Politics. On Point.

Our First Lady, Michelle Obama, continues to stay busy.  In this episode of 'Keeping of With The First Lady' we've highlighted some of the activities she's participated this week, as well as give you a peek inside her upcoming schedule. For starters, the First Lady made a cameo appearance in an edition of Extreme Makeover : Home Edition that aired last evening. Next we find her looking fabulous at this year's Congressional Black Caucus Phoenix Awards Dinner on Saturday evening.    Read below for these events, and more. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition First Lady Michelle Obama traveled to Fayetteville, North Carolina to join Extreme Makeover: Home Edition as they build a dream home for an African American woman veteran, Barbara Marshall and her family. Barbara Marshal had a 15 year career in the Navy but her service to her country didn't stop there. Marshall went on to combat homelessness among female veterans and military families in the Fayetteville ...

Canceling his scheduled event at US Interstate Moving Services for today, President Obama instead flew to Dover Air Force Base to attend the return of the bodies of 30 U.S. servicemen killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Saturday. President Obama arriving at Dover Air Force Base. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster The dead servicemen included 22 Navy SEALs. Most were members of SEAL Team 6, the counterterrorism unit that carried out the mission to find Osama BinLaden. None of those involved in the Bin Laden raid were among the dead Saturday, U.S. officials have said. The remains were returned to Dover in "unidentified" stautus until they are positively indentified by the Armed Forces Mortuary Affairs Office. The Chinook helicopter crashed in the remote Tangi valley of Eastern Afghanistan. U.S. officials have said it was probably caused by insurgents firing a rocket-propelled grenade. The president had not announced publicly that he would visit Dover. As mentio...

I probably shouldn't write this, but many say I favor First Lady Michelle Obama (just a tad).  I can't tell you how many times, no matter where I am, I've received that remark.  (I should really call it a compliment to be compared to someone as fabulous as our First Lady). Now, thanks to Margina Graham Parker , author of the children's book, 'I Am Michelle Obama: The  First Lady', girls around the world can see themselves being just like our First Lady. The cover of the book depicts a young, African American girl looking in the mirror at herself and seeing First Lady Michelle Obama. In an interview with AMEZion.org Parker explained how the book came to be. “This book started out as a poem", said Parker. "I was on my way to work one when the words hit me. I was so overwhelmed I had to pull the car over to write the words down. Each stanza is a glimpse of the accomplished life of our First Lady, presented in a rhythm that ...

This week, the First Lady, daughters Sasha and Malia, First Mom Mrs. Robinson, and family members and friends are in South Africa for the First Lady's mission to inspire, educate and uplift the young people of South Africa.  First Lady Michelle Obama with daughters Malia and Sasha at the home of former South African president Nelson Mandela. The president remarked earlier this year that Africa "is a fundamental part of our interconnected world.  And when it comes to the defining challenges of our times: creating jobs in our global economy, promoting democracy and development, confronting climate change, extremism, poverty and disease -- for all this, the world is looking to Africa as a vital partner". The First Lady met Tuesday with former South African president Nelson Mandela at his home.  The meeting is being called historic as it represents Mr. Mandela, 92, an iconic symbol of the country's fight against apartheid, and First Lady Michelle Obama, wif...

President Obama appointed Vice President Biden to look into areas of "unacceptable" government spending. In an email that went out to supporters yesterday titled, There's A New Sheriff In Town , Vice President Biden writes... Did you know that the government spends millions to maintain buildings that have sat vacant for years? Or that your tax dollars pay to needlessly ship copies of the Federal Register to thousands of government offices across the country even though the same information is available online? And I bet you didn't know that your tax dollars pay for a website dedicated to the Desert Tortoise. I'm sure it's a wonderful species, but we can't afford to have a standalone site devoted to every member of the animal kingdom. It's just one of hundreds of government websites that should be consolidated or eliminated. This kind of waste is just unacceptable. Particularly at a time when we’re facing tough decisions about reducing our defic...

The President and Mrs. Obama welcomed Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany to the White House yesterday with an official arrival ceremony to kick off her visit to Washington, the first ever for a female head of state. After lunches and meetings, the two leaders held a joint press conference in the East Room of the  White House where they remarked on the binding ties between the two nations. President Obama and Chancellor Merkel field questions from the media during a joint press conference. Photo/CD Brown. “We see our partnership in the courage of our service members who stand shoulder to shoulder in Afghanistan, where Germans serve under Americans and Americans serve under Germans” He thanked Chancellor Merkel and the Germans for what he called their “strong commitment” to their service, adding, “We remember and honor them all." Both the President and Chancellor expressed their agreement on Qaddafi being removed from his post....

Ford’s Theatre Society will host its annual gala on Sunday, June 5, 2011, at Ford’s Theatre (511 10th Street NW) followed by a seated dinner at the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum (750 Ninth Street NW). The evening will include the presentation of the Lincoln Medal to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Julie Andrews, whose extraordinary careers and commitment to education, understanding and equality exemplify the character and lasting legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. The evening’s events will begin at Ford’s Theatre, where a special evening performance titled Lincoln’s Legacy and a New Era of Hope celebrates the enduring light that Abraham Lincoln’s life provides our country. Performance highlights include appearances by Michael Arden, Scott Bakula, Avery Brooks, Christopher B. Corrigan, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeremy Gumbs, Joshua Henry, Kellee Knighten Hough, Kevin McAllister, Michael McElroy, Anika Noni Rose, David Selby, Michael Urie and Liberty Smith cast m...

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...

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...

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was met with favor today as she visits the White House to meet with President Obama. The President and Prime Minister will discuss the strong ties between the United States and Australia, their shared political and economic interests in the Asia political and economic interests in the Asia Pacific region, and our work together around the world, including in Afghanistan and as members of APEC and the G20. During their meeting today in the Oval Office with the media President Obama began by expressing condolences for those families affected by recent floods in the area.  The President commended Prime Minister Gillard and her government and all the personnel who were involved for their timely response, and reiterated the support of the U.S. to the Australian people. The President mentioned his upcoming plans to travel to Asia for the East Asia summit, citing the Australian and U.S. shared interest in trade in the Pacific region. T...

President Obama awarded twenty honorees in the East Room of the White House today, in a ceremony that saw two honorees missing in action.    Ella Boff accepts the honor for Jacobs Pillow Dance Fest. Photo/CD Brown.  While actress Meryl Streep, and author of To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee did not attend, those honorees in attendance had no problem proudly strutting on stage to receive their coveted honor. Among the 2010 National Medal of Arts honorees: Quincy Jones (musician, composer, record producer, and arranger, lauded as music's master inventor); Robert Brustein (critic, producer, playwright, educator, and founder of the Yale Repertory Theatre);  Van Cliburn , pianist and winner of  the1958 victory at the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow; Mark di Suvero (sculptor and abstract expressionist); influential jazz musician, Sonny Rollins (post-bebop jazz musician influencing generations of musicians for over 50 years); P...

The following op-ed, penned by Dr. Jill Biden, was published today in the Philadelphia Inquirer: Harnessing Community Colleges I have been a teacher for more than 30 years and a community college instructor for the last 18 of them. Every day in my classroom, I see the power of community colleges to change lives and put students on the path to opportunity and success. Community colleges are uniquely American institutions, in which anyone who walks through the door is one step closer to realizing the American dream. And they will play a vital role in the nation's economic recovery. President Obama understands the critical role community colleges will play in getting the economy back on track. They are the key to meeting his goal of making America's workforce the best educated and most competitive in the world by 2020. Last October, the president asked me to convene a summit of community college leaders at the White House, where students, faculty, administrators, and bu...

President Obama remarked once again on the current events happening in Libya. Said President Obama, "The Libyan government’s continued violation of human rights, brutalization of its people, and outrageous threats have rightly drawn the strong and broad condemnation of the international community. By any measure, Muammar el-Qaddafi’s government has violated international norms and common decency and must be held accountable. These sanctions therefore target the Qaddafi government, while protecting the assets that belong to the people of Libya." Obama spoke earlier today with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, to discuss the situation in Libya and coordinate efforts to respond to developments and ensure appropriate accountability. The President stated that "when a leader’s only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving now." Going forward,...