Ed. Note: The White House Internship Program is currently accepting applications for the Spring, 2012. Applicants have until September 11, 2011 to apply for a Spring, 2012 White House Internship.

I first met President Obama during the primaries on the campaign trail at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, while he was filming a comedy skit for the Late Show with David Letterman. At the time, I was student body president and somehow convinced the Secret Service agents, with the help of our campus security officials, to give me five to ten minutes with the inspiring U.S. Senator. During our brief conversation, I told him that he would become President of the United States and that when it happened, I would come to the White House to work for him. On July 4th of 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House during the Independence Day festivities, I personally delivered the message to inform the newly elected President and First Lady that I had made good on my promise and was serving as an inaugural class White House Intern in the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Born and raised in Alexander City, a small town in Alabama with a population of less than 15,000 people, I was ecstatic to learn that I had been selected to serve a President who had inspired me to pursue my dreams. Prior to attending college, I served as a Fleet Marine Force Hospital Corpsman in the U.S. Navy and fought in the Middle East. My unique background and the internship experience made my time in the White House Internship Program one of the most transformational experiences of my entire life.

Vice President Joe Biden's stop at a local lunch spot near the Drum and Bell Tower neighborhood in Old Beijing on the first day of his official visit has all of China talking. Embassy Beijing’s post about the traditional lunch fare he ordered – pork buns, zhajiang noodles and cucumbers -- on one of the most popular Chinese microblogs, Sina, received over 6,400 retweets and 3,000 comments in less than an hour. Joining the Vice President at lunch were newly installed U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke and his wife Mona, plus Vice President’s daughter-in-law Kathleen and granddaughter Naomi, who are traveling with him through Asia.

For more information about the Vice President's trip to Asia, check out these photo galleries from day one and day two and watch his first travelogue from the road. You can follow the Vice President's trip in real time on Twitter, #VPinAsia.

Today, I am hosting a forum focused on the rural economy at the Iowa State Fair.  But, Rural America has been in the spotlight all this week as I joined President Obama to travel across parts of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, visiting rural communities to discuss his Administration’s efforts to create jobs and drive economic growth.  From investments in rural broadband to efforts to support small-business innovation, the President talked about his commitment to rural America – and he listened to what local residents had to say. 

The centerpiece of his trip was the Rural Economic Forum, held Tuesday at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta.  There, 200 small business owners, farmers, retirees, elected officials and others came together to discuss their ideas for a revitalized rural economy.  I was pleased to participate in that forum, along with my Cabinet colleagues Housing and Urban Development Secretary Donovan, Transportation Secretary LaHood, and Administrator Mills of the Small Business Administration.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, holds a breakout session at the White House Rural Economic Forum at Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa, Aug. 16, 2011, as part of his three-day economic bus tour of the Midwest. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

After opening remarks by the President, the participants broke into a series of small discussion groups – with topics ranging from agricultural innovation and energy opportunities to small business to infrastructure.  Each group developed a series of ideas and recommendations, which will become part of a larger report to the White House Rural Council that I chair.

I had the opportunity to facilitate the Ag Innovation and Energy break-out session, with about 20 farmers, ranchers, and other officials.  Our discussion – which the President joined for a few minutes – touched on the importance of the renewable energy sector and new markets, as well as particular barriers to growing the rural economy through agricultural innovation.

It was a busy and productive day in Beijing for Vice President Biden – one that began and ended at the Great Hall of the People. An elaborate welcome ceremony in the Northern Hall served as the official kickoff to Vice President Biden’s visit to China. Bilateral meetings with Vice President Xi and National People’s Congress Chair Wu Bangguo followed in the Eastern and Fujian Rooms. Finally, a banquet dinner in the Western Room capped the evening, complete with a cultural performance that included traditional Chinese song and dance.

Following the official ceremony, the Vice Presidents and their delegations gathered for their first formal meeting, where Vice President Biden reiterated the economic importance of a strong U.S.-China relationship. “I’m absolutely confident that the economic stability of the world rests in no small part on the cooperation between the United States and China. …It is the key, in my view, to global economic stability,” said Vice President Biden.

But it was the Vice President’s visit to a local lunch spot near the Drum and Bell Tower neighborhood in Old Beijing that had China talking. Embassy Beijing’s post about the traditional lunch fare he ordered – pork buns, zhajiang noodles and cucumbers -- on one of the most popular Chinese microblogs, Sina, received over 6400 retweets and 3000 comments in less than an hour. Joining the Vice President at lunch were newly installed U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke and his wife Mona, as well as the Vice President’s daughter-in-law Kathleen and granddaughter Naomi who are traveling with him through Asia.

Ed note: The information on this graphic was updated on March 13, 2012

Creating a judicial pool for the 21st Century, one with intellect, fair-mindedness and integrity that resembles the nation that it serves, is a top priority for President Obama and his administration. In fact, the President’s nominations for federal judges embody an unprecedented commitment to expanding the racial, gender and experiential diversity of the men and women who enforce our laws and deliver justice.

Unfortunately, the delays these nominees are encountering on Capitol Hill are equally unprecedented: earlier this month, the Senate left for its August recess without considering 20 eminently qualified candidates, 16 of whom had passed through the bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee completely unopposed, a development the Washington Post called “not only frustrating but also destructive” in an editorial published yesterday.
 
The victims of these delays, of course, are the American citizens who are being denied the fair and timely judicial proceedings they deserve because of the chronic shortage of federal judges on the bench.  Stephen Zack, president of the American Bar Association, told Senate leaders in a recent letter that the abundance of vacant federal judgeships “create strains that will inevitably reduce the quality of our justice system and erode public confidence in the ability of the courts to vindicate constitutional rights or render fair and timely decisions.”
 
To better understand how the Senate delays are impacting American families and businesses, take a look at our infographic that explains the confirmation process and highlights the bottleneck.

View full size.

In July the White House Office of Public Engagement and the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics partnered to host the first ever White House Hispanic Policy Conference. Over a two day period, 160 Hispanic leaders from 25 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico joined over 100 Administration officials to discuss the President's agenda and its impact on the Hispanic community and more importantly, to strategize on how we best move forward together to improve outcomes and access for the Hispanic community.

At the end of the two day conference, several Latino leaders who participated asked us to come to their communities and hold similar gatherings in their cities and states to have the important conversation about how the Administration’s agenda impacts the Hispanic community across the country.

Over the course of the next few months, the White House Office of Public Engagement and the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics will partner to take this same format and conversation to several communities across the country.  We will be holding over two dozen 1 ½ – 2 day “White House Hispanic Community Action Summits” in cities ranging from Phoenix, Arizona to Miami, Florida, to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Ed. Note: Champions of Change is a weekly initiative to highlight Americans who are making an impact in their communities and helping our country rise to meet the many challenges of the 21st century.

Champions of Change isn’t just an initiative to highlight innovative achievements and stellar performers, it’s a chance to recognize that, across the country, the dedication and commitment of a single individual or organization can affect huge positive change. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting with a handful of these dedicated individuals and celebrating the progress they are making to reduce the devastating effects of drug use and make American communities healthier and stronger.

Today’s news is often dominated by talk of the economy and jobs. And now, more than ever, it’s important to recognize that drug use harms every sector of this country. From keeping individual families together, creating a healthy and strong workforce, reducing the economic strain on the criminal justice system, and fostering a safe environment in local communities, tackling America’s substance abuse issues is vital for winning the future – and that’s exactly what this group of Champions of Change is doing.

On Monday, President Obama visited Cannon Falls, Minnesota where he talked with a crowd of 500 locals at Hannah’s Bend Park. During the town hall meeting, the President discussed the challenges that Americans have faced over the past year and reiterated his belief that there is “nothing wrong with America that can’t be fixed; what’s broken is our politics.” Later, the President traveled to the Old Market Deli where he had lunch with a group of veterans and was welcomed to the state by a local cowboy. 

Go behind the scenes with the President as he meets with the people of Cannon Falls, eats at the Old Market Deli and travels through rural Minnesota.

Interested in more White House video? Take a look at  the highlights of the President's trip through Iowa.

President Obama ended his three day tour of the Midwest at a town hall meeting on a farm in rural Illinois, where he took questions on topics that ranged from enhanced protection for law enforcement officers to the shrinking size of local county fairs. The President’s last day was filled with opportunities to enjoy the rural landscape and attractions of his home state, and included stops at the Whiteside County Fair and a Galesburg High School football practice, in addition to an earlier town hall meeting in Atkinson.     

The President told the crowd of 250 people  gathered at Alpha’s Country Corner Farm that they can expect to hear about new proposals that will put Americans back to work in the next few weeks.

When folks tell you that we’ve got a choice between jobs now or dealing with our debt crisis, they’re wrong.  They’re wrong.  We can’t afford to just do one or the other.  We’ve got to do both.  And the way to do it is to make some -- reform the tax code, close loopholes, make some modest modifications in programs like Medicare and Social Security so they’re there for the next generation, stabilize those systems.  And you could actually save so much money that you could actually pay for some of the things like additional infrastructure right now. 

 We can close the deficit and put people to work, but what’s required is that folks work together.  That’s the big challenge.  That’s the big challenge. 

And over the course of the next few weeks, I’m going to be putting out more proposals to put people to work right now.  And some of them -- yes, some of them cost money.  And the way we pay for it is by doing more on deficit reduction than the plan that we had to come up with right at the last minute in order to avoid default.  We didn’t do as much as we could have.