John and Teresa are listed as guests for the China state dinner

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2011/01/expected_attendees_at_the_stat.html

They showed Michelle and Barak greeting the Chinese President - Michelle as always looked fantastic. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x594630

More remarkable is that Lugar will go too, only Senate Republican to go (and there is no House Republican either, not even Kerry's counterpart).

BTW, your governor will go. He seems to be one of the very few governors to be there.

this morning on MOrning Joe. Asked how come he is there since no other R is (an exageration, but close enough it seems), he replied something like "that makes me more special". Not a fan of Christie, but he has spirit which is a plus in my book. How horrible is he from inside NJ, Karyn?

He is a bully - and so unlikable that the Morris County Republicans defeated him when he ran for re-election to be a freeholder.

He was incredible standing up to Heritage et al on the START treaty - even to the point of calling all the other Republicans who were making outrageous excuses. No matter how good a job Kerry did leading the floor fight or Obama did in marshaling administration forces, it would not have passed without Lugar.

Add to that, he is now speaking of favoring reinstating the assault weapons ban.

I think it is disgraceful that the head of the House Foreign relations Committee sees fit not to attend. It is interesting that the head of Human Rights Watch understood that going does not mean you support the Chinese government. http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/01/ileana-ros-lehtinen-turns-down-invite-to-state-dinner-with-chinas-hu.html

I would bet that had a significant number of people in China's government refused to attend a dinner when an American President visited China, Ros-Lehtinen would be among the first to take that as a slight to the United States.

Christie likely loved the attention - and the food. I would guess that few governors were invited. It is good that he attended.

he has become the almost only standard bearer of R decency. And it's kind of gutsy of him to annouce so early that he is going to run for reelection. I know that 2 years is a long, long time, and that he is supposed to be very popular in IN, but still...

And yes, doesn't Michelle look beautiful?

that dress, combined with her skin not to mention body, is an absolute stunner. I don't go ga-ga easily over fancy dresses, but that dress (with Michelle in it) seems almost a work of art.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2011/01/rs-_seating.html

Here's a link to the photo - http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-250_162-10006358-25.html?tag=page;next

And, seated at the Presidents table too.

JK and Teresa look wonderful.

Thanks.

but - here is the new Kerry one - http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-250_162-10006358-26.html?tag=page

For what it's worth, here is the seating plan - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/19/AR2011011906961.html

http://news.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view/20110121a_merry_kerry_wines_dines_hobnobs/srvc=home&position=also

I am not surprised by that (unfortunately). In fact, all that is part of an effort to make Kerry look out of touch (I wonder what he could have done to help people during the snow storm, but it works). It is absolutely stupid, of course, but this is what happens when you are absent from the state for a long time.

Connect the dots:

Look at the seating chart ( http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2011/01/rs-_seating.html ) and see who the President seated next to Senator Kerry - Jeff Immelt. Who is Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE, who "will chair a new Council on Jobs and Competitiveness that Mr. Obama intends to create by executive order." ( http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/business/economy/21volcker.html?hp ) What was Kerry's last very well received speech on - improving competitiveness. ( http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2011/01/if_you_read_only_one_john_kerr.html )

So, in addition to being where he should be as chair of the Senate Foreign relations committee - as was Senator Lugar, the Ranking Member of the SFRC, he had face time with the man who will lead the administration's effort to CREATE JOBS. Yes, Senator Kerry is working to make America competitive and create jobs.

As to the snow, he has NO jurisdiction over clearly snow or declaring a national emergency - the Governor and other state and local officials have the first and the Governor the second. What can a US Senator do? After the Governor asks for federal help - back him up. This, of course can be done (possibly easier) from DC. Not to mention, the fact that he is clearly well regarded by the administration likely gets his office's calls answered far faster than other Senators.

on that thread. Personally, I think they are magnificent.

resort to personally attacking me - I have essentially won the substantive argument.

What is really bizarre here is that it shows how little they really have when they think that a candid picture taken from a distance likely without their knowledge of a Senator with his arm around his wife on a boat is considered a "gothcha" moment.

Sorry, but the situation in Georgia was MUCH WORSE, and I point my finger at the state, not elected officials who serve in DC. As in the governor and the state DOT. Maybe some mayors. But a U.S. SENATOR?

And to be clear, I criticize Sen. Kerry when warranted but in this case no way.

And, who knows when the picture was taken?
Oh, and did you notice it took three people to write that one smear piece?

to remind people that the Kerrys are very very rich.

As you said the picture could have been taken at any time - but it's possible that Kerry left after his Tuesday speech and returned before the dinner. That, though would mean at most a one week vacation -- with his wife and daughter - when the Senate was in recess.

Yes you would think that the week in Sudan and the hundreds of hours he spent on New START might count for something.

Not to mention - he got money for Massachusetts hospitals yesterday - http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2011/01/mass_slated_to.html?rss_id=Top+Stories

http://www.dupagegop.com/lincoln-day-dinner

(Here is an article from an IL Conservative complaining about it - http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/publius-forum/2011/01/an-open-letter-to-the-dupage-county-gop-protesting-sen-scott-brown-visit.html )

I wonder if Brown, with his one year of being Senator, will face the same MA hurt that he is clearly exploring higher opportunities that Kerry seemed to - even though he is a fifth term Senator.

It will be interesting to see what developes between Brown and the people of MA.

..:loveya: So awesome that they were seated in such close proximity!

And the BH criticizing him for being there...pft. Typical. They just do.not.get.it. :)