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Michelle Obama to Visit Gulf Oil Spill Region

1 year ago
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Michelle Obama will be heading to Panama City Beach, Fla., on Monday afternoon to see the catastrophic impact of the Gulf oil spill. Mrs. Obama will get a briefing from local officials and then speak at a community event.

The first lady's travel plans usually are announced through her East Wing operation, but in a rare move, the West Wing jumped the gun when White House press secretary Robert Gibbs offered up the news at Wednesday's regular briefing when asked when President Obama would next "publicly address" the oil spill.

"We have talked . . . about the next time that the president will go. I don't have a date. But I think it will be in the next few weeks. I know the first lady is making a trip down there soon and the vice president will return again," Gibbs said.

Mrs. Obama's first visit to a disaster area came in April, when she flew to Haiti (while en route to Mexico City) to see the devastation and rebuilding in the wake of the horrific Jan. 12 earthquake.

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joe

I would bet that Michelle has at least the same level of expertise as anyone else her husband has sent to view the effects of the oil spill .

July 09 2010 at 7:32 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
jdm758

As far as the First Lady going to Panama City Beach, Florida. Ummmm I think she picked the wrong city. I have a cousin vacationing there this week and she reports that there is as many people there as she has ever seen and NOT A DROP OF OIL ON THE BEACHES !!!

July 09 2010 at 6:54 PM Report abuse -1 rate up rate down Reply
jdm758

If Russhia is offering to help I think President Obama should consider the offer. Someone needs to act NOW on this situation. The overall effects on the ecosystem will not be known for years and the more oil that is spilled the worse it is going to be. While we are meandering around and taking our time with this we are going to wait until a huricane comes and pushes this contamination into the Gulf Stream. It will carry it around through the Florida Straights and up the Atlantic Coastline, killing the fragile Coral Reef System off the Florida Keys. We can fire a rocket across the Atlantic and wipe out an entire City but we can't plug an oil leak, PLEASE !! For GOD's sake, park a nueclear submarine on top of it or something !!

July 09 2010 at 6:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
arnoldhoneybrown

She can do nothing period. This trip will cost tax payers in the area of $3.5 million for nothing more than photo op. It willn't help 1 person, it willn't stop the oil,it willn't make anyone feel better, it willn't save or start any jobs.So other than photo op an making her husband look good it is a pure waste same as his trips. Send the 3.5 million to La for the people out of work.
SPEAKING OF OUT OF WORK FOLKS. Obama is back in court to try stopping drilling which will make us 33% more relied on others oil something he claimed not to want.It will cost thousand of jobs an bankrupt La causing anothe 2 million in lost jobs. At what point America..both Repubs an Democrats an Indp are we going to say enough.The econ is slowig for lack of jobs. Jobs aren't being created due to fear at what the admin is doing.My lord people email your congress person an demand a stop to this an demand jobs an tax credits to start this country up.

July 08 2010 at 5:33 PM Report abuse +7 rate up rate down Reply
frankdlu

Why would obama's wife be going to the Gulf...When are these people going to stop wasting Taxpayer money on sensless trips...Enough is enough with this wasteful spending.

July 08 2010 at 2:16 PM Report abuse +11 rate up rate down Reply

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