“President Obama may not have delivered on all the policy changes he promised since his election a year ago, but he and his family have brought dramatic social change to the nation's capital and to the country's collective image of its first family,” USA Today's Mimi Hall and Maria Puente gushed in a front page story on Tuesday marking a year since President Obama's election, “With cultural 'flair,' Obamas updating first family's image.” The two reporters began by describing Barack and Michelle Obama as just like any other hip couple:
He carries a smartphone on his hip, goes out for burgers and plays pickup hoops. She goes to their daughters' soccer games, works in the garden and loves listening to her iPod. Together, they host poets, artists and musicians at their house and invite neighborhood kids to drop by.
The journalistic duo soon featured this glowing assessment: “'The Obamas' White House is the most open for cultural and intellectual activities since the Kennedy administration,' says Douglas Brinkley, author and presidential historian at Rice University in Houston. 'It's not simply a matter of doing events of statecraft and cultural gravitas. They have a great flair for American pop culture.'”
Hall and Puente then raved: “That the Obamas are a couple in step with the world around them is evident almost daily...” Their evidence came in sycophantic looks at the Obamas, under four headings: “Gadgets and technology,” “Physical fitness,” “Family matters” and “A return to socializing.”
An excerpt from the article on the front page of the Tuesday, November 3 USA Today:
WASHINGTON — He carries a smartphone on his hip, goes out for burgers and plays pickup hoops. She goes to their daughters' soccer games, works in the garden and loves listening to her iPod. Together, they host poets, artists and musicians at their house and invite neighborhood kids to drop by.
Their kids, meanwhile, go to birthday parties, romp around with their new dog and get spoiled by Grandma.
Sounds like a lot of families -- but this is the nation's first family.
"The Obamas have changed the culture of the White House," says Dee Dee Myers, President Clinton's first press secretary.
President Obama may not have delivered on all the policy changes he promised since his election a year ago, but he and his family have brought dramatic social change to the nation's capital and to the country's collective image of its first family....
"The Obamas' White House is the most open for cultural and intellectual activities since the Kennedy administration," says Douglas Brinkley, author and presidential historian at Rice University in Houston. "It's not simply a matter of doing events of statecraft and cultural gravitas. They have a great flair for American pop culture."
That the Obamas are a couple in step with the world around them is evident almost daily, whether the first lady -- a term that seems particularly archaic for a 45-year-old mom and Ivy League-educated lawyer -- is touting the benefits of organic food or the 48-year-old president is admitting on TV that he hasn't done a good enough job handling his share of the child-care duties....
Gadgets and technology
Following on the most tech-savvy campaign in history, the White House has a blog, a Twitter feed, a Facebook page and Flickr photostream, and it livestreams the president's appearances.
The Obamas also are personally connected. On NBC's Jay Leno Show, Michelle Obama told the host last month, "I love my iPod."...
Physical fitness
Obama is hardly the first president to try to stay fit. Ronald Reagan rode horses, George W. Bush went mountain biking and Bill Clinton, in a perennial battle with his weight, jogged.
But the Obamas may be the first first couple to work out together and make fitness a focus of their message and politicking....
Family matters
"The big change is that kids are back in the White House," says Doug Wead, a staffer in George H.W. Bush's White House and author of All the President's Children.
Not since a roller-skating Amy Carter left marks on the East Room floor in the 1970s has the public been treated to stories of young children in the East and West wings....
A return to socializing
Almost as soon as they moved into the White House, the Obamas began entertaining.
They've invited local schoolchildren in for performances, hosted a poetry slam and put on a varied set of musical performances. The Mexican-American rock band Los Lobos played on the South Lawn; Motown legend Stevie Wonder played the East Room. Others who've performed at the White House in the past nine months: the rock band The Foo Fighters, jazz pianist Diana Krall and pop star Fergie.
"The Reagan White House had a great flair for black-tie events," Brinkley says. "They brought old-style elegance back to the White House, but the entertainment was usually of a dated variety."
Myers says the music represents a big change even from the more recent Bush years....
—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Juat the regular run of the
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 15:49 ET by bobthemanJust the regular run of the mill stepford family....
Politics of Destruction
I Have A Thrill...
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 15:49 ET by GeneralAlOh God! I have such a thrill up my leg! In the meantime, jobless rate climbs, businesses fail, housing values plunge and the troops in Afghanistan wonder if they will ever get home alive. But thats OK. The TelePrez Messiah can play golf, basketball, work out, go to fund raisers, entertain, and trash FOX News while young people die in his "The Right War!"
No kidding. Poets,
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:11 ET by motherbeltNo kidding.
Poets, musicians, basketball, and a flair for pop culture.
Seious policy decisions? Not so much.
How are we going to get
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:01 ET by ahusserrid of him and his party if he doesn't continue to do these stupid things. If he suddenly does the right thing then he and his czars will be with us for 8 years (maybe forever). I don't want to belittle the damage he has done and will do in the future. It isn't going to be pretty but it is probably the only way to dislodge this tick.
"Somehow, I told you so, just doesn't quite say it." Will Smith in 'I, Robot.'
A return to socializing
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 15:50 ET by BluegillBoy that makes me feel good, glad they have so much time to entertain, since he really doesn't have any decisions to make. Unreal
Well, that's what we need,
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 15:53 ET by AlanaWell, that's what we need, all right. A flair for pop culture.
Have you heard about V?
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 15:55 ET by CO2MakerLet me lift a few paragraphs from the Chicago Tribune:
"Imagine this. At a time of political turmoil, a charismatic, telegenic new leader arrives virtually out of nowhere. He offers a message of hope and reconciliation based on compromise and promises to marshal technology for a better future that will include universal health care.
The news media swoons in admiration -- one simpering anchorman even shouts at a reporter who asks a tough question: "Why don't you show some respect?!" The public is likewise smitten, except for a few nut cases who circulate batty rumors on the Internet about the leader's origins and intentions. The leader, undismayed, offers assurances that are soothing, if also just a tiny bit condescending: "Embracing change is never easy."
So, does that sound like anyone you know? Oh, wait -- did I mention the leader is secretly a totalitarian space lizard who's come here to eat us?
Welcome to ABC's "V," the most fascinating and bound to be the most controversial new show of the fall television season. "
This could be interesting. The part about the media, as much as the other part.
Too funny. I remember
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:11 ET by HockeyKidToo funny. I remember when the original "V" came out, it was all the talk. I wonder if the new one will be ostracized because it hits too close to home.
As for the Dumbamas' fitness craze, Herbert Hoover made all his cabinet members join him for a regular game of medicine ball--chucking that heavy thing around on the South Lawn. And we all know how well that worked out, economically speaking.
One wonders if the SRM will ever demand some transparency with regard to the expense of all those "pop culture" wingdings. Not since the Kennedys has the First Couple had the temerity to engage in such personal indulgence on a regular basis.
"Beauty is only skin deep, but liberal's to the bone." - me
→ HockeyKid
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:29 ET by Cool ArrowOK, both promise universal health care, and both plan to enslave their unsuspecting hosts. But the similarities end there.
Oh, BTW, they're both illegal aliens.
ACORN - creating or saving votes since 1970
CO2, you don't want to miss
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:13 ET by motherbeltCO2, you don't want to miss Brent Baker's most recent blogpost:
Parallels to Obamamania in ABC's 'V'
LOL! Too rich!
As I Read This
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:02 ET by justbob223I felt like throwing up.
More Bile than Believeable
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:28 ET by UtherpendI have to agree with you there Justbob, I threw up a little in the back of my mouth reading that article.
"For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security."
"The Obamas have changed
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:09 ET by KJ_sez"The Obamas have changed the culture of the White House," says Dee Dee Myers, President Clinton's first press secretary.
Umm... not really. We've seen the culture of corruption for a long time - it just hasn't been this blatant since late 2000. As to the rest - where's the lasting value in 'pop culture'? LOTUS is a product of pop culture, and his 15 minutes are up - and we're stuck with this - thing - in office for another 3+ years.
"Articles" like this will make me bulemic.
Earning those Presidential Kneepads
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:10 ET by Lord ErondOlbermann goes back repeatedly. They are all so disgusting.
"Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge."
Timothy 6:20
USSRToday reads: The
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:23 ET by MrShyUSSRToday reads:
The contrast with recent presidents is clear: George W. Bush had older kids, went to bed early, headed for his Texas ranch as often as he could and presided over a White House tightly buttoned down after the 9/11 attacks. Bill Clinton had his own reasons to stay low-key after the Monica Lewinsky scandal began in his second term.
Let's review this pile of dung:
What is with these people?!?
And then, of course, a quick dismissal of BJ Clinton and his little scandal.
These punks.
Well, duh...
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:57 ET by Anneke9Between the lines interpretation: Clinton and Bush were white men. Of course, they're inferior to Obamalabamba.
Camouflage conservative in Baghdad-by-the-Bay
And don't forget they called
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:16 ET by motherbeltAnd don't forget they called Bush obsessed with exercise, to the point of accusing him of slacking off on his real job, while they are all ga-ga over Obama's chiseled pecs and rigorous workouts, sometimes lasting 3 hours, not to mention his basketball prowess!
And this new skinnier physique
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:43 ET by Calypso Jonesi wonder if this flair for pop culture in their little white house soirees includes a couple lines of coke. Things go better with coke, you know.
Calypso Jones
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 18:04 ET by MrShyHaha.... I don't doubt it for a moment.
And yes, MB, there are so many things Bush got raked over the coals for, while He is totally fawned over for the same things.
I'll bet He has worked about 5% of his waking hours so far.... if that.
What a bunch of arrogant...
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:31 ET by stage9obsequious crack heads:
'The Obamas' White House is the most open for cultural and intellectual activities since the Kennedy administration,'
"If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take his place. It will
be megalomania or erotomania, the drive for power or the drive for
pleasure, the clenched fist or the phallus, Hitler or Hugh Hefner."
— Malcolm Muggeridge<
Hhmm is that simular to
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:35 ET by general company, goes out for burgers and plays pickup hoops.
Pickup sticks? Moron trying to use what he thinks is a "hip" term very poorly. Truly amazing how they are still puffing up this empty suit
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Oh, my God, like gag me...
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:44 ET by Meredith1966Geez Louise, how these people yearn for a new JFK with the constant references to the Kennedy Administration, Michelle is the new Jackie, etc. It's like the presidency reached it's apex between 1961 and 1963 and it's all been downhill since, at least as far as they're concerned. Poor Saint Jack, the Martyred One, Obama is here to complete your presidency since Saint Bobby didn't get the chance to and Saint Bill was too busy fighting the VRWC. Puh-leeze...
"The words of a President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately." - Calvin Coolidge
Meredith1966
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:49 ET by MrShyThe only apex reached between 1961 and 1963 (and 1964 :)) would be the James Bond series.
And, okay, Hitchock at this time and five additional years before it.
And, okay, pop music's early 60's apex...
not to mention
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:41 ET by jdlybrandBaseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet.
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Chester Riley
I have a problem with Barry
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:52 ET by BKeyserI have a problem with Barry eating burgers... environmentally, that is.
→ Typo BKeyser
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:58 ET by Cool ArrowI believe that should read Barry eating boogers.
ACORN - creating or saving votes since 1970
The Obamas have changed the culture of the White House...
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 16:59 ET by Lorrainefor the worse.
The Obamas have no class and no manners. They use their children as political props.
The other first families with minor children protected their privacy as much as possible instead of using them for photo ops at every opportunity.
Laura and Barbara Bush are women with class and manners. They knew how to dress and behave appropriately for all occasions. You wouldn't catch Laura trying to dress like a pre-teen like Michelle did in London a few months ago. Or wearing a colorful sleeveless dress to a Medal of Honor ceremony like Michelle did last month.
Respect and graciousness are more important than cutting edge fashion and "coolness".
The presidency should have some dignity and their family life should remain as private as possible.
Lorraine I totally agree
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:09 ET by Radical1979Lorraine I totally agree with you about Laura and Barbara Bush. I think Laura did more in her quiet way than Michelle ever will. As far as using the kids, we all know Obamas use their kids but heaven forbid they are also considered "off limits" as far as being criticized. The usual double standard.
Rad... Another perfect
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:17 ET by bigtimerRad...
Another perfect example of hypocrisy/bias...
The Do as I Say Not as I Do Syndrome...which is always ok as long as it's the dems doing so.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
Oh Barf-Bag
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:22 ET by bigtimerOh Barf-Bag time...again.
Lovely all this BS is at tax-payers expense.
If the former administration had done anything like the O's have done as far as entertainment goes...we wouldn't hear the end of it...in fact they would be showing homeless people again and whatever else they can throw out their daily as they have since I can remember whenever it is a big bad republican as Prez.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
bt you said it. The media
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:06 ET by Radical1979bt you said it. The media would have been all over Bush for all this entertainment. I have to question the appropriateness of an singer like Fergie to be at the White House.
And Michelle likes her iPod! Oh wow! That's like so cool.
Does anyone care? Does this guy actually work? Between his traveling and entertaining when does he actually govern? (Not that I want him to)
As far as the entertaining, it's not so hard when you have social secretaries, cooks, and a staff.
→ More of the same
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:11 ET by Cool ArrowThough the iPod thing rises to the level of "The Soft Bigotry of Average Expectations"
Did you hear? Michele walked barefoot on the White House lawn? That was soooo stunning, wasn't it?
ACORN - creating or saving votes since 1970
She must have had the
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 19:17 ET by Radical1979She must have had the gardener's out there making sure Bo didn't leave anything behind before she took that walk. Can you imagine if she, literally, stepped in it?
By the way, did the press comment on how wonderful her feet are?
Rad... Oh no! Wished
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 20:27 ET by bigtimerRad...
Oh no!
Wished you wouldn't have said that...next we will be seeing her size 12's on the front of Glamour and NewsWeek...along with Time and Rolling Stones.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
oh good, they're a sitcom
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:51 ET by UndercoverConservativewhen's O gonna quit campaigning and start doing his job? Does he think he's Buckaroo Bonzai and can balance his physics research and rock stardom along with his test pilot duties?
Or maybe he should, maybe at some point, give up the rock star, TV actor and Mafia-Don-Favors-Guy routine and actually become a President?
Any bets he's gonna try to get in on the whole secret agent thing like Kennedy was big on, too? Goes well with his jet-setting..
Obama-International Man of Mystery!
WWW.GS2AC.COM. 2nd Amendment Grass Roots Action in the Bay Area, CA. We're not all "Breakfast Cereal" folks here! :)
UC... He is NEVER going
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 17:56 ET by bigtimerUC...
He is NEVER going to quit campaigning...evidently it is the only thing he knows how to do...and people of all stripes are getting sick of it.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
Gag
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 20:21 ET by DEVILDOCMOMGag me with a spoon.
I Gotta Admit....
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 22:35 ET by ShanghaiRaythat the photo is quite nice, no, seriously it it. On the surface this photo is fantastic. It's just too bad that the first black President had to be a communist. I still hope someday a conservative and America-loving black guy will make it to the top. Obama "looks" good but he is nothing more than an empty suit commie/tryant.
"Race doesn't matter..liberals are only one color - YELLOW"
Cool!
Tue, 11/03/2009 - 23:23 ET by jaywlI dig this cat mucho grande. I think I too will become hip like him. Become Black, the anti-M. Jackson. Take black pills instead of white pills. Practice that cool walk. Get a broad woman so my skinny butt looks better. Two problems, though. I'll lose all my friends. I'll make 'em all sick. And I don't know how to get the press to cover my coolness, kiss my ass and ring, stick their heads up my....
I agree with most of you, makes me sick just thinking about it.
Powerball?
Wed, 11/04/2009 - 05:52 ET by FranksamThe family that currently lives in our White House behave as I might if I win powerball tonight. My old POS vehicle will be replaced by something 'sportier', and I might even buy some new Levi's. Lately I've been reduced to store brands in order to save money.
The Osbornes
Wed, 11/04/2009 - 08:43 ET by BlueCat57I would be fine with the Osbornes as First Family as long as the President did their job.
Who gives a rat's @ss what their family life is like when more and more Americans every day no longer have the resources to keep their family together? Obama is purposely destroying the American family and the media praise him for it.