In their Christmas weekend video/radio address, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama honor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
** OBAMA TODAY – FRIDAY. President Barack Obama is in Hawaii today.
He has no scheduled public events.
Fresh off Senate passage of the national health care bill, the Obamas flew from Andrews Air Force Base to Hickam Air Force Base yesterday on Air Force One.
They arrived a little after 3 PM Hawaiian time. The time in Hawaii is two hours earlier than in California. It’s GMT -10.
They then traveled by motorcade to Kailua, where the Obamas will stay during their 10-day visit to the president’s home state.
Kailua, a very scenic place with a population of 36,000 on the Windward side of Oahu, is a 30-minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
Obama will receive his daily intelligence and economic briefings there on this Christmas morning.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
The first family touched down amid intense security in President Obama’s hometown yesterday and settled in for what is expected to be a 10-day vacation in Kailua, with apparent plans to decorate an 8-foot Noble fir Christmas tree last night.
Coast Guard personnel in semi-rigid boats patrolled the nearby Kawainui Canal, and a pair of gunboats sat behind Kailuana Loop, where the Obamas will be staying in a five-bedroom, beachfront home that’s up for sale for $8.9 million.
One of the Obamas’ neighbors, Dr. Scott Miscovich, helped one of his patients deliver two truckloads of poinsettias to the vacation home on Tuesday and saw a bare Christmas tree that the first family planned to decorate last night, Miscovich said.
The Coast Guard yesterday declared much of Kailua Bay around the Obama vacation home a security zone. And neighbors said the security ring around Obama was much tighter than during his last Christmas visit as the president-elect. “It was a little more local style last year,” said Ron Sutherland, whose home sits just outside four concrete barriers Secret Service agents placed at the entrance of Kailuana Loop.
Other than a steady throng of Honolulu police, Coast Guardsmen and Secret Service agents, the only people who could pass the barriers yesterday were those with identification showing they live in the neighborhood — or were on an approved list of visitors. As the curious were denied entrance, forcing them to turn around in his driveway, Sutherland said, “You can already tell it’s a lot bigger deal.”
Last Christmas, the Secret Service checkpoint was nearly a half-mile makai of North Kalaheo Avenue, giving people an opportunity to drive within yards of Obama’s vacation home. “Now they’re turning around in our driveways,” Sutherland said.
Directly across the street, Sharon and Scott Miscovich had an identical problem. “It was a lot less of everything last year,” Sharon said. “Now we get all the commotion.”
Secret Service agents had visited their home before the first family’s arrival and “apologized in advance for what was going to happen,” Sharon Miscovich said. Yesterday, all of the neighbors along Kailuana Place had to stay on their property and were barred from venturing on to city and county land as the presidential motorcade entered the neighborhood just after 3:30 p.m.
“We’re not overly happy, but it’s great for him (Obama), the state and for everybody involved,” Miscovich said.
ARRIVAL AT HICKAM
The Obamas stepped off of Air Force One at Hickam Air Force Base shortly before 3 p.m. The president was dressed in a blue-striped dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He walked down the stairs of the plane holding hands with his younger daughter Sasha, who was in a bright orange sundress.
They were followed by the first lady, who wore a sleeveless teal blue dress, bangle bracelets and metallic-colored flats. Michelle took the hand of older daughter Malia, who wore pink pants and a green floral top.
They were greeted on the tarmac by Gov. Linda Lingle, U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie and Mazie Hirono, Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Adm. Robert F. Willard, Gen. Gary L. North and Col. Giovanni K. Tuck. Among those who took the long flight to Honolulu with the Obamas was U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka.
A black SUV was parked directly in front of the stairs. But the first couple instead chose to hold hands and walk about 25 yards to shake hands and pose for pictures with about 50 Hawai’i -based military and Secret Service personnel and their families gathered behind a metal fence.
The president held a baby, 11-month-old Parker Makiya-Torco of Kane’ohe, and posed for photos with her. Lena Torco, the baby’s grandmother, said the president called out ” ‘What a cutie! Come here!’ ” The baby’s mother works for the local Secret Service office.
“He’s from Hawai’i , so it’s wonderful he can come home,” Lena Torco said. Parker Makiya-Torco, dressed in a pink floral dress, appeared bewildered by all the commotion.
Waikele resident Raquel Gonzalez, 18, said she was surprised at how tall the couple is. Gonzalez got to shake hands with both of them. “He said ‘hi’ and ‘Mele Kalikimaka,’ ” Gonzalez said. “She’s really pretty.”
Kailua resident Marla Sullivan, 32, lives down the street from the Obama’s vacation home and greeted the Obamas at Hickam. “I told them Kailua Beach is beautiful today — and that I love them,” Sullivan said.
She was surprised that they did not appear jet-lagged despite the long flight from Andrews Air Force Base. “They looked fresh, they looked hot,” Sullivan said. While the couple are attractive on TV, “they look 10 times better in person.”
Manoa resident Elaine Chun, 66, was fortunate enough to get her copy of the Hawaii Inaugural Gala program signed by the president. Chun, also a local Secret Service employee, and her husband, Rodney, traveled to Washington, D.C., last January to attend the ball.
Rodney Chun, also 66, said it’s not surprising that the Obamas choose to vacation in Hawai’i each Christmas. “He has to come home here,” Chun said. “Where’s he going to go, to Chicago in the snow?”
U.S. Air Force Sgt. Maj. Alexis Ayala, 40, spent the day off hoping to get a glimpse of the president. “I really want to say ‘thank you’ for the great things he’s done to support our soliders,” said Ayala, who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq.
“Please Come Home For Christmas,” performed by the Eagles at the Millennium Concert on December 31st, 1999 in Los Angeles.
‘MELE KALIKIMAKA’
The first couple spent a little more than five minutes shaking hands, thanking people for their service and wishing them a Merry Christmas.
Lingle gave the president a lei while Abercrombie draped a lei over the first lady’s neck. The two girls received lei from Hannemann.
Abercrombie said he was giving the president a T-shirt from the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic and an invitation via University of Hawai’i Athletic Director Jim Donovan to attend the basketball tournament in Manoa.
Hannemann said the first words out of the president’s mouth as he greeted the official entourage was “Mele Kalikimaka.”
“So that was a great segue for me to say to him ‘e komo mai, welcome back Mr. President,’ ” Hannemann said.
Shortly after their motorcade arrived in Kailua, dark clouds and light rain greeted the Obamas, who settled in for a private Christmas Eve celebration. They have a low-key vacation planned on O’ahu, deputy press secretary Bill Burton told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“When I said that there were no scheduled public events, there also aren’t a lot of scheduled private events,” Burton said. “I think the president is going to wake up and see where the day takes him.
“I’ve checked out the forecast for the entire time we’re there: Tomorrow it’s 81 and sunny, Friday it’s 81 and sunny, Saturday it’s 81 and sunny. So I think that the weather ought to lend itself to some outdoor activity.” …
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – FRIDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
It’s that time of year …
** NEW ESSAY COMING UP … DOCTOR WHO: THE ENDING IMPENDING.
** OBAMA’S REMARKS ON SENATE PASSAGE OF THE NATIONAL HEALTH CARE BILL.
Good morning, everybody. In a historic vote that took place this morning members of the Senate joined their colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass a landmark health insurance reform package — legislation that brings us toward the end of a nearly century-long struggle to reform America’s health care system.
Ever since Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform in 1912, seven Presidents — Democrats and Republicans alike — have taken up the cause of reform. Time and time again, such efforts have been blocked by special interest lobbyists who’ve perpetuated a status quo that works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people. But with passage of reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people.
The reform bill that passed the Senate this morning, like the House bill, includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable. Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny you coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition. They will no longer be able to drop your coverage when you get sick. No longer will you have to pay unlimited amounts out of your own pocket for the treatments you need. And you’ll be able to appeal unfair decisions by insurance companies to an independent party.
If this legislation becomes law, workers won’t have to worry about losing coverage if they lose or change jobs. Families will save on their premiums. Businesses that would see their costs rise if we do not act will save money now, and they will save money in the future. This bill will strengthen Medicare, and extend the life of the program. It will make coverage affordable for over 30 million Americans who do not have it — 30 million Americans. And because it is paid for and curbs the waste and inefficiency in our health care system, this bill will help reduce our deficit by as much as $1.3 trillion in the coming decades, making it the largest deficit reduction plan in over a decade.
As I’ve said before, these are not small reforms; these are big reforms. If passed, this will be the most important piece of social policy since the Social Security Act in the 1930s, and the most important reform of our health care system since Medicare passed in the 1960s. And what makes it so important is not just its cost savings or its deficit reductions. It’s the impact reform will have on Americans who no longer have to go without a checkup or prescriptions that they need because they can’t afford them; on families who no longer have to worry that a single illness will send them into financial ruin; and on businesses that will no longer face exorbitant insurance rates that hamper their competitiveness. It’s the difference reform will make in the lives of the American people.
I want to commend Senator Harry Reid, extraordinary work that he did; Speaker Pelosi for her extraordinary leadership and dedication. Having passed reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we now have to take up the last and most important step and reach an agreement on a final reform bill that I can sign into law. And I look forward to working with members of Congress in both chambers over the coming weeks to do exactly that.
With today’s vote, we are now incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country. Our challenge, then, is to finish the job. We can’t doom another generation of Americans to soaring costs and eroding coverage and exploding deficits. Instead we need to do what we were sent here to do and improve the lives of the people we serve. For the sake of our citizens, our economy, and our future, let’s make 2010 the year we finally reform health care in the United States of America.
Everybody, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year.
Q: Do you have a holiday wish for the troops?
THE PRESIDENT: I do, and I will be actually — I’m on my way right now to call a few of them and wish them Merry Christmas and to thank them for their extraordinary service as they’re posted in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With the Senate having passed, by the vote of 60 to 39, a national health care bill early on the morning of Christmas Eve, President Barack Obama said that Congress is now “incredibly close to making health insurance reform a reality in this country.”
** OBAMA TODAY – THURSDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington, on Air Force One, and in Hawaii today.
The Senate, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding, passed the national health care bill early this morning, on a vote of 60 to 39.
At 5:45 AM Pacific, Obama delivered brief remarks in the State Dining Room.
The Obamas are now en route to Honolulu, Hawaii on Air Force One.
Obama is receiving his daily intelligence and economic briefings on Air Force One.
At 5:10 PM Pacific, the Obamas arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii.
They will be in the president’s home state till January 2nd.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
An air strike today in Yemen reportedly hit the home of Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical Yemeni-American imam linked to the gunman in the Fort Hood Army base attack in November. Al Qaeda leaders were apparently meeting there.
Ho ho ho.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – THURSDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
Word is coming out, unsuprisingly, that Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal next month will focus on cuts and a request for federal assistance.
First Lady Michelle Obama, with daughters Malia and Sasha, delivered some Christmas cheer to the Children’s National Medical Center on Tuesday. But Bo, the family dog, a gift of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, stole the show.
** OBAMA TODAY – WEDNESDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence and economic briefings and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
At 10:45 AM Pacific, Obama does an interview with NPR’s Julie Rovner and Robert Siegel in the Oval Office.
At 11:15 AM Pacific, Obama does an interview with PBS’s Jim Lehrer in the Oval Office.
The topic? Health care. Obama will be emphasizing all the positive elements of the national health care reform bill for the outlets’ largely liberal audiences. Some on the left are still very upset that the public option is out of the Senate bill, though that seemed clear for quite awhile.
The Senate is meeting today to deal with national health care reform.
The bill has one additional hurdle to clear.
The Senate is now scheduled to vote on passage of the national health care reform bill at 5 AM Pacific on Christmas Eve.
Passage is assured.
Following passage of the bill, the Obamas will fly to Hawaii for the holidays. They’ll remain there until January 2nd.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen.
At a press conference in China, James Cameron talks about how the country has gone 3D for his latest epic, Avatar.
** THE COMMON THREADS OF AVATAR. Is Avatar the future of cinema? Probably. There has to be something to draw people away from their computers and home entertainment centers, and with television series now generally at least as good as if not better than feature films, there are fewer reasons to drive to a theater. But you’ll never see anything at home like Avatar, which nonetheless holds common thematic threads going back to the beginning of the director’s career.
I’ve liked director James Cameron’s films since The Terminator in 1984. But I was distinctly under-wowed by the first clip I saw from Avatar. Of course, I was viewing it on the screen of one of my laptops. Fortunately, I realized that I was seeing only a fraction of what could be available in the highly-immersive, richly-detailed 3D world Cameron was devising. …
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – WEDNESDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is out of state with First Lady Maria Shriver and the family.
He has no scheduled public events.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said today that a revamping of the nation’s health system is no longer a question of if, but when. He acknowledged that some issues remain to be resolved, but said the president is confident that will happen. The Senate will pass the bill this week.
** OBAMA TODAY – TUESDAY. President Barack Obama is in Washington today.
Obama has received his daily intelligence briefing and met with senior advisors in the Oval Office.
He has also met with the CEOs of several small and community banks in the Roosevelt Room.
At 1:10 PM Pacific, Obama meets with members of the National Economic Council in the Oval Office.
Also in the afternoon, First Lady Michelle Obama visits the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Senate is meeting today to deal with national health care reform.
Last night, the bill cleared another procedural hurdle.
Obama is also monitoring geopolitical crises in Iran, whose president today sent Obama a confidential personal letter on the nuclear crisis.
And in Afghanistan, where the first contingent of surge Marines are arriving.
And in Pakistan, where some civilian leaders are endangered by revived anti-corruption laws.
Indian authorities suspect David Headley, the Chicago man arrested and charged by the U.S. in connection with the Mumbai terrorist siege that killed more than 150 people last year, could have been a CIA double agent.
He is also monitoring the strange case of David Headley, who may have been an American double agent.
** FROM THE ARNOLD FILE – TUESDAY. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Los Angeles today.
He has no scheduled public events.
** COPENHAGEN BLUES: OBAMA’S WEAK HAND ON CLIMATE, AND THE CALIFORNIA OPTION. As he prepares to go to Copenhagen for the deeply troubled UN climate change summit, President Barack Obama does so with a weak hand. He has no enacted legislation to brandish, no binding agreements on big greenhouse gas cuts with some of the biggest polluters, and no big financing to aid the developing world of poorer nations.
Aside from that, it’s really great.
Obama has cobbled together some impressive looking cards. But starting from the zero point that was bequeathed him by the Bush/Cheney Administration, and with far less congressional support than many imagine, he’s nowhere near ready to sign a new Copenhagen Protocol, were one to emerge, which it will not. … From my December 16th column.
** OBAMA’S LINCOLNESQUE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. Who expected, two months ago when the surprise award was announced, that President Barack Obama, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, would deliver a speech that in many respects is about the ethics of war? …
But Obama’s emergence as more the liberal warrior than the reflexive dove surprises me not in the least, for I was paying close attention to what the president said and wrote before and during his campaign. … From my December 11th column.
** HOW JERRY BROWN CLEARED THE DEMOCRATIC FIELD FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA. How did former Governor-turned-Attorney General Jerry Brown clear the Democratic field for governor of California over half a year before next year’s primary election? Without even announcing his candidacy for governor? Let’s count the ways as we set the stage for one of the biggest races in America next year.
Most California political experts did not expect this result. The state’s much diminished press corps anticipated a big primary fight. Nor was Jerry Brown expected to be the easy winner. In fact, a site run by well-known state Democratic consultants put up an online poll in early 2007 to gauge early insider support for possible candidates. And, amusingly, neglected to include Brown. Despite the fact that the two-term former governor, two-time Democratic presidential runner-up, and two-time mayor of rugged Oakland had just won the biggest victory of any contested statewide race. Bigger even than Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s landslide 17-point romp over his Democratic challenger.
Even after the main rivals to Brown dropped out, some kept pushing ever more unlikely prospects forward. Only to see them vanish like a desert mirage. Nevertheless, some amongst the thinned ranks of California reporters and bloggers still imagine that Brown and his capable and witty wife Anne Gust Brown are simply winging it. This view is, let’s say, not entirely accurate. … From my December 9th column.
** BARACK OBAMA’S WAR: 10 KEY THINGS TO KNOW. … From my December 4th column.
** NORTH BY NORTHWEST‘S 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION: ENDURING APPEAL AND THE MAD MEN FACTOR. … From my December 2nd essay.
** HEADS SHOULD ROLL OVER OBAMA STATE DINNER SECURITY BREACH. … From my November 27th column.
** TONY BLAIR’S CAUTIONARY TALE FOR OBAMA. … From my November 24th column.
** MAD MEN: THREE SEASONS ON AND LOOKING FORWARD. … From my November 21st essay.
** OBAMA: RIDING WITH HISTORY. (NOTE: As Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States, this column was the featured column on the top of the front page of the Huffington Post.) … From my January 19th Huffington Post column.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM RUSSIA TODAY. Russia has re-emerged as one of the world’s great powers. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer, bringing you English-language, jargon-free, fast-paced coverage of global and Russian news from the Russia Today channel. You probably already know about CNN International, BBC World, and Al Jazeera. Russia Today, which also features culture, entertainment, and sports, is based in Moscow and is owned and operated by the TV Novosti division of Russia’s state news agency, RIA Novosti. While it’s quite foolish to expect to see, say, criticism of Vladimir Putin on Russia Today, the channel is very interesting nonetheless. With U.S. cable news chattering away as it does, this sort of respite can be informative. The NWN live link to RT does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** 24/7 LIVE TV NEWS FEED FROM AL JAZEERA. With the US entangled in two wars in the region, it’s valuable to keep up with news and perspectives from the leading Middle Eastern-based TV news network. Based in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, Al Jazeera is very influential and more than a bit controversial. Click here for a live TV news feed on your computer. The NWN live link to AJ does not constitute an endorsement of the channel’s views. It’s presented as an otherwise unavailable new media window.
** SCHWARZENEGGER’S CALIFORNIA. Here is my series of five columns on the governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Los Angeles Times in debate last fall, prior to the global economic meltdown, with Pulitzer Prize-winning former Times reporter/editor Bill Boyarsky, whose columns are also included. Among them is what I’m sure is the first piece examining Schwarzenegger’s legacy as governor of California. Since he will actually be governor of California until 2011. No technology known to be disruptive to the space/time continuum was used in its preparation. You can listen to my recent video webchat with Schwarzenegger here.
** TRACK GLOBAL AND NATIONAL ENERGY PRICES IN NEAR REAL TIME VIA BLOOMBERG ENERGY MARKET WATCH. Having crashed over $147 for yet another record on July 11th, 2008, crude oil closed on Thursday at $78.35 per barrel. Energy markets are closed for Christmas weekend.
This is up about $44 from the low of $34 per barrel prior to enactment of the Obama economic recovery program, reflecting a low point in global economic activity.
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| Comments (61) |
Sergi,
Back at you. Thanks for bringing a your set of eyes to this list. Hope that you and your family have a wonderful day!
—–
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!!!!!!
I like the Obamas’ Christmas talk. Merry Christmas!
That Eagles Christmas song is great.
Barack and Michelle’s Christmas talk is great.
It IS the Eagles… Hahaha.
Jonas Blane says:
December 25, 2009 at 9:34 am
That Eagles Christmas song is great.
Hey, Solon! I hope SC gets it together better than Cal tomorrow in San Francisco!
Merry Christmas everybody!
CB,
Merry Christmas!
We shall see what happens tomorrow. See if Troy brings game or not. However, whatever the case may be, ’tis merely a game.
Here’s a little present for you, good article in today’s New York Times. Think you will enjoy it!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/us/25eleanor.html?ref=todayspaper
Happy Holidays!
I love the Avatar essay and the Doctor Who video.
New video today on the Nigerian terrorist?
http://www.facesofthefallen.org/iraq-soldiers.html