Tag: President Obama

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President Obama: LGBT rights a major accomplishment of 1st term

“One of the things that I’m very proud of during my first four years is I think I’ve helped to solidify this incredibly rapid transformation in people’s attitudes around LGBT issues — how we think about gays and lesbians and transgender persons. A lot of that just has to do with the fact that if you talk to Malia, the idea of making an anti-gay remark at her school is just unimaginable. They just don’t get that.

“And so, there are those attitudinal shifts that make up this new coalition as well. For all the divisions that you read about in our politics — and many of them are real and powerful — the truth is, is that we have steadily become a more diverse and tolerant country that embraces people’s differences, and respects people who are not like us. And that’s a profoundly good thing. That’s one of the strengths of America. It was hard-fought. And there’s been the occasional backlash, and this is not to argue that somehow racism or sexism or homophobia are going to be eliminated or ever will be eliminated. It is to argue that our norms have changed in a way that prizes inclusion more than exclusion.”

– President Barack Obama in his Time “Person of the Year” interview

(h/t Buzzfeed)

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Fiscal cliff – where we’re at so far…

As President Obama continues to make clear he’s willing to explore ideas for compromise, Speaker Boehner is drawing lines in the sand.

A majority of the nation thinks the GOP needs to try harder to find middle ground:

• 53% say the GOP should compromise more, with 41% saying the Democratic Party should give up more of the proposals it supports to develop bipartisan solutions.

• 53% of those surveyed say they view the policies of the GOP as too extreme, up 17 points from two years ago. Only 37% say they view the polices of the Democratic Party as too extreme.

The same percentage of the public, 53%, believes that when it comes to bipartisan compromise, the GOP should be the party to cave on its demands.

Check out Speaker Boehner’s 30 second press conference:

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President Obama named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year 2012

President Obama has been named TIME Magazine’s Person Of the Year 2012:

The selection was announced Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show. The short list for the honor included Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head for advocating for girls’ education. It also included Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Obama also received the honor in 2008, when he was President-elect. Last year, “The Protester” got the honor. Time’s “Person of the Year” is the person or thing that has most influenced the culture and the news during the past year for good or for ill.

In 2010, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg received the honor. Other previous winners have included Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Bono and President George W. Bush.

Read the full profile here.

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President Obama is the worst socialist in the history of the world

Click pic for larger view

The Republican rhetoric about President Obama and the private sector is so common, it no longer surprises: the White House has an “anti-business” agenda, the argument goes, which undermines private enterprise.

And yet, we continue to see new evidence all the time that Obama is the Worst Socialist Ever.

The New York Times reported yesterday, “United States corporate profits reached a record high in the third quarter of this year, even adjusted for inflation, according to a report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.” Check out the chart above.

You’ll notice in the image, published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, that post-tax corporate profits collapsed when the economy crashed in 2008, but then sharply improved after Obama became president, reaching their highest point ever this fall.

It’s against this backdrop that the right still complains bitterly that the president is a radical socialist who says mean things about “job creators.” To ask slightly more of those enjoying record profits, Obama’s detractors argue, is an “outrage.”

Indeed, many of the business leaders who’ve benefited under the status quo invested heavily to defeat the president — ostensibly because they’ve been so dissatisfied with the status quo.

(source)

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President Obama issues World AIDS Day Proclamation

“Today, we reflect on the strides we have taken toward overcoming HIV/AIDS, honor those who have made our progress possible, and keep in our thoughts all those who have known the devastating consequences of this illness. The road toward an AIDS-free generation is long — but as we mark this important observance, let us also remember that if we move forward every day with the same passion, persistence, and drive that has brought us this far, we can reach our goal. We can beat this disease. On World AIDS Day, in memory of those no longer with us and in solidarity with all who carry on the fight, let us pledge to make that vision a reality.

“NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States do hereby proclaim December 1, 2012, as World AIDS Day. I urge the Governors of the States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, officials of the other territories subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and the American people to join me in appropriate activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support and comfort to those living with this disease.” – President Obama.

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President Obama pardons two turkeys for Thanksgiving and gives a nod to a third

President Obama continued the White House tradition of “pardoning” a turkey today. But he couldn’t resist a nod to Mitt Romney’s recent post-election “gifts” gaffe during the ceremony.

“They say that life is all about second chances and this November I can’t agree more,” Obama said. “So in the spirit of the season I have one more gift to give,” Obama joked in apparent reference to Mitt Romney’s claim after the election that Obama won by giving “gifts” to minority groups, Obama said he was going to pardon the National Thanksgiving Turkey, named Cobbler, and his stand-in, Gobbler. “The American people have spoken, and these birds are moving forward,” he added.

The president closed by joking that Nate Silver had already predicted which turkey would be chosen.

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President Obama invites congressional leaders to White House to address “fiscal cliff”

CNN reports that President Obama has reached out to congressional leaders from both parties to meet at the White House next week to discuss reducing the deficit and avoiding the “fiscal cliff” facing the economy at the end of the year:

Obama, speaking at the White House on Friday afternoon, repeated his stance that he wants a plan that would allow the expiration of Bush-era tax cuts only for income over $250,000.

The president said he’s “not wedded to every detail of my plan,” and that he’s “open to compromise.” But he said he wouldn’t ask middle-class families to “pay down the entire deficit” while the wealthy “are not asked to pay a dime more in taxes.”