Obama and Abe

Tonight, the Obamas are with Sidney Portier and others at the reopening of Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was shot. Obama spoke:

"Michelle and I are so pleased to be here to renew and rededicate this hallowed space,'' Obama told the audience. "We know that Ford's Theatre will remain a place where Lincoln's legacy thrives, where his love of the humanities and belief in the power of education have a home, and where his generosity of spirit are reflected in all the work that takes place. read more.

Check out the theater here.
Tomorrow Obama will be celebrating Abe Lincoln's birthday at a bash put on by the Abraham Lincoln Association. 

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Obama in Virginia Talking Jobs

See Tim Kaine and Obama's remarks about the consequences of falling bridges here.

Swamp: Today, while House and Senate leaders attempt to hammer out an agreement on an economic stimulus that came out of the House at $819 billion and came out of the Senate at $838 billion -- and conflict in many key ways -- Obama will take a short hop down the road to Springfield, Va., using a construction site there to tout job creation.

The Virginia governor and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Tim Kaine, will join the president in Springfield.

Tomorrow, Obama will be in Peoria, Illinois to celebrate Lincoln's birthday. He will also visit the Caterpillar plant.
Meanwhile, the house and the senate are munching on the two versions of the stimulus bill trying to turn it into one and live at CNN, Barney Frank's Financial Services committee is grilling bank executives about misspent money.
Obama at construction site in Virginia:

Obama Visits Caterpillar Plant in Peoria Feb. 12

Amid sky-high polls, Obama is on a making-Washington-D.C.-aware-of-what's-going-on-in-America tour. On Feb. 12, Obama will also celebrate Lincoln's birthday at a special bash.

Swamp: President Barack Obama is not only field-testing his economic stimulus pitch in Indiana today and in Florida tomorrow - he also will see how it plays in Peoria.

On his way to Springfield, Ill., on Thursday to celebrate the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln, Obama plans to stop in Peoria for a visit to the Caterpillar plant.

These trips are not so much a matter of explaining to people in Elkhart, Fort Myers and the like what's happening in Washington, the White House suggests, as it is a question of explaining to Washington what's happening in America - 15 percent unemployment in Elkhart, for instance.

"This is not explaining to Indiana what's going on in Washington,'' Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Elkhart today. "This is taking Washington to show them what's going on in Indiana and all over the country -- and why people are hurting....

"I think there's a myopic viewpoint in Washington,'' Gibbs said. "I think Washington needs to understand what happens in Florida, and Indiana, and Michigan, and Ohio, and Pennsylvania -- states that have seen huge in unemployment; 598,000 jobs -- 20,000 -- Americans lost 20,000 jobs a day last month. That's what we're highlighting.''

Obama Heads to Springfield for Lincoln Feb. 12

Obama will attend the annual Lincoln birthday banquet put on by the Abraham Lincoln Association. I'm sure Obama will use the moment to do more than just blow out a few candles for Lincoln.

Swamp: Two years ago this month, on Feb. 10, 2007, then-Sen. Barack Obama announced his candidacy for president in Springfield, Ill., -- not far from the Abraham Lincoln museum

Next week, on Feb 12., President Obama will return to Springfield to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth.

The White House says the president will travel at the invitation of Sen. Dick Durbin, the senior senator from Illinois who helped convince Obama to run for president.

Obama has had plenty to say about Lincoln on his way to inauguration as the 44th president. On Feb. 12, in Springfield, he'll have a chance to say a lot more.

The day he announced his candidacy, in the place where Lincoln delivered his House Divided speech, the city where Obama served as a state senator, Obama spoke of the nation's "unyielding faith, that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.