beasts | The Obama Diary

President Obama talks with Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel Pendleton Sr., following the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 12, 2013. Mr.and Mrs. Pendleton, whose 15-year-old daughter Hadiya Pendleton was shot and killed last month in Chicago, were guests in the First Lady’s box at the speech

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President Obama signs two copies of his State of the Union address in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House before departing for the U.S. Capitol, D.C., Feb. 12

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President Obama waits with Sergeants at Arms and Members of Congress before entering the House Chamber to deliver the State of the Union address. Standing with the President are, from left: Paul Irving, House Sergeant at Arms: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va.; Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif; and Terrance Gainer, Senate Sergeant at Arms

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President Obama and Vice President Biden look toward the guests in the First Lay’s box at the State of the Union

All photos by Pete Souza – more here

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Sun Times: President Barack Obama will speak at the Hyde Park Academy on Friday, returning home to push his second-term economic agenda and curbs on gun violence just a few blocks from his Kenwood home – and not far from where 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was gunned down on Jan. 29.

Obama makes the afternoon trip at the school, 6220 S. Stony Island Ave., as the last of a three-city swing to bolster the plans he discussed in his Tuesday night State of the Union Address. Today Obama is in Asheville, N.C. and tomorrow he is in the Atlanta area.

More here

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Boston.com: This image provided by Vogue shows former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., left, with her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, during a photo shoot at their home in Tucson, Ariz. The image and accompanying article by John Powers will be published in the March 2013 issue of Vogue

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President Obama arrives to speak at the Linamar factory in Asheville, N.C., Feb 13

President Barack Obama listens to Jeffrey Brower and Dwayne Moore explain the machining of the axle components made for Caterpillar’s large mining trucks during a tour of the Linamar Corporation auto-parts plant in Arden, North Carolina, Feb. 13 (Photo by Pete Souza)

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Steve Benen: The available research shows that no cabinet nominee has ever faced a filibuster. This week, however, as Chuck Hagel’s Defense Secretary nomination reaches the Senate floor, a new level of Republican obstructionism may very well be reached.

“We’re going to require a 60-vote threshold,” [Republican Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma] told [Josh Rogin] …. [Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas] told The Cable, “There is a 60-vote threshold for every nomination.”

Well, no, actually there isn’t. Cornyn has been in the Senate for 11 years, and I have a strong hunch he knows that “every nomination” doesn’t have to clear a “60-vote threshold,” and many haven’t. Why Cornyn is comfortable saying the opposite is anyone’s guess.

More here

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Earlier today:

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According to GOPolitico, President Obama will ‘vacation’ over the weekend in West Palm Beach – The White House says he will leave Friday and he has no public events scheduled during the trip.

Excellent!

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