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Eric Holder (left), Michelle Obama and Magic Johnson. AP photo composite by POLITICO
via WaPo: First lady Michelle Obama brought her passion for mentoring to this beleaguered blue-collar city, urging a crowd of some 5,000 high school students -- and an equal number of grown-ups -- to "fight for every inch of your future."
[photos via Reuters]
She preached a no-nonsense, motivational message to young people, urging them to take responsibility for their own lives as well as the welfare of their community. But from the start of her speech, which lasted about 15 minutes, Obama made it clear that she was not only speaking to students, but to every resident of this city -- a place that is often held up as an example of all that has gone wrong with industrial economies, modern families and government itself.
"The last thing any of you need is someone to come here and tick off statistics, to tell you what you already know is going on in your own lives," Obama said to a cheering crowd that was sweating -- and occasionally wilting -- under the bright Wednesday morning sun. "I'm here because I know something that I want everyone in America to know -- and that there is a brighter, better future ahead for Detroit."
"Despite what some may think they know about this city, what I know is there is plenty of hope here." Continue reading this article over at the Washington Post.
Some of the other mentors joining first lady Michelle O:
• Attorney General Eric Holder
• Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm
• Dan Mulhern, First Gentleman of Michigan
• Dave Bing, Mayor of Detroit
• Yvette Bing, wife of Mayor of Detroit
• Cathie Black, CEO of Hearst Magazines
• Robin Givhan, The Washington Post
• Susan Taylor, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Essence Magazine and Founder, National CARES Mentoring Movement
• Kimberly Locke, Singer
• Spike Lee, Actor and Director
• Magic Johnson, Basketball Player
• Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick
• Congressman John Conyers
• Mrs. Barbara Levin, Member of Congressional Spouses Club
• Mrs. Deborah Dingell, Member of Congressional Spouses Club
• Joe Clancy, Special Agent in Charge, Presidential Protective Division, United States Secret Service
• Denise Ilitch, Owner of Detroit Redwings and Michigan Board of Regents
• Lloyd Carr, former football coach for University of Michigan
• David Segura, CEO of VisionIT Inc.
The East Room at the White House in Washington, DC is ready for the State Dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderon on May 19, 2010. [Photo credit TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images]
The entertainment tent at the White House in Washington, DC is ready for the State Dinner for Mexican President Felipe Calderon on May 19, 2010. [Photo credit TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images]
Click here to see more preparation pics for the Obama's 2nd White House State Dinner.
via HuffPo:Celebrity chef Rick Bayless is the second guest chef that Mrs. Obama has requested to cook and help to oversee the all important White House State Dinner for Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderón. In November, award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson prepared a meal for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The White House wants NO DRAMA at the 2nd State Dinner
The first couple are no strangers to Bayless' cuisine, having dined out on his cooking in their hometown. Bayless has called them "adventurous" eaters and said they ordered tasting menus.
Bayless was inspired by Mexican market foods more than two decades ago. He's the author of several Mexican cookbooks, appears in his own PBS series, "Mexico – One Plate at a Time," and has competed on Bravo's "Top Chef Masters."
See first lady Michelle O. and first lady of Mexico, Margarita Zavala
He has also earned his share of awards: In 1988 Food & Wine named him best new chef. Three years later, the Beard Foundation named him best Midwest chef, then national chef of the year in 1995. Bon Appetit magazine named him cooking teacher of the year in 2002.
But he considers preparing a White House state dinner a career highlight. "It's moving into a different realm that I don't usually cook in," Bayless said. "I'm really honored to be able to offer what little thing I can offer to creating this special moment."
Read all about the elite waiters that will serve at The Obama's 2nd State Dinner
Planning for the state dinner started months ago, when Bayless said he proposed several menus and narrowed them to the best choices. Then White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford visited Bayless in Chicago for a special tasting and to see plate presentations.
"I went to the table to ask them how everything was," Bayless said. "It was very clear that Chef Comerford was not there to have a good time. She was there to do her job." Bayless passed muster with Comerford and aims to prepare a state dinner "that will be both well executed and really interesting."
Cooking at the White House, he said, does have some restrictions. He said officials have to know where all the ingredients come from. At one point, he was told he couldn't bring his own knives (eventually he got permission.)
"I said that's like asking a famous runner to run in someone else's tennis shoes," Bayless said. The chef said he never would have expected his type of modern cooking to be served at the White House.
"It's really a testament to the Obama administration," Bayless said. "They're really taking the wraps off everything and saying what's appropriate for right now."
Michelle Obama spoke during the 'When Parents Deploy: Understanding the Experiences of Military Children and Spouses' luncheon at Georgetown University Conference Center on May 12, 2010 in Washington, DC.
[photos via Wire Image and Getty Images]
First lady Michelle Obama spoke at the commencement exercises at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in Pine Bluff, Ark., Saturday, May 8, 2010.
[photo via AP Photo]
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama stepped out for dinner at Komi, a Greek and Mediterranean restaurant, in Dupont Circle in Washington on Friday, May 7, 2010.
U.S. first lady Michelle Obama chatted with a member of her mentoring program, as her mother Marian Robinson looked on at the State Dining Room of the White House May 7, 2010 in Washington, DC. Guests at the events included former first lady Rosalny Carter, former first daughters, spouses and mothers of soldiers, and young women from Mrs. Obama's mentoring program and the notable women in their lives.
Also in attendance at the Mother's Day event, Anne and Susan Eisenhower, granddaughters to former President Dwight Eisenhower and Tricia Nixon Cox, daughter of former President Richard Nixon
[photos via Getty Images and AP Photo]
First lady Michelle Obama, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu, second from right, stood with the winning coaches, Leslie Brinson of North Carolina School of Science and Mathmatics, left, and Barbara Gilbert of Albuquerque Academy, during the 20th annual National Science Bowl, Monday, May 3, 2010, in Washington.
[photo via AP Photo]
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the funeral of Dorothy Height (POTUS gave the eulogy), a historic figure in the US civil rights movement, at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, on April 29, 2010. Height, who led the National Council for Negro Women for four decades, and was present at the key battles for racial equality since the 1930s, died at age 98 after a lifetime devoted to the fight for equality.
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., and others, bow their heads as they attend funeral services for Dorothy Height, Thursday, April 29, 2010, at the National Cathedral in Washington.
[photos via AP Photo and Getty Images]
