WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says the U.S. is safer and its people resilient on the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama laid a wreath at the Pentagon, one of several official observances marking the suicide hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.
Posts tagged as “President Barack Obama”
“I’m inspired by my own children, how full they make my heart. They make me want to work to make the world a little bit better. And they make me want to be a better man.”
—President Barack Obama
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is joining NBA legend Michael Jordan and an array of basketball stars to raise money for his re-election campaign later this month.
The Obama campaign is planning a fundraising “shoot-around” and dinner in New York on Aug. 22 featuring several NBA stars, including Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks, Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics, John Wall of the Washington Wizards and others. Jordan, who played for the Chicago Bulls, Obama’s favorite NBA team, and NBA Commissioner David Stern are co-hosting a $20,000-per person fundraising dinner with the president later in the day.
via Michael Jordan, NBA players to raise money for Obama | theGrio.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking on a more prominent political role, first lady Michelle Obama is launching a nationwide effort to motivate every supporter of President Barack Obama to get more involved in his re-election campaign — and bring along somebody else, too.
The “It Takes One” program urges supporters to make a difference in this election, and to “start by taking one action that will help grow our campaign,” Mrs. Obama says. In a three-minute video message to supporters that was released Thursday, the first lady tells supporters that with a tighter election than 2008 likely this fall, “in the end, it could all come down to those last few thousand votes in a single state.”
“Every time you take action to move this country forward, we’re asking you to inspire one more person to join you as well,” she says. “That could be the difference between waking up on Nov. 7 and feeling the promise of four more years or asking yourself, ‘Could I have done more?’” The video opens with Mrs. Obama recalling her husband’s first campaign for the Illinois legislature, when the newly married couple would take friends along when they went out to collect petition signatures to get Obama on the ballot.
“Help one new voter get registered through GottaVote.org, recruit one more volunteer, or bring a friend to the next phone bank you attend,” Mrs. Obama says. “If we all commit to finding at least one way to make an impact, we can ensure that we’ll keep moving this country forward for another four years.” The Obama campaign said Mrs. Obama would lead the “It Takes One” effort, which will include digital media, advertising and grassroots organizing. Campaign officials said Mrs. Obama would be the face of the effort and personally participate in many “It Takes One” events as she travels the country, recruiting neighborhood team leaders, speaking to groups of women to ask them to volunteer and stopping by voter registration events.
That represents a significant increase in the first lady’s role in the campaign. Already, she has been traveling the country to raise money for the campaign and making appearances at rallies designed to energize volunteers and supporters. Mrs. Obama, whose high favorability ratings are a big asset to the campaign, was known during the 2008 presidential race as “the closer” for her ability to persuade undecided voters to come on board and her success at motivating supporters to get more involved.
The first lady planned to formally launch the “It Takes One” program during campaign stops Friday in Virginia, a battleground state in this fall’s election. The first lady will speak at a campaign event for women in Charlottesville and to grassroots supporters in Fredericksburg. Obama’s campaign also plans to launch local “It Takes One” efforts in battleground states to engage new volunteers.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
via First lady Michelle Obama to lead new campaign mobilizing effort: ‘It Takes One’ | theGrio.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taking on a more prominent political role, first lady Michelle Obama is launching a nationwide effort to motivate every supporter of President Barack Obama to get more involved in his re-election campaign — and bring along somebody else, too.
The “It Takes One” program urges supporters to make a difference in this election, and to “start by taking one action that will help grow our campaign,” Mrs. Obama says. In a three-minute video message to supporters that was released Thursday, the first lady tells supporters that with a tighter election than 2008 likely this fall, “in the end, it could all come down to those last few thousand votes in a single state.”
“Every time you take action to move this country forward, we’re asking you to inspire one more person to join you as well,” she says. “That could be the difference between waking up on Nov. 7 and feeling the promise of four more years or asking yourself, ‘Could I have done more?’” The video opens with Mrs. Obama recalling her husband’s first campaign for the Illinois legislature, when the newly married couple would take friends along when they went out to collect petition signatures to get Obama on the ballot.
“Help one new voter get registered through GottaVote.org, recruit one more volunteer, or bring a friend to the next phone bank you attend,” Mrs. Obama says. “If we all commit to finding at least one way to make an impact, we can ensure that we’ll keep moving this country forward for another four years.” The Obama campaign said Mrs. Obama would lead the “It Takes One” effort, which will include digital media, advertising and grassroots organizing. Campaign officials said Mrs. Obama would be the face of the effort and personally participate in many “It Takes One” events as she travels the country, recruiting neighborhood team leaders, speaking to groups of women to ask them to volunteer and stopping by voter registration events.
That represents a significant increase in the first lady’s role in the campaign. Already, she has been traveling the country to raise money for the campaign and making appearances at rallies designed to energize volunteers and supporters. Mrs. Obama, whose high favorability ratings are a big asset to the campaign, was known during the 2008 presidential race as “the closer” for her ability to persuade undecided voters to come on board and her success at motivating supporters to get more involved.
The first lady planned to formally launch the “It Takes One” program during campaign stops Friday in Virginia, a battleground state in this fall’s election. The first lady will speak at a campaign event for women in Charlottesville and to grassroots supporters in Fredericksburg. Obama’s campaign also plans to launch local “It Takes One” efforts in battleground states to engage new volunteers.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
via First lady Michelle Obama to lead new campaign mobilizing effort: ‘It Takes One’ | theGrio.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The first female secretary of state, a former astronaut, and a musical pioneer are among this year’s recipients of the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
President Barack Obama will award the medals at the White House later this spring.
Among this year’s recipients are former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the first woman to hold the nation’s top diplomatic post; John Glenn, the third American in space and the first American to orbit the Earth; and legendary musician Bob Dylan.
In a statement, Obama said of the honorees: “They’ve challenged us, they’ve inspired us and they’ve made the world a better place.”
Among the other honorees:
— John Doar, civil rights attorney.
— William Foege, physician who led the campaign to eradicate smallpox.
— Gordon Hirabayashi, openly defied the forced relocation and internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
— Dolores Huerta, civil rights workers and women’s advocate.
— Jan Karski, officer in the Polish Underground during World War II and one of the first people to provide accounts of the Holocaust to the world.
— Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts.
— Toni Morrison, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist.
— Shimon Peres, Israeli president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
— John Paul Stevens, former Supreme Court Justice.
— Pat Summitt, former women’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee.
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a major policy reversal, the Obama administration said Wednesday that it will no longer defend the constitutionality of a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage.
Attorney General Eric Holder said President Barack Obama has concluded that the administration cannot defend the federal law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. He noted that the congressional debate during passage of the Defense of Marriage Act “contains numerous expressions reflecting moral disapproval of gays and lesbians and their intimate and family relationships – precisely the kind of stereotype-based thinking and animus the (Constitution’s)Equal Protection Clause is designed to guard against.”
The Justice Department had defended the act in court until now.
“Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed” the Defense of Marriage Act, Holder said in a statement. He noted that the Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional and that Congress has repealed the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Holder wrote to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, that Obama has concluded the Defense of Marriage Act fails to meet a rigorous standard under which courts view with suspicion any laws targeting minority groups who have suffered a history of discrimination.
The attorney general said the Justice Department had defended the law in court until now because the government was able to advance reasonable arguments for the law based on a less strict standard.
At a December news conference, in response to a reporters’ question, Obama revealed that his position on gay marriage is “constantly evolving.” He has opposed such marriages and supported instead civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. The president said such civil unions are his baseline — at this point, as he put it.
“This is something that we’re going to continue to debate, and I personally am going to continue to wrestle with going forward,” he said.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama signed a sweeping overhaul of child nutrition standards Monday, enacting a law meant to encourage better eating habits in part by giving the federal government more authority to set standards for food sold in vending machines and elsewhere on school grounds.
Among other things, the $4.5 billion measure provides more money to poor areas to subsidize free meals and requires schools to abide by health guidelines drafted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To help offset the higher cost of including more fruits and vegetables, the bill increases the reimbursement rate for school lunches.
The bill is about “giving our kids the healthy futures they deserve,” the president said during a bill signing ceremony at a Washington elementary school. “Right now across the country too many kids don’t have access to school meals.”
Even when they do, he added, too often the meals aren’t sufficiently nutritious. As a result, he said, one out of every three children in America is overweight or obese.
Some Democrats had objected to the bill because it is funded in part by stripping $2.2 billion from the federal food stamp program. Congress also voted over the summer to take money from the program to fund legislation sending money to cash-strapped states to avoid teacher layoffs.
The cuts largely negate a spending increase provided to the food stamp program by the 2009 economic stimulus plan. Administration officials reportedly have promised anxious liberals that they will work to find ways to restore the higher funding levels.
The measure has been a top priority for first lady Michelle Obama, who has championed it as part of her “Let’s Move” initiative to combat child obesity in the United States.
“Had I not been able to get this bill passed, I would be sleeping on the couch,” the president joked shortly before signing the measure into law.
“We won’t go into that,” the first lady said. “Let’s just say it got done. Don’t have to go down that road.”
Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu talks during a press conference in Cape Town, South Africa, July 22, 2010. (AP Photo)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a “moral titan” who will be missed as he formally retires from public life Thursday on his 79th birthday. Obama says the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been a voice of principle, an unrelenting champion of justice and a dedicated peacemaker. Tutu played a pivotal role in South Africa’s struggle against apartheid, the now-abolished system of white-minority rule. He also has advocated freedom and justice worldwide, supported gay rights and pushed for treatment programs to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Tutu announced this year that he would retire on his birthday, Oct. 7, to spend more time with his family.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.