President Obama/Presidents

Letter from Our Beautiful First Lady – Michelle

Karen —

I am thrilled to make sure you are the first to hear some very exciting news. Charlotte, North Carolina, will host the 46th Democratic National Convention in 2012.

Charlotte is a city marked by its southern charm, warm hospitality, and an “up by the bootstraps” mentality that has propelled the city forward as one of the fastest-growing in the South. Vibrant, diverse, and full of opportunity, the Queen City is home to innovative, hardworking folks with big hearts and open minds. And of course, great barbecue.

Barack and I spent a lot of time in North Carolina during the campaign — from the Atlantic Coast to the Research Triangle to the Smoky Mountains and everywhere in between. Barack enjoyed Asheville so much when he spent several days preparing for the second Presidential debate that our family vacationed there in 2009.

And my very first trip outside of Washington as First Lady was to Fort Bragg, where I started my effort to do all we can to help our heroic military families.

All the contending cities were places that Barack and I have grown to know and love, so it was a hard choice. But we are thrilled to be bringing the convention to Charlotte.

We hope many of you can join us in Charlotte the week of September 3rd, 2012. But if you can’t, we intend to bring the spirit of the convention — as well as actual, related events to your community and even your own backyard.

More than anything else, we want this to be a grassroots convention for the people. We will finance this convention differently than it’s been done in the past, and we will make sure everyone feels closely tied in to what is happening in Charlotte. This will be a different convention, for a different time.

To help us make sure this is a grassroots convention — The People’s Convention — we need to hear from you. We want to know what you’d like to see at next year’s convention, how and where you plan on watching it — and the very best way we can engage your friends and neighbors.

Karen, please share your input with us right now — how can we make The People’s Convention belong to you and your community?

I can’t believe it has been more than two years since my brother Craig introduced me at the 2008 Convention in Denver. It truly feels like it was yesterday.

As I looked out at a sea of thousands of supporters that night, I spoke about my husband — the man whom this country would go on to elect as the 44th President of the United States. I spoke about his fundamental belief — a conviction at the very core of his life’s work — that each of us has something to contribute to the spirit of our nation.

That’s also the belief at the core of The People’s Convention. That the table we sit at together ought to be big enough for everyone. That the thread that binds us — a belief in the promise of this country — is strong enough to sustain us through good times and bad.

Barack talked at the State of the Union of his vision for how America can win the future. That must be the focus now, and I know so many of you will help talk about our plans with your neighbors — that through innovation, education, reform, and responsibility we can make sure America realizes this vision.

But, conventions take time to plan, so please help us make sure that your thoughts and your ideas will ring all the way to Charlotte. Get started now:

http://my.barackobama.com/PeoplesConvention

Looking forward to sharing this together,

Michelle

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee — 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Karen —

On Thursday, the Senate passed historic Wall Street reform. This movement proved again that the strongest special interests, who for so long have called the shots in Washington, can be beat.

When opponents in Congress tried to block the legislation altogether, you stood up — and they backed down. When the lobbyists pushed for loopholes and exemptions just before a final vote, you did not relent — and we fought them off.

Your support brought us to this day — and, because of that, we’re poised to implement sensible reforms that will provide a stronger foundation for economic growth.

Now, the House and Senate must iron out their differences before I can sign it into law. But the financial industry will not give up. They have already spent more than $1 million per member of Congress, lobbying on this issue. And in the coming days, they will go all in. This is their last shot to stall, weaken, or kill reform, and they are not accustomed to losing.

But this movement has you — and together, we have beaten the special interests before…

…Every American has a stake in this bill.

If you have ever been treated unfairly by a credit card company, this reform works for you — never again will Americans be duped by fine print or hidden fees.

If you ever try to take out a home loan or student loan, this reform works for you — putting an end to predatory and deceptive lending practices.

And, if you or your small business relies on credit from community banks that are being punished for playing by the rules while their competitors do not, this reform works for you — reining in the big banks and making sure all our lenders are subject to tough oversight.

These reforms would put in place the strongest consumer financial protections in history. And, by helping safeguard our economy from recklessness on Wall Street, it would ensure that a crisis like the one that caused this recession never happens again.

This is not a zero-sum game where Wall Street loses and Main Street wins. As we have learned, in today’s economy, we are all connected. When the economy prospers, we all win. Senators of both parties recognize that fact, and that is why lawmakers stood up to the lobbyists and worked across the aisle to ensure that Wall Street reform passed.

But this fight is not yet over. And it is up to us to overcome this final test and pass reform into law. When we do, the power of this movement to make change in Washington — despite the best efforts of the special interests — will no longer be up for debate.

Please donate $25 or more today…to counter the special interests’ attacks and get strong Wall Street reform to my desk?…

https://donate.barackobama.com/WSRSenateVictory

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee — 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

Contributions or gifts to the Democratic National Committee are not deductible as charitable contributions for income tax purposes.

Barack Obama gets a surprise visit in the night from ex-Presidents Bush Sr., Bush Jr., Clinton, Ford, Reagan and Carter to get a few pointers about the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and why it’s so important. … Watch videos about Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bush Sr., Bush Jr, Jimmy Carter, Saturday Night Live, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, former presidents, Will Ferrell, Jim Carrey,…

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more about "Funny or Die’s Presidential Reunion f…", posted with vodpod

Video of the Day and then some Brian Williams

Proud to believe in our President Barack Obama
Fantastic Speech!
He stated the TRUTH!
He will give our American people the government they deserve.

I feel only shame for the behavior of the Republicans at the State of the Union 2010 speech. They could not handle the President telling the American people the TRUTH, THE WAY OF THINGS and How It Will Be in the Future. Supposedly the Republicans were on their best behavior. You could have fooled me!
by Karen McLain, ND

To Kip152 Comment: “At least the American people can clearly see the difference between an earnest, honest leader, and a bunch of sad little old white men.”
I agree with you Kip… The American people saw what you and I did. We also saw what President Obama is up against. The Congress and Senate just don’t seem to get it. As for their obvious behavior, it came through loud and clear that they are playing their self-indulgent games at the expense of the American people. They are collecting their pay, and much more, from the American people for this displayed indifference to what the American people need. It will be interesting how the American people vote in November of 2010.

What Do Americans Think – Vote here at MSNBC

Tweets from the Capitol dome – most active Twitterers in Congress.

OBAMA has some advice for Congress and the Supreme Court…

“Health care reform got a mention, but President Obama spent the bulk of his first State of the Union address laying out his plans for boosting the economy. He cozied up to the middle class, talking about upping tax credits for child care, reducing the cost of college, and creating clean-energy jobs. He railed at banks (he “hated” the bailout, which was “as popular as a root canal”) and lobbyists (“We cannot let them win this fight”). Going forward, he promised federal fiscal responsibility (“like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget”) and an emphasis on jobs creation (“I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay”). After outlining the executive branch’s priorities for the next year, Obama had a few words for the other branches of government. To the visible discomfort of the nation’s Supreme Court justices, he slammed the recent decision that opened the floodgates of corporate campaign financing and urged Congress to pass a bill contravening the decision. He criticized Senate Republicans for practicing obstructionist politics and challenged them to try to actually get something done: “Saying no to everything may be good short-term politics but it’s not leadership.”

Lance Armstrong Foundation

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