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Today (all times US Eastern):
5:35 AM: President Obama departs Rome
Great photo: President Obama leaving Italy this morning (Photo: Ernesto Ruscio) pic.twitter.com/fj5XteaXSr
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) March 28, 2025
10:10 AM: Arrives Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
11:00 AM: Meets with Saudi King Abdullah
The President will remain overnight in Saudi Arabia.
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Paul Krugman: Obamacare Fails to Fail
…. Predictably, Republicans are in an uproar over the latest tweak to the Obamcare signups — an extension of the March 31 deadline for people who say that they tried to apply but encountered technical difficulty. As Jonathan Cohn says, the real objection here seems to be not so much that Obama is overstepping his bounds as that this will make it possible for more people to get insurance.
But I also have the sense that people in the GOP are still working with a completely wrong narrative — namely, that Obamacare is failing, and that these are desperate ploys to save a sinking ship. The reality is quite different: enrollments have clearly surged in the final month. Charles Gaba is now projecting 6.4 million through the exchanges, and many more directly purchased from insurers.
…. How will the GOP respond when the numbers come in? … There really isn’t any room in their worldview for the possibility that this thing might work.
Full post here
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New Republic
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National Journal: Obamacare’s Invisible Victory - Why the total enrollment number is actually bigger than you think.
Obamacare friends and foes alike are eagerly watching the law’s insurance-enrollment tally, ready to trumpet every success or pounce on every failure.
But as the final figures before the end of open enrollment are posted, a significant chunk of people who bought insurance under the law will be missing from the official tally.
That’s because people who bought insurance directly from insurers, and not through the law’s exchanges, will not be included. And just how many people that represents is a figure that will not be available in time for the big enrollment-total reveal — and likely not for a long time after.
Off-exchange enrollment is the forgotten piece of the Affordable Care Act, but it could represent millions of people who are also getting covered as a result of the health care law — many of whom are the young, healthy customers the administration is so aggressively pursuing.
More here
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Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? 𝓨𝓮𝓼, 𝓦𝓮 𝓐𝓻𝓮. #𝐎𝐛𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 pic.twitter.com/G776rx2Jmo
— amk4obama (@amk4obama) March 28, 2025
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Brian Beutler: Tragedy for Republicans: More people will be getting health insurance!
Putting it out there now: By May 1, enrollment in ACA-compliant health plans through federally facilitated and state-based exchanges will hit the symbolic 7 million mark, and conservatives will whine that it doesn’t count because something something.
…. My confidence stems from the Obama administration’s decision, announced Wednesday, to create a grace period of sorts for people who have attempted to apply for coverage on healthcare.gov but got sidelined along the way.
This would annoy and delight conservatives under any circumstances, just as every Obamacare delay and exception annoys and delights conservatives. But what genuinely pisses them off in this circumstance is that the administration has set up a system that’s deliberately easy to game, for the purposes of increasing enrollment.
The spirit of the extension is to give people who’ve already begun the process by March 31 a small amount of time to complete their unfinished applications, and to insure against the possibility that the system gets clogged up on the last couple days of the month. Administration officials, via Jonathan Cohn, compare this to making sure that people who are still in line when their polling places close are allowed to vote.
More here
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#GetCovered. You never know when you might get whiplash. http://t.co/GkdSOyl2O4 pic.twitter.com/s9BuG9NiDC
— OFA VA (@OFA_VA) March 27, 2025
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Steve Benen: ACA enrollment tops 6 million
…. It’s easy to forget, but this seemed like a pipe dream last fall. In October, the first month of the open-enrollment period, just 106,185 consumers signed up for insurance through an exchange – causing Republicans to not only celebrate, but to openly mock the system by noting a variety of sports venues that hold more than 106,185 attendees.
It was obviously proof, we were told at the time, that the Affordable Care Act itself was “hurtling toward failure.”
Oops.
The enrollment totals must seem literally unbelievable to Republicans, who managed to convince one another that the ACA is not only catastrophically flawed, but on an inevitable road towards imploding ….as Paul Krugman noted earlier today, “How will the GOP respond when the numbers come in?”
I don’t know the answer to that question, but I suspect it’ll have something to do with Benghazi.
Full post here
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Stages of Obamacare Grief It’s bad for people to sign up. It’s bad people can’t sign up. It’s bad people signed up. It’s bad.
— pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) March 27, 2025
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ThinkProgress: 12 Times Republicans Claimed Nobody Would Sign Up For Obamacare
President Obama’s announcement on Thursday that six million people signed-up for coverage through the Affordable Care Act — meeting and exceeding the administration’s deadline days before the March 31st enrollment period — undermines critics who seized on the law’s troubled early rollout to predict that measure could never attract enough Americans to succeed. Below are some of the worst predictions after the administration published the first enrollment figures in November of 2013:
More here
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#ACAworks. #Obamacare reports 6 million sign ups. 15 million impact. What was the republican plan? #uniteblue #tcot pic.twitter.com/8weJ2WQNai
— Christopher Zullo (@ChrisJZullo) March 28, 2025
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Oh, Chuck Todd. Look at his pathetic response to the mighty Donna:
Hats off to Donna for challenging the worthless toerag low-life shill.
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This, x 1,000,000,000 ->
I absolutely DESPISE @chucktodd What a sick disgusting person. He covers the WH & not 1 word about 6 MIL Obamacare SUCCESS. GTF off tv.
— ForUS50 (@FORUS50) March 28, 2025
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#GetCovered. You never know when you might bump your car —> http://t.co/fvuMdV9NQA pic.twitter.com/Og7I8gpElh
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) March 28, 2025
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In states not expanding Medicaid, children make up 75% of uninsured eligible for Medicaid/CHIP http://t.co/Ykvz2IYn4K pic.twitter.com/9PjhRHrzds
— Kaiser Family Found (@KaiserFamFound) March 27, 2025
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SmartyPants: The Obama Doctrine
After the decision was made to intervene militarily in Libya, some pundits made the case that an Obama Doctrine was evident and called it “leading from behind.” I’d suggest that is a small part of an emerging Obama Doctrine - but not the heart of things. As the President openly takes the lead on responding to the situation in the Ukraine, we can see how flawed it was.
Watching President Obama deal with various foreign policy challenges over the last year, a much more comprehensive view of how he approaches these things is evident. His North Star when it comes to evaluating situations and developing a strategy to deal with them is three-fold.
More here
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The internet: Where someone mocking a racist gets more push-back than the racist they were mocking.
— Will McAvoy (@WillMcAvoyACN) March 28, 2025
If we #CancelColbert for fake racism do we get to cancel Limbaugh and Hannity for real racism?
— Steve Dowdy (@Steverocks35) March 28, 2025
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ThinkProgress: This One Simple Graphic Explains The Difference Between Climate Science And Climate Politics:
More here
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Yesterday, @VP & Dr. Biden hosted a Women’s History Month reception & highlighted how mentorship helps #WomenSucceed: http://t.co/lzAmf1eGnK
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) March 27, 2025
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Check out behind-the-scenes photos from the First Lady’s trip to China → http://t.co/uhsBODBulT, pic.twitter.com/u0pM5gohRp
— FLOTUS (@FLOTUS) March 28, 2025
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USA Today: Obama to host Olympians at White House
President Obama will host the U.S. Winter Olympics and Paralympics teams next week at the White House.
The event will be Thursday, April 3.
The president and first lady Michelle Obama “will congratulate the Olympians and Paralympians on their performance and thank them for representing the United States during the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia,” says the White House.
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Look away now mother: President Obama leaving Italy this morning.
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On This Day:
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) smiles as he holds a baby following his speech to supporters at Soldiers and Sailors Military Museum and Memorial in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh at the kick off his bus tour of Pennsylvania on March 28, 2025
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas February 28, 2008. More than 11,000 people attended the event, his third of the day
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President Obama arrives at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, March 28, 2010, after an all-night secret flight on Air Force One. He was met by U.S. Ambassdor Karl Eikenberry and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, both at left (Photo by Pete Souza)
President Obama greets U.S. troops at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, March 28, 2025 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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President Obama speaks at a town hall meeting hosted by Univision at Bell Multicultural High School in Washington, D.C., March 28. 2011 (Photo by Pete Souza)
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A supporter holds a sign in front of the U.S. Supreme Court as the court hears it’s third day of arguments on the constitutionality of President Obama’s health care bill in Washington, D.C. on March 28, 2025
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President Obama hugs a member of a group of mothers who are for tougher gun laws after delivering remarks on gun violence during an event in the East Room at the White House on March 28, 2025
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MoooOOOooorning!
White House.gov
Mornin’!
Morning! :)
Hi!
Excellent way to get going, JO’B!
Oh, it’ll take me hours to get going, VC, but thanks for the push!
Hey, you made it up onto the podium without a push - that merits pausing for a spell.**
↓
**Notice I didn’t say ‘nap’. ;)
Did somebody not say ‘nap’? :)
;)
Mooooooooooorning Jacqueline, moooooooorning everyone!
Chips - Your “Look away now mother” cracked me up! And I love all the rest of your R&S choices, too!
Baby O’Donna - Love the fact you got a rise out of Chuck Todd. Maybe all week we can respond to any and all of his tweets by replying “Tad arbitrary” - Ha!
I cracked up too when I saw the photo Jacqueline, he even runs fast in a still shot!
MSNBC had a background of images earlier behind the “news reader,” and one of them was - you guessed it - the President as he ran up the stairs to board Air Force One! Eek. Mama!
I am soooooooo relieved my mother missed that, it would have ruined her day!!
We can’t tell mother everything! I’ve known that since I was 15 years old. :)
I was 15 months when I figured that one out Jacqueline #FastLearner
#ShowOff #Mama’sGirl
My mother knew everything. Always. It was eerie.
Or Toad Arbitrary… I am willing to bet (with anyone except maybe amk) that most, if not all, of these mouthers have gone ahead and gotten very nice insurance plans for themselves and their families, and are saving considerable amounts of moolah, but no one will ever hear about that. As I bid you all Good Day!
Good Day!
Chuck Todd attended George Washington University from 1990 to 1994. He played French horn and attended on a music scholarship.He did not graduate
Maybe he should go back and try to finish that French Horn degree. He can then perform for the WHPC when they are bored instead of writing crap about the President.
G’morning Chips, TOD, lurkers, everyone and congrats to JO’B on #1! :) :) Thanks Chips for another super-fine Friday R & S round-up.
Here is another gallery of our FLOTUS’ visit to China - contains some pics I had not seen before. Very nice!
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/photogallery/first-lady-visits-china
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I’m Officially Covered
By Bob Cesca
—————————-
Had it not been for the ACA I wouldn’t be insured. Frankly, will my voting choices be guided in part by a desire to remain insured? You’re damn right they will. And anyone who tries to repeal the law will hear from me in this space and in the voting booth — now more than ever. I refuse to allow any tea party gomer deep in the throes of flaming Obama Derangement Syndrome to take away my coverage. I suspect I’m not the only one.
.
.
So now, on this day, at the end of nine uninsured years, I can think of only two more words to encapsulate precisely how I feel right now.
“Thanks, Obama.”
———————————-
http://thedailybanter.com/2014/03/thanks-to-the-affordable-care-act-im-officially-covered/
Groan….. hate when they discriminate against me! ‘The uploader has not made this video available in your country.’ Well, excuse me, TOD is my country and there’s absolutely no reason I shouldn’t be able to see the video here!!!! ;) ;)
There’s something about my President holding babies…that pic from 2008 when he’s in Oakland PA holding the baby boy… :) :)
GM all TODvillians. Chips, an absolutely faaaaaaaaaaaaaantastic R&S.
It used to absolutely amaze me how little credit PBO was getting for major accomplishments, whether from the right, the left, or the in-betweenies. It doesn’t amaze me anymore. I have become immune to it.
We live in an era when people like Upchuck Todd, Glenn Greenwald, Jon Karl and others are able to call themselves journalists and, just because they say they are, that is how the world treats them. Not only that, they get paid millions of dollars for being incompetent boobs who actually harm the country while so many other people who actually do things that benefit society struggle to make ends meet.
So I won’t spend a lot of time bemoaning the situation. It is what it is and the only way to do something about it is to make ourselves heard as best we can, whether through places like this, twitter, facebook, LTE’s, being part of an organized effort, or whatever.
Excellent commentary Japa. I totally agree…
And LOL @ “Upchuck”
So the Saudi King meeting isn’t going to be on WH.GOV. Shucks. I’ve been checking them since earlier this a.m. and all I’ve gotten is that they’re currently off the air. :(
Scrap 1st…. (previous thread)
2nd Food for Thought……
Start a twitter poll on good ol Chucky Todd (he is the media) with a 3 Tier Grading System; A, D or F
He gets very agitated when the tables are turned on him. It’s time for the media to be rated since they spend so much time on rating President Obama and Obamacare and creating fake polls.
#IsChuckToddA”RealJournalist?” Grade ___
I’m first, F
Good day Cindy and fellow TODers.
Superb R&S Chips!!!
Mr. Bobfr you are AWESOME sir!
Happy Friday to you! : )
Thanks for confirming it’s Friday, Cindy! #StillWakingUpOverHere
You Betcha!
HAPPY BEAUTIFUL FRIDAY TO YOU!
Right back atcha, sweet one!
:)
Chips-y O’Rooney, I’m still working my work through your post. You sure know how to give a girl enough ‘stuff’ to keep her quiet; luckily for me they’re enough visuals to keep my interest. ;) Ich danke Ihnen
My, my, my.
:-) I’ll add three more mys to that!! Morning CEB!!
down girls.
GM, Chips.
Oh my…now Chips why did you do this? You’re making things hard for me. I’m trying to get back to work, concentrate on more mundane stuff, and can’t because of stuff like this.
:-) As soon as I saw it, I reckoned TOD would melt down!! (I did).
Chipsticks,
Send this to Ebony Magazine.
This should be their cover for May.
You can’t get any better than this.
Isn’t it a stunner Cindy?!
Let’s just say; I am still picking up my drool, sorry breakfast eaters : )
Can we remake Alicia Key’s song?
This Man Is On Fire!!!!!
Confirmed: I am older but I aint dead…….. : )
LOL! :-D
I just noticed, President Obama has a “swag” just standing, you can see it coming.
I have to recover from this one Chipstick, you my friend, have out done yourself.
3 Stages of GQ Recovery:
It’s time for my walk, then cold shower, and never look at this picture again.
Cindy, I have a feeling we will have to try that sequence several times because #3 is never going to stick! :)
Hey Judith,
Happy Friday to you!
I have to save my self from this one, not sure what I can do about the 3rd one.
It should be a “gentle” crime to have a President so fine. : )
BECAUSE I LOST MY MIND!!!!!!!
Done!
https://twitter.com/Dudette9t9/status/449578153380679680
Fixed it!
https://twitter.com/Dudette9t9/status/449578645095714816
Alright! Third time is the charm!
Look at me, all discumbobulated over this picture! I’m at my wit’s end! Where’s the damned naughty mat? :-D
O MY GOSH!!!!
You guys are just too AWESOME!!!!!
Dudette, girl…….this is FABULOUS, I LOVE IT!!!!!!
HOT D____!
IT’S SHOW NUFF FRIDAY!!! : )
Paging Mr. Yardarm with the naughty mats….
I don’t think there are enough to go around. ;)
Yup..I kinda sensed there would be shortage. But you can certainly put in a new rush order to address that! :)
You betcha as soon as my vision gets better.
Oh that’s right! How did your cataract surgery go? :)
Haven’t had it yet. just completed the work up and stress test on my eyes. My particular surgery requires this for FDA and MEDICARE approval.
Oh Okay. Hope things proceed smoothly from here on. Please keep us posted on the progress. :)
Aye. So far so good. getting older is starting to suck. ;)
My, my, my, my, MY!
TOD’s GQ Cover Man!
You go Mr. President…..we go your back sir!
Correction….we got your back sir!
I got too excited : )
Chipsticks fault : )
Wow…..That is a Great Picture……artistically and eye-candidly……Wow.
Holy Smokes. That is something.
GM Chips-ahoy and the rest of the TODable Community Gangsters ;)
“eye-candidly” :-D
{{{{{{{{OXYGEN}}}}}}}}
Oh. Mah. Gawd.
:-)
I’m still in shock! I think I’m going to need some Obama Cares.
:-D :-D :-D
Share some O2, please, Meta!
Wow, this black and white photo is elegance personified with the feel of Gentlemen’s Quarterly. Strike a pose Mr. President. Here’s another stunning photo to add to my already voluminous collection.
It’s a gem Ladyhawke, here’s the next one in the sequence:
Thank you Chips. This is beautiful, another stunner. The camera loves him.
Lawd ha mercy! :-)
Oh for crying out loud….. I only just made it down this far… another rest stop us required. <3
:-D
Dayum that man is PHOINE!
that pic brought to mind the poet who recited, “Damn you Obama, you pretty mutha….”
excellent picture. Love it.
It took quite a while, and some real emotional strength, to scroll past this one. After gasping while capturing…
Oh, my. Knoller tweeted something interesting. How long did it take you to find THAT, hf2???
After hrs and hrs of scouring his TL, JO’B!! :) :)
Just kidding…I was lucky enough to catch it just 35 secs after he posted it.
Best tweet I’ve seen out of him in quite a while! :)
I suppose the useless DC Village idiot, Count von Knoller has finally earned his pay on March 28th, 2014.
I doubt that he is in Saudi Arabia. Dc bound and tweeting the day away.
just now at the dinner table
Your puppy has a puppy? #spoiledAMKbrat
Nah, that’s her totally ignored bf, mac. see how sad he is?
wimmin/smh
Mac looks like a stepping stone to the dinner table. Love it!
he tried to beg for a piece, a minute before this pic, I said no, so the boy sulks.
I’m not surprised you’re playing favorites with the girl puppy! If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, and all that.
well, jenny has always been bossy. Her logic, I came here first, so I get to rule. #gottateachheralesson
Lesson No. 1: #JennyIsAlwaysRightSucker
(That was Jenny calling you a sucker - not I!)
😊
Whatever quirky little reply you sent, I only get a square box on my screen. I’m missing out on so much!
I blame vc. It’s her smiley face.
Ha!
Hmmm….boyfriend seems a bit small - don’t you think? Or is Jenny big? LOL! :)
I looooooooooove her!!!! :-)
well, she did manage to cadge a big piece of chicken from me.
How big, meanie?
2 inch cube. whhhat? she is already fat.
:-) She is NOT fat, just curvy!
#delusional
Thanks, TOD, for keeping us informed!! For my mental and physical health, I’ve been watching a lot more cooking shows and coming here to get the news.
With you on that, but make it HGTV for me vice the cooking shows!
I watch HGTV too!
We should call all the alternatives “OasisTV” !
Excellent R&S.
Gold Medal for J’OB. Congrats madame.
Co-sign!!!!
If Dems show up They Win…..
There are more Dems than TBGOPers.
More US citizens support Dem policies.
2014. 2014. 2014. Make that Change and permanent.
But that’s not what the media told me just a couple weeks, when they declared that Millenials were abandoning Obama in droves and becoming more “Independent.”
Good golly. Gotta get a grip. What a dashing President we have!
I hope he doesn’t “bow to the king” during his trip. Heads will explode. Ha!
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has picked up on this. In the running-out-of-RWNJ-negatives category, the new favorite - why are we not surprised - response to the ACA 6M milestone is “Here’s what we don’t know. We don’t know how many of those people have paid for coverage yet.”
We also don’t know how many have blue eyes. Or kittens. Or like bacon. Or how many hate RWNJs.
Buzzards!
These kinds of remarks just make them look petty . The majority of Americans, even those who are lukewarm to the law (because of so much misinformation), will just know that those are the words of sore losers.
I mean… enough already.
How they can attempt to use up all the negative words available about THIS President is beyond me.
But “There’s an endless supply of paint”!
Wow…that Rug is just beautiful.
Totally surreal image! Love it.
And I bet old Mark is thanking his lucky stars that he’s on Jim Acosta’s photo distribution list. Mark can just sit back and eat grapes all day, using big phrases like “in ornate hall.”
I’m sure Markie is carefully searching the pic (with a magnifying glass no doubt) to see if he can find traces of food/desserts/drinks anywhere on the tables….
He’s not on the trip, is he? (I don’t think we let him out of the country.) From what you wrote, I picture Markie back at his walk-up apartment with one finger on the speed dial, getting ready to order up whatever the President’s having!
I think he’s in DC, but monitoring PBO’s every move from his DC quarters - especially the meals.
“especially the meals”
:lol:
If he spots a doughnut, look out!
Transparency ….
“On Thursday evening, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law on the Facilitation of Access to Public Information.
Bill № 0947 “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine in connection with the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Information”(as amended) and the Law of Ukraine “On access to public information” was supported by 235 MPs.
These laws provide public access to the government and decisions made by local authorities. The bill introduces fines for “the unwarranted attribution of information to classified information, failure to respond to a request for information, failure to provide information, unlawful refusal to provide information, untimely or incomplete provision of information, and the provision of false information.””
Per TPM and Mediaite…..
Rep Rogers from MI a GOPer, chair of Intel Committee, is call it quits and is going to become a radio talker host once his term ends.
Good Riddance.
Putin to release B/W photo of himself with back halfway turned as if to board an airplane (but shirtless & on horseback) in 5…4…3..2…1…
I know everyone has said this millions of times, but I continue to be in awe of President Obama’s ability to sail elegantly and smartly through these jam-packed days. I have no idea where he finds the energy and the capacity to be so impressive every minute on every stage, at every kind of occasion. Remarkable beyond belief.
Totally agree with you dotster! Here he is toward the end of a momentous week, and he still has a spring in his step and fire in his eyes. He is the most amazing man. That top picture is truly a keeper. I know how he felt in that picture…..one last look at luscious, welcoming Italy. That’s how I felt every time I had to leave.
What this trip confirms to me is that holding this office demands a person of stamina and yes, youth. The people wanting to run who are over 65, frankly, are too old for the punishing schedule demanded today. President Obama was the perfect age with the perfect experience at the time he ran. I am so thrilled to keep seeing more of his depth of historical knowledge and understanding, so he puts all events into a good perspective.
There is NO WAY he is going to get involved in a ground war with Russia. He knows history enough to know what Russia did to Napoleon and Hitler. People who are ignorant of history …..GWB, etc……do stupid, rash, dangerous things. I’m so thankful for PBO right now.
It’s true dotster. If I have to give one hr-long presentation at work, I’m pretty wiped out for much of that day and can only do trivial stuff. This man is “on” and not only has to look fresh all the time, but has to be mentally alert. And I’m not even counting the jet lag and time zone differences…
I am on break at work and researching for the business that I want to open so that I can leave this job and move to the coast. It’s making it easier to get through a shift for me, but it’s also making me a lot less patient with the BS that can accompany this job.
Hang in there! This shift will only be a dim, annoying memory to you one day soon!
I am plumb giddy about it too! :-)
So happy for ya!
Oh yeah, and my new horizontal offset smoker should be delivered today. Yay!!!
paging chips. go for it.
OMG!!!! That’s a football (soccer) team!!!
chicken.
Cutie beyond words. Oh my goodness.
Love the 11
Puppy 11…..I see a movie ;)
I know. That’s why I keep hint, hint, nudge, nudging the bt.
hi everyone
I have been quieter with my Christie tweets because the story became somewhat dormant but it’s back on the front burner again.
Well, if Christie’s “outing” of Kelly’s so-called affair with the other guy doesn’t cause both of them to speak up, then there’s no hope for them. Christie really, really needs to be put out to pasture - maybe in one of the farm states nearby the people whom he said this week “love” him.
Quick stop to share something I just saw on Facebook: University of Alabama Sororites Win Right to Ban Blacks. Good Lord Almighty? This IS 21014, right? Can someone, anyone explain this hate to me??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Won the right from whom? Satan?
POTUS is wise. POTUS is handsome. POTUS is charming. POTUS is cool. All this without breaking a sweat on a world stage that is fraught with corruption and danger.
The RWNJs must die a thousand deaths inside when they see him day after day doing what’s intelligent and right with compassion and vigor.
BWWAAAHAHAAAAAAHAAABBWAAHAHAAAAAA.
This!
You nailed it meta. You absobloominglutely NAILED it! :)
I have been thinking of and on about countries that challenged the U. S. in the past, over-reached, and then bit the dust. In the 80’s and early 90’s it was all about Japan. Bush Sr. went there to beg for trade concessions and threw up at dinner. Fast forward a few years later, they have zombie banks and we are bailing them out. Remember, OPEC? They literally held us and other countries over the barrel as they wielded control over the cost and availability of oil. We were in Iraq war 1.0 to keep the oil flowing. OPEC over-reached and you hear nothing about them anymore. We produce more energy using new technologies, have mandated more energy efficiency in our products, and for the short term, drilled for more oil and natural gas. We are exporting more oil and gas than ever before (all of these things are under PBO). No longer will our energy needs drive our foreign policy. And now we have Vlad, the would-be-Tzar, who thought that West would stand by, as it did in 2008 in regard to Georgia, and let him do as he pleased in the Ukraine. All of the times that he has met with and spoken with PBO and he still does not understand that PBO is not like Shrub in any way shape or form. How surprised and shocked he must be to see PBO rallying international support and actions to rein in his dreams of empire. It is astounding how much the world has changed during PBO’s tenure in the White House. While there are many more challenges here and abroad, change has come to the world as more and more people realize “yes, we can” shape our lives, our countries, for the better.
Dear CEB, thank you.
Chat away:
http://theobamadiary.com/2014/03/28/chat-away-349/