Wow, I can't believe that only one year ago, we began our new journey of continuing the real work of America: creating a society in which everyone has the same opportunities and rights, as well as becoming a good world neighbor once again.
We still have a long way to go, but we have a really good start, thanks to the hard work of Barack Obama & his staff.
My belief is that everyone in the world has a human right to food, shelter, clothing, education & healthcare. When those essential human rights are achieved by working together for everyone's good, we shall see an end to violence & crime against each other.
We are all from the same family...the human family. Let's keep up the good work!
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2009
DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2009
In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing, the Economic Daily Briefing, and meet with senior advisors in the Oval Office. These meetings are closed press.
Later, the President will meet with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the Oval Office. There will be a pool spray at the bottom of the meeting.
In the afternoon, the President and the Vice President will meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press.
NOTE: The President is scheduled to meet with his national security team on Afghanistan on Wednesday afternoon.
In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: CBS
Print: Tribune
Radio: CBS
Magazine Photo: New York Times
EDT
9:00AM Pool Call Time
9:30AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press
9:50AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Economic Daily Briefing
10:10AM THE PRESIDENT meets with senior advisors
11:30AM THE PRESIDENT meets with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Pool spray at the bottom (Gather Time 11:55AM – Briefing Room)
4:30PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Briefing Schedule
1:00PM Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs
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Nico Pitney of the Hufftington Post was given the opportunity to ask a question at Obama's press conference that came directly from an Iranian. His question for the president was: "Under which conditions would you accept the election of Ahmadinejad, and if you do accept it without any significant changes in the conditions there, isn't that a betrayal of what the demonstrators there are working toward?" The President's answer was thoughtful! It showed his awareness of the nuances!He continued to affirmed political self-determination for the Iranian people.
"Well look, we didn't have international observers on the ground, we can't say definitively what exactly happened at polling places throughout the country. What we know is that a sizeable percentage of the Iranian people themselves, spanning Iranian society, considered this election illegitimate. It's not an isolated instance, a little grumbling here or there. There [are] significant questions about the legitimacy of the election. And so ultimately, the most important thing for the Iranian government to consider is legitimacy in the eyes of its own people, not in the eyes of the United States. And that's why I've been very clear, ultimately this is up to the Iranian people to decide who their leadership is going to be and the structure of their government. What we can do is to say unequivocally that there are sets of international norms and principles about violence, about dealing with peaceful dissent, that spans cultures, spans borders, and what we've been seeing over the Internet and what we've been seeing in news reports, violates those norms and violates those principles. I think it is not too late for the Iranian government to recognize that there is a peaceful path that will lead to stability and legitimacy and prosperity for the Iranian people. We hope they take it."
To reiterate, last November the nation voted to make a decision about the kind of foreign policy we want and I think we made the correct choice with the election of Obama. Yesterday Obama aptly said, "This is not about the United States and the West; this is about the people of Iran, and the future that they - and only they - will choose."
