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Hello and happy Monday! Heres some photos from my trip last week:

Consultation on ConscienceI was in Washington, D.C. to attend the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaisms Consultation on Conscience with

my dad. With the Consultation, we heard from a very impressive slate of speakers, including UN Ambassador Susan Rice,

NEC Director Gene Sperling, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mark Warner (D-VA), and Reps. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD),

Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Chris Smith (R-NJ), and Henry Waxman (D-CA).

Me with Gene Sperling Lindsey Graham Joe Kennedy III

Arlington National CemeteryWe also went to the Arlington National Cemetery and saw where Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy,

Bobby and Teddy Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, and many others are buried. While we were there, we were also able to

see the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

President Kennedys grave and the

Eternal Flame

Ted Kennedys grave Bobby Kennedys grave

The Changing of the Guard at the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The White House and EEOBWhile in Washington, I was very fortunate to be able to meet with Ronnie Cho, Associate Director of the White House

Office of Public Engagement and White House Liaison to Young Americans, and Danielle Borrin, Director of

Intergovernmental Affairs and Deputy Director of Public Engagement the Office of the Vice President. We talked with

Mr. Cho and Ms. Borrin at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), the building by the White House where

many staffers work, and they also showed us the Vice Presidents Ceremonial Office at the EEOB. Vice President Biden

was speaking in the building while we were there and we got to hear him too, which was very cool.

The White House Me at the EEOB

Me at the Vice Presidents Ceremonial Office in the

EEOB with Mr. Cho and Ms. Borrin

The White House Me at the EEOB

U.S. Capitol At the Capitol, we were able to meet with Congressman Lacy Clay of Missouri, who gave us passes to the House gallery.

We were able to witness the Senate and House in action, and we saw Sens. Reid, Schumer, Boxer, Manchin, and Coburn

debating the sequester and the FAA, which they just solved a few days ago.

The Capitol The Capitol at night My dad, Congressman Clay, and I

Mount VernonOne of the coolest things was going to George Washingtons beloved home, Mount Vernon. Mount Vernon was where

Washington lived and retired to (three times), and it was originally built in the 1741 by Washingtons half-brother

Lawrence, who named it after British Admiral Edward Vernon, although the family had owned the land since 1674.

George inherited Mount Vernon in 1754, and he was the one who expanded the house and planted a number of

gardens. At Mount Vernon, you can go in the house and also see a museum with lots of artifacts and exhibits on

aaWashingtons life and times.

Mount Vernon

Panorama of Mount Vernon and surrounding buildings

Washingtons Tomb

Other Sites

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx speaks at the 2012

Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

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White House Watch

The Presidents Schedule At 11:20 AM, President Obama will speak at the

150th Annual Meeting of the National Academy of Sciences.

Obama to Roll Out New Transportation

Secy., Meet Anthony Foxx President

Obama is set to announce his new nominee

for Secretary of Transportation today,

Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. Foxx, who

will turn 42 tomorrow, is widely considered

a rising star in the Democratic Party, a

point that was proved in part when he

snagged the Democratic National

Convention for Charlotte in 2012.

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument FDR Memorial

Mayor Foxx will replace Secy. Ray LaHood, a former Republican

congressman who has served since the beginning of President Obamas first

term. Foxx beat out other potential candidates for the post like Los Angeles

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, National Transportation Safety Board

chairwoman Debbie Hersman, Rep. Jim Clybrun (D-SC), and Deputy Secy.

John Porcari. Tapping Foxx will help Obama with diversity that his second-

term Cabinet, unlike his first one, sorely needs. The Charlotte mayor will

become one of just two African-Americans in the new Obama Cabinet,

along with Attorney Gen. Eric Holder who has served since January 2009

and will stay on for a quite a bit.

This week, President Obama is expected to finish filling the seats in his

second-term Cabinet table, with the announcements of Penny Pritzker for

Commerce Secretary and White House Deputy National Security Advisor

Mike Froman for U.S. Trade Representative to come later in the week.

Election Central

2013 SC: Sanford and Colbert-Busch Face Off in Only Debate On this

side, weve got former two-term South Carolina Gov., deep in scandal,

introducingRepublican Mark Sanford! And over here, we have the

underdog turned frontrunner, shes new to politics, and has a famous

brother, introducingDemocrat Elizabeth Colbert-Busch.

Those are the candidates for the May 7th special election in South Carolinas

2nd

congressional district. Sanford and Colbert-Busch are vying to replace

Tim Scott, who represented the House district before being appointed to the

Senate by Gov. Nikki Haley a few months ago.

In this heavily Republican district, Gov. Sanford began as the solid

frontrunner when the race began. But armed with Sanfords affair and new

developments with his ex-wife, as well as money from her brother, Comedy

Central host Stephen Colbert, Elizabeth Colbert-Busch has slowly turned

from an underdog with no chance to the favorite in the race. New polls show

Colbert-Busch with leads up to 9% on Sanford.

Now, tonight, the two candidates will face off in their one and only debate.

The debate will be live from The Citadel in Charleston at 6:30 PM, with

panelists Shawn Drury, Political Editor of the South Carolina Patch; Ashley

Byrd, News Director at SCRN; and WCBD-TV Anchor Brendan Clark.

There will be more than 500 quests in the audience to see Sanford and

Colbert-Busch debate, including media at the local and national levels.

Question of the Day

Todays Question Yesterday was the day that our fifth President, James

Monroe, would have turned 255, if he wasntyou knowkind of dead.

Anyways, Monroes presidential tenure was known was the Era of Good

Feelings, and when he ran for re-election in 1820, feelings were so good

that he won all but one vote in the Electoral College. Why did that one

elector vote for John Quincy Adams instead?

Email me at wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com with the answer to todays trivia

question, or with any comments, questions, or tips on politics and history.

Also, if you have had any trouble receiving or opening todays or other

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