Politics. On Point.

I couldn't help be proud of the First Lady's mentoring efforts that not only include her own, but her inclusion of other successful women as well, to assist young women and girls on the journey to adulthood.   Last night more than twelve women came together to mentor and share their successes and challenges during a White House ceremony in honor of Women's History month. Said First Lady Michelle:  "They found what they were put on this Earth to do, and they realized that it didn’t matter whether they got rich or famous doing it, whether they won any kind of award for it.  What mattered was that they were doing what they loved doing.  And that's key to you, young women.  You want to be good at stuff, but you’re good at stuff that you care about and you love.  So think about that as you move forward.  What mattered was that they were true to what was inside of them." The First Lady also spent the day at Ballou High School speakin...

Bisnow , DC's resident everything business experts, is reporting that the site of the Chinese Embassy at 2300 Connecticut Ave, NW will be torn down early next year to be rebuilt to house 160 residences for its 180 staff (the largest embassy roster here). Buildings at 2300 Connecticut Ave., and 2312 Conn. will come down to make room. China bought the building in the mid ’70s (it was originally a hotel) when Nixon re-established diplomatic relations with China. Chris Collins of Holland &Knight's who reportedly worked on the deal, says the embassy hasn't selected a developer yet. The DC architecture firm Esocoff & Associates is handling design. The firm has worked with over 50 embassies where they have the experience usually building or expanding office space, but not so much with multifamily units. The new building, hoping to be delivered by 2014 will be secure and environmentally friendly, will be set to provide staff housing in one l...

A fitting tribute to Ron Brown , former Commerce Secretary, as he gets a Washington, DC street named after him. The street, located between Constitution and Pennsylvania avenues at 14th Street NW, near the White House, is named Ron Brown Way . Brown served as Commerce Secretary from 1993-96. The honor comes some 15 years to the month when an Air Force plane crashed into a Croatia mountainside killing Brown in April, 1996. His son, Michael Brown , serves as DC's councilman. Gary Locke is the outgoing Secretary of Commerce, appointed by President Barack Obama.  Locke has since been named Ambassador to China to replace 2012 presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Related Brown's death suspicious Brown on Arlington Cemetery web site ** Updat e ** President Obama speaks about the legacy of Ron Brown as he dedicates the Ronald H. Brown United States Mission to the United Nations Building in New York, NY.  ( Video ).

Vice President Biden, attending an event for Senator Bill Nelson , made the following remarks at a lunchtime fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s 2012 re-election campaign. Items he spoke on include updating and renewing our infrastructure. “No business is going to build its own ports, its own runways, its own broadband networks. None are able to that,” Biden said. “The government provides seed money. That’s how we built the transcontinental railroad. That’s how we got the Internet", said Biden. "That’s why Sen. Nelson and I both thought the high-speed rail made sense.” As you know, not everyone is in agreement of the Obama Administration's vision of creating modern, faster rail options.  The state's republican governor, Rick Scott rejected the $2.4b in federal funds offered to Florida for such use, saying the project would lose money and become a state liability. Biden said the administration’s strategy is to address the national debt long-term, and s...

We've tackled, and we've heard stories about this issue before.   Has President Obama done enough for the Black agenda?   Is President Obama Black enough?   Has the President forgotten about the African Americans who helped propel him into the White House? I can't help remember the answer Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius gave on 'Washington Watch' featuring Roland Martin when she was asked whether or not anything is being done specifically for African Americans to have better health care optiions.  [African Americans are reported as having the highest rate of certain kinds health care issues of any other race, and are also the least likely to receive the same quality health care treatment and options as whites.] Sebelius answered, "There are no provisions in place for African Americans in health care", and "No talks are on the table geared specifically for African Americans." Her answer has haunted me ev...

Pool report from Politico's Abby Phillip. Vice President Joe Biden arrived at the Japanese Embassy in Washington at 11:14 am for an unannounced visit.   Biden was greeted at the door by Japan's Ambassador to the U.S. Ichiro Fujisaki and other embassy personnel. He signed the book of condolences in the Old Residence of the Embassy at a small table in the center of the room next to a single Japanese flag. The book is the same one President Obama signed when he visited last week. The room is otherwise empty save for a handful of flower bouquets and cards delivered to the embassy from a group of local children. One reads "There is hope," and others have hand drawn images of flowers. Biden sat writing his message at the table for three minutes before getting to inspect the cards. He picked up one that read “We are thinking of you.” “Mr. Vice President, this is from a nearby school,” Fujisaki told Biden as he inspected the flowers and cards. Biden turned to th...

Today, the White House is announcing an Easter Egg Roll Poster Contest for local school children. The First Lady will be selecting the winning design, which will serve as the official 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll poster. The White House invites all elementary and middle school students in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia to submit poster designs by Monday, April 4th at 11:59pm EST for consideration. The poster design selected by the First Lady will be used as part of the White House 2011 Easter Egg Roll program. The winning student artist will be invited to attend the event, along with his or her class. Students from the Washington, D.C. area have had a special relationship with the White House Easter Egg Roll for generations. In the early 1800s, local children rolled eggs on the Capitol Steps the day after Easter. In 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes invited D.C. area children to roll their Easter eggs on the White House lawn and a tradition was born, growi...

You have to wonder why this event couldn't have taken place when the current President of the United States, Barack Obama, was able to attend. After all, the event boasted all of the living presidents (Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and the two Bush presidents), except Barack Obama. Couldn't the event, or the President's travel plans to South America, have been better scheduled so that all of the Presidents - past and present - could be in the same company honoring George H.W. Bush at the same time? One one hand, it looks like your friends threw a party, but they didn't even bother to invite you. Honoree George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara are surrounded by former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, and George W. and Laura Bush, plus Kennedy Center board chair David and Alice Rubenstein. On the other hand, one could make the case that on the day George H.W. Bush was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House with a Medal of F...

Receive Warm Welcome   "The presence amongst us of Michelle Obama, Malia and Sasha, and of an important delegation with the authorities of the Cabinet, politicians and businessmen and women reinforce the spirit of friendship that we gather here. "  -   President Rousseff of Brazil  at Official toast and luncheon. President Rousseff points out many 'firsts', and similarities, during the Obama's visit to Brazil. "As I said today in the morning, it is a fact that we should celebrate that the first woman President of Brazil will receive today and host the first President Afro descent of the United States of America. (Applause.) And this is even more important and has a greater significance when we remember that the U.S. and Brazil are the two countries that has the largest black population outside Africa. Our countries have common traits to deepen our affinities amongst our peoples, to make our friendship ties even closer and more meaningful and everlast...

The First Family will travel March 19-23rd to Brazil , Chile and El Salvador where the President will meet with the leaders and speak to the peoples of these countries to discuss a broad range of issues including economic prosperity and job creation through increased trade and partnerships, energy and security cooperation, shared values and other issues of regional and global concern.  The trip will provide an opportunity to engage key bilateral partners, to highlight the President’s engagement with the hemisphere, and to advance our efforts to work as equal partners to address the basic challenges facing the people of the Americas.  The visit will include events in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago and San Salvador. Just as the President's official visit to the Latin American countries is set to begin, he is featured a USA Today op-ed piece entitled: Jobs At Top of Latin America Agenda . --- Op-Ed Piece USA Today | March 18, 2011 | By Barack Obama ...

Vice President Biden Scheduled to Celebrate The One-Year Anniversary With Visit To Delaware High School On Monday, March 21st, nearly a year after the U.S. Department of Education announced that Delaware was awarded over $100 million in Race to the Top funding, Vice President Biden will visit Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, Delaware, with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. As one of the first four schools in Delaware to receive Race to the Top assistance, Howard High School has made significant progress, launching a transformation plan that will be fully implemented in the 2011-2012 school year. The Vice President and Secretary Duncan will highlight key areas of Race to the Top achievement at Howard High School and across the state, as well as the success of teacher collaboration in Delaware. They will also discuss how winning the future in education will continue to require investments that promote a shared responsibility among everyone involved; reform at the ...

The Vice President announced today that Shailagh Murray will serve as his Communications Director, starting in April. Murray succeeds Jay Carney, who was appointed by the President to be the White House Press Secretary. Murray comes to the Vice President’s office as a veteran journalist, most recently at the Washington Post. “Shailagh’s years of experience covering a broad array of issues ranging from domestic policy to foreign affairs make her uniquely positioned to lead our communications team", Vice President Biden said. "She is as well-respected among her peers as she is versed in the serious issues facing our nation and the world. Her leadership and counsel will be invaluable to me, and to the entire administration.” Shailagh Murray became a Capitol Hill correspondent for the Washington Post in 2005. She has written extensively about fiscal policy, health care reform, and national security issues, including the Iraq war debate, while also covering the 2006, 2008 and...

DC Mayor, Vincent C. Gray  along with  Kwame Brown,   Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia received awards last evening at the 39th Annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Memorial Gala presented by the National Urban League . This year’s platform introduced the idea of celebrating Washington, DC’s diverse population, as a united community with the theme, “ YOU, ME, WE….DC!”   Both men have been embattled in a series of alleged wrong doings ranging from questionable hiring practices to misuse of city-owned vehicles .   Mayor Gray, who campaigned under the phrase "One DC", has come under fire for his hiring practices that included one Sulaimon Brown, who allegedly was paid handsomely to discredit former Mayor Adrian Fenty during Gray's mayoral campaign. In another staffing shakeup, Geri Mason Hall resigned as Gray's Chief of Staff.  Hall was replaced by Paul Quander on an interim basis. About the Whitney M. Young, Jr...

CEO of the financial services firm Mesirow Financial , James Tyree,  passed this week.  He was 53. "Michelle and I were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jim Tyree. Jim was a quintessential Chicagoan, a South Side kid from humble roots who worked his way to the top but never left the city behind", said President Obama in a statement. Tyree, who had received a double-organ transplant, lost his battle with stomach cancer.  He was surrounded by his family at the time of his death. "He was beloved for what he gave back to the city that gave him so much. From his work with non-profit organizations, to his service on the board of the University of Chicago Medical Center, to his role in giving the Sun Times a new lease on life. He will be sorely missed, but never forgotten", continued President Obama. James Tyree joined Mesirow Financial in 1980 after graduating with an MBA from Illinois State University. In 1994, he became the firm's CEO. D...

President Obama made an unnounced visit to the Embassy of Japan today where he signed a condolence book. In it he wrote: "My heart goes out to the people of Japan during this enormous tragedy. Please know that America will always stand by one of its greatest allies during this time of need. Because of the strength and wisdom of its people, we know that Japan will recover, and indeed will emerge stronger than ever. And as it recovers, the memory of those who have been lost will remain in our hearts, and will serve only to strengthen the relationship between our two countries. May God bless the people of Japan." He signed his name and wrote "March 2011" after his signature. He announced that the gesture was to to communicate how "heartbroken," America is over the tragedy. An 8.9 magnitude earthquake with aftershocks hit off the coast of Japan on March 11 at 2:46pm JST, setting off a devastating tsunami reaching miles inland. "We are doing eve...

"We Need to Help Every Child Get Ahead." - President Barack Obama The President spoke to a group of students at Kenmore Middle School  in Arlington, Va on Monday where he stressed the need for every child in America to have a healthy educational start that involves not only the teacher, but the parents.  [And, I might add, not only the parents, but the teacher, as the process works both ways]. "What works for any school is a high level of involvement by both parents and teachers. Technology is great but the level of involvement by parents and teachers make great schools. The plan should be how to get parents move involved in their children's education." The President also outlined reforms in legislation that will ensure America doesn't leave any child behind, yet but that America help every student get ahead using the following measures: A flexible and focused accountability system that promotes shared responsibility, college and career r...

Peter King's (R-NY) (above) Muslim Radicalization Hearin g being held today to foster communication about the controversial Muslim faith, was full of emotion of those who testified. Among them, Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison. Watch the video here . The hearing continued to be a source of hot topic debate with both sides showing the pros and cons of the religious faith.   On one side the subject of Muslims is "the big elephant in the room", as stated by Melvin Bledsoe who's son was converted to the Muslim faith. He said Americans should become more aware of the homegrown terrorist Muslim groups. On the complete opposite side of the spectrum Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), called the profiling of Muslim Americans "an outrage".  On yesterday at the National Press Club in Washington, DC a response was held by those of the Muslim faith, in response to prior to King's hearing. -- Live video feed .

Watch live here . | New launch:  See a bully.  Stop a bully. | MTV , the Cartoon Network get on board to help stop the epidemic of bullying. (White House Official Release). Today, the President and First Lady called for a united effort to address bullying at the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention. Approximately 150 students, parents, teachers, non-profit leaders, advocates, and policymakers came together to discuss how they can work together to make our schools and communities safe for all students. “If there’s one goal of this conference, it’s to dispel the myth that bullying is just a harmless rite of passage or an inevitable part of growing up. It’s not,” said President Obama. “Bullying can have destructive consequences for our young people. And it’s not something we have to accept. As parents and students; teachers and communities, we can take steps that will help prevent bullying and create a climate in our schools in which all of our children can fee...

Gary Locke, former White House Secretary of Commerce, has been nominated by the President as U.S. ambassador to China. Locke replaces former Utah governor  Jon Huntsman, who has stepped down to (wait for it) possibly challenge President Obama in the 2012 presidential race. Locke was the first Chinese-American governor and should the Senate approve his nomination, would the be first Chinese-American ambassador to China.  He is a partner in the Seattle office of the law firm Davis Wright Tremaine which lists China as one of its specialties. "Gary has distinguished himself as one of our nation’s most respected and admired public servants.  As our country’s first Chinese-American governor, he worked tirelessly to attract jobs and businesses to Washington State, and he doubled exports to China", said President Obama during this morning's announcement. "He’s been a point person for my National Export Initiative, and last year, Gary’s depa...

While the Republicans offer a different take on the controversial H.R. 1 topic, the White House makes their stance known, reiterating its position in a statement today: The Administration strongly opposes Senate passage of H.R. 1, making appropriations for the Department of  Defense and the other departments and agencies of the Government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, and for other purposes. As stated previously, the Administration is committed to cutting spending and reducing the deficit so that current Government spending does not add to the debt, and has put forward a plan to do just that. However, the Administration does not support deep cuts that will undermine our ability to out-educate, out-build, and out-innovate the rest of the world. The unbalanced bill would undermine the Nation’s economic recovery and its ability to succeed in a complex global environment. If the President is presented with a bill that undermines critical priorities or n...

"We've Come A Long Way, Ladies!" It's been one year to the day since we started covering the First Lady here on Politics On Point .  Our very first moment with the First Lady was March 9th, 2010 when the First Lady donated her inaugural gown to the  Smithsonian 's First Ladies Collection.  ( Click here  for our coverage). Over the past year, we have been honored to continue to follow our First Lady and watch the magnificent strides she has taken - from her Let's Move ! campaign (which we are so happy about), to her work with military families, to her work with students in our area, to honoring women around the world during this year's Women's History Month . "These are women who work tirelessly, all of you, every day, to make not just countries more fair, more equal and more free, but often many of these women risk themselves and their families to get this work done", said Mrs. Obama. "And tonight, I just want to say to all of y...

As we reported earlier , the Bidens are traveling to Helsinki, Finland, Monrovia and Russia this week. Here's an account of their first day in Helsinki by White House press pool team member Jonathan Weisman: At 6:35 pm, motorcade rolled from the Hilton to the Esplanade in the center of Helsinki, where VPOTUS, Dr. Jill Biden and Finnegan made a beeline for Marimekko, the famous Finnish design store. Finnegan (the Biden's grandchild) and Dr. Jill were drawn to black Converse basketball shoes covered in tear-dropped shaped, interlocking white loops. The VPOTUS wandered aimlessly like most men do in such shopping occasions, but he did express some skepticism about said shoes."These are Cons," he told your pooler with a shrug. He used to play basketball in the same canvas shoe, not with such a design. "I'm not sure if she wants to go on the court in that but", said Vice President Biden.  Finnegan appeared to be going for the low-tops, but no word ...

Former secretary of state and retired Gen. Colin Powell received the President's Award at the 42nd annual NAACP Image Awards. The prestigious award was presented by NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous in recognition of Powell's special achievements and distinguished public service. "General Colin Powell has led an extraordinary life of public service," said Jealous in a statement. "As the first African American to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and later the first to serve as Secretary of State, General Powell holds a unique place in American history. He is a man of conscience and conviction, who uses his vast influence to promote education and self esteem to our country's youth. Although his position on the Iraq War was controversial, he was often the voice of reason in the prosecution of that war. He rose from humble roots as the son of Jamaican immigrants to become a distinguished military leader, a statesman, a humanitarian...