It's Fun to be President.

March 30, 2010 8:58 AM

Barack Obama Looks at Awesome Things. Way better than A History of Obama Feigning Interest in Mundane Things.
posted by oneirodynia (50 comments total)

I would enjoy both these tours.
posted by DU at 9:01 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was prepared to like this, but then I saw that it was pictures of Barack Obama with badly photoshopped nerd references.
posted by Bukvoed at 9:01 AM on March 30, 2010 [9 favorites]

howsabout we just don't be about stuff like this? I'm saying please.
posted by timsteil at 9:05 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

The sad thing is that it actually had me for a second -- I was like "who has a replica of Captain America's shield mounted on what looks like a bank of electrical panels, and why are they showing it to the President?"

Then he met Optimus Prime and I sort of figured it out.
posted by Shepherd at 9:06 AM on March 30, 2010 [5 favorites]

He's taking a tour of that big warehouse at the end of Indiana Jones which is totally real like these photos please don't break my illusion.
posted by The Whelk at 9:07 AM on March 30, 2010 [3 favorites]

I was prepared to like this... and I did.
thenkew oneirodynia

(Is it just me or does everyone think the secret service should drive a Phalanx of Tumblers and the runners carry Captian America Shields. amirite???)
posted by djrock3k at 9:07 AM on March 30, 2010

I wish people spent as much time voting in real elections as they did up/downvoting things on digg.
posted by The White Hat at 9:08 AM on March 30, 2010 [8 favorites]

I wish people spent as much time voting in real elections as they did up/downvoting things on digg.

But, one hopes, not the same people.
posted by enn at 9:12 AM on March 30, 2010 [20 favorites]

I was poised to like this, but then I realized I didn't like things.
posted by vibrotronica at 9:12 AM on March 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

Doesn't Fark do something like this?

Anyway... I have some suggestions for future "Obama looks at.... " sets:

kittens
puppies
baby animals
ducks
babies
duck babies
baby kittens
puppy babies
baby babies
zombies


I don't know... there's probably more...
posted by HuronBob at 9:12 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I wish people spent as much time voting thinking about the issues in real elections as they did up/downvoting things on digg.

BOOM. Fixinated.
posted by edbles at 9:13 AM on March 30, 2010

i did like this a wee too much.






don't judge me.
posted by liza at 9:17 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

The first thing I clicked on was the one with Slimer, and I was wondering if he was behind the scenes of some Universal Studios Ghostbusters ride, and the geeks were showing off their smoke and mirrors.

Then I was let down.
posted by brundlefly at 9:17 AM on March 30, 2010

I love how the NYMag site cannot be bothered to make a normal Next/Prev slideshow. They have to use Javascript stuff that does nothing at all when you have it turned off. Ha. Talk about needlessly padding the pockets of some web development team. Next we'll have people making Javascript hyperlinks that load pages... oh, wait.
posted by MysteriousMan at 9:18 AM on March 30, 2010

If only this had finished on johnny 5, this would have had me follow a perfect exponential curve of increased chuckling over time. (The limit of that time being about 30 seconds, which should be some sort of unit of time spent being amused on the internet.)
posted by thoughtless at 9:19 AM on March 30, 2010

After thinking about the previous set of photos, I think Obama's bored, feigning interest appearance is a good thing. A lot of people thought George H.W. Bush's overenthusiastic reaction to a supermarket bar code scanner made him look out of touch and elitist. Similar embarrassing photos happened to John Kerry and Michael Dukakis. Look bored, it's safer.
posted by bobo123 at 9:20 AM on March 30, 2010

don't judge me.
posted by liza at 11:17 AM on March 30 [+] [!]

Wow, you're new here, ain'tcha?
posted by WinnipegDragon at 9:22 AM on March 30, 2010

This is the best xkcd ever!
posted by swift at 9:27 AM on March 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

Hey, Dean Trippe!
posted by shakespeherian at 9:31 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was prepared to like this, but then I saw that it was pictures of Barack Obama with badly photoshopped nerd references.

And that's when you flagged it as fantastic?
posted by Pollomacho at 9:33 AM on March 30, 2010 [3 favorites]

Obama: I didn't think it was a whale's dick, honey.

Before the Capt' American shield, I too was taken in and thought, "yeah, but man, those would otherwise be the crappy part of the gig. Here! See these bolts! Go America!"
posted by Ogre Lawless at 9:35 AM on March 30, 2010

I started laughing when I got to Optimus Prime.
posted by Mavri at 9:44 AM on March 30, 2010

I had the opposite reaction, because clearly Optimus Prime is too small.
posted by jabberjaw at 9:48 AM on March 30, 2010

He found the shield and the sword! Time to retrieve the pieces of the tri-force and save Hyrule!
posted by iconomy at 9:48 AM on March 30, 2010

There's a blockbuster screenplay in here somewhere....

Man is elected on hopeful, uplifting rhetoric.
Inherits desperate times, a difficult economy, massive cultural strife and 10% unemployment from his predecessor.
A number of his supporters proclaim his ascendence in religious terms.
Quasi-messiah can't possibly live up to everyone's inflated expectations.
Turns his lonely eyes to superheroes to save the day.
posted by zarq at 9:50 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm not familiar enough with game culture or whatever to know what most of these objects are referencing.



I am old.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:55 AM on March 30, 2010

We all laugh, because we know that he DOES get to look at that stuff, they just don't let anyone take pictures of it.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:56 AM on March 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

I was prepared to hate this, but then I saw that it was pictures of Barack Obama with badly photoshopped nerd references.
posted by dabug at 9:56 AM on March 30, 2010 [3 favorites]

I don't know what any of these things that Obama is looking at either but he seems like such a mensch that you know he is wishing that he found all this stuff fascinating cuz he's always wanted to see a big old bolt.
posted by bluesky43 at 10:01 AM on March 30, 2010

Stupid.
posted by delmoi at 10:07 AM on March 30, 2010

because we know that he DOES get to look at that stuff, they just don't let anyone take pictures of it.

It's shit like this that will absolutely keep me from ever getting elected to any kind of public office; because there is no way I could resist playing up the "I got access to secret shit" angle.

My tweets would be stuff like:

"Headed to Air Force base. Underground, lots of security. Didn't know about thought-based biometrics. Cool."

"Some weird glowing caskets under a broken aircraft. Looks futuristic. Neat."

"Got to see a real working ray-gun. Dissolved an anvil with one shot. I need a pistol like this!"

"Ooh, scientist walked in one door and out a different one. Like Portal! I bet it makes going to lunch much faster"

"Huh, I looked in the glowing caskets. Couple of little mummies with big heads. Goofy."

"Oh wow! A flying car! And a jet pack! Prototypes? Fat chance! I'm trying it now!"
posted by quin at 10:14 AM on March 30, 2010 [11 favorites]

I have a sneaking suspicion the secret tech isn't quite that awesome.

"Now I got the drop on you with MY disintegrating pistol! And when it disintegrates, brother, it disintegrates."


...


"What do you know, it disintegrated."
posted by norm at 10:27 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I actually didn't clue in until Mogwai... Neat post.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:29 AM on March 30, 2010

Redeemed purely by the comment on him apparently examining Captain America's shield:

He should be allowed to wield that thing when he makes speeches before congress.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:34 AM on March 30, 2010

He should be allowed to wield that thing when he makes speeches before congress.

/The Whelk briefly enters a universe where congress ends with "BY THE POWER OF GREYSKULL! THIS BILL IS PASSED!"/
posted by The Whelk at 10:39 AM on March 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

Oh my GOD, The Whelk, I would watch C-Span EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY if that happened!
posted by bitter-girl.com at 10:49 AM on March 30, 2010 [3 favorites]

howsabout we just don't be about stuff like this? I'm saying please.
posted by timsteil

Howsabout you learn to use the "back" button and let the rest of us enjoy things we enjoy?

Jesus, if everyone got to say "let's not have posts like *this one*," and their request was granted, there would be nothing left to post on the blue. Ever.
posted by tzikeh at 11:02 AM on March 30, 2010 [8 favorites]

the image that serves as the title card for this flickr set actually comes from one of my favorite photos of obama ever:

voila.

what's especially cool, to me, about this pic is that at the bottom left of the frame you can see a dr pepper bottle on the dresser. said dr pepper bottle actually has a celebrity endorsement on it: one of the professional gamers from MLG, the company I work for. I actually have that issue of time stored away somewhere safe so I'll always have a copy of that picture.
posted by shmegegge at 11:16 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

I fully support the president's policy of ensuring all Americans have access to hoverboards.
posted by TBAcceptor at 11:17 AM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

"...we will fix hoverboards' ability to operatate on water in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard..."
posted by brundlefly at 11:22 AM on March 30, 2010

It would make things a lot more interesting if the sponsors of bills were executed if the bill fails or alternately get to select other members of Congress to execute should their bills pass. Fillibusters would be lead by actual, armed filibusterers.
posted by Pollomacho at 11:32 AM on March 30, 2010

Oh come on, the fortress of solitude was good... and so was the baby dinosaur eggs.
posted by odinsdream at 11:43 AM on March 30, 2010

Blog to book deal?
posted by peppito at 12:02 PM on March 30, 2010

I don't think it's too far-fetched that at some point Obama will see this. Regardless, if he were to see it, he may just like it:

He had wanted to go back to [Iowa] to give a speech unofficially kicking off the fall campaign, even though Clinton officially was still in the race. "That's an interesting belt buckle," he said to Michelle, mischievously. She feigned offense and said, "I am interesting, next to you. Surprise, surprise, a blue suit, a white shirt and a tie." Obama grinned and bent down until he was almost at eye level with her waist. He jabbed a playful finger toward her belt buckle, and let loose his inner nerd. "The lithium crystals! [sic] Beam me up, Scotty!" Obama squeaked, laughing at his own lame joke as Michelle rolled her eyes.

I tend to blame Newsweek for getting "dilithium" wrong, personally.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:11 PM on March 30, 2010 [4 favorites]

I tried not to love this, but then...baby dinosaurs. And Johnny 5.
posted by spinturtle at 12:17 PM on March 30, 2010

I absolutely lost it when Obama was holding up a Green Lantern ring as they were describing to him how it works. He looks totally perplexed as if to say, "This seems a lot more complicated than Superman's powers. Why didn't we do that one? And green? Is there a theme here?"
posted by Lord Chancellor at 1:03 PM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Safety glasses with the Sword of Omens. 'Cuz you never know.
posted by Mister Moofoo at 4:38 PM on March 30, 2010

with badly photoshopped nerd references.

I thought they were quite well photoshopped myself, there is a whole world of crap to travel through before you get to this level of 'bad' photoshopping.

Though I was concerned that, with Godzilla on the horizon, Obama seemd to be looking at the floor. Don't be distracted by those republicans nibbling your ankles, Mr President!
posted by Sparx at 7:17 PM on March 30, 2010

I thought it was funny. So there.
posted by Nattie at 10:02 PM on March 30, 2010

Did anyone else think that the "Mundane Things" were more interesting than the "Awesome Things"? And honestly, he doesn't particularly look uninterested in some of those shots. I think whoever collected those photos was maybe projecting a bit.
posted by ErWenn at 7:42 PM on March 31, 2010