“Saluting Service in Iraq”
The Administration has created a social-media vehicle to allow the American people to salute our troops who served in Iraq. The website is called “Saluting Service in Iraq” and can be accessed via: www.whitehouse.gov/salute. Users can upload thank-you text messages and videos to the site.
First Family Vacation Ends
The Obama’s concluded their ten-day vacation at Martha’s Vineyard—an island near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The family rented, at their own expense, Blue Heron Farm—a twentyeight acre compound. Family friend and top aide, Valerie Jarrett accompanied the family as well as other Administration advisors. For the President, it was a working vacation on an island with a long history of hosting First Families.
Oval Office Makeover
While the President was on vacation, the Oval Office got a makeover. The office was last decorated by Laura Bush. The redecorated office now has shades of brown, taupe, and blue. Mrs. Bush’s yellow, sunflower rug was replaced by a large rug with inspirational quotes around the edges and the presidential seal in the middle. The quotes, chosen by President Obama, include:
“The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Fear Itself” – President Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Government of the People, By the People, For the People” – President Abraham Lincoln
“The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Towards Justice” – Martin Luther King Jr.;
“No Problem of Human Destiny is Beyond Human Beings” – President John F. Kennedy;
And “The Welfare of Each of Us is Dependent
Fundamentally Upon the Welfare of All of Us” – President Theodore Roosevelt
The non-profit White House Historical Association paid for the office makeover through a contribution from the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Obama still uses the famous Resolute Desk (described in the movie National Treasure: Book of Secrets) favored by many of his predecessors.
Remembering Katrina
The President spent the fifth anniversary of the Katrina tragedy with residents of New Orleans. Obama focused his remarks on those citizens who are working hard to rebuild the city. Addressing a crowd at the Historically Black College -- Xavier University, Obama related their determination to reopen saying, “We see that here at Xavier, less than a month after the storm struck, amidst debris and flood-damaged buildings, President Francis promised that this university would reopen in a matter of months. Some said he was crazy. Some said it couldn’t happen. But they didn’t count on what happens when one force of nature meets another. And by January -- four months later -- class was in session. Less than a year after the storm, I had the privilege of delivering a commencement address to the largest graduating class in Xavier’s history. That is a symbol of what New Orleans is all about.”
“Turning the Page” on the Iraq War
The President started the day at Fort Bliss in Texas honoring the troops that served in Iraq saying, “I wanted to come down to Fort Bliss mainly to say thank you and to say welcome home.”
In the evening, Obama gave a prime time address to Americans signaling the end of the combat phase of the Iraq war. At Fort Bliss, the President described the upcoming speech as “not a victory lap” and not “self-congratulatory.”
There was no “Mission Accomplished” during the speech to the nation, just the recognition that although there was division regarding entering the war, all Americans join together in supporting and honoring those that served.
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