President Obama Asks Thai Monk To Pray For Our Budget

[bigtree]

On the first stop of his Asia trip, President Barack Obama visited the Wat Pho monastery, and asked a monk for prayers for he and other U.S. leaders to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff.

According to the White House pool report, Obama arrived at the "colorful and ornate Buddhist temple in the Phra Nakhon district" of Bangkok, Thailand, where he was given a tour by Head Monk Chaokun Suthee Thammanuwat.

"Yes we're working on this budget, we're going to need a lot of prayer for that," Obama quipped to him.

At a press conference later Sunday evening, Obama explained his joke to reporters.

"I'm confident that we can get our fiscal situation dealt with," he said. "I believe in prayer."


read: http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/in-thailand-obama-asks-monk-for-prayers-on-budget




full White House pool report:

Motorcade departed airport and made the trek along wide open highways into the center of Bangkok, then past the Government House which was decked out in bunting and a large sign reading "Welcome to the Honorable Barack Obama."

We arrived outside the Wat Pho monastery, a colorful and ornate Buddhist temple in the Phra Nakhon district. Pool was led to the open archway of a room with a golden Buddha and dark marble floors. This was the Eastern Viharn Phra. A faux tree towered behind the statue and the ceiling was painted red with gold medallions.

A few minutes later Head Monk Chaokun Suthee Thammanuwat, wearing a bright orange robe over one shoulder, led Potus, dressed in dark gray suit, and Sec of State Clinton, in royal blue pantsuit and gold necklace, into the room. Pool could not hear what they were saying as they circled the Buddha. The monk appeared to be explaining things for a few minutes before they left.

Pool was then taken to another large hallway dominated by a huge reclining gold Buddha, which streched the length of the building.This was the Viharn of the Reclining Buddha, and we were instructed to remove our shoes before entering. Again the monk led Potus and Clinton for a stroll past the giant figure, which dwarfed them all. Our third stop was in the courtyard where the trio strolled past a number of colorful spire-like columns. This was the Phra Maha Chedi Group.

The place was empty of tourists for the president's private tour. Pool overheard Clinton say: "What a peaceful place," and Potus responded: "If you have 80,000 people here it's not so peaceful. This is kind of a treat."


read: http://gretawire.foxnewsinsider.com/2012/11/18/white-house-press-pool-1/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnewsinsider%2Fgretawire+%28Gretawire%29



Zeke Miller ?@ZekeJMiller
@DavidNakamura photo of POTUS accepting a gift for FLOTUS from Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej http://twitpic.com/bebk2s

[Botany]

1. It is really neat to see Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton working together and ....

.... enjoying each others company. America is very lucky to have them both.

[bigtree]

2. they are a dynamic duo

. . . and always fascinating, as you say Botany, to see the closeness and apparent camaraderie in the images of the two together. I imagine the sight of that is equally fascinating and inspiring to the folks abroad who don't enjoy such a seamless democracy as ours, and aren't as fortunate as our Democratic party to have such affable and cooperative, former rivals representing them in government.

[Botany]

5. Obama is on record as saying that he wants people who have different thoughts on ....

.... the issues then he has because that helps his understanding of things. And also too (palin speak)
it shows all of us that even after a heated fight being a grown up is the right thing to do.

I may be wrong but I think Hillary is looking forward to relaxing after a long run of working
on many issues for the past 30 + years and a nice house over looking the Hudson River Valley
might be just the ticket. i admit I was strongly opposed to her running for President in 2008
but her work as Sec. of State has really made me a big fan of hers.

[Beacool]

22. Well, I felt the other way around.

I felt that Obama with merely 2 years in the senate should have stayed there until he garnered more experience. I still think that it should have been Hillary in 2008 and Obama in 2016.

I'm still hoping that after some much needed time to decompress and rest that she decides to give it another shot in 2016.

[Botany]

34. She will be 69 in 2016 and I doubt she will feel like running

n/t

[Beacool]

41. We'll just have to wait and see.

Although, I don't think that age should be an issue. Golda Meir was 71 when she became Prime Minister of Israel. She was 76 when she left office.

[juajen]

46. I am 71 and played soccer with my 4 yrs. old grandson for over an hour, kicking, running and dodging

Some people are old are 50, and others young at 80. I see no diminishing of her intelligence or stamina. I believe we are just wary after Reagan. BTW, I would have been even stronger had I not had to recuperate from a broken arm, and later, serious surgery from which, I am still in considerable pain. I believe it makes sense to test all presidential and vice presidential candidates for degenerative diseases, etc.

[Botany]

6. Obama makes me so damn proud

here he is with the Prime Minister of Thailand

[Beacool]

21. That's a very nice pic.

[femrap]

11. As an

aside, can't we ever get to see the occasional Buddhist nun? Just the monks. One would get the idea that only men are Buddhists...well, they're the ones who get to live in the nice places. The nuns, not so much. Same old patriarchy, just a different religion.

Sorry to interrupt.

I do agree. Nice to see HRC traveling with Obama. I wonder what she'll decide to do next.

ETA: Thailand has a woman Prime Minister! I will not attempt to spell her name.

[Botany]

15. Yingluck Shinawatra

[amandabeech]

42. That suit is just stunning.

Beautiful fabrics (I assume from Thailand) and a lovely, flattering cut.

[riverwalker]

3. some cool videos here

http://theobamadiary.com/2012/11/18/rise-and-shine-thailand/

[bigtree]

4. thanks, riverwalker

. . . Obama Diary, always timely and reliable.

[oldbanjo]

7. Hillary would be more familiar

with the customs in foreign Countries, them being together would keep the President from having some embarrassing moments.

[bluedigger]

20. From her long years spent overseas in Arkansas?

Seriously, our President has ample experience with foreign cultures and can comport himself appropriately.

[Beacool]

23. From her 8 years as First lady, 8 years as Senator and 4 years as SOS.

Hillary was the most traveled first lady in US history, one of the most traveled senators and the SOS who has traveled to most countries. So your sarcasm is not only inappropriate, but also inaccurate.

[bluedigger]

25. Maybe so.

But the intimation that the President was some Ugly American who couldn't be trusted out of the country by himself was worse, so I'm okay with it.

[Beacool]

26. I don't think that was what the poster intimated.

Regardless, no need to trash Hillary and imply that she is some hick. Furthermore, she is not even from Arkansas, she's a midwesterner. Born in Chicago to be more precise. Two wrongs don't make a right.

[Cha]

31. Actually, President Obama traveled to "foreign countries" before he

became President and has been very keen on learning about people and their customs. But, there's always more to learn as I'm thinking each of them has on this Asian Tour.

SOS Hillary and the President are such excellent representatives of our Country..



http://theobamadiary.com/

[Thav]

8. I can't wait to hear how RW media spins this.

Maybe how he's closet Buddhist and he's going to force (Buddhism's version of Sharia law, if it exists.) on the US.

[Tree-Hugger]

40. Exactly!

The Buddhists are trying to infiltrate. Next thing you know, we'll all be forced meditate and be calm.

[warrior1]

9. This is miss leading

the President said "we're going to need a lot of prayer for that", not President Obama Asks Thai Monk To Pray For Our Budget.

[bigtree]

10. oh, now

I think the president was probably responding to some comment by the monk about prayers in the temple. Anyway, it's as clear as it needs to be in the article. (good old DU)

[FreeState]

35. That and anyone who follows Thai Buddhism

would know that the western use of "prayer" is much different than the eastern - even as I buddhist I hesitate calling it prayer, it's not really they same things as what westerners understand as prayer.

[CoboWowbo]

12. Somehow, the RW media will spin this

to say the President is anti-Christian.

[LiberalElite]

38. Well, what else can you expect from a Buddhist Moslem? nt

[JDPriestly]

13. Hey! If there really is only one God (only believable theory if you

believe it) then any prayer said from a place of humility and good will should be equal to any other prayer said from a place of humility and good will.

It is wonderful that Obama knows how to show his respect and love for other people who have other beliefs and customs in the world.

This visit is great progress. It is a tribute to Obama and our nation that we are opening up and enjoying friendly relationships with more and more nations.

[wtmusic]

17. +1. One shudders to consider the pile of dog poo Romney would have stepped in. nt

[Raine]

48. Yup, he couldn't even visit England without insulting them and embarassing himself & his country. nt

[bananas]

14. I like that first photo

The flowers and the wall appear as love and light emanating from the monk.

[progressoid]

16. That's a bi-i-i-i-ig Budha.

?w=590&h=841

[vlyons]

18. I was annoyed that the MSM didn't cover the entire press conf this morning

MSNBC and CNN only covered the first part of POTUS and the Prime Minst. remarks, but cut out during the Q&A. Even both CSPAN channels didn't carry the live event. I took heart in the PM mentioning, among other initiatives, that climate change was on the list. I guess they're pretty concerned about Mekong and the Chao Phraya rivers flooding.

So any guesses on how long it takes the RW loonies to do their faux outrage over POTUS asking a Buddhist monk to pray for us?

[Cha]

32. Does this help, vlyons? When I clicked on the Vid in the center it didn't play but

then I hit the caption and it goes to youtube and we can see the presser..

http://theobamadiary.com/

[frylock]

19. holy shit! that crazy lady from the video was right. obama is aligning himself with the buddhists!!1

[Beacool]

24. I see nothing wrong with Obama's comments.

What's wrong with prayer?

I like Buddhism, it seems like such a peaceful religion.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

29. Probably peaceful because it doesn't have a God.

"If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!" Zen Buddhist saying.

[FreeState]

36. Although that Zen saying is not literal and has nothing to do with "God"

its a koen... road, buddha and kill him are symbolisms. (road = path to enlightenment, buddha = teachers, self or beliefs, and kill him = let go of your conceptions and keep meditating/practicing).

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

37. I know. Budldhists don't consider the Buddha a deity.

[Major Nikon]

43. Nothing wrong with prayer

[Beacool]

44. Funny!!!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

27. When all else fails..punt.

[Matariki]

28. I love that top photo of Clinton n/t

[liberal_at_heart]

30. great photos

I love the first one, all smiles and laughs. I've always wanted to travel to see some of the world's temples and Buddha statues.

[Cha]

33. Thank you, bigtree! I love seeing what the President is

doing. The corporatemedia miss out educating their viewers on what PBO is doing in other countries. And, the Viewers miss out most of all.

Love the pics of POTUS and SOS in Thailand at the Buddhist Temples.

[leveymg]

39. Interesting that both chose to be so far out of town at this precise time. eom.

[Bucky]

45. Gotta love that barefooted diplomacy!

[blkmusclmachine]

47. .