Author: Lynn Sweet

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2010

WEEKEND GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
SATURDAY, MAY 22 AND SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2010

On Saturday, the President will deliver the commencement address at the United States Military Academy at West Point in West Point, New York. The President’s remarks are open to pre-credentialed media, but the deadline to request media credentials has passed.

The President has no scheduled public events on Sunday.

Beginning tomorrow, Saturday, May 22nd , a major multi-year infrastructure project will begin on the north side of the White House. The purpose of this project is to improve the condition of critical utilities supplying the West and East Wings of the White House. Please note that press that wish to access the briefing room will need to follow the walkway along the North Portico Driveway then proceed down the steps leading to the North Doors of the Palm Room. ADA access to the briefing room will be available on the driveway along Pebble Beach.

Saturday’s In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: CBS
Print: Politico
Radio: FOX

Saturday’s Out-of-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: CBS
Print: NY Times
Radio: NBC

Sunday’s In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: CNN
Print: Politics Daily/Sun Times
Radio: NPR

Saturday, May 22, 2010

7:00AM In-Town Travel Pool Call Time

7:40AM THE PRESIDENT departs the White House en route Andrews Air Force Base
In-Town Travel Pool Coverage (Gather Time 7:20AM – North Doors of the Palm Room)

8:10AM THE PRESIDENT departs Andrews Air Force Base en route Newburgh, New York
Out-of-Town Travel Pool (Call Time 6:45AM – Virginia Gate, Andrews Air Force Base)

9:25AM THE PRESIDENT arrives in Newburgh, New York
Stewart Air National Guard Base
Open Press

10:00AM THE PRESIDENT delivers the commencement address at United States Military Academy at West Point
West Point, Michie Stadium
Open Press

12:20PM THE PRESIDENT departs Newburgh, New York en route Andrews Air Force Base
Stewart Air National Guard Base
Open Press

1:15PM THE PRESIDENT arrives at Andrews Air Force Base
Out-of-Town Travel Pool Coverage

1:45PM THE PRESIDENT arrives at the White House
In-Town Travel Pool Coverage (Gather Time 11:30AM – Stakeout Location)

Sunday, May 23, 2010

9:30AM Pool Call Time

Schedule for Week of May 24, 2010

On Monday, the President will meet with Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon at the White House. This will be the Prime Minister’s first official visit to Washington during his premiership and the President looks forward to consulting with Prime Minister Hariri on a broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and independence, and regional peace and security. Also on Monday, the President will host a reception to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

On Tuesday, as part of National Small Business Week, the President will host award-winning small business owners from around the country for an event at the White House where he will discuss the important role that American small businesses play in our economy. The President will also address the Senate Republican Caucus about his legislative agenda at the Capitol.

Also on Tuesday, President Obama will welcome President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy to the White House on Tuesday, May 25. The United States and Italy, a leading NATO ally, have strong bilateral relations. The President appreciates Italy’s robust contributions to peace efforts around the world and looks forward to continuing his consultations with President Napolitano, following up on their July 8 meeting last year in Rome.

Later on Tuesday, the President will travel to San Francisco, California to headline events on behalf of Senator Barbara Boxer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

On Wednesday, the President will visit the Solyndra, Inc. solar facility in Fremont, CA where he will tour their high-tech facilities and then make remarks to workers on jobs and the economy. Following his remarks, the President will return to Washington, DC.

On Thursday, President Obama will welcome the NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion Duke Blue Devils to the White House to honor their 2009-2010 season. The President and the First Lady will also host the first ever White House reception in honor of Jewish American Heritage Month.

###

Updated 9:58 a.m. eastern time with McConnell statement….

Below, statement from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell about the ongoing oil spill investigation:

“And I think in addition to the companies that were drilling, it is important also to know what the administration approved. We know that this administration approved the site. We know that this administration approved the spill response plan. And hopefully in the course of the testimony we’ll be able to figure out what went wrong not only with the companies themselves, but with the oversight of the companies.”

Below, from the White House…

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
______________________________________________________________________________
EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:00 AM ET, SATURDAY, May 22, 2010

WEEKLY ADDRESS: President Obama Establishes Bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling
Names Former Two-Term Florida Governor and Former Senator Bob Graham and Former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency William K. Reilly as Commission Co-Chairs

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Obama announced that he has signed an executive order establishing the bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling with former two-term Florida Governor and former Senator Bob Graham and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency William K. Reilly serving as co-chairs.

The bipartisan National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling is tasked with providing recommendations on how we can prevent – and mitigate the impact of – any future spills that result from offshore drilling.

· The commission will be focused on the necessary environmental and safety precautions we must build into our regulatory framework in order to ensure an accident like this never happens again, taking into account the other investigations concerning the causes of the spill.
· The commission will have bipartisan co-chairs with a total membership of seven people. Membership will include broad and diverse representation of individuals with relevant expertise. No sitting government employees or elected officials will sit on the commission.
· The Commission’s work will be transparent and subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Commission will issue a report within six months of having been convened.

President Obama named the following individuals as Co-Chairs of National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling:

Senator Bob Graham is the former two-term governor of Florida and served for 18 years in the United States Senate. Senator Graham is recognized for his leadership on issues ranging from healthcare and environmental preservation to his ten years of service on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence — including eighteen months as chairman in 2001-2002. After retiring from public life in January 2005, Senator Graham served for a year as a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. From May 2008 to February 2010, he served as Chairman of the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism whose mandate was to build on the work of the 9/11 Commission. Senator Graham was also appointed to serve as a Commissioner on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, established by Congress to examine the global and domestic causes of the recent financial crisis. The Commission will provide its findings and conclusions in a final report due to Congress on December 15, 2010. He also serves as a member of the CIA External Advisory Board and the chair of the Board of Overseers of the Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida. Senator Graham has been recognized by national and Florida organizations for his public service including The Woodrow Wilson Institute award for Public Service, The National Park Trust Public Service award and The Everglades Coalition Hall of Fame. Senator Graham earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida and an LLB from Harvard Law School. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of public service from his alma mater, the University of Florida, and honorary doctorates from Pomona College and Nova Southeastern University.

William K. Reilly is a Founding Partner of Aqua International Partners, LP, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in companies engaged in water and renewable energy, and a Senior Advisor to TPG Capital, LP, an international investment partnership. Mr. Reilly served as the first Payne Visiting Professor at Stanford University (1993-1994), Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1989-1993), president of the World Wildlife Fund (1985-1989), president of The Conservation Foundation (1973-1989), and director of the Rockefeller Task Force on Land Use and Urban Growth from (1972-1973). He also served as the head of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Earth Summit at Rio in 1992. Mr. Reilly is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the World Wildlife Fund, Co-Chair of the National Commission on Energy Policy, Chairman of the Board of the ClimateWorks Foundation, Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, and a Director of the Packard Foundation and the National Geographic Society and a member of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force. He also serves on the Board of Directors of DuPont, ConocoPhillips, Royal Caribbean International and Energy Future Holdings, for which he serves as Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Advisory Board. In 2007 Mr. Reilly was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds a B.A. degree from Yale, J.D. from Harvard and M.S. in Urban Planning from Columbia University.

The full audio of the address is HERE. The video can be viewed online at www.whitehouse.gov.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Weekly Address
Washington, DC

One month ago this week, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off Louisiana’s coast, killing 11 people and rupturing an underwater pipe. The resulting oil spill has not only dealt an economic blow to Americans across the Gulf Coast, it also represents an environmental disaster.

In response, we are drawing on America’s best minds and using the world’s best technology to stop the leak. We’ve deployed over 1,100 vessels, about 24,000 personnel, and more than 2 million total feet of boom to help contain it. And we’re doing all we can to assist struggling fishermen, and the small businesses and communities that depend on them.

Folks on the Gulf Coast – and across America – are rightly demanding swift action to clean up BP’s mess and end this ordeal. But they’re also demanding to know how this happened in the first place, and how we can make sure it never happens again. That’s what I’d like to spend a few minutes talking with you about.

First and foremost, what led to this disaster was a breakdown of responsibility on the part of BP and perhaps others, including Transocean and Halliburton. And we will continue to hold the relevant companies accountable not only for being forthcoming and transparent about the facts surrounding the leak, but for shutting it down, repairing the damage it does, and repaying Americans who’ve suffered a financial loss.

But even as we continue to hold BP accountable, we also need to hold Washington accountable. Now, this catastrophe is unprecedented in its nature, and it presents a host of new challenges we are working to address. But the question is what lessons we can learn from this disaster to make sure it never happens again.

If the laws on our books are inadequate to prevent such an oil spill, or if we didn’t enforce those laws – I want to know it. I want to know what worked and what didn’t work in our response to the disaster, and where oversight of the oil and gas industry broke down. We know, for example, that a cozy relationship between oil and gas companies and agencies that regulate them has long been a source of concern.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has taken steps to address this problem; steps that build on reforms he has been implementing since he took office. But we need to do a lot more to protect the health and safety of our people; to safeguard the quality of our air and water; and to preserve the natural beauty and bounty of America.

In recent weeks, we’ve taken a number of immediate measures to prevent another spill. We’ve ordered inspections of all deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico. We’ve announced that no permits for drilling new wells will go forward until the 30-day safety and environmental review I requested is complete. And I’ve called on Congress to pass a bill that would provide critical funds and tools to respond to this spill and better prepare us to confront any future spills.

But we also need to take a comprehensive look at how the oil and gas industry operates and how we regulate them. That is why, on Friday, I signed an executive order establishing the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. While there are a number of ongoing investigations, including an independent review by the National Academy of Engineering, the purpose of this Commission is to consider both the root causes of the disaster and offer options on what safety and environmental precautions we need to take to prevent a similar disaster from happening again. This Commission, I’d note, is similar to one proposed by Congresswoman Capps and Senator Whitehouse.

I’ve asked Democrat Bob Graham and Republican Bill Reilly to co-chair this Commission. Bob served two terms as Florida’s governor, and represented Florida as a United States Senator for almost two decades. During that time, he earned a reputation as a champion of the environment, leading the most extensive environmental protection effort in the state’s history.

Bill Reilly is chairman emeritus of the board of the World Wildlife Fund, and he is also deeply knowledgeable about the oil and gas industry. During the presidency of George H.W. Bush, Bill was Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and his tenure encompassed the Exxon Valdez disaster.

I can’t think of two people who will bring greater experience or better judgment to the task at hand. In the days to come, I’ll appoint 5 other distinguished Americans – including scientists, engineers, and environmental advocates – to join them on the Commission. And I’m directing them to report back in 6 months with recommendations on how we can prevent – and mitigate the impact of – any future spills that result from offshore drilling.

One of the reasons I ran for President was to put America on the path to energy independence, and I have not wavered from that commitment. To achieve that goal, we must pursue clean energy and energy efficiency, and we’ve taken significant steps to do so. And we must also pursue domestic sources of oil and gas. Because it represents 30 percent of our oil production, the Gulf of Mexico can play an important part in securing our energy future. But we can only pursue offshore oil drilling if we have assurances that a disaster like the BP oil spill will not happen again. This Commission will, I hope, help provide those assurances so we can continue to seek a secure energy future for the United States of America.

Thanks so much.

##

below, release from the Justice Department….

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REQUIRES DIVESTITURES IN AMC’S ACQUISITION OF KERASOTES THEATERS

Divestitures Will Preserve Movie Theater Competition

in Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis Metropolitan Areas

WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it will require AMC Entertainment Group Inc. to divest movie theater assets in Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis in order to proceed with its proposed $275 million acquisition of most of the theaters operated by Kerasotes Showplace Theatres. The department said that the transaction, as originally proposed, would likely substantially lessen competition among movie theaters that show first-run, commercial movies in the Chicago, Denver and Indianapolis metropolitan areas, resulting in higher ticket prices and decreased quality viewing experience for moviegoers.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division filed a civil lawsuit today in U.S. District Court in Washington to block the proposed acquisition. At the same time, the department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the lawsuit and the department’s competitive concerns. The states of Illinois, Colorado and Indiana joined the division’s enforcement action.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, AMC must divest the following movie theaters: AMC Gardens 13 and Kerasotes Glen 10 (North Suburban Chicago); AMC Cantera 30 (Upper Southwest Suburban Chicago); Kerasotes Showplace 12 Bolingbrook (Lower Southwest Suburban Chicago); Kerasotes Colony Square 12 (Upper Northwest Denver); Kerasotes Olde Town 14 (Lower Northwest Denver); AMC Castleton Square 14 or Kerasotes Showplace 12 Glendale Town (North Indianapolis); and AMC Greenwood 14 (South Indianapolis).

In addition, for the next 10 years, AMC must inform the Antitrust Division if it proposes to acquire movie theatre assets in those markets.

AMC, a Kansas City-based company, operates 304 U.S. theaters housing 4,574 screens, most of which are located in megaplexes (units with more than 14 screens and stadium seating). AMC had U.S. revenues of approximately $2.26 billion in 2009.

Based in Chicago, Kerasotes develops, owns and operates Kerasotes ShowPlace Theatres LLC throughout the United States, with most locations in the Midwest. The privately held company operates 96 movie theaters with 973 screens in the United States and earned revenue of approximately $327.7 million in 2009.

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement and the department’s competitive impact statement will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to John R. Read, Chief, Litigation III Section, Antitrust Division, United States Department of Justice, 450 5th Street, N.W., Suite 4000, Washington, D.C. 20530 (telephone: 202-307-0468). At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may enter the proposed settlement upon finding that it serves the public interest.

###

By ABDON M. PALLASCH
Sun-Times Political Reporter

CHICAGO–Gov. Quinn said today that the Thomson Correctional Center in Northwest Illinois might not be used for Guantanamo Bay-transferred enemy combatants after all.

But it would still be used as a federal prison, the governor said.

The state would sell the mothballed state prison to the federal government. The money would be used to help pay off the bonds sold to build the prison. Any leftover money would be used to help the state budget, Quinn said.

Recent votes in congressional committees show “the mood in Congress” seems to be against moving accused terrorists to the mainland, Quinn said.

“I think it’s less likely given the mood in Congress on this issue of detainees,” Quinn said.

But whether it’s filled with detainees or garden-variety federal prisoners, the state of Illinois can still make money selling the never-opened facility to the federal government, Quinn said.

“We are doing the appraisal process now,” Quinn said. “We anticipate having a federal prison in Thomson this year. They are overcrowded at the federal level. The proceeds of the sale will be used to retire some of the bonds. The remainder will be devoted to capital.”

Below, Durbin statement…

DURBIN STATEMENT ON THE PASSAGE OF MAJOR
WALL STREET REFORM LEGISLATION

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate passed the Restoring American Financial Stability Act by a vote of 59- 39.

“This bill means no more taxpayer bailouts for Wall Street and no more high-flying bank schemes that can drag down our economy.

It contains the strongest financial consumer protections in our nation’s history and empowers consumers to make the best decisions on mortgages, student loans, and auto loans.

It has been a long fight, but it was worth it. Finally Main Street trumped Wall Street.”

-30-

WASHINGTON–First Lady Michelle Obama and Margarita Zavala visited a suburban Washington elementary school on Wednesday and heard from a little girl worried that people were going to be deported. She may have been worried about her mother, I write in my report.

“Yeah, well, that’s something that we have to work on, right? To make sure that people can be here with the right kind of papers, right? That’s exactly right,” Mrs. Obama said

FROM AP….

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House party crashers, Michaele and Tareq Salahi, were stopped in a limo near the White House Wednesday evening as President Barack Obama was holding his second official state dinner.

The limo driver ran through a red light around 8 p.m., just blocks from the White House and was stopped by a uniformed Secret Service officer, according to Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan. The driver had signaled to turn into a restricted area near the Ellipse. The attention-hungry couple was among those in the limo. They were released and went to dinner a few blocks from the White House after the incident. The limo driver was issued an infraction for running the red light.

DURBIN WELCOMES TWO CHICAGO AREA LEADERS AS SPECIAL GUESTS TO THE JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today welcomed Sylvia Puente and Artemio Arreola as his guests to an address by the President of Mexico Felipe Calderon Hinojosa to a joint session of Congress. Durbin, a member of the Senate Escort Committee, will meet with his guests prior to the joint session.

“At today’s Joint Session of Congress, I look forward to hearing President Calderon’s views on strengthening the partnership between our two nations,” said Durbin. “I am pleased to welcome both Sylvia Puente and Artemio Arreola as my guests to the Joint Session. They have both been tirelessly working to improve the lives of our Hispanic population in Illinois and around the country.”

Sylvia Puente’s twenty-five year career serving the Latino community spans a wide range of experience at local, state and national levels. She has been recognized as one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S.” by Hispanic Business magazine. She is currently the Executive Director of the Latino Policy Forum, a public policy and advocacy organization in the Chicago metropolitan area working to improve educational outcomes for children, make housing accessible and affordable, and build the influence and leadership of the Latino community.

Artemio Arreola has been a union labor activist for the Service Employees International Union for 15 years. He is a co-founder of the March 10th Movement which organized the first large scale immigrant rights march in Chicago on March 10th, 2006. He is currently the Political Director for the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights an organization that is dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social, and political life.

Below is a list of Speaker Pelosi’s guests for President Calderon’s Joint Meeting Address today at 11 a.m.

Front row of the Speaker’s box (left to right):

Mr. Paul Pelosi

Ambassador Carlos Pascual, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico

The Honorable John A. Pérez, Speaker of the Assembly, State of California

The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles

Ms. Dolores C. Huerta

Ms. Rosa Rosales, President, League of United Latin American Citizens

Dr. Elena Rios, President and CEO, National Hispanic Medical Association

Rev. Luis Cortes, President and CEO, Esperanza USA

Arturo Vargas, President, NALEO

Other guests in the Speaker’s box include:

Madeleine Albright, Former U.S. Secretary of State

Jim Jones, Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico

Henry Munoz, Chair of the Commission for a National Museum of the American Latino

Ali Noorani, Executive Director, National Immigration Forum

Rosario Anaya, Executive Director of the Mission Vocational School in San Francisco

Santiago “Sam” Ruiz, Executive Director of the Mission Neighborhood Center in San Francisco

###

(AP)
Actress Eva Longoria Parker (photo by Lynn Sweet)

WASHINGTON–President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a splashy, elegant state dinner Wednesday night for Mexico President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala, and Chicago Olympic speed skater Shani Davis was on the invite list.

“I am just proud to be here,” said Davis. Each guest can bring a guest, and Davis picked short track coach Jae Su Chun. Davis was wearing a Ralph Lauren suit and a light green tie he bought at Men’s Wearhouse in Skokie.

State Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) served with Obama when he was in the Illinois state Senate and she said as she walked into the dinner, “I am just really honored, really happy and honored to be here with my former colleague.”

The dinner menu was created in part by guest chef Rick Bayless, founder of Chicago’s Frontera Grill and Topolobampo, which had been a regular stop for Mrs. Obama when she lived in Chicago. The four-course meal featured Oregon Wagyu beef in Oaxacan black mole as the entree.
State Dinner place setting (photo by Lynn Sweet)

The second state dinner of the Obama administration brought together 200 guests in the ornate East Room for dinner, seated at round and rectangle tables with tablecloths in three hues of Mayan blue. The color scheme, the White House said, was supposed to resemble “ripples of water.”

Another 100 were invited for dessert and entertainment in a magnificent temporary structure built on the far end of the South Lawn, decorated as a very, very ritzy nightclub, complete with a stage, places to dance, dessert bars and stunning floral arrangements. Star singer Beyonce performed as well as Rodrigo y Gabriela and the U.S. Marine Band. Glorious Monarch butterfly decorations hung from the ceiling.

The Monarchs migrate between Mexico and Canada, passing through the United States, and were the perfect symbol of the cross-border relationship that Calderon and Obama want to develop. The Monarchs migrate from Michoacan, Calderon’s birthplace.

The visit comes as the controversial immigration issue has gotten hotter with the new Arizona law that allows local law enforcement authorities to ask people for papers to show they are in the United States legally.

The guest list included a hefty helping of celebrities. Actress Eva Longoria Parker, speaking to reporters in the White House, said that with the Arizona law, the dinner happened to be well-timed “because of the temperature regarding immigration reform. … It’s a hot button issue … so much reform is needed. Immigration is a federal issue,” she said, “and you can’t have states” doing their own laws.

Comic George Lopez had a great wisecrack when he entered. “I’m sitting with the president. They didn’t tell me which country.”

For comedian Whoopi Goldberg — who used to be in the White House “quite a bit,” she said, in the Clinton years — returning after eight years was “kind of like a homecoming after a long drought.”

The Obamas’ first state dinner, for the prime minister of India last year, was overshadowed by party crashers; right after the event, security was tightened for people attending White House social events. Martinez said she passed through three or four checkpoints. No crashers surfaced.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2010

DAILY GUIDANCE AND PRESS SCHEDULE FOR
THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2010

In the morning, the President will receive the Presidential Daily Briefing and the Economic Daily Briefing in the Oval Office. The President will also meet with senior advisors in the Oval Office. These meetings are closed press.

In the afternoon, the President and the Vice President will meet with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner in the Oval Office. This meeting is closed press.

Also tomorrow, Solicitor General Elena Kagan will travel to Capitol Hill to meet separately with Senator Gregg, Senator Lincoln, Senator Snowe, Senator Lautenberg, Senator Landrieu, and Senator Boxer.

In-Town Travel Pool
Wires: AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
Wire Photos: AP, Reuters, AFP
TV Corr & Crew: NBC
Print: NY Post
Radio: AURN

EDT

9:30AM In-Town Travel Pool Call Time

10:00AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

10:30AM THE PRESIDENT receives the Economic Daily Briefing
Oval Office
Closed Press

11:00AM THE PRESIDENT meets with senior advisors
Oval Office
Closed Press

3:00PM THE PRESIDENT and THE VICE PRESIDENT meet with Secretary of the Treasury Geithner
Oval Office
Closed Press

Briefing Schedule

1:00PM Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs

##

(Lynn Sweet/Sun Times)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 19, 2010

Below is a list of expected attendees who will join tonight’s Reception and Performance following the State Dinner:

The President & First Lady Michelle Obama

His Excellency Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of Mexico and Mrs. Margarita Zavala

The Honorable Tom Atkin, Special Assistant to the President & Senior Director, NSC

Mr. Monte Briggs Hawkins

The Honorable Joe Baca, United States Representative

Mr. Robert C. Barber, Cambridge, MA

Mrs. Denise Bauer, Belvedere Tiburon, CA

Mr. Steve Bauer

The Honorable Robert Rand Beers, Under Secretary for National Protection Programs, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC

Mrs. Marian Beers

The Honorable Alan D. Bersin, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for International Affairs

The Honorable Barbara Boxer, United States Senate

Mr. Michael Camuñez, Special Assistant to the President, Office of Presidential Personnel

Mr. Steven Means

Mr. Thomas Castro, BMP Radio, Houston, TX

Ms. Jacqueline Castro

The Honorable Gil Cedillo, California State Senate, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. Gilbert Martinez

The Honorable James E. Clyburn, United States Representative, Washington, DC

The Honorable Henry Cuellar, United States Representative

Amy Travieso

Mr. Jim Demers, Concord, NH

Mr. Carlos Elizondo, Washington, DC

Mr. Mark Dumas

The Honorable Eliot Engel, United States Representative

Mrs. Patricia Engel

The Honorable José W. Fernández, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic, Energy and Business Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

Ms. Andrea Gabor

Ms. María Garza, President, Mexican American Council, Homestead, FL

Edward Garza

Mr. Stuart Grant, Greenville, DE

Mrs. Suzanne Grant

The Honorable Raúl Grijalva, United States Representative

Ms. Marisa H. Grijalva

The Honorable Gary Grindler, Acting Deputy Attorney General of the United States

Christine Grindler

Ms. Christy Haubegger, Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. Steven Wolfe Pereira

The Honorable David Heyman, Assistant Secretary for Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC

Ms. Victoria T White

The Honorable Rubén Hinojosa, United States Representative

Mrs. Martha Hinojosa

The Honorable Fred Hochberg, Export-Import Bank, Washington, DC

Dr. John P. Holdren, Washington, DC

Ms. Roberta Jacobson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for North American Affairs

Mr. Jonathon Jacobson

The Honorable David Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State for INL

Ms. Scarlett Swan

Mr. Lon Johnson

Mr. Michael Kempner, East Rutherford, NJ

Mrs. Jacqueline Kempner

Mr. Steven Lerner, Chapel Hill, NC

Dr. Sharon Van Horn

The Honorable David Lipton, SAP and Senior Director for International Economics

Ms. Mary Galbraith

The Honorable Nita Lowey, United States Representative

Mr. Stephen Lowey

The Honorable Ben Ray Lujan, United States Representative

Ms. Deanna Archeleta

Ms. Maria Matos, Wilmington, DE

Ms. Sindy Ortiz

Mr. Gary Matthews, Chicago, IL

Mrs. Sandy Matthews

Mr. John F. McShane

Mrs. Kathleen C. McShane

The Honorable Daniel Meltzer, Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Counsel to the President, White House Counsel

The Honorable Janet Murguía, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza, Washington, DC

Mauro Morales

The Honorable Grace Napolitano, United States Representative

Ms. Angela Salinas

Mr. Danny Ortega, Chair, National Council of La Raza Board, Phoenix, AZ

Mr. Raul Perea-Henze

Mr. Stephen B. Sobhani

Mr. Jon Ralston, Las Vegas Sun, Henderson, NV

Ms. Madeline Ralston

The Honorable Vivian Rapposelli, Secretary, Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families, Newark, DE

Stephen Rapposelli

The Honorable Nick Rasmussen, SAP and Senior Director for Counterterrorism

Mrs. Maria Rasmussen

Mr. Sean Regan, Director, NSSS Transborder Security Policy

Mrs. Eva N. Regan

Ms. Rosa Rosales, San Antonio, TX

Mr. Brent Ashley Wilkes, Executive Director, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Washington, DC

The Honorable Lucille Roybal-Allard, United States Representative

Mr. Edward Allard

The Honorable Francisco Sánchez, Undersecretary of Commerce, Washington, DC

Ms. Mileydi Guilarte

The Honorable Linda Sánchez, United States Representative

Mr. James Sullivan, Guest of Then Honorable Linda Sanchez

The Honorable Loretta Sanchez

Ms. Esther L. Coopersmith

The Honorable Elizabeth Sears Smith, Office of Cabinet Affairs

Mr. Douglas Smith

Mr. Jeffrey Stirling

Mrs. Cynthia L. Stirling

The Honorable Paul Stockton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs

Mrs. Kristin Stockton

The Honorable Bruce Swartz, Department of Justice

Ms. Deborah Goodings

Ms. Grace Tsao-Wu, Chicago, IL

Ms. Laura Kofoid

Ms. Mimi Valdés Ryan, Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief, Kidult.com, New York, NY

Mr. Florian Bachleda

Mr. Jorge Valencia, West Des Moines, IA

Ms. Ramona Rowbury-Valencia

Secretary Tom Vilsack, Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC

Mrs. Christie Vilsack

(Lynn Sweet/Sun-Times)

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 19, 2010

Below is a list of expected attendees at tonight’s State Dinner, followed by the list for the head table:

The President & First Lady Michelle Obama

His Excellency Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, President of Mexico and Mrs. Margarita Zavala

Mr. Michael Adler, Miami Beach, FL

Mrs. Judy Adler

Mr. Javier Alatorre, Mexico

Mr. Will Allen, Growing Power, Oak Creek, WI

Ms. Cynthia Allen

Ms. Adrienne Arsht, Washington, DC

The Honorable David Axelrod, White House Communications

Mrs. Susan Axelrod

The Honorable Xavier Becerra, House of Representatives

Dr. Carolina Reyes

The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice President of the United States

Dr. Jill Biden

Mr. Dennis Blair, Director, Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Mrs. Diane Blair

The Honorable Antony Blinken, Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor, Office of the Vice President

The Honorable Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark, Newark, NJ

Ms. Gayle King, New York, NY

The Honorable John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Deputy National Security Advisor for Counterterrorism, Homeland Security Council

Mrs. Katherine Brennan

Mr. Lindsey Buss, President and CEO, Martha’s Table, Washington, DC

Mrs. Betina Franceschini

Mr. Charles Cawley, Camden, ME

Mrs. Julie Cawley

Mr. Kenneth Chenault, Amex, New York, NY

Mrs. Kathryn Chenault

The Honorable Steven Chu, Secretary of the Department of Energy, Washington, DC

Mrs. Jean Chu

The Honorable Hillary R. Clinton, Secretary of State

Secretary Ernesto Cordero, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit

Mr. Shani Davis, Chicago, IL

Mr. Jae Su Chun

Mr. José Díaz-Balart, Telemundo, Hialeah, FL

Mrs. Brenda Díaz-Balart

The Honorable Chris Dodd, United States Senate

Mrs. Jackie Clegg Dodd

The Honorable Thomas Donilon, Assistant to the President, Deputy National Security Advisor, NSC

Ms. Cathy Russell, Chief of Staff to Dr. Jill Biden

Ms. María Elena Durazo, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. Henry Tamarin, Chicago, IL

Mr. Don Edwards, Chicago, IL

Mrs. Anne Edwards

Mr. Carlos Elizondo Mayer-Serra, Mexico

The Honorable Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff to the President

Ms. Amy Rule

Mr. John B Emerson, Beverly Hills, CA

Ms. Kimberly K Marteau

Ambassador Patricia Espinosa Cantellano, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Mexico

Ms. Giselle Fernandez, Los Angeles, CA

Ms. Karen Gordon

Mr. Jorge Fernández Menéndez, Mexico

Ms. Patricia Flores, Head of the Office of the President, Mexico

Mr. David Friedman, Longmont, CO

Ms. Shawna Friedman

The Honorable Mike Froman, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, NSC

Ms. Nancy Goodman

The Honorable Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC

Mrs. Becky Gates

The Honorable Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, DC

Mrs. Carole Geithner

Mr. Leo Gerard, President, United Steel Workers, Washington, DC

Mr. Gerald Fernandez

Ms. Whoopi Goldberg, Whoop Productions, New York, NY

Mr. Thomas Leonardis

Ms. Maria María, Mary’s Center, Washington, DC

Mr. Michael Rexrode

Secretary Fernando Gómez Mont, Mexican Interior Secretary

Mr. James Gorman, Morgan Stanley, New York, NY

Mrs. Penny Gorman

Mr. Joe Hansen, President, United Food and Commercial Workers Int’l, Washington, DC

Ms. Bonnie Lou Ladin

Ms. Jane Hartley, CEO, Observatory Group, New York, NY

Mr. Ralph Schlosstein, New York, NY

The Honorable Eric Holder, United States Attorney General, Department of Justice, Washington, DC

Dr. Sharon Malone, MD

The Honorable Steny Hoyer, United States Representative

Ms. Kathleen May

Ms. Dolores C Huerta, Delores Huerta Foundation, Bakersfield, CA

The Honorable Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor

Mr. James L Jones

Mrs. Diane Jones, McLean, VA

The Honorable Tim Kaine, Richmond, VA

Ms. Anne Holton

Justice Anthony Kennedy, Washington, DC

Mrs. Mary Kennedy

The Honorable Pat Kennedy, Under Secretary, Management, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

Ms. Elizabeth Swope

The Honorable R. Gil Kerlikowske, Washington, DC

Ms. Anna Laszlo

The Honorable Ron Kirk, USTR, Washington, DC

Ms. Elizabeth A Kirk

The Honorable Raymond LaHood, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, Washington, DC

Mrs. Kathy LaHood

Mr. David C Lizárraga, Los Angeles, CA

Mrs. Yvonne Lizárraga

Ms. Eva Longoria-Parker, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. David Figueroa, Pasadena, CA

Mr. George Lopez, Los Angeles, CA

Mrs. Ann M Lopez, Toluca Lake, CA

Mr. Joaquín López Dóriga, Mexico

Ms. Monica Lozano, Publisher, La Opinion, Los Angeles, CA

Mr. David Ayon

The Honorable Capricia Marshall, Chief of Protocol, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

The Honorable Iris Martinez, Hispanic Caucus Chair, Chicago, IL

Mr. Tony Martinez, Brownsville, TX

Mrs. Carla Martinez

Mr. Thomas F. McLarty, President, McLarty Associates, Washington, DC

Mr. Eliseo Medina, Oxnard, CA

Ms. Liza Medina

The Honorable Robert Menendez, United States Senate

Ms. Gwendolyn Beck

The Honorable Jim Messina, Office of Chief of Staff

Ms. Ana Elizabeth Himelic

Dr. Mario Molina, Department of Chemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Ms. Guadalupe Limón

Mr. Brian Moynihan, Bank of America, Boston, MA

Ms. Susan Berry

Admiral Michael G Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Arlington, VA

Mrs. Deborah Mullen

The Honorable Cecilia Muñoz, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs

The Honorable Janet Napolitano, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC

Senator Carlos Navarrete, President of the Senate, Mexico

Mr. Kevin O’Reilly, Director for North America, National Security Staff, NSC

The Honorable Peter Orszag, Director, Office of Management & Budget

Ms. Bianna Golodryga

Mrs. Valerie Owens, Kennett Square, PA

Mr. Jack Owens

Congresswoman Beatriz Paredes, President of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), Mexico

The Honorable Carlos Pascual, Ambassador to Mexico

Ms. Gabriela Rojas Jimenez

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, United States Representative and Speaker of the House

Mr. Paul Pelosi

The Honorable Federico Peña, Denver, CO

Ms. Neila J Peña

The Honorable John Pérez, Speaker of the House, State of California, Sacramento, CA

Mr. Jason Seifer

Mr. Victor Pérez, Hoy, Chicago, IL

Miss Agape Pappas

Congressman Francisco Ramírez Acuña, President of the House of Representatives, Mexico

Mr. Jorge Ramos, Univision, Miami, FL

The Honorable Harry Reid, United States Senate

Mrs. Landra Reid

Mr. Dan Restrepo, Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs, NSA, Washington, DC

The Honorable Silvestre Reyes, United States Representative

Mrs. Carolina Reyes

The Honorable Susan Rice, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, New York, NY

Mr. Ian Cameron, New York, NY

The Honorable Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, Santa Fe, NM

Ms. Vesta Richardson

Mrs. Marian Robinson

Mr. Reynaldo Robledo, CEO Robledo Vineyards Managment, LLC,, Mexico

Mr. Luis Rubio, Mexico

Mr. Jesse Ruiz, Dinker Biddle and Reath LLP, Chicago, IL

Mrs. Michele Ilene Ruiz

Secretary Gerardo Ruiz Mateos, Secretary of Economy

The Honorable Kenneth Salazar, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Washington, DC

Mrs. María Elena Salinas, Univision, Miami, FL

Mr. Manuel Machado

Mr. Mark Sanchez, New York Jets, Florham Park, NJ

D’Brickashaw Ferguson

Mr. Arturo Sarukahn, Ambassador, Embassy of Mexico, Washington, DC

Mrs. Veronica Valencia-Sarukhan

Mr. Scott Schenkelberg, Executive Director, Miriam’s Kitchen, Washington, DC

Mrs. Susan Gillespie

The Honorable Susan Sher, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady

Mr. Carlos Slim, América Móvil, Inbursa, Grupo Carso, Mexico

The Honorable Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of Labor, Department of Labor, Washington, DC

Mr. Sam Sayyad, El Monte, CA

Mr. Andy Spahn, Los Angeles, CA

Jennifer L Perry

The Honorable Jim Steinberg, Deputy Secretary of State, Washington, DC

Ms. Sherburne B. Abbott

Mr. Tom Strickland, Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC

The Honorable (Dr.) Larry Summers, Director, National Economic Council

Ruth Summers

The Honorable Mona Sutphen, Office of Chief of Staff, West Wing, Washington, DC

Mr. Clyde Williams

Ms. Ana Claudia Talancón, Mexico

Mr. Dennis Toner, Wilmington, DE

Mrs. Ann Toner

Mr. Robert I Unanue, President, Goya Foods, Secaucus, NJ

Ms. Elizabeth Unanue

Mr. Guillermo Valdés, Director General of the Center for Investigation and National Security (CISEN), Mexico

The Honorable Arturo A. Valenzuela, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC

Ms. Kathryne Mudge

Mr. Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Los Angeles, CA

Mrs. María Vargas

The Honorable Nydia Velázquez, United States Representative

Mr. Dennis Rivera

The Honorable Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor, City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Ms. Prisila Rodriguez

Mrs. Alexa Wesner, Austin, TX

Mr. Blaine Wesner, Reston, VA

Mr. Frank White, Jr., Washington, DC

Ms. Sylvia Denise Davis

Mr. Wellington Wilson, Olympia Fields, IL

Mrs. Kaye Wilson

Mr. Robert Wolf, Purchase, NY

Mrs. Carol Wolf

Mr. Lorenzo Zambrano, CEO CEMEX, Mexico

Mr. John Zidich, Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ

Mrs. Pamela Zidich

Seating Chart for Head Table beginning with the President and moving to his right.

v The Honorable Barack Obama

v First Lady Margarita Zavala

v Mr. David Lizárraga

v Mrs. Mary Kennedy

v Ms. Maria Elena Durazo

v Mr. Jason Seifer

v Mrs. Landra Reid

v Mr. Henry Tamarin

v Ms. Maria Elena Salinas

v Mr. Frederico Peña

v First Lady Michelle Obama

v His Excellency Felipe Calderon Hinojosa

v Ms. Dolores Huerta

v Justice Anthony Kennedy

v Mrs. Priscilla Lizarraga

v Senator Iris Martinez

v Senator Harry Reid

v Mrs. Nelia Peña

v The Honorable John Pérez

v Representative Nydia Velázquez

OTE: The translation of President Calderón’s remarks at the Arrival Ceremony were provided by the Embassy of Mexico.

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release May 19, 2010

REMARKS BY
PRESIDENT CALDERÓN OF MEXICO AT ARRIVAL CEREMONY

South Lawn

His Excellency Mr. Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
Mrs. Michelle Obama;
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I appreciate the kind invitation of President Barack Obama to carry out this State Visit. Mexico and the United States…. We are friend and partner nations; nations that work together and trade… And that complement each other economically; nations that dialogue and that are intertwined by geography and history.

As you pointed out Mr. President, while in Mexico, “what makes us good neighbors is a simple truth: our peoples share way beyond our common challenges and interests.” Indeed, we also share common values and principles such as freedom, justice, legality and democracy.

Today, Mexicans and Americans share a decisive moment for our respective countries. We face common challenges of great magnitude: organized crime, economic crisis, climate change, migration. These monumental challenges place us at a crossroads: either we return to mutual recrimination, which has been so useless and so damaging in previous times, or we face and overcome these challenges together, and from there, we begin a new chapter of shared prosperity.

This is the choice: look toward the future, and begin a new era in the strategic partnership between the United States and Mexico based upon shared responsibility.

I am sure that by working with shared responsibility, our governments will be able to open new paths for a more secure, more sustainable, more competitive and more prosperous North America.

We can do it if together we face and combat transnational organized crime. This is our common enemy and the greatest threat to our peoples.
We can do it if together we support a new model for economic development, in harmony with the environment.

We can do it if we know how to make the most of how our two economies complement each other. If we take advantage of our trade and integration to create more and better jobs in both countries. If we can work together to encourage the successful integration of the Mexican-American and Latino communities in this country. We will do it, if we know how to add up our strengths to make North America the most competitive and prosperous region in the world.

We can make it, if we continue building a safer border and if we transform it in a border that does not divide our peoples, in a land of opportunities and progress. We can make it, if we develop a comprehensive, fair and long term solution to the challenges that migration currently poses. I know that we share the interest in promoting dignified, legal and orderly living conditions to all migrant workers. Many of them, despite their significant contribution to the economy and to the society of the United States, still live in the shadows and, occasionally, as in Arizona, they even face discrimination.

Divided we cannot overcome these enormous challenges. A prosperous North America that benefits both Americans and Mexicans is only feasible if we work shoulder to shoulder, and if we confront these challenges decisively and courageously.

Mr. President,

I come today to seal the pact of friendship that a year ago you offered to Mexico and to the Mexican people. Mexicans and Americans, we are faced with major common problems and challenges, but at the same time, we have the possibility of shared success in the horizon.

Can we overcome these challenges? Can we build that future of prosperity we want for our people? Yes we can, if we work together.

Thank You Mr. President for your kind invitation.

END

White House arrival ceremony for President Mexico Felipe Calderon (Photo by Lynn Sweet)

First Lady Michelle Obama and Margarita Zavala at an elementary school on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Lynn Sweet)

WASHINGTON–With booming cannons giving a 21-gun salute and full military honors, President Obama welcomed Mexican President Felipe Calderon to the White House for a state visit on Wednesday morning.

Joining them in the outdoor arrival ceremony–the first of the Obama administration–were First Lady Michelle Obama and Margarita Zavala, the former Mexican lawmaker who is Calderon’s wife.

The ceremony was full of flourishes–including a U.S. Military fife and drum corps dressed in U.S. revolutionary-era garb. Obama and Calderon inspected the troops–from the five U.S. Military branches standing at attention in formation.

Obama called Calderon a “neighbor, friend and partner.”

Calderon said the U.S. and Mexico can “overcome” challenges of major cross-border concerns, “migration,” organized crime, and climate issues.

FOOTNOTE: Mrs. Obama wore a rasberry outfit from Calvin Klein.

WASHINGTON–Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan as a college student had a deep interest in Socialism and wrote her Princeton undergraduate thesis about the Socialist movement in New York and why it never endured. The thesis and much more are now on file with the Senate Judiciary Committee in advance of her confirmation hearings sometimes this summer. Also: Kagan has a $1.7 net worth, most of her assets are in cash, she has no substantial investment, no credit card debt, no car, no mortgage. These details and more about Kagan’s answers to Senate questions are in a column I co-wrote here.

WASHINGTON–The reluctance of the U.S. Congress and the Obama White House to move on immigration reform — and the controversial Arizona law — plus cross-border drug war violence will be on the agenda during a two-day visit by Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala.

President Obama and first lady Michelle host a State Dinner tonight for Calderon and Mrs. Zavala — the couples both have young children and both women are lawyers who gave up careers when their husbands became president. Mrs. Obama dined at Los Pinos, the Mexican presidential residence, last month during her swing through Mexico City.

The U.S.-Mexico relationship is close, but the new Arizona state law — where state law enforcement could demand that people produce papers (already opposed by Obama and Calderon) — raises the question of how and when Calderon will deliver an Arizona rebuke. Calderon is under some domestic political pressure to say something while here, but I am told he does not want to make Arizona the highlight of his visit — there are many other other issues on the agenda.

Calderon has two prime opportunities. Obama and Calderon hold a press conference today, and Thursday Calderon addresses a joint session of Congress. Obama and Calderon held a joint press conference on April 16, 2009, at Los Pinos. Calderon said then, “This is an historic event that will inaugurate a new era, a new relationship between our two countries.”

During a Tuesday briefing, a White House official who would not allow his name to be used said the U.S. fully expects Calderon to speak out on Arizona, “to also discuss his views, as he has been doing in public, on recent developments, be it the Arizona immigration law and more generally the issue of immigration and efforts in Mexico [and] his efforts in Mexico to create the kind of economic opportunity that allows Mexicans to live out their dreams in their country of origin.”

Among the agenda items:

* Drug wars. U.S. consumption of drugs and feuding Mexican drug cartels are fueling the cross-border drug war, and getting use down is a major bilateral issue. Mexico blames U.S. guns ending up in Mexico and U.S. drug demand. On May 11, the Obama White House released its long- awaited drug-fighting stategy with the goal: “a 15-percent reduction in the rate of youth drug use over five years.” In March, top Obama Cabinet officials–led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton–were in Mexico City to discuss the escalating cross- border violence.

* Energy. “I think you’ll see a number of concrete deliverables in — on each of — on energy cooperation and on clean- energy cooperation,” the White House official said.

* Border infrastructure. The Sun-Times has learned that the Obama White House will annunce three new border bridge projects to allow faster border crossings.

* Trade and a long standing issue about Mexican trucks being allowed entry to the U.S.

UPDATED FROM TUESDAY VERSION ABOUT RICK BAYLESS GUEST CHEFING AT THE WHITE HOUSE WITH CLARIFICATION….
Clarification: Bayless at Gapers Block said he did not send his Twitters from the White House kitchen. Bayless also sent a Twitter out about my post. To clarify: Bayless Twittered about the upcoming dinner and about the White House kitchen, but not from the White House kitchen. My apology.

The lede below is what appeared in the priint editions.

WASHINGTON — Rick Bayless, the Chicago superstar chef, was Twittering from the White House kitchen about today’s Obama White House state dinner honoring Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala. Until the Tweets stopped. The White House kitchen is for cooking, not Tweeting.

Bayless’ contemporary Mexican cuisine made his Frontera Grill and Topolobampo restaurants at 445 N. Clark a favorite of President Obama and first lady Michelle.

He was given the unpaid honor of being a guest chef, working the state dinner — the second of the Obama administration — alongside of White House House chef Cristeta Comerford.

The White House press operation wanted to downplay the glamor aspect of the state dinner; these are tough economic times.

Bayless talked about the dinner in interviews — he gave up a few facts about what he may be cooking — his Oaxacan mole, for example. “He’s been blabbing,” wrote the Washington Examiner “Yeas and Nays” column. “He’s done interviews with the New York Times and NPR, revealing bits and pieces of the menu.”

On Tuesday morning Bayless, an inveterate Tweeter wrote, “Thanks 2 the 100s of well wishers! Ready 4 day 2 n rather small White House kitchen. Chef was challenged by some ingred, but last arrive 2day.”

He flew to Washington on Monday from Chicago and when he arrived, he Twittered, “Just arrived in DC. Headed to the White House kitchens. I have to say: I’m a little nervous.”

After he checked out the White House kitchen — which is fairly small — Bayless Twittered, “The White House staff could not be nicer&more professional! Most worried about ingredients, but all will b here 4 big day!”

But after his Tuesday Tweet early in the morning, Bayless was shut down on Twitter.

Last year, when the Obamas entertained the prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, the guest chef, Marcus Samuelsson, a big name in the cooking world, was neither seen nor heard from and asked not to give interviews about the dinner in advance. He was not allowed to appear at the press preview of the dinner.

The White House at first was keen on limiting reporting opportunities from the state dinner, but Tuesday eased up on a restrictions. Michelle Obama and Mrs. Zavala will visit an elementary school in the Maryland suburbs of Washington with students from Central and South America on Wednesday morning. That is the picture of the day the East Wing wants.

At first, the White House was not planning any advance event to preview the dinner. Last year on the afternoon of the India dinner, the East Wing set up sample table settings; the first lady arranged for a briefing on the history of state dinners for the group of girls she is mentoring.

In a reversal, the White House now will allow a pool to see the dinner set up in the East Room “for a few minutes” and to see “for a few minutes” the tent on the South Lawn where more guests will be invited for dessert and entertainment.

Lynn Sweet