Another White House Concert and trips to 3 states keep Mr. Obama busy while the Biden's visit South America

As the scandals continue to unfold, the President avoids the controversies by separating himself from his governing duties.

During the past week, Mr. Obama received two daily briefings, and met once with his senior advisers, Secretary of Treasury Lew, and Secretary of Defense Hagel once.

The remainder of his time was spent traveling to Oklahoma, Maryland, and New Jersey. He also delivered a couple of speeches, hosted a breakfast, and participated in a Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony.

Carole King honored at White House

The highlight of his week was hosting another concert at the White House.

In order to prevent Vice President Biden from making any embarrassing statements, he and his wife are being treated to a week long getaway trip to Columbia, Trinidad, and Brazil.

Weekly Air Force One and Helicopter flying time (25 hours total):

• President Obama: White House to Asbury Park NJ (round trip)  : 3 hours
• President Obama: White House to Annapolis, MD (round trip)  : 1 hours
• President Obama: White House to Oklahoma City OK (round trip)  : 6 hours
• Vice President Biden & Wife: DC to Bogota Columbia to Trinidad : 5.5 + 2.5 = 8 hours
• Vice President Biden & Wife: Haiti and flew to Rio De Janeiro Brazil : 7 hours

Below is a summary of President Obama's official schedule during the week of Wednesday May 22 through Tuesday May 28 2013.

Today, Tuesday, May 28, 2013

• President Obama left the White House at 10:05 AM and flew to Asbury Park, NJ. There, he tours the rebuilding progress and delivers remarks at 1:30 PM. He will then fly back to DC and meet with Secretary of Defense Hagel at 4:30 PM. Then, at 5:30 PM, he will make a speech from the East Room.
• Mr. & Mrs. Biden left Haiti and flew to RioDe Janeiro Brazil.

Monday, May 27, 2013

• President Obama, and his wife Michelle, hosted a 9:30 AM breakfast in honor of Gold Star Families. At 11:00 AM, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and delivered remarks at Arlington National Cemetery afterward.
• VP Biden met with Colombian President Juan Miguel Santos in Bogota. That night, the family flew to Trinidad and met with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

• Mr. Obama left DC at 9:45 AM and flew to Oklahoma City and toured the tornado damage and met with victims and first responders. He returned to the White House at 7:30 PM.
• VP Biden and his wife Jill began a 6 day tour of South America and the Caribbean islands to discuss economic growth. On Sunday, they flew to Columbia.

Friday, May 24, 2013

• President Obama left the White House at 9:20 AM and traveled to Annapolis MD, where he delivered the commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy. He arrived back in DC at 1:10 PM, and signed a bill at 2:15 PM.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

• President Obama received a daily briefing at 10:15 AM, and then met with his senior advisers at 11 AM. He ate lunch with VP Biden at 12:30 PM, and then made a speech on counter-terrorism at 2:00 PM.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

• President Obama received a daily briefing at 9:45 AM. Then at 4:15 PM, he with Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew. In the evening, he and his wife hosted the Gershwin Prize Concert at the White House.

Obama: No time for America when meeting with foreign leaders and attending fundraisers

The Presidential duties of the past two weeks have been primarily focused on meeting with leaders of other countries and fundraising.  Very little time has been dedicated to the American public, leading the country, or working with any members of the Congress or Senate.

Having read the public schedule of the President over the past few months and summarizing it on this blog, we finally realized how little time Mr. Obama spends on U.S. domestic affairs versus meeting with and entertaining foreign leaders and diplomats. For example, whenever the President is abroad, his daily schedule appears to be filled with meetings and attending events.

However, when he is here in this country, his schedule typically accounts for only 2 to 3 hours of his time, unless he is on the campaign trail. In those cases, he will board Air Force One early in the morning and travel to various cities in order to attend campaign events.

For example, during the past few days that Obama has been in Seoul Korea, he has met with at least 6 world leaders and attended various work and ceremonial sessions. Before his trip, he spent 2 days with PM Cameron of the UK and met twice with PM Kenny of Ireland.

But by comparison, during the days he was in the White House, he only met with his senior advisers twice, had two Daily Briefings, and met once with Panetta, Clinton, and Geithner. At no time did he meet members of the Senate or Congress.

However, 12 campaign events were attended. Mr. Obama led the field with 6, VP Biden had 4, and Michelle Obama is credited with two.

Below is a summary of the travel events of President Obama, his wife Michelle, and Mr. and Mrs. Biden during the period of Wednesday March 14 through Tuesday March 27 2012.


Today, Tuesday - March 27, 2012

• Mr. Obama attended a plenary session and met with PM Yousaf Gillani. Afterward, he departed Seoul, Korea to fly back to the United States.
• Michelle Obama participated in the Cherry Blossom Festival Tree planting ceremony; and then she met with spouses of senior enlisted leaders
• VP Biden hosted a breakfast with Hillary Clinton

Monday - March 26, 2012

• Obama held bilateral meetings with President Hu Jintao of China and then President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan. Later, he participated in a Nuclear Security welcome ceremony, dinner, photos, working  sessions and lunch
• Jill Biden spoke at 2012 National 4H Conference. In the evening, she and her VP husband hosted a reception honoring Women's History Month

Sunday - March 25, 2012

• President Obama held bilateral meetings with PM Erdogan of Turkey, President Lee Myung-bak of Korea, President Medvedev of Russia. He also attended a  news conference, working dinner, and spoke at Hankuk University
• Mrs. Obama welcomed school children for White House Kitchen Garden spring planting

Friday - March 23, 2012

• Mr Obama made a personal announcement. Later, he departed DC and flew to Seoul, Republic of Korea.
• Mr. Biden attended a campaign event in Coconut Creek FL

Thursday - March 22, 2012

• President Obama delivered remarks in Oklahoma City. He then left Cushing OK and flew to Columbus OH where he toured Center for Automotive Research before flying back to DC

Wednesday - March 21, 2012

• Obama left DC and flew to Las Vega, NV. There, he toured Copper Mountain Solar 1 Facility and flew to Roswell NM where he delivered remarks. Afterwards, he flew to Oklahoma City OK
• VP Biden delivered remarks at a service hosted by Bipartisan Policy Center

Tuesday - March 20, 2012

• Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden met with Irish PM Kenny. Next, they all had St. Patricks Day lunch. In the evening, President & Michelle Obama hosted a St Patricks Day reception and VP Biden attended.
• Michelle Obama attended a campaign event at Locanda Verde, New York City

Monday - March 19, 2012

• President Obama spent 1 hour receiving a daily briefing and meeting with senior advisers. In the middle of the afternoon, he met with Hillary Clinton. At dinnertime, he attended a campaign event at the W Hotel.
• Mr Biden attended a campaign event in Morristown NJ for Menendez.
• Michelle Obama held a campaign event at Chelsea Piers, New York City

Saturday - March 17, 2012

• Joe Biden traveled to Pittsburgh PA and attended the parade. After, he went to a campaign event.

Friday - March 16, 2012

• President Obama flew to Chicago IL and attended 2 campaign events. Afterwards, he flew to Atlanta GA and attended 3 more campaign events.
• VP Biden was in Wilmington DE, but no official reason was given.

Thursday - March 15, 2012

• Obama spoke at Prince George's Community College
• Mr. Biden attended a campaign event

Wednesday - March 14, 2012

• Mr. Obama, Michelle, Joe & Jill Biden welcome PM Cameron. Then, the  President held 2 meetings with him and other delegations. He held a press conference the day. In the evening, the 4 first entertainers hosted an evening State Dinner for the Cameron's.
• The Biden's and Hillary Clinton hosted lunch for the PM.

Jet pollution clouds Biden's Clean Energy Summit

The Air Force One and Two jets are in the air today, crisscrossing the country to: carry the President to Minnesota; and transport the Vice President to Las Vegas and Tulsa.

Obama is making a quick dash to Minneapolis-St. Paul to deliver remarks to veterans at an American Legion conference. He lands at 11:25AM, speaks at 11:55AM, and is back on the plane at 1:15PM. This means he will be flying approximately 4 hours in order to give a 1 hour speech.

Vice President Biden is campaigning at the National Clean Energy Summit 4.0 held in Las Vegas today. This summit is hosted by the Center for American Progress which is a liberal think tank partially funded by George Soros.

On his way back to DC, Biden will land in Tulsa Oklahoma and attend a DNC fundraising event tonight.

Hopefully, Biden will discuss the effects of jet fuel pollution on the climate and how both he and the President have contributed to its growth.

Sources:

• National Clean Energy Summit 4.0: The Future of Energy
• Center for American Progress
• Center for American Progress Action Fund
• Wikipedia: Center for American Progress 
• Whiteboard: Obama off to Minnesota
• Biden boosts Democrats in South