By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Anaylst

May 11, 2010 – First Lady Michelle Obama stepped up her plan for curbing childhood obesity Tuesday when she released an action plan with more than 70 recommendations to help curb the troubling trend.

The report on “Let’s Move” prepared by a task forced pulled together earlier this year defines the problem and offers  recommendations toward reaching the goal of lowering  obesity rates among young folks to just five percent by 2030. 

If successful that rate would mirror the rate for children prior to the 1970’s when trends began inching upward. 

Here is a summery of the report’s outlined recommendations. 

• Getting children a healthy start on life, with good prenatal care for their parents; support for breastfeeding; adherence to limits on “screen time”; and quality child care settings with nutritious food and ample opportunity for young children to be physically active.

• Empowering parents and caregivers with simpler, more actionable messages about nutritional choices based on the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans; improved labels on food and menus that provide clear information to help parents make healthy choices for children; reduced marketing of unhealthy products to children; and improved health care services, including BMI measurement for all children.

• Providing healthy food in schools, through improvements in federally-supported school lunches and breakfasts; upgrading the nutritional quality of other foods sold in schools; and improving nutrition education and the overall health of the school environment.

• Improving access to healthy, affordable food, by eliminating “food deserts” in urban and rural America; lowering the relative prices of healthier foods; developing or reformulating food products to be healthier; and reducing the incidence of hunger, which has been linked to obesity.

• Getting children more physically active, through quality physical education, recess, and other opportunities in and after school; addressing aspects of the “built environment” that make it difficult for children to walk or bike safely in their communities; and improving access to safe parks, playgrounds, and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities.

Will you work with children in your family following the above recommendations? 

First Lady Michelle Obama, Haitian First Lady Elisabeth Delatour Preval, and Dr. Jill Biden, receive flowers from children at "The Children's Place" in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, April 13, 2010. The Children's Place, which was created by Elisabeth Delatour Preval, has Haitian artists work with children on art projects as part of a post-quake therapy program. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

April 14, 2010 – First Lady Michelle Obama made her first solo trip out of country and kicked it off with a surprise stop in Haiti Tuesday morning.

Mrs. Obama traveling with Jill Biden, the vice president’s wife was able to see relief efforts underway in the impoverished country. Aid from around the world has poured into the island since the catastrophic earthquake Jan. 12.

The two toured Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital by helicopter where more than a million people are living in temporary camps with shelters constructed tarps and tents.

“I think it was important for Jill and I to come now because we’re at the point where the relief efforts are underway but the attention of the world starts to wane a bit,” Mrs. Obama told reporters before leaving the island.
 
Mrs. Biden said what she witnessed was “absolutely incredible.”     Biden applauded the determination of the people of Haiti. “I think the one thing that we take away from it is really the strength and the resilience of the human spirit, and that’s what we saw today and that’s what we’ll take home to Washington with us.”

The first lady said based on what she saw during the tour “the Haitian people are very happy with the relief efforts.” Adding, “Still, accountability is key.”
 
“I think that my sense is the Haitian people feel a deep appreciation for what the world has done, that’s for sure,” Mrs. Obama said.

Wednesday Mrs. Obama’s trip continues in Mexico City where she’ll begin a busy three –day visit. She’s scheduled to meet with students, tour a museum and have dinner with Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala.

Do you think the plight of the people in Haiti has been forgotten? 

Pamela Gentry and Michelle Obama during the 2008 campaign in Chicago.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Politicial Analyst

Dec. 29, 2009 – It look like first lady Michelle Obama has won the approval of the American people and managed to be a political winner in 2009. 

A new Gallup poll released Monday showed that most Americans believe Mrs. Obama along with former first lady Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are two of the top political “winners” for 2009.

Gallop surveyed 1,025 adults December 11 – 13, and found 73% of Americans believe Mrs. Obama is a political “winner,” compared to 21% who believe she is a political “loser.”

Former first lady Clinton wasn’t far behind with 70% who said she is a political “winner,” as Secretary of State while 25% said they feel she is a political “loser.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton and Pamela Gentry in South Carolina during the 2008 presidential campaign.

While “winners” and “losers” are both subjective, Mrs. Obama’s numbers indicate she was able to revive her popularity from the early days of the 2008 campaign and improve her overall appeal as “mommy-and-chief. ”  These efforts have won favor with her fans and her  critics.

 With Mrs. Obama and Clinton topping the list, 57% of Americans believe Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is a political “winner,” with the commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama coming in with 58% of those surveyed who said he was the political winner of 2009. 

 What do you think?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Dec. 3, 2009 – First lady Michelle Obama unveiled the White House Christmas decorations today with a theme “Reflect, Rejoice and Renew.”   Surrounded by U.S. Marines Mrs. Obama applauded the women and men of the Marine Corp for their military service as well as their dedication to the collection of toys for children as part of the Toys for Tots Foundation.

  This year more than 90 volunteers decorated the White House and Mrs. Obama said the theme was selected because this is the time of year for “reflecting on its blessings, rejoicing in the company of friends and family, and renewing their commitments to each other and causes they believe in.”

Decorating the White House is no easy the task, and planning gets underway during the summer months. The first lady said they opted for a new twist for this years decore;  “We decided to do something just a little different.  We took about 800 ornaments left over from previous administrations, we sent them to 60 local community groups throughout the country, and asked them to decorate them to pay tribute to a favorite local landmark and then send them back to us for display here at the White House.”

I took a few pictures of the decorations, but my favorite is the gingerbread house covered in white chocolate and marzipan wreaths on each window.  The creation by pastry Chef Bill Yosses weights in at just under 400 pounds and has a cute marzipan sculpture of the first dog Bo out front.

The holiday decorations are subtle and tasteful, and take on are somewhat calm with muted colors in brown, gold, dusty pink and rusty red.   In previous years trees have filled the East Room, and foyer, however this year smaller trees were placed in the green and red room, none in the East Room and two in the foyer. 

But keeping with tradition the largest tree, an 18½ foot Douglas fir filled the blue room with recycled ornaments from previous years given a second lease on life.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Nov. 3, 2009 – Governor races in New Jersey and Virginia are being watched closely by Democrats and Republicans to see if the “Obama influence”  impacts the outcome by delivering a win for either candidate.  

Its doubtful President Obama will determine the outcome of either race, but the fact that he traveled to New Jersey five times to campaigned for the Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine can’t be ignored.  In Virginia the president wasn’t as visible for Creigh Deeds and his campaign was slow to accept help from Pennsylvania Ave.

Deeds is trailing in recent polls by double-digits and appears to be headed for defeat by his rival Republican challenger Bob McDonnell.  But it might be too soon to count him out; Deeds won the primary trailing his Democratic challengers and bested both with a sizeable margin.   

Other Key races to watch around the country with African American conternders include Detroit and Atlanta. Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is pretty much a shoo-in but Atlanta, for the first time in 35 years, may elect a White Mayor, Mayor Norwood.

More: See other Key races to watch on CNN.Com

Few races in the country have African-American’s in contention, but one to watch is in California.  Kamala Devi Harris (D) is running for California attorney general in 2010.  In 2003 Harris became the first woman to become San Francisco district attorney the first Black woman to serve as District Attorney in California’s history.

Another California political powerhouse, Rep. Maxine Waters (D) released a statement in response to the pending investigation by the House Ethics Committee (see my Blog Oct. 30) regarding her influence with federal agencies on behalf of a minority owned bank that received bailout dollars.

 “My longtime advocacy on behalf of women- and minority-owned institutions is well known and appreciated by these institutions, which have been historically denied access to government regulators to address their concerns.

“I am confident that as the investigation moves forward the panel will discover that there are no facts to support allegations that I have acted improperly or violated the Code of Official Conduct or any law, rule, regulation or other standard of conduct in performing my duties and discharging my responsibilities as a United States Representative.”

On a lighter note, Monday First Lady Michelle Obama made an emotional announced she was launching a mentoring program to give local high school girls access to women at the White House.

Mrs. Obama was joined by 13 of the young ladies in the State Dining Room who will be matched with White House staffers as mentors including senior advisers Valerie Jarrett and Melody Barnes.

Mrs. Obama said, “We thought, what we can do to make the White House different, to make kids in our own new neighborhood know that the White House is a place for them?” She also told the   young women, “That when you get to this position in your life that you do the same thing for somebody else.”

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 21, 2009 – First Lady Michelle Obama is stepping out this week to promote healthy living habits and highlight October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  

The First Lady has held events touting the importance of good nutrition and exercise before and today she’ll host a Healthy Kids Fair on the South Lawn alongside Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to bring the message to the American people.   One of the early events at the White House with Mrs. Obama was the announcement and tilling of the soil for her vegetable garden on the South Lawn alongside local elementary school students. 

The office of the first lady said Wednesday’s events will also involve local public school student and their families who’ll be on hand to hear from the chefs and nutritionist called in from around the country to demonstrate healthy cooking and tips on preparing affordable meals.

On Friday, the first lady will host another event to draw attention Breast Cancer Awareness month along with how importance health care is for women with pre-existing condition.  The first lady has been supportive of her husbands plans for reforming health care and one of the policy he’s been firm about is stopping insurance companies from using a persons past illness to drive up thier  insurance cost.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 1, 2009 – The president held a meeting with his national security team Wednesday to discuss the progress and the challenges the U.S. is facing in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today he’ll leave for Copenhagen to plug the U.S. as the host of the 2016 Olympics.

First lady Michelle Obama stops to talk to waiting reporters as Pat Ryan, third right, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chicago 2016 looks on. Mrs. Obama meets with International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in Copenhagen,Wednesday as part of the Chicago 2016 bid team who are competing with Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The OIC will vote on Friday, Oct. 2, in Copenhagen. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Critics this week have charged the president is spreading himself too thin and that he needs to stay put and worry about health care reform, two wars and the economy.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, told reporters Tuesday, “I think at a time of recession, at a time where Americans have expressed rather significantly their concerns and frustrations over the course of the spring and summer about health care, about the economy, about a host of domestic issues, even international issues, I think that this trip, while nice, is not necessary for the president.”

But the White House disagrees.  During Wednesday’s press briefing, Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary, was asked if all the issues with Iran, Afghanistan, and health care created an “extraordinary week.”  Gibbs said, the administration has been juggling a number of issues since taking office on January 21, and this week was no exception.

“I think this has been an extraordinary eight months. What did we wake up to on the 21st of January?  An economy that was sliding off the cliff; a banking system that your paper had written about that could fail; any number of international challenges,” Gibbs said.

On Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner added his voice to the chorus of critics. “Listen, I think it’s a great idea to promote Chicago, but he’s the president of the United States, not the mayor of Chicago. 

“And the problems we have here at home affect all Americans and that’s where his attention ought to be,” Boehner said.

One of those important issues is how the U.S. deals with al Qaeda. It was the topic of a closed door meeting with the president and his national security team.  Few details were released, but the White House released a brief summary stating, “As the U.S. aggressively confronts al Qaeda and its leadership around the world, the President has set a clear goal in Afghanistan: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and their extremist allies.”

“When it comes to decisions as important as keeping this country safe and putting our troops into harm’s way, the President has made it clear that he will rigorously assess our progress.”

The president will join the first lady in Copenhagen Thursday, but it’s doubtful his critics will go away.  It’s also doubtful his absence for a few days will be more than symbolic in asserting he isn’t working on other issues at hand.
 
What do you think? Should the president be promoting the Olympics coming to the U.S. or minding the store here in Washington?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

July 28, 2009 – First Lady Michelle Obama joined in to help promote the need for a health care reform and tout the success of stimulus money as she headlined the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a community health center in Bowling Green, Virginia. 

First lady Michelle Obama cuts the ribbon to open the Caroline Family Practice in Bowling Green, Va.

The Caroline Family Practice Clinic received $1.3 million in federal economic stimulus funds.  The clinic is located in a rural part of Virginia and is housed in a renovated grocery store thanks to those federal dollars.

Expressing concern over the shortage of primary care doctors, Mrs. Obama congratulated the health care providers in Caroline County for foregoing wealth to enter into community service medicine.

“I remember Marcus Welby; that’s the doctor everybody wanted to be,” Michelle Obama said, referring to the television doctor with a bedside manner which included house calls on the popular ABC television series of the same name that aired from 1969 – 1976. 

Before the ceremonial ribbon-cutting, the first lady listened as doctors, dentists and medical students discussed their experiences as health care providers.

 The Caroline Family Practice is the third community center the first lady has visited to promote preventive health care.  During the opening Tuesday she also used the opportunity to put in a plug for the president’s reform of health care.

Last month she announced that $850 million in stimulus money was being released to help clinics like this one to provide care nationwide.

“We wind up spending billions of dollars each year to treat diseases that – for far less money – we could prevent in the first place,” she said.

The first lady made her remarks to about 100 folks crowded into the clinic that included the first lady of Virginia, Anne Holton and her daughter, Annella Kaine, the daughter of Gov. Tim Kaine, along with the oldest resident of Caroline County, who is 109.

The first lady’s office said these visits are part of her effort to highlight programs that meet a community’s needs for primary medical care.

Do you think the first lady is a good spokesperson for her husband’s policies?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

July 2, 2009 – Next week President Obama and the first lady will travel to Russia, Italy and Ghana where they will meet, greet, and dine with heads of state and deliver a series of addresses laying out his foreign policy. 

The White House offered up a preview of the trip that will begin July 6 in Moscow and end with a tour of the capital of Ghana and a speech on development and democracy. 

The overall reaching goal for this trip will be to focus on economic, political, and global issues important to the United States and members of the G-8.  Some of those issues include climate control, non-proliferation, and assessments of the global economic climate.

 Obama wants to “reset relations” with Russia his aids say and hopes to emerge from a Moscow summit with progress toward reducing both nations’ nuclear arsenals and changing the way the Russian people view the United States.

In Russia, Italy and Ghana the president is expected to talk about a large range of issues including climate change, international trading systems and food safety.  Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs Michelle Gavin said it’s important Africa is also at the table.  

Africa needs to be “integrated in global and foreign policy,” Gavin said.  Ghana is important to this trip she said because the country has demonstrated strong governance, economic development and stability.  She praised their last election where “power transferred peacefully,” she said.

The president and First Lady Michelle Obama will arrive in Ghana on July 11 and will tour the capital city Accra.  Obama will meet with the Ghana’s newley elected President Atta Mills and is expected to deliver a speech highlighting the country’s improvement in over-all governance.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

June 22, 2009 – The First Lady Michelle Obama sent a special message this weekend telling folks to “celebrate responsible fatherhood and the men who’ve had the courage to step up,” including her father and her husband.

“My father, Frasier Robinson, was the rock of our family. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion and our hero,” she wrote.

While the president’s relationship with his father wasn’t the same, it still played a great influence on the type of father the president is today, she observed.  “Barack didn’t have my good fortune — his father left when he was just two years old. But he has always been determined to give our daughters what he never had, and he values being a good father more than any other accomplishment in his life.”

The president has written and spoken openly about his relationship with his father and the importance of fathers taking responsibility: his message this year was the same.

“In many ways, I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill,” the president said.

“That is why we need fathers to step up, to realize that their job does not end at conception; that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one.”

Mrs. Obama’s message on Sunday introducing her husband’s Father’s Day message continued the call for responsibility.  “So today, on this 100th anniversary of Father’s Day, take a moment to celebrate responsible fatherhood and the men who’ve had the courage to step up, be there for our families, and provide our children with the guidance, love and support they need to fulfill their dreams,” she said.

It was clear the “first parents” want to see more fathers take an active role in the lives of their children.  That message was delivered loud and clear.

But it may be a challenge for some fathers. According to a study by  Families and Living Arrangements: 2006 , there were 12.9 million one-parent families in 2006 — 10.4 million single-mother families and 2.5 million single-father families.  Among African Americans, 63 percent of households are headed by single-parents, almost double their White counterparts.