Jury Duty

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Steve Schmadeke and Elvia Malagon: Obama Arrives At Daley Center To Report For Jury Duty

The former leader of the free world reported for for Cook County jury duty this morning at the downtown Daley Center. Barack Obama, who was spotted leaving his South Side home in the Kenwood neighborhood just before 9:30 a.m., and was seen arriving at the court building around 10 a.m. A media scrum was on hand for the event, but there were plenty of others who caught a glimpse of him: “He’s gorgeous,” said a clerk who works at the building.

More here

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evening all

President Barack Obama talks with Chief of Staff Bill Daley and Jack Lew, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, before making a statement to the press in the State Dining Room of the White House, Jan. 9, 2012. The President announced Daley’s resignation and that Lew will serve as his next chief of staff. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Mark Kelly leans on the shoulder of his wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, at a memorial vigil remembering the victims and survivors of the shooting that wounded Giffords, 12 others and killed six one year ago Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

NYT: The sun had fallen and a crowd had gathered on a chilly Sunday night on the mall at the University of Arizona, for the last event of a weekend commemorating the first anniversary of the mass shooting here one year ago. The vigil began with the Pledge of the Allegiance.

Led by Representative Gabrielle Giffords.

Full article here

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Reuters: Welcome to an unlikely beacon of hope for the global auto industry – Detroit.

Executives arriving this week for the Detroit auto show find a U.S. car market that has morphed from meltdown three years ago to a safe haven as concerns grow about the stability of other big economies, from Europe to China.

Analysts and executives expect 2012 U.S. auto sales to grow 4 percent to 9 percent, the third consecutive annual gain….

Full article here

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The First Lady’s schedule

Wednesday, January 11:

Richmond, Virginia

12:30: First Lady Michelle Obama will deliver remarks at a DNC luncheon in Richmond.

2:45: Mrs Obama will announce a major commitment by the country’s top medical colleges and universities to create a new generation of doctors, medical schools, and research facilities to ensure that veterans, service men and women receive the medical care that they deserve.

Prior to this announcement, the First Lady will tour the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center’s Polytrauma Unit to visit wounded warriors and veterans receiving in-patient treatment.

Charlottesville, Virginia

5:15 PM: Mrs. Obama will deliver remarks at a DNC reception

Friday, January 13:

Alexandria, Virginia

Morning: Mrs Obama will join the cast of Nickelodeon’s iCarly at a special screening of “iMeet The First Lady,” a new episode featuring the First Lady that honors America’s military children.

At the final event of the tour, Miranda Cosgrove and the iCarly cast will be joined by Mrs. Obama at Hayfield Secondary School, a school with a large number of military children. They will screen the episode, participate in iCarly’s “Random Dancing” and answer questions from the students.

Mrs. Obama will also appear in a Joining Forces PSA produced by Nickelodeon that will debut immediately following the airing of “iMeet the First Lady” on the 16th.”

ObamaFoodorama

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Charles Pierce (Esquire): MANCHESTER, N.H. – Just got back to town in time to feel the entire race pivot underneath my feet. Of course, this is just a naked ploy by the Gingrich campaign to sew up the critical Unemployable Dude With A Snowmobile vote, which is not a constituency lightly overlooked in this state, although in South Carolina, political observers say, it is replaced by the Unemployable Dude With A Mullet And A Truck vote ….

😆

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CBS: The nominating process may officially be underway, but Republicans have yet to enthusiastically embrace a potential nominee for president – and despite the late date, most would like to see other candidates enter the race, according to a new CBS News poll.

The survey finds that 58 percent of Republican primary voters want more presidential choices, while just 37 percent say they are satisfied with the current field. The percentage of Republican primary voters that wants more choices has increased 12 percentage points since October.

More here

58%?! I think that’s what you call an ‘enthusiasm gap’.

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Charles P. Pierce (Esquire): And, suddenly, the dogwhistles have turned into air-raid sirens .. I think, maybe, it’s time for the nation to rise up and point out to the Republican party that, root and branch, it is a racist embarrassment to democracy and a blight on this nation that all the world can see…..

….there is a steady, noxious river of bile flowing through the entire Republican party, and through the conservative “movement” that empowers it …

… No, Rick, I don’t believe for a moment you meant to say something else and it came out “Blah people,” you Bible-banging coward. Nobody’s talking in code any more. It’s right out front there, for all the world to see. How dare these people? How dare their evil souls?

chief of staff

Steve Benen: …. As someone who was less than thrilled when Daley got the job, I’m not exactly sorry to hear the news. What’s more, I’ve liked Lew, and have no doubt he’ll be excellent in this role.

My larger concern is that Lew is a great OMB chief, and getting the Senate to confirm his replacement, whomever that may be, is going to be exceedingly unpleasant.

Regardless, I’m rather pleased with the news. The White House has been largely on the right track lately – payroll fight, mercury emissions, CFPB recess appointments, etc. – and Lew seems likely to help keep it that way.

Full post here

 

President Barack Obama announces the change of his chief of staff at the State Dinning Room of the White House as his outgoing chief of staff William Daley and replacement Jacob Lew look on.

Sun Times: White House chief of staff Bill Daley, whose resignation was announced by President Obama on Monday, will be a co-chair of his 2012 re-election campaign, based in Chicago.

“He’s got a ton of political experience, knowledge and contacts and we look forward to leveraging those assets and working closely together to re-elect the President this year,” a member of the Obama team told the Chicago Sun-Times.

more pete souza genius

Members of the audience cheer as President Obama delivers remarks on the American Jobs Act at Manchester Central High School, N.H., Nov. 22

President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden talk with First Lady Michelle Obama in the Oval Office, Nov. 21

President Obama greets people following a ceremony to honor the French and American Alliance, at a World War I Memorial at the Hotel de Ville in Cannes, France, Nov. 4

President Obama says goodbye to students after a visit to the Yeadon Regional Head Start Center in Yeadon, Pa., Nov. 8

President Obama talks with Chief of Staff Bill Daley before the APEC CEO business summit in Honolulu, Hawaii, Saturday, Nov. 12

President Obama has his picture taken with a member of the U.S. Navy on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson, Nov. 11

President Obama looks out a window of Air Force One during the flight from Canberra to Darwin, Australia, Nov. 17

Members of the Townson University football team take pictures of President Obama during halftime of the Oregon State vs Towson University basketball game in Towson, Md., Nov. 26

And from Lawrence Jackson:

First Lady Michelle Obama walks with children past the official White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room, Nov. 30. Mrs. Obama welcomed military families to the White House for for the first viewing of the 2011 holiday decorations.

See all the photos at Flickr

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And here’s Oliver Willis with the Obamas:

evening all

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Democrats.org

It’s working:

😉

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Fredericksburg

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E.J. Dionne: The right-wing’s shellacking …. Tuesday’s results underscored the power of unions and populist politics, the danger to conservatives of social-issue extremism and the fact that 2010 was no mandate for right-wing policies. They also mean that if Republicans don’t back away from an agenda that makes middle-class, middle-of-the-road Americans deeply uncomfortable — and in some cases angry — they will lose the rather more important fight of 2012.

Full article here

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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attend a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Nov. 9, 2011. Chief of Staff Bill Daley and Melody Barnes, Director of Domestic Policy Council, are seen in the background. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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More soon

rise and shine

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April, 2009

Steve Benen: Bill Daley’s tenure as White House chief of staff has proven to be more difficult than administration insiders had expected…. It’s not a surprise, then, that Daley’s “responsibilities are shifting” in the West Wing:

On Monday, Mr. Daley turned over day-to-day management of the West Wing to Pete Rouse, a veteran aide to President Obama, according to several people familiar with the matter…..

…. Rouse served as acting White House CoS from October 2010 to mid-January 2011 – a time when the White House put together quite a winning streak. Rouse also enjoys strong support among White House staffers and, as a former leading Hill staffer, will get along much better with congressional Democrats. (Harry Reid, in particular, had no use for Daley, and was known to have complained about Daley directly to the president.)

As someone who was less than thrilled when Daley got the job, I’m not exactly sorry to see the “shift” in his responsibilities. Regardless, I’d argue the more Rouse is helping run the West Wing, the better.

Full post here

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Good luck today Ohio

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Morning everyone 😉

all the president’s men

President Barack Obama talks with, from left, Senior Advisor David Plouffe, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, and Chief of Staff Bill Daley in the Oval Office, Sept. 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

special guests

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama chat with talk show host Oprah Winfrey during a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show April 27

See here for video clips from the interview

President Obama presents Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley with a a framed survey of Chicago from 1834, after a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show

Members of the U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team (CAT) stand by outside the studio as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey

home

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley greets President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama upon their arrival in Chicago, April 27

President Obama jogs to greet supporters after arriving at Chicago O’Hare International Airport

Thank you so much to Phillip for this photo from Chicago today

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President Obama has arrived at Oprah Winfrey’s Chicago studio to tape an interview on her show, but the conversation won’t be made public until hours later.

 One clip of the interview will be released after 4 p.m., and two will be shown on Thursday, a spokesman for the show told the pool traveling with Obama. The entire exchange will be shown on Monday.

double take

President Barack Obama is reflected in a mirror in the Outer Oval Office as talks with Chief of Staff Bill Daley, left, and Vice President Joe Biden in the doorway of the Oval Office, April 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)