President Obama's 100 days in Missouri

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(enlarge) Jeff Roberson / AP

ARNOLD, Mo. -- Delivering his own progress report on his first 100 days in office, President Barack Obama today told a Missouri audience that things are turning around, but that he is "not a miracle worker" and needs more time to fix what's ailing America.

The president marked his 100th day in office with a stop in what he called "the middle of America," also a battleground state that he narrowly lost in November's elections, a place, he maintained today, where "common sense often reigns."

"You're who I'm working for every day in the White House," Obama told a cheering crowd in Fox High School's auditorium. He offered an update on an assignment that he gave Americans in his inaugural address: "I've come back to report that we have begun to pick ourselves up, and dust ourselves off."

read: http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/04/obamas_100_days_playing_along.html





As the president walked onto the horseshoe-shaped stage, there was no campaign-theme music, only the ringing of applause from people standing on all stands of him. He shook a few hands on his way up and waved as he stepped behind the podium decorated with a gold presidential seal.

“Hello everybody!” Mr. Obama said, throwing his hand into the air to wave to the crowd. “It’s good to be out of Washington.”

It is his first trip back to Missouri since last November, when he visited Springfield, Mo., two days before the election. With a smile, Mr. Obama recalled that trip to a conservative enclave in the southwestern part of the state: “Some folks were surprised that we showed up.”

“We were here in Missouri at the end of the long journey to the White House,” Mr. Obama said, “and now I want to come back to you to speak to you at the beginning of another long journey.”

read: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/the-presidents-100th-day/?hp





Visiting the only battleground state he lost on election day, President Obama told an adoring crowd in this St. Louis suburb that he was glad to be back in middle America "where common sense often rings."

Obama held (the) town hall-style meeting in the gymnasium of Arnold's Fox Senior High School. Several hundred supporters greeted him with ovations and cheered as he took questions, outlined his policies and joked with audience members.

Outside, several dozen abortion protesters held up gruesome photos of aborted fetuses and condemned Obama's support for abortion rights.

But none of those protesters turned up inside the school as Obama issued a sort of report card on his first 100 days in office — a time of reflection the White House has mocked as a "Hallmark holiday" but marked with the meeting here and a prime-time press conference scheduled for this evening from the East Room.

read: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-04-29-obama-missouri_N.htm






Senator Claire McCaakill (D-MO), who had joined the President on Air Force One on the flight from Washington, sat in a VIP area to Obama's right. She was joined by Governor Jay Nixon, Attorney General Chris Koster, State Treasurer Clint Zweifel, State Auditor Susan Montee, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, former U.S. Senator Jean Carnahan, State Senator Ryan McKenna (D-Crystal City), and State Representative Tim Meadows (D-Arnold).

The President spoke for about 20 minutes before going to the town hall question and answer format . . .

Heading to the Q&A portion of the event, Obama took six questions from the audience. Issues covered included concerns about the United States auto industry, improving our educational system in the country, the future of Social Security, alternative medical care, relations with other countries, and the environment.

read: http://www.missourinet.com/gestalt/go.cfm?objectid=F2BE9916-5056-B82A-379BC4710E1695A9






Obama acknowledged challenges of "unprecedented size and scope," including the recession. These challenges, he said, could not be met with "half measures."

"They demand action that is bold and sustained. They call on us to clear away the wreckage of a painful recession, But also, at the same time, lay the building blocks for a new prosperity. And that's the work that we've begun over these first 100 days," he said.

He responded to critics who say he is trying to do too much as he works to address the recession as well as health care, energy and education.

"There's no mystery to what we've done; the priorities that we've acted upon were the things that we said we'd do during the campaign," he said, prompting loud applause.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/29/obama.town.hall/






The first question he took focused on the future of Chrysler, whose plant in Fenton has shed shifts amid the economic slowdown. Later, he took a swipe at the "Tea Party" protesters who have organized rallies decrying the White House's stimulus package.

"You see folks waving tea bags around -- let me just remind them I am happy to have a serious conversation about how we are going to cut our health care cuts over the long term, how we are gong to stabilize social security," Obama said. "Lets not play games," Obama said, that the recovery act is the reason for the country's deficit.

"That's just a fraction of the overall problem we've got," Obama said.

The president took several minutes on each question, on answers that touched on everything from acupuncture to global warming.

read: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/politics/story/C8E9F2C82D71B8D0862575A70060DEB8?OpenDocument





"Now, after 100 days, I'm pleased with the progress we've made, but I'm not satisfied," an upbeat Obama said.

"I'm confident in the future, but I'm not content with the present," he added. "Not when there are workers that are still out of jobs, families who still can't pay their bills."

"We've come a long way, we can see the light on the horizon, but we've got a much longer journey ahead," Obama said.

read: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hkWHxW56sJ8oJ5rEQ61V-fG6jYMQ






transcript: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Arnold-Missouri-Town-Hall/

download/listen: President Obama's town hall in Arnold (1:12:00 MP3): http://www.missourinet.com/podcast/feed/A6AFFF9D-C09F-1E1C-6BE13276F8998390/article/F2BE9916-5056-B82A-379BC4710E1695A9/audio/F2DC3170-5056-B82A-3744D1D403E5E935/042909ObamaArnold.MP3

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1. i thought is was some kind of Schwarzenegger porn film

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2. Boom!

Well done

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3. undoing it . . .

funny, though

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4. . . .

President Barack Obama waves as he walks across the South Lawn returning to the White House in Washington, April 29, 2009.
REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES)

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5. ^