Hello
Saturday Mishmash to follow.
Have a good weekend.
Here it is, the much awaited photo. Hopefully this would be enough, and he won't be asked to drink the water too:
President Barack Obama and daughter Sasha swim at Alligator Point in Panama City Beach, Fla., Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010 (Official WH photo by Pete Souza)
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Those who think that the president deserves some soft love, no better day than today.
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Benen:
There was no political upside. Polls show Americans oppose the development of a Muslim community center in lower Manhattan, while Republicans use the issue for shameless demagoguery, desperately trying to pit Americans against each other, hoping fear and bigotry will be worth a few percentage points on Election Day. The easy course would have been for President Obama to steer clear of the dispute, and stick to the line that the Cordoba House at Park51 is a local matter, best left to local officials.
But Obama instead chose to ignore the easy course, show some genuine leadership, and take a firm stand in support of religious liberty. It was largely a symbolic gesture -- whether the center is built or not is not up to the administration -- but it was a powerful articulation of quintessential American principles, which a few too many of our compatriots have forgotten.
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It was as clear a demonstration of President Obama's character and courage as we've seen in quite some time. There is some political risk in defending religious liberty when it's unpopular, but he did it anyway. He didn't hedge; he didn't equivocate; he didn't try to find some middle-ground compromise. He heard the words of small-minded demagogues and chose to respond with simple truths, honoring American principles while the political winds blow in the other direction.
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Sargent:
A few quick thoughts about Obama's forceful speech yesterday expressing strong support for Cordoba House, which will go down as one of the finest moments of his presidency.
Obama didn't just stand up for the legal right of the group to build the Islamic center. He voiced powerful support for their moral right to do so as well, casting it as central to American identity. This is a critical point, and it goes to the the essence of why his speech was so commendable.
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...Yet Obama entered the fray anyway, in dramatic fashion, asserting that our identy rests on "our capacity to show not merely tolerance, but respect towards those who are different from us." Crucially, Obama also cast support for the religious freedom of Muslim Americans as key to winning the battle with Al Qaeda, even as he hailed the service of Muslim Americans in our military. In so doing, Obama directly confronted the demagoguery at the core of much of the opposition to this project.
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Ultimately, though, Obama's speech transcends the politics of the moment, and will go down as a defining and perhaps even a breakthrough performance. Obama recognized that this dispute is a seminal one that goes to the core of our running argument about pluralism and minority rights and to the core of who we are. He understood that the gravity of the moment required an equally large and momentous response. And he delivered/
Greenwald:
This is one of the most impressive and commendable things Obama has done since being inaugurated:
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The White House originally indicated it would refrain from involving itself in the dispute, and there was little pressure or controversy over that decision. There was little anger over the President's silence even among liberal critics. And given the standard attacks directed at Obama -- everything from being "soft on Terror" to being a hidden Muslim -- choosing this issue on which to take a very politically unpopular and controversial stand is commendable in the extreme.
The campaign against this mosque is one of the ugliest and most odious controversies in some time. It's based purely on appeals to base fear and bigotry. There are no reasonable arguments against it, and the precedent that would be set if its construction were prevented -- equating Islam with Terrorism, implying 9/11 guilt for Muslims generally, imposing serious restrictions on core religious liberty -- are quite serious.
It was Michael Bloomberg who first stood up and eloquently condemned this anti-mosque campaign for what it is, but Obama's choice to lend his voice to a vital and noble cause is a rare demonstration of principled, politically risky leadership. It's not merely a symbolic gesture, but also an important substantive stand against something quite ugly and wrong. This is an act that deserves pure praise.
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Joan Walsh:
....The administration had ducked the controversy as a "local" issue, and many Democrats, including liberal firebrand Anthony Weiner, have been missing in action on the issue, leaving former Republican (now independent) Mayor Michael Bloomberg alone on the moral high ground here. Republicans from Sarah Palin to Charles Krauthammer have been predictably rabid in opposition, apparently believing it's a good idea to declare war on all of Islam, not merely al Qaida.
The president had some words about that, too. "Al Qaeda’s cause is not Islam — it is a gross distortion of Islam. In fact, Al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion, and that list includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11."
Obama's decision should have been a no-brainer, but it wound up being tough, given GOP opportunism and Democratic cowardice, and thus courageous.
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Mark Kleiman:
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Putting the political fallout to one side, tonight I’m proud to be an American citizen. No, it shouldn’t take a President with brass balls to defend the rights of Muslims to build themselves a community center. After all, the battle against Cordoba House is a battle to define all Muslims, just as Muslims, as foreigners and enemies, which would be both a violation of one of our most precious traditions and an insanely stupid thing to do in the face of the need for Muslim allies in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and against al-Qaeda everywhere.
Nevertheless, the loonies have managed to stir up the country, as they did around Terri Schiavo. So it did indeed take great political courage to stand up for what was not only obviously right but obviously essential to national security. And, as luck would have it, we had a President with willingness to put country over self, and the eloquence to link his stand to our national traditions. "This is America," he said.
And as a bonus, he even gave a shout-out to those of us who don’t choose to practice an organized religion.
Really, "proud" doesn’t start to say it.
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Booman:
I'm proud of Obama for doing the right thing and for doing so in such eloquent form. There's a lot of political pressure to make concessions to fear and bigotry and hate, but he didn't flinch.
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NYT: Detroit Goes From Gloom to Economic Bright Spot
DETROIT — After a dismal period of huge losses and deep cuts that culminated in the Obama administration’s bailout of General Motors and Chrysler, the gloom over the American auto industry is starting to lift.
Jobs are growing. Factory workers are anticipating their first healthy profit-sharing checks in years. Sales are rebounding, with the Commerce Department reporting Friday that automobiles were a bright spot in July’s mostly disappointing retail sales.
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Still, the improving mood here reflects real changes in how Detroit is doing business — and a growing sense that the changes are turning the Big Three around, according to industry executives and analysts tracking the recovery.
Ford made more money in the first six months of this year than in the previous five years combined. G.M. is profitable and preparing for one of the biggest public stock offerings in American history. Even Chrysler, the automaker thought least likely to survive the recession, is hiring new workers.
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Obama to visit New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina anniversary
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama will visit New Orleans in late August, the White House said Friday, to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the city and much of the US Gulf Coast.
Obama will travel on August 29 to Louisiana's largest city, and "members of the president's cabinet who've worked to speed recovery and restoration efforts in the region also will be in New Orleans to mark the anniversary," spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.
Obama's visit will include remarks at Xavier University of Louisiana.
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U.S. builds goodwill with quick assistance in Pakistani flooding
In a country of 170 million people where anti-American sentiment burns brightly, the United States may have won 84 friends Wednesday by scooping them up in the belly of a Chinook helicopter and ferrying them away from this flooded mountain town.
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The Pakistanis rescued Wednesday were among more than 2,700 picked up over the past week by six U.S. choppers that have also delivered bags of flour and biscuits to stranded residents of the flood-ravaged Swat Valley, in the country's northwest. Nineteen larger helicopters will take over that effort, the U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday night.
"The American assistance has been considerable, it has been prompt, and it has been effective," said Tanvir Ahmad Khan, a former Pakistani foreign secretary and now chairman of the Islamabad-based Institute of Strategic Studies. "The sheer visibility of American personnel and helicopters working in the field gives a feeling of very welcome assistance from the United States."
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US sending aid to help Russia firefight effort
WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama told his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev that he was sending firefighting equipment and other aid to help Russia battle wildfires that have ravaged parts of the country, the White House said Friday.
"President Obama called President Medvedev yesterday to express his deepest condolences for the tragic losses that Russia has suffered in the recent wildfires," the White House said in a statement.
"USAID, the Department of Defense, the US Forest Service, and the state of California are mobilizing firefighting equipment and airlift to assist Russia in combating the wildfires."
The White House statement stressed that the United States was "responding to Russia's request for technical assistance in combating the fires.
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The first family, minus Malia, is in Panama City, Florida, this weekend. All these by AP. *
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Retired Marine Sgt. 'Gunny' Akuna and his daughter Mei-Ling Frishkorn await the arrival of President Barack Obama at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, Fla. , Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010.
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New stuff from Pete Souza's bakery. Many more, in huge size, here.
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President Obama waits to be introduced at a critical infrastructure CEOs meeting on cyber security in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, July 14, 2010.
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President Obama greets guests during an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on the South Lawn of the White House, July 26, 2010.
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The coastline in Acadia National Park, Maine, July 17, 2010.
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President Obama talks with a young guest in the State Dining Room of the White House, during an event honoring the 2009 WNBA Champions Phoenix Mercury, July 19, 2010.
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On the way to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington., July 21, 2010, to sign Wall Street Reform.
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With Nancy Pelosi after signing Wall Street Reform.
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With the 2009 Little League Softball World Series Champions from Warner Robins, Ga., in the East Room of the White House, July 27, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)
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With Chicago Bulls players Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose. The President played basketball with friends, college and professional basketball players, before an audience that included wounded warriors and White House mentees at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., August 8, 2010.
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With Sen. John Kerry in the Outer Oval Office, July 28, 2010.
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At General Motors Auto Plant in Hamtramck, Mich., July 30, 2010.
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With Lt. Col. Dave Kalinske and his family in the Oval Office, during Kalinske’s departure ceremony, Aug. 13, 2010.
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With a group of summer interns in the Rose Garden of the White House, before taking a group photo with the entire class. August 12, 2010.
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President Obama greets Ambassador Alieu Momodou Ngum, of The Gambia, and his family before the start of an ambassador credentialing ceremony in the Oval Office, Aug. 10, 2010.
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President Obama prepares to take the stage on the floor of the Chrysler Auto Plant in Detroit, Mich., July 30, 2010.