[Swiftwater Gazette] "Obama is overwhelmed"

[Brad Haslett]

Rik,

Too much partying?  While Rome burns?

Brad

--------------
"We haven't seen this kind of entertaining in a really long time," Dee
Dee Myers, former White House press secretary to Bill Clinton,
said....."

Obama kicks up White House entertaining  	
Mar 2 12:09 PM US/Eastern
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House is the place to be on Wednesdays.

Since the presidency changed hands less than six weeks ago, a burst of
entertaining has taken hold of the iconic, white-columned home of
America's head of state. Much of it comes on Wednesdays.

The stately East Room, where portraits of George and Martha Washington
adorn the walls, was transformed into a concert hall as President
Barack Obama presented Stevie Wonder with the nation's highest award
for pop music on Wednesday.

A week before that, the foot-stomping sounds of Sweet Honey in the
Rock, a female a cappella group, filled the East Room for a Black
History Month program first lady Michelle Obama held for nearly 200
sixth- and seventh-graders from around the city.

Cocktails were sipped during at least three such receptions to date,
all held on Wednesdays.

Bookending the midweek activity were a Super Bowl party for select
Democratic and Republican lawmakers and a dinner for governors, the
new administration's first black-tie affair. It was capped with a
performance by the 1970s pop group Earth, Wind and Fire. And a conga
line.

The flurry of entertaining is in keeping with the Obamas' promise to
make the White House a more open place for everyone.

The governors' dinner was "a great kickoff of what we hope will be an
atmosphere here in the White House that is welcoming and that reminds
everybody that this is the people's house," Obama told the state chief
executives after they had dined on Maryland crab, Wagyu beef,
Nantucket scallops and citrus salad.

"We are just temporary occupants. This is a place that belongs to the
American people and we want to make sure that everybody understands
it's open," he said.

At the dinner in the State Dining Room, the Obamas looked comfortable,
chatting and smiling with their guests. Afterward, they escorted the
governors down the hall to the East Room, which had been arranged with
few tables and chairs to encourage dancing to "September," "Boogie
Wonderland" and other hits from a musical group Obama listened to
growing up.

The conga line formed after the media were escorted out and,
apparently, after Obama had called it a night.

"Thank you also for waiting until I had left before you started the
conga line," the president told the governors the next morning. "I
hear it was quite a spectacle."

Some Obama guests say he immediately puts them at ease. He indulges
them and serves cookies, too.

"People like me felt comfortable in his presence," said Rep. Mike
Honda, D-Calif., a self-described "poor country boy" who said he felt
like a "freshman going to the senior prom" when he attended a White
House reception for leaders of the congressional caucuses.

"Sometimes when you're in the presence of the most powerful person in
the world, in the most powerful democracy in the world ... I was in
awe that I was comfortable," said Honda, chairman of the Asian Pacific
American Caucus. "I think that's his style and how he grew up, who he
is.

"He's down to earth and engaging," Honda said.

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., was among those invited for the Super
Bowl. He said Obama, an avid sports fan, joined his guests for most of
the game between the Arizona Cardinals and ultimately triumphant
Pittsburgh Steelers.

"It wasn't a circumstance where he came in and said 'Hi' and then
left," Franks said. "He actually stayed and watched the game."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, said Obama was very cordial, and he and
the first lady made guests feel comfortable. The president talked to
everyone before the game started, she said, including a 12-year-old
boy who asked Obama where the bathroom was.

"My favorite part was when he personally served us cookies—oatmeal
raisin—when we were watching the game," she said.

The gathering in the White House theater over hot dogs and hamburgers
was one of several get-to-know-the-members events Obama held as he
lobbied Congress to support his nearly $800 billion economic recovery
package. His efforts produced no Republican votes in the House and
just three in the Senate, but Franks said he still appreciated the
Democratic president's efforts to reach out to the opposing party.

"I think the value of social interaction like this is not so much that
it co-opts anyone in any way. It certainly didn't in my case," said
Franks, who described his conversation with Obama at the party as
substantive. "I think it humanizes and personalizes opponents. We can
diminish politics and try to work together for what's right for the
country."

Michelle Obama is doing her own entertaining, too. When her husband
visited Canada last month, she organized a "girls' night" at the White
House with secretaries, policymakers and popcorn for a screening of
"He's Just Not that Into You," the first lady told People magazine.

Obama played the role of "first fan" at the Wonder tribute, and opened
up about his and his wife's common enjoyment of Wonder's music.

"As Stevie knows, I'm a huge fan. And he has been a great supporter,"
Obama said before presenting the award-winning singer-songwriter with
the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress.

He said Wonder's songs "became the soundtrack of my youth" and that in
them he "found peace and inspiration, especially in difficult times."

Obama presented the medal to Wonder, then wrapped the singer in a bear
hug. As the media were led out of the room, Wonder struck up "Signed,
Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," which was a staple of Obama's campaign
rallies.


On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 12:53 AM, Eric Sandberg <sanderico1 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Brad,
>
> Damn, having a real job is a little tougher than hangin' out wit da
> brothers, organizin' da community!
>
> And everybody in Europe thought he was such a hero. A couple more snubs like
> this and we'll be hearing about what a great statesman GWB was. At least he
> had the gumption to get up and go to work.
>
> Rik
>
>
>
> On Sat, Mar 7, 2009 at 9:06 PM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Once again, you have to read the foreign press to find the truth.  I
>> just finished Bernie Goldberg's "A Slobbering Love Affair".  All of
>> Goldberg's books on the MSM are good, this one as well.
>>
>>  Apparently, Teleprompter Jesus is just too tired to give a proper
>> welcome to our closest allies.
>>
>> Brad
>>
>> -------------------
>>
>>
>> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4953523/Barack-Obama-too-tired-to-give-proper-welcome-to-Gordon-Brown.html
>> _______________________________________________
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>
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