Tell us how you REALLY feel...

President Obama and his family arrived Friday for a weekend getaway in Maine with plans to spend the weekend on Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. The problem? His quest for a little rest and relaxation comes with criticism that the POTUS  is taking it easy with the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis in a critical phase.


To add fuel to the not yet blazing fire, the RNC has launched a website with the tag line "Mr. President, Play Golf or Save the Gulf" and features the option to share which 5 of the President's leisure activities or missteps during this environmental disaster have made you the most angry.

Obama has also faced criticism for scheduling a trip up north, instead of vacationing in the Gulf, as he advised other Americans to do. In the spirit of sharing quotes, Scott Stanzel, former deputy press secretary for President George W. Bush, told Fox "we chop and screw our facts" news, "at a time he could be setting an example...he has chosen not to do that."

It seems the criticism is never ending. The POTUS is often scrutinized no matter what he is doing. I remember in the wake of the foiled terrorist attack aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, he was on the receiving end of criticism for remaining on holiday in Hawaii while details of this crisis unfolded. Its not just President Obama, many past Presidents have been criticized for taking vacations during a time of crisis including both Bush 41 during the first recession, Bush 43 during 9/11 & Hurricane Katrina and Reagan for his approach to economics.

What people are saying: 

"Presidents are certainly entitled to vacation, just like everybody else, but there is a fine line as to when presidents should do it, what they should and where they should do it," said Brad Blakeman, a former member of President George W. Bush's senior staff and the deputy assistant for appointments and scheduling.

"Barack Obama is working as hard as any president that we've had in recent history and certainly harder than the most immediate previous President..."
-Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons 

Paul Begala, a CNN contributor and former adviser to President Clinton, said that vacationing or not, "The president is the president wherever he is...of all of the concerns that Americans may have, they do not need to worry whether President Obama is a hard-working man. They may agree or disagree with his policies, but there is just no doubt that the guy is busting his rear end."

 
You know how these people feel now its your turn to share. Tell us how you REALLY feel about President Obama's vacations.  Is our POTUS taking too many vacations? Do you think his vacays are needed considering his job requires him to "carry the weight of the world??"

The Senate just passed Wall Street reform!!!

The Senate passed what is already being called the broadest reform of the nation's financial system since the Great Depression.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler had this to say,

“The Wall Street reform bill passed today is historic and comprehensive. Over-the-counter derivatives dealers will – for the first time – be subject to robust oversight for their derivatives activities. Standardized derivatives will be required to trade on open platforms and be submitted for clearing to central counterparties. This will greatly improve transparency and lower risk in the marketplace. I look forward to the President signing this crucial legislation. The CFTC stands ready to implement the Dodd-Frank Act to best protect the American public.”

A few minutes ago, I received this message from my friend in the head Mitch Stewart:

The Senate just passed Wall Street reform. The bill will become law the moment President Obama signs it. This reform represents the boldest financial regulations since the aftermath of the Great Depression -- and the strongest consumer protections in history. Every door you knocked in Iowa, every phone call you made in Ohio, every dollar you dug deep to give -- it's all for this. The Recovery Act, health reform, and now Wall Street reform, on top of everything else. In a year and a half, this administration has made bigger, bolder progress than any president's in decades. We have a president who fights for all of us, every day. We have you, the best organizers this country has ever seen, who flooded Congress with calls and letters, had millions of conversations with friends and neighbors, went toe-to-toe with the country's most powerful special interests -- and won. And we have members of Congress who bravely stood with the President, even as right-wing groups have pledged $200 million to defeat them in November's elections.

First, take a moment to celebrate. This is an achievement that will make American lives better and protect our economy for generations to come, and it absolutely wouldn't have happened without you. Then, take a moment to thank the members of Congress who stood with us and supported these landmark reforms. In the coming days, they'll be taking a lot of heat for defying Wall Street -- and they need to know they have our gratitude. Organizing for America supporters are signing a note of thanks to Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and all of the allies in Congress who stood up for reform. Will you add your name?  We'll deliver these signatures to leaders in Congress who supported reform, after the President signs this into law.
Thanks for all you did to get us here. I'm so grateful to be making history with you, and I know the President is as well.
-Mitch

What do you think of Wall Street reform? Is it really a change or is it another political ploy?

The law will give the government new powers to break up companies that threaten the economy and create a new agency to guard consumers in their financial transactions, among many other changes.

Your thoughts??

HUSL Today Salutes

Remember what I said about saluting Michelle Obama? Multiply this by 1 million.  I considered steering clear of our President in favor of saluting people who are given less attention by the media but I decided this must be done.

President Barack H. Obama

 Image source: luv2hateu.wordpress.com/

Barack Hussein Obama was born August 4, 1961 in Hawaii. After a few years living in Indonesia with his mom and half sister Barack was sent back to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents. His mother and sister later joined them. While living with his grandparents, Obama enrolled in the esteemed Punahou Academy, excelling in basketball and graduating with academic honors in 1979.

After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science. After working in the business sector for two years, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked on the South Side as a community organizer for low-income residents in the Roseland and the Altgeld Gardens communities.

In 1989, he met Michelle Robinson, an associate at Sidley & Austin law firm in Chicago. She was assigned to be Obama's adviser during a summer internship at the firm, and soon the couple began dating. In February 1990, Obama was elected the first African-American editor of the Harvard Law Review, and he graduated magna cum laude in 1991. Barack and Michelle  married at Trinity United Church of Christ on October 18, 1992. Image Source: http://media1.suntimes.com/

He conducted voter registration drives during Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. Obama published his autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. The work received high praise from literary figures such as Toni Morrison and has since been printed in 10 languages, including Chinese, Swedish and Hebrew. The book had a second printing in 2004, and is currently being adapted into a children's version. The 2006 audiobook version of Dreams, which was narrated by Obama, received a Grammy award for Best Spoken Word Album.

Obama's advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He won election in 1996. During these years, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care services, and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor. Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee as well, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, he worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U. S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. Following the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush's push to war with Iraq. Obama was still a state senator when he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq during a rally at Chicago's Federal Plaza in October 2002. "I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," he said.

He was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity, and made veiled jabs at the Bush administration and the diversionary use of wedge issues.

In his 2004 U.S. Senate bid for Illinois, Obama received 70 percent of the vote to his opponents 27 percent, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history. With his win, Barack Obama became only the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate since the Reconstruction.

His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006. The work discussed Obama's visions for the future of America, many of which became talking points for his eventual presidential campaign. Shortly after its release, it hit No. 1 on both the New York Times and Amazon.com bestsellers lists.

As a candidate, President Obama made several television appearances. Check them out below.

On Letterman:

On Ellen:

Reason # 800,000,000 why I absolutely love having him as our President!

I still get chills everytime I see him on the tube. Am I the only one?

His campaign focused on embracing change. In February 2007, Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He consistently broke fundraising records and secured the support of Oprah Winfrey and other major celebrities. He was locked in a tight battle with former first lady and then-U.S. Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton. On June 3, 2008, however, Obama became the presumptive nominee for the Democratic party, and Senator Clinton delivered her full support to Obama for the duration of his campaign. On November 4th, 2008, Barack Obama defeated Republican presidential nominee John McCain for the position of U.S. President, 52.9 percent to 45.7 percent. A record number of young voters cast t heir votes. On January 20, 2009, Obama became the 44th president of the United States—and the first African-American to hold this office.

Image source: http://nashvillespy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/barack-and-hillary-unity-new-hampshire.jpg

Barack Obama is the first African American to do everything the POTUS does.

HUSL Today Salutes President Barack H. Obama!