Politics. On Point.

Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell Not even 6 months into his newly appointed office, Virginia governor Bob McDonnell is apologizing. No, he isn't embroiled in a sex scandal (at least not yet).  No he didn't misappropriate campaign funds (at least none that we know of).  What he did (or rather didn't do) was not mention slavery as he issued a proclamation designating the month of April as Confederate History Month. This is how Conferderate History Month is described, according to Wikipedia . " Confederate History Month  is a month annually designated by several state governments in the Southern United States for the purpose of recognizing and honoring the history of the Confederate States of America. The month is especially designed to celebrate what Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens famously described as a "new government . . . founded upon exactly the opposite idea [from that of the United States in 1776]; its foundations are laid, ...

President Obama's remarks after signing of the 'New Start' Treaty Signing Ceremony earlier today in Prague with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev. Good afternoon, everyone. I am honored to be back here in the Czech Republic with President Medvedev and our Czech hosts to mark this historic completion of the New START treaty. Let me begin by saying how happy I am to be back in the beautiful city of Prague. The Czech Republic, of course, is a close friend and ally of the United States, and I have great admiration and affection for the Czech people. Their bonds with the American people are deep and enduring, and Czechs have made great contributions to the United States over many decades -- including in my hometown of Chicago. I want to thank the President and all those involved in helping to host this extraordinary event. I want to thank my friend and partner, Dmitry Medvedev. Without his personal efforts and strong leadership, we would not be here today. We’ve met and sp...

Earlier this week the First Lady held a town hall style event in the State Dining Room of the White House where she discussed childhood health and to further her stand to combat childhood obesity. The youngsters were invited to ask questions on the subject, and one very important question did come up. What exactly is ' obesity '? Mrs. Obama gives her take at explaining the term to a youngster seated in the rear of the room. "Yes, yes. Well, it is a pretty big word, but I think it -- you know, just to make it simple, it’s when people’s weight gets higher than it should be. And there are very scientific measurements for it. Something called Body Mass Index is what a lot of doctors try to measure. But as you grow, your weight and your height should remain fairly consistent, but people’s Body Mass Index really varies. So there’s no one right weight or height to be", continued Mrs. Obama. "If you look in my whole family, we’ve got people who are 6’6” and pe...

President Obama remarks after visiting Prague. "First, and for the first time, preventing nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism is now at the top of America’s nuclear agenda, which affirms the central importance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We have aligned our policies and proposed major funding increases for programs to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons around the world. Our nuclear security summit next week will be an opportunity for 47 nations to commit to specific steps to pursue the goal of securing all vulnerable nuclear materials around the world within four years. And next month in New York, we will work with the wider world to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime to ensure that all nations uphold their responsibilities", said Obama. On Wednesday Vice President, Joe Biden wrote in an op-ed piece for the Los Angeles Times supporting the president's "strategy". "This new strategy, a sharp departure from previous ...

The President threw the ceremonial first pitch today at the Washington Nationals ' home opener. The pitch was a bit high and off the mark to which the president replied, "This is heartbreaking, right here." President Obama is the 13th president to throw the ceremonial first pitch before a Washington baseball team game opener, and it wasn't just his pitch that went awry. The Nationals' season opener didn't fare any better and was just as 'heartbreaking' as the team fell to  got whooped by the Phillies 11-1.

Kids frolic and play at the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll. Roughly 30,000 people from all 50 states and DC came to the White House today for the annual Easter Egg Roll. This year’s theme is Ready, Set, Go!, following the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative – a national effort to combat childhood obesity. Various stages were set up along the South Lawn of the White House with various activities like sports (yoga, football, basketball, tennis), gardening and dancing  - all to promote healthy and active living. "Today we have transformed the South Lawn into a playground. And our hope today is that in addition to having fun and doing some of the traditional activities like the egg roll and the Easter egg hunt, that you can learn about beginning to live a more healthy life", said Mrs. Obama. There was Rock ‘n’ Egg Roll Stage that featured live music with performances by Sara Bareilles, Justin Bieber, the cast of TV show Glee, Yo Gabba Gabba, Sesam...

President Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 expanding educational opportunity for America’s students and families. Points of the legislation include larger pell grants , more stable funding for Pell Grants , increased support for Minority Serving Institutions to include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).   These institutions are particularly hard hit. They account for nearly one-third of all degree-granting institutions and enroll nearly sixty percent of the 4.7 million minority undergraduates in our nation today. They do more with less and enroll higher proportions of low- and middle-income students. The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act provides $2.55 billion in mandatory funding for these institutions – dollars that can be used to renew, reform, and expand programming to ensure that students at these colleges and universities are given every chance to rise to their full potential. The bill also makes r...