In spite of all the problems he has been facing in the last couple of weeks President Barack Obama has gained praise from quite an unusual source – former First Lady Laura Bush. Speaking to CNN from Paris she surprised many republicans by saying that she believes that Obama is doing a good job in some very tough times.
The normally understated Mrs. Bush was most vociferous in her support of the President’s plan to address the nation’s schoolchildren on Tuesday. She did not completely dismiss Conservative concerns but was quick to point out that the original lesson plan that began the controversy, which had suggested that children be asked to write letters about how they could “help the President’ had been changed and that the point of the speech was encourage children to stay in school.
"I think there is a place for the president ... to talk to schoolchildren and encourage them” she said “Parents should follow his example and encourage their own children to stay in school and to study hard and to try to achieve the dream that they have."
As a former educator herself, education is a subject dear to Laura Bush’s heart. She was speaking to CNN whilst in Paris to promote global literacy, an issue she spoke of a great deal while she still resided in the White House herself.
After he gives his speech to the nation’s schoolchildren Obama will return to preparations for yet another crucial speech he is to deliver on Wednesday, this time returning to the debate over health care reform. He will be taking the unusual step of addressing a joint session of Congress and his aides told press that they can expect to see the President take a far more aggressive stance on the issue than he has in recent weeks.
Although he was given a great deal of input from advisors as to the content of his address, which will be televised nationwide in prime time, his aides say that he spent most of his weekend at Camp David writing the actual body of the speech himself.
The one thing that aides in the Obama administration did admit was that it is crucial that Obama “come up big” on Wednesday in order to salvage his reform efforts, but according to one "he's at his best" in difficult situations and they believe that the same fire and passion that got him elected in the first place will be fully in evidence on Wednesday evening.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Obama Expands Ron Bloom’s Power, Appoints Him Manufacturing Czar.
Like millions of other Americans President Barack Obama was at work on Labor Day, although a picnic was amongst his plans.
He was due to attend a worker’s picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio and at that event he was scheduled to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom to the post of “Manufacturing Czar”.
Bloom is already a member of the Obama administration as he is a Senior Advisor to treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, serving as a member of the “President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry”. Apparently he will continue in this capacity in addition to his new duties.
Bloom was a key member of the team who negotiated both the auto industry “bailout” while negotiating a restructuring plan with both auto industry executives and labor unions. He also helped engineer a plan to restructure the US steel industry when he was privately employed as a vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. It is believed that in his new role he will be working with the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Labor as well as the National Economic Council.
In a statement released Monday President Obama said “Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy.”
The appointment comes as political pundits are still speculating that the President had a hand in the resignation of Van Jones, something that White House advisor David Axelrod denied on Obama’s behalf during a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press”. "Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," he told host David Gregory. Jones resigned after it surfaced that he had been a signatory on a petition that called for an investigation into whether or not the government allowed the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks to occur.
Van Jones was often referred to as the “czar for green jobs” and his exit has led some republicans to call for a halt to the appointment of any more “czars” until the thirty in place have both their credentials and previous political experience examined in detail. By appointing Ron Bloom just a few days after Jones’ abrupt resignation the president is obviously demonstrating that he has no intention to bow to such outside pressure when it comes to staffing and running his administration.
He was due to attend a worker’s picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio and at that event he was scheduled to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom to the post of “Manufacturing Czar”.
Bloom is already a member of the Obama administration as he is a Senior Advisor to treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, serving as a member of the “President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry”. Apparently he will continue in this capacity in addition to his new duties.
Bloom was a key member of the team who negotiated both the auto industry “bailout” while negotiating a restructuring plan with both auto industry executives and labor unions. He also helped engineer a plan to restructure the US steel industry when he was privately employed as a vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. It is believed that in his new role he will be working with the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Labor as well as the National Economic Council.
In a statement released Monday President Obama said “Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy.”
The appointment comes as political pundits are still speculating that the President had a hand in the resignation of Van Jones, something that White House advisor David Axelrod denied on Obama’s behalf during a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press”. "Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," he told host David Gregory. Jones resigned after it surfaced that he had been a signatory on a petition that called for an investigation into whether or not the government allowed the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks to occur.
Van Jones was often referred to as the “czar for green jobs” and his exit has led some republicans to call for a halt to the appointment of any more “czars” until the thirty in place have both their credentials and previous political experience examined in detail. By appointing Ron Bloom just a few days after Jones’ abrupt resignation the president is obviously demonstrating that he has no intention to bow to such outside pressure when it comes to staffing and running his administration.
Obama Expands Ron Bloom’s Power, Appoints Him Manufacturing Czar.
Like millions of other Americans President Barack Obama was at work on Labor Day, although a picnic was amongst his plans.
He was due to attend a worker’s picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio and at that event he was scheduled to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom to the post of “Manufacturing Czar”.
Bloom is already a member of the Obama administration as he is a Senior Advisor to treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, serving as a member of the “President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry”. Apparently he will continue in this capacity in addition to his new duties.
Bloom was a key member of the team who negotiated both the auto industry “bailout” while negotiating a restructuring plan with both auto industry executives and labor unions. He also helped engineer a plan to restructure the US steel industry when he was privately employed as a vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. It is believed that in his new role he will be working with the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Labor as well as the National Economic Council.
In a statement released Monday President Obama said “Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy.”
The appointment comes as political pundits are still speculating that the President had a hand in the resignation of Van Jones, something that White House advisor David Axelrod denied on Obama’s behalf during a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press”. "Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," he told host David Gregory. Jones resigned after it surfaced that he had been a signatory on a petition that called for an investigation into whether or not the government allowed the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks to occur.
Van Jones was often referred to as the “czar for green jobs” and his exit has led some republicans to call for a halt to the appointment of any more “czars” until the thirty in place have both their credentials and previous political experience examined in detail. By appointing Ron Bloom just a few days after Jones’ abrupt resignation the president is obviously demonstrating that he has no intention to bow to such outside pressure when it comes to staffing and running his administration.
He was due to attend a worker’s picnic in Cincinnati, Ohio and at that event he was scheduled to announce the appointment of Ron Bloom to the post of “Manufacturing Czar”.
Bloom is already a member of the Obama administration as he is a Senior Advisor to treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, serving as a member of the “President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry”. Apparently he will continue in this capacity in addition to his new duties.
Bloom was a key member of the team who negotiated both the auto industry “bailout” while negotiating a restructuring plan with both auto industry executives and labor unions. He also helped engineer a plan to restructure the US steel industry when he was privately employed as a vice president at Lazard Freres & Co. LLC. It is believed that in his new role he will be working with the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, Energy, and Labor as well as the National Economic Council.
In a statement released Monday President Obama said “Last week we learned that our manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in 18 months and had the highest monthly output in two years. It’s a sign that we’re on the right track to economic recovery, but that we still have a long way to go. That’s why I’ve asked Ron Bloom to help coordinate my Administration’s manufacturing policy.”
The appointment comes as political pundits are still speculating that the President had a hand in the resignation of Van Jones, something that White House advisor David Axelrod denied on Obama’s behalf during a Sunday appearance on “Meet the Press”. "Absolutely not -- this was Van Jones' own decision," he told host David Gregory. Jones resigned after it surfaced that he had been a signatory on a petition that called for an investigation into whether or not the government allowed the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks to occur.
Van Jones was often referred to as the “czar for green jobs” and his exit has led some republicans to call for a halt to the appointment of any more “czars” until the thirty in place have both their credentials and previous political experience examined in detail. By appointing Ron Bloom just a few days after Jones’ abrupt resignation the president is obviously demonstrating that he has no intention to bow to such outside pressure when it comes to staffing and running his administration.
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