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(1) Golfing at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe
(4) 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.; Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.; and Terrance Gainer, Senate Sergeant at Arms (Photo by Pete Souza)
(5) @petesouza: POTUS at Costco in Lanham, Md.
Back in a while with an update or two
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Chicago, February 15:
“… we’ve got to rebuild ladders of opportunity for everybody willing to climb them.
Now, that starts at home. There’s no more important ingredient for success, nothing that would be more important for us reducing violence than strong, stable families – which means we should do more to promote marriage and encourage fatherhood. Don’t get me wrong – as the son of a single mom, who gave everything she had to raise me with the help of my grandparents, I turned out okay …. we’ve got single moms out here, they’re heroic in what they’re doing and we are so proud of them. But at the same time, I wish I had had a father who was around and involved. Loving, supportive parents – and, by the way, that’s all kinds of parents – that includes foster parents, and that includes grandparents, and extended families; it includes gay or straight parents.
Those parents supporting kids – that’s the single most important thing. Unconditional love for your child – that makes a difference. If a child grows up with parents who have work, and have some education, and can be role models, and can teach integrity and responsibility, and discipline and delayed gratification – all those things give a child the kind of foundation that allows them to say, my future, I can make it what I want. And we’ve got to make sure that every child has that, and in some cases, we may have to fill the gap and the void if children don’t have that.
So we should encourage marriage by removing the financial disincentives for couples who love one another but may find it financially disadvantageous if they get married. We should reform our child support laws to get more men working and engaged with their children. And my administration will continue to work with the faith community and the private sector this year on a campaign to encourage strong parenting and fatherhood.
Because what makes you a man is not the ability to make a child, it’s the courage to raise one.”
Full transcript here
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Video of speech:
Left-leaning (a popular sport in Communistic Europe):
Rodeo:
Synchronized-putting:
NASCAR:
Sky-gazing:
High-leg-thrusting:
Extreme-hugging:
Tour de Hawaii:
Weight-lifting:
Inaugural Ballroom Dancing:
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AP: Picking up the pace, President Barack Obama raised $45 million for his re-election bid in February, bringing his total to about $300 million for this election cycle, his campaign said Monday.
Obama stepped up fundraising efforts during the month, collecting nearly twice as much as the $23 million per month average he raised during the final three months of 2011 and more than the $29.1 million he raised in January. The money was spread among Obama’s campaign, the Democratic party and two campaign funds.
Obama’s campaign said nearly 350,000 people contributed in February and the average donation was about $59 for the entire election cycle. Nearly 98 percent of the donations were $250 or less.
More here
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Morning everyone, I’ll be back soon with more newsie bits 😉
United Auto Workers union member Pat Peralta holds a sign during a protest rally against Mitt Romney, who is making a campaign stop at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, February 24
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You can watch Willard’s speech in the PACKED stadium here (12:0 ET)
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Watch how those 65,000 people can barely control their excitement in anticipation of Willard’s arrival:
And watch how they erupt when he appears – Mitt Mania!
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Freep.com: It won’t be hard to fit 1,200 members of the Detroit Economic Club into 65,000-seat Ford Field for today’s speech by GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
What will be hard is making it look like Romney isn’t speaking to a nearly empty stadium.
The Romney campaign and the Economic Club think they’ve solved the problem. The guests will be seated at one end of the playing surface, roughly between the end zone and the 30-yard line, while Romney will speak from a stage in front of them.
More here
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Thanks for the Mitt pic Lamh!
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The University of Miami, February 23
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Touring the Industrial Assessment Center at the University of Miami
…. greeting Beth Hamilton, principal of Medina Elementary School
President Obama greets school children from Medina Elementary School after attending a fundraiser
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Obama White House.gov WH Tumblr The People’s View Smartypants Steve Benen
The Obama Diary 
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