, Florida, January 27

michigan

**** Don’t miss Eclectablog‘s report and photos from Michigan today ****

A rather warm welcome:

Will post video of speech when it appears – you can see it at C-Span

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, January 27

**** Don’t miss Eclectablog‘s report and photos from Michigan today ****

rise and shine – heads up for michigan speech (9:50 ET)

The front of the line – about 3,000 people will pass through the doors of Al Glick Fieldhouse this morning to see President Barack Obama speak

AnnArbor.com

Freep.com: Long lines of people wait on the outdoor football field outside the Glick Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Michigan hours before President Obama was to deliver his speech about education to over 3,000 people inside today

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9:45 ET  PBO delivers remarks at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

11:00: Departs Michigan en route to Joint Base Andrews

12:25: Arrives at Joint Base Andrews

12:30: Departs Joint Base Andrews en route to Cambridge, Md.

1:15 PBO address House Democrats at their annual retreat (Listed for live coverage by C-Span 2 and CNN streaming)

3:00: Arrives at the White House

3:30: PBO and VP Biden meet with Secretary of State Clinton

4:30: PBO delivers remarks at a campaign event

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Jonathan Cohn (TNR): President Obama visits the Detroit area on Friday, and his timing couldn’t be better: Today’s Detroit Free Press brings more good news from the auto industry:

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all plan to add jobs in Michigan, which stands to benefit more than any other state. Nissan, BMW, Honda, Toyota, Kia and Mercedes-Benz also are hiring. Suppliers are looking to add engineers and technical people, but at a more gradual pace.

About 15,000 auto-related Michigan jobs could be created this year….

More here

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President Barack Obama greets people following his remarks at Buckley Air Force Base in Denver, Colo., Jan. 26, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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The Nation: It is hard to read Remedy and Reaction, Paul Starr’s remarkable chronicle of the hundred-year effort to legislate universal health insurance in the United States, without recalling Robert Gibbs’s tortured quip that Democrats who’ve denounced the Obama White House for having knuckled under to Republican principles or intimidation “ought to be drug-tested.” Nobody with a sense of history – that is, nobody who reads Starr’s book – could doubt how sensible and brave was the president’s effort to drive the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 through Congress. Nobody with a feel for the present moment should doubt how imminent is the threat to the act, how urgent it is for progressive Democrats to rally around Obama – and without all the condescending qualifications that “independents,” who flock away from allegedly weak or incompetent leaders, interpret as contempt.

More here

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Greg Sargent: …. At an event in Las Vegas (yesterday), Obama offered his most extensive rebuttal by far to the bogus GOP charge that the push for higher taxes on the wealthy is about “class warfare” and “envy”. The whole thing is worth a watch – the tone was not one of outrage, but one laced with a good deal of mockery and derision:

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Washington Post: The Obama administration finalized a rule Thursday governing the management of 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands, establishing a new blueprint to guide everything from logging to recreation and renewable energy development.

The guidelines – which will take effect in early March and apply to all 155 national forests, 20 grasslands and one prairie – represent the first meaningful overhaul of forest rules in 30 years….

Several environmentalists and scientists praised the guidelines … “The vision is laudable, and this is no small shift in how the national forests will be managed, from one of commodity extraction into a vision of protection, restoration and water preservation,” said Dominick DellaSala, president and chief scientist for the Oregon-based Geos Institute.

More here

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National Journal

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The Week

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Morning everyone 😉

“it’s not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years”

Video from this website: “We all have teachers that make a lasting impression on us. It appears as if young Ann Arbor student Graeme Taylor has already found his. The 14-year-old, who is openly gay, bravely stood up for his teacher, Jay McDowell, at a recent school board meeting. McDowell was disciplined on October 20 for removing two students who had made anti-gay remarks in class. During his speech in support of his teacher, Taylor revealed his problems with bullying and a suicide attempt at the age of 9.”

come what may

a month in the life – may, 2010

… before giving the University of Michigan commencement address in Ann Arbor May 1

… exiting the stage with University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman, May 1

… being briefed on the BP oil spill aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, May 2

… talking with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal after arriving in New Orleans, May 2

… talking with Thad Allen and Bobby Jindal aboard Marine One, May 2

… being briefed on the BP oil spill by U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, May 3

… discussing the pending Supreme Court nomination with staff in the Rose Garden, May 6

… talking on the phone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the economic situation in Europe, prior to the Hampton University commencement, May 9

… waiting in the Blue Room of the White House, May 10, prior to the announcement of Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his choice to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens in the Supreme Court

… with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai following their working lunch, May 12

… at Duff’s Famous Wings in Cheektowaga, N.Y., May 13

… walking from Marine One to the motorcade at the Wall Street landing zone in New York, May 13

… during a meeting on the BP oil spill in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, May 14

… greeting workers during a shift change at V&M Star in Youngstown, Ohio, May 18

…  hosting Mexican President Felipe Calderón and his wife, Margarita Zavala, at the White House, May 19

… discussing G20 goals and strategy with staff in the Situation Room, May 20

… delivering remarks on Wall Street reform legislation in the Rose Garden, May 20

… greeting guests after signing a Presidential Memorandum in the Rose Garden, May 21

… boarding Marine One en route to West Point, N.Y., May 22

… at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y., May 22

… looking at a gift saber aboard Marine One, with Trip Director Marvin Nicholson, following the West Point commencement, May 22

… delivering remarks during a reception for members of the Federal Judge Association in the Grand Foyer of the White House, May 24

… meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon in the Oval Office, May 24

… with Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle during a briefing on the BP oil spill at the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Grand Isle, La., May 28

… being briefed by Thad Allen aboard Marine One en route to Port Fourchon, Louisiana, May 28

… looking at the effect the BP oil spill is having on Fourchon Beach in Port Fourchon, La., May 28

… flying over southern Louisiana after visiting Grand Isle, May 28

… pausing after laying a wreath at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill., on Memorial Day, May 31

… at the Memorial Day ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, Elwood, Ill., May 31

… speaking to people aboard a bus after the Memorial Day ceremony in Elwood was cancelled because of severe weather, May 31

… meeting with advisors before a phone call in the Oval Office with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, May 31

All official White House photos

go blue!

…with Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm

President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Michigan commencement ceremony in Ann Arbor, Michigan May 1, 2010.

Text of speech