Chat Away: White House Kitchen Garden Fall Harvest

First Lady Michelle Obama embraces President Barack Obama as he surprises her during the White House Kitchen Garden Fall Harvest

Pete Souza: President Obama talks with Debra Eschmeyer, Executive Director of “Let’s Move!”, and former Executive Director of “Let’s Move!” Sam Kass during the fall harvest in the White House Kitchen Garden

Chat Away

First Lady Michelle Obama and guests watch Big Time Rush perform during the Kids’ State Dinner in the East Room of the White House, Aug. 20, 2012. Photo by Sonya N. Hebert

President Barack Obama samples a baked zucchini fry in the Old Family Dining Room of the White House after dropping by the East Room for the Kids’ State Dinner, Aug. 20, 2012. Photo by Pete Souza

The President and First Lady’s Day

President Obama shakes hands after addressing students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor

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First Lady Michelle Obama hugs two students from Friendship Public Charter School before planting the White House kitchen garden

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Text of the President’s remarks here

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Leaving Andrews this morning

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President Obama and U.S. Rep. Gary Peter order sandwiches from restaurant worker Andrea Byl at Zingerman’s Deli in Ann Arbor

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Nothing so lovely as a silhouette: President Obama at the University of Michigan today (by Getty’s Joshua Lott). pic.twitter.com/blPv3irnx7

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) April 2, 2014

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President Obama is welcomed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn after arriving aboard Air Force One at Chicago O’Hare International Airport

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Rise and Shine

@BarackObama

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All times ET

11:50: President Obama departs Williamsburg, Va.

12:00: VP Biden travels to Penn Valley, Pa., to attend the funeral services for Senator Arlen Specter

12:55: President Obama arrives in New York

2:50: Michelle Obama speaks to grassroots supporters in Chapel Hill, N.C.

9:00: The Debate

11:05: President Obama departs New York

12:15: Arrives at the White House

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Greatest website ever:

RomneyTaxPlan

Thank you Bill!

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Washington Post: Romney’s 12-million job promise has garnered a lot of attention. We became interested in this ad after a reader asked whether the campaign had provided much detail on how he would reach this total …

…. the candidate’s personal accounting for this figure in this campaign ad is based on different figures and long-range timelines stretching as long as a decade — which in two cases are based on studies that did not even evaluate Romney’s economic plan. The numbers may still add up to 12 million, but they aren’t the same thing — not by a long shot.

… Clearly, some clever campaign staffer thought it would be nice to match up poll-tested themes such as “energy independence,” “tax reform” and “cracking down on China” with actual job numbers. We just find it puzzling that Romney agreed to personally utter these words without asking more questions about the math behind them.

Read the full article here

Greg Sargent: …. Let’s recap what Kessler has discovered here. The plan that is central to Romney’s candidacy on the most important issue of this election — jobs — is a complete sham. This is every bit as bad — or worse — than Romney’s claim to have created 100,000 jobs at Bain, or his vow to cut spending by eliminating whole agencies without saying which ones, or his refusal to say how he’ll pay for his tax cuts.

This could not have come at a better time for Obama. Here is the evidence he needs to spell out as clearly as possible that Romney is peddling economic hokum to the American people. Any fair reading of the backup the Romney campaign itself supplied for his plan reveals that it is nothing but a bill of goods. Obama needs to seize on this in a big way. This should be a big story.

Oh, and by the way: Economists have evaluated Obama’s jobs plan. And they concluded it would create one to two million jobs. The bottom line is simple: One candidate has a jobs plan, and the other doesn’t.

More here

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A Little Bit More of This and That

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NYT: A longtime aide to George W. Romney issued a harshly worded critique of Mitt Romney, accusing him of shifting political positions in “erratic and startling ways” and failing to live up to the distinguished record of his father, the former governor of Michigan.

Walter De Vries, who worked for the senior Mr. Romney throughout the 1960s, wrote that Mitt Romney’s bid for the White House was “a far cry from the kind of campaign and conduct, as a public servant, I saw during the seven years I worked in George Romney’s campaigns and served him as governor.”

“While it seems that Mitt would say and do anything to close a deal – or an election,” he wrote, “George Romney’s strength as a politician and public officeholder was his ability and determination to develop and hold consistent policy positions over his life.”

… “George would never have been seen with the likes of Sheldon Adelson or Donald Trump.”

… Mr. De Vries, who said he wished to the see the Republican Party return to its moderate roots, said he intended to vote for Mr. Obama on Election Day.

More here

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More at Business Insider

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Reuters: Retail sales rose in September as Americans stepped up purchases of everything from cars to electronics, a sign that consumer spending is driving faster economic growth.

…. expectations for third-quarter economic growth improved after the Commerce Department reported a 1.1 percent increase in retail sales during September.

The reading, which beat analysts’ forecasts, builds on other signs of growing economic momentum, including a drop in the jobless rate last month and a rise in consumer confidence.

“The news flow on the U.S. economy keeps getting better,” said Chris Williamson, an economist at Markit in London.

More here

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Rain or Shine

President Obama makes his way to board Marine One at the White House – the President was headed to Baltimore and Philadelphia to attend campaign fundraisers

…. arriving at Owings Mills, Maryland

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Coming up:

3:45: Delivers remarks at a campaign event (Hyatt Regency, Baltimore – Live Coverage)

7:45: Delivers remarks at a campaign event (Franklin Institute, Philadelphia – Live coverage)

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First Lady Michelle Obama signs her book, ‘American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America,’ at a Barnes & Noble bookstore in Washington, DC

evening all

New York, March 1

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Friday:

2:20 PM: PBO visits the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

5:15 PM: Delivers remarks at a conservation event.

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President Barack Obama at a dinner honoring Iraq war veterans, White House Photo, Pete Souza, 2/29/12

In this composite image, President Barack Obama boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., (top) and arrives at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in Manchester, N.H., (bottom) March 1, 2012. The President traveled to Nashua, N.H., to tour Nashua Community College and deliver remarks on his blueprint for an economy built to last with a focus on American energy. (Official White House Photos by Pete Souza)

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Snow falls as people stand in line to see President Barack Obama, March 1, 2012, in Nashua, N.H.

rise and shine

BBC

Some news agencies (eg Reuters) are reporting that he has died – but there is no confirmation yet.

Update: He’s dead.

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President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama talk with staff while ordering pizza at Anna’s Pizza and Italian Kitchen in Hampton, Va., Oct. 19, 2011. The President and Mrs. Obama had lunch with four veterans during the stop, a part of the President’s three-day American Jobs Act bus tour. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Love this:

Thanks Meta – original video here

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Woot! Thanks Meta 😉

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From yesterday:

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Poor Mitt …. if this is what his GOP buddies are doing to him, just wait for the 2012 campaign 😉

More here from Steve Benen on Romney v Perry

The pulled Romney ad:

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A gazillion thank yous to everyone who has helped the Drive for Five (Thousand) – my eyes nearly popped out when I saw the figure this morning:

You’re a bunch of gems 😉

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Tim McCarver, the Fox Sports guy, will probably be hired soon by Romney as an economic advisor – he’s, eh, really good with numbers:

SportsGrid

lunch guests

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have lunch with veterans at Annapolis’s Pizza and Italian Kitchen in Hampton, Va

making the dinner

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CNN Live Streaming at 7:0

White House live