English subtitles for clip: File:West Wing Week- Mailbag Day, Summer Edition 2011.webm

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Preview Narrator:
Next week, West Wing Week is
taking you across the Pacific

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on a special dispatch assignment.

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Join us as we travel with Vice
President Joe Biden to China,

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Mongolia and Japan on his
journey to meet with the

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leaders and people of
this bustling region.

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From traditional tea
ceremonies in Chengdu, China,

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to the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar
for a Naadam festival,

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experience the vibrant culture
of Asia and see how the

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Continent welcomed the Vice
President and embraced the

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American delegation.

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We go behind the scenes with the
Vice President as he strengthens

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ties and opens new
channels to communication.

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So be sure to tune in next
week for West Wing Week

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"Dispatches Asia!"

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♪♪ (Drum and Bugle Corps) ♪♪

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Narrator:
Welcome to the West Wing Week,
your guide to everything that's

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happening at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue.

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This week "Mailbag Day,
Summer Edition 2011!"

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Before we get to your
letters and e-mails,

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a couple of scenes
from this week.

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On Monday, President Obama
addressed the nation on the

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evolving situation in Libya.

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The President spoke about the
progress the United States and

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our allies have made over the
last six months to protect the

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people of Libya from
Muammar Qaddafi's brutality,

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and support them as they seek
the opportunity to determine

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their own destiny.

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The President:
Finally, the Libyan people.

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Your courage and character
have been unbreakable in the

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face of a tyrant.

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An ocean divides us, but we
are joined in the basic human

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longing for freedom, for
justice, and for dignity.

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Now the Libya that you
deserve is within your reach.

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Going forward we will stay in
close coordination with the TNC

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to support that outcome.

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And though there will be
huge challenges ahead,

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the extraordinary events in
Libya remind us that fear can

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give way to hope and that the
power of people striving for

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freedom can bring
about a brighter day.

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Narrator:
On Tuesday, the White House
complex experienced an

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earthquake with the epicenter
only 80 miles south of

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Washington, D.C. Mother nature
forced the evacuation of the

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White House and other
buildings in the area.

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After the buildings
were checked for safety,

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the White House staff
went back in to work.

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This week, on the other
side of the globe,

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Vice President Joe Biden
continued his visit to Asia

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where he met with
international leaders;

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represented the United States
at a slew of cultural events;

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and continued to promote our
shared economic interests and

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important diplomatic ties
with these Asian nations.

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Also this week the President was
in continuous contact with FEMA

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Administrator Craig Fugate
monitoring Hurricane Irene.

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Head over to Ready.gov to find
out the latest updates and info

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on how you could be
sure that you and your

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family are prepared.

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Our first correspondence comes
from Annapolis, Maryland.

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The e-mailer asks: "Is there a
painting of the famous midnight

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crossing of the Delaware
River by George Washington

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at the White House?

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I think I remember
reading that somewhere,

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but would appreciate
a confirmation."

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To answer this question, we went
to the authority on all things

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art and history related at
the White House, Bill Allman,

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the White House Curator.

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Bill Allman:
Yes, we do have a painting, the
famous image called "Washington

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Crossing the Delaware" that
hangs here in the reception

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room of the West Wing
of the White House.

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This in fact is a smaller
example of the enormous,

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almost life-size painting
that hangs currently in the

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Metropolitan Museum in New York.

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It shows George Washington in a
boat crossing the Delaware River.

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Now, some of the historical
inaccurates of the painting:

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The boat is probably not as deep
as the ones that were used to

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carry troops across the river;
other inconsistencies in the

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painting, there's more daylight;
it looks like dawn but in fact

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it was the middle of the
night; it was pouring rain

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which doesn't show in the picture.

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It was meant to be an evocative
historical image of an important

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American moment and it certainly
has become that over time via

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this painting which has hung
in the White House almost

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continuously since 1969.

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It does not belong to the
White House collection;

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it is only on loan to us from
two different owners from 1969

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to 1979 and then again from
its current owners since 1979.

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And so it's a much admired and
much looked-for art object here

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in the West Wing
of the White House.

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Narrator:
Our next question comes from a
letter written by Carol Parker

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from Portland, Oregon.

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Carol writes: "What will
the President do to stop the

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outsourcing of American
jobs to foreign countries?"

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To answer Carol's question we
took a stroll and posed this

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question to Jason Furman, the
Deputy Director of the National

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Economic Council.

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Jason Furman:
Well, the American economy has
been creating jobs for the last

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year and a half.

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But the President thinks there's
a lot more that we need to be

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doing to speed the pace of job
creation here in America and to

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continue working tirelessly
until every American who wants

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a job has one.

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We have a lot of ideas that
have been before Congress

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for the last several months that
we're waiting for action on.

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Things like investments in
infrastructure, patent reform,

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trade agreements, all of which
have bipartisan support in

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Congress; there is no reason
they can't finish them up and

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send them to us.

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The President thinks even more
than that needs to be done and

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he's going to be giving a major
speech when he returns and

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Congress returns in September
about what we need to do to

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really accelerate the
creation of jobs in America.

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Narrator:
Our final question comes from
Missouri and an e-mailer writes:

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"Does the White House honor U.S.
citizens who do extraordinary

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acts in their own
local communities?"

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Let's walk across the hall from
Jason and pose that question to

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the Director of the Office of
Public Engagement, John Carson,

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and see what he has to say. John?

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John Carson:
Each year at the State of the
Union, in the First Lady's box,

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there's a number of citizens
that the President and First

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Lady have chosen to honor.

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There's also a number of
programs here at the White

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House that honor the service and
heroism of Americans all across

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the country.

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The first is the Citizens Medal.

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President Obama was the first
President to take this program

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online and you can find at
WhiteHouse.gov/CitizensMedal

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an opportunity to nominate
each year someone for the

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Citizens Medal.

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Also each week here
at the White House,

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we honor our
"Champions of Change."

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The Champions of Change program
brings together Americans who

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are making change happen
in their community around

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a common theme.

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Each week we have an event here
at the White House and online at

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WhiteHouse.gov/Champions, honor
these Americans who are making

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change happen.

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Narrator:
Thank you for joining us for
"Mailbag, Summer Edition 2011."

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To find out more information on
any of these topics or to see

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complete videos of these
events, go to WhiteHouse.gov.

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And thanks again for checking
out your West Wing Week!

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(foreign language)