rise and shine

3:30 PM: First Lady Michelle Obama welcomes Caroline Kennedy and representatives of other first families and members of the White House Historical Association for a reception in honor of the organization’s 50th Anniversary.

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NYT: Obama Tries to Speed Response to Shortages in Vital Medicines

President Obama will issue an executive order on Monday that the administration hopes will help resolve a growing number of critical shortages of vital medicines used to treat life-threatening illnesses, among them several forms of cancer and bacterial infections.

The order offers drug manufacturers and wholesalers both a helping hand and a gloved fist in efforts to prevent or resolve shortages that have worsened greatly in recent years, endangering thousands of lives.

It instructs the F.D.A. to do three things: broaden reporting of potential shortages of certain prescription drugs; speed reviews of applications to begin or alter production of these drugs; and provide more information to the Justice Department about possible instances of collusion or price gouging.

Full article here

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Greg Sargent: ‘GOP tightening election laws across the country’

My pick for read of the morning is this very well reported Los Angeles Times piece detailing what is now an undeniable national trend: Republican legislatures and governors are making it harder for people to vote in multiple states across the country.

When you see these examples piled up in one place, as the L.A. Times has done, you get a clear sense of the national scope and potential impact of all these state-by-state initiatives.

As one expert puts it, the presidential race could hang in the balance: “These laws will have an effect on the margin on who votes. And in a state like Florida, a small difference matters. It could easily decide the outcome.”

See the LA Times report here

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Read Steve Benen here

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USA Today: A Republican lawmaker who has criticized the Department of Energy’s $529 million loan guarantee to an electric car company that is manufacturing vehicles overseas has championed U.S.-backed loans to a company headquartered in his home district that does business around the globe.

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., has called for the House Energy and Commerce’s oversight subcommittee to investigate the DOE decision to award the loan to Fisker Automotive, which is manufacturing its first line of vehicles in Finland.

…. Murphy, however, has backed financing for the Westinghouse Electric, which owns facilities in countries including Sweden, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Spain, Germany and the Ukraine and is headquartered in Murphy’s district. In May, Murphy introduced legislation that would provide loan guarantees up to $450 million to Westinghouse for the construction of two new nuclear power plants in the United States.

…. Murphy has received more than $40,000 in contributions from Westinghouse employees and the company’s political action committee, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Murphy did not respond to a request for comment…..

Full article here

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Cain campaign up in smoke?

Steve Benen: …. So, what happens now? The Cain campaign is either lying about the candidate’s alleged misconduct or it’s not. And with the two accusers restricted by their settlement agreements from speaking, it’s possible Cain and his team feel like they can weather the storm without new details emerging. We’ll see.

But the larger political storm is just starting to brew. Cain’s reaction to direct questions yesterday – after being asked four times about the allegations, he sighed, glared at a reporter, stayed silent, and refused to respond – signaled to reporters everywhere that the Republican candidate has a real problem on his hands.

As for efforts to blame the “liberal” media, this may have some salience in GOP circles, but it’s not much of a strategy. For one thing, Politico hardly leans to the left. For another, the article was co-authored by a reporter who used to work for National Review. (Part of me wonders if it was members of the Republican establishment who leaked this, just to make Cain go away.)

What’s less clear is whether rank-and-file Republican voters will care. There’s reason to believe they won’t – the GOP has a track record of looking the other way when sexual misconduct allegations affect their own (Vitter, Clarence Thomas, et al).

Full post here

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I went over to the dark side last night to see the reaction to the Cain story – I (literally) laughed out loud when the Teabaggers claimed it was the Obama administration that leaked the story to GOPolitico.

These people just aren’t very bright. I’d imagine there’s nothing the Obama administration would love more than for Cain to win the GOP nomination – because the President wouldn’t have to break in to a sweat to win four more years.

Karl Rove, Rick Perry, Mitt Romney ….. methinks we have our suspects.

PS The single funniest comment on the dark side last night: that the allegations against Cain were “racist” and were probably invented by the “Kenyan’s” thugs. Seriously.

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Cain is even leading Perry in Texas! (See Texas Tribune)

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BBC

Crikey, an awful lot of people on this planet were born after me 😳

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President Obama will have at least three bilateral meetings while in Cannes, France, this week for the G-20, and he plans to end the week with a press conference.

On Thursday, he’ll meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and on Friday he will meet with Argentine President Cristina Kirchner.

The President’s press conference will be on Friday, before he returns to Washington.

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There are strange goings-on in the comments, be afraid.

hey, welcome to the weekend

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5:45 ET: The President and First Lady welcome local children and military families to trick-or-treat at the White House

8:20 ET The President delivers remarks at the National Italian American Foundation Gala

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Oct. 31, 2010

November, 2007

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Link – thanks Donna Dem

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Best news possibly ever?

Our beloved Desertflower got a new laptop for her birthday. 😎

I am endlessly relieved, a couple of days ago she got so frustrated with her old machine she threatened to:

😆

Congratulations Desertflower!

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Sorry I haven’t been able to be around much today, will catch up properly later 😉

west wing week: “right now!” (october 21, 2011)

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

woot! (and other news)

Keith Humphreys (Washington Monthly): …. the Obamas have a magic about them as a couple to which most people respond positively. If you go to any event where the Obamas are standing next to each other, turn around and look at the crowd and you will see many people – especially women – smiling.

…. Last week a friend and I were reminiscing about a White House holiday party that we both attended. My friend jumped up from his chair and asked “Did you notice how differently he stands when Michelle is next to him? He then mimicked the President perfectly, standing stiffly and intoning “Here I am the boring, aloof, professor alone at the lectern”. Then, shifting his feet as if he were mid-strut, throwing back his shoulders and smiling broadly he said “And here I am with this incredibly fabulous babe that I got to marry me – oh yeah!”.

That’s the truth of it. When the President is with his wife, his humanity comes out in a way that it often does not in other circumstances. The facade of the distant academic cracks open, revealing that skinny, accessible and idealistic young man who is still happily ensorcelled by his brilliant companion. And at that moment, many people in our cynical, brutal and heartless electoral process pause for a moment and remember that Barack Obama is a human being, and they like him.

Full post here

More photos in post from earlier today – here

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The Hill: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he will schedule a vote to proceed to a $35 billion jobs bill on Friday. “We’re going to make sure there’s a vote on our bill this week,” Reid said.

The $35 billion measure would direct federal funds to states to prevent layoffs of teachers, police officers and firefighters.

Democrats estimate the legislation will save or create 400,000 jobs. Most of the funding, $30 billion, would go to teachers. First responders would get $5 billion.

It would be paid for by a 0.5 percent tax increase on income over $1 million.

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A photo and poster of President Barack Obama hang on a door as Obama 2012 campaign volunteer Daniel Hertlein exits following the grand opening of the Georgia Democratic Party’s new headquarters, Oct. 19, in Atlanta. Democratic National Committee chairwoman and Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz says her party isn’t conceding any corner of the country in the 2012 presidential election. She says there is a growing groundswell of Democratic momentum in the state and region, bolstered by the area’s changing demographics.

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Was ‘Dick’ Halperin’s Time Page hacked today by an impartial reporter – or does even he realize his relentless negative reporting on the President has become a little embarrassing?

Presumably he’ll be back to normal soon.

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President Obama, on his return to the White House from his tour of North Carolina and Virginia, tells members of the media that the pumpkins he bought will be driven to Washington

President Obama opens a door to the West Wing for National Security Council Senior Director for Europe Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall after returning to the White House

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Here’s the woot!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, you very, very kind people – that figure is, well, crazy!

I know these are seriously tough times for so many of you, so I honestly do hate asking, but if you’re able, could you help me celebrate by contributing $5, or whatever you can, to The Obama Diary Obama/Biden 2012 fundraising page at OFA (here)? Whenever you can. Thanks everyone.

The Drive for Five!

The incomparable Donna Dem will always be TOD’s fundraising Queen, and in future I’ll use her OFA page for our fundraising drives, this is just to celebrate that 5 million.

Thanks again everyone for your support and company, love ya.

mmm, pumpkins….

Washington Post: ….. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, pulled up to a roadside farmer’s market in their imposing Ground Force One presidential bus for a little pumpkin shopping.

…. As Obama talked to the shopkeepers, the first lady was busy inspecting pumpkins. She seemed very interested in oversized white-colored ones, which Betty Wood later explained were called “full moon pumpkins.” Michelle Obama picked one up by wrapping both arms around it to load it into a metal rolling cart with a long metal handle. Betty Wood later estimated the pumpkin could weigh 70 pounds.

The president quipped: “Don’t hurt yourself now.” He yelled out to an aide: “Where are we going to put it? In the back of the bus?”

Michelle Obama loaded more into the cart. “How many are you going to buy?” her husband asked. “You want anything else?”

“No, we’ll have enough trouble getting these back,” she said.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stop to buy pumpkins at Wood’s Orchard in Hampton, Va

;-)

Halloween pumpkins to support the President and Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold.

From Rachel Maddow’s blog

pumpkinhead

Carved pumpkins depicting President Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, and the White House sit on a stone wall next door to where the President was attending a dinner reception in Providence, Rhode Island, Oct. 25, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)