The White House Blog: The First Lady

Michelle Obama's Message to Military Families: You Do Live in a Grateful Nation

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden today marked the one year anniversary of the launch of Joining Forces with an event on the South Lawn of the White House, and Mrs. Obama used the occasion to renew her call of action, and challenged all Americans to keep finding new ways to show their support for military families.

The First Lady told the crowd that over the past year, as she and Dr. Biden reached out on behalf of our military families, "not a single person that we've talked to, that we have approached, has told us that they could not help -- not a single person.  We've asked; they said yes.

And the good thing is, is that once people get started, they just keep coming up with new ideas on their own.  We’ll present something, and they double it.  They want to do even more.  They just keep raising their goals even higher.  They just keep figuring out how to get more and more people involved."

And her message for all military families, is that "you do live in a grateful nation."

A Passover Message from the Obama Family

Starting tomorrow night, the Jewish community in the United States, Israel, and throughout the world will come together to celebrate the holiday of Passover. 

President and Mrs. Obama will join them, continuing their tradition of hosting a small Seder at the White House. By now, the story of how that tradition began has been told and retold, but in the spirit of Passover, I’ll tell it again: In April of 2008, the President and his staff were on the trail in Pennsylvania in the midst of a long primary campaign. Weary from a long day of work and away from their families, a small group of staffers came together to hold an impromptu Seder. When then-Senator Obama got wind of the Seder, he gathered some other staff and friends and decided to join. At the end of the Seder, the President followed the traditional “Next year in Jerusalem” declaration with a pledge of his own – “Next year in the White House.” Each year since, he has followed through on that promise. This year, he also added a new touch, a video message to Jews everywhere wishing them Chag Sameach as they continue their own traditions or start new ones this Passover.

Here it is:

Le Invitamos a Tomar un Tour Virtual de la Casa Blanca

Desde el primer día del Presidente Obama en el cargo, cuando él y la Primera Dama sorprendieron y dieron la bienvenida a los visitantes que disfrutaban de un tour público de la Casa Blanca, los Obama se han centrado en abrir de verdad las puertas de la “Casa del pueblo” y hacer que la 1600 Avenida Pennsylvania sea más accesible para todos los estadounidenses.  Hoy, nos complace muchísimo iniciar una nueva etapa en este esfuerzo continuo, un tour en línea de 360 ​​grados de los salones públicos de la Casa Blanca.

“Miles de personas han recorrido las salas y contemplado las obras de arte. Han observado los retratos de Washington, Lincoln y Kennedy. Se han imaginado la historia que ha tenido lugar aquí. Y ahora usted puede hacer todo eso sin salir de casa. Así que adelante, mire a su alrededor, disfrute de la historia y la belleza de estos salones. Porque después de todo, esta es su casa también”, dijo la Primera Dama en un video anunciando la participación de la Casa Blanca en el proyecto de arte Art Project, que utiliza la tecnología de Google Street View para permitir a los visitantes navegar por las habitaciones en la planta baja y el Piso de Estado (primer piso), y ver las obras de arte y el mobiliario en alta resolución.

Usted puede comenzar a explorar hoy mismo

First Lady Michelle Obama Commissions the USCGC Stratton

First Lady Michelle Obama is escorted to the stage by Sr. Chief David Stephens at the start of a ceremony to commission the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton at Alameda Coast Guard Station in Alameda, Calif., March 31, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard commissioned its newest cutter -- the USCGC Stratton. First Lady Michelle Obama is the ship's sponsor. Nearly two years ago, she christened the Stratton by breaking a bottle of champagne against its hull, and this weekend, she was on hand for the ceremony to mark the start of the ship's service.

The cutter is named after Captain Dorothy Stratton -- the first woman to serve in women's reserve of the Coast Guard in World War II. A former professor at Purdue University, she organized the reserve and gave the group its nickname -- SPARs, a combination of the Coast Guard motto, "Semper Paratus" and its English translation, "Always Ready."

More than 40 veterans of the SPARs were on hand for this weekend's ceremony, and in recognizing their service, the First Lady said, "These women are heroes.  They served this country so bravely, and broke so many barriers. They paved the way for generations of women who came after them, and they helped build a world where young women all across America -- young women like my daughters -- to know that they can become anything they can imagine, even an admiral."

First Lady Michelle Obama listens as U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Robert Papp delivers remarks during a ceremony to commission the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton at Alameda Coast Guard Station in Alameda, Calif., March 31, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)

The USCGC Stratton will begin patrols in the Pacific later this month. For more information, check out this blog post from the U.S. Coast Guard.