threw on his Beefsquatch costume and let everyone know “THIS IS ME NOW!”
November 17, 2015 5:27 PM Subscribe
Would you ever want to be a Supreme Court justice?
[pauses]
You paused!
No—well, the reason I paused for a second was just to make sure that I let people know that I think good judges are really important, and Supreme Court justices, obviously, are hugely important. I don’t have the temperament to sit in relative solitude and just opine and write from the bench. I want to be in the action a little bit more.
Man, I dream about this sometimes. He'd be a very good Justice.
posted by longdaysjourney at 5:44 PM on November 17, 2015 [9 favorites]
[pauses]
You paused!
No—well, the reason I paused for a second was just to make sure that I let people know that I think good judges are really important, and Supreme Court justices, obviously, are hugely important. I don’t have the temperament to sit in relative solitude and just opine and write from the bench. I want to be in the action a little bit more.
Man, I dream about this sometimes. He'd be a very good Justice.
posted by longdaysjourney at 5:44 PM on November 17, 2015 [9 favorites]
Between this interview, the "folks wanna pop off" comment from yesterday, roasting the GOP presidential candidates over their whining about the CNBC debate moderators from two weeks ago, the Maron interview where he drops science on racism and gun violence (and also the n-bomb) from this summer, and like a zillion other things over the past year, I've been really digging on this looser, more relaxed Obama. POTUSDGAF.
posted by mhum at 5:45 PM on November 17, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by mhum at 5:45 PM on November 17, 2015 [9 favorites]
My favorite commentary about the "pop off" comment:
We’ve kinda suspected it before, but President Obama genuinely gives no fucks at this point. He is fuck devoid. Fuck deficient. Fuck deprived. Fuck destitute. His cupboard of fucks is barren; his tank of fucks has been depleted. You know how, on cloudy nights, you might look up into the vast and endless sky and not find any stars? The same thing would happen if you looked at Obama and searched for fucks. And this, this total absence of fucks, is where pop off came from.posted by zachlipton at 5:56 PM on November 17, 2015 [34 favorites]
My daughters are amazing girls. They’re smart, they’re funny... (But) you just have to let go, you have to acknowledge that if you say to them, “Hey, you want to go watch this movie?” or “Hey, you want to go take a swim at the pool?” “No, sorry, Daddy. I love you, though. See you tomorrow, ’cause I’m spending the night at somebody’s house.” The golden age is between, say, 6, 7, and 12, and they’re your buddies and they just want to hang out. And after that, they will love you, but they don’t have that much time for you. And my understanding is, based on friends of mine who have older kids, is that with a little bit of luck, as long as you’re not so completely annoying during these teenage years, they’ll come back to you around 23, 24, and actually want to hang out with you. But that stretch is painful. The compensation you get for the fact that they don’t have time for you is: Nothing beats watching your children become smarter and cooler than you are. And you suddenly will hear them say something or make a joke or have an insight and you go, “Wow. I didn’t think of that.”
posted by growabrain at 5:57 PM on November 17, 2015 [55 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 5:57 PM on November 17, 2015 [55 favorites]
He loves telling people how much Michelle hates that he's President (the workload, etc). I don't think that's fair to her. Being First Lady is probably an awful role to play, constantly reminding people how much she hates it undermines how much work she puts into it.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:06 PM on November 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:06 PM on November 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
There's a lot to like about Obama as he moves into his personal home stretch. He's still, clearly and by miles, the most grown up President we've had in my lifetime. I hope and suspect that he's got some surprising and powerful moments left in him.
I just wish to hell that... Well, a lot of things, I guess. I wish he'd been more of the person that a lot of people to his left—which is to say a huge proportion of the people whose energy got him elected in the first place—thought or at least hoped they were getting. I wish the ACA had been more of the healthcare reform that we actually need, and not just the arguable best that could possibly happen under the circumstances. I wish he'd been less hamstrung by the "bipartisanship" playbook in an environment of unrelenting, psychotic, paranoid-delusional GOP opposition. I wish his party weren't so goddamned hapless and structurally incapable of building on the momentum of 2008. I wish he were in any way meaningfully opposed to or critical of the real power of the security state, or apparently capable of any real public self awareness about what Snowden & co. actually signify. I wish I thought there were any possibility of a pardon for Chelsea Manning. I wish he'd sanctioned a whole lot less flying killer robot murder.
It's a good interview, but it elides some things.
posted by brennen at 6:27 PM on November 17, 2015 [15 favorites]
I just wish to hell that... Well, a lot of things, I guess. I wish he'd been more of the person that a lot of people to his left—which is to say a huge proportion of the people whose energy got him elected in the first place—thought or at least hoped they were getting. I wish the ACA had been more of the healthcare reform that we actually need, and not just the arguable best that could possibly happen under the circumstances. I wish he'd been less hamstrung by the "bipartisanship" playbook in an environment of unrelenting, psychotic, paranoid-delusional GOP opposition. I wish his party weren't so goddamned hapless and structurally incapable of building on the momentum of 2008. I wish he were in any way meaningfully opposed to or critical of the real power of the security state, or apparently capable of any real public self awareness about what Snowden & co. actually signify. I wish I thought there were any possibility of a pardon for Chelsea Manning. I wish he'd sanctioned a whole lot less flying killer robot murder.
It's a good interview, but it elides some things.
posted by brennen at 6:27 PM on November 17, 2015 [15 favorites]
Now leaving Omelas, population everyone else
posted by Sebmojo at 6:28 PM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Sebmojo at 6:28 PM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
(And would I like to see Obama on the Supreme Court? Holy shit, yes.)
posted by brennen at 6:29 PM on November 17, 2015
posted by brennen at 6:29 PM on November 17, 2015
A lot of the work is not just identifying the right policy but now constantly building these ever shifting coalitions to be able to actually implement and execute and get it done.
WHAT? Impossible. Just wave your magic wand and fix everything like that dude in the green mile plz.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:32 PM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
WHAT? Impossible. Just wave your magic wand and fix everything like that dude in the green mile plz.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 6:32 PM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
(And would I like to see Obama on the Supreme Court? Holy shit, yes.)
Hey, Taft did it!
posted by thecaddy at 6:33 PM on November 17, 2015
Hey, Taft did it!
posted by thecaddy at 6:33 PM on November 17, 2015
Man, I dream about this sometimes. He'd be a very good Justice.
Oh, just to witness the right's collective aneurism when President Clinton nominates Obama to the court.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:43 PM on November 17, 2015 [12 favorites]
Oh, just to witness the right's collective aneurism when President Clinton nominates Obama to the court.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:43 PM on November 17, 2015 [12 favorites]
Oh, just to witness the right's collective aneurism when President Clinton nominates Obama to the court.
To replace Scalia. (A kid can dream)
posted by drezdn at 6:51 PM on November 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
To replace Scalia. (A kid can dream)
posted by drezdn at 6:51 PM on November 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
Oh, just to witness the right's collective aneurism when President Clinton nominates Obama to the court.
To replace Scalia. (A kid can dream)
Michelle would be more fun.
posted by Glibpaxman at 7:03 PM on November 17, 2015 [9 favorites]
To replace Scalia. (A kid can dream)
Michelle would be more fun.
posted by Glibpaxman at 7:03 PM on November 17, 2015 [9 favorites]
Wow, brilliant article. I've said it before, but Simmons is always at his best when he's not writing about sports.
posted by Sphinx at 7:09 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Sphinx at 7:09 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
He can still, and might, pardon both Snowden - and Manning - before he leaves office
posted by growabrain at 7:31 PM on November 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by growabrain at 7:31 PM on November 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
Number of cigarettes you’ve smoked in the White House since you got here?
Zero in the last five years. I made a promise that once health care passed, I would never have a cigarette again. And I have not.
ie a pack a fucking day in the 1st 3
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:33 PM on November 17, 2015 [10 favorites]
Zero in the last five years. I made a promise that once health care passed, I would never have a cigarette again. And I have not.
ie a pack a fucking day in the 1st 3
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:33 PM on November 17, 2015 [10 favorites]
Also, his second act, after he leaves office, will probably be just as extra-ordinary as his presidency is
posted by growabrain at 7:35 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by growabrain at 7:35 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
He can still, and might, pardon both Snowden - and Manning - before he leaves office
He could. I don't think he will. It'd be more than just a last-minute fuck-it-I'm-outta-here-anyway act of conscience, though. It'd be a repudiation of his administration's entire rhetoric and policy on the subject to date. They've prosecuted whistleblowers with singular zeal.
I don't feel like we have any reason to think that Obama, in the main, doesn't believe what he professes to believe here.
I would like to be surprised.
posted by brennen at 7:40 PM on November 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
He could. I don't think he will. It'd be more than just a last-minute fuck-it-I'm-outta-here-anyway act of conscience, though. It'd be a repudiation of his administration's entire rhetoric and policy on the subject to date. They've prosecuted whistleblowers with singular zeal.
I don't feel like we have any reason to think that Obama, in the main, doesn't believe what he professes to believe here.
I would like to be surprised.
posted by brennen at 7:40 PM on November 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
My favorite commentary about the "pop off" comment
It's been said already in this TPM article and follow up from July.
As the budget deficit has receded from public view, Obama's fucks deficit has come to the forefront. After six and a half years in office, he may have a small stockpile of fucks left. But he has none left to give.
posted by euphorb at 7:50 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's been said already in this TPM article and follow up from July.
As the budget deficit has receded from public view, Obama's fucks deficit has come to the forefront. After six and a half years in office, he may have a small stockpile of fucks left. But he has none left to give.
posted by euphorb at 7:50 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
He can still, and might, pardon both Snowden - and Manning - before he leaves office
Sure right before Mumia and right after Leonard
posted by one_bean at 7:53 PM on November 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
Sure right before Mumia and right after Leonard
posted by one_bean at 7:53 PM on November 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
He can still, and might, pardon both Snowden - and Manning - before he leaves office
Manning maybe, but I suspect as a law and order type he would not pardon someone who fled the justice system.
posted by Drinky Die at 9:12 PM on November 17, 2015
Manning maybe, but I suspect as a law and order type he would not pardon someone who fled the justice system.
posted by Drinky Die at 9:12 PM on November 17, 2015
Has a president ever pardoned a fugitive other than Bill Clinton's pardoning Frank Rich? That's not exactly a shining precedent to follow.
posted by straight at 9:37 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by straight at 9:37 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Well Kissinger isn't in jail yet so I figure someone did something?
posted by Carillon at 10:08 PM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Carillon at 10:08 PM on November 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
Without reading any of the comments here, I hope no one is calling him out for inelegantly referring to Peter Dinklage as a "dwarf," when he may have been reaching for the show's term, "imp."
OK, checking now.
Whew.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:09 PM on November 17, 2015
OK, checking now.
Whew.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:09 PM on November 17, 2015
My favorite commentary about the "pop off" comment
That's the "Parrot Sketch" of no fucks to give.
posted by bryon at 10:18 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's the "Parrot Sketch" of no fucks to give.
posted by bryon at 10:18 PM on November 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
...I wish he'd been more of the person that a lot of people to his left—which is to say a huge proportion of the people whose energy got him elected in the first place—thought or at least hoped they were getting. I wish the ACA had been more of the healthcare reform that we actually need, and not just the arguable best that could possibly happen under the circumstances. I wish he'd been less hamstrung by the "bipartisanship" playbook in an environment of unrelenting, psychotic, paranoid-delusional GOP opposition...
He addresses the whys/whatfors around your comment pretty explicitly in the interview:
But what I didn’t fully appreciate, and nobody can appreciate until they’re in the position, is how decentralized power is in this system. When you’re in the seat and you’re seeing the housing market collapse and you are seeing unemployment skyrocketing and you have a sense of what the right thing to do is, then you realize, “Okay, not only do I have to persuade my own party, not only do I have to prevent the other party from blocking what the right thing to do is, but now I can anticipate this lawsuit, this lobbying taking place, and this federal agency that technically is independent, so I can’t tell them what to do. I’ve got the Federal Reserve, and I’m hoping that they do the right thing—and by the way, since the economy now is global, I’ve got to make sure that the Europeans, the Asians, the Chinese, everybody is on board.” A lot of the work is not just identifying the right policy but now constantly building these ever shifting coalitions to be able to actually implement and execute and get it done.
That last bit - about how most of the work is implementing and executing and selling and re-selling the right answer, not just finding the right answer - is profound. Not just in any president's commentary about the office, but in how that applies to so much of adult life, in general.
I linked to this piece in the death of Grantland thread, but he touches on this sentiment in there, too when Rembert asks him about "this idea of if Barack Obama can’t say or do what we think he wants to say or do as President."
A lot of times where this comes up in the African-American community has been the notion of, well, he hasn’t just said this is racist, or he hasn’t just called out what somebody did, or he hasn’t specifically talked about why the African American community as opposed to poor folks or middle-class folks generally need help, and hasn’t targeted enough the racial problems in this country. And I’ve answered that publicly as well, which is I am the President of all people, and if I pass legislation that is boosting their income tax credit for low-income workers, I know by definition that African Americans will be disproportionately helped by that.
The notion that I would describe that as a bill targeting African-Americans not only does not get — help it get passed, but it also then ignores all the white folks who are also struggling, and all the Hispanic folks who are also struggling. And my job is to build coalitions of like-minded people who care about the same issues I care about...
... the notion that there are going to be times where you have to compromise in politics suggests that you don’t have to compromise at Grantland, or you don’t have to compromise as a businessperson. That’s more a reflection of young people, thinking you can do whatever you want. The truth of the matter is, is that we live in a society where you got to work with others and not everybody is going to agree with you all the time. And the more your influence expands, the more a diverse set of people you’re going to have to deal with. That’s a skillset you’re going to need no matter what.
Now, like you, I would have loved a liberal lion, vanquishing, etc. - but I'm not sure characterizing this president as a sell-out or disappointment really does justice to what he's saying, nor how he's served.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 1:56 AM on November 18, 2015 [24 favorites]
He addresses the whys/whatfors around your comment pretty explicitly in the interview:
But what I didn’t fully appreciate, and nobody can appreciate until they’re in the position, is how decentralized power is in this system. When you’re in the seat and you’re seeing the housing market collapse and you are seeing unemployment skyrocketing and you have a sense of what the right thing to do is, then you realize, “Okay, not only do I have to persuade my own party, not only do I have to prevent the other party from blocking what the right thing to do is, but now I can anticipate this lawsuit, this lobbying taking place, and this federal agency that technically is independent, so I can’t tell them what to do. I’ve got the Federal Reserve, and I’m hoping that they do the right thing—and by the way, since the economy now is global, I’ve got to make sure that the Europeans, the Asians, the Chinese, everybody is on board.” A lot of the work is not just identifying the right policy but now constantly building these ever shifting coalitions to be able to actually implement and execute and get it done.
That last bit - about how most of the work is implementing and executing and selling and re-selling the right answer, not just finding the right answer - is profound. Not just in any president's commentary about the office, but in how that applies to so much of adult life, in general.
I linked to this piece in the death of Grantland thread, but he touches on this sentiment in there, too when Rembert asks him about "this idea of if Barack Obama can’t say or do what we think he wants to say or do as President."
A lot of times where this comes up in the African-American community has been the notion of, well, he hasn’t just said this is racist, or he hasn’t just called out what somebody did, or he hasn’t specifically talked about why the African American community as opposed to poor folks or middle-class folks generally need help, and hasn’t targeted enough the racial problems in this country. And I’ve answered that publicly as well, which is I am the President of all people, and if I pass legislation that is boosting their income tax credit for low-income workers, I know by definition that African Americans will be disproportionately helped by that.
The notion that I would describe that as a bill targeting African-Americans not only does not get — help it get passed, but it also then ignores all the white folks who are also struggling, and all the Hispanic folks who are also struggling. And my job is to build coalitions of like-minded people who care about the same issues I care about...
... the notion that there are going to be times where you have to compromise in politics suggests that you don’t have to compromise at Grantland, or you don’t have to compromise as a businessperson. That’s more a reflection of young people, thinking you can do whatever you want. The truth of the matter is, is that we live in a society where you got to work with others and not everybody is going to agree with you all the time. And the more your influence expands, the more a diverse set of people you’re going to have to deal with. That’s a skillset you’re going to need no matter what.
Now, like you, I would have loved a liberal lion, vanquishing, etc. - but I'm not sure characterizing this president as a sell-out or disappointment really does justice to what he's saying, nor how he's served.
posted by NoRelationToLea at 1:56 AM on November 18, 2015 [24 favorites]
This guy is like the anti-Clinton. He really seems to see the law as something to follow and not something to carefully avoid.
In the case of Ferguson, I’m the attorney general’s boss. If I chime in with a strong opinion about what’s happened, not only do I stand to potentially damage subsequent law-enforcement cases, but immediately you get blowback and backlash that may make people less open to listening.
It's interesting to imagine what he would be like as a Supreme Court justice, but I expect he would provide the same disappointment.
posted by three blind mice at 2:47 AM on November 18, 2015
In the case of Ferguson, I’m the attorney general’s boss. If I chime in with a strong opinion about what’s happened, not only do I stand to potentially damage subsequent law-enforcement cases, but immediately you get blowback and backlash that may make people less open to listening.
It's interesting to imagine what he would be like as a Supreme Court justice, but I expect he would provide the same disappointment.
posted by three blind mice at 2:47 AM on November 18, 2015
He loves telling people how much Michelle hates that he's President (the workload, etc). I don't think that's fair to her. Being First Lady is probably an awful role to play, constantly reminding people how much she hates it undermines how much work she puts into it.
From the first presidential campaign to now, I've read that as a (quite effective) form of humblebrag, and also probably partially true. I don't think it undermines her at all, and instead emphasizes her sacrifices and hard work.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:28 AM on November 18, 2015 [5 favorites]
From the first presidential campaign to now, I've read that as a (quite effective) form of humblebrag, and also probably partially true. I don't think it undermines her at all, and instead emphasizes her sacrifices and hard work.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:28 AM on November 18, 2015 [5 favorites]
Maybe it's hard to tell in the written form, I just always get the sense it's something in the vein of, My nagging wife LOL. He convey the same message without throwing her under the bus- "Do I want to be President for another term? No, that's absurd. It's a lot of work and my family has sacrificed a lot to help me get here. After this, I'm going to focus on them for awhile."
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:00 AM on November 18, 2015
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 5:00 AM on November 18, 2015
Which Game of Thrones character is Donald Trump?
Uh…I don’t think…I don’t think any of them rise to that level.
That is his best Trump troll since interrupting the finale of The Apprentice to announce that he'd killed Osama bin Laden.
He convey the same message without throwing her under the bus- "Do I want to be President for another term? No, that's absurd. It's a lot of work and my family has sacrificed a lot to help me get here. After this, I'm going to focus on them for awhile."
Yeah, there's a nicer way to do that. I think what he's going for there is trying to take down the whackadoodle conspiracies with a little disarming humor (i.e. "you think I'm trying to be a dictator, but I'm not even the most powerful person in my own family, ell oh ell"), but there's got to be a better formulation there than "my wife, amirite?"
posted by middleclasstool at 5:59 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Uh…I don’t think…I don’t think any of them rise to that level.
That is his best Trump troll since interrupting the finale of The Apprentice to announce that he'd killed Osama bin Laden.
He convey the same message without throwing her under the bus- "Do I want to be President for another term? No, that's absurd. It's a lot of work and my family has sacrificed a lot to help me get here. After this, I'm going to focus on them for awhile."
Yeah, there's a nicer way to do that. I think what he's going for there is trying to take down the whackadoodle conspiracies with a little disarming humor (i.e. "you think I'm trying to be a dictator, but I'm not even the most powerful person in my own family, ell oh ell"), but there's got to be a better formulation there than "my wife, amirite?"
posted by middleclasstool at 5:59 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
"my wife, amirite?"
I didn't read it like that. He seemed genuinely wanting to finally spend quality and quantity time with his family. I totally identified with it. I'm a bottom-of-the-ballot elected official in my county, and have done campaign work every election cycle for several years, and being in and campaigning for office takes up an enormous amount of time. In 2008 when I was a field organizer for Obama, I was often out of town, and when I was in town I got up over an hour before my wife did, and went to bed a couple of hours after her. For several months the most time we spent together was when we went to church on Sundays, and we treasured having a quiet hour to hold hands. My wife put up with it because we are just about totally politically aligned, and she accepted that the time sacrifice was for the greater good. It still put quite a stress on our marriage, and we were newlyweds. It's a well-worn cliche that politicians drop out of office or campaigns to "spend more time with their family," but it's often really true.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:16 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
I didn't read it like that. He seemed genuinely wanting to finally spend quality and quantity time with his family. I totally identified with it. I'm a bottom-of-the-ballot elected official in my county, and have done campaign work every election cycle for several years, and being in and campaigning for office takes up an enormous amount of time. In 2008 when I was a field organizer for Obama, I was often out of town, and when I was in town I got up over an hour before my wife did, and went to bed a couple of hours after her. For several months the most time we spent together was when we went to church on Sundays, and we treasured having a quiet hour to hold hands. My wife put up with it because we are just about totally politically aligned, and she accepted that the time sacrifice was for the greater good. It still put quite a stress on our marriage, and we were newlyweds. It's a well-worn cliche that politicians drop out of office or campaigns to "spend more time with their family," but it's often really true.
posted by Cookiebastard at 7:16 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
> Now, like you, I would have loved a liberal lion, vanquishing, etc. - but I'm not sure characterizing this president as a sell-out or disappointment really does justice to what he's saying, nor how he's served.
Sell-out is not really what I'm going for, here. The question of whether national-scale politicians have "sold out" seems almost impossible to ask in an environment of so much power and intertwined corrupting interest. But yes, I am characterizing Obama as a disappointment with regards to things which matter to me (as well as the situation within which Obama has had, pragmatically, to operate as disappointing).
I don't think there's much point in belaboring this, and will step out of the thread once I have posted this comment, but I do not accept the framing that it's some kind of unreasonable fantasy not to "moderate" my understanding of subjects like extrajudicial executions, the wholesale slaughter of noncombatants, and dragnet surveillance to suit the prevailing liberal realpolitik. I wanted better. In some cases I even thought we might get it. We didn't. I don't want to diminish the brighter sides to this story, but I would rather situate them in their actual context than not.
posted by brennen at 7:33 AM on November 18, 2015
Sell-out is not really what I'm going for, here. The question of whether national-scale politicians have "sold out" seems almost impossible to ask in an environment of so much power and intertwined corrupting interest. But yes, I am characterizing Obama as a disappointment with regards to things which matter to me (as well as the situation within which Obama has had, pragmatically, to operate as disappointing).
I don't think there's much point in belaboring this, and will step out of the thread once I have posted this comment, but I do not accept the framing that it's some kind of unreasonable fantasy not to "moderate" my understanding of subjects like extrajudicial executions, the wholesale slaughter of noncombatants, and dragnet surveillance to suit the prevailing liberal realpolitik. I wanted better. In some cases I even thought we might get it. We didn't. I don't want to diminish the brighter sides to this story, but I would rather situate them in their actual context than not.
posted by brennen at 7:33 AM on November 18, 2015
Hey Obama - you disappointed me! Here I was sitting in my shorts and hoping that you will render certain fantasies I've been harboring since my teens about the big world of politics out there, but you only managed to fulfill out between 21%-28% of them.
Thanks for nothing!
posted by growabrain at 9:14 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
Thanks for nothing!
posted by growabrain at 9:14 AM on November 18, 2015 [1 favorite]
He loves telling people how much Michelle hates that he's President (the workload, etc). I don't think that's fair to her. Being First Lady is probably an awful role to play, constantly reminding people how much she hates it undermines how much work she puts into it.
I think this is a very specific way of telling people that his relationship is actually important to him. This is the first president in my memory who had a peer relationship with his partner-but the rest of the country is still not wholly on board with a partnership of equals.
posted by LuckyMonkey21 at 9:44 AM on November 18, 2015 [5 favorites]
I think this is a very specific way of telling people that his relationship is actually important to him. This is the first president in my memory who had a peer relationship with his partner-but the rest of the country is still not wholly on board with a partnership of equals.
posted by LuckyMonkey21 at 9:44 AM on November 18, 2015 [5 favorites]
ThePinkSuperhero: "He loves telling people how much Michelle hates that he's President (the workload, etc). I don't think that's fair to her."
I know this is probably wrong, but whenever I've heard Barack Obama mention how much Michelle hates that he's president, I secretly like to think that he's referring to the fact that she's had to basically put her career on hold for eight years. Remember how she had to quit her job as a VP at U. Chicago Medical Center when he started his presidential campaign?
Come to think of it, I may be even more looking forward to a post-presidency Michelle Obama than a post-presidency Barack. I think ex-presidents may have to operate under somewhat circumscribed norms once they leave office. Maybe no such restrictions hold over first ladies?
posted by mhum at 12:18 PM on November 18, 2015 [4 favorites]
I know this is probably wrong, but whenever I've heard Barack Obama mention how much Michelle hates that he's president, I secretly like to think that he's referring to the fact that she's had to basically put her career on hold for eight years. Remember how she had to quit her job as a VP at U. Chicago Medical Center when he started his presidential campaign?
Come to think of it, I may be even more looking forward to a post-presidency Michelle Obama than a post-presidency Barack. I think ex-presidents may have to operate under somewhat circumscribed norms once they leave office. Maybe no such restrictions hold over first ladies?
posted by mhum at 12:18 PM on November 18, 2015 [4 favorites]
I think ex-presidents may have to operate under somewhat circumscribed norms once they leave office. Maybe no such restrictions hold over first ladies?
I would imagine a first lady could get elected to the Senate, take a cabinet position for another administration, or even run for president.
posted by straight at 2:08 PM on November 18, 2015 [6 favorites]
I would imagine a first lady could get elected to the Senate, take a cabinet position for another administration, or even run for president.
posted by straight at 2:08 PM on November 18, 2015 [6 favorites]
I would imagine a first lady could get elected to the Senate, take a cabinet position for another administration, or even run for president.
Please?
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:31 PM on November 18, 2015
Please?
posted by Mental Wimp at 3:31 PM on November 18, 2015
omg I would obtain American citizenship to vote for Michelle Obama
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:00 PM on November 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:00 PM on November 18, 2015 [2 favorites]
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posted by eriko at 5:42 PM on November 17, 2015