What Government Did Today

WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY, 2010 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Ninety years ago, on August 26, 1920, the ratification of the 19th Amendment to our Constitution was completed, guaranteeing women the right to vote, renewing our commitment to equality and justice, and marking a turning point in our Nation’s history.  As we celebrate this important milestone and the achievements and shattered ceilings of the past, we also recognize the inequalities that remain and our charge to overcome them.

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Presidential Proclamation–Women’s Equality Day, 2010

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, the President urged Republican leaders in Congress to end their obstruction of a bipartisan bill that will reduce the influence wielded by corporations and foreign entities.  The President vowed to continue the fight for reform and transparency, and said elected officials who benefit from corporate or foreign-funded ads should either defend the ads or join the bipartisan effort to stop them. The full audio of the address is HERE .

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Weekly Address: President Obama Challenges Politicians Benefiting from Citizens United Ruling to Defend Corporate Influence in Our Elections

Private Residence Dallas, Texas August 9, 2010 4:34 P.M. CDT   THE PRESIDENT:  Well, thank you very much, everybody.  It is wonderful to be with you.  And I just first of all want to thank Russell and Dori for the wonderful hospitality in a gorgeous home.  So thank you very much.  Give them a big round of applause.  (Applause.)    And I want to also say thank you for doing such a great job training my Ambassador Ron Kirk.  (Laughter.)  He has been doing yeoman’s work internationally, and I know it’s because he has such good friends in Dallas who, along with Matrice, keep him straight.  (Laughter.)  So we are pleased to have him in the administration.  He is just a great friend as well as a great national leader.

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Remarks by the President at a DSCC Finance Event in Dallas, Texas

Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Texas 12:55 P.M. CDT THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Hello, Austin!  Thank you so much.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Please have a seat, have a seat, have a seat.  Well, first of all, thank you, Linda, for that terrific introduction.  I would have heard it again.  (Laughter.)  I would have been happy.   A few other great friends — your own, somebody from Texas, but who is doing a great job internationally on behalf of all the American people as my Trade Representative, Ambassador Ron Kirk is here.  (Applause.)  More importantly, Ambassador Ron Kirk’s mom is here.  (Applause.)  A wonderful congressman who is battling day in, day out on behalf of the people of Texas and the folks in his district — Lloyd Doggett is here.  (Applause.)  I want to thank Mayor Lee Leffingwell for his hospitality.  (Applause.)  Texas Democratic Party chair Boyd Richie and his lovely wife Betty are here.  (Applause.)  And our DNC deputy national finance chair Kirk Rudy is here.  (Applause.)  It’s good to be back in Texas.  And it’s really good to be back in Austin.  (Applause.)  I just love Austin, Texas.  I do.  Every time I come here I like the people, I like the food, I like the music.  I like that there are a bunch of Democrats here.  (Laughter.)  I like that, too.  (Applause.)  It is wonderful.  And as I look out throughout this crowd, there’s so many of you who did so much on behalf of our campaign, on behalf of my election.  You were with us when we were up; you were with us when we were down — and you will recall we had some down days.  And I know that if it weren’t for you I might not be standing here as President of the United States.  So, to all my good friends here in Texas, thank you very much for everything that you’ve done.  (Applause.)  Of course, whenever I talk to my supporters I am reminded of a story Abraham Lincoln liked to tell:  A man comes to the White House demanding to see the President — and this is at a time when things were a little more relaxed in terms of security — so he insists that he was a big supporter of President Lincoln.  Finally he gets through reception, gets an audience with the President, and says, “If it weren’t for me you would not be President of the United States.”  And President Lincoln says, “I forgive you.”  (Laughter.)  It is an extraordinary honor, obviously, to be your President.  But I will also say that the last few years have been incredibly challenging for so many people throughout America.  You know that here.  It’s certainly true all across the country.

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Remarks by the President at a DNC Finance Event in Austin, Texas

Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Texas 12:55 P.M. CDT THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Hello, Austin!  Thank you so much.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)  Please have a seat, have a seat, have a seat.  Well, first of all, thank you, Linda, for that terrific introduction.  I would have heard it again.  (Laughter.)  I would have been happy.   A few other great friends — your own, somebody from Texas, but who is doing a great job internationally on behalf of all the American people as my Trade Representative, Ambassador Ron Kirk is here.  (Applause.)  More importantly, Ambassador Ron Kirk’s mom is here.  (Applause.)  A wonderful congressman who is battling day in, day out on behalf of the people of Texas and the folks in his district — Lloyd Doggett is here.  (Applause.)  I want to thank Mayor Lee Leffingwell for his hospitality.  (Applause.)  Texas Democratic Party chair Boyd Richie and his lovely wife Betty are here.  (Applause.)  And our DNC deputy national finance chair Kirk Rudy is here.  (Applause.)  It’s good to be back in Texas.  And it’s really good to be back in Austin.  (Applause.)  I just love Austin, Texas.  I do.  Every time I come here I like the people, I like the food, I like the music.  I like that there are a bunch of Democrats here.  (Laughter.)  I like that, too.  (Applause.)  It is wonderful.  And as I look out throughout this crowd, there’s so many of you who did so much on behalf of our campaign, on behalf of my election.  You were with us when we were up; you were with us when we were down — and you will recall we had some down days.  And I know that if it weren’t for you I might not be standing here as President of the United States.  So, to all my good friends here in Texas, thank you very much for everything that you’ve done.  (Applause.)  Of course, whenever I talk to my supporters I am reminded of a story Abraham Lincoln liked to tell:  A man comes to the White House demanding to see the President — and this is at a time when things were a little more relaxed in terms of security — so he insists that he was a big supporter of President Lincoln.  Finally he gets through reception, gets an audience with the President, and says, “If it weren’t for me you would not be President of the United States.”  And President Lincoln says, “I forgive you.”  (Laughter.)  It is an extraordinary honor, obviously, to be your President.  But I will also say that the last few years have been incredibly challenging for so many people throughout America.  You know that here.  It’s certainly true all across the country.

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Remarks by the President at a DNC Finance Event in Austin, Texas

East Room 2:25 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT:  This is a good day.  (Laughter.)  Good afternoon, everybody.  Welcome to the White House.  I am pleased that all of you could be here today as we celebrate the next member of our nation’s highest court.  And while she may be feeling a twinge of sadness about giving up the title of “General” — (laughter) — a cool title — I think we can all agree that “Justice Elena Kagan” has a pretty nice ring to it.  (Applause.) We are very honored to be joined today by two of Elena’s new colleagues — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Anthony Kennedy — and we’re thankful for their presence.  (Applause.)  Justice Kennedy assured me that he would keep Justice Kagan out of trouble, and Justice Ginsburg assured me that she would get Justice Kagan into trouble.  (Laughter.)  So we’ll see how that works out.  (Laughter.)  We’re also pleased to have several members of Congress, as well as our Cabinet here today; and of course members of Elena’s family.  And thanks to all of you for your service and for taking time to be here today.   I also want to express my gratitude to our Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Leahy; Ranking Member, Senator Sessions; Majority Leader Reid; and Republican Leader McConnell, for seeing to it that Elena got a full, fair and timely hearing.  After more than 80 one-on-one meetings and 17 hours of testimony, I’d say that the Senate got a pretty good look at Elena Kagan.  They got a good sense of her judicial philosophy, her commitment to the rule of law, her rich understanding of our Constitution, and of course, where she can be found on Christmas Day.  (Laughter.)  The bipartisan support she received in yesterday’s vote is yet another example of the high esteem in which she’s held by folks across the political spectrum.  There aren’t many law school deans who receive standing ovations from both the Federalist Society and the American Constitution Society.  And I don’t know too many folks whose fans include President Clinton, Judge Abner Mikva, and Justice Ginsburg, as well as Ken Starr, Miguel Estrada, and Justice Scalia.  In fact, I understand that Justice Scalia came to relish their spirited exchanges during Elena’s appearances before the Court — even after Elena cheerfully informed him that he was, and I quote, “wrong” in his understanding of a recent case.  (Laughter.)  I’m sure that was refreshing for him to hear.  (Laughter.)  These folks may not agree on much, but they’ve all been impressed, as I have, by Elena’s formidable intellect and path-breaking career — as an acclaimed scholar and presidential advisor, as the first woman to serve as Dean of the Harvard Law School, and most recently as Solicitor General.  They admire how, while she could easily have settled into a comfortable practice in corporate law, she chose instead to devote her life to public service.  They appreciate her even-handedness and open-mindedness, and her excellent — and often irreverent — sense of humor.    These are traits that she happens to share with the last Solicitor General who went on to become a Supreme Court Justice — one for whom Elena clerked, and whom she considers one of her heroes — Justice Thurgood Marshall.  And we are very proud to have Justice Marshall’s widow here today joining us.  (Applause.) In a tribute she wrote after Justice Marshall’s death, Elena recalled how she and her fellow clerks took turns standing guard when his casket lay in state at the Supreme Court — and how 20,000 people stood in a line that stretched around the block to pay their respects.  They were people from every background and every walk of life: black, white, rich and poor, young and old.  Many brought their children, hoping to impress upon them the lessons of Justice Marshall’s extraordinary life.  Some left notes, some left flowers.  One mourner left a worn slip opinion of Brown v.

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Remarks by the President and Elena Kagan at Reception Honoring Her Confirmation

Chicago Cultural Center Chicago, Illinois 5:30 P.M.

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Remarks by the President at a DNC Finance Event in Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois 3:56 P.M. CDT THE PRESIDENT:  Good afternoon.  I am very pleased that the Senate has just voted to confirm Elena Kagan as our nation’s 112th Supreme Court Justice.  And I want to thank the Senate Judiciary Committee, particularly its Chairman, Senator Leahy, for giving her a full, fair and timely hearing.  Over the past two months, the committee has scrutinized Elena’s record as a scholar, as a law school dean, as a presidential advisor, and as Solicitor General.  And after 17 hours of testimony during which she answered more than 540 questions, I’d say they got a pretty good look at Elena Kagan.  They’ve gotten a good sense of her formidable intelligence, her rich understanding of our Constitution, her commitment to the rule of law, and her excellent — and occasionally irreverent — sense of humor.  And they have come to understand why, throughout her career, she has earned the respect and admiration of folks from across the political spectrum — an achievement reflected in today’s bipartisan vote.  But today’s vote wasn’t just an affirmation of Elena’s intellect and accomplishments.  It was also an affirmation of her character and her temperament; her open-mindedness and even-handedness; her determination to hear all sides of every story and consider all possible arguments.  Because Elena understands that the law isn’t just an abstraction or an intellectual exercise.  She knows that the Supreme Court’s decisions shape not just the character of our democracy, but the circumstances of our daily lives — or, as she once put it, that “behind the law there are stories — stories of people’s lives as shaped by the law, stories of people’s lives as might be changed by law.”  So I am confident that Elena Kagan will make an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.  And I am proud, also, of the history we’re making with her appointment.  For nearly two centuries, there wasn’t a single woman on our nation’s highest court. When Elena takes her seat on that bench, for the first time in our history, there will be three women.  It is, as Ruth Bader Ginsburg recently stated, “one of the most exhilarating developments” — a sign of progress that I relish not just as a father who wants limitless possibilities for my two daughters, but as an American proud that our Supreme Court will be more inclusive, more representative, and more reflective of us as a people than ever before.

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Remarks by the President on the Senate Confirmation Vote

WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key administration posts:   Scott Doney, Chief Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce Nancy E. Lindborg, Assistant Administrator, Democracy Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Bureau, USAID Kevin Nealer, Member, Board of Directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation Chase T.

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President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts, 8/4/10

WASHINGTON, DC- Today, President Obama nominated Ripley Eagles Rand and M. Scott Bowen to serve as U.S. Attorneys.  “I am proud to nominate these outstanding individuals to serve as United States Attorneys,” said President Obama.  “They will be unwavering in their pursuit of justice and I am confident they will serve the people of North Carolina and Michigan with distinction.”  Ripley Eagles Rand, Nominee for United States Attorney, Middle District of North Carolina Ripley Rand is a Superior Court Judge for the State of North Carolina, a position he has held since 2002.  Prior to that, Mr

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President Obama Nominates Two to Serve as U.S. Attorneys, 7/28/10