A BUSY WEEK FOR THE PRESIDENT
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger Photographer: George Whylie Videographer: Maxine NolanThis was an eventful week for the President with a busy agenda and much going on around the world and in our own country.
The week began with the shocking statement of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation. President Obama warmly remembered his meeting with the Holy Father in 2009 and expressed his appreciation of their work together over the last four years and wished him the best for the future.
On the heels of the North Korean announcement of a nuclear test, Obama stressed that the United States will also continue to take steps necessary to defend ourselves and our allies, strengthening close coordination with allies and partners and a continuance to work with our Six-Party partners, the United Nations Security Council and other UN member states to pursue firm action.
The State of the Union Address was up next on the agenda and President Obama was eager to share the items that he plans to focus on for the next four years. Here are some of the excerpts from the speech:
“It is our generation’s task, then, to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth – a rising, thriving middle class.
It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country – the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.
It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation of ours.”
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“A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs – that must be the North Star that guides our efforts. Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation: How do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with the skills needed to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?”
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“Tonight, I’ll lay out additional proposals that are fully paid for and fully consistent with the budget framework both parties agreed to just 18 months ago. Let me repeat – nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime. It’s not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.”
Early education for all Americans will be a strong focal point for the next few years. The President plans on putting these measures in place:
*Providing high-quality preschool for every child, Growing the supply of effective early learning opportunities for young children and extending and expanding evidence-based voluntary home visiting. Investment in the federal Head Start program will continue to grow. Later in the week, Obama advocated these measures even further with a visit to the Decatur Community Recreation Center in Decatur, Georgia.
One of the highlights to hit the hearts of Americans everywhere was the President’s promise to withdraw 34,000 American troops from Afghanistan by this time next year, decreasing the number of U.S. troops in that nation by half. This action will begin to bring the extended war to a close. Beyond 2014, there are already discussions with the Afghan government on training, advising and equipping the Afghan forces as well as continued counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda and their affiliates.
Keeping the momentum going, President Obama visited a factory in Asheville, North Carolina, to discuss his plan set forth to grow the economy and make America a magnet for jobs and manufacturing.
On February 15, 2013, President Obama announced the minimum wage would be increased to $9.00 an hour, partner with communities to help them rebuild and put people back to work, strengthen families and create pathways to jobs for all Americans. He reinforced his viewpoint and this step-by-step plan in his weekly address given to the American people.
The week began to wind down as President Obama took part in the ‘2012 Presidential Citizens Medals Presentation’.
After such a hectic week, it was definitely time to wind down as Air Force One touched down in Palm Beach County, Florida on Friday evening, February 15, 2013.
Waking up on a brisk partly sunny Saturday morning in Palm City, Florida, the President was looking forward to a good game of golf at ‘The Floridian’, an exclusive Yacht & Golf Club highly recommended by avid golf enthusiasts fond of playing on this course.
Now it is time for some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
PHOTO CREDITS: Hope Wilkos, Getty Images, Bloomberg.com, AP Photo/Charles Dharapak and Jacquelyn Martin
