Obama-Wan-Kenobi

He is The One! :)

Have seen lots of pictures of Obama that I have liked but none more endearing than this one! ;)




Learn more about what was happening here.

David vs Goliath

You puny fly...you dare irritate the supreme commander of the United freaking States! :)

;)

Role Model

Someone shared this on Facebook. A picture worth a thousand words....

Seems this little boy wanted to know if Obama's hair was like his. 

 

Viewing the world differently

Loved this picture! Would have a caption contest for it, if I had a decent readership here!

Also this one: The much photographed himself behind the camera!

 

Found them both at this link at Flickr: Behind the Scenes: 100 Days of Obama, which gleaned them from Photos by White House photographers, from the Delivering on Change set in the Official White House Photostream.

The Ears Say It All

Obama Addresses Nation Still Wearing Spock Ears ... (via Onion)

Earlier on Onion: Unusually Level-Headed, Charismatic Lichen Species Named After Obama

Earlier on this blog: The Ears Say It All

Given the boot!

Bush gets a shoe thrown at his face, Obama gets his face on a shoe!

Found this on BoingBoing!

These commemorative Obama Shoes can be yours for just $39.99. They're "easily an $80 value," according to the TV commercial.

Mr. Cool

The ears say it all!

  

“A man has no ears for that to which experience has given him no access” - Friedrich Nietzche  

More hilarious comparisons of Bush vs. Obama administration personnel with Star Wars and Star Trek characters....including Bush as Vader, Cheney as The Emperor, Rummy as Grand Moff Tarkin, and more...

I believe Maureen Dowd's called him Spock too in last week's op-ed in NYT...so, its catching on! ;)

Photo Illustration

I dreamed that Spock saved our planet, The Daily Planet of journalism.

Instead of swooping in to figure out the dimensionality and logarithms to rescue the world from red matter, as Spock does in J. J. Abrams’s dazzling new “Star Trek,” I imagined Spock rescuing read matter for the world.

Newspapers are an “endangered species,” as John Kerry called us in a Senate hearing last week, just as the Vulcans are in the new prequel. I know Barack Spock likes newspapers. An aide told me during the campaign that Mr. Obama would get cranky if he didn’t have some time set aside during the day to read The New York Times

Mr Cool tries his hand at humor

Obama's White House correspondents dinner speech.



I thought he was not as fluent as usual for some reason but he had some good jokes all through; albeit likely written by various writers. Some good ones at Biden's expense, some at Hillary Clinton's, punning beautifully on the media's fascination with Michelle's arms and even beautifully shifting blame, of course jokingly, for the Air Force One hooplah in NYC on his kids! :)

Anyways, here's the second part:



Lots of jokes related to the media's fascination with 100 days of Obama.

All in all, we're proud of the change we've brought to Washington in these first hundred days but we've got a lot of work left to do, as all of you know. So I'd like to talk a little bit about what my administration plans to achieve in the next hundred days.

During the second hundred days, we will design, build and open a library dedicated to my first hundred days. (Laughter.) It's going to be big, folks. (Laughter.) In the next hundred days, I will learn to go off the prompter and Joe Biden will learn to stay on the prompter. (Laughter.)

In the next hundred days, our bipartisan outreach will be so successful that even John Boehner will consider becoming a Democrat. After all, we have a lot in common. He is a person of color. (Laughter.) Although not a color that appears in the natural world. (Laughter.) What's up, John? (Laughter.)

In the next hundred days, I will meet with a leader who rules over millions with an iron fist, who owns the airwaves and uses his power to crush all who would challenge his authority at the ballot box. It's good to see you, Mayor Bloomberg. (Laughter.)

In the next hundred days, we will housetrain our dog, Bo, because the last thing Tim Geithner needs is someone else treating him like a fire hydrant. (Laughter.) In the next hundred days, I will strongly consider losing my cool. (Laughter.)

Finally, I believe that my next hundred days will be so successful I will be able to complete them in 72 days. (Laughter.) And on the 73rd day, I will rest. (Laughter.)

That excerpt gleaned from this transcript.

That's a brotha!

with a "swagga! CNN anchors Kyra Phillips and T.J. Holmes discuss.

Nice touch, CNN behind the scenes with the music in the background! ;)

Welcome to the White House

Let me join in the hype of the 100 days of Obamas in the White House but not with analysis and premature judgment but with these pictures of life at the White House.

Callie Shell has spent much of the past 100 days working behind the scenes to capture what life is like at the White House. Shell, who works on contract for Time magazine, has been one of a very few photographers with personal access to the Obama family since Barack Obama announced his candidacy. ...via NPR

© Callie Shell / Aurora for TIME

Welcome to the White House
The President opens the door to the Oval Office for visitors.

The NPR story has some of the stories behind the pictures, as described by Shell. The photographs are collected in a slideshow for Time, with 101 pictures, no less.

© Callie Shell / Times

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama share a moment in the Red Room of the White House along with adviser Valerie Jarrett and other staffers. "They had just a second together to say hi," says Shell, "and they have an amazing ability to tune the world out for just two seconds."

Also read the interview with Barack Obama from this weekend's NYT magazine. As always, ample proof that he gets nuance and has a way of delivering just the right words!

A Toyota that turned over its odometer

Do not watch TV and so not sure of how much MSM hyped the day yesterday but Jon Stewart said it best on the eve of the "mindless overkill" in the media to mark Obama's 100th day - it is "significant because that's when his warranty is up." Also this gem:

"Fact / Fiction / Promises / Progress ... they are all very nebulous concepts. If we are going to judge the president on an arbitrary timeframe, shouldn't we also have an arbitrary scale." 

How to judge a guy in 100 days (see after 2:30; initially some snark about Specter changing parties.)

How to Judge a Guy in 100 Days

Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

ending with this gem about judging Michelle Obama's first 100 days "stack up":

Jon does the action of shooting himself and then quips: "Its the first lady. Really? You are going to grade the first lady. f you are the first lady and you don't sit on Mr T's lap (picture of Nancy Reagon on Mr T's lap in the background), you get an A. The bar is not that high" :)

(Picture via.)

The clip is followed a short 100 Days Rockin' Eve video.


Also these two videos from yesterday's show:

Grading Obama -  Larry Wilmore never thought a black guy in charge would take all the fun out of being black.

And then Jon Stewart "puts it to bed" with an interview with Pulitzer Prize Winning Author and Presidential Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin [1], who believes Obama is in FDR territory after his first 100 days.

Jon starts this interview with this gem:

"Why are we treating him like a Toyota that turned over its odometer"

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis First 100 Days

Meanwhile on Fox News, Karl Rove - just the person to judge Obama - opines

on the "big spending liberal". Sigh! 

Also, it seems U.S. Senator Russ Feingold released a "100 Day Rule of Law Report" to examine the new administration’s efforts to reverse the Bush administration’s eight year assault on the rule of law.

[1] Goodwin's book, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, has been on my to-read list for some months now but I found her most of the humorous moments in that delightful interview come from Goodwin. Not too much snark from Jon himself. That's the greatness about his show. He riffs and indulges in great show-n-tell during the initial monologue but when interviewing, he lets the people who have come on show talk. Unlike O'Reilly and others who are on TV only to let their voices be heard; not their guests; who, if they say anything counter to the host's opinions, get talked over and if that does not work, then muted. No such hussy fits on the Daily Show. Just great humor, some snark, and a good chat to follow.

Patrick Blower at the Guardian has a livedraw animation celebrating Obama's 100 days.

Issues galore, the weight of expectations, naysayers prematurely dismissing his administration as a failure (< 7% of his 4-year tenure done to date; < 3.5% if one hopes, like I do, that he will get 8 years).

Seems...

President Obama to spend 100th day in spotlight

The White House wants you to know that Wednesday is just like any other day. 

But for those who insist on highlighting President Barack Obama's 100th day in office, the White House will play along.The president will mark Wednesday's milestone with two high-profile events, both designed to highlight the accomplishments of his fledgling administration.

And so it goes.

(Picture of Obama with Washington looming in the background is © AP/Charles Dharapak)

The crazy dog

First dog Bo Obama stars in his own children's book

Video at above link provides details of how the Obamas are finding him a "little crazy".

Details on the book from NYT:

He has already been the subject of obsessive news media coverage, and now he will be the subject of a children’s book. Bo the Portuguese water dog who recently became the first presidential pet in the Obama White House, is the star of “Bo, America’s Commander in Leash,” expected in stores by the end of the month. Mascot Books, a small independent publisher in Herndon, Va., specializing in titles based on university and school mascots, is rushing the book out to capitalize on the fervor surrounding the Obamas’ new dog. “Bo” is written by Naren Aryal, a founder of Mascot Books, and illustrated by Danny Moore, one of its employees. Mr. Aryal said he and Mr. Moore had been working on the project for about two months, leaving space for pictures of the dog, once it was chosen. Mr. Aryal said the Obamas’ two daughters aren’t named in the book because he wanted to protect their privacy.

and more via Denver Post. 

Previously, my blog post, The lucky dog, about the top dog. Leave you with this video of Bailey, the dog that played dead (on Letterman).






:)

One Man, Multiple Facets

Pulitzer Prize Winner for Feature Photography
Damon Winter, The New York Times - Awarded for his memorable array of pictures deftly capturing multiple facets of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.
Above picture: Barack Obama campaigning during a rainstorm in Chester, Pennsylvania, on October 28, 2008.

(Other than the Obamas,  all heart-breaking pictures from Haiti, Kenya, and Indonesia in that series of award winning pics. Phew!)

Also see this collection of photographs from the rotating collection at the White House. Click here to read a slide-show essay about a collection of photographs selected from the walls of the White House.

Photograph by Pete Souza/White House

These two are my favorites... I mean the pictures, not the Obamas. :)

 

Photograph by Pete Souza/White House

Michelle Obama waits as the president, background, signs the guest book upon their arrival to Prague Castle, April 5, 2009, in the Czech Republic. Photograph by Pete Souza/White House

The Obama Effect

Seems Obama has an effect on everything, including travel  to Europe this summer!

Here's some advice to Americans who still have a nice vacation budget:

Like who?  Hedge fund managers and others who made millions and do not care about the current economic woes? Anyways, lets continue to the topic at hand.

Take advantage of the "Obama Effect" and visit Europe, particularly Prague (the best bargain city). But those who detest tourist traps still might want to give Paris a good leaving-alone.

..

The Obama Effect? According to the survey, the recent election of Barack Obama has left Europe awash with rampant congeniality toward Americans. In fact, 44 percent of survey respondents suggested that Obama's election has helped gentle the condition of even the snootiest of Continental waiters and alchemized them into more amiable and thoughtful hosts.

If you really have some vacation money, go read up the articles for the survey details and suggestions for cities with bargains, tourist traps, helpful locals, and clean cities!

Words maketh the man..

.. but actions speak louder than words!

Anyways, I found this here and HAD to have it for my Obama series! :)

More typographical portraits here.

Not all about the economy

For those of you who, like me, have been worried about the economy.. worry not! Its not all about the economy.

Our cult-like loving of all things O may actually come handy when it comes to the mid-term elections.

Or so opines Nate Silver, Nate Silver, the guy who gained fame with his presidential election predictions at Fivethirtyeight.com. In an article in the Esquire about predictors to look for in the midterm congressional elections, he writes:

“Congressional elections are not all about the economy.Rather, they’re all about the president. The correlation between the president’s Gallup approval rating immediately prior to the midterms and his party’s performance has been very strong. In fact, once the president’s approval rating is accounted for, knowing about the economy doesn’t tell anything more about how to predict the outcome of the midterms. 

 

Obama better continue to keep that approval rating right up there in the mid 60s! :) Btw, it seems  President Barack Obama averages a 63% approval rating for his first quarter in office -- the highest since President Jimmy Carter.

Of Presidential Pets & Broken Promises

Why did I have a feeling someone would make a big hue-and-cry about this!

Is Bo a rescued dog or not? Did President Obama keep or break a campaign promise in picking the purebred as the family's new pet?

Focus on "campaign promises" that really matter - let this one slide, guys!!

P.S. Newsweek has an interesting gallery of presidential pets over the years, including incredulous pictures of a horse and many sheep on the White House lawns + a goat pulling a cart with the President's grand-kids + the story of a cow that grazed on the White House lawn!

Also read about Lincoln's unfortunate pet, Fido, who was "assassinated" a year before Lincoln's death - killed by a drunken man who Fido had started licking!
-
"If you want a friend in this town, get a dog." - Harry Truman

The Obama Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Obama ice-cream!!

This handout from Russian advertising agency Voskhod shows a smiling, cartoonish black man flashing the victory sign in front of the US capital building, along with the Russian slogan: "Everyone's talking about it: dark inside white!" Obama ice cream, anyone? Chocolate-vanilla ice cream is one of several Russian products being marketed using Obama even as critics call the ads racist.(© AFP/VOSKHOD-HO/File)

More than racist, this is a lack of cultural sensitivity perhaps?

The lucky dog

And there he is!

In this undated photo released by the White House, the Obama family's new dog, Bo, a 6-month-old Portuguese water dog, is shown at the White House in Washington.

(©AP Photo/The White House, Pete Souza)