The President’s Day

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President Barack Obama speaks about the Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action and immigration in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House

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President Barack Obama walks to Marine One prior to depart from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, en route to California and Washington

out west

President Obama walks off of Marine One and heads to Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport en route to San Francisco

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President Obama is greeted by, from left, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and California Attorney General Kamala Harris upon his arrival at San Francisco International Airport

Jodi Fisher of Cayucos, Calif., who has inoperable cancer, reacts to her daughter Callie, 11, after meeting President  Obama at San Francisco International Airport. Fisher was able to meet the President and fulfill a dream on what she calls her “wish” list.

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President Obama greets diners during a stop at the Great Eastern Chinese restaurant in San Francisco

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Patch: President Obama has arrived in the Bay Area for a series of fundraising events in San Francisco for his 2012 re-election campaign.

Air Force One touched down at San Francisco International Airport at 12:39 p.m. The president’s first stop will be at a private reception at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel on Nob Hill at 2 p.m.

Obama will then head to a private fundraising dinner at a Pacific Heights home, and then give a speech at an 8 p.m. fundraiser at the Nob Hill Masonic Center featuring a performance by Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell

‘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

red ribbon

First Lady Michelle Obama and Ken Fisher of the Fisher House Foundation cut the ribbon to open the newest Fisher House at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on December 2, 2010. The Fisher house provides free housing to military families while their loved ones receive hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury