As part of the explosion of Recovery Act projects this summer and as a move towards a clean energy future, the President announces nearly $2 billion in conditional commitments to key solar companies. Learn more from the White House fact sheet.

Yesterday afternoon, just a couple hours after the President's speech, we held a first-of-its-kind event here at the White House -- maybe anywhere? -- in which we took questions from the public on every side of the immigration debate.  We hosted Cecilia Muñoz, White House Director of Intertgovernmental Affairs and one of the President’s closest advisors on the issue, along with representatives from online media outlets examining several angles of the immigration issue will be there posing the questions on the minds of their readers.   Forbes, which focuses on business and economic issues;  the Examiner.com network which has citizen reporters in every state including more than 50 border state communities; CNET which focuses on the tech community; and Univision.com, which has covered the immigration debate as closely as anybody for years -- all of them came with questions directly from their readers. 

Watch the full video below, or jump to any question you're interested in by clicking the links underneath:

In a month where one might easily be confused by the official jobs numbers, the President followed up on CEA Chair Christina Romer’s excellent explanation this morning by laying down the bottom line:

This morning, we received the June employment report.  It reflected the planned phase out of 225,000 temporary Census jobs.  But it also showed the sixth straight month of job growth in the private sector.  All told, our economy has created nearly 600,000 private sector jobs this year.  That’s a stark turnaround from the first six months of last year, when we lost 3.7 million jobs at the height of the recession.

Now, make no mistake:  We are headed in the right direction.  But as I was reminded on a trip to Racine, Wisconsin, earlier this week, we’re not headed there fast enough for a lot of Americans.  We’re not headed there fast enough for me, either.  The recession dug us a hole of about 8 million jobs deep.  And we continue to fight headwinds from volatile global markets.  So we still have a great deal of work to do to repair the economy and get the American people back to work.

Speaking at Andrews Airforce Base on his way to Charleston, West Virginia for the Senator Byrd’s memorial service, the President also emphasized another key point: the Recovery Act is still in action, and still putting people back to work.  The President took the opportunity to announce yet another component of the “Summer of Recovery”:

Thanks for checking out the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, walk step by step with President Obama as he gets a lesson in mathematics in the Oval Office, attends the G8 and G20 summits in Canada, meets with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, hosts King Abdullah in the White House and much more.  

Friday, June 25, 2010

• The President's Wall Street Reform Statement
• The President at the G8

   Saturday, June 26, 2010

• The President wraps up G8 Summit and kicks off G20 in Toronto

   Sunday, June 27, 2010

• The President speaks at the G20 Summit

   Monday, June 28, 2010

• The President on loss of Senator Robert Byrd: "A voice of principle and reason"
• 2010 MATHCOUNT Winners Visit the President

   Tuesday, June 29, 2010

• President meets with Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Ben Bernake
• The President meets with bipartisan Senators to discuss climate and energy legislation
• President Obama meets with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in the White House

   Wednesday, June 30, 2010

•  The President discusses the economy on America's Main Streets in Racine, Wisconsin

   Thursday, July 1, 2010

• The President addresses the nation on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Arun Chaudhary is the official White House videographer

When President Obama came into office, he committed to providing the best value for the American people while spending less money.  That’s why, on his first full day on the job, the President froze the salaries of senior White House staff, and then expanded that freeze to all senior Administration appointees this year.  And he is breaking with past administrations’ practice by eliminating bonuses for Executive Branch political appointees.

When we posted our first batch of reactions yesterday to Elena Kagan’s testimony, words like “candid,” “responsive,” and “forthright” came up a lot. Those reactions didn’t change with her second day of questioning – Senator Arlen Specter reiterated that she’s been “more forthcoming than most” for example -- but this time there was even more focus on just how impressive she has been. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, having held a notably interesting and substantive exchange with  Kagan, closed out his remarks telling her, “You have handled yourself well… I wish you well and I know your family's proud of you and I think you've accorded yourself well for the last several days.” Similarly, Republican Senator Tom Coburn told her “you're doing quite well.” 

Perhaps the foremost reason she earned those reactions was her sheer mastery of the law. CNN Contributor Jeffrey Toobin noted that, “every time she is asked a question about a subject area in the law, say separation of church and state, which is a subject she dealt with this morning, she displays enormous mastery of the subject.” Jonathan Adler was even more stark, writing that “Without the benefit of staff-scripted questions or talking points, she demonstrated greater command of the legal questions, demonstrating why she was the only person in the room under consideration for the nation's highest court.”

So where does that leave Elena Kagan? There was perhaps more consensus on that point than anything. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch said flatly that “she will be confirmed,” an assessment that Republican Senator John Cornyn shared. McClatchy headlined their piece “Kagan Cruises on Day 3 Toward Easy Confirmation,” the AP went with “Kagan Hearings Near End With Confirmation Likely,” and Reuters wrote “Supreme Court Pick Kagan Sailing Through Senate Hearing.”

Here was the Boston Globe’s take:

Kagan Sails Through Last Day of Questioning.” “Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan emerged yesterday from her last day of Capitol Hill testimony on track to join the nation’s highest court, as key senators on both sides of the aisle said they anticipated her full Senate confirmation after she breezed through two days of meticulous and often aggressive questioning by members of the Judiciary Committee. Over some 17 hours of direct questioning, the former dean of Harvard Law School demonstrated a wide command of constitutional law, deftly deflected Republican attacks on her record, and charmed the committee with a self-deprecating sense of humor.