White House

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 05, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Hey! Hello, everybody. Please sit down. Good afternoon, everybody. I wanted to come down and just talk a little bit about health care before Robert gives his regular briefing.

I am extraordinarily pleased and grateful to learn that the AARP and the American Medical Association are both supporting the health insurance reform bill that will soon come up to a vote in the House of Representatives.    » read more »

Department of Interior, Washington, D.C.

November 05, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Please, everybody have a seat. Thank you to Jefferson Keel, thanks for the wonderful introduction; to Clarence Jackson for the invocation. Good morning to all of you. I am honored to be with you today at this unique and historic event, the largest and most widely attended gathering of tribal leaders in our history. (Applause.) And I am so grateful to many members of Congress who could join us today, along with several members of my Cabinet who will be participating in this conference today.    » read more »

James C. Wright Middle School, Madison, Wisconsin

November 04, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. Hello, Madison! (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. Everybody, please, have a seat. Have a seat.

It is good to see all of you. Good to be back in Madison. I want to first of all just say that Jim Doyle is not only one of the finest governors we have in the country, but is also a great friend, a great supporter; his entire family has been wonderful. And so I just could not be prouder to associate myself with the outstanding work that Jim has done in the state. Please give him a big round of applause. (Applause.)    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 5, 2009 -- MR. GIBBS: All right, now that the warmup band has finished playing. (Laughter.) Probably only get to say that once or twice in my life. I might as well try today, right?

Yes, sir.

Q What prompted the President to come out today and make that statement, which sounded pretty tough?    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- Aboard Air Force One, En Route Madison, Wisconsin -- MR. EARNEST: Secretary Duncan is just going to provide an overview about the announcements today and answer a couple of questions that you guys have. A lot of the other stuff Gibbs covered in the gaggle today, so we're just going to stick to the policy stuff on Race to the Top.

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Any questions?

Q Do you want to just start with questions?

Q Can you give us an overview of --    » read more »

November 03, 2009 -- Thirty years ago today, the American Embassy in Tehran was seized. The 444 days that began on November 4, 1979 deeply affected the lives of courageous Americans who were unjustly held hostage, and we owe these Americans and their families our gratitude for their extraordinary service and sacrifice.    » read more »

Roosevelt Room

November 02, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. I am pleased to be joined this morning by my Economic Recovery Advisory Board. Each of these men and women have extraordinary and diverse expertise in the economy.

I want to especially thank Paul Volcker, who has been a terrific advisor to me since the transition and has continued to help steer this group in ways that are providing us some very practical advice as we move forward.    » read more »

Diplomatic Reception Room

October 30, 2009 -- THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody.

AUDIENCE: Good morning.

THE PRESIDENT: We often speak about AIDS as if it's going on somewhere else. And for good reason -- this is a virus that has touched lives and decimated communities around the world, particularly in Africa. But often overlooked is the fact that we face a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic of our own -- right here in Washington, D.C., and right here in the United States of America. And today, we are taking two important steps forward in the fight that we face here at home.    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 3, 2009 -- Q Do you know who the President is rooting for in the World Series yet?

MR. GIBBS: I emailed this to Basinet, who asked at the conclusion of last Friday's briefing --

Q I was the one who asked this question -- for the record.

MR. GIBBS: I'm sorry. He emailed me, because I guess --

Q Because you evaded the question.

MR. GIBBS: Well, I didn’t know the answer. It drew some apparent attention in New York. I asked the President. He said he hoped for a good series, but didn’t have a strong pull for either team.

Q There goes Pennsylvania. (Laughter.)

MR. GIBBS: We'll see. What's that?

Q Does that means seven games? A good series?    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

November 2, 2009 -- MR. GIBBS: Take us away, Ben.

Q Thanks, Robert. A few questions about Afghanistan. Can you tell us, first generally speaking, what's the President's reaction to the end of this election? And is he in any way relieved that this sort of messy process is over?

MR. GIBBS: Well, look, I think by all accounts, this has been a difficult process. This is the first election run by the Afghans. But I think the President, the embassy there, and everyone can take heart in the notion that the laws of Afghanistan and the institutions of Afghanistan prevailed in both instances.    » read more »

November 3, 2009 -- NEW YORK, N.Y.—Today, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter R. Orszag delivered a speech at New York University entitled "Rescue, Recovery, and Reining in the Deficit." Director Orszag’s appearance is sponsored by New York University and the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU. His prepared remarks are below.

Thank you for that kind introduction; thank you, President Sexton, for the invitation to come speak here today, and thank you all for your warm welcome.    » read more »

November 2, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today hosted a Clean Energy Economy Forum with stakeholders from 39 states across the country at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Deputy Secretary David Hayes and other top Department of the Interior officials spoke about the importance of renewable energy and job creation, climate impact and adaptation, and efforts to support and maintain the treasured landscapes of America in the emerging clean energy economy.    » read more »

October 31, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Barack Obama said that while times are still too difficult for too many American families, this week saw real evidence of progress in the economy. On Thursday, we learned that in the third quarter the GDP grew for the first time in over a year, and grew faster than it has in the previous two years.

And on Friday, reports from across the country made it clear that Recovery Act has now created or saved over one million jobs. The American people are still hurting, but these are signs that we are starting to move in the right direction.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
Saturday, October 31, 2009    » read more »

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

October 30, 2009 -- MR. GIBBS: Good afternoon. We'll try to do this quickly so we can get to afternoon meetings with the Joint Chiefs. But let me start out with giving you guys a quick rundown of the week ahead.

On Saturday, tomorrow, the First Family will welcome more than 2,000 local area children from Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia schools, and their families for trick-or-treating at the North Portico for Halloween. In addition, the President and First Lady and the Vice President and Dr. Biden will host a Halloween reception for military families and children of White House and White House residence staff.

Q What are they coming as?

MR. GIBBS: All sorts of things.    » read more »