and I can't say I mind one bit. Less than a month, and President Obama already refuses to stay ensconced in the White House. Last week he had two very successful Town Hall meetings that were (in my opinion) wildly successful. He took unscreened questions from "real" Americans concerned with how they'd keep or get a job, a home, an education.
Next week, he plans on signing the Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Denver, Colorado.
And there are reports that he doesn't like being stuck in the White House:
"We've got to get him out of that White House," a unnamed top White House adviser said, listing "some very valuable lessons" learned from the stimulus fight. "He's happier, he's better, he's more effective. The inside game is important, but it's actually not where the success of his presidency is going to come."
(emphasis mine) I really do think he's much happier out and about. Honestly, I think he still just looks at himself as a regular person for the most part, and as such wants to be around REGULAR people. I wish he could do 1-2 town halls every week. . .
Then there was the infamous fight for the right to keep his Blackberry, even if there is very limited access, it's just another way for him to stay connected. I honestly think that is what matters most to Obama, he doesn't want to lose sight of what really matters to people. He doesn't want to do what Bush did before him and try to stay in a happy place he created in the WH where the problems of the average person are really of no concern to him.
I, for one, am glad that he doesn't plan to just sit in Washington and deal with people who at times seem more concerned with staying in office than they are with actually doing what they were elected to do.
The same is true of Michelle Obama who has been making her own appearances outside of the White House. Just last week she spent time with young and teenaged children at a community center (see more pics at the link):
She touched on her middle-class upbringing and told them how each of her successes helped her become a more confident person.
"I have in some way been where you are," she told the 13 teenagers who sat with her in chairs arranged in a circle. She said she thinks it's important for young kids "to see me, not the first lady, to see that there is no magic to me sitting here."
[snip]
Some of the teenagers said they didn't know she was coming, but were glad to see her when she walked in.
"She was very comfortable. She talked to everybody as if she knew them," Elizabeth Carballo, 16, said after the first lady had departed in her motorcade.
Marvin Hernandez, also 16, said the visit shows Mrs. Obama wants to take the initiative.
"She wants to hear from us. And that our voices will be heard," he said.
Before the give-and-take with the teenagers, Mrs. Obama abandoned her chair and sat down on a purple rug in the center's day-care room to read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" with a group of nine toddlers.
"Hello, little people. What's going on," she said as she entered the room. "First of all my name is Michelle and I'm married to the president of the United States. Do you know his name?"
"Barack Obama," shouted 5-year-old Anais Ngako.
. Both Obamas want to be a part of the community.
I love that they are not going to just forget that they are in OUR House to do OUR business. On their first day in the White House they opened it up to the public and plan to continue to do so through his term.
Anywhoo, here's a slideshow of both Obama's getting out and being with the regular people they both seem to love so much (from pre-and post-presidency):
And a really cute video of them visiting an elementary school a couple of weeks ago: