Happy Birthday, Mr. President! Obama Turns 50

Today is President Barack Obama's birthday. He is now 50 years old, and as pointed out at HuffPo, he's still the youngest candidate for president in 2012. HuffPo has posted a slide show of pictures of Obama from a child onward.

I'm posting my link to memories of the good times, such as when he was first elected and there was more talk of him being "cool" than of him being a man of compromise. Lately, a lot more people are writing him off as a one-term president. Unfortunately for all of us in America, it's doubtful that anyone could have done any better. The world has changed, as Obama tried to tell people in his State of the Union address this year, but I don't think some people are ready to hear that message and how America fits in a global economy or what the conservatives' push for privatization is doing to this nation.

Weird picture of President Barack Obama with hankie from Great Britain paper

This picture of President Barack Obama from TimesOnline, Great Britain, is so odd that I wondered if was the president or one of his look-a-likes. He looks tired and drawn, but we expect our presidents to show more wear and tear than the average bear after a while. Still, it's an odd picture that I haven't seen elsewhere. Even placement of the hand with the hankie looks odd.


There's no photo credit with the picture either. It is posted with a story about Obama's troubles with shutting down Guantanamo Bay and his potential to key campaign promises as he tries to do what he thinks is right. So, it's the right picture to go with the story, but when was the photo taken and who took it? It's definitely not one of his O-cool shots.

Obama Talks to Pirate, Accepts Peter Pan Book

It's the gift that keeps on giving, the video and transcript of President Barack Obama's speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner. He kept me chuckling Saturday night as I watched on CSPAN.

Here's is the excerpt of his "stand-up routine" that explains the picture below:

And of course we've also begun to change America's image in the world. We talked about this during this campaign and we're starting to execute. We've renewed alliances with important partners and friends. If you look on the screen there, there I am with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. There I am with Gordon Brown.

But as I said during the campaign, we can't just talk to our friends. As hard as it is, we also have to talk to our enemies, and I've begun to do exactly that. Take a look at the monitor there. (Laughter as audience sees president with pirate.)

Now, let me be clear, just because he handed me a copy of Peter Pan does not mean that I'm going to read it -- (laughter) -- but it's good diplomatic practice to just accept these gifts. (See video and read speech here.)

Thank you, CBS, for getting the picture posted. I've been waiting for someone to get it to the Net. The network has its own amusing tale to go with the photo that begins with what will historians in the far future think who find this photo?

I like that Obama can poke fun at himself. That's a sign of good mental health.

What did Obama say about Rahm Emanuel's mother?

People have been hitting this blog frequently searching for President Barack Obama's joke about Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's difficulty saying "Mother's Day." The president made the joke during a speech Saturday night at the White House Correspondents Dinner, which aired on C-SPAN. Some folks are confused and think Obama made a joke about Emanuel's mother.

I watched the dinner, tweeted about it under #nerdprom and #whcd at Twitter, and the president did not make a joke about Rahm Emanuel's mother.  (And yes, in the video below of his speech, that is Ashton Kutcher and his wife Demi Moore in the audience .)

What the president said about Mother's Day and Rahm Emanuel was, "This is a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because he's not used to saying the word 'day' after 'mother.'"

The joke was part of President Obama's continuing ribbing of his Chief of Staff about his temper and his tendency to use profanity. It's a running theme as Obama made similar jokes at a 2005 roast of Emanuel, including the chief's propensity to use the "F" word. See that video here in which the president made an even funnier crack that Emanuel losing part of his middle finger rendered him mute.

Read related posts: Sarah Palin's Insincerity and
Palin, Rush, & the "R" Word.

Also, there's an idea that Obama is calm and cool, and Emanuel is hot-blooded and feisty, images spoofed in the Saturday Night Live skit "The Rock Obama."

So, for the people hitting this blog who say they don't get the Mother's Day Rahm Emanuel joke, I'll explain it. The president means that Emanuel is in the habit of calling people "motherf*cker" and so when saying Mother's Day he has to be careful not to say the word he normally says after "mother." You're excused if you didn't get the joke. It probably means you don't know people who use foul language.



Here is the full transcript of the president's speech.

For Immediate Release May 10, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AT WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' ASSOCIATION DINNER

May 9, 2009

Washington Hilton
Washington, D.C.

9:56 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Good evening. You know, I had an entire speech prepared for this wonderful occasion, but now that I'm here I think I'm going to try something a little different. Tonight I want to speak from the heart. I'm going to speak off the cuff. (Teleprompters rise.) (Laughter and applause.)

Good evening. (Laughter.) Pause for laughter. (Laughter.) Wait a minute, this may not be working as well as I -- (laughter.) Let me try that again.

Good evening, everybody. (Applause.) I would like to welcome you all to the 10-day anniversary of my first 100 days. (Laughter.) I am Barack Obama. Most of you covered me. All of you voted for me. (Laughter and applause.) Apologies to the Fox table. (Laughter.) They're -- where are they? I have to confess I really did not want to be here tonight, but I knew I had to come -- just one more problem that I've inherited from George W. Bush. (Laughter.)

But now that I'm here, it's great to be here. It's great to see all of you. Michelle Obama is here, the First Lady of the United States. (Applause.) Hasn't she been an outstanding First Lady? (Applause.) She's even begun to bridge the differences that have divided us for so long, because no matter which party you belong to we can all agree that Michelle has the right to bare arms. (Laughter and applause.)

Now Sasha and Malia aren't here tonight because they're grounded. You can't just take Air Force One on a joy ride to Manhattan. (Laughter.) I don't care whose kids you are. (Laughter.) We've been setting some ground rules here. They're starting to get a little carried away.

Now, speaking -- when I think about children obviously I think about Michelle and it reminds me that tomorrow is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the audience. (Applause.) I do have to say, though, that this is a tough holiday for Rahm Emanuel because he's not used to saying the word "day" after "mother." (Laughter.) That's true. (Laughter.)

David Axelrod is here. You know, David and I have been together for a long time. I can still remember -- I got to sort of -- I tear up a little bit when I think back to that day that I called Ax so many years ago and said, you and I can do wonderful things together. And he said to me the same thing that partners all across America are saying to one another right now: Let's go to Iowa and make it official. (Laughter and applause.)

Michael Steele is in the house tonight. (Applause.) Or as he would say, "in the heezy." (Laughter.) What's up? (Laughter.) Where is Michael? Michael, for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. (Laughter.) Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry. (Laughter.)

Dick Cheney was supposed to be here but he is very busy working on his memoirs, tentatively titled, "How to Shoot Friends and Interrogate People." (Laughter.)

You know, it's been a whirlwind of activity these first hundred days. We've enacted a major economic recovery package, we passed a budget, we forged a new path in Iraq, and no President in history has ever named three Commerce Secretaries this quickly. (Laughter.) Which reminds me, if Judd Gregg is here, your business cards are ready now. (Laughter.)

On top of that, I've also reversed the ban on stem cell research, signed an expansion -- (applause) -- signed an expansion of the children's health insurance. Just last week, Car and Driver named me auto executive of the year. (Laughter.) Something I'm very proud of.

We've also begun to change the culture in Washington. We've even made the White House a place where people can learn and can grow. Just recently, Larry Summers asked if he could chair the White House Council on Women and Girls. (Laughter.) And I do appreciate that Larry is here tonight because it is seven hours past his bedtime. (Laughter.) Gibbs liked that one. (Laughter.)

In the last hundred days, we've also grown the Democratic Party by infusing it with new energy and bringing in fresh, young faces like Arlen Specter. (Laughter.) Now, Joe Biden rightly deserves a lot of credit for convincing Arlen to make the switch, but Secretary Clinton actually had a lot to do with it too. One day she just pulled him aside and she said, Arlen, you know what I always say -- "if you can't beat them, join them." (Laughter.)

Which brings me to another thing that's changed in this new, warmer, fuzzier White House, and that's my relationship with Hillary. You know, we had been rivals during the campaign, but these days we could not be closer. In fact, the second she got back from Mexico she pulled into a hug and gave me a big kiss. (Laughter.) Told me I'd better get down there myself. (Laughter.) Which I really appreciated. I mean, it was -- it was nice. (Laughter.)

And of course we've also begun to change America's image in the world. We talked about this during this campaign and we're starting to execute. We've renewed alliances with important partners and friends. If you look on the screen there, there I am with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso. There I am with Gordon Brown.

But as I said during the campaign, we can't just talk to our friends. As hard as it is, we also have to talk to our enemies, and I've begun to do exactly that. Take a look at the monitor there. (Laughter.) Now, let me be clear, just because he handed me a copy of Peter Pan does not mean that I'm going to read it -- (laughter) -- but it's good diplomatic practice to just accept these gifts.

All this change hasn't been easy. Change never is. So I've cut the tension by bringing a new friend to the White House. He's warm, he's cuddly, loyal, enthusiastic. You just have to keep him on a tight leash. Every once in a while he goes charging off in the wrong direction and gets himself into trouble. But enough about Joe Biden. (Laughter.)

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.)

I just -- I want to end by saying a few words about the men and women in this room whose job it is to inform the public and pursue the truth. You know, we meet tonight at a moment of extraordinary challenge for this nation and for the world, but it's also a time of real hardship for the field of journalism. And like so many other businesses in this global age, you've seen sweeping changes and technology and communications that lead to a sense of uncertainty and anxiety about what the future will hold.
Across the country, there are extraordinary, hardworking journalists who have lost their jobs in recent days, recent weeks, recent months. And I know that each newspaper and media outlet is wrestling with how to respond to these changes, and some are struggling simply to stay open. And it won't be easy. Not every ending will be a happy one.

But it's also true that your ultimate success as an industry is essential to the success of our democracy. It's what makes this thing work. You know, Thomas Jefferson once said that if he had the choice between a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, he would not hesitate to choose the latter.

Clearly, Thomas Jefferson never had cable news to contend with -- (laughter) -- but his central point remains: A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts, is not an option for the United States of America. (Applause.)

So I may not -- I may not agree with everything you write or report. I may even complain, or more likely Gibbs will complain, from time to time about how you do your jobs, but I do so with the knowledge that when you are at your best, then you help me be at my best. You help all of us who serve at the pleasure of the American people do our jobs better by holding us accountable, by demanding honesty, by preventing us from taking shortcuts and falling into easy political games that people are so desperately weary of.

And that kind of reporting is worth preserving -- not just for your sake, but for the public's. We count on you to help us make sense of a complex world and tell the stories of our lives the way they happen, and we look for you for truth, even if it's always an approximation, even if -- (laughter.)

This is a season of renewal and reinvention. That is what government must learn to do, that's what businesses must learn to do, and that's what journalism is in the process of doing. And when I look out at this room and think about the dedicated men and women whose questions I've answered over the last few years, I know that for all the challenges this industry faces, it's not short on talent or creativity or passion or commitment. It's not short of young people who are eager to break news or the not-so-young who still manage to ask the tough ones time and time again. These qualities alone will not solve all your problems, but they certainly prove that the problems are worth solving. And that is a good place as any to begin.

So I offer you my thanks, I offer you my support, and I look forward to working with you and answering to you and the American people as we seek a more perfect union in the months and years ahead.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.)

Obama ribbed quite a few people, as you can see, including Republican National Chair Michael Steele about Steele's attempts to sound hip. He also joked about FLOTUS Michelle Obama being sleeveless, suggested that Sasha and Malia stole Air Force One and created the ruckus over Manhattan, cracked a gay marriage joke, and poked Vice President Joe Biden's trouble with putting his foot in his mouth.

President Obama ribs Emanuel in a way similar to how Bush used to rib Dick Cheney, his vice president. 

Related Links:

• President Obama roasts Rahm Emanuel, 2005
  
• President Obama's humor, Alfalfa Club dinner, 2009
  

Obama Rattled? Scrutinizing the President's Cool

He's known as the epitome of cool, but as I watched President Barack H. Obama answer the first question tonight during the press conference, a question that challenged whether the economic crisis is as dire as he says and potentially irreversible if his plan is not accepted, he looked a little rattled. The question suggested that President Obama may be may be a Henny Penny/Chicken Little, and I thought the president seemed slightly defensive. That realization made think that the negotiations for the stimulus package are stressing him out a tad, but stress is normal in war.

Obama's exceptional at swaying opinions to his corner, but his persuasive gifts may not be enough to move some Republicans and possibly even some Democrats with hidden agendas to his side. I'm thinking now of a passage in his book The Audacity of Hope in which he says then President George W. Bush gave him advice. Obama was a young senator then:

According to Obama's account, Bush went on to offer the new U.S. senator from Illinois a little advice. "You've got a bright future," Bush said, according to the book. "Very bright. But I've been in this town for a while and, let me tell you, it can be tough. When you get a lot of attention like you've been getting, people start gunnin' for ya.

"And it won't necessarily be coming from my side, you understand," Bush continued. "From yours, too. Everybody'll be waiting for you to slip, know what I mean? So watch yourself."

"Thanks for the advice, Mr. President," Obama responded. (WaPo)

President Obama is soooo optimistic at times, but I'm sure he'd say he's also a realist. Further, he describes himself as having an even mood and not easily unnerved, and people who've know him well say this assessment is accurate.

Nevertheless, he'll need to be more careful in his responses and follow the K.I.S.S. method more in answering questions. If he doesn't simplify and we hear too often a hint of insecurity, then I foresee him experiencing what the fictional President Whitmore in the movie Independence Day experienced. A fictionalized American media that once spoke of Whitmore's great vision and the value of his youth switched to likening him to the fictional character Oliver Twist, to a little boy going up to the big guys asking "Please, sir, I want some more."

Here's an excerpt of from that movie's script:

INT. BREAKFAST TABLE - CONTINUOUS

Two servants are preparing breakfast as Whitmore and Constance
enter. Whitmore sits down, grabs a coffee.

WHITMORE
You're up early this morning,
Connie.

She tosses him one of the many newspapers in her hands.

CONSTANCE
They're not attacking your
policies, they're attacking your
age.
(another paper; reading)
"...addressing Congress, Whitmore
seems less like the President and
more like the orphan child Oliver
asking, 'please sir, I'd like some
more.'"

WHITMORE
Clever.

CONSTANCE
Age was never an issue when you
stuck to your gun. You were
thought of as young and
idealistic. But the message has
gotten lost. There's too much
compromise, too much politics.

WHITMORE
(pointedly)
Isn't it amazing how fast everyone
can turn against you.

Realizing she may be pushing him too far, she hands him
another paper.

CONSTANCE
Well, the Orange County Register
has named you one of the ten
sexiest men of the year.

WHITMORE
You see, substance at last

Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Come to think of it, Obama's been pegged as sexy as well, just like Whitmore.

The good thing for us Americans here is that Oliver came out on top, and President Whitmore turned out to be a genuine hero who shone for the American people during a crisis.

Here's a clip from that movie where President Whitmore gives an important speech. If you ignore that it's not the 4th of July today, think of Republicans as attacking aliens, and replace the word "world" with "America," the speech almost fits this moment. Almost.



Seriously though, Obama's stimulus package is part bailout and has deserved the scrutiny it gets.

Hmm, I like the compliment he gave to veteran journalist Helen Thomas, saying that it was his inaugural moment to have her ask him a question. Then that whipper-snapper, Sam Stein of The Huffington Post got to ask a question.

If Obama's administration really is going to examine all viable approaches, then I applaud that. Was it just me, or did you also get the image of crap being flushed when he spoke of removing "ideological blockage."

Obama On Cover of Spider-Man Comic Book Special Edition

Obama's on posters, coins, plates, T-shirts, magazine covers and now his likeness is on a comic book. According to the above CNN video and other sources, President-elect Barack Obama is a fan of the superhero Spider-man, and so, as a gesture in honor of his inauguration, Marvel Comics is featuring the President-elect in its January 14 issue #583 of "The Amazing Spider-Man." USA Today also has the story and a sampling of the comic book's panels.

Obama has said he collected Spider-Man comics as a child, and fellow comic book enthusiasts are excited about the prospect of having one of their own in the White House.

“How great is that? The commander in chief to be is actually a nerd in chief,” John Quesada, Marvel’s editor in chief, told the Associated Press. “It was really, really cool to see that we had a geek in the White House. We’re all thrilled with that.” (Wall Street Journal)

Check out the fist bump action in the image above at left. You'll see the cover at the end of this post.

CNN's Alina Cho said political analysts are saying this is a honeymoon period for the President-elect that won't last. He should enjoy the admiration now.

Al-Qaida: Obama a 'House Negro'

Per several news sources, Al-Qaida's second-in-command called President-elect Barack Obama, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of State Colin Powell "house Negroes," comparing them unfavorably to Malcom X (El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), an African-American leader and Muslim who was assassinated in 1965. In 1964, Malcolm X converted from the splintered form of Islam practiced by the Nation of Islam (Black American Muslims) and converted to traditional Islam, taking the name El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

At that time he adopted a less combative attitude toward Caucasians, but possibly was not as conciliatory as some sources report because some people believe he may have only embraced brotherhood with whites who were Muslim, not all whites. However, as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, he shook off some of the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam of racial separation and that all whites were devils.

In his own words:

Each hour here in the Holy Land enables me to have greater spiritual insights into what is happening in America between black and white. The American Negro never can be blamed for his racial animosities -- he is only reacting to four hundred years of the conscious racism of the American whites. But as racism leads America up the suicide path I do believe, from the experiences that I have had with them, that the whites of the younger generation, in the colleges and universities, will see the handwriting on the wall and many of them will turn to the spiritual path of truth -- the only way left to America to ward off the disaster that racism inevitably must lead to. . . .

I believe that God now is giving the world's so-called 'Christian' white society its last opportunity to repent and atone for the crimes of exploiting and enslaving the world's non-white peoples. It is exactly as when God gave Pharaoh a chance to repent. But Pharaoh persisted in his refusal to give justice to those who he oppressed. And, we know, God finally destroyed Pharaoh. (Malcolm X as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, source)

It's speculated Malcolm X's change of heart and move toward a "universalistic" message led in part to his assassination. Others believe his assassination resulted from a power struggle.

According to the HuffPo story, Al-Quaida's Ayman al-Zawahri condemned Obama via an 11-minute 23-second video which also included clips of old Malcolm X speeches discussing the term House Negro.

Speaking in Arabic, al-Zawahri uses the term "abeed al-beit," which literally translates as "house slaves." But al-Qaida supplied English subtitles of his speech that included the translation as "house Negroes."

The message also includes old footage of speeches by Malcolm X in which he explains the term, saying black slaves who worked in their white masters' house were more servile than those who worked in the fields. Malcolm X used the term to criticize black leaders he accused of not standing up to whites.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the latest message was just "more despicable comments from a terrorist."

The Al-Qaida message further berated Obama for dishonoring his father's blood. In a Bloomberg News story, al-Zawahri is quoted saying Obama turned his back on his father's faith to "pray the prayer of the Jews" and to claim the Christian faith for political gain.

Reading the bit about Obama's father, I thought but Barack Obama also gets his name from his father, Barack meaning "blessed," so may God's blessing be a shield against this nonsense. Obama's father, btw, while born into a Muslim family, may not have been Muslim.

"Things are dwelt on that in our family are non-issues," said Auma. "His [Barack's] father was never a Muslim although he was born into a Muslim family with a Muslim name. He [Barack] himself was never a Muslim." (The Guardian)

As unforgiving as words in the Al-Qaida video seem, the speech stopped short of specific threats to America. More from HuffPo:

He said Obama's plan to shift troops to Afghanistan is doomed to failure, because Afghans will resist.

"Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them," he said.

Al-Zawahri did not threaten specific attacks, but warned Obama that he was "facing a Jihadi (holy war) awakening and renaissance which is shaking the pillars of the entire Islamic world; and this is the fact which you and your government and country refuse to recognize and pretend not to see."

He said Obama's victory showed Americans acknowledged that President George W. Bush's policies were a failure and that the result was an "admission of defeat in Iraq." (HuffPo)

I wonder how these insults play with people who bought Sarah Palin's accusations that Obama "pals around with terrorists." While her accusations were based on Obama's think association with a man accused of domestic terrorism, she pushed her supporters to equate Obama with foreign terrorists. Perhaps her ilk will assume Al-Qaida's only putting on a show for us.

Closing

Here is YouTube of Malcom X explaining the psychology of the house Negro. You can listen to a full speech on this subject that he gave in 1963, more than a year before his conversion to traditional Islam, at American Rhetoric.



It's a good thing the President-elect is known for being so even-tempered and cool-headed because he'll be attacked from all sides. We Americans should have the good sense to rally around him and pray for him daily, and that includes black people who might buy into the belief that Obama is a house Negro.

I do not think Obama is a house Negro, but Nov. 5 comments from Independent Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader suggest he may give Al=Qaida's grievance credence. After the election Nader suggested that Obama leans toward being an Uncle Tom. He queried "Will he be Uncle Sam or Uncle Tom?" (Uncle Tom is the quintessential house Negro.)

Nader attempted to explain himself on Fox News, no less, information I found via The Opinion Mill, where Steve Hart calls Fox News, Fox Noise.



I guess al-Zawahri, perhaps due to his isolation, and Nader, for other reasons, didn't get the memo that America's exploring a possible post-racial existence. Some people think this means a color-blind, racism-is-dead world. But before you swallow that view, please see Dr. Cornell West's definition of "post-racial" in this post. We may be progressing, but we're still human.

I think Rush Limbaugh also missed the memo that America wants to move onward and upward. In fact, Limbaugh and al-Zawhri seem to have a something in common; they both spout divisive propaganda and prefer to stir up confusion to further their own agendas.

Apparently the Al-Qaida message also warns:

The speaker reminded Americans that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden told them to leave Muslim lands.

Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri are believed to be living in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

"So choose for yourself whatever you like," the speaker warns. "And bear the consequences of your choice, and as you judge, you will be judged." (CNN)

How's that for ominous?

However we feel about the term "house Negro" and whether it applies to our President-elect, Al-Qaida's latest message should raise a different big question in our heads, one CNN correspondent Peter Bergen asks, "Where is Osama bin Laden?"

Obama with Babes and More on the Cool Factor with Warmth

Barack Obama, the first African-American to have a good chance at becoming President of the United States of America, is a cool guy. I don't mean cool as in "hey dude, he's all right." I mean he's got savoir faire mixed with a dash of je ne se quois that makes people see him and think he's bigger than life, sort of, and as I've said before, like a movie star or a rock star. Yet, his aura shouts "reliable and trustworthy," the rock without the roll.

Increasingly more people are fascinated by Obama cool, and I think that's why folks keep searching for "Obama cool" and hitting my blog. They sense the desirable side of chill and want to understand it, and since I've written about Obama's coolness before while talking about his Ebony cover for the "black cool" issue, Google sends searchers to this blog, WSATA.

Don't get me wrong. I know Obama's only human (another post with an Obama cool picture), and I've stated that before, acknowledging that he makes mistakes and has flaws. We must recognize that to avoid falling into idol worship, which can only lead to disaster in terms of feeding a leader's ego. While Obama's got the goods to convince Gen. Colin Powell he's "steady" and even an ultra conservative to trust him at the controls, he's still a politician, one of a troublesome breed that always bears watching. Nevertheless, people keep using the adjectives "cool" and "cool-headed" to describe him, most declaring that trait good in a leader.

It's Obama's coolness factor and how people respond to him, show up in mass to see him, that caused John McCain to run those stupid ads comparing Obama to actual celebrities like Paris Hilton in an attempt to trivialize Obama. The ad declared Obama to be "the biggest celebrity in the world."

But when people who admire the Illinois senator compare his reception to that of a celebrity, they don't mean it as an insult. However, some people who support Obama hear the movie star or rock star comparison and don't like it. That's understandable given the image of entertainers, but as I explained in comments to one reader on my post about Obama's Berlin speech, the comparison is about how people respond to him and love him and is not a jibe to deem him insignificant.

Rock star is a reference to his charisma and how many people seem to simply adore him or who want to get one look at him in person or hear him speak live. Let's face it. He's saying something people want to hear and that they feel they've not heard from a political leader in a long time, or if they've heard it, this is the first time they've believed it!

Obama seems to be affecting people emotionally in ways that no other politician has done in quite sometime. So, I and others have used the rock star analogy to capture this side of his appeal. It does not mean that people don't take him seriously. In fact, he draws these crowds because people do take him seriously. (from Berlin speech comments)

In Berlin he drew more than 250,000 people, and recently here in the states he attracted 100,000 in Missouri. Not many rock stars can claim those kinds of appearance numbers.

Babies for Obama?

I've covered the coolness. Let's move on to Obama's warmth. It's a tradition that politicians hug and kiss lots of babies. It helps their likability factor, especially with women. Studies have shown that women think men are more responsible and sexier too when they see them holding children.

Knowing the history of politicians lifting babes, I got a kick out of the slide show at Huffington Post, "Babies for Obama". Here's one of the pictures credited to Getty and featured in the slide show.


The photos in the slide show are adorable, and in each and everyone Obama seems natural, authentically him. Well, he is a family man, even McCain's acknowledged that much.

But it takes more than good photos with babies to convince voters you're a good guy. Fortunately for Obama, voters can look at his relationship with his wife Michelle Obama. Behavior experts have written that the value of a happily married President should not be underestimated. And the Obamas do look happy. Their anniversary slide show is heartwarming.

In addition to watching Obama and his relationship with his wife, seeing how he interacts with his daughters, hearing his heart on helping people and this nation, we also get a blast of warmth from Obama when he smiles. A facial expressions on CNN called Obama's smile a secret weapon; it's genuine joy traveling from the corners of his mouth to his eyes (video).

Yesterday we saw further evidence that Obama values family and relationships. He's left the campaign trail temporarily to be with his grandmother in Hawaii, Madelyn Payne who is pictured here in 1979 hugging her grandson following his high school graduation. The older man is Obama's grandfather, Stanley Armour Dunham. The Obama campaign supplied The Chicago Tribune and other news outlets with the photo shown here.

Payne, 85, reportedly broke her hip, a serious injury for an elderly female. According to the AP and other sources, Obama credits his grandmother as the woman who helped raised him, sometimes doing without herself to care for him, while his mother traveled the world. CNN reports that Michelle Obama will stand in for her husband at certain speaking engagements.

His trip to see his grandmother shows Obama's strength of character. A man who has the courage to leave the campaign trail for two days to check on the woman who helped raise him is unselfish, not a grasping, power-hungry fool. It also shows us that Obama honestly believes that family is important and he values people and knows how to love. We need a man like that in the White House, someone who will do what's best for his national family and not himself. (Recently updated to correct my typo I caught when Morra Aarons Mele quoted this post. Argh. :-])

Barack Obama and Black Cool

What are you, a cop or a model?



The last time I remarked on Obama's coolness factor was on my Barack Obama is only human post. He looks so ready for The Matrix in the picture on that post and in this Ebony shot. I learned of the August Ebony cover that features Obama wearing shades as he steps from a limo at ShallowNation.

Since Oprah dubbed Obama "The One,", then I guess if he's got Matrix cool, then he'd be Neo and not Morpheus, the leading black character in the movie. Oprah, btw, took a lot of flack for calling Obama "The One," but I don't think she's sweating that. Her reference to The One, however, was not a Matrix reference. The media mogul was alluding to The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and how the elderly woman would look at black babies and ask, "Is you the one?" Pittman meant the one destined to bring black people to equality.

Nevertheless, if you're the first black man in American history to have a believable chance at winning the presidency, then maybe you really have, like Neo, followed the rabbit down the hole. Will Obama's coolness be an issue in the election? After all, he is running against the antithesis of cool when it comes to exuding charisma.

Furthermore, being cool is not seen as a good thing by socially conservative people. I mean, James Dean was considered cool and his most memorable character is a Rebel Without a Cause.

But Obama definitely has a cause. So, perhaps he's a little like Neo and also like Mr. Tibbs, Sidney Poitier's character in "In the Heat of the Night." Oh, oh! One of that movie's most memorable scenes is Tibbs having the audacity to slap a rich white man in the face after the man slaps him. The white man is offended that Tibbs, a negro, would dare question him regarding a crime. Tibbs' action scares the hell out of the white southern sheriff played by Rod Steiger.



That "In the Heat of the Night" scene was considered scandalous back in 1967, a black man standing up and considering himself equal to a white man to the point where he'd slap him back! I remember the impression it had on me as a child. My mouth dropped open

I think if you're genuinely cool and not just surface cool, then you'll stand up for yourself and the people you love. You won't let others steal your dignity. Obama, however, is supposedly trying to move closer to the center. Center means less of a rebel. Maybe he's going to downplay the cool now.

Nevertheless, in Ebony, the presidential hopeful is listed as one of the "The 25 Coolest Brothers Of All Time." According to another site, Poitier is also on Ebony's 25 coolest brothers list.

When I saw the Ebony cover, this clip () from the movie Bad Boys II popped into my head in which Martin Lawrence's character, Detective Marcus Burnett, asks his partner Mike Lowrey (played by Will Smith, who's starring as Hancock in theaters now), "What are you, a cop or a model?"

In this case, replace the word "cop" with "presidential candidate." Will Smith's character, Mike, responds, "Hey, don't hate the player, hate the game."

I've been amused at how Obama's being treated as much like a movie star or a rock star as he is like a candidate. He's even got something like groupies. So far I know personally of two white females, political professionals, who've temporarily left their day jobs to volunteer for his campaign. One's a spin mama and the other is a Web diva. I know of loads more people, male and female, black and white, who've gone Obamarama. I guess we'll all know in November whether smarts and charisma can really move you to the highest elected position in America.

The August issue of Ebony also features Prince, a favorite of mine, as one of the 25 coolest brothers of all time.

Tags: [Ebony], [Barack Obama], [politics], [Prince], [entertainment]