First Lady Michelle Obama talks with a young patient during a visit to the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, December 16. The First Lady read the book “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” before greeting the children along with Santa Claus and presidential dogs Sunny and Bo
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Continue reading ‘The First Lady at the Children’s National Medical Center’
First Lady Michelle Obama reads a Christmas story as her dog Bo sits on her lap and 5-year-old AJ Murray (L), and 5-year-old Jordyn Akyoko sit nearby at Children’s National Medical Center on December 14
Thank you JER
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Today:
10:35: President Obama departs the White House en route Woodbridge, Va.
11:05: Arrives in Woodbridge, Va.
11:30: Delivers remarks via satellite at the AARP Life@50+ National Event & Expo at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge
12:45: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge (C-Span)
1:30: VP Biden and Jill Biden travel to Hanover, N.H., to deliver remarks at a campaign event at Dartmouth College
2:30: President Obama arrives at the White House
3:0 First Lady Michelle Obama delivers remarks at Morgan State University, Baltimore (need to check the time on this)
5:15: VP Biden and Jill Biden travel to Concord, N.H., to deliver remarks at a campaign event at the New Hampshire State House
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Washington Post: The last of the 33,000 “surge” troops President Obama ordered to Afghanistan in December 2009 have left the country, the Pentagon announced Friday, just ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline.
The number of U.S. troops in the war zone now stands at 68,000, Secretary of State Leon E. Panetta told reporters traveling with him during a week-long visit to the Asia-Pacific region. The troop count is down from a peak of 101,000 U.S. forces last year and marks the end of a critical phase in Obama’s war strategy.
…. The drawdown of U.S. forces is in keeping with Obama’s timetable to pull out all conventional combat forces by the end of 2014…
Full article here
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USA Today: Medicare beneficiaries have saved a total of about $4.5 billion on prescription medications because of the 2010 health care law since January 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services plans to announce today.
“We’re seeing consistent, steady savings for seniors thanks to the health care law,” said Jon Blum, director of the Center for Medicare. “In just 21/2 half years, seniors have seen billions in savings, and those savings will continue to grow as the doughnut hole is fully closed.”
More here
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Washington Post: In 3 1/2 years in office, President Obama has set in motion a broad overhaul of public education from kindergarten through high school, largely bypassing Congress and inducing states to adopt landmark changes that none of his predecessors attempted.
He awarded billions of dollars in stimulus funding to states that agreed to promote charter schools, use student test scores to evaluate teachers and embrace other administration-backed policies. And he has effectively rewritten No Child Left Behind, the federal law passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush, by excusing states from its requirements if they adopt his measures.
More here
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Loved this bit:
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Text of the First Lady’s remarks here
First lady Michelle Obama – and Bo – visits the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, December 12
First Lady Michelle Obama greets patients and staff at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
Lots of new official White House photos released today – see them here
First Lady Michelle Obama – and Bo – visit the Children’s National Medical Center on December 13
CNN: Half a million copies of a new children’s book by President Obama hit the shelves Tuesday.
First daughters Sasha and Malia inspired the president to write “Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters,” publisher Random House said.
The publisher describes Obama’s latest book as “a moving tribute to thirteen groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation — from the artistry of Georgia O’Keeffe, to the courage of Jackie Robinson, to the patriotism of George Washington.”
The manuscript was completed before Obama took office in 2009.
The book “celebrates the characteristics that unite all Americans — the potential to pursue our dreams and forge our own paths,” said Chip Gibson, head of the publisher’s children’s books division.
Proceeds from the book, which has a suggested retail price of $17.99, will be donated to a scholarship fund for children of fallen and disabled soldiers.
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Earlier this year – What did Sasha and Malia think of their dad’s short book? “I asked them to read it, see what they thought,” Obama said in an interview with Sirius XM radio. “I think they’re pretty soft on their dad. They figured out I already have enough to worry about. So, not too many rewrites.”
The President’s ‘Groundbreaking Americans’
* Painter Georgia O’Keeffe
* Scientist Albert Einstein
* Baseball player Jackie Robinson
* Sioux medicine man Sitting Bull
* Singer Billie Holiday
* Advocate for people with disabilities Helen Keller
* Vietnam Memorial architect Maya Lin
* Social worker Jane Addams
* Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr
* Astronaut Neil Armstrong
* Farmworkers’ leader Cesar Chavez
* President Abraham Lincoln
* President George Washington
Obama White House.gov WH Tumblr The People’s View Smartypants Steve Benen
The Obama Diary 
say hello to mark & denise
Tags: autograph, Barack, bo, book, children, children's, college, comment, daughter, denise, dog, eastfield, funny, kids, laboratory, Mark, mesquite, message, Obama, President, Rodriguez, school, signed, texas
Can you pass on a great, big heartfelt “Thank you” to Pres Obama from me and my wife please? You see, it’s our daughters’ book he’s signing in that picture! She actually spoke up and asked if he could sign it, and he was nice enough to oblige :0)
We bought the book a year or two ago to inspire two young daughters of our own, and we quickly took it to her class when told he’d be visiting the school. Yes, we entertained the idea of him signing it, and thought “wouldn’t it be nice!”, but knew it was a long-shot. We especially never thought our little one would take the initiative like she did and ask him in front of everyone haha! So, anyway, we were thrilled and over the moon when everyone told us the news and especially how it came about with a little voice asking at the right time, in a big way.
Everyone was so thrilled as they talked about how gracious President Obama was, and we are still on cloud 9 ourselves after seeing pictures of him interacting with our daughter and her classmates/teachers! It’s an experience our family will never forget, and we plan to have those pictures in that signed book for a long time to come!
Thank you for such a wonderful experience President Obama! We know our daughter will cherish the memory of it the rest of her life.
~ Mark and Denise Rodriguez
President Obama tours the Children’s Laboratory School at Eastfield College, Mesquite, Texas, October 4