virginia

 

****

President Obama leaving the White House before traveling to Prince George, Va., and Houston, Texas

Andrews Air Force Base

… greeted by Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell upon arriving at Richmond International Airport

… greeted by Richmond, Va. Mayor Dwight C. Jones, center, and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va

… at Richmond International Airport in Virginia

…. touring the Rolls-Royce Crosspointe facility in Prince George

“I did not run for this office just to get us back to where we were. I ran for this office to get us where we need to be.”

from the coal mines of kentucky to the california sun….

**** The concert airs on PBS Wednesday, November 23 at 8 p.m. ET ****

President Obama delivers remarks before a “celebration of country music” concert at the White House

****

****

More here

****

Tuesday:

9:35 AM The President departs the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews

9:50 Departs Joint Base Andrews en route to Manchester, N.H.

11:0 Arrives in Manchester, N.H.

12:15 Delivers remarks on the American Jobs Act

1:20 Departs Manchester, N.H.

2:55 Arrives at the White House

****

****

President Barack Obama looks at a photograph of Kate Puzey as he greets her brother, David Puzey, and other guests in the Oval Office, Nov. 21. The President signed the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011, which improves the preventative measures and the response of the Peace Corps in cases of crime and sexual assault of Peace Corps volunteers.

****

‘chessmaster’

By a reader at The Atlantic (here):

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.

…. 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.

…. he spearheaded the most successful education initiative since WWII with Race-to-the-Top, ended too big to fail with Dodd-Frank, boosted exports with free-trade agreements, advocated and done more for infrastructure than anybody since Ike, increased technological funding…

… He sacrificed the public option to pass universal health care as a whole. Think of him as Bobby Fischer – he sacrificed the queen to win the greatest game.

… He tried like the Dickens on Guantanomo, but by that time the Tea Party made it seem crazy to build a mosque in NY (cause God forbid the 1st Amendment be observed), and the liberal movement didn’t exactly come out to support him on that. And then finally, the Bush tax cuts – another major piece sacrificed. And in return, he got New START, strengthened the FDA, gave health insurance to 9/11 responders, signed an important Civil Rights legislation for black farmers, and ended DADT.

… And for those who say “then why should Obama have caved?” Did he really cave? He cut the long term deficit (which he’s wanted to do since sitting in the Senate), and has now put Republicans in a position where they need to come to the table or see their core values demolished. It’s either tax cuts or the end of the world’s greatest military. Does anybody really think Republicans won’t deal?….

Which is why there is a ton that moderates can be proud of him for. By putting this nation’s economy on a stronger footing for the long term than it has been since LBJ, he’s taken full control of the center – and is there anything more important in a chess game? He’s made tough decisions on popular programs, faced backlash, but all in all, invested in our long term future.

…. His policies will last, and that’s because they’ve been moderate. But that moderation also means they’ve engendered backlash on both sides. That moderation also means they’re going to be tough to get rid of. And the only thing left for him on the moderate side of the house are immigration reform, and finishing the job on education and infrastructure. Big tasks, no doubt (but tasks I also doubt anybody but Obama can accomplish)….

But overall, he’s already the most accomplished president since FDR – and in only 3 years. And like FDR, his policies will be tough to get rid of. Barack Obama may lose the presidency, but as the Tea Party moves to the right, he has taken the center for the Democrats, and makes his policies that much harder to erase.

Stop thinking about 2012. In 2020, it’ll be obvious – Barack Obama gave Bobby Fischer a run for his money as the greatest of chessmasters.

Full post here

doing business, the louisiana way

Salon: Are you a major corporation that wants to do business with the state of Louisiana? The bad news is you can only donate $5,000 directly to Governor Bobby Jindal. The good news is, you can give an unlimited amount of money to his wife’s charity, the Supriya Jindal Foundation for Lousiana’s Children.

….corporations including Marathon Oil, AT&T, Northrup Grumman, Dow Chemical, Alon USA, and various state contractors have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the foundation. All of those companies have business with the state. All of them received permits or evaded fines or won contracts.

Everyone involved in this pay-to-play-ish venture claims nothing untoward is going on. The major corporations simply love children. And if, following an oil company’s donation, “state environmental officials [ease] requirements for the company to check for spills of oil, ammonia or other contaminants in waterways,” well that’s just a coincidence.

Supriya Jindal’s foundation reportedly does good work, handing out free “high-tech whiteboards,” to low-income schools across the state….

Full article here

flashback …. chef-in-chief

June 2009

If you’re feeling hungry, don’t click here

na, that guy’ll never make it

An interview with Joe Green, September 1999

Highlights from Barack Obama’s March 2000 appearance on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, during his unsuccessful primary challenge to Rep. Bobby Rush.

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

emergency call

President Obama is briefed on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, aboard Air Force One en route to New Orleans, La.

President Obama is met by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, after arriving at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen, who is serving as the National Incident Commander, and EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, brief President Barack Obama about the situation along the Gulf Coast following the BP oil spill, at the Coast Guard Venice Center, Venice, La

May 2, 2010 – President Barack Obama visits Louisiana as crews try to stem the oil flow streaming from the wreakage of BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig, which sank on April 22.