Transcript: President Obama's Remarks On Richard Cordray/The Economy In Cleveland

President Obama spoke to a crowd of 1,274 at Shaker Heights High School in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday to announce the recess appointment of Richard Cordray as chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Before the speech, the President and Cordray met with Endia and William Eason, an elderly local couple who had been victimized by predatory lending practices, according to the White House. Ms. Eason gave the President one of her famous Sweet Potato Pies.

After his speech, the President shook hands, signed autographs and posed for pictures with supporters for more than twenty minutes. He departed at 2:18 PM, headed back to Washington, DC.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON THE ECONOMY

Shaker Heights High School
Shaker Heights, Ohio

1:26 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Ohio! (Applause.) Ah, it is good to be back in Ohio. (Applause.) It is good to be back in Shaker Heights -- (applause) -- home of the Red Raiders. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Mr. President, I love you!

THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. And I'm glad to be back. (Applause.) I'm glad to be here.

I want to thank your mayor, Earl Leiken, for hosting us today; -- (applause) -- your superintendent, Mark Freeman; -- (applause) -- the principal here, Mike Griffith. (Applause.) Well, and I know -- I'm pretty sure we've got a couple of congresspeople here, but I don't see them. Where are they? Okay, we've got Marcia Fudge. (Applause.) Marcy Kaptur is here. (Applause.) Dennis Kucinich. (Applause.) Betty Sutton in the house. (Applause.) Outstanding members of Congress, doing the right thing every day. So we thank them all for being here. (Applause.)

Now, I understand the folks here at this school have a pretty good basketball team. (Applause.) Boys and girls. (Applause.) Unfortunately, I have no eligibility left. (Laughter.) So I can't play with you.

I want to wish everybody a happy New Year -- 2012 is going to be a good year. (Applause.) It's going to be a good year. And one of my New Year's resolutions is to make sure that I get out of Washington and spend time with folks like you. (Applause.) Because folks here in Ohio and all across the country -- I want you to know you’re the reason why I ran for this office in the first place. You remind me what we are still fighting for. You inspire me. (Laughter.) Okay, you do. You remind me that this country is all about folks who work hard and where responsibility pays off, an America where anybody who puts in the effort and plays by the rules can get ahead.

That’s the America you deserve. (Applause.) That’s the America we’re working to build. That’s why I told Congress before the New Year they couldn’t leave for vacation until we made sure 160 million working Americans wouldn’t get hit with a tax hike on January 1st. (Applause.)

Now, this wasn’t easy. It should have been easy, but it wasn’t. But in the end, we got members of both parties to come together and make sure that you could keep more money in your paychecks each month. And you’re keeping that extra $40 in every paycheck because we made sure that we didn’t stunt the recovery. We made sure that families got the break that they need. And that means more security for your families. It also means a boost for our economy at a time when we've got to do everything we can to keep it growing. Because more money spent by more Americans means more businesses hiring more workers.

And so when I -- when Congress returns, I’m going to urge them to extend this tax cut all the way through 2012, with no drama, no delay. (Applause.) Do the right thing. It is a no-brainer. Let’s get it done. Let’s pass these tax cuts. (Applause.)

Now, we still have more to do. So today, we’re taking another important step -- one that will bring us closer to the economy that we need, an economy where everybody plays by the same rules.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes!

THE PRESIDENT: And to help us do that, I’m joined by somebody you might recognize -- Richard Cordray. (Applause.) Son of Ohio; a good, good man. (Applause.) Today I’m appointing Richard as America’s consumer watchdog. (Applause.) And that means he is going to be in charge of one thing: looking out for the best interests of American consumers. Looking out for you. (Applause.)

His job will be to protect families like yours from the abuses of the financial industry. His job will be to make sure that you’ve got all the information you need to make important financial decisions. Right away, he’ll start working to make sure millions of Americans are treated fairly by mortgage brokers and payday lenders and debt collectors. In fact, just this week, his agency is opening up a simple 1-800 number that you can call to make sure you’re getting a fair deal on your mortgage, and hold banks and brokers accountable if you’re not. (Applause.)

Now, I nominated Richard for this job last summer, so you may be wondering why am I appointing him today. It would be a good question. (Laughter.) For almost half a year, Republicans in the Senate have blocked Richard’s confirmation.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE PRESIDENT: They refused to even give Richard and up or down vote. Now, this is not because Richard is not qualified. There's no question that Richard is the right person for the job. He’s got the support of Democrats and Republicans around the country. A majority of attorney generals -- Richard is a former attorney general -- a majority of attorney generals from both parties across the country have called for Richard to be confirmed. Your local members of Congress who are here today -- they support him. He has the support of a majority in the Senate. Everyone agrees Richard is more than qualified.

So what’s the problem, you might ask. The only reason Republicans in the Senate have blocked Richard is because they don’t agree with the law that set up a consumer watchdog in the first place. They want to weaken the law. They want to water it down. And by the way, a lot of folks in the financial industry have poured millions of dollars to try to water it down.

That makes no sense. Does anybody think that the reason that we got in such a financial mess, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the worst economic crisis in a generation -- that the reason was because of too much oversight of the financial industry?

AUDIENCE: No!

THE PRESIDENT: Of course not. We shouldn’t be weakening oversight. We shouldn’t be weakening accountability. We should be strengthening it -- especially when it comes to looking out for families like yours. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: The financial firms have armies of lobbyists in Washington looking out for their interest. You need somebody looking out for your interest and fighting for you, and that's Richard Cordray. (Applause.)

Now, I have to say Richard is a really nice guy. (Laughter.) You know, you look at him and you think, this guy is not somebody who’s going around picking fights. And yet, this fight on behalf of consumers is something that Richard has been waging here in Ohio for the better part of two decades. (Applause.)

As your attorney general, he helped recover billions of dollars in things like pension funds on behalf of retirees. He protected consumers from dishonest lending practices. Before that, Richard was the state treasurer, where he earned a reputation for working with folks from across the spectrum -- Democrats, Republicans, bankers, consumer advocates -- had a great reputation across the board doing the right thing.

And, Cleveland, you’ve seen the difference that Richard can make for consumers, and I have, too. And that’s why I want Richard to keep standing up for you -- not just here in Ohio, but for consumers all across the country.

Now, every day that Richard waited to be confirmed -- and we were pretty patient. I mean, we kept on saying to Mitch McConnell and the other folks, let’s go ahead and confirm him. Why isn’t he being called up? Let’s go. Every day that we waited was another day when millions of Americans were left unprotected. Because without a director in place, the consumer watchdog agency that we’ve set up doesn’t have all the tools it needs to protect consumers against dishonest mortgage brokers or payday lenders and debt collectors who are taking advantage of consumers. And that’s inexcusable. It’s wrong. And I refuse to take no for an answer. (Applause.)

So I’ve said before that I want to look for every possible opportunity to work with Congress to move this country forward and create jobs. I’m going to look for every opportunity to try to bridge the partisan divide and get things done -- because that’s what the American people need right now. And that means putting construction workers back on the jobs repairing our roads and our bridges. (Applause.) That means keeping our teachers in the classrooms. (Applause.) That means keeping our cops and firefighters doing what they do, protecting us every day. (Applause.) That means helping small businesses get ahead. (Applause.) That means serving our veterans as well as they’ve served us, like this young man right in the front. We are grateful for him, for his service. (Applause.)

These are ideas that have support from Democrats; they have support from Republicans around the country, independents around the country. I want to work with Congress to get them done.

But when Congress refuses to act, and as a result, hurts our economy and puts our people at risk, then I have an obligation as President to do what I can without them. (Applause.) I’ve got an obligation to act on behalf of the American people. And I’m not going to stand by while a minority in the Senate puts party ideology ahead of the people that we were elected to serve. (Applause.) Not with so much at stake, not at this make-or-break moment for middle-class Americans. We’re not going to let that happen. (Applause.)

For way too long, we’ve had a financial system that was stacked against ordinary Americans. Banks on Wall Street played by different rules than businesses on Main Street. They played by different rules than a lot of community banks who were doing the right thing across the country -- hidden fees, fine print that led consumers to make financial decisions that they didn’t always understand.

Richard and I, before we came here, had an opportunity to visit with a wonderful elderly couple -- the Easons. And Mr. Eason is a former Marine, served in the Korean War. Ms. Eason makes a really good sweet potato pie. She gave me one. (Applause.) I’m going to eat it later, after. (Laughter.) I didn't want to eat it before because I didn't want to get sleepy having a big piece of pie right before. (Laughter.)

But their story was the story of a lot of folks in this region, where a mortgage broker came to them, said that they could do some home repair for a few thousand dollars, and they ended up getting scammed; the loans got flipped. They ended up owing $80,000, almost losing their home, and the repairs were never made.

Those kinds of practices, that’s not who we are. We cannot allow people to be taken advantage of. And it’s not just because it’s bad for those individuals. All that risky behavior led -- helped to contribute to the economic crisis that we’re all still digging ourselves out of. All those subprime loans, all those foreclosures, all the problems in the housing market -- that’s all contributing to an economy that’s not moving as fast as we want it.

And that’s why, last year, we put in place new rules -- new rules of the road to make sure that a few bad apples in the financial sector can’t break the law, they can’t cheat consumers, they can’t put our entire economy in danger. And many of these provisions are already starting to make a difference. For the first time in history, we put in place a consumer watchdog -- someone whose only job is to look out for the interests of everyday Americans.

And we are so fortunate to have somebody like Richard who’s willing to do it, despite great sacrifice to his family. He’s the right man for the job. (Applause.)

So if you’re a student -- I see some young people out here -- (applause) -- his job will be to protect you from dishonest lending practices and to make sure that you’ve got the information you need on student loans. (Applause.) He has already started up an initiative called “Know Before You Owe.” (Laughter.) That’s a good slogan -- “Know Before You Owe.” You don’t want to owe and then know. (Laughter.)

If you’re a veteran, he’ll help make sure that you aren’t taken advantage of when you’re coming home from serving your country. And it turns out that military families are some of the folks who are most vulnerable to some of these financial abuses.
If you’re a senior, Richard is going to help make sure you don’t lose your home or your retirement because somebody saw you as an easier target. And that’s what happened to the Easons. Endia, who I think is here -- Ms. Eason, are you here? You’re somewhere here. There’s -- Ms. Eason is down there. Ninety-one years old. (Applause.) And as I mentioned, Ms. Eason’s husband, William, is a former Marine -- also a former boxer. So don’t mess with him. (Laughter.)

And I just want to repeat, 10 years ago they were approached by a broker who offered them a loan to make needed repairs on their home; made everything sound easy. The Easons agreed. Broker ended up disappearing. They get left with $80,000 in debt, almost lose their home. They didn’t lose it because of the intervention of some terrific non-for-profits that Richard, when he was treasurer here in Ohio, helped to support. (Applause.)

East Side -- that's right. (Applause.)

Now, the Easons are good people. They're what America is all about. They worked hard. They served their country. They saved their money. They didn't live high on the hog. It’s a modest house. They earned the right to retire with dignity and with respect, and they shouldn’t have to worry about being tricked by somebody who's out to make a quick buck. And they need somebody who is going to stand up for them, and millions of Americans need somebody who is going to look out for their interests. And that person is Richard Cordray. (Applause.)

And we know what would happen if Republicans in Congress were allowed to keep holding Richard’s nomination hostage. More of our loved ones would be tricked into making bad financial decisions. More dishonest lenders could take advantage of some of the most vulnerable families. And the vast majority of financial firms who do the right thing would be undercut by those who don't.

See, most people in the financial services industry do the right thing, but they're at a disadvantage if nobody is enforcing the rules. We can't let that happen. Now is not the time to play politics while people’s livelihoods are at stake. Now is the time to do everything we can to protect consumers, prevent financial crises like the one that we’ve been through from ever happening again. That starts with letting Richard do his job.

So I know -- let me just close by saying this. I know that you're hearing a lot of promises from a lot of politicians lately. Today you’re only going to hear one from me. As long as I have the privilege of serving as your President, I promise to do everything I can every day, every minute, every second, to make sure this is a country where hard work and responsibility mean something and everybody can get ahead. Not just those at the very top, not just those who know how to work the system, but everybody.

That's what America has always been about. (Applause.) That's what America is going to be about today and tomorrow and 10 years from now and 20 years from now. And with the help of people like Richard Cordray, that's the country that we will always be.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America. (Applause.)

END 1:48 P.M. EST

##

TMZ Likes The Buff, Dirt-Eating President

Football and swimming photos from Hawaii vacation: "Pretty ripped for a 50-year-old"...
Gossip site TMZ today posted a whopping 121 "exclusive" photos of President Obama playing football on the beach during his tropical Christmas vacation. The photos had the headline "President Obama EATS DIRT in Shirtless Football Game," and TMZ said they were taken on New Year's Day at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. (Above: A screengrab from the site)

TMZ praised the President for his physique, calling him "pretty ripped for a 50-year-old," and also lauded the Presidential "cajones."

"Don't let anyone tell you Barack Obama lacks cojones -- because this weekend in Hawaii, the POTUS himself sacrificed his body to make a diving catch in a hardcore beach football game," TMZ wrote.

Obama daughters Malia and Sasha also appear in some of the photos, which depict a family romp in the surf of Kaneohe Bay. There were far less physical First Family activities the rest of New Year's Day, the last full day of the vacation.

On New Year's Day, the President arrived at the Base at 7:41 AM, and the temperature was "about 70 degrees, with light to moderate rain, plenty of clouds but also some peeks of a rising sun to the east," pool reported. Held far from the action at the local Starbucks, the pool had no idea the President was playing football or taking a swim with his daughters, rather than working out in the Base gym. The President and his entourage departed the Base at 9:18 AM.

"Obama -- who's pretty ripped for a 50-year-old -- makes some shockingly athletic plays ... diving for catches, tossing up some Hail Marys, and juking people all over the place," TMZ wrote.

The President celebrated his 50th birthday on August 4, 2011, with a big party at the White House.

TMZ sent the photos out to all news media after posting the images, with instructions that they can only be used until January 11, and posts in electronic media must link to their site. Obviously: View more photos here on TMZ. Above, The President eats dirt....

Transcript: Remarks By President Obama To Iowa Caucus Attendees

On the heels of his resounding win in the Iowa Coffee Bean Caucus, President Obama on Tuesday night spoke with Democratic attendees of the real deal, via video teleconference from the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC, which is a few blocks from the White House. Starting at 8:10 PM, the President spoke first with caucusers in Coralville, Iowa, and the crowd cheered as he appeared onscreen.  The livestream was marred by technical glitches and occasionally poor audio.  GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney won the main event of the evening, the Republican caucuses, by just 8 votes over Rick Santorum, 30,015 to 30,007.

After touting his Administration's achievements, the President said he needs more time to finish his work, then took two questions from women identified by a campaign spokesman as Roseann Cook of Coralville and Carol White of Cedar Rapids. The Obama Campaign recruited more than 7,500 new volunteers on Tuesday night, according to spokesman Ben LaBolt. (Above: A photo of the President in action, Tweeted by the Campaign)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________

For Immediate Release January 3, 2012

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO IOWA CAUCUS ATTENDEES

Via Video Teleconference

8:10 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Iowa! How are you guys? I miss you all. And I understand that it's actually warmer tonight than it was four years ago, which means, I'm sure, great turnout at the caucuses.

You know, on the ride over here I was reminiscing with David Plouffe. He was showing me actually an old advertisement from Iowa -- in fact, the last advertisement we did in the Iowa campaign. And other than pointing out how much more gray I am and how much older I look now than I did then, we actually were just remembering the incredible energy and excitement and the spirit of common purpose that those Iowa caucuses represent. It was an example of how the campaign was not about one person, but it was about all of us coming together to try to deliver the kind of change that had been talked about a long time in Washington, but all too often hadn’t been delivered on.

And it's because of you that I had this extraordinary honor over the last three years of working to try to deliver on that change. And obviously we didn’t know at the time how severe the economic crisis was going to be. We didn’t fully appreciate at the time the worldwide magnitude of the financial crisis. But we knew even then that the middle class had been taking it for a long time -- folks who had been trying to get into the middle class had found that the ladders that allowed for upward mobility had started to disintegrate for a lot of people.

And so we understood that what we were fighting for was an America where everybody had a fair shot, everybody did their fair share; that responsibility was rewarded and that the game wasn’t fixed, that it wasn’t rigged, and that if people did the right thing and worked hard, as so many families who in Iowa and throughout the country -- that they were going to be able to live out a piece of the American Dream.

We've still got a lot of work to do. But think about the change that was accomplished because of those caucuses four years ago. Because of those caucuses four years ago, we ended the war in Iraq, as promised, and our troops are now coming home.

Because of the work that so many of you did even before the caucuses four years ago, health care is a reality for millions of Americans, and seniors have seen the price of prescription drugs lowered, and there are 2 million young Americans who are able to keep their insurance even if they're not getting it through a job. And we're going to be able to say to every American out there who's got a preexisting condition or has gotten a raw deal from an insurance company that they're going to have some meaningful security, they're not going to be bankrupt if they get sick.

Because of you and the work that you did four years ago there are millions of young people all across the country who are able to get more affordable student loans and Pell Grants. They're able to afford college and apply themselves so that they can achieve a meaningful career that pays a good wage and provides good benefits.

Because of you we've been able to end the policy of "don't ask, don't tell" so that every American who wants to serve this country that they love have that opportunity regardless of who they love.

So across the board, whether it’s doubling fuel efficiency standards on cars, or making sure that we’ve got a more effective system to provide job training for people who’ve lost their jobs -- across the board, you have made a difference. But we all know we’ve got a lot more work that we have to do.

Although we’ve passed health care reform, we’ve passed Wall Street reform, there are a lot of forces that want to push back against us and want to undo some of those changes. And we’re battling millions of dollars of negative advertising and lobbyists and special interests who don't want to see the change that you worked so hard to fully take root. And that's why this time out is going to be in some ways more important than the first time out. Mitch is right. Change is never easy. The problems that we’ve been dealing with over the last three years, they didn't happen overnight and we’re not going to fix them overnight. But we’ve been making steady progress as long as we can sustain it. And that's what this is going to be all about.

So the only way we’re going to be able to do that is if all of you maintain the same determination, the same energy, the same drive, the same hopefulness, the same optimism about this wonderful country of ours as was on display four years ago. And I want you to know that because of you, because of all the memories I have of being in your living rooms or meeting you in a diner or seeing you over at a campaign office, I have never lost that same source of inspiration that drove me to embark on this journey in the first place. You guys inspire me every single day.

And I want us to remind each other that as much work as there may be out there before us, there’s nothing we can't accomplish when determined citizens come together to make a difference.

So thank you, everybody. I could not be prouder. And, Mitch, I think we’ve got a couple of -- time for a couple questions.

MR. STEWART: Yes, we do, sir. And the first question comes out of Coralville. Coralville, can you hear us?

AUDIENCE: (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Good evening, Mr. President. I’m Roseann, and I’m here as you can see, at a full house in the beautiful Performing Arts Center in Coralville, Iowa. How are you tonight?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m doing well. How are you?

Q Well, Mr. President, I think we’re having a little difficulty with audio, but I’m going to go ahead with my question.

Thinking about the caucuses four years ago, and as you reflected, you delivered your message of hope and change, but we didn’t know in 2008 the extent of the problems we were facing, and certainly progress has been a challenge. So I’m wondering, now, in 2012, if you still believe in hope and change for America. And I’m also wondering how your reelection campaign is going to help us better understand what we need to do, both as individual citizens and as a country, to achieve the fair society that you spoke about recently in Osawatomie, Kansas.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I want to make sure you can hear my answer. How’s the sound coming through now? In some ways, I’m actually more optimistic now than I was when I first ran, because we’ve already seen change take place. And part of what 2012 is about is both reminding the American people of how far we’ve traveled and the concrete effects that some of our work has had in terms of making sure that people have health insurance, or making sure that our troops are coming home, or making sure that young people are able to go to college. But part of it is also framing this larger debate about what kind of country are we going to leave for our children and our grandchildren.

There is no problem that we face that we cannot solve. But in order to solve it, we’ve got to make sure that everybody gets a fair shot, and that means that we’re investing in things like education, that we’re investing in basic science and technology so we’re making things again here in America and we’re revitalizing manufacturing and we’re not just buying from other countries but we’re selling to other countries, and we’re inventing things and encouraging entrepreneurship. It means that we’re rebuilding our infrastructure, our roads and our bridges, but also our high-speed rail lines and high-speed Internet access in places like rural Iowa, making sure that everybody who wants to reach a worldwide market is able to do so because they’ve got the connection to do it.

It also means that those things are going to have to be paid for in a fair way. And obviously a lot of the debate in Washington over the last several months and over the last year has revolved around how do we create a government that is lean and efficient and effective. And I’m proud of some of the tough decisions that we’ve been willing to make in terms of pruning back programs that don’t work. But if we’re going to make the investments that we need for our kids at the same time as we’re controlling our deficit, then there’s nothing wrong with saying to millionaires and billionaires that we’re going to let your tax cuts expire. You can afford it. You’ve done very well in this society. And I know they want (inaudible) in America, but they have to be asked. And the other party has a fundamentally different philosophy.

The same is true when it comes to the issue of fair play. We, through Wall Street reform, have rolled back policies that allowed credit card companies to jack up your interest rates without alerting you to it, or other financial practices that disadvantage consumers.

And so we’ve said, you know what, we’re going to have a consumer watchdog in place to look after you, to make sure that you’re not being cheated on credit cards or mortgages. Because if you want to compete in a free market, then you should compete on the basis of price and service and quality, not on the basis of somebody not being able to understand what they’re buying.

These basic principles are what’s going to be at stake in order for us to succeed. And I think that they’re principles that most Americans believe in, that everybody should act responsibly, everybody should do their part, and everybody should be able to travel as far as their work ethic and their dreams will carry them.

And right now all we’re getting from the other side -- you guys have been hearing it a lot more than I have. I know it’s -- you’ve been bombarded -- I don’t know how you watch TV in Iowa these days -- with a different theory that says, we’re going to cut taxes for the wealthiest among us, and roll back regulations on things like clean air and health care reform and Wall Street reform, and that somehow, automatically, that assures that everybody is able to succeed. I don't believe that. And I don't think any of the people in that auditorium do either.

So it’s going to be a big battle, though. I hope you guys are geared up. I’m excited.

MR. STEWART: Great. Thank you very much, Coralville. Next, we have Cedar Rapids. Cedar Rapids, are you with us? Can you hear us, Cedar Rapids? Hello, Cedar Rapids, can you hear us?

THE PRESIDENT: Hold on one second.

MR. STEWART: Yes, hold on one second.

THE PRESIDENT: I can’t hear you yet.

MR. STEWART: We’ll give it five more seconds. Folks in Cedar Rapids, can you hear us? (Applause.)

Q Good evening, Mr. President. This is Carol from Cedar Rapids, and I’m honored to be among your volunteers. On the cable talk shows there is talk about your administration not accomplishing anything. However, I am a breast cancer survivor and was a social worker for 33 years before retiring, and know firsthand what a great accomplishment the Affordable Care Act is among your other achievements. How do you respond to people who say you have not done enough?

THE PRESIDENT: I think the main message that we’re going to have in 2012 is that we’ve done a lot but we’ve got a lot more to do, and that’s why we need another four years to get it all done. But you just mentioned the Affordable Care Act. We know that somebody who’s had an illness like cancer, who’s a survivor, has trouble getting insurance. Because of the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are not going to be able to ban people with preexisting conditions. That makes a direct impact on your life and your family’s life.

We know that there are 2 million young people who have insurance because of the Affordable Care Act who didn't have it before. We know that seniors have seen discounts in their prescription drugs; they’re saving billions of dollars all across the country. We know that preventive care, like mammograms, are now available through your insurance and they can’t arbitrarily deny you coverage right when you need care.

So that’s just on health care. And it’s making an impact on people’s lives day to day. But here’s the thing. Frankly, not that many people watch cable TV. What they do is they listen to their friends, their neighbors, their co-workers. And that’s why what you guys are doing today at the caucus and what you will be doing every day from now until November makes such a difference. Because nobody is a better messenger for the kind of change we’re talking about than you. You can tell a story about the difference these policies make in your life in a way that any politician in Washington -- including me -- can’t do.

And one of the things that we learned four years ago was that when people at grassroots level are getting involved and they’re getting engaged, and they’re feeling empowered and they’re joining hands with each other -- that’s a powerful force. It can’t be stopped. But, unfortunately, over the (inaudible) it’s not as focused and concentrated as an election campaign. And so the forces of big money and special interests and lobbyists, they all come to the fore and the pundits and the cable TV dominates the political conversation.

Well, you know what, fortunately in 2012 we’ve got a chance to respond. And I will put my money on you. I find you a lot more persuasive than anybody on cable TV, and that’s why I know we’re going to win.

Thank you.

MR. STEWART: Great. Thank you very much, sir. We appreciate your time.

We appreciate Cedar Rapids. We’re going to let you get back to the remainder of your caucuses, but before we go I'd be remiss if I didn't encourage everybody to sign up and volunteer. I think shortly after we’re done with the Adobe Connect session here there will be volunteer sign-up forms. This is a great opportunity, as the President said, to get out and engage your friends and neighbors what’s at stake and why this election is so important.

So again, thank you all so much.

END

8:27 P.M. EST
##

*Updated with GOP vote count

President's First White House Lunch Of 2012

Post-holiday meet n' eat with Vice President Biden...
After spending ten days vacationing in Hawaii, President Obama was reunited with Vice President Joe Biden at the White House on Tuesday following his arrival in Washington, DC, at 7:30 AM. As is a weekly tradition, the President and Vice President had a private, closed-press lunch, their first of 2012. The reunion was at 12:30 PM in the Oval Office Private Dining Room. (Above: The President and Vice President at a previous lunch)

The rest of the President's day was spent in meetings with Senior Advisors, and with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The President was immediately in campaign mode: On Tuesday evening at 8:00 PM, he was scheduled to address Democratic Iowa Caucus attendees, via video teleconference from the Washington Hilton. Update: Transcript here.

*Photo by Pete Souza/White House, taken on Nov. 5, 2009.

President Obama Wins Iowa Coffee Bean Caucus

President will speak to Iowa Caucus attendees via video teleconference this evening...
President Obama had an overwhelming victory in the Iowa Coffee Bean Caucus held at the Hamburg Inn No. 2, a diner famed as a stump stop for presidential hopefuls in Iowa City, Iowa. President Obama's victory was ultracaffeinated: Voters gave him 6,442 coffee beans, far above the count for the top GOP bean grabber, Michele Bachmann, who got 1,147 beans.

For weeks, diner customers have been dropping coffee beans into jars labeled with candidates' names, and the results were tabulated by restaurant owner Dave Panther on Monday night, reports the Iowa City Press Citizen. President Obama's 2012 victory repeats his 2008 victory in the Iowa Coffee Bean Caucus.

This evening, President Obama will participate in a video teleconference with Iowa Caucus attendees. He'll speak to the grassroots at 8:15 PM ET from the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. Update: The transcript.

"We're very confident that the President is going to win overwhelmingly in the Democratic caucuses tonight," said Press Secretary Jay Carney in a bit of understatement today, as he held the first briefing of 2012.

Bachmann and fellow GOP hopefuls Rick Perry and Rick Santorum made campaign stops at Hamburg Inn No. 2 in recent months, "though all the candidates were extended invitations," the Press Citizen reported.

The Iowa Coffee Bean Caucus Results

President Obama: 6,442

Michele Bachmann: 1,147

Mitt Romney: 850

Ron Paul: 724

Newt Gingrich: 548

Rick Perry: 295

Rick Santorum: 223

Jon Huntsman: 183

New campaign video...
Obama for America today released a video of President Obama campaigning in Iowa in January of 2008, with the title "Promises Kept."

"Four years ago today, President Obama laid out 4 key promises to Americans; promises that have been kept," OFA said. "From ending the war in Iraq to making healthcare affordable for all Americans, providing a middle class tax cut and reducing our dependence on foreign oil, these are the changes that Iowans sought for our nation in 2008."



President Obama landed in Washington early Tuesday morning following a ten-day vacation in Hawaii. On Wednesday, the President travels to Cleveland, Ohio, to give a speech on the economy at Shaker Heights High School.

Sam Kass On The Record: The Let's Move! Campaign In 2011...And In 2012

The First Lady's Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives talks about campaign achievements, challenges, and criticism...
"We've seen unprecedented movement in less than two years" for First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign, Sam Kass, Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives told Obama Foodorama. In a wide-ranging interview, Kass declared that the First Lady's signature initiative is "having a tremendous impact." He also discussed his favorite moments of 2011, ongoing criticism of the campaign, and details about the third and what could be the final year of Let's Move!, which begins in February. (Kass, above)

Now 31, Kass was just 28 when he arrived at the White House with President Obama and Mrs. Obama. He is the architect for many elements of the sweeping national campaign, but he has no delusions about the incredible challenges involved in achieving the First Lady's ambitious goals. Kass is the first to admit that childhood obesity is a complex problem, with a complicated and interconnected set of origins, from genetics through cultural influences.

"It took us decades to get into this, and it's going to take us decades to get out," Kass said. "We have a really long way to go--and the First Lady is in it for the long haul."

Mrs. Obama is hoping for nothing short of a society-wide paradigm shift in protecting child health and ending childhood obesity, something she believes is not only critical to returning America to its former position of global superstar--but which can also be a source of community revitalization and job creation. It's also key to improving educational achievement, and protecting national security, aides frequently point out: Some 27% of military recruits fail to qualify for service due to obesity. Let's Move! is good for America, plain and simple, according to the White House, from business through defense initiatives. (Above: Mrs. Obama and Kass during a White House event)

The campaign has a very long time frame, with an ultimate goal of reducing the current level of childhood obesity--about 17%--to just 5% by the year 2030. Thus Let's Move! was designed with multiple entry points and has a widely varied series of components, so a series of seemingly small steps will have a huge, concerted impact.

"I could never have predicted the amount of change and commitment that would have been announced in 2011," Kass said.

But he noted that it's exactly the kind of response Mrs. Obama hoped for with her call to action.

2011 for Let's Move!: Major private sector partnerships and grassroots efforts...
Literally millions of people joined Let's Move! last year, from families and children to sports legends such as Billie Jean King and Drew Brees, and teen TV stars, including those from Nickelodeon and Disney. Popstar Beyonce re-wrote one of her songs for the campaign, and had students from more than 600 middle schools across the US dancing during a national work-out session. The video has now gotten more than 15 million hits on YouTube.

2011 saw an outpouring of private sector support, and Kass using the word "unprecedented" isn't hyperbole. Because while the campaign incorporates small steps, the commitments announced in 2011 were major. America's largest grocer, Walmart, led the way with the Nutrition Charter, a five-year plan that includes pledges to build markets in food deserts, work with suppliers to reformulate thousands of food products, reduce the price point for fruit and vegetables, and create a front-of-pack nutrition label for food products.

"Walmart has pledged to reduce the costs of fruit and vegetables by a billion dollars in one year," Kass said. "These are efforts that are going to have a huge impact."

The company has more than 140 million customers weekly, and Executive Vice President for Corporate Affairs Leslie Dach has announced that "Walmart moms" are already seeing changes in stores.

The nation's largest pharmacy chain, Walgreens, and other grocery chains joined Walmart in a pledge to improve food access and affordability, committing to build or revamp 1,500 grocery markets to help achieve a centerpiece Let's Move! goal of eliminating all US food deserts by 2017. Congress approved $32 million for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative for FY 2012, a program designed to further the effort to eradicate food deserts. In October, Kass and Mrs. Obama traveled to Chicago for the first Let's Move! Food Desert Summit, which broguht together Mayors from across the US to discuss Let's Move! initiatives in their cities. More food desertcommitments were announced in November. (Above: Mrs. Obama speaking at the food desert announcement)

Darden Restaurants, Inc., the largest casual dining chain in the US, serving more than 400 million meals annually, announced a series of menu changes across its brands (including Olive Garden and Red Lobster), which includes making fruit and vegetables a default side and lowering calories and sodium across all menus. Hyatt Hotels recently announced a similar commitment for its thousands of venues.

America's largest private-sector childcare companies have signed on to Let's Move Childcare, to bring healthy eating and fitness initiatives to the pre-school sector, as well as to promote breastfeeding, a key way to insulate children against childhood obesity. Kaiser Permanente pledged to make 29 hospitals "baby friendly," which will also include a focus on breastfeeding support.

"We've seen tremendous progress in all stakeholders coming together to make real strides," Kass said. "These are efforts that start to really add up."

There has also been important work at the federal level that's key to the campaign and the culture-wide shift it is creating. Mrs. Obama championed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act 2010, which retools the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. In 2011, Let's Move! enrolled 1,631 public schools in the HealthierUS School Challenge, a USDA program that rewards schools participating in the federal meal programs for best practices in nutrition and fitness initiatives. Last summer, Mrs. Obama joined USDA officials to announce the MyPlate initiative, a graphic icon and healthy eating campaign built around the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

"MyPlate completely transforms the government's perspective and view on how to think about healthy meals," Kass said. "And does it in a way that's applicable to what it means to eat."

"That's all about cooking. That's a big deal."

Kass and White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford appeared on national television in 2011 to demonstrate easy, family friendly MyPlate recipes, and there will be more MyPlate initiatives in the year ahead. There are now more than 5,000 organizations participating in USDA's MyPlate Nutrition Communicators Network.

In addition to the tent pole commitments and projects that garner headlines, there has been plenty of other Let's Move activity.

"There's the big announcements you see onstage with the First Lady," Kass said. "But there is so much more work being done on the ground at the grassroots level."

"We've seen gardens springing up all over the country. We've seen cooking programs everywhere and chefs playing an increased roll in educating people. We're seeing science teachers building gardens to teach kids about healthy eating. We're seeing parents deciding you know what, we're going to take our kids out today and we're going to go run for a half an hour."

Chefs Move to Schools, which marries professional chefs to schools, now has close to 4,000 chefs enrolled, according to Kass, who along with the other White House chefs has adopted his own school, Harriet Tubman Elementary in Washington, DC. Entire communities have joined the campaign, through Let's Move Cities and Towns. Many, many groups and private sector partners have been invited to the White House to discuss their projects and how they can join the campaign.

"When you put all the initiatives together, there's just no question that there's nothing that comes close to the amount of movement," Kass said.

Favorite moments...
The First Lady's Kitchen Garden remains a favorite part of his job, Kass said. The 1,500 square foot plot produced more than 2,500 pounds of vegetables in 2011, used for everything from the First Family's meals to State Dinners. About a third of the crops are donated to local social services agency Miriam's Kitchen to be used for meals for DC's neediest. The garden grows through the winter, thanks to protective hoop houses. Harvests and plantings include school students each time. (Above: Mrs. Obama and Kass with a young helper during the 3 Sisters Harvest and Planting)

"The garden is a true highlight every year," Kass said. In addition to all his policy work, Kass still cooks for the First Family when he's not away from the White House being the ambassador for the campaign.

Mrs. Obama's book about the garden, American Grown, will be published this April. Pretty much guaranteed to be a bestseller, the book will ensure healthy eating and gardening remain in the headlines.

Kass traveled around the US visiting food and policy conferences and groups in 2011, and deemed November's first-ever national childhood obesity conference from Partnership for a Healthier America, the non-profit created to support the campaign, as one of his personal highlights for 2011. More than 800 child health advocates, businesses, academics, medical professionals, and elected officials met in in Washington for the two-day conference.

"Not talking about the issue, but taking action on the issue was a really fantastic moment," Kass said.

Kass emceed a culinary competition, the Great American Family Dinner Challenge during the conference, and said the seemingly uncomfortable moments onstage when six-year-old judge Austin Jackson repeatedly spit out the healthy but delicious offerings created by four James Beard Award-winning chefs, including Top Chef host Tom Colicchio, was another favorite moment of 2011.

"I loved that little kid," Kass said. "What Austin showed us is this stuff isn't easy. It takes commitment on behalf of parents to really work with their kids to ensure they're getting the vegetables they need. It's hard."

Through The Looking Glass: Campaign criticism...
Still, despite all the achievements, the criticism of the First Lady for the campaign--and personally--was relentless in 2011. It had a Through The Looking Glass feel: Mrs. Obama is either doing too little or too much, depending on who is doing the criticizing. Those who lean conservative dislike what they perceive as Mrs. Obama's effort to exert Big Government control over what is apparently a Constitutionally protected freedom to consume unhealthy food. Mrs. Obama has been called a Food Nazi, the Food Police, and worse. "No Fries For You!" screamed the headline on Drudge Report when Mrs. Obama joined Darden executives to announce the Let's Move! collaboration.

What the First Lady eats privately routinely makes for excoriating headlines, which often include speculative calorie counts for her meals at restaurants, and meals served to White House guests. But this can be seen as a sign of progress for the campaign: It indicates that large media entities believe that Mrs. Obama has raised the nation's nutritional awareness enough that the average reader actually understands what daily caloric intake should be. What other First Lady in history has been married in headlines to calorie counts?

And then there are people like Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), who recently blamed his derogatory comments about Mrs. Obama's posterior on a dislike of the Let's Move! campaign. There's simply no explaining that kind of willingness to bash a Presidential spouse.

Those who are ostensibly healthy food advocates have criticized Mrs. Obama for not doing enough. She's repeatedly chastised for partnering with Big Food corporations, especially with Walmart, which was the subject of intense protests before Mrs. Obama came on the scene. A popular yet incredible idea seems to be that because Mrs. Obama has encouraged gardening and sourcing from local farmers, her campaign will be meaningless until she is willing to throw her considerable influence into driving major national food corporations permanently out of business. (Above: Mrs. Obama speaking to more than 1,000 school representatives invited to the White House to celebrate the success of HealthierUS Schools Challenge)

The criticism from food advocates reached a nadir in November, when Mrs. Obama announced that Let's Move! will have a renewed focus on physical fitness in 2012. She was vilified for "caving in" to food corporations, with critics claiming that highlighting the importance of physical fitness meant she was giving up on efforts to ensure that America's children eat healthier food.

Entirely untrue, said Kass. The focus on physical fitness in 2012 comes after two years of devoting most of the campaign attention to food and nutrition initiatives. Kids are still spending an average of seven hours in front of various media screens, and "focusing a significant amount of energy on physical activity" from the campaign is a must, Kass said.

"That's a critical component of kids being healthy. But of course we're going to always strive to improve the health and nutrition of food served to young people."

Still, after two years of such criticism, Kass is sanguine about it all.

"I can't go on the record about misinformed opinions," Kass said. "But what I do know is the First Lady has dedicated the past two years to improving the health of the nation's kids."

"She's made it very clear that this is an issue she will continue to work on while she is in the White House--and for the rest of her life."

Against the backdrop of the noisy criticism, Mrs. Obama was named to Time magazine's 2011 list of 100 Most Influential People in the World for the Let's Move! campaign. She was also one of the inaugural honorees for the James Beard Foundation's Sustainable Leadership Awards, and Michael Pollan named her the "World's Most Powerful Foodie" in Forbes magazine. Kass was named to Fast Company magazine's 2011 list of the "100 Most Creative People in Business" thanks to the White House Walmart partnership. He is #11 on the list of genius executives, impresarios and artisans who are transforming the world.

The year ahead for Let's Move!...
Even if President Obama loses the election next November, the Let's Move! campaign will continue, thanks to Partnership for a Healthier America. But it will no longer be centered in the White House. So Let's Move! will grow even larger this year, Kass said. The many sub-components that have already been launched will become more detailed.

"We'll see deepening and expanding of existing programs," Kass said.

"We've got really solid platforms with Chefs Move, with Let's Move Faith and Communities, Let's Move Cities and Towns, and we're going to be working to deepen the impact and expand the reach of those programs."

There will be more private sector partnerships, managed by Partnership for a Healthier America, which monitors these commitments.

"I can't predict what companies are going to come to the table and what companies aren't," Kass said. "But we're going to continue to work towards these goals and see who steps up this year to become part of the solution."

USDA is expected to release its final nutritional guidelines for the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act this month, and despite recent Congressional measures that deregulated both potato and tomato usage in school cafeterias, Kass is not overly worried. In October, under much pressure from lobbyists and big food corporations, Congress mandated that potatoes and other starchy vegetables can be served in schools in unrestricted quantities each week; USDA had proposed restricting these this to once weekly, to make more room for dark green and dark orange vegetables on cafeteria menus. In November, Congress officially made pizza sauce "a vegetable."

"In the end the nutrition standards are going to be raised significantly," Kass said.

"There will be more resources for schools, and we're going to be well on our way to really dramatically improving school lunch."

The First Lady recently vowed to take "bold steps" to ensure the child nutrition legislation is implemented properly.

As for the President's re-election campaign impacting the amount of time Mrs. Obama can devote to Let's Move! in 2012? Kass said he is not concerned that Mrs. Obama will be out on the campaign trail. Nor is he worried that her other national campaign, Joining Forces, will reduce Mrs. Obama's Let's Move! efforts.

"She's going to continue to do everything she can to help make the healthy choice the easy choice and to make better health for kids the norm in this country," Kass said.

"Let's Move Boldly" could be the campaign's new slogan for 2012. Stay tuned....

Related: Read this pocket guide to the Let's Move! campaign, which explains the five pillars that constitute the Administration's childhood obesity initiatives. Download the full White House Childhood Obesity Task Force Report [PDF], which is the framework for the campaign.

*Photos by Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama

New Year's Day Dinner: President Obama Visits Nobu Waikiki Restaurant

The end of a family day spent honoring the Dunhams...
After spending a quiet New Year's Eve in his rental compound in Kailua, President Obama capped a New Year's Day filled with paying homage to his maternal family, the Dunhams, with dinner at one of the best sushi restaurants in Hawaii, Nobu Waikiki. The first Presidential dinner of 2012 came after a visit to the grave of Mr. Obama's grandfather Stanley Dunham, and a visit to an exhibition of his mother Ann Dunham's field work in Indonesia, at Honolulu's East-West Center. (Above: The First Family, including a niece, at the East-West Center)

Joined by First Lady Obama, family, and friends on Sunday evening, the President arrived at the chic restaurant at 7:55 PM. Located in the "perennially hip" Waikiki Parc Hotel, the restaurant, an ultra high-end global chain, bills itself as "yet another canvas for Chef Nobu Matsuhisa to display his legendary dishes."

The Presidential dinner, close to three hours long, included Lobster and Foi Gras in the chic dining room under sea-urchin inspired chandeliers. The New Year's Day menu was a special multicourser for $15o per person. It opened with Ozoni soup and Yamaimo Tofu, with Caviar, Uni & Wasabi Umami Gelee, followed by a "Seafood Duo" of an Oyster Shooter and Salmon Ceviche with Ikura.

Next was Seared Oh-toro with Yuzu Miso & Crispy Carrot Salad, and Butter-Poached Lobster with Curry Foam, Lobster Essence & Thai Basil Oil. A Duck Trio finished the rich mix of tastes: Duck Rillette, Crispy Tuile, Blood Orange Gelee; and Roasted Duck Breast, Baby Bok Choy with Mushroom Chips & Ginger-Soy Reduction; and Seared Foie Gras with Apple-Pear Compote & Toasted Hazelnuts. Assorted sushi was served in between the courses.

The Presidential motorcade returned home after 11:00 PM. The visit to Nobu was the third Presidential fine dining outing of the vacation: He also took family and friends to Alan Wong's Restaurant and to Morimoto restaurant, both in Honolulu. There was also a shave ice run to Kailua's Island Snow, an annual pilgrimage.

A day of Dunham: A visit to Punchbowl Cemetery and East-West Center...
The President's day began with a morning visit to the grave of his maternal grandfather in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. Mr. Dunham and his wife, Madelyn Payne Dunham, raised the President from the age of ten on Hawaii, while his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, worked in Indonesia. Mr. Dunham passed away on February 8, 1992. (Above: A photo of the President in Hawaii with his grandfather, mother, and sister)

Arriving at 10:39 with his family, the President spent 11 minutes at the cemetery, located in the Pu'owaina Crater (Punchbowl), known as the "Hill of Sacrifice" in ancient times. It has dramatic views of downtown Honolulu. The Dunhams hailed from Kansas, and during a recent trip there to give an important speech on his economic policy, the President hailed his family as "the Obamas of Osawatomie."

The First Family, joined by the President's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, then traveled to Honolulu's East-West Center at 11:00 AM, to view an exhibit on the anthropological field work of the President's late mother, "Through Her Eyes: Ann Dunham's Field Work in Indonesia." Dunham was an East-West Center graduate student fellow in the 1970s. (Above: The President and daughter Sasha at the East-West Center)

"At the president’s suggestion, the family also made an unscheduled visit to the Center’s Japanese garden, where the family held a memorial service for Dunham after she passed away in 1995," noted the Center on its website.

"The Obamas spent a few moments looking at the carp in the stream, and the President spoke of his parents meeting on the Manoa campus. He told his daughters that he had played in the garden as a child."

Soetoro-Ng has worked as a consultant for the East-West Center, and now teaches at a local university.

From the Center's catalog on Ann Dunham's work: "This exhibition includes photographs taken during her years of field research in Indonesia as well as personal artifacts which include examples of metal smithing, jewelry, leather work, textiles, ceramics, and basketry made in the villages of Indonesia. Dunham’s personal art and artifact collection has been augmented by some recent purchases, in order to give wider context to her work in Indonesia. She was not only concerned with connoisseurship, she also purchased common items that reflected what people made and used."

The First Family departs Hawaii on Monday to return to Washington, DC.

Information: Nobu Waikiki is located at 2233 Helumoa Road Honolulu, HI 96815. Phone: 808.237.6999.

*Top photo by AP/pool; second East-West Center photo courtesy of the East-West Center.