In this very interesting Vanity Fair article a reporter followed the President around from dawn to dusk for a single day. Can you imagine this schedule every day??
At the hour of dawn, in the same southwest-corner, second-floor bedroom of the White House where Abraham Lincoln once slept, the president awakens. On this spring morning, a Wednesday, Barack Obama is alone; his wife, Michelle, is on her way to Mexico City on her first solo foreign trip. He heads upstairs for 45 minutes of weights and cardio in his personal gym, then puts on a dark suit and navy-blue pin-striped tie.
[....]
When Obama arrives in the office this morning, just before 9:30, the first item on his agenda, as always, is a meeting with his chief of staff for a quick rundown of the coming day: “three minutes, four minutes, five minutes—whatever it takes, but you’ve got to make it quick,” Rahm Emanuel says. On its face, the imbalance between time and task is absurd: three, four, five minutes, to sum up the world. Emanuel himself has been up since 5:15, and in his office since before 7:30, when he holds his first meeting with the rest of the senior staff, followed by a second one with the “expanded” staff and the legislative liaisons.
[....]
On this Wednesday, Obama is dealing with the aftermath of a West Virginia coal-mine tragedy, with a vacancy on the Supreme Court, and with the prospect of a new law in Arizona that will give local law-enforcement officers the right to demand identification from anyone they happen to think may be in the country illegally. He is confronting a shortage of disaster-relief funds at the Federal Emergency Management Agency—this, days before the oil-rig catastrophe occurs in the Gulf of Mexico—and later this morning, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. will testify before Congress about the administration’s latest plans for trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other alleged 9/11 conspirators. Also today, the president will nominate a federal appeals-court judge, seven United States attorneys, and six federal marshals, and he will present Garth Brooks with a special “Grammys on the Hill” award for promoting the intellectual property rights of musicians. Tomorrow, Thursday, he will announce a new strategy for the space program; express condolences on the passing of the civil-rights leader Dr. Benjamin Hooks; order hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid not to deny visitation rights on the basis of sexual orientation; release joint income-tax returns showing earnings with Michelle of $5.5 million (most of it from his best-selling books); and travel to Florida for two evening fund-raisers on behalf of the Democratic National Committee.
Another interesting tidbit from the article:
Except for George Washington, all of the presidents have lived in the White House. They’ve all taken the same oath to uphold the same constitution. But the modern presidency—Barack Obama’s presidency—has become a job of such gargantuan size, speed, and complexity as to be all but unrecognizable to most of the previous chief executives. The sheer growth of the federal government, the paralysis of Congress, the systemic corruption brought on by lobbying, the trivialization of the “news” by the media, the willful disregard for facts and truth—these forces have made today’s Washington a depressing and dysfunctional place. They have shaped and at times hobbled the presidency itself.
NOTE:Attorney barred in the District of Columbia and California currently looking for opportunities in the private and government sectors. Specializes in ediscovery/litigation efficiency project management but can do straight litigation or litigation management. Feel free to contact me with opportunities at progress@progresspolitics.com
Good evening. Tonight, I’d like to talk to you about the end of our combat mission in Iraq, the ongoing security challenges we face, and the need to rebuild our nation here at home.
I know this historic moment comes at a time of great uncertainty for many Americans. We have now been through nearly a decade of war. We have endured a long and painful recession. And sometimes in the midst of these storms, the future that we are trying to build for our nation – a future of lasting peace and long-term prosperity may seem beyond our reach.
But this milestone should serve as a reminder to all Americans that the future is ours to shape if we move forward with confidence and commitment. It should also serve as a message to the world that the United States of America intends to sustain and strengthen our leadership in this young century.
From this desk, seven and a half years ago, President Bush announced the beginning of military operations in Iraq. Much has changed since that night. A war to disarm a state became a fight against an insurgency. Terrorism and sectarian warfare threatened to tear Iraq apart. Thousands of Americans gave their lives; tens of thousands have been wounded. Our relations abroad were strained. Our unity at home was tested.
These are the rough waters encountered during the course of one of America’s longest wars. Yet there has been one constant amidst those shifting tides. At every turn, America’s men and women in uniform have served with courage and resolve. As Commander-in-Chief, I am proud of their service. Like all Americans, I am awed by their sacrifice, and by the sacrifices of their families.
The Americans who have served in Iraq completed every mission they were given. They defeated a regime that had terrorized its people. Together with Iraqis and coalition partners who made huge sacrifices of their own, our troops fought block by block to help Iraq seize the chance for a better future. They shifted tactics to protect the Iraqi people; trained Iraqi Security Forces; and took out terrorist leaders. Because of our troops and civilians -and because of the resilience of the Iraqi people – Iraq has the opportunity to embrace a new destiny, even though many challenges remain.
So tonight, I am announcing that the American combat mission in Iraq has ended. Operation Iraqi Freedom is over, and the Iraqi people now have lead responsibility for the security of their country.
This was my pledge to the American people as a candidate for this office. Last February, I announced a plan that would bring our combat brigades out of Iraq, while redoubling our efforts to strengthen Iraq’s Security Forces and support its government and people. That is what we have done. We have removed nearly 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq. We have closed or transferred hundreds of bases to the Iraqis. And we have moved millions of pieces of equipment out of Iraq.
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody. Right now, across this country, many Americans are sitting at the kitchen table, they’re scanning the classifieds, they’re updating their resumes or sending out another job application, hoping that this time they’ll hear back from a potential employer. And they’re filled with a sense of uncertainty about where their next paycheck will come from. And I know the only thing that will entirely free them of those worries –- the only thing that will fully lift that sense of uncertainty –- is the security of a new job.
To that end, we all have to continue our efforts to do everything in our power to spur growth and hiring. And I hope the Senate acts this week on a package of tax cuts and expanded lending for small businesses, where most of America’s jobs are created.
So we’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure that we are digging ourselves out of this tough economic hole that we’ve been in. But even as we work to jumpstart job growth in the private sector, even as we work to get businesses hiring again, we also have another responsibility: to offer emergency assistance to people who desperately need it — to Americans who’ve been laid off in this recession. We’ve got a responsibility to help them make ends meet and support their families even as they’re looking for another job.
That’s why it’s so essential to pass the unemployment insurance extension that comes up for a vote tomorrow. We need to pass it for men like Jim Chukalas, who’s with me here today. Jim worked as a parts manager at a Honda dealership until about two years ago. He’s posted resumes everywhere. He’s gone door-to-door looking for jobs. But he hasn’t gotten a single interview. He’s trying to be strong for his two young kids, but now that he’s exhausted his unemployment benefits, that’s getting harder to do.
We need to pass it for women like Leslie Macko, who lost her job at a fitness center last year and has been looking for work ever since. Because she’s eligible for only a few more weeks of unemployment, she’s doing what she never thought she’d have to do — not at this point, anyway. She’s turning to her father for financial support.
And we need to pass it for Americans like Denise Gibson, who was laid off from a real estate agency earlier this year. Denise has been interviewing for jobs -– but so far nothing has turned up. Meanwhile, she’s fallen further and further behind on her rent. And with her unemployment benefits set to expire, she’s worried about what the future holds.
We need to pass it for all the Americans who haven’t been able to find work in an economy where there are five applicants for every opening; who need emergency relief to help them pay the rent and cover their utilities and put food on the table while they’re looking for another job.
And for a long time, there’s been a tradition –- under both Democratic and Republican Presidents –- to offer relief to the unemployed. That was certainly the case under my predecessor, when Republican senators voted several times to extend emergency unemployment benefits. But right now, these benefits –- benefits that are often the person’s sole source of income while they’re looking for work -– are in jeopardy.
And I have to say, after years of championing policies that turned a record surplus into a massive deficit, the same people who didn’t have any problem spending hundreds of billions of dollars on tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are now saying we shouldn’t offer relief to middle-class Americans like Jim or Leslie or Denise, who really need help.
Over the past few weeks, a majority of senators have tried -– not once, not twice, but three times –- to extend emergency relief on a temporary basis. Each time, a partisan minority in the Senate has used parliamentary maneuvers to block a vote, denying millions of people who are out of work much-needed relief. These leaders in the Senate who are advancing a misguided notion that emergency relief somehow discourages people from looking for a job should talk to these folks.
That attitude I think reflects a lack of faith in the American people, because the Americans I hear from in letters and meet in town hall meetings –- Americans like Leslie and Jim and Denise — they’re not looking for a handout. They desperately want to work. Just right now they can’t find a job. These are honest, decent, hardworking folks who’ve fallen on hard times through no fault of their own, and who have nowhere else to turn except unemployment benefits and who need emergency relief to help them weather this economic storm.
Now, tomorrow we will have another chance to offer them that relief, to do right by not just Jim and Leslie and Denise, but all the Americans who need a helping hand right now — and I hope we seize it. It’s time to stop holding workers laid off in this recession hostage to Washington politics. It’s time to do what’s right — not for the next election but for the middle class. We’ve got to stop blocking emergency relief for Americans who are out of work. We’ve got to extend unemployment insurance. We need to pass those tax cuts for small businesses and the lending for small businesses.
Times are hard right now. We are moving in the right direction. I know it’s getting close to an election, but there are times where you put elections aside. This is one of those times. And that’s what I hope members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will do tomorrow.
As proof that Republicans are merely playing politics with the lives of the unemployed count how many of them support this bill now that Democrats have the 60 votes to break their filibuster. You can also bet that they will claim that this never happened and that they voted for the extension. They are banking on voters having short memories. Just remember the GOP motto; tax cuts for the wealthy do not have to be paid for but unemployment benefits for the middle class and the poor must be paid for.
Yes, the Republicans will vote for the bill now because if they do not and the bill passes it will cost them in November. This is merely a CYA measure on their part so that when Democrats say that GOP members held up payment to struggling families they can come back and say “I voted for the extension.” Playing this type of politics with people’s lives during such economically hard times for the nation is unforgivable.
Attorney barred in the District of Columbia and California currently looking for opportunities in the private and government sectors. Specializes in ediscovery/litigation efficiency project management but can do straight litigation or litigation management. Feel free to contact me with opportunities at progress@progresspolitics.com
Mr. President, we are here for you and appreciate all that you are doing. Being President is a thankless job especially when it is the business of an entire network and a nationally syndicated AM radio station to find fault with every accomplishment, action, wardrobe choice, etc. But there is a silent majority out here who really appreciate all the gray hair that you are cropping these days to get the nation back on track. We appreciate you saving us from a Great Depression, we appreciate the passing of landmark healthcare reform that will prevent thousands of Americans from dying each year, we appreciate the achievement of landmark student loan reform that will make it possible for hundreds of thousands more students to attend college, we appreciate your equal pay for equal work legislation that will enable people like Lilly Ledbetter to sue for gender discrimination, we appreciate you investing more in energy and education, we appreciate that the withdrawal from Iraq is on track, we appreciate you leading the effort to pass the largest Wall Street reform legislation since the 1930s, and mostly we appreciate you. Mr. President you have accomplished more in 18 months in office than any president in history.
Being President is a HARD job and anyone who says differently obviously has not lived in that big white house. Mr. President, you are being blamed for everything from the gulf oil spill (solely created by a reckless, ruthless, irresponsible corporation) to Arizona’s passing of a racial profiling law calling it an illegal immigration measure. Give the media a couple of days and they will blame you for the heat wave that we are currently having in DC. Please do not give up Mr. President because you are the best thing that America has going for it at the moment besides its people. We believe you when you said that you were elected to solve problems and help people. We know that it is tiring to be confronted with one crisis after another and be criticized if it is not fixed yesterday but you must soldier on because without your leadership we will end up in a much worst position than we were eighteen months ago. Lets see, you have Afghanistan, gulf oil spill, record unemployment, and all you receive from the people with the loudest microphones is why is it taking so long. Perhaps the pundits believed that when the first African-American entered office he brought with him magical powers. We understand that you are a human being doing the best you can for the country. You are doing a GREAT job under the circumstances. We are thankful for your efforts thus far. The fact that you were able to accomplish much of what you promised during your campaign is disconcerting to many so they keep raising the bar higher and expecting you to clear it. The silent majority out here know that you are a human being doing your best for the people of this nation and we APPRECIATE you. Thank you.
A very wise man once told us the following:
“Sometimes the skies look cloudy and it’s dark. And you think the rains will never pass. The young people understand that the clouds -– these too will pass, that a brighter day will come.” -Sen. Barack Obama, September 2008
Attorney barred in the District of Columbia and California currently looking for opportunities in the private and government sectors. Specializes in ediscovery/litigation efficiency project management but can do straight litigation or litigation management. Feel free to contact me with opportunities at progress@progresspolitics.com
THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. As we speak, our nation faces a multitude of challenges. At home, our top priority is to recover and rebuild from a recession that has touched the lives of nearly every American. Abroad, our brave men and women in uniform are taking the fight to al Qaeda wherever it exists. And tonight, I’ve returned from a trip to the Gulf Coast to speak with you about the battle we’re waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens.
On April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. And soon, nearly a mile beneath the surface of the ocean, oil began spewing into the water.
Because there has never been a leak this size at this depth, stopping it has tested the limits of human technology. That’s why just after the rig sank, I assembled a team of our nation’s best scientists and engineers to tackle this challenge — a team led by Dr. Steven Chu, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist and our nation’s Secretary of Energy. Scientists at our national labs and experts from academia and other oil companies have also provided ideas and advice.
As a result of these efforts, we’ve directed BP to mobilize additional equipment and technology. And in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture up to 90 percent of the oil leaking out of the well. This is until the company finishes drilling a relief well later in the summer that’s expected to stop the leak completely.
Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced. And unlike an earthquake or a hurricane, it’s not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. The millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years.
But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy.
Tonight I’d like to lay out for you what our battle plan is going forward: what we’re doing to clean up the oil, what we’re doing to help our neighbors in the Gulf, and what we’re doing to make sure that a catastrophe like this never happens again.
First, the cleanup. From the very beginning of this crisis, the federal government has been in charge of the largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation’s history — an effort led by Admiral Thad Allen, who has almost 40 years of experience responding to disasters. We now have nearly 30,000 personnel who are working across four states to contain and clean up the oil. Thousands of ships and other vessels are responding in the Gulf. And I’ve authorized the deployment of over 17,000 National Guard members along the coast. These servicemen and women Read the rest of this entry »
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Everybody, please have a seat. Thank you very much. Well, thank you. It is good to be back. (Applause.) It is good to be back in New York, it is good to be back in the Great Hall at Cooper Union. (Applause.)
We’ve got some special guests here that I want to acknowledge. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney is here in the house. (Applause.) Governor David Paterson is here. (Applause.) Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. (Applause.) State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is here. (Applause.) The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. (Applause.) Dr. George Campbell, Jr., president of Cooper Union. (Applause.) And all the citywide elected officials who are here. Thank you very much for your attendance.
It is wonderful to be back in Cooper Union, where generations of leaders and citizens have come to defend their ideas and contest their differences. It’s also good to be back in Lower Manhattan, a few blocks from Wall Street. (Laughter.) It really is good to be back, because Wall Street is the heart of our nation’s financial sector.
Now, since I last spoke here two years ago, our country has been through a terrible trial. More than 8 million people have lost their jobs. Countless small businesses have had to shut their doors. Trillions of dollars in savings have been lost — forcing seniors to put off retirement, young people to postpone college, entrepreneurs to give up on the dream of starting a company. And as a nation we were forced to take unprecedented steps to rescue the financial system and the broader economy.
And as a result of the decisions we made — some of which, let’s face it, were very unpopular — we are seeing hopeful signs. A little more than one year ago we were losing an average of 750,000 jobs each month. Today, America is adding jobs again. One year ago the economy was shrinking rapidly. Today the economy is growing. In fact, we’ve seen the fastest turnaround in growth in nearly three decades.
But you’re here and I’m here because we’ve got more work to do. Until this progress is felt not just on Wall Street but on Main Street we cannot be satisfied. Until the millions of our neighbors who are looking for work can find a job, and wages are growing at a meaningful pace, we may be able to claim a technical recovery — but we will not have truly recovered. And even as we seek to revive this economy, it’s also incumbent on us to rebuild it stronger than before. We don’t want an economy that has the same weaknesses that led to this crisis. And that means addressing some of the underlying problems that led to this turmoil and devastation in the first place.
Now, one of the most significant contributors to this recession was a financial crisis as dire as any we’ve known in generations — at least since the ’30s. And that crisis was born of a failure of responsibility — from Wall Street all the way to Washington — that brought down many of the world’s largest financial firms and nearly dragged our economy into a second Great Depression.
It was that failure of responsibility that I spoke about when I came to New York more than two years ago — before the worst of the crisis had unfolded. It was back in 2007. And I take no satisfaction in noting that my comments then have largely been borne out by the events that followed. But I repeat what I said then because it is essential that we learn the lessons from this crisis so we don’t doom ourselves to repeat it. And make no mistake, that is exactly what will happen if we allow this moment to pass — and that’s an outcome that is unacceptable to me and it’s unacceptable to you, the American people. (Applause.)
As I said on this stage two years ago, I believe in the power of the free market. I believe in a strong financial sector that helps people to raise capital and get loans and invest their savings. That’s part of what has made America what it is. But a free market was never meant to be a free license to take whatever you can get, however you can get it. That’s what happened too often in the years leading up to this crisis. Some — and let me be clear, not all — but some on Wall Street forgot that behind every dollar traded or leveraged there’s family looking to buy a house, or pay for an education, open a business, save for retirement. What happens on Wall Street has real consequences across the country, across our economy.
I’ve spoken before about the need to build a new foundation for economic growth in the 21st century. And given the importance of the financial sector, Wall Street reform is an absolutely essential part of that foundation. Without it, our house will continue to sit on shifting sands, and our families, businesses, and the global economy will be vulnerable to future crises. That’s why I feel so strongly that we need to enact a set of updated, commonsense rules to ensure accountability on Wall Street and to protect consumers in our financial system. (Applause.)
Now, here’s the good news: A comprehensive plan to achieve these reforms has already passed the House of Representatives. (Applause.) A Senate version is currently being debated, drawing on ideas from Democrats and Republicans. Both bills represent significant improvement on the flawed rules that we have in place today, despite the furious effort of industry lobbyists to shape this legislation to their special interests.
And for those of you in the financial sector I’m sure that some of these lobbyists work for you and they’re doing what they are being paid to do. But I’m here today specifically — when I speak to the titans of industry here — because I want to urge you to join us, instead of fighting us in this effort. (Applause.) I’m here because I believe that these reforms are, in the end, not only in the best interest of our country, but in the best interest of the financial sector. And I’m here to explain what reform will look like, and why it matters.
Now, first, the bill being considered in the Senate would create what we did not have before, and that is a way to protect the financial system and the broader economy and American taxpayers in the event that a large financial firm begins to fail. If there’s a Lehmans or an AIG, how can we respond in a way that doesn’t force taxpayers to pick up the tab or, alternatively, could bring down the whole system.
In an ordinary local bank when it approaches insolvency, we’ve got a process, an orderly process through the FDIC, that ensures that depositors are protected, maintains confidence in the banking system, and it works. Customers and taxpayers are protected and owners and management lose their equity. But we don’t have that kind of process designed to contain the failure of a Lehman Brothers or any of the largest and most interconnected financial firms in our country.
That’s why, when this crisis began, crucial decisions about what would happen to some of the world’s biggest companies — companies employing tens of thousands of people and holding hundreds of billions of dollars in assets — had to take place in hurried discussions in the middle of the night. And that’s why, to save the entire economy from an even worse catastrophe, we had to deploy taxpayer dollars. Now, much of that money has now been paid back and my administration has proposed a fee to be paid by large financial firms to recover all the money, every dime, because the American people should never have been put in that position in the first place. (Applause.)
But this is why we need a system to shut these firms down with the least amount of collateral damage to innocent people and innocent businesses. And from the start, I’ve insisted that the financial industry, not taxpayers, shoulder the costs in the event that a large financial company should falter. The goal is to make certain that taxpayers are never again on the hook because a firm is deemed “too big to fail.”
Now, there’s a legitimate debate taking place about how best to ensure taxpayers are held harmless in this process. And that’s a legitimate debate, and I encourage that debate. But what’s not legitimate is to suggest that somehow the legislation being proposed is going to encourage future taxpayer bailouts, as some have claimed. That makes for a good sound bite, but it’s not factually accurate. It is not true. (Applause.) In fact, the system as it stands — the system as it stands is what led to a series of massive, costly taxpayer bailouts. And it’s only with reform that we can avoid a similar outcome in the future. In other words, a vote for reform is a vote to put a stop to taxpayer-funded bailouts. That’s the truth. End of story. And nobody should be fooled in this debate. (Applause.)
By the way, these changes have the added benefit of creating incentives within the industry to ensure that no one company can ever threaten to bring down the whole economy.
To that end, the bill would also enact what’s known as the Volcker Rule — and there’s a tall guy sitting in the front row here, Paul Volcker — (applause) — who we named it after. And it does something very simple: It places some limits on the size of banks and the kinds of risks that banking institutions can take. This will not only safeguard our system against crises, this will also make our system stronger and more competitive by instilling confidence here at home and across the globe. Markets depend on that confidence. Part of what led to the turmoil of the past two years was that in the absence of clear rules and sound practices, people didn’t trust that our system was one in which it was safe to invest or lend. As we’ve seen, that harms all of us.
So by enacting these reforms, we’ll help ensure that our financial system — and our economy — continues to be the envy of the world. That’s the first thing, making sure that we can wind down one firm if it gets into trouble without bringing the whole system down or forcing taxpayers to fund a bailout.
Number two, reform would bring new transparency to many financial markets. As you know, part of what led to this crisis was firms like AIG and others who were making huge and risky bets, using derivatives and other complicated financial instruments, in ways that defied accountability, or even common sense. In fact, many practices were so opaque, so confusing, so complex that the people inside the firms didn’t understand them, much less those who were charged with overseeing them. They weren’t fully aware of the massive bets that were being placed. That’s what led Warren Buffett to describe derivatives that were bought and sold with little oversight as “financial weapons of mass destruction.” That’s what he called them. And that’s why reform will rein in excess and help ensure that these kinds of transactions take place in the light of day.
Now, there’s been a great deal of concern about these changes. So I want to reiterate: There is a legitimate role for these financial instruments in our economy. They can help allay risk and spur investment. And there are a lot of companies that use these instruments to that legitimate end — they are managing exposure to fluctuating prices or currencies, fluctuating markets. For example, a business might hedge against rising oil prices by buying a financial product to secure stable fuel costs, so an airlines might have an interest in locking in a decent price. That’s how markets are supposed to work. The problem is these markets operated in the shadows of our economy, invisible to regulators, invisible to the public. So reckless practices were rampant. Risks accrued until they threatened our entire financial system.
And that’s why these reforms are designed to respect legitimate activities but prevent reckless risk taking. That’s why we want to ensure that financial products like standardized derivatives are traded out in the open, in the full view of businesses, investors, and those charged with oversight.
And I was encouraged to see a Republican senator join with Democrats this week in moving forward on this issue. That’s a good sign. (Applause.) That’s a good sign. For without action, we’ll continue to see what amounts to highly-leveraged, loosely-monitored gambling in our financial system, putting taxpayers and the economy in jeopardy. And the only people who ought to fear the kind of oversight and transparency that we’re proposing are those whose conduct will fail this scrutiny.
Third, this plan would enact the strongest consumer financial protections ever. (Applause.) And that’s absolutely necessary because this financial crisis wasn’t just the result of decisions made in the executive suites on Wall Street; it was also the result of decisions made around kitchen tables across America, by folks who took on mortgages and credit cards and auto loans. And while it’s true that many Americans took on financial obligations that they knew or should have known they could not have afforded, millions of others were, frankly, duped. They were misled by deceptive terms and conditions, buried deep in the fine print.
And while a few companies made out like bandits by exploiting their customers, our entire economy was made more vulnerable. Millions of people have now lost their homes. Tens of millions more have lost value in their homes. Just about every sector of our economy has felt the pain, whether you’re paving driveways in Arizona, or selling houses in Ohio, or you’re doing home repairs in California, or you’re using your home equity to start a small business in Florida. Read the rest of this entry »
In an unusually pointed and spot-on response to a statement released by former Vice President Dick Cheney claiming that the President doesn’t know we’re at war the White House communications director, Dan Pfeiffer, delivered a sticker of a counter punch. Pfeiffer blogged that the President does not “need to beat his chest” to prove his commitment to bring down al Qaeda and its extremist allies. Yes Mr. Cheney, action and deeds are how this president demonstrates his promise and pledge to protect this country not by using a script from an old spaghetti western. A word from the observant: aggressiveness is best used on the battlefield and not during a photo op.
It is good to see the White House hitting back against this hypocritical bulls#%t. Did we also mention that eleven of the Guantanamo detainees released by the Bush administration rejoined al Qaeda? One of whom is alleged to have instructed the Christmas attacker. See the full statement from the White House below.
Written by Dan Pfeiffer, White House Communications Director
There has been a lot of discussion online and in the mainstream media about our response to various critics of the President, specifically former Vice President Cheney, who have been coming out of the woodwork since the incident on Christmas Day. I think we all agree that there should be honest debate about these issues, but it is telling that Vice President Cheney and others seem to be more focused on criticizing the Administration than condemning the attackers. Unfortunately too many are engaged in the typical Washington game of pointing fingers and making political hay, instead of working together to find solutions to make our country safer.
First, it’s important that the substantive context be clear: for seven years after 9/11, while our national security was overwhelmingly focused on Iraq – a country that had no al Qaeda presence before our invasion – Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda’s leadership was able to set up camp in the border region of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where they continued to plot attacks against the United States. Meanwhile, al Qaeda also regenerated in places like Yemen and Somalia, establishing new safe-havens that have grown over a period of years. It was President Obama who finally implemented a strategy of winding down the war in Iraq, and actually focusing our resources on the war against al Qaeda – more than doubling our troops in Afghanistan, and building partnerships to target al Qaeda’s safe-havens in Yemen and Somalia. And in less than one year, we have already seen many al Qaeda leaders taken out, our alliances strengthened, and the pressure on al Qaeda increased worldwide.
To put it simply: this President is not interested in bellicose rhetoric, he is focused on action. Seven years of bellicose rhetoric failed to reduce the threat from al Qaeda and succeeded in dividing this country. And it seems strangely off-key now, at a time when our country is under attack, for the architect of those policies to be attacking the President.
Second, the former Vice President makes the clearly untrue claimthat the President – who is this nation’s Commander-in-Chief – needs to realize we are at War. I don’t think anyone realizes this very hard reality more than President Obama. In his inaugural, the President said “our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.” In a recent speech, Assistant to the President for Terrorism and Homeland Security John Brennan said “Instead, as the president has made clear, we are at war with al-Qaida, which attacked us on 9/11 and killed 3,000 people. We are at war with its violent extremist allies who seek to carry on al-Qaida’s murderous agenda. These are the terrorists we will destroy; these are the extremists we will defeat.” At West Point, the President told the nation why it was “in our vital national interest” to send an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to fight the war in Afghanistan, adding that as Commander in Chief, “I see firsthand the terrible wages of war.” And at Oslo, in accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, the President said, “We are at war, and I am responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land.”
There are numerous other such public statements that explicitly state we are at war. The difference is this: President Obama doesn’t need to beat his chest to prove it, and – unlike the last Administration – we are not at war with a tactic (“terrorism”), we at war with something that is tangible: al Qaeda and its violent extremist allies. And we will prosecute that war as long as the American people are endangered.
What a touching story about leukemia-stricken Jasmina’s visit with the President of the United States.
It came a week later than planned, but little Jasmina Anema’s wish was finally granted Wednesday.
The leukemia-stricken Manhattan girl met President Obama in the White House – and spent 10 magical minutes with him.
“It was like they were really best buddies,” said Jasmina’s mom, Thea Anema. “It was just how he spoke to her, like a daddy. It was so sweet. He was really relating to her.”
Obama also delighted his little visitor with a couple of gifts – a box of M&Ms emblazoned with his name and the presidential seal and a matching presidential yo-yo.
A still-glowing Jasmina wasn’t in the mood to discuss her surreal encounter last night. But she let her smile do the talking.
“She’s sitting here still beaming,” Anema said. “She feels very special.”
Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.
American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.
Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.
So tomorrow, I’ll be giving thanks for my family — for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.
But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.
The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.
We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.
So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.
It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.
In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.
You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished — and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.
So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.
With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,
“Hello Cincinnati. Hello Ohio. I can’t think of a better place to be on Labor Day than at America’s biggest Labor Day picnic-with the workers and families of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO.
First, give a big round of applause to Charlie. Charlie reminds us that in these tough times, America’s working men and women are ready to roll up their sleeves and get back to work.”
“I want to salute your AFL-CIO local leaders: Executive Secretary-Treasurer Doug Sizemore, President Joe Zimmer and state President Joe Rugola. And your outstanding national leaders: a man who we thank for devoting his life to working Americans-President John Sweeney. And the man who will pick up the mantle of leadership-who we need to succeed because a strong labor movement is part of a strong economy-Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka.
Although Ohio’s terrific Governor Ted Strickland couldn’t be here, we have Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Attorney General Richard Cordray, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, and Hamilton County Commission President David Pepper.
We’re joined by members of Ohio’s congressional delegation: Congressman Steve Driehaus and my great friend-who is at the forefront of every fight for Ohio’s working men and women, including the battle for health insurance reform-Senator Sherrod Brown.
And I’m proud to be here with a leader who is re-energizing the Department of Labor-and a daughter of union members-Secretary Hilda Solis. And my director of recovery for auto communities and workers-Ed Montgomery.
Now, like a lot of Americans, you’re having some fun today. Taking the day off. Spending time with the kids. Enjoying some good music and good food-some famous Cincinnati chili. But today we also pause. To remember. To reflect. To reaffirm.
We remember that the rights and benefits we enjoy today were not simply handed out to America’s working men and women. They had to be won.
They had to be fought for, by men and women of courage and conviction, from the factory floors of the Industrial Revolution to the shopping aisles of today’s superstores. They stood up and spoke out to demand a fair shake; an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Many risked their lives. Some gave their lives. Some made it a cause of their lives-like Senator Ted Kennedy, who we remember today.
So let us never forget: much of what we take for granted-the 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, health insurance, paid leave, pensions, Social Security, Medicare-they all bear the union label. It was the American worker-union men and women-who returned from World War II to make our economy the envy of the world. It was labor that helped build the largest middle class in history. So even if you’re not a union member, every American owes something to America’s labor movement. Read the rest of this entry »
“The President is clearly not running away from this battle, but rather confronting the challenges we’ve encountered these last few weeks head-on. He’s pulling out all the stops, and this level of involvement from the President could well be a game changer. There is no better way to turn public opinion around than to have someone as popular as President Obama addressing the American people directly, without intermediaries interpreting – or misinterpreting – his ideas.”
PRINCETON, NJ — From the time Barack Obama took office as president until the end of June, 63% of Americans, on average, approved of the job he was doing. The breakdown of his half-year approval ratings at the state level shows that Obama’s approval rating was above 50% in all but two states, Wyoming and Alaska. His highest approval ratings were in the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Vermont, Maryland, and Massachusetts.
Good evening. Before I take your questions, I want to talk for a few minutes about the progress we’re making on health insurance reform and where it fits into our broader economic strategy.
Six months ago, I took office amid the worst recession in half a century. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month and our financial system was on the verge of collapse.
As a result of the action we took in those first weeks, we have been able to pull our economy back from the brink. We took steps to stabilize our financial institutions and our housing market. And we passed a Recovery Act that has already saved jobs and created new ones; delivered billions in tax relief to families and small businesses; and extended unemployment insurance and health insurance to those who have been laid off.
Of course, we still have a long way to go. And the Recovery Act will continue to save and create more jobs over the next two years – just like it was designed to do. I realize this is little comfort to those Americans who are currently out of work, and I’ll be honest with you – new hiring is always one of the last things to bounce back after a recession.
And the fact is, even before this crisis hit, we had an economy that was creating a good deal of wealth for folks at the very top, but not a lot of good-paying jobs for the rest of America. It’s an economy that simply wasn’t ready to compete in the 21st century – one where we’ve been slow to invest in the clean energy technologies that have created new jobs and industries in other countries; where we’ve watched our graduation rates lag behind too much of the world; and where we spend much more on health care than any other nation but aren’t any healthier for it.
That is why I’ve said that even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, we must rebuild it stronger than before. And health insurance reform is central to that effort. Read the rest of this entry »
President Obama spoke at the Centennial Anniversary of the NAACP last night. To be honest it was the first time that this writer has been moved and inspired by one of his speeches since the Philadelphia race speech. The speech was poignant, inspiring, stern, humorous, reflective, honest, deferential, authentic, and all in all one of his best speeches to date. Bravo Mr. President!
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
July 16, 2009
Remarks of President Barack Obama – As Prepared for Delivery
NAACP Centennial
New York, New York
July 16, 2009
It is an honor to be here, in the city where the NAACP was formed, to mark its centennial. What we celebrate tonight is not simply the journey the NAACP has traveled, but the journey that we, as Americans, have traveled over the past one hundred years.
It is a journey that takes us back to a time before most of us were born, long before the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act, and Brown v. Board of Education; back to an America just a generation past slavery. It was a time when Jim Crow was a way of life; when lynchings were all too common; and when race riots were shaking cities across a segregated land.
It was in this America where an Atlanta scholar named W.E.B. Du Bois, a man of towering intellect and a fierce passion for justice, sparked what became known as the Niagara movement; where reformers united, not by color but cause; and where an association was born that would, as its charter says, promote equality and eradicate prejudice among citizens of the United States.
From the beginning, Du Bois understood how change would come – just as King and all the civil rights giants did later. They understood that unjust laws needed to be overturned; that legislation needed to be passed; and that Presidents needed to be pressured into action. They knew that the stain of slavery and Read the rest of this entry »
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN AN ONLINE TOWN HALL ON HEALTH CARENorthern Virginia Community College
Annandale, Virginia
1:28 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good to see you guys. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Northern Virginia. Thank you very much. What a wonderful welcome. And I’m so grateful to all of you for taking the time to be here.
A couple of quick acknowledgments. First of all, I want to thank President Templin and Chancellor DuBois for their wonderful hospitality. We are grateful to both of them.
We’ve got some extraordinary elected officials — a few that I want to mention. First of all, you’ve got one of the finest governors in the country, who also is doing a great job as DNC chair. Please give Tim Kaine a big round of applause. (Applause.) Part of the reason Tim is such a good governor is because he took notes while being lieutenant governor to the former governor and now senator for the state of Virginia, an outstanding public servant, Mark Warner. (Applause.) And three outstanding members of Congress: Bobby Scott, Jim Moran, and Gerry Connolly — thank you so much, guys, for the great job you do every day. (Applause.)
So I know there’s all kinds of stuff Valerie was explaining. Don’t worry, she’s in charge, so she’ll organize us. I just want to give a few remarks at the outset, and then we’ll save most of the time for questions.
First of all, it’s wonderful to be here in Annandale, and I’m looking forward to answering questions about what is obviously one of the most important issues facing American families, American businesses, and the American government. But before I begin, I just want to say a few words about where we are as a nation and where we need to go.
We’re living through extraordinary times — I don’t need to tell you. This generation of Americans — our generation — has been called to confront challenges of a magnitude that we have not seen in decades, perhaps unlike anything we’ve seen in recent history — challenges that few generations of Americans are asked to face. In addition to the immediate threats that we face — we’ve got two wars going on and a very deep recession — our economy has also been weakened by problems that have plagued us for decades: the crushing cost of health care, the state of our schools, our continuing dependence on foreign oil.
Now, I know there are some who say we can’t tackle all of these problems; it’s too much; Congress can’t handle it; the President is juggling too many things; my administration is taking on too much too soon; we’re moving too fast.
What I say is that America has waited long enough for action on these issues. It’s not too soon to fix our schools when we know that if our children are not prepared they are not going to compete in the 21st century. It’s not too soon to wean ourselves off of dirty sources of energy so that we can grab hold of a clean energy future. We’ve been talking about clean energy since Richard Nixon. And it’s time for us to act. And I congratulate, by the way, the House of Representatives for beginning action this past week on a historic clean energy bill.
It’s also not too soon to reform our health care system, which we’ve been talking about since Teddy Roosevelt was President.
We are at a defining moment for this nation. If we act now, then we can rebuild our economy in a way that makes it strong, competitive, sustainable and prosperous once more. We can lead this century the same way that we led the last century. But if we don’t act, if we let this moment pass, we could see this economy just sputter along for decades — a slow, steady decline in which the chances for our children and our grandchildren are fewer than the opportunities that were given to us. And that’s contrary to the history of America. One of our core ideas has always been that we leave the next generation better off than us. And that’s why we have to act right now. Read the rest of this entry »
The President will host a health care reform discussion today in Virginia and he wants to hear from you. The White House has been accepting questions for the last few days from the public at large and will accept more questions today while the forum is in progress. If you would like to participate you can either tweet a question to the President or participate via facebook.
As the father of two young girls who have shown such poise, humor, and patience in the unconventional life into which they have been thrust, I mark this Father’s Day—our first in the White House—with a deep sense of gratitude. One of the greatest benefits of being President is that I now live right above the office. I see my girls off to school nearly every morning and have dinner with them nearly every night. It is a welcome change after so many years out on the campaign trail and commuting between Chicago and Capitol Hill.
But I observe this Father’s Day not just as a father grateful to be present in my daughters’ lives but also as a son who grew up without a father in my own life. My father left my family when I was 2 years old, and I knew him mainly from the letters he wrote and the stories my family told. And while I was lucky to have two wonderful grandparents who poured everything they had into helping my mother raise my sister and me, I still felt the weight of his absence throughout my childhood.
As an adult, working as a community organizer and later as a legislator, I would often walk through the streets of Chicago’s South Side and see boys marked by that same absence—boys without supervision or direction or anyone to help them as they struggled to grow into men. I identified with their frustration and disengagement—with their sense of having been let down.
In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We can do everything possible to provide good jobs and good schools and safe streets for our kids, but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference.
That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one. See the remainder of the President’s message here.
Being touted as the biggest regulatory overhaul since the Great Depression, President Obama will announce specifics today of his “new foundation” for the financial industry. The five primary elements of the administration’s plan for regulatory reform are:
Promote Robust Supervision and Regulation of Financial Firms: Tougher oversight of financial institutions through expansion of the role and increasing the powers of the Federal Reserve by giving it greater oversight over financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies.
Establish Comprehensive Regulation of Financial Markets: Increased focus on market infrastructure by regulating previously less regulated products such as over-the-counter derivatives. For example, the administration will propose regulations requiring originators of new securities to have “skin in the game” by requiring that such originators hold a continued equity stake in the securities even after the securities are largely sold off.
Protect Consumers and Investors from Financial Abuse: Creating the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) which will be a regulatory agency responsible for protecting consumers who have credit cards, mortgages, or other financial products and will serve as a consumer watchdog. According to a senior administration official, the new agency will establish “a very clear line of accountability around products that they deem abusive of consumers, or misleading.” The new Agency will also have the authority to “reform our mortgage laws.” One such law will require that “consumers receive a single, simple, integrated federal mortgage disclosure.”
Provide the Government with Tools it needs to Manage Financial Crisis: Giving the administration greater power to dismantle financial firms falling into financial difficulties so as to preempt the kind of systemic problems suffered in the current economic meltdown.
Raise International Regulatory Standards and Improve International Cooperation: Coordination of financial regulation with governments around the globe so as to synchronize global oversight of financial markets.
“The goal is to integrate the system, make sure that there are not any gaps, and to make sure that we have a updating of the regulatory system that worked back in the 1930s, but doesn’t work with the kinds of financial instruments and the kinds of global capital markets that exist today…..and we’re confident that we’ve struck the right balance.” -President Obama, Bloomberg Television.
See the full and official 85-page white paper of regulatory plan here.
UPDATE: The President’s remarks
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
__________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release June 17, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON 21ST CENTURY FINANCIAL REGULATORY REFORM
East Room
12:53 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much.
Since taking office, my administration has mounted what I think has to be acknowledged as an extraordinary response to a historic economic crisis. But even as we take decisive action to repair the damage to our economy, we’re working hard to build a new foundation for sustained economic growth. This will not be easy. We know that this recession is not the result of one failure, but of many. And many of the toughest challenges we face are the product of a cascade of mistakes and missed opportunities which took place over the course of decades.
That’s why, as part of this new foundation, we’re seeking to build an energy economy that creates new jobs and new businesses to free us from our dependence on foreign oil. We want to foster an education system that instills in each generation the capacity to turn ideas into innovations, and innovations into industries and jobs. And as I discussed on Monday at the American Medical Association, we want to reform our health care system so that we can remain healthy and competitive. Read the rest of this entry »
