Tag Archives: Obama

Happy birthday, Mr. President

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May all your wishes come true.   And let me help you itemize them:

  1.  a little GOP cooperation.
  2. a country back on track within two years.
  3. a visit from my family at the White House (we would like NOT to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom because it has gotten too much use over the years, a little like a Motel 6).  Let’s pick some dates and firm up with our wives.
  4. a tattoo that says “Made in the USA” so that the conspiracy theorists might go away.
  5. a situation room that looks like Wolf Blitzer’s
  6. getting a free pass once a month on something you say in front of the press.
  7. a date with your wife that isn’t a political free-for-all on the 24-hour news re-cycle.
  8. one day without a full-blown crisis at the office.

And many, many more returns of the day, Mr. President.

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First, Crowley and Gates, then O’Donnell and Trump?

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USREPORT-US-OBAMA-RACEObama hit the BIG KUMBAYA with Officer Crowley and Professor Gates.

Even those commentators who rail against Obama actually complimented him.  I don’t really know how I feel about it because the president cannot settle every dispute and he is not the Referee-In-Chief.  So, maybe it was a teachable moment in do-it-yourself mediation, preferably with some form of social lubricant or liquid confidence.

So, here is the lesson.  IT WASN’T ABOUT OBAMA.  It is about two people who need and WANT a forum to work things out.  And that makes Officer Crowley and Professor Gates the true stars of this summit.  This was a racially/socially/politically charged event and the two in the middle reached across the divide and set an example for a nation.

So, in that vein, Rosie O’Donnell made an overture to the Donald, which he turned down in a way in his typical fashion.  He was offensive.  Rosie, nice gesture, but don’t wait for Donald. He doesn’t have the right stuff.

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A beer with the Prez

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I don’t drink beer.  After four years of smelling mung beer in fraternity basements in college, the mere suggestion of beer makes my nose hair curl.

Have a beer with the President? You bet.  What, my strong aversion to beer?  Nah, dude.  If that is my ticket to have a sit down with the most powerful man in the nation (who happens to have the cutest ears in the nation), then, what me, an anti-beerist?  I’d even drink a rusty can of Rheingold circa 1969 if it gets me on the patio in the Rose Garden.

So, as I see it, here is how I need to orchestrate my 45 minutes with the Big Guy.  I have to do something outrageous that actually sparks outrage.  (I do outrageous stuff all the time, but no one seems to care.)  It has to threaten the kumbaya veneer of society in a menacing, yet ultimately not physically harmful, way.  Then it has to be on the 24-hour news RE-cycle, just in time for a Presidential press conference where the President is tired and talking about really important things critical to the nation’s future. Then, with seconds to go before he gets to leave the press room, have his make-up washed off and kick back with Michelle, a friend with press credentials has to ask about my incident.  Hopefully, he will be annoyed and the incident will touch a chord in him and he will have an authentic, I-am-human-and-I-have-unscripted-opinions moment.  POUNCE!!  I got my beer.

So, here is my checklist to close this deal:

  1. outrageous behavior: easy
  2. outrageous behavior that is offensive but does not involve weapons: hmmmmm.  Watch celebrity TV shows for ideas.
  3. get attention for outrageous behavior: Get a walk-on spot on “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!!”
  4. get on 24 hour news RE-cycle: [Do I have to say nice things about CNN?] Start by being an iReporter.
  5. time it with an important press conference:  after August recess when Congress is fighting over the health care bill.
  6. have a friend with a press pass to the White House:  We need to break this agenda item into 3 subparts:  (a) Find a friend, (b) find a friend with press pass and (c) find a friend with press pass to White House.
  7. have friend ask a question on my outrageous behavior (which I learned from the celebrity TV shows or the coverage on the Michael Jackson family circus):  do you think tickets to the US Open Tennis men’s and women’s finals will do it?
  8. Get Obama ticked off:  easy, just ask my partner.
  9. BEER TIME!!!!
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Thought for today, July 30, 2009

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Of course Obama’s ratings are going down.  The real issues facing our nation are complicated and the choices are hard.  And good compromise means no person or constituency gets everything he or it wanted.   Including the President and the Republicans.

The debate should be about facts.  Not scare tactics.  Glenn Beck called President Obama a racist.  Why, because he had a visceral reaction to an incident involving Professor Gates?  Glenn Beck had a visceral reaction to President Obama’s statement.  Let’s look at this:  Obama’s reaction caused him to say that police acted “stupidly”.  Glenn Beck’s reaction is to call Obama a racist. Who over-reacted?  Hmmmmm.

But all this did was divert attention from the issues. We don’t have time for this nonsense.  But at least Glenn Beck’s reaction shows that the right can’t counter President Obama’s plans and policies on the facts.

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Thought for Today, July 23, 2009: Unpatriotic Fox News

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For eight long years, I was one of those “unpatriotic” Americans because I loved this country and disagreed with the Bush administration and its policies.  But I still watched the president’s press conferences and respected the presidency while I had trouble with the man in that office (don’t get me started on Cheney).

Fox News thinks it is ok not to show a presidential press conference because it is opposed to President Obama’s politics.  In the prior administration, the talking heads would be challenging the patriotism of any news outlet that didn’t carry a press conference.  Are those at Fox News selectively patriotic, as in only when a conservative is president?

I loved this country and respected the government even when I personally hated the policies.  What is Fox News’s excuse?

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President Obama and health care

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I watched the President’s press conference last night.  The commentators seemed disappointed that the President is a mere mortal.  Asking for guarantees as one reporter did requires a crystal ball and the reporter posed an unanswerable question.  There are no guarantees.  There are only projections and good faith efforts to fix a problem that has lingered too long.

Let’s support a global, cogent plan to make an efficient system with improved services and work toward making that plan a reality.  We have to change the system.  There will be sacrifices.  But there are already sacrifices now.  Inefficient, costly and below average care for too many people.  We can’t let the system stay as is.  Those who only say “no” need to get out of the way.  Either come up with a plan or shut up.

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Thought for the day, July 9, 2009

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Obama is back on the hot seat now that Jacko is dead, Sarah Palin is the Political Undead and Gov. Sanford got a “get out of jail free” card.  Now the pundits are focused on the economy and why Obama hasn’t produced miracles yet. 

If I were Obama, I would hope that another pop icon or political enigma hogs the airwaves for at least 6 months.

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The Presidential hug

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Dear President Obama:

I saw the tape of your hugging the woman with the terrible cancer problem at your town hall meeting. She seemed like she needed a hug. I don’t have cancer and I want a hug, too. But if I may, I’d like to offer some pointers on hug etiquette. My credentials on this subject are that I came from a hugging and kissing family.

It was a good starter as stranger-on-stranger hugs go. But you, Mr. President, are not a stranger to us. You are, like it or not, our Dad-in-Chief. Not just any dad. A Father Knows Best dad.  So, you need a blend of the stranger hug (the tepid-two-second-and-pat-pat-pat-on-the-back hug) and the mourner’s hug (as if hugging your old friend who has just lost someone special).  Let’s call it the I-get-it/I’m-here-for-you hug. I imagine it is at least a full-frontal ten-second hug, followed by a squeeze for emphasis.

I know you can do this, Mr. President. I can help you practice.  When can I show up for my hug?

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