The Obama Diary

President Barack Obama blows a kiss to Oren Baer, son of Ken Baer, the departing Associate Director for Communications and Strategic Planning at OMB, during a visit to the Oval Office, July 12, 2012. Baer’s daughter, Avital, and wife, Caron Gremont, watch at left. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

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CBS: President Obama’s biggest mistake during his first term, he told CBS News in an exclusive interview, has been putting policy over storytelling.

Mr. Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama sat down Thursday with “CBS This Morning” anchor Charlie Rose in the White House Blue Room, where they discussed the failures and successes of his administration as he heads into another election, among other things.

“When I think about what we’ve done well and what we haven’t done well,” the president said, “the mistake of my first term - couple of years - was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that’s important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times.”

…. For more of the interview with President and Mrs. Obama, watch “CBS Sunday Morning” this Sunday, July 15, and “CBS This Morning” on Monday, July 16.

More here

If the video isn’t ‘viewable’ in your country, you can see it at the link above

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Robin Wells (The Guardian): “Too much money” sounds like an oxymoron, especially when applied to American politics. But in the last week, Republicans are beginning to learn that lots of money can have its downside. Thursday’s story that Romney may have actively directed Bain Capital three years longer than he claimed – a period in which Bain Capital-managed companies experienced bankruptcies and layoffs – caps what must be the worst weekly news cycle of any modern American presidential candidate. From images of corporate raiding, to luxury speedboats, to offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands, to mega-mansions in the Hamptons, this week’s stories suggest that the candidacy of Mitt Romney – poster-boy for the symbiotic relationship between big money and the modern Republican party – is in serious trouble.

More here

Paul Krugman: ….After all the whining over “class warfare”, the GOP has more or less forced an election that really is about the very rich versus everyone else - and the Romney supporters are so insulated by their wealth that they can’t even see the problem.

…. I agree with Robin that Romney is in very serious trouble. Think of the pattern that’s accumulating: the obfuscation over the Bain record on jobs, outsourcing, and all that, the mysterious offshore accounts (and the magical $100 million IRA), the stonewalling on past tax records, and now his insistence that he was no longer working at a company that continued to list him as CEO and pay him lots of money.

….I suspect that the honesty thing will finally gain traction …. This could be famous last words, but it looks to me as if Romney is in the process of getting defined - and his party won’t like the results.

More here

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Cagle

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Charles Pierce: This may horrify some editors at Politico, but Willard Romney really is demonstrably more comfortable around white people. The way you know that is that yesterday, after using the NAACP convention as set decoration for a feed-the-base photo op, he went on to Montana and said the following:

…. I had the privilege of speaking today at the NAACP convention and I gave them the same speech I am giving you …. When I mentioned I am going to get rid of Obamacare they weren’t happy … That’s ok, I want people to know what I stand for and if I don’t stand for what they want, go vote for someone else, that’s just fine. But I hope people understand this, your friends who like Obamacare, you remind them of this, if they want more stuff from government tell them to go vote for the other guy-more free stuff. But don’t forget nothing is really free.

….. he remains a singularly remarkable liar. He didn’t say anything of the sort to the NAACP, because he needed booing to charge up his base …. what he, in the full flush of his god-kissed whiteness, refers to as “Obamacare” is not “more free stuff.” Isn’t the entire conservative case against the Affordable Care Act the fact that the government is forcing you to “buy” a product…..

Full post here

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Cagle

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President Obama with the McLaughlin Family, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, July 10 (OFA Flickr)

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Friday:

9:40: President Obama departs the White House

10:40: Arrives in Norfolk, Virginia

12:55: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach

2:40: Departs Norfolk, Virginia en route Hampton, Virginia

3:05: Arrives in Hampton

4:25: Delivers remarks at a campaign event at Phoebus High School, Hampton

5:30: Departs Hampton, Virginia en route Roanoke, Virginia

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Evening all - that was a rather splendid day ;-)