Thank you Tulips – in time I will be able to clean all the cranberry juice from my monitor đ
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One more push – the deadline is midnight tonight:
Please vote for the kids at Desertflowerâs school in the Pepsi Challenge (see todayâs Rise and Shine post for more info).
You can do so either online or by text:
Go to the RefreshEverything website â registering takes two minutes, just type âdesert shadowsâ in the search box and the school will come up. Then vote!
President Obama arrives at John F. Kennedy International Airport
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President Obama’s limousine is seen under a tent outside a private residence as he speaks at a campaign event in New York
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Another gentle reminder:
Please vote for the kids at Desertflowerâs school â the deadline is midnight tonight (see today’s Rise and Shine post for more info).
You can do so either online or by text:
Go to the RefreshEverything website â registering takes two minutes, just type âdesert shadowsâ in the search box and the school will come up. Then vote!
Or, Text 73774and type in the message code 109320.
Charles Pierce: It is gradually dawning on people that Newt Gingrich is not the flavor-of-the-month/week/day/hour, and is very likely going to be the Other Guy for as long as there is a contest for the Republican nomination. It’s certainly becoming clear to Willard Romney, who yesterday got pissy with a Fox News anchor and lapsed into that unattractive part of his personality that can best be described as his Flog-the-Scrimey-Help modeâŚ. Willard, you’ve got a problem.
If Newt Gingrich really thinks he can win, then Newt Gingrich will do absolutely anything to accomplish that. He has no conscience in these matters, and he has no soul to speak of. He believes that the rules governing ordinary mortals in matters like public prevarication and gross public deceit do not apply to himâŚ.
⌠This is no longer a campaign. It is Newt Gingrich’s last chance to define himself in history as the grandiose figure he sees when he looks in the mirror ⌠If anyone thinks he’s likely to abandon that great quest just because he’s fundamentally unprincipled, and because the image itself is a tinpot fraud, they’re fooling themselvesâŚ.
Osborneink: The Occupation movement has a large contingent – not quite half – that is passionately opposed to endorsing the president of the United States for reelection …. this portion has managed to make the president into a source of division within the broader progressive movement. The Occupation was supposed to break our silos, but we are still talking past one another and thatâs got to stop.
Youâve probably heard by now that black Americans are not taking part in the OccupationâŚ.
âŚ. I canât help thinking back to Jane Hamsher, whose participation in the XL Keystone protests actually hurt their credibility in the African American âsphere. Iâm also reminded of how John Lewis got shunned in Atlanta, giving that cityâs mayor room to deny the Occupation legitimacy. Puritan gatekeeping gets you nothing.
Joan Walsh and Glenn Greenwald and David Sirota, et al – what Iâve come to call the Salonites – donât seem to understand the topic of race privilege, much less class. Recognition that race is a cultural construct does not blunt the cumulative effect of constant attacks on the character and intelligence of the first African American president.
Put simply, the Bill Maher – Michael Moore set has alienated a huge Democratic demographic…..
First Lady Michelle Obama meets with members of the board of Partnership for a Healthier America, an organization working to end childhood obesity, at the Omni Hotel in Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2011. Mrs. Obama later delivered the keynote address at the PHAâs inaugural Building a Healthier Future Summit. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
The kids at Desertflower’s school are trying to raise money for a new sound system. If the school can get in the top 15 of a challenge Pepsi are running, then the sound system will be paid for by Pepsi. They are currently at 19.
The challenge ends at midnight tonight – so please vote for Desertflower’s school!
You can do so either online or by text:
Go to the RefreshEverything website – registering takes two minutes, just type âdesert shadowsâ in the search box and the school will come up. Then vote!
Or, Text 73774 and type in the message code 109320.
Desertflower: “I hope everyone will take a minute to push for this for these great kids ⌠they all work too hard NOT to be heard. They have a voice too đ Thanks family.”
Marketwatch: Growth in private-sector payrolls sharply accelerated in November, led by the service-producing sector and small businesses, according to the ADP employment report released Wednesday.
Employment in the private sector rose by 206,000 jobs in November – the largest gain since last December and almost twice the average increase in recent months. The October level was revised up to 130,000 from a prior estimate of 110,000.
⌠While economists have noted a divergence between estimates from ADP and the government, markets look to ADPâs report on private-sector payrolls to provide some guidance on the U.S. Labor Departmentâs jobs estimate, which will be released Friday and includes information on both private- and public-sector payrolls.
11:30 Michelle Obama delivers the keynote address at Partnership for a Healthier Americaâs inaugural Building a Healthier Future summit
12:30 Michelle Obama welcomes military families to the White House for the first viewing of the 2011 holiday decorations
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Two more Reuters Photos of the Year:
âŚ. visiting the Lincoln Memorial, April 9
Moneygall, May 2011
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Ooops:
Reuters: Herman Cain had almost daily contact this month with the woman who says she had a 13-year extramarital affair with him, even as he battled sexual harassment allegations from other women, ABC News reported on Wednesday.
Reuters: Hillary Clinton became the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Myanmar in more than 50 years Wednesday, launching an historic mission to press the reclusive country’s new leaders to sever illicit contacts with North Korea and deliver on reforms.
âŚ. The visit, announced by President Barack Obama at a regional summit in earlier this month, could also open a new arena of U.S. competition with China, which has watched warily as Washington courts its resource-rich southern neighbor as part of a broader policy of increasing U.S. engagement in Asia.
Steve Benen: âŚ.. “Itâs safe to say Speaker John Boehner does not agree with President Obamaâs suggestion on Tuesday that Americans are better off now than they were when he took office. âAre you kidding me?!â Boehner said loudly in response to a reporterâs question on the comment.”
âŚ. Obviously, national conditions arenât close to where they need to be. …. Maybe, if guys like Boehner would start passing jobs bills and stop holding the economy back on purpose, the public would start to feel like the country is on the right track again.
But for those who take reality seriously, thereâs no real question as to whether the country is better off now than in January 2009:
Then the nation was hemorrhaging jobs; now itâs gaining jobs.
Then the economy was shrinking; now the economy is growing.
Then the American automotive industry was on the verge of collapse; now itâs starting to thrive.
Then taxpayers were sending money to Wall Street; now taxpayers are being paid back.
Then Osama bin Laden was targeting Americans and our allies; now heâs dead and al Qaedaâs leadership has been decimated.
Then U.S. troops were headed into the Middle East in greater numbers; now theyâre headed home with their heads held high.
Republicans, including John Boehner, drove the United States into a pretty deep ditch during the Bush/Cheney era, and conditions are still pretty ugly. That doesnât change the simple fact that the nation is much stronger now than the day the president was inaugurated ….
AP: A third former employee considered filing a workplace complaint against Herman Cain over what she deemed aggressive and unwanted behavior when she and Cain, now a Republican presidential candidate, worked together during the late 1990s, the woman told The Associated Press on Wednesday. She said the behavior included a private invitation to his corporate apartment.
The woman said he made sexually suggestive remarks or gestures about the same time that two co-workers had settled separate harassment complaints against Cain, who was then the head of the National Restaurant Association.
Washington Post: Car buyers were out in force in October, snapping up trucks and SUVs and taking advantage of deals on Japanese cars.
U.S. car and truck sales were expected to top 1 million in October, a surprising number for a month when sales are usually slow. When adjusted for seasonal factors, that would be the best pace since the Cash for Clunkers program in August 2009.
Mediaite: In a Quinnipiac poll taken Oct. 25-31, embattled GOP juggernaut Herman Cain continued to show amazing staying power âŚ. (but) The real news from this poll, taken before most of the fallout from Politicoâs alleged sexual harassment expose, might be that some rays of sunshine are finally hitting President Obama.
âŚ.. President Obama gained six points on his approval rating ⌠and is now beating all Republican challengers by margins of 5-16 points. The President has seen steady progress in the polls since rolling out his American Jobs Act in September, taking it on the road, and taking the fight to the Republicans who oppose it.
Elsewhere in the poll, Democrats opened up a lead on the generic House ballot, beating Republicans 42-36, after tying them at 39 in October.
AP: Michelle Obama has presented national arts and humanities awards to 12 community-based, after-school programs, including for at-risk kids.
The programs use dance, theater, writing, music, history and other art mediums to inspire teen moms and other young people and help them reach their potential. The first lady said at a White House ceremony Wednesday that the programs show that the arts are a lifeline – not a luxury – for many of these kids.
Most of the participants graduate from high school or earn a GED and go on to college.
The 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards are presented on behalf of the Presidentâs Committee on the Arts and Humanities in partnership with three national cultural agencies.
So I am officially the winner for most donations in the Grassroots Fundraising Challenge. I just spent the last 30 minutes on the phone doing an interview with OFA Headquarters. They are doing a write-up which will be featured on their blog and the White House will be calling me with the logistics about the call from President Obama!!!!!
Okay I am not good for anything else today here at work. I should probably just go home and lay down đ
YIPPEEEâŚ.IâM GONNA TALK TO THE PRESIDENT!!!
GO TODâŚ.GO TOD!!!!!!
Send suggestions for questions to donnadem4obama@gmail.com
đ đ đ đ đ đ
Congratulations Donna Dem, absolutelythrilled for you – RICHLY RICHLY RICHLY RICHLY deserved! Give the fella our love đ
PS Thank you to all you magnificent people who helped push Donna over the line – you are treasures!
White House: Every wondered what would happen if the President of the United States walked into an auditorium full of unsuspecting high school seniors? Thatâs exactly what happened on June 7, 2010 when President Obama surprised the graduating class at Kalamazoo Central High School, the winners of the 2010 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge. The Principal of Kalamazoo Central High School, Von Washington, described the experience of competing in â and winning â the 2010 Commencement Challenge this way:
“How do you begin to describe what shaking the hand of the President of the United States at your high school graduation means to a student? Every one of our students, and everyone within our community was changed by this once in a lifetime event…..”
Weâre asking public high schools from across the country to demonstrate how their school best prepares them for college and a career, helping America win the future by out-educating our competitors and achieving President Obamaâs goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.
Columbia Journalism Review: Our nomination for this weekâs bogus Times trend story is in the national section under the headline, âMurmurs on Left of a Primary Challenge to Obama.â Its author, political writer and analyst Matt Bai, writes that disappointed liberals, spurred by the presidentâs compromise on extending the Bush era tax cuts, among other compromises and failures, are calling forâor at least âmurmuringâ among themselves aboutâa primary challenger to take on the president in the lead-up to 2012. The evidence? A trio of liberal columns. Yep, as the rule goes, âthreeâs a trend.â
….And thatâs pretty much all thatâs offered to support the rather sensational headline and a lede which claims the latest compromise âis bound to intensify a debate that has been bubbling up on liberal blogs and e-mail lists in recent weeksâwhether or not the president who embodied âhope and changeâ in 2008 should face a primary challenge in 2012.â Well, after an uncritical reading of this article, maybe.
Salon (Alex Pareene): Matt Bai has written — and the New York Times has published! — the most pointless piece of fantastical political “analysis” since … the last Matt Bai piece, I guess. The idea is that there is serious talk among liberals of supporting a primary challenge against Barack Obama, and the only problem with the otherwise flawless story is that that it is not true, and so it is a gigantic waste of everyone’s time.
While Matt Bai and his editors would certainly welcome a serious primary campaign against the president, because it would be fun to report on, the fact is that Bai has built this entire piece around some blog posts. You know you’re reading a really great piece of professional political analysis when the thesis is refuted in the first sentence of the second paragraph. “The idea seems to have little momentum for now,” Bai explains, but then for some reason he continued writing instead of shutting down his MacBook Air and going outside for a nice walk or somethingâŚ.
âŚ.As Steve Kornacki explained this morning, Barack Obama’s coalition still loves him and he’s in fine shape for reelection.
Of course, Matt Bai is not a complete idiot. He knows full well that a credible primary challenge from the left is very unlikely. He just wrote this piece because he thinks it would be totally awesome if that did happen. It is like a writer for the Times Science section turning in a piece headlined, “Maybe aliens will give us Warp Drive technology next year, that would be cool.” Save it for your Tumblr, Matt.
Washington Independent: Recently, political memes have surfaced that do not have much basis in reality.
Matt Bai of the New York Times sees âmurmursâ of a primary challenge against President Obama after he cut a deal with congressional Republicans to extend the tax cuts for the wealthy for two years in exchange for a 13-month unemployment extension, a payroll tax cut and other tax breaks designed to stimulate job growth.
As angry as some liberals are, there isnât a lot of there there â the article quotes two Huffington Post blogs, a Washington Post op-ed and the head of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, who said he isnât advocating a primary challenge.
Massachusetts Rep. Mike Capuano said he âmay or may notâ support Barack Obamaâs reelection, but heâs not known for holding his tongue. Moreover, Rep. Alcee Hastings (Fla.) said the same thing over the summer. Itâs just talk.
Meanwhile, President Obama has an 80 percent approval rating among self-identified liberals, and liberal icons like Sen. Russ Feingold (Wis.) and Howard Dean have unequivocally said they wonât challenge him.
CBS: A column in the New York Times today headlined “Murmurs of Primary Challenge to Obama” is generating buzz about whether the president could face a serious challenge from within his own party in his reelection bid in 2012.
The reality, however, is that such a challenge is extremely unlikely.
…there is a difference between the liberal blogosphere and pundit class – what White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs calls the “professional left” – and the liberal base overall. According to the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, 90 percent of blacks still approve of the president, as do 82 percent of Democrats and 79 percent of liberals. It would seem to be very difficult to mount a successful challenge from the left in light of these numbers.
Add to that the fact that there is no plausible and interested challenger out there – no figure like Ted Kennedy, who challenged (and weakened) Jimmy Carter. Howard Dean and Russ Feingold, perhaps the two most viable options, say they aren’t doing it; Dean said he “is absolutely, categorically not running in 2012,” while Feingold’s spokesman said the Wisconsin Democrat “has no interest in challenging President Obama in 2012.” Rep. Dennis Kucinich has also ruled out a run.
Indeed, the Times column is pretty thin on evidence that there is momentum building for a primary challenge: It points to Michael Lerner, the editor of Tikkun magazine, former Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. confident Clarence B. Jones and American Prospect co-editor Robert Kuttner. With all due respect to these men, that does not constitute a groundswell of support for a primary challenge.
…despite the juicy Times headline – Mr. Obama doesn’t seem to have much to worry about.
The Obama Diary 
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