catching up

President Barack Obama talks about extending payroll tax cuts in the White House’s Brady Briefing Room

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President Obama put out a statement commending Phil Schiliro, who is leaving the administration: “As my advisor and chief liaison to Congress during one of the most productive legislative periods in our history, Phil Schiliro helped shepherd through a series of historic accomplishments on behalf of the American people, from health care reform that will make coverage more affordable and accessible to Wall Street reform that will protect consumers and our economy. The White House will not be the same without Phil, but more importantly, the country would not be the same without his steady leadership and tireless effort over the past three years.”

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Time: Andrew Kaczynski digs up a 2004 video of Mitt Romney explaining to fellow Republicans why flip-flopping is so devastating to a presidential candidate. He was talking about John Kerry of course. But this kind of footage presents all kinds of opportunities for devious ad-makers to slice and dice Romney, and his repeated use of “this guy,” which, taken out of context, could be made to seem self-referential, seems destined for some absolutely brutal attack ad.

morning

Thinking of Joan ahead of her surgery today. Get well very soon Joan, we want you back here hale and hearty

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This would probably be HuffPo’s version of the photo:

People wait in line for tickets to President Barack Obama’s speech on jobs at Asheville Regional Airport. Citizen Times – thank you Jovie

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This news is kind of embarrassing for the Firebaggers …. if the President is so kind to Wall Street, why are they not supporting him?

NYT: It is no secret that the relationship between President Obama and Wall Street has chilled. A striking measure of that is the latest campaign finance reports.

Mitt Romney has raised far more money than Mr. Obama this year from the firms that have been among Wall Street’s top sources of donations for the two candidates ….. The imbalance exists at large investment banks and hedge funds, private equity firms and commercial banks ….

…. “There’s no doubt that Governor Romney has raised money off of his belief that Wall Street should be allowed to write its own rules again by repealing Wall Street reform,” said Ben LaBolt, an Obama campaign spokesman. “The president put in place protections to ensure that the financial crisis is not repeated and that unacceptable risks aren’t taken with Americans’ life savings.”

…. But anger at big banks – manifested by the growing Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City and elsewhere – is palpable enough that Mr. Romney must avoid being seen as a friend of an industry that many Americans blame for onerous bank fees and underwater mortgages….

Full article here

Could it possibly be this?

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11:15 Michelle Obama and Jill Biden visit the Rebuilding Together nonprofit organization in Washington

3:30 Michelle Obama hosts a reception on the South Lawn for schools that met her goal to double the number of participants in the Healthier US School Challenge in a year

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Many thanks to Ladyhawke for the C-Span link to to yesterday’s ceremony at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. All the day’s speeches are included.

ah, welcome to penn state

Photo by L Reidar Jensen (from here)

People wait in line to see President Obama, Feb. 3, at Penn State in State College, Pa

Penn State: President Barack Obama touted the importance of Penn State’s research efforts in moving the nation toward a clean energy future in a talk delivered Thursday, Feb. 3, at the Recreation Building on the University Park campus.

The president unveiled the Better Buildings Initiative, a plan to improve energy efficiency of commercial building space in the U.S. by 20 percent over the next nine years. Integral to that vision, he said, will be efforts such as those taking place at the Energy Innovation Hub for Energy Efficient Buildings at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, a federally funded research initiative led by Penn State.

“Right here at Penn State, a university whose motto is ‘Making Life Better,’ you’ve answered the call,” Obama told the crowd of about 3,000 students, faculty, staff and invited guests. “You’re preparing to lead the way on a hub that will make America home to the most energy-efficient buildings in the world.”

More here