After signing healthcare reform into law, agreeing to a new nuclear arms reduction treaty and moving forward with financial reform, President Barack Obama will spend the weekend at the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md.
And top White House aides say, "He knows he has" earned it.
"Best week we've had in a long damn time," one senior administration official told The Hill. More at The Hill
Obama's off to Camp David until Saturday. The White House will celebrate the Fourth. Fireworks on the south lawn! Obama will deliver brief remarks. On Sunday, Gibbs says the first family leaves for Moscow until Wednesday, then off to Rome until Friday. (See Obama's travel plans, which includes a meeting with the Pope here). Obama will leave on Friday night to Ghana and return to DC on Saturday. Looks like Michelle, her mom and the the girls are tagging along:
First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia, along with her mother, Marian Robinson, will join President Obama when he travels to Russia, Italy and Ghana next week. The First Couple will meet with Pope Benedict XVI on July 10 at the Vatican. The White House announced in May that Mrs. Obama would visit Ghana -- and only recently confirmed that she will be with the president for the entire swing. The president will deliver two major speeches during the trip -- in Moscow, on U.S.-Russia relations, and in Accra, before the Ghanaian parliament.
Not all details about Mrs. Obama's activities on this trip are out yet, but a Wednesday briefing at the White House revealed some of her plans.
This is Mrs. Obama's second overseas trip in less than a month; she, her mom and daughters flew to Paris and London in June, marking Sasha's eighth birthday in London. Malia turns 11 on July 4. The next day, the Obama family flies to Russia aboard Air Force One, landing in Moscow on Monday. Politics Daily
Dmitry Medvedev said relations between the U.S. and Russia have declined but the Obama administration is ready to work with Russia and Russia is ready to work with the U.S. Russia and U.S. only have one road to follow -- the road of agreement, he said:
CNN: President Obama will make his first trip to Camp David this weekend, according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia.
The first family will leave Saturday, spending the night at the countryside presidential retreat in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, and return Sunday.
Obama should change the name of Camp David to its original name -- Shangri-La. Camp David makes me think of Bush. Franklin D. Roosevelt named the military fortress Shangri-La when he converted it into a retreat, and Dwight Eisenhower named it Camp David after his grandson, Dwight David Eisenhower II. NW Encylopedia History of Camp David. Ronald Reagan used Camp David more than any other president. Before they head off to CD, they're off to see the Alvin Ailey dance show:
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, who have an affinity for Friday nights out, plan to take in an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater show at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Peforming Arts The company is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a collection of classics plus a collaboration with Sweet Honey In The Rock.
It's sold out. But the White House says the Obamas plan to use the president's box. They'll take some friends with them. Swamp
Obama shoots hoops with Reggie Love (this photo wasn't from today)
Camp David, 70 miles from the White House