44, Day 58: Mr. Confidence

An ongoing log of the daily activities of the 44th president of the United States during his first 100 days:

-President Obama left the White House today, headed for California for a couple of days. Before he boarded Marine One on the South Lawn, he said the public's anger over AIG executive bonuses was justified as he defended his Treasury Secretary. "I have complete confidence in Tim Geithner and my entire economic team," Obama said. "Nobody's working harder than this guy. You know, he is making all the right moves in terms of playing a bad hand."

-In California, Obama holds a town hall meeting in Orange County today to talk about his $787 billion economic stimulus case and make a case for his massive fiscal 2010 spending plan. "Given where we're going in California, I'd be surprised if the housing crisis and home foreclosures aren't part of that; obviously, financial stability; and I'm sure the outrageousness of executive compensation and bonuses will come up," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. Plus, Obama will be a guest on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno.

-The #1 item on the White House website this afternoon wasn't Obama's defense of Geithner, or his latest argument that the economy was fundamentally sound, or his call for some new program. Nope, it was the president's NCAA brackets. For the record, he picks the University of North Carolina to go all the way, although from the scratch marks, it's clear he had some second thoughts.

-Obama will visit Mexico April 16-17 to discuss issues ranging from immigration and security to the global financial crisis.

by J. Jennings Moss

Sources: The White House, Dow Jones, the Los Angeles Times, Reuters,