OBAMA WATCH: WEEK OF MARCH 22

Passing the Bill: A Tough Road

In the days before the bill was passed, Obama had to lobby lawmakers to make sure it had the necessary votes. Here the president is talking on the phone with a member of Congress while on his way to a health care event at Virginia’s George Mason University on Friday. Phil Schiliro, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sits next to him. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The Strategy

The same day, the president, Schiliro and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel discuss health care strategy in the Oval Office.

In Between Meetings

On Saturday, in between health care meetings, President Obama walks through the Outer Oval Office. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The Bill Passes!

The president, vice president and a room full of staff cheer in the White House’s Roosevelt Room after hearing that the House passed the health care reform bill Sunday evening. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

A Pat on the Back

The president and vice president congratulate Phil Schiliro, while on the elevator to the private residence of the White House late Sunday night

Cheers

Early Monday morning, Obama celebrates with staff on the Truman Balcony of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Congratulations

Before a Situation Room meeting on Monday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gives the president a hug to congratulate him on the bill’s passage. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Signing the Bill

A joyful President Obama along with many congressional supporters and several ordinary citizens, packed into the White House’s East Room to witness and celebrate the passage of landmark health care legislation. The widow of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, Victoria, was also in the audience. Kennedy was a longtime supporter of health care reform. Ahead of Obama’s appearance, supporters chanted, “Fired up, ready to go,” as the president beamed.

Convincing the Public

Even after the bill’s passing, the president will keep trumping his administration’s health care plan. On Thursday, he is set to travel out to Iowa City to make his first case to the public since signing the historic legislation, the White House announced. He first unveiled the plan in Iowa City in May of 2007 during his presidential campaign.

Meeting Netanyahu

After signing the historic health care legislation, President Obama will sit down with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting will be closed to reporters. This is the first meeting between the two leaders since Netanyahu announced controversial plans to build housing units in a part of Jerusalem that Palestinians claim as their own. The administration is strongly against this plan

In First Lady News....Trip to NYC

The First Lady, her mother Marian Robinson and daughters Sasha and Malia traveled to New York this weekend to and checked out the Broadway play “Memphis” on Sunday. After the show, they got a private tour of the Empire State Building and ate cupcakes at Magnolia Bakery in the West Village, according to the New York Post. The group couldn’t get enough of Broadway, apparently, as they went to see another play, “The Addams Family,” on Monday night. Sasha and Malia are on vacation from school.

Michelle Obama: Comic Book Hero?

Last year, when Bluewater Productions launched its first Michelle Obama comic book as part of its Female Force line, they sold out of copies before it even hit stores, they say. Now, the group is coming out with a sequel entitled, “Female Force: Michelle Obama: YEAR ONE,” which will be about Mrs. Obama’s travels and accomplishments as First Lady during her first year in the White House, reports CNBC. The “Female Force” line also has comics dedicated to Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice


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