President Obama to visit San Bernardino on Friday
The Hill | December 16, 2015, 01:45 pm
President Obama will travel to San Bernardino, Calif., on Friday to meet with families of the victims of the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil since 9/11, the White House said.
Obama is stopping in the Southern California city, where 14 people were killed, on the way to his annual Christmas vacation in Hawaii. Press secretary Josh Earnest said Wednesday the president will “visit privately” with the families. Media access is not expected to be granted, Earnest said, and there are no plans for Obama to deliver a speech.
The president has spent this week trying to show the public he has a handle on the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) at home and abroad.
Public fears about the threat of terrorism around the holidays have spiked following the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino. Friday’s visit is a chance for Obama to convey sympathy to the families of the victims of the shooting at the Inland Regional Center.
more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/263474-obama-to-visit-san-bernardino-on-friday
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also in LBN . . .
= new reply since forum marked as read
President Obama's Scheduled San Bernardino Visit Draws Mixed Reactions
Makeshift memorial site honoring San Bernardino terror attack victims (left). President Barack Obama speaks at the National Counterterrorism Center Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015 (right).
Friday, December 18, 2015 02:47PM
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- President Barack Obama's plan to meet privately with families of the victims of the San Bernardino terror attack Friday night will provide comfort for some, but others say his visit comes too little, too late.
Mr. Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will land in Southern California at about 7:40 p.m. PT before heading to Hawaii for their annual Christmas vacation at about 9:35 p.m. PT.
"Obviously, those families are going through a difficult time, not just because they've lost loved ones, but obviously at the holiday season I think that loss is even more acute," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. "The president felt before he could begin his holiday that it was important for him to spend some time with these Americans who are mourning."
{snip}
"When terrorists pull off a despicable act like what happened in San Bernardino, it tears at our hearts, but it also stiffens our resolve to learn whatever lessons we can and to make any improvements that are needed," Mr. Obama said during a news conference at the National Counterterrorism Center Thursday.
http://abc7news.com/news/president-obamas-san-bernardino-visit-draws-mixed-reactions-/1128383/
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He was scheduled for a 2-hour stopover and wound up leaving after 11:30. We gave him a good send-off with lots of cheering even though it was freezing cold and dark. The girls were waiting in the plane which landed a mile or so from my house in the SB Int'l Airport which is basically a leftover landing strip on the Norton Airforce Base which closed in 1992. Another first!
But no one can say that Barack and Michelle don't care or that he was simply scoring political points. Note the time on the classroom clock: nearly 11:00 pm!
President Barack Obama delivers a statement at Indian Springs High School after meeting with families affected by the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., on Friday.
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. -- Displaying a quieter and more discreet expression of national grief that's becoming a hallmark of his presidency, President Obama met privately with the families of terror victims in San Bernardino Friday night.
"Despite the pain and the heartache that they're feeling, they could not have been more inspiring," Obama said after meeting with the families for three hours. "It was a reminder of what's good in this country."
He told reporters that the 14 victims of the attack came from every background and faith. "They're all representative of the strength and the unity and the love in this community."
Stopping off on the way to Honolulu for a scheduled two-week Christmas vacation, the president and First Lady Michelle Obama met privately with the families of the 14 people killed in the attack, as well as with a number of first responders, at Indian Springs High School.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/12/19/obama-meets-privately-san-bernardino-terror-victims-families/77615578/
And after that he met the press. A true trooper!
So sad.. thank you for this, ucr.