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In 2010 Florida Governor Charlie Crist intends to run for the job of Senator for the state. So he was thrown a political curveball of sorts when the current occupant of the post Senator Mel Martinez announced he was stepping down from his post prematurely. This put Crist in a position where he had to appoint someone to keep the seat warm for him until next year, when a full election will be held. It was announced on Friday that he has chosen his own former chief of staff George LeMieux for the job.

In 2006 Lemieux left his post as deputy attorney general to run Crist’s 2006 campaign for governor. When Crist was elected, he picked his campaign manager for the job of chief of staff but LeMieux left a year later for the more lucrative world of private practice law.

In announcing his decision Crist told reporters “I know the kind of public servant he has been and will be. I know his soul, and I know that he will serve the people of the state honorably and well.” LeMieux returned the love saying “I’ve learned working with this great governor that public servants have to be problem solvers and I will seek to be a problem solver in Washington, D.C. I will be guided by the principles of limited government like this great governor.”

While it is almost certainly a sensible move for Crist’s own political ambitions, his decision has angered many people in the state.

State Democartic Party Chairperson Karen Thurman was particularly vocal in her opposition to LeMieux’s appointment.  In a statement she said that Lemieux’s  appointment was “ Crist once again put his own political ambition above doing what is right for Florida ”

There were indeed other candidates to temporarily fill the vacant Senate seat that may have proved more popular with the general electorate.  Rep. Jennifer Carroll’s name was on the shortlist of nine candidates. She is a black woman who is also a retired Naval Officer and political pundits say that by choosing she Crist could have boosted his own appeal with both female and African American voters who will be asked to go to the polls to elect a permanent Senator in November 2010.

Crist’s time in office as Governor has so far been a mixed bag. He was a vocal supporter of John McCain in his 2008 presidential campaign, travelling the state with him in what turned out to be a wasted effort as the state was won by Barack Obama. He has been praised for his willingness to work in a bi-patisan manner on a number of issues including the environment, but is criticized by many in his own state for his refusal to budge on the issues of both gay marriage and the right of gay couples to adopt. His 2008 marriage to Carole Rome was interrupted by gay rights protestors, who occupied the front of the church where the ceremony was due to take place,

Malia and Sasha’s Summer Vacation – It’s not all about Disney and Ice cream

Two of the most famous tweens in the world – Malia and Sasha Obama – are enjoying the long summer break from school just like millions of their peers across the country.

As the children of the President of the United States of America it is perhaps inevitable that their summer activities will be just a little more exciting than the average kid’s summer holiday. They have indeed spent long summer afternoons lounging around at Camp David, swooned over the Jonas Brothers, and spent time taking in the splendors of the Eiffel Tower. But typical of the style of parenting First Lady Michelle Obama prefers their long vacation is not all about fun and games.

On a recent trip to Ghana the Obamas took their daughters to see an old slave port and according to the President used the opportunity to educate their girls about both sides of the slave trade. He said that he asked them to imagine how they might feel if they were suddenly snatched away from Mom and Dad to be sent to a strange land, but he also encouraged them to imagine the life and motives of the slave traders as well. The exercise Mr. Obama said was to “make sure that they are constantly asking themselves questions about whether they are treating people fairly and — and whether they are examining their own behavior and how it affects others.”

Other learning opportunities for the girls have included a meeting with the Pope and a visit to Moscow.

Not everybody is cheering the Obamas on in their efforts to provide a meaningful first summer in the White House though.

Last month a Republican Senator, Charles E. Grassley suggested that President Obama had “some nerve” taking his family on a sightseeing tour of Paris when he should be at home focusing on health care reform issues.  A Philadelphia Daily News columnist John Baer was similarly disapproving, writing a piece in which he pondered how families forced to cancel their summer vacations because they had lost their jobs felt about the Obama’s plans to vacation in the tony Martha’s Vineyard area at the end of August.

White House officials are quick to point out that the Obama’s cover the costs of all personal travel out of their own pocket and that the everyday stress of Presidential life makes such breaks almost a necessity.

Henry Louis Gates “happy to oblige” as Obama suggests a meeting with Sergeant Crowley

Barack Obama Suggests a Meeting with Sergeant Crowley

Henry Louis Gates

In attempt to quell the controversy in which he has become reluctantly embroiled, President Barack Obama has suggested that Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Massachusetts police Sergeant James Crowley  meet  at the White House “for a beer”, and for his part Gates says he would be “happy to oblige”.

On the website TheRoot.com Gates writes of his phone call with Obama that discussed his July 16^th arrest and the resulting fallout. According to the post “I am pleased that [Obama] is eager to use my experience as a teaching moment, And if meeting Sgt. Crowley for a beer with the President will further that end, then I would be happy to oblige”

This comes at the end of a week when President Obama was drawn into the kind of debate he went to great lengths to avoid while on the campaign trail in 2008 – a discourse on race and racial profiling.

The Gates story began on July 16^th in conservative Cambridge, Massachusetts when the much decorated Harvard stalwart was arrested outside the home that he rents from the college after a neighbor had called police under the misguided impression that an intruder was breaking into the two story home. In actuality the “burglar” was Professor Gates himself, attempting to open a door that had become jammed shut . When police arrived a confrontation arose between Gates and veteran Cambridge police office Sergeant James Crowley, resulting in the black professor’s arrest for disorderly conduct.

The charges were quickly dropped, but not before a national debate had been ignited about the continuing practice of “racial profiling “by law enforcement officers in “Obama’s America.”

The President himself joined the fray when he told reporters that in his estimation the police officers had “acted stupidly.” A group of enraged police officers went on the offensive in support of Sergeant Crowley and on Friday President Obama admitted that he regretted how he had chosen to phrase his opinion, but has not issued the full apology that the Cambridge officers had demanded on their colleague’s behalf.

Sergeant Crowley has yet to comment upon the White House invitation but he too has spoken with the President via telephone, a conversation during which Crowley says he apologized that the arrest and its fallout had distracted from far more pressing issues, such as Obama’s continuing battle to pass his health care reform measures.