The President's warm feelings toward Pete Rouse, who will be taking over Chief of Staff duties, are well known -- as is Rouse's disinclination towards the limelight.  So it was appropriate that he spent most of his time today discussing his outgoing Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel:

This is a bittersweet day here at the White House.  On the one hand, we are all very excited for Rahm as he takes on a new challenge for which he is extraordinarily well qualified.  But we’re also losing an incomparable leader of our staff and one who we are going to miss very much.

When I first started assembling this administration, I knew we were about to face some of the most difficult years this country has seen in generations.  The challenges were big and the margin for error was small -- two wars, an economy on the brinks of collapse, and a set of tough choices about issues that we had put off for decades; choices about health care and energy and education, how to rebuild a middle class that had been struggling for far too long.
 
And I knew that I needed somebody at my side who I could count on, day and night, to help get the job done.  In my mind, there was no candidate for the job of chief of staff who would meet the bill as well as Rahm Emanuel.  And that’s why I told him that he had no choice in the matter.  He was not allowed to say no.  It wasn’t just Rahm’s broad array of experiences in Congress and in the White House, in politics and in business.  It was also the fact that he just brings an unmatched level of energy and enthusiasm and commitment to every single thing that he does.
 
This was a great sacrifice for Rahm and Amy and the family to move out here.  Rahm gave up one of the most powerful positions on Capitol Hill to do this.  And in the last 20 months, Rahm has exceeded all of my expectations.  It’s fair to say that we could not have accomplished what we’ve accomplished without Rahm’s leadership -- from preventing a second depression to passing historic health care and financial reform legislation to restoring America’s leadership in the world.
 
So for nearly two years, I’ve begun my workday with Rahm.  I’ve ended my workday with Rahm.  Much to Amy’s chagrin, I’ve intruded on his life at almost any hour of the day, any day of the week, with just enormous challenges.  His advice has always been candid; his opinions have always been insightful; his commitment to his job has always been heartfelt, born of a passionate desire to move this country forward and lift up the lives of the middle class and people who are struggling to get there.
 
He has been a great friend of mine, and will continue to be a great friend of mine.  He has been a selfless public servant.  He has been an outstanding chief of staff.  I will miss him dearly, as will members of my staff and Cabinet with whom he’s worked so closely and so well.

President Barack Obama leaves the East Room of the White House after announcing that Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, left, is leaving to return to Chicago and will be replaced on an interim basis by Senior Advisor Pete Rouse, right, October 1, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Rahm Emanuel closed his remarks aterwards touching on his own journey, the President's, and Pete Rouse's:

Both my parents raised me to give something back to the country and the community that has given us so much.  And I want to thank you for the opportunity to repay in a small portion of the blessings this country has given my family.  I give you my word that even as I leave the White House, I will never leave that spirit of service behind.  (Applause.)

Now, because my temperament is sometimes a bit different than yours, Mr. President -- (laughter) -- I want to thank my colleagues for your patience the last two years that you have shown.  I'm sure you’ve learned some words that you’ve never heard before -- (laughter) -- and in an assortment of combination of words.  (Laughter.)  What we learned together was what a group of tireless, talented, committed people can achieve together.  And as difficult as it is to leave, I do so with the great comfort of knowing that Pete Rouse will be there to lead the operation forward.
 
From the moment I arrived, and the moment he arrived, Pete has been a good friend with great judgment.  He commands the respect of everyone in this building and brings decades of experience to this assignment.
 
Finally, I want to thank my wife Amy and our three remarkable children -- Zach, Ilana and Leah -- without whose love and support none of this would have been possible.  I hope to end this soon so they can all get back to school today and finish their exams.  (Laughter.)
 
Mr. President, thank you.  And thank you all.  I look forward to seeing you in Chicago.  (Applause.)

President Barack Obama hugs outgoing White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel after announcing Emanuel's departure in the East Room of the White House, October 1, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

I am very pleased to announce the beginning of National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2010.  This is the 7th Annual celebration of National Cyber Security Awareness Month. 

Today, President Obama reflected his continued commitment to cybersecurity as a national priority and signed a proclamation recognizing October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. 

The awareness campaign in October reminds us all that we have a shared responsibility to protect the cyber networks  we rely upon for everything from conducting our daily business at work to keeping in touch with our families, loved ones, and friends, to teaching our children and communities, conducting our finances, and keeping the lights on. National Cybersecurity Awareness Month is the time of the year we need to stop and realize all the things we can do collectively to keep our selves cyber-educated, cyber-smart, and cyber-assured.

The official launch of the event will be National Cyber Security Awareness Month will take place in Seattle, Washington at the Seattle Public Library on Monday, October 4.  It will be simulcast from the National Capital Region.  Senior government and industry officials will participate in officially kicking off National Cyber Security Awareness Month on both coasts for the first time in its history.  This will be the first of many events and activities sponsored by federal, state, local  government, the private sector, and international partners  that will take place throughout October. 

As the President said in his proclamation, I urge all Americans to visit DHS.gov/Cyber and OnGuardOnline.gov for more information about practices that can enhance the security of our shared cyber networks.

Howard A. Schmidt is the Cybersecurity Coordinator and Special Assistant to the President

Today at 2:15 PM EDT, join MSN's Shira Lazar as she poses your questions about the Administration's Education efforts to Secretary Arne Duncan.

Do you have questions about how we're supporting Pre-K-12 reform at the state and local levels? Or how we can strengthen the teaching profession or boost college completion?  Tune in at 2:15 PM EDT to submit your questions and participate at whitehouse.gov/live or facebook. If you have a question now, submit it or vote your favorites to the top at MSN.com.

(by Department of Education)

Ed. Note: Cross-posted from HealthCare.gov

If you’ve ever searched for private health insurance, or even just tried to figure out which health care plan is a good fit, you know how hard it is to make heads or tails of what’s presented to you. There are a lot of terms, like “formulary,” that require visits to a dictionary or the internet. And it’s often difficult to figure out if the decision you’re making will actually give you value for your dollar.

Today, we begin to change that dynamic, and give more control to people instead of insurance companies. As of today, the Insurance Finder on HealthCare.gov includes information from over 4,000 private health plans offered by over 200 insurers, across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

In addition to giving you the base price for these insurance plans, we have new details like the percentage of people who are quoted a rate higher than the basic premium based on the individual’s health status.  And you can see what percentage of people were turned down when they tried to buy that plan.  This will give you some sense of how different insurance companies change pricing and accept or deny coverage for individuals in less-than-perfect circumstances. Until today, that kind of information had never been available to consumers, and this new transparency is the result of regulations issued under the Affordable Care Act.

The Insurance Finder is designed to make it easy for you to see many of the things you need to know to make a decision about your insurance coverage. It includes helpful features that let you see specifically what benefits are excluded under the plan you’re considering, including benefits like maternity care and prescription drugs. To break through all the “insurance speak,” you can click on terms to see important cautionary notes and definitions. And you can select up to three plans and select “compare these plans” to see all their details at once.

We’ve also added information about Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) so that people eligible for those programs can see information such as cost-sharing for services. And in the future, we’ll continue to update the private insurance options available, as well as include information for small business owners.

In many ways, in addition to giving people more protection from the worst insurance company abuses, the Affordable Care Act is about letting people actually see what is happening in the health insurance market. Until now, too many Americans have lacked reliable information about coverage and faced confusing fine print and hidden limits when trying to sign up for or simply use their health insurance. Today’s unveiling of the updated Insurance Finder will shine some sunlight on the details of how these insurance options actually work. It’s a huge step toward making the health care system more transparent --- and making insurance companies more accountable to you.

Click on the screenshot of the tutorial below for more info on how the private insurance part of the Insurance Finder works, or head over to it and try it out right now.

Kathleen Sebelius is Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services