The President would like you to get into the game
I’ve watched this half a dozen times. It’s fascinating. For one thing: where are they? This is what I’d expect if Washington was nuked and the President had to make a speech from a cable-access studio in suburban Baltimore.
Two: no tie? I’m old-fashioned. I like my Presidents - and he is my President - to wear a tie, unless he is splitting wood. I'd like to think Presidents have a pre-knotted tie draped over the Red Phone to Moscow, so when it rings at 3 AM he can put it on and cinch it up. A man thinks differently when there's the soft fist of the masculine uniform pressing against his throat.
Three: so this election is about our future and our children’s future, eh? That certainly distinguishes it from every previous electoral contest.
Four: apparently the tide of defeat can be turned back by “knockin’ on doors.” If they also decide to start “ringin’ doorbells,” maybe they can hold the House.
Finally: 2008 had Grecian columns. 2012 may need Grecian Formula. He’s going totally grey.
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Jul '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
You watched that six times?!
You're way kinkier than I knew.
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Three times to watch his face when he's not talking. And three times to figure out why she wore that outfit.
Jul '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Yeah, but did you, you know....chain yourself to the wall of your dungeon while you watched?
Aug '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
James Lileks:
Two: no tie?
What? The President has no tie, you say? Sorry, I'm still distracted by the wonky lacing on the First Lady's bodice-cardigan (or whatever it is).
Lacing like that is supposed to have a V shape, wider at the top than the bottom, to emphasize the female hourglass. Her lacing does the opposite, being narrower at the top than the bottom, like an A rather than a V. This is an insult to the female form.
And totally unnecessary, too, because despite the way she dresses, she doesn't have a bad figure. Lots of women with figures far worse than hers dress less awkwardly.
Though I do sometimes wonder whether First Ladies have to sign some sort of mandatory frumpiness contract.
Jul '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Though I do sometimes wonder whether First Ladies have to sign some sort of mandatory frumpiness contract. · Oct 20 at 10:32pm
I think at this point Michelle has been so wildly overpraised for her style and elegance, that now she's just messing with them.
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
What you guys don't see is that Michelle's outfit speaks to all of America. She's just like us! Except she wears her teddy upside down over a sad blouse that her blind aunt gave her three Christmases ago.
Sep '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
"We'd like to ask you and all those imaginary Americans that helped push us over the top last time to come out in force and recruit many more imaginary Americans to help ensure an imaginary future for the imaginary America we've envisioned from the start."
Oct '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
OK, it's time to mini-fisk this.
"People are getting fired up"
Surely you mean the GOP side. The 10-2-10 rally had all the energy of the spawned-out salmon washed up on our riverbeds this time of year. The Colbert/Stewart rally at the end of this month is expected to gather only 65,000--and I suspect most of them will be trick-or-treaters.
"...there's so much at stake right now, for our future and for our children's future..."
"Our"=Family Obama. Gotcha.
"Each of you can make a difference...we know it, we've seen it before, and we know we can do it again"
Eggs, fingers, racial and sexist epithets...keep it classy, Dems.
"...volunteer shifts..."
That ain't how your Union base works. Just make sure they clean up after themselves this time.
"It isn't about one vote, or one party"
By "party," do you mean "DNC" or the Wednesday Night "Hey Jude" sing-a-longs?
Oct '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Midget Faded Rattlesnake
Lacing like that is supposed to have a V shape, wider at the top than the bottom, to emphasize the female hourglass. Her lacing does the opposite, being narrower at the top than the bottom, like an A rather than a V. This is an insult to the female form.
*Cough* OK, let me put a...theoretical case in front of you. Let's say I have this friend...well, not really a friend, since I've never really met her...but her figure is, well, how can I put this politely...like a gourd?
Have any advice for her? I mean, she's loaded...wait, I didn't mean like that...I meant in terms of a faaaaaat...erm...wallet...yeah. Though she doesn't carry it in her back pocket...oh, dear.
I mean, she wears $500 sneakers to dig up plastic veggies. So, money is no object.
Any fashion advice to give her?
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Ties, and a certain corresponding formality of address, are important in certain contexts. For example, the only time when I am "Dr. Savage" and absolutely need to be wearing a tie (or surgical scrubs) is when I'm seeing a patient. The American enchantment with informality only goes so far. You'll understand the next time you are wheeled into the emergency department by your physician "Fred," who is attired in a tie-dyed T-shirt. The overall effect doesn't really inspire confidence.
I think presidents should follow the same playbook.
Jul '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Where are they? Probably at a polling place. They're doing the polling circuit.
May '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
The problem, George, is that the last time this particular surgeon was professionally attired he removed have our vital organs during a tonsillectomy. His casually dressed message today is, "Don't worry. I won't do that again."
Sep '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Its nice of the US President to resort to a cavecam like he's hiding out in the Tora Bora from US Special Forces and hoping the Tea Party bunker buster doesn't hit his acorn stuffed voter rolls that he's carrying in his inside breast pocket next to his necktie. If he'd been raised as a Muslim, I'd create some sort of Iowahawk style parody. Also, I'm getting a very odd bodice ripping vibe from the US First Lady that disturbs me.
Aug '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Moochelle looks like a football that's splitting its laces, and our....President (!?!?)...... looks like the Salesman of the Year at the Ruckersville Hyundai dealership.
We're in a heap o'trouble, ladies and gentlemen.
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
I was struck by how wooden they both were. It was obvious that they were reading from a teleprompter. It reminded me a bit of what I used to see in the classroom at the University of Tulsa when I asked a freshman to read a passage from a book. Usually, the freshman managed to get through it without stumbling over the words but there was rarely any expression in his voice.
Sep '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
There's an old SCTV late night skit (Dialing for Dollars?) that this bit reminds me of. Perhaps Rob Long or James Lileks can remember.
Aug '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
I can't get past the screen grab to press the play button. I am afraid that she'll spit some of the nails in her mouth at me.
Aug '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Jeremias Heidefelder
*Cough* OK, let me put a...theoretical case in front of you. Let's say I have this friend...
Basically, however you might fall short of the ideal form, it's a matter of revealing your good points while not drawing undue attention to your flaws.
I've seen lots of gourd-shaped ladies dressed in a charming and dignified manner. Their clothing revealed what was flattering and avoided, for example, binding or wrinkling over a "problem area", or whatever else might draw the eye unnecessarily to that spot. Artful draping... choosing the waistline carefully... It can be done, especially by those with money.
If the lady wishes to, she might wear a girdle or corset underneath for some occasions (not that we would force women to do this against their wishes today).
And if the lady, despite her "gourd" has a nice set of arms and legs, well, then she should showcase those, not the "gourd".
In any case, it makes no sense to wear a laced-up garment that emphasizes what is unflattering.
May '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
OK I know this post is just a little red meat fun, but come on.
The video was perfectly innocuous. The backdrop was meant to invoke the heady days of 2008 when they posted many videos like this -- which proved to be effective.
The outfit appeals to a demographic underrepresented on Ricochet (I think much of the criticism of Michelle's clothing -- particularly James's -- represents a cultural bias, there is an African American aesthetic at work here that Jackie O. would not have known what to do with but is nevertheless legitimate.) I found them perfectly engaging -- even charming.
I too dislike seeing the president descend into electoral politics the way he has, but that's also part of what makes him seem like a real person to many. The prospect of a private presidential army of volunteers descending is creepy now in a way that it wasn't from the candidate Obama, but I really did not find the video mockworthy.
Oct '10
Re: The President would like you to get into the game
Forget about Michelle's outfit. This was by far the best part. You can see the President's eyes shifting back and forth even when the lines aren't his! Is he scared she'll mess up one of her 6 sentences? The video is only 1:16 long, 30 some seconds of speaking per person, so what about this can't be done without a script? He even read the part, "Hello everybody! It's Barack and ... Michelle! (Cue, who me? look and giggle to camera as if to say "It is me!").
Kids get cyber-bullied for putting up embarrassing videos like this on youtube. Booooooo