The Final State of the Union
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Summary:
Check out what happened this week at the White House.
Watch the West Wing Week here.
A Birthday Celebration: President Obama celebrated his 52nd birthday on Sunday – and we posted 52 of our favorite pictures from the year!
Live from Phoenix: The President left Washington on Tuesday and headed to Phoenix, Arizona, one of the cities hit the hardest when the housing bubble burst in 2009. Speaking from Desert Vista High School, President Obama discussed the progress we’ve made as a country and his commitment to continue helping responsible homeowners and promote the American Dream of homeownership.
We’ll make owning a home a symbol of responsibility, not speculation -- a source of security for generations to come, just like it was for my grandparents. I want it to be just like that for all the young people who are here today and their children and their grandchildren.
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: While on the West Coast, President Obama stopped by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and discussed housing and the economy. The President spoke about the progress we’ve made in the last five years and urged leaders in Washington to work hard to help the Americans who are still being affected by the recession.
What Washington should be thinking about every single day is how do we make sure we’ve got an economy where if folks work hard, they can find a good job that pays a decent wage; they can send their kids to college; they've got health care they can count on; they can retire even if they don't get rich -- or even if they're not rich; and that we’re creating these ladders of opportunities for people to get into the middle class.
#AskObamaHousing: On Wednesday, President Obama partnered with Zillow, the online real estate market place, and Yahoo!, to answer questions submitted through Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Instagram about the housing market.
We’ve got to give more hardworking Americans the chance to buy their first home. We have to help more responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages,” President Obama said. “And we’ve got to turn the page on this kind of bubble-and-bust mentality that helped to create this mess in the first place.
Camp Pendleton: President Obama visited Camp Pendleton to thank the troops and their families. He expressed gratitude for their sacrifices, saying,
After our nation was attacked, you were some of the very first conventional forces in Afghanistan -— racing in, hundreds of miles by helicopter, toppling that regime and driving al Qaeda from its camps. Then when the fight shifted to Iraq, you were there -— racing toward Baghdad and deposing a dictator. And through years of combat -— in Tikrit, Fallujah and Ramadi -— your courage added to the glories of the Marines’ long and illustrious history.
“We the Geeks”: Robots and American inventors signed online on Friday for a “We the Geeks” Google+ Hangout on “Robots.” During the Hangout, the participants discussed how robots could assist with manufacturing and job creation – boosting the American economy.
A Better Bargain for Students: President Obama signed the bipartisan student loan interest rate compromise into law on Friday, saving a typical undergraduate student $1,500. The law reiterates the President’s commitment to making higher education more affordable – decreasing interest rates for nearly 11 million borrowers on loans made after July 1, 2013.
Holding a Press Conference: The White House Press Corps gathered in the East Room today for a press conference held by President Obama. During the press conference, the President discussed his plans to give the American people greater confidence in the safeguards surrounding intelligence gathering programs.
