Do you feel disappointed in government? Does Obama seem a little too meek for the Presidency? Do you wish he'd make larger structural reforms? Maybe, suggests Matt Taibbi, there's an answer. [more inside]
posted by jock@law on Oct 23, 2009 - 43 comments

All at once, they practically screamed, “We’ve got ten minutes with the President on Monday…do you wanna do the shoot?!!”. Don’t let anyone tell ya photographing the President ain’t all it’s cracked up to be! [more inside]
posted by netbros on Aug 8, 2009 - 43 comments

Bill Maher's criticism of Obama? Be more like Bush. ...And just like Lindsey [Lohan], we see your name in the paper a lot, but we're kind of wondering when you're actually going to do something. Follow up of his statements with Keith Olbermann. ...But where's the beef? And it's easy to make speeches; what's hard to do is stand up against corporations. Corporations and their incredible strength are what have ruined this country so far, and this president -- we thought -- might be the one to stand up to them. I'm losing hope. I still have audacity, but my hope is fading.
posted by Christ, what an asshole on Jun 18, 2009 - 124 comments

Letters to the President- and his responses. The story of the President's mailman. A peek inside the White House mail room.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Apr 19, 2009 - 35 comments

Open For Questions. Metafilter's Own™ box and klangklangston "skim the White House's Open For Questions, posting the best and brightest queries the American public can manage." [via mefi projects] [more inside]
posted by dersins on Mar 25, 2009 - 69 comments

"President" replacing the N-Word (SLYT).
posted by alms on Feb 19, 2009 - 62 comments

In 2007, Dubya wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal. Obama has followed suit with an op-ed article in the Washington Post. Both sites mention that The writer "is the president of the United States." Have we entered a new era of the bully pulpit?
posted by JVA on Feb 5, 2009 - 48 comments

Wired: Obama Sides With Bush in Spy Case. "The Obama administration fell in line with the Bush administration Thursday when it urged a federal judge to set aside a ruling in a closely watched spy case weighing whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants."
posted by blue_beetle on Jan 23, 2009 - 86 comments

"The government of the United States is in no sense founded on the Christian Religion." ~ George Washington / "I do not find in Christianity one redeeming feature." ~ Thomas Jefferson / "The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my religion." ~ Abraham Lincoln / "A just government has no need for the clergy or the church." ~ James Madison / "I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end... where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice." ~ John F. Kennedy / "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers." ~ Barack Obama
posted by 0bvious on Jan 20, 2009 - 270 comments

The historic inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama is two weeks away, and vendors are making a mint selling memorabilia. But be warned: the commemorative coins you see being advertised are not official. A relatively new $1 coin series does feature US presidents in chronological order (previously), but getting Americans to use $1 coins hasn't been easy. Remember Susan B. Anthony, Columbus and Sacagawea? Native American $1 coins will be offered in tandem with the presidential series; if they continue to be issued, Obama's official $1 coin should be available in 2017.
posted by woodway on Jan 6, 2009 - 50 comments

America has come a long way. There is the official version of history or the peoples' version. There are artifacts and rankings. They had some quirks and were occasionally men of their time. If you prefer audio or visual references those are available as well. Common knowledge has it that one GW was our first President but the title of first is under dispute. 230 years later another GW is making a run for worst. That is also under dispute by the nations best brains. For better and worse, the story of the Presidency is the story of America.
posted by Glibpaxman on Dec 4, 2008 - 24 comments

A 1926 Brazilian sci-fi novel predicts a U.S. election determined by race and gender. O Presidente Negro envisions the 2228 U.S. presidential election. In that race, the white male incumbent, President Kerlog, finds himself running against Evelyn Astor, a white feminist, and James Roy Wilde, the cultivated and brilliant leader of the Black Association, "a man who is more than just a single man ... what we call a leader of the masses."
posted by Tom-B on Nov 27, 2008 - 10 comments

U.S. Presidents have had an uneven relationship with technology. The Clinton Presidential Library has more than 40 million White House emails on record (but only two are from the man himself). The Bush Administration, on the other hand, junked the Clinton archival process and replaced it with a comically inept alternative that has lost more than five million messages, many concerning official government business. (President Bush, for his part, gave up his longtime address -- G94b@aol.com -- just before his inauguration). Even the Reagan White House had its share of problems with the digital age. Now, as tech-savvy Barack Obama prepares to implement his technology plans, does he have a shot at dragging the Oval Office into the 21st century? Or will he have to surrender his laptop, his email account, and his beloved Blackberry?
posted by Rhaomi on Nov 15, 2008 - 38 comments

How Obama Did It: an in-depth look behind the scenes of the campaign, assembled by a special team of reporters who were granted year-long access on the condition that none of their findings appear until after Election Day.
posted by thbt on Nov 5, 2008 - 254 comments

Attention world: We're back baby! USA! USA! USA! USA! [more inside]
posted by plexi on Nov 4, 2008 - 1282 comments

Fringe Friday: Obama is a hypnotic and entrancing public speaker. No, really, he's hypnotic and entrancing. [PDF] via
posted by Rykey on Oct 31, 2008 - 89 comments

Synchronized Presidential Debating
posted by blue_beetle on Oct 28, 2008 - 31 comments

Former US Secretary of State and retired General Colin Powell, a controversial, if reluctant supporter of the war on Iraq, offers his endorsement (Flash video) of Senator Barack Obama for the office of President of the United States. [more inside]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Oct 19, 2008 - 717 comments

If you missed the VP debate last night, you might enjoy this video of VP debate highlights in song and dance by Michael Gregory. (Also available: Running From Your Shadow, presidential debate highlights in song and dance.) DLYT
posted by MegoSteve on Oct 3, 2008 - 9 comments

Now that the presidential debate is back on, it's time to prepare by selecting the most appropriate drinking game for tonight's debate. [more inside]
posted by nitsuj on Sep 26, 2008 - 607 comments

"On the weekends, he favors two-hour bicycle rides at a Secret Service training facility outside Washington, where he sometimes asks companions and agents to ride behind him so that he can have the illusion of riding alone." With all the focus on the upcoming election, what of George W. Bush?
posted by djgh on Aug 31, 2008 - 102 comments

On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, Barack Obama accepted the nomination of the Democratic Party to be their Presidential candidate with a speech so well-crafted that Pat bloody Buchanan couldn't stop raving about it, and had to be cut off by his fellow broadcasters. It was an occasion so historic that McCain chose to release an ad congratulating his opponent.
posted by WCityMike on Aug 28, 2008 - 235 comments

The Democratic Primary Season in 7 Minutes.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on May 6, 2008 - 63 comments

The hidden factor in Hillary Clinton's rebound: committed Republicans voting in open primaries who want to prolong the messy battle for the Democratic nomination, encouraged by right-wing radio hosts like Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh. Or is Hillary just suddenly more palatable to conservatives than multi-culti Obama?
posted by digaman on Mar 17, 2008 - 112 comments

Obama supporter shocked to see herself in Hillary ad. "Especially because she's a fierce supporter of Barack Obama." "But the young girl starring in the ad will actually be voting age next month and says she's no fan of Hillary Clinton." The footage is another example of the risks of using stock film or images to convey an advertising message. The footage comes from Getty Footage Stock. FYI that footage prices out at around $ 2,500 for national advertising usage. {via}
posted by doug3505 on Mar 10, 2008 - 125 comments

Pride and Palpitations over Barack Obama's victory in Iowa. [more inside]
posted by homunculus on Jan 6, 2008 - 279 comments

Goodbye to All That. A great look at the Obama candidacy, and the culture wars behind it, by Andrew Sullivan, featured in the December 2007 issue of The Atlantic Monthly.
posted by matkline on Nov 4, 2007 - 143 comments

Let's play 20 questions. 20 candidates for President, 20 personalized questions.
posted by Sticherbeast on Feb 16, 2007 - 19 comments

Barack Obama is running for president. [Previously: 1, 2]
posted by patr1ck on Feb 10, 2007 - 192 comments

“President Barack Hussein Obama – it does have a ring to it, doesn't it?” – Who’s hot for (and who’s not for) America’s up-and-coming presidential wonderboy.
posted by Milkman Dan on Dec 15, 2006 - 113 comments

Barrack Obama is being urged by former political opponent Dan Hynes to run for president in '08 in a most eloquent open letter.
posted by sourbrew on Sep 14, 2006 - 110 comments

The first black president of the United States.
posted by swift on Jul 28, 2004 - 96 comments