Jeff Mason

WASHINGTON - Thanksgiving is over, President Barack Obama has pardoned one turkey (and eaten another), and now a giant Christmas tree has arrived at the White House.

Like it or not, Christmas is here.

First Lady Michelle Obama -- with daughters Sasha and Malia -- kicked off her traditional almost-December duties on Friday by accepting delivery of a 18 1/2 foot tall, 12 foot wide tree, which will be displayed in the White House Blue Room.

Reporters and a small group of guests gathered to watch the tree be pulled on a horse-drawn carriage down a White House driveway to the strains of "Oh Christmas Tree" being played by a military band.

Except for exchanging a few pleasantries, Mrs. Obama did not speak to the press. Would she comment on the couple who apparently crashed her big state dinner on Wednesday? Not so much.

The huge tree, a Douglas fir, came from a Christmas tree farm run by an elderly West Virgina couple who won the "National Christmas Tree Contest" for a record fourth time, the White House said.

Lest environmentalists be concerned, the White House put out a statement with some heartening details: "Real Christmas Trees are a renewable, recyclable agricultural product."

That's a relief. So ... what about turkeys?

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Photo credits: The 2009 White House Christmas Tree arrives by horse-drawn cart at the White House in Washington and U.S. first lady Michelle Obama is pictured with her daughters Malia (R) and Sasha as she is presented with the 2009 White House Christmas Tree at the White House in Washington, November 27, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed

It turns out the relationship between the United States and Britain is very special.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to great lengths on Sunday to reassure Britons and their political leaders that the “special relationship” between the two allies is strong and intact.

Exhibit A: at a news conference with Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Clinton opened her remarks by stressing their strong relations.

“First, let me just underscore how grateful I am for this opportunity to reaffirm the historic importance of the special relationship between our two countries,” she said.

Exhibit B: at a meeting later with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Clinton reiterated the message again. Note how many times the word “special” creeps into her sentence.

"It is a special relationship," she said at the prime minister’s country estate. "I have a special personal relationship with the prime minister and of course I think it can't be said often enough, we have a special relationship between our countries."

Here’s the background: some Britons feel President Barack Obama has snubbed Brown by, for example, not holding a full press conference with him in Washington earlier this year (the two spoke to reporters in the Oval Office instead) and not scheduling one-on-one meetings at various international summits.

U.S. officials often appear mystified by the concerns. Clinton did her best, verbally anyway, to show they need not worry.

Later in the day she visited Dublin. The Irish, who are perhaps less concerned about semantics, welcomed her warmly as she made a visit to a coffee shop and a local pub, sipping coffee and swigging part of a beer.

Now that’s a special relationship.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Jeff Mason (U.S. Secretary of State and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, October 11, 2009)

NEW YORK - He called him "Mr. Cronkite" and wished they had been friends.

But more than anything, President Barack Obama, speaking at Walter Cronkite's memorial service, honored the standards the veteran CBS anchorman used as a journalist -- and seemed to long for them again.

"We also remember and celebrate the journalism that Walter practiced - a standard of honesty and integrity and responsibility to which so many of you have committed your careers," Obama told the audience, which included many of the U.S. media elite.

"It's a standard that's a little bit harder to find today."

Is it? Has journalism changed for the better or the worse since Cronkite's day?

Obama acknowledged the troubled state many news organizations face. 

"Even as appetites for news and information grow, newsrooms are closing. Despite the big stories of our era, serious journalists find themselves all too often without a beat, " he said.

"Too often, we fill that void with instant commentary and celebrity gossip and the softer stories that Walter disdained, rather than the hard news and investigative journalism he championed."

Obama said Cronkite -- known as "the most trusted man in America" -- would have found a way to navigate the changing media landscape if he were alive.

"Would he have been able to cut through the murky noise of the blogs and the tweets and the soundbites to shine the bright light on substance?" Obama asked. "Somehow, we know that the answer is yes."

What about today's crop of journalists? Is substance taking a beating? Let us know what you think.

Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Obama at memorial service for Cronkite)

Barack Obama seems to have taken personally Sarah Palin's accusations that his administration wants to set up "death panels" for the elderly.

At a town hall meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado on Saturday the president got personal -- citing his own grandmother, who died shortly before he was elected last year -- when refuting charges by the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee about his healthcare reform plans.

“I just lost my grandmother last year.  I know what it's like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate, and have to struggle with that,” Obama told the crowd.

“So the notion that somehow I ran for public office, or members of Congress are in this so that they can go around pulling the plug on grandma?  I mean, when you start making arguments like that, that's simply dishonest,” he said.

The issue stemmed from a provision in a House of Representatives bill that would have provided government funding for optional counseling on end-of-life care issues such as hospice.

Palin, who has spoken out against Obama’s reform plans, and other critics referred to the process as “death panels.”

Obama, who has refuted the rumor before but is struggling to gain support for his overall healthcare reform agenda, said enough was enough.

“We've got enough stuff to deal with without having these kinds of arguments,” he said, without mentioning Palin by name.

Reuters photo by Larry Downing (Obama in Grand Junction, Colorado) 

Talk about being in good company.

President Barack Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, considered the highest U.S. civilian honor, to 16 people on Wednesday including a celebrated scientist, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, a gay rights pioneer, and a top leader against apartheid in South Africa.

"There are many honors and privileges bestowed on the occupant of this house, but few mean as much to me as the chance to award America's highest civilian medal to the recipients that are here today," Obama said during a ceremony at the White House.

"This is a chance for me -- and for the United States of America -- to say thank you to some of the finest citizens of this country, and of all countries," he said.

Honorees included scientist Stephen Hawking, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, deceased gay rights campaigner Harvey Milk, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

The honorees were not invited to speak during the ceremony, but one slipped in a few words anyway. Dr. Joseph Medicine Crow - High Bird, wearing a headdress of brightly colored feathers that created a challenge for the president in draping the medal around his neck, moved over to the microphones to declare the he was deeply honored. Obama, smiling, gently maneuvered him away from the podium and back towards his seat.

Other awardees included breast cancer activist Nancy G. Brinker; doctor to the homeless Pedro Jose "Joe" Greer, Jr.; sports star and former Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp, now deceased; healthcare advocate and longtime Senate statesman Edward Kennedy, who was represented by his daughter; tennis great Billie Jean King; civil rights activist Reverend Joseph Lowery; acclaimed actor Sidney Poitier; actress and dancer Chita Rivera; former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson; cancer scientist Dr. Janet Davison Rowley; and microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus.

Photo credit: Reuters/Jason Reed (Obama presents Medal of Freedom)

The White House is tired of seeing stories that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are not getting along.

"The notion that there's some rift or disagreement is nothing more than silly Washington games," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Wednesday when asked about the relationship between the president and his secretary of state.

Clinton, who joined Obama's team despite their bitter rivalry for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, has weathered several reports that her influence as chief diplomat is hampered by other foreign policy heavyweights in the administration and her own history with Obama.

Gibbs said stories about tricky relations between the former rivals were false.

"They enjoy a very close relationship," Gibbs said.

"The Secretary of State is somebody who the president relies on greatly. She has an enormously important role in the development of and the execution of a foreign policy that changes our image in the world."

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Photo credit: Reuters/Larry Downing (Obama and Clinton in Cairo in June)

If Barack Obama and the gay community have strained relations, an elegant reception in the White House East Room to celebrate LGBT Pride Month was a good way to start mending fences -- at least for now.

"Welcome to your White House," Obama told an enthusiastic crowd of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people on Monday before launching into a summary of his administration's accomplishments on their causes.

Notable exception: Obama's pledge to repeal the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy has not been met.

Gay activists have lamented the slow speed at which Obama, who had wide support from the community for his presidential campaign, and his administration have moved to address the military policy and other issues.

That's not news to Obama, who addressed the dissatisfaction in his remarks.

"I know that many in this room don't believe that progress has come fast enough, and I understand that," he said.

"It's not for me to tell you to be patient, any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half century ago."

But Obama said progress had been made and promised the group that once he left office, they would have reason to be happy with his accomplishments.

"I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I've made, but by the promises that my administration keeps," he said.

"We've been in office six months now.  I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration."

The audience clapped loudly. Patience, at least for the time being, seemed to have won the day.

“President Obama's remarks today were welcomed and appreciated," Joe Solmonese, president of the LGBT group Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement, with a nod to the the upcoming anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a pivotal moment in U.S. gay history.

"On the eve of this weekend’s 40th anniversary of Stonewall, the president has yet again reiterated his support for most of the critical federal issues facing millions of LGBT Americans. We must continue the hard work of turning that support into the passage of actual laws."

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Photo credit: Reuters/Jim Young (Obama greets guests at reception for LGBT Pride Month; Obama delivers remarks as first lady Michelle Obama looks on)

TEMPE, Arizona - President Barack Obama warned graduating students on Wednesday not to follow in the footsteps of swindler Bernard Madoff as they enter the workforce and look for jobs.
 
The U.S. president, delivering a commencement address at Arizona State University, told a crowd of tens of thousands that big money and fancy titles should not be a priority while the country faced recession and two wars.
 
"The leaders we revere, the businesses and institutions that last -- they are not generally the result of a narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose," Obama said.
 
"The trappings of success may be a by-product of this larger mission, but it can't be the central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff."
 
Madoff, 71, pleaded guilty in March to operating a huge Ponzi scheme in which early investors are paid with money from new clients. He is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Kevin LaMarque (Obama speaks during Arizona State University commencement ceremony, May 13, 2009)

She lived in the White House for nearly a decade, but one area of the executive mansion did not enchant former First Lady Hillary Clinton: the press room.

But the presidential spouse-turned-senator-turned-diplomat returned on Wednesday in her role as Secretary of State and surprised reporters with a visit during a daily briefing.

"You know, I successfully avoided this room for eight years," she said to laughter after being introduced by spokesman Robert Gibbs.

"But I'm very pleased to be here to discuss the series of meetings that we had this morning as part of our second trilateral with delegations from Afghanistan and Pakistan."

Clinton often avoided the press as First Lady but that changed after her husband, former President Bill Clinton, left office and her own political career took off.

It's May 4th, but the White House decided to celebrate Cinco de Mayo (the fifth of May) a day early.
    That's not exactly a breach of protocol, but introducing the Mexican ambassador and then not letting him speak kind of is.
    That's what President Barack Obama did on Monday at a White House ceremony to highlight the Mexican holiday.
    "Welcome to Cinco de Cuatro -- Cinco de Mayo at the White House," Obama told a group of mostly Hispanic guests at the executive mansion. "We are a day early, but we always like to get a head start here at the Obama White House."
    After making brief remarks Obama introduced the Mexican ambassador, Arturo Sarukhan, and his wife, Valencia.
    But as Sarukhan made his way to the podium, the president and first lady Michelle Obama made their way into the crowd and started shaking hands.
    As crowds go, shaking hands with Barack Obama has a way of trumping speeches from Mexican ambassadors, so the noise level in the White House's Grand Foyer rose and the ambassador looked like he wasn't going to get to that speech.
    Whoops. The president realized his mistake, stopped shaking hands, and came back to the podium to urge quiet.
    "In an incredible breach of protocol, I introduced my good friend, the Ambassador, but he has greetings from the people of Mexico," Obama said. "So I take complete responsibility for that.  I apologize.  Will everybody please settle down, and let's hear from our Ambassador from Mexico."
    Applause, applause, and all was well. Sarukhan delivered his remarks and the crowd went back to partying.
    The gaffe was not the only one to come out of the White House on Monday. Earlier in the day Vice President Biden's office sent out a statement that it had to correct minutes later. The mistake? The boss's name was misspelled.
    "Vice President Buden Kicks Off $32 million Renovation and Restoration of Wilimington Train Station" the announcement read.

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Photo credit: Reuters/Yuri Gripas (Obama with Sarukhan)