April D. Ryan

Obama Girls Get Swine Flu Shots
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
The Obama daughters, Malia and Sasha, have gotten their swine flu shots.
The White House has been flooded with questions about whether the First Family has been vaccinated against H1N1, the swine flu virus. The administration posted the answer on its Web site Tuesday: President Obama and his wife Michelle will “wait until the needs of the priority groups” — including young people under 24, pregnant women and people with underlying illnesses — have been vaccinated. But Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, fall within the priority groups, and they received their injections last week from the White House doctor, who applied for the vaccine through the District of Columbia Department of Health “using the same process as every other vaccination site in the District.”

The vaccinations are bound to raise questions about whether the Obama girls were given special treatment. The administration is grappling with questions about why the vaccine is not more readily available. Officials, including the secretary of heath and human services, Kathleen Sebelius, say the holdup is with the manufacturers, whose production process has been slower than anticipated.
But at the same time, the White House may be trying to set a positive example amid concerns about the vaccine’s safety. Sharing the news that the president has allowed his own daughters to receive the shots could assuage the fears of ordinary Americans who are wondering whether or not to get vaccinated.

Just over four years from the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and levy breaks, NAACP sources contend the city of New Orleans is in need of the basics. The source says when you have a city in despair there is an influx of crime. They say that crime has to be met with a police force that can handle the situation. The big easy is still in dire need of police and fire officials along with teachers and other public servants.

Marc Morial, the former Mayor of New Orleans and the head of the National Urban League wants the President to pledge to accelerate the reconstruction of the city.

 

President Obama accepts the Nobel Peace Prize award. His award was about his promise of engaging the world in conversation after years of no communications with countries like Iran and North Korea.
Some contend the Prize is a double edged sword as the President is recognized for his peace. The question, how does Mr. Obama explain the possibility of sending more troops into Afghanistan? Obama officials say it is a necessity to keep the homeland safe.

President Obama is still working on the strategy for Afghanistan and if there should be up to 40 thousand additional U-S troops.   Mr.  Obama wants a strategy in place before he makes any commitments for additional troops.

Then presidential candidate Barack Obama discussed the matter of Afghanistan on occasion to include August 2001 at the Wilson Center.

Remarks of Senator Obama: The War We Need to Win
Washington, DC | August 01, 2007
Parts of Afghanistan are falling into the hands of the Taliban, and a mix of terrorism, drugs, and corruption threatens to overwhelm the country.

As President, I would deploy at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan to re-enforce our counter-terrorism operations and support NATO’s efforts against the Taliban. As we step up our commitment, our European friends must do the same, and without the burdensome restrictions that have hampered NATO’s efforts. We must also put more of an Afghan face on security by improving the training and equipping of the Afghan Army and Police, and including Afghan soldiers in U.S. and NATO operations.

We must not, however, repeat the mistakes of Iraq. The solution in Afghanistan is not just military — it is political and economic. As President, I would increase our non-military aid by $1 billion. These resources should fund projects at the local level to impact ordinary Afghans, including the development of alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers. And we must seek better performance from the Afghan government, and support that performance through tough anti-corruption safeguards on aid, and increased international support to develop the rule of law across the country.

Can the public stomach another war and more troops?

Republican Senator John McCain answers the question at the White House this week saying, “If they are properly lead and properly explained to and the consequences of failure explained, then yes…Half measures is what I worry about.  Not getting completely out of Afghanistan.   Half measures that were the same kind that took place under Rumsfeld and Casey that lead to failure over time and an erosion of American public support.”

A recent protest at the White House against the Afghanistan war and the possibility of more troops.

By CAROL E. LEE

White House senior adviser David Axelrod called Rio de Janeiro’s selection as the host city of the 2016 Olympic …

 
… Games a “breakthrough” Friday afternoon.

“It was always true that they were making a very strong bid. Latin America’s not had an Olympics, so this is a breakthrough in that regard, so it’s not terribly surprising. We always assumed that if it weren’t Chicago it would probably be Rio,” Axelrod told POLITICO.

Moments before, the top Obama aide had spoken with POLITICO about Chicago’s rejection in Denmark - declaring President Obama’s trip to Copenhagen was worth it.

“I think everybody understood that it was very competitive situation and they thought that it would be valuable for him to come, and he came on that basis. There certainly were no guarantees, and we didn’t go with any illusions that he was gonna come home with the prize,” Axelrod said.

Asked if the White House had expected Chicago to win, and if he was surprised by the decision, Axelrod said, “We didn’t know,” and said the politics of the International Olympic Committee was out of his league.

“As I said, the lobbying around the - you know I come from Chicago, so I’m used to intense politics, but nothing quite rivals apparently the politics around the IOC and getting these Olympic Games,” Axelrod said. “And you know, as I said the head of the former president of the Olympic Committee … was leading the bid for Madrid. That has to count for something. He’s been working with the committee for years. He knows all the members. I’m sure that that was a benefit to them, and all these countries made strong bids, so it is what it is. But I think the president would do it again if he had the opportunity.”