Michelle Obama makes 2nd trip to Gulf Coast

First Lady Michelle Obama christened a ship, National Security Cutter Stratton on Friday in Pascagoula, Miss., part of a day-long trip to the Gulf Coast city. The visit was her second trip to the region since April's Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Dressed in a stylish silver skirt and sleeveless white top, Obama broke a champagne bottle over the ship's bow on her second swing, prompting cheers from the more than 3,000 spectators at the Northrop Grumman Pascagoula shipyard.

"You have given us some of the greatest ships in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard," Obama told the assembled shipbuilders, "So whether you're a welder or a fitter or a burner, whatever your craft, the ship is also a tribute to you and your families. America thanks you."

The ship is named for the late Coast Guard Capt. Dorothy Stratton, the first woman to serve as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Coast Guard.
 
Accompanying the first lady on the day-long visit was Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp, and Mississippi First Lady Marsha Barbour, the wife of President Obama's potential 2012 challenger, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R).

Obama also stopped for a briefing early in the day at the Coast Guard Station in Pascagoula, where many servicemembers are working full-time on the BP oil spill disaster. Obama thanked them for their efforts, and concluded her remarks with a message aimed at Gulf Coast residents affected by the spill.

"I just want to make sure that the people in the Gulf ... know ... that our work is not over yet.  We’ve gotten some good news -- the spill has been contained.  The cleanup effort is going very well, as we have all heard.  But this isn’t over yet.  And this administration is going to stand with the people of the Gulf until folks are made whole again."