By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Jan. 21, 2010 – The president and first lady announced the expansion of the White House’s mentoring program. The program will be expanded to include 20 young men to the 20 young ladies selected for the program initiated in November 2009 under the leadership of Mrs. Obama.

The East Room announcement Thursday introduced the mentors and their mentee and expanded the year long program to include young men. The forty young folks from across the United States will have a White House staffer as their mentor, attend one workshop a month, and participate in field trips in the nation’s capital.
    
 
First lady Michelle Obama told the children, “People are doing this because they want to be a part of your lives, they want to hear about your hopes and dreams and your passions and your struggles.  They are here because they believe in your potential and they want to share some of the lessons that they’ve learned.”

That’s exactly what Michael Strautmanis, chief of staff for senior advisor Valerie Jarrett told me about his high mentors: the Obamas.  “They have always been about giving back and I’ve personally benefited from it.”

 Strautmanis has been tapped to coordinate the program and its partnerships with other departments in the White House. “I wouldn’t be here today if they hadn’t been there for me,” he told me.  I first met Strautmanis when he came to Washington with Sen. Obama and served as the freshman senator’s chief of staff. A native of Chicago and an attorney Strautmanis started his legal career as at Sidley, Austin law firm in Chicago where he met the Obamas.

The president acknowledged the challenges facing young people today during his remarks – and reflected on his youth.  “Fewer young people are growing up in homes with two parents.  I’m one of those people who didn’t grow up with two parents in a household.  Parents are working longer hours and they’ve got less time to spend with their kids.  And many young people don’t have the advantage of living in those tight-knit neighborhoods that many of us who are older grew up in, where people looked out for each other, and for each other’s children,” he said. 

The White House Men/Boys Mentoring Program has also managed to snag the support of corporate sponsors, national non-profits and the U.S. Government is also stepping up and launching the serve.gov/mentor Website for federal employees to volunteer their time.

“It’s tough being a young person out there these days, “Statautmanis said.  “We’ll bring them [mentee] to the White House and expose them to different perspectives, new careers, how the federal government works and introduce them to cultural opportunities in D.C.

All of this for what the first lady summed up as a promise.  “The only thing that we ask in return, and we said this to the girls, is that when this is all over, that you give back, that you do the same for someone else.  That’s the only thing we ask of you.  Because the beauty of being a mentor is that anyone can do it at any age,” she told the mentees.

The message was clear from the first couple, anything is possible. Mrs. Obama told the mentee,  “Each of us has the ability to move beyond the circumstances that we were born into.  That’s really the story of both me and the president, that through hard work and perseverance, that you can actually choose the life that you want to live — it’s your choice.”

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Politcal Analyst

April 1,  2009 – President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama began their eight day, five country trip to Europe Tuesday and it looks like the schedule is jammed packed. 

The president’s trip will focus on two important meetings: the G-20, where the world’s economic powers will come together and the NATO summit.  But those two highlights are just part of their VIP schedule while over the pond.

Today will begin with a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown, separate meetings with Russian and Chinese leaders and meetings with several European leaders to discuss the war in Iraq.

The day will end with the president and first lady’s private audience with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. This alone will mark his trip as “historic” and place a page in history books around the world. 

The president left the country with some good news from a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday.  It seems his approval rating is still pretty good:  66 percent of the folks polled said they approve of the way Obama is handling the job of commander-in-chief and 66 percent said they approve of the way he’s handling the economy.

Michelle Obama also faired really well with the American people according to this poll; she received her highest favorable rating yet at 76 percent. 

The president is expected to receive a warm and enthusiastic welcome in Europe – in part because of early key policy decisions by his administration.  Since taking office he’s addressed global warming, promised to close Guantanamo Bay, and laid out plans of ending the war in Iraq; all reversals of President Bush’s policies.

Move over Britney Spears, the famous Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London is putting the final touches on the president’s statue in preparation for his visit.  I was impressed. Not only is the resemblance striking, but they even nailed his hair cut.

 President Obama is getting good marks at home and abroad, how do you think he’s doing?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst
Feb. 2, 2008 – The second full week of the Obama Administration began Day 13 with  First Lady Michelle Obama visiting the Department of Education. This was her first event outside of the White House and pegged as one of the first of several visits she’ll make to federal cabinet level agencies as part of her “get to know D.C. tour.”

“I’m going to spend the next several weeks or months, however long it takes, going from agency to agency, just to say hello, to learn, to listen, to take information back where possible.  But truthfully, my task here is to say thank you and roll up your sleeves, because we have a lot of work to do,” she said.

The First Lady spoke to a crowd of about 350 gathered at the Department of Education with Education Secretary, Arne Duncan at her side whom she praised for his hard work and commitment to education. 

 Obama also took this opportunity to tout the stimulus package now headed to the Senate.  She noted its passage would prevent teacher layoffs, increase Pell Grants and preserver early childhood programs. 

A product of public schools, Obama said, “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the public schools that nurtured me and helped me along.  And I am committed, as well as my husband, to ensuring that more kids like us and kids around this country, regardless of their race, their income, their status, their — the property values in their neighborhoods, get access to an outstanding education.”

Here remarks resembled a campaign stop.  Following her official remarks she posed for pictures and worked the rope line.

  
Do you think the public schools in the U.S. can improve over the next four years?