January 21, 2013

Michelle and Barack Obama look great in the Inauguration morning outfits.

Very nice. Love the blue. Love the matching clasped hands as — we're told — they approach the Episcopal Church. Michelle's checker-patterned coat is made of "silk jacquard based on a necktie fabric." Beautiful!

In church:
... Pastor Andy Stanley from North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga., delivered the sermon. He spoke of Jesus washing his disciples' feet and saying "now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you should also watch each other's feet." The president, Pastor Stanley said, should follow that example and "leverage" his power for the benefit of others.
IN THE COMMENTS: Erika notes the typo in the blocked quote, which is from NPR.org:  You should also watch each other's feet. Maybe NPR misheard and didn't get what Jesus was supposedly doing. Some commenters thought Pastor Stanley didn't get what Jesus meant.

Palladian: "The washing of the feet was about humility and service, not about 'leveraging power.'"

Cheryl: "I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't need to leverage his power. Biblical teaching like this is why we don't attend Pastor Stanley's church, which is right down the road from us."

Bago20 reacted: "Nooooooooooooooooooooo! Please don't help anymore."

Maguro had a different problem: "I find it disturbing that even southern preachers are using 'leverage' as a verb these days."

MORE IN THE COMMENTS: I said: "The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is black." And Palladian said: "The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is a profligate, arrogant, narcissistic asshole."

104 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...

They look fine.

If they can't get it together to look good with the kind of bucks being spent on their clothing and coiffeur...

Well, it seems like it ought to be pretty easy.

bagoh20 said...

"." The president, Pastor Stanley said, should follow that example and "leverage" his power for the benefit of others.""

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!

Please don't help anymore.

pm317 said...

Oh, fuck! Althouse wants to be cruelly neutral on a downer day for many of us.

pm317 said...

Wigs have come a long way!

Palladian said...

The washing of the feet was about humility and service, not about "leveraging power".

Can you imagine Barack Obama washing anyone's feet? Obamas don't do humility.

Cheryl said...

I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't need to leverage his power. Biblical teaching like this is why we don't attend Pastor Stanley's church, which is right down the road from us.

Automatic_Wing said...

I find it disturbing that even southern preachers are using "leverage" as a verb these days.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I'm ignoring the inauguration, thanks very much.

And there's a typo: watch/wash.

Ann Althouse said...

The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is black.

Palladian said...

What's with the Tyra Banks wig?

Ann Althouse said...

"And there's a typo: watch/wash"

LOL, taking it literally.

pm317 said...

'Washing feet' -- yeah, the college drop out lapdogs in the press do that a lot (with their saliva, no less).

Pastafarian said...

Yesterday I duplicated the inaugural dinner for my family.

Bison steaks with berry-port reduction. I couldn't get huckleberries, so a substituted a little bit.

And I couldn't get buffalo fillet mignon: I asked for it at the butcher shop, and the butcher laughed in my face. "At $40 per pound, we don't even carry it -- no one would buy it." So I substituted ribeyes.

And of course we had to forgo the first course (lobster tails drizzled with clam chowder sauce) and all the accompanying wines altogether. But we made it as close as we could to the Obamas' menu.

It's good to be king.

Palladian said...

The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is black.

The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is a profligate, arrogant, narcissistic asshole.

edutcher said...

The lower part of the coat don't look good on Moochelle - a smoother, less form-fitting silhouette would be better.

I wonder if they chanted, "Forward!", with a Sieg Heil beat like the "service" yesterday.

Writ Small said...

Looks like a lot of folks will be taking a bath.

Anonymous said...

Niggers try to dress up like civilized humans, hilarity ensues.

This farce is getting to be like a movie envisioned by Homer Simpson:

"And then the monkey can be president! And get us everything for free! And wear a suit! With a little monkey wife! That's funny !"

Pastafarian said...

Cleanup on aisle three -- a moby just pooped itself.

Palladian said...

sigh

Moby's gotta mobe.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is black.

Funny, that never occurred to me that the 'humble servant image' is 'edgy' if the person is black, and I suspect that applies to the millions of devout black Christians in this country. Maybe that's a triumphant observation to the moron Beltway and Slate columnists, but to people who actually believe in this Christianity stuff their relationship with, and self-definition with respect to, Jesus Christ ranks way above "what will the pundits say about how this looks."

Palladian said...

A visit by "whoresoftheinternet"... It's scary that there are even bigger assholes out there than Barack Obama.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Jesus has the same expectations of everyone regardless of skin color.

Wince said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bagoh20 said...

They didn't actually wash the President's feet, you know with the clay and the mess that would make, but It was still good symbolism.

Wince said...

He spoke of Jesus washing his disciples' feet and saying "now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you should also watch each other's feet." The president, Pastor Stanley said, should follow that example and "leverage" his power for the benefit of others.

Christ meant his washing of feet to be an example of unselfish service to others, not an invitation to some kind of leveraged power play for the benefit of some at the expense of others.

Even the church has transformed Jesus's teaching into a mandate for Obama to rule as he says, not as he does.

Interestingly, it does seem Obama "our Lord and teacher" wants us to "watch" each others feet, with envy, to convince us that in so doing the government will someday wash ours.

Pastafarian said...

I'd like to know who's behind "whoresoftheinternet". I'm sure it's a leftist regular commenter.

Althouse must know, mustn't she? Can't she see their IP address?

bagoh20 said...

If Bush was the President, you damned well that moby comment would be funny as hell.

Brian Brown said...

I, too, am ignoring this spectacle.

Palladian said...

Pastafarian, it's been around a long time. It has gone by a lot of different names. The only one I remember is "Florida".

pm317 said...

Iowa Hawk

#ObamaAccomplishments Organized a powerful political movement made up of "Jay Walking with Jay Leno" contestants


LOL..

Known Unknown said...

Watch my feet

Anonymous said...

Pasta and others,

I assure you I am no moby.

Am I extreme? Yes. Have I been pushed this way in the last 5 years because of the left? Yes. But am I sincere? Yes.

And trying to out internet anonymity, Pasta---how very leftist of you. No one is allowed to criticize Mein Obama without being shamed!

I direct you to my blog to read my writings. Trust they shall show you my sincerity.

rhhardin said...

Be careful of the overhead bins, too. Luggage may have shifted.

Palladian said...

I assure you I am no moby.

Oh, so you're just a regular old asshole, then.

the wolf said...

Remember when a Republican was president and it was unseemly to spend a lot of money on an inauguration party?

Palladian said...

Jesus never verbed nouns.

Anonymous said...

@Palladian

Oh, so you're just a regular old asshole, then.
---Correction: I am a major league asshole.

I have learned to reflect leftist's personalities right back at them, but punching back twice as hard.

Tolerance is for suckers

pm317 said...

The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is black.

This is the mentality that has made Obama prosper from day one. He has abused it to the max extent. Can we not get past the race implications of everything, even the most mundane sentiments about a leader of a democratic country? He should be at service to the people who elected him. Unfortunately who elected him are the flawed people which is why the race thing will never go away.

test said...

the wolf said...
Remember when a Republican was president and it was unseemly to spend a lot of money on an inauguration party?


That was the same point the media believed playing golf while our warfighters are in harm's way was something to be pointed out at every opportunity.

rhhardin said...

I'd go with shorts and tee shirt.

pm317 said...

Drudge has a nice pic of Obama's two faces -- one photoshopped and the other, real and regular.

Colonel Angus said...

The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is black.

If you look at everything through a racial lens, yes, I suppose it is. Then again the image conjured in my mind was a white guy in tux and tails named Jeeves.

Icepick said...

The humble servant image is a little hard to swallow when the servant's wife is wearing a checker-patterned coat made of silk jacquard based on a necktie fabric.

pm317 said...

the House Intelligence Committee had been alerted to “lots of threat streams” about pending attacks in the North Africa region

And Obama was busy planning his inauguration.

dbp said...

We need to force fatcats to fund foot washing for those who cannot otherwise afford foot washing.

Not the lesson Jesus was teaching, I think.

LilyBart said...


Aparently, Obama wasn't listening to the sermon, he was texing:

http://go.bloomberg.com/political-capital/2013-01-21/obama-tweets-from-church-lets-go/

Gahrie said...

Christ meant his washing of feet to be an example of unselfish service to others, not an invitation to some kind of leveraged power play for the benefit of some at the expense of others.

Did you ever wonder why the Bible makes such a big deal about washing feet? You have to realize that people either walked barefoot, or wore open faced sandals. There were no sidewalks, animals roamed freely and hygine was dumping your waste into the middle of the street. People's feet were generally filthy, smelly things.....much more so than today.

Hagar said...

Isn't that hairdo a little young for a 49 year old?

LilyBart said...


I think that, years from now,Michelle Obama is going to look at pictures of this day and say, "What was I thinking with that hair?".

But its nice to see her wearing more A-line clothes, which are more flattering to her figure. Much better than in early years when she picked straight skirts/dresses that tended to stretch too tighly around her ample hips and thighs and looked unflattering.

the gold digger said...

id you ever wonder why the Bible makes such a big deal about washing feet?

Exactly. It was not just humbling, it was serious humbling. Even today, I don't think you are supposed to show the soles of your feet to someone in the Middle East. And remember what a huge insult it was supposed to be that that guy threw his shoe at Pres Bush?

This is not just like the woman at the salon giving someone a pedicure. I think it's cleaning what was considered one of the worst parts of the body.

pm317 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
pm317 said...

Gahrie said...
---------

Feet generally are at the lowest in the pecking order of parts of human body (going back to eastern religions/culture). It is the ultimate sacrifice and show of respect to wash someone's feet. In Hindu culture, principals routinely wash elders feet on auspicious days (like weddings or other).

carrie said...

So, where is the tally on the cost of Michelle's clothes?

Anonymous said...

This is why Jesus told his disciples to shake the dust off their feet of a town where no one helped them.

To consider the dirt of a town as too unclean for your feet was a bit like telling a guy girl she was too slutty or fat or ugly for him to sleep with. Or an street wino telling a bar owner that the bar wasn't good enough for him.

Major league insult. Major league symbolism.

McTriumph said...

Carrie
Let's put it this way, a neck tie made with that fabric is about $200, you do the math.
I do like the dress, but the Crazy Horse hair do sucks makes her look like a hooker and who ever advised her on that flamenco dancer's belt should be serving time with the Coptic film maker.

SGT Ted said...

The humble servant image is a little edgy when the President is black

It's only edgy for brain dead progressive racists

Because white folk never serve anybody humbly or work very much or hard in humble jobs, seeing as we are all rich, racist oppressors with our Whiteguy discount cards of privilege.

.

SGT Ted said...

Ya know, the only people I know that use the term "nigger" are progressives. And they think they are being "hip" when they say it.

SGT Ted said...

Even today, I don't think you are supposed to show the soles of your feet to someone in the Middle East.

It depends on the country and is not universal. They taught us a bunch of "cultural" things about the ME before we went over and then found out from Iraqis that it really didn't apply to their culture; Maybe applicable in Saudi Arabia, but not in Iraq.

Basta! said...

Pastafarian
I am going out to dinner later on to a place that has a special, called Gibier, described as venison and wild boar with blueberry sauce. I've never tried either before. Should I go for it?

Palladian said...

Venison is delicious with berries. I do a wonderful thing with venison medallions, blackberries and cream sauce. I suspect blueberries (provided they're not too sweet) would be a good accompaniment.

I have less experience with wild boar, but it's a strong taste, and such game flavors often do well paired with astringent berries.

Sydney said...

Supposedly what the President said on this occasion:

Calling on Americans to "answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom,"

I wish he believed in that precious light of freedom. I haven't seen any evidence these past four years that he does.

Jason said...

"Thank you, shoeshine boy!"

Basta! said...

Thanks! I was vacillating, now I'll give it a shot.

edutcher said...

If Moochelle were smart or had half the fashion sense she's supposed to, she'd use lighter colors.

The look at the "official" swearing in is way too dark.

Or is that rrraaaccciiisssstttt?

PS Nothing wrong with serving. That's the job. If it doesn't fit our half black man, maybe he shouldn't have it.

LilyBart said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LilyBart said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Basta! said...

I'll never understand anyone who thinks MO looks good, nevermind chic. Hillbuzz is always ragging on her outfits, and I think he's closer to the mark. And it's rare for something to fit her well. Style? Well, yeah, if tacky is a style.

machine said...

What a beautiful day....except for the Keyboard Kommandos...

bagoh20 said...

So if I understand this stuff correctly, a podiatrist in the middle east is like a proctologist here... in the hierarchy of people to shake hands with I mean.

Anonymous said...

God Bless and protect our President, he certainly needs it.

Just read this thread.

somefeller said...

What a beautiful day....except for the Keyboard Kommandos...

Haters gonna hate. But the rest of us are doing great!

pm317 said...

OMG, you guys have got to see this.. I burst out laughing. And it is from here. A nice rebuke to the mindless lefty adoration of Obama.

gerry said...

God Bless and protect our President, he certainly needs it.

Just read this thread.


I read the thread.

No death threats. No calls for revolution.

Simply snark.

Unlike Obama's minister, who called Republicans "enemy".

So, Inga, are any jokes all racist, deadly, and forbidden?

Heil Obama!

Palladian said...

What a beautiful day....except for the Keyboard Kommandos...

Why is it a "beautiful day"?

I will never understand why people are moved by political theater, by the pomp of an expensive spectacle, paid for by a confiscatory central government that was once understood to be answerable to and changeable by the people it governs.

I cannot fathom ever thinking of such a spectacle as part of a "beautiful day", no matter who was taking office. I suppose that's why I'm not a political person.

The "Keyboard Kommados" are part of the messy mass that I like to call a free people, who understand that such spectacles, and the powerful and wealthy people who stage them, should not be beyond the reach of even the pettiest of criticisms from the most insignificant people.

Where I am, it is a grey and cold day, another day trying to pay bills and trying to remember that each day is beautiful because I am alive, no matter what the literal or political weather is outside.

Palladian said...

God Bless and protect our President, he certainly needs it.

He does? Barack Obama, or indeed any US president, will be rich, protected and comfortable for the rest of his life.

It's the people that must live with the consequences of the President's decisions and policies that need the help and blessing of God.

SGT Ted said...

Stalinesque personality cults are never "beautiful", regardless of the weather outside.

Palladian said...

Haters gonna hate. But the rest of us are doing great!

You got yours, screw everyone else.

Is that what sustains "liberals" these days?

SGT Ted said...

You got yours, screw everyone else.

Is that what sustains "liberals" these days?


Well... yea. They perceive that they are in power, so they are happy. Recall how they acted when W was Pres.

They are political manic/depressives.

I, for one, was a Bush voting nose holder and only really defended Bush as CINC and that was because of how the Democrats voted for the war and then backstabbed Bush and the Military in order to appeal to the anti-US/anti-war morons to gain power.

Because, like many of the "anti-war" folks, the Democrats were only pissed off that they weren't in charge of the killing. Once the Dems took over, the "anti-war" movement dried up, showing us all what a big fat fraud it was. I knew they would be worse too as any sort of CINC as they opnely state their disdain for the Military when it serves them to.

The only argument I could make on the other issues was that Democrats would be worse, so better to support Bush than get yet another idiot Progressive.

I was right.

Shouting Thomas said...

Inga, I don't see anything in this thread that approaches the level of vitriol aimed at President Bush.

The left was merciless in its attacks on Bush, even to the point of producing assassination chic movies and literature.

Come on.

somefeller said...

Not I got mine, Palladian and Sgt. Ted, just pointing out that the normal, non-hater part of American society is feeling good today. But if you want to wallow in self-pity and hatred, feel free to do so. It's a free country (thanks to social liberals of all eras, from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall) and that's probably your normal state.

Rusty said...

Palladian said...
Haters gonna hate. But the rest of us are doing great!

You got yours, screw everyone else.

Is that what sustains "liberals" these days?


Liberal hearts are warmed by your suffering.

Rusty said...

It's a free country (thanks to social liberals of all eras, from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall) and that's probably your normal state.

No. Thanks to a small group of men, who on April 19 1775 risked everything they would ever have to face down the most powerful nation in the world. Everything you enjoy in this country today is the direct result of that action.

machine said...

Sooooooooo.....only they built this?

somefeller said...

Rusty, you are correct that it all started in 1775, if not earlier. But American history didn't end then, and the excellent country we live in today is the result of the work of lots of enlightened people from that era to this one. And that work isn't finished yet. Forward!

Lydia said...

You know, suffering through this second term could maybe all be worth it if Barack gets with the program and takes on the designer's look for men:

"In the fashion world, Browne's name is most closely associated with the trend for men to wear their trousers cropped or rolled slightly short, with an exposed ankle, a look he pioneered in the middle of last decade and which quickly became ubiquitous among the hipster populations of New York, London and Berlin."

SGT Ted said...

Hey, according to the President, citizens like me are "the enemy".

So, while the weather here is good and I don't base my happiness on who has political power, the inaugeration day of a self delcared enemy of about half the country was nothing to get happy over.

The 49ers beating the Falcons made it a good day tho.

Colonel Angus said...

God Bless and protect our President, he certainly needs it.

Just read this thread.


That's a little disengenuous isn't it? Aside from an obvious moby, do you seriously consider some peoples dislike of Obama that he needs God's blessing and protection?



Colonel Angus said...

Not I got mine, Palladian and Sgt. Ted, just pointing out that the normal, non-hater part of American society is feeling good today.

Which is a good thing considering you guys spent 2000-2008 in a constant state of hate filled, frothing vitriol over the guy who was President then.

Icepick said...

What a beautiful day....except for the Keyboard Kommandos...

And the millions still out of work. And the 15 million plus more people on food stamps now than when Obama took office. And those whose incomes keep falling. And the 8 million plus that have dropped out of the work force entirely. And those with even more crushing health insurance costs, which is most. But fuck all those people, they deserve to get fucked in the ass so Michelle can wear clothes more expensive than average weekly take home pay in this country and eat meals more expensive than the weekly food budgets of most. I mean, that's the important thing, is to make sure the Obamas are doing well at the expense of the little guy.

Yeah, fuck all the little people, because it's important that Michelle look fabulous and that Barry Half-Black take vacations that are more expensive than the lifetime income of most people.

THAT is the important thing.

Baron Zemo said...

Obama is a miserable failure. He will go down as one of the worst Presidents in American History.

He has one accomplishment that got him elected and re-elected.

The rest of his legacy will be seen as a disaster of never ending tax and spend liberalism that will take decades to reverse.

A miserable failure.

rcocean said...

We're going to be more Obama's until the Republicans get their act together. Their current platform of : "Invade the world, invite the world, cut Social Security" ain't going to do it.

machine said...

Meadhouse = fact free zone....

Icepick said...

machine, are you disputing that food stamp (a misnomer, should be called SNAP usage, but everyone still knows what food stamps mean) usage is up by about 50% under Obama's term in office? Or that the UE-3 rate is as high now as when he took office? (In fact we are still almost 4,000,000 jobs short of what we had when the recession started.) Or that this is the weakest recovery since the end of WWII? You can go check BLS stats yourself and see that over 8,000,000 more people are working age but not looking for work now.

How much did Obama's vacation to Hawaii cost? Several millions? Think someone making $35000 a year is going to match that in their working lifetime? Michelle's dress today was expensive, as will be the gown she will wear tonight. They're congratulating themselves for their success while millions of us get poorer.

Median income has not only declined during Obama's term in office, it has even continued to decline since the 'recovery' started in June of 2009.

These labor stats can be found at the BLS website for the FRED site. Food stamp usage has been widely reported, as have median income numbers.

While all this goes on Obama lives the fat life. So does Michelle. They're faaaaaaaabbbbbuuuuuu-lous! They could at least put on a minor show of austerity, but that is out of the question. Ain't gonna happen.

meanwhile, he has had an allied government overthrown to put in a government hostile to America interests and ideals. He has produced an additional 6 trillion in debt, with the help of a congress that has been wholly or half controlled by his party. They have not produced an actual budget in years, because the Senate does not wish to do so.

So yeah, let's celebrate the facts, bitch.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Ha ha. I read the title as Michelle and Barack Obama look great in the Inauguration MOURNING outfits.

LOL.

Her bangs look stupid. It must be so much work to straighten hair to look like something you are not.

rhhardin said...

Armstrong and Getty say Michelle looks like a Star Trek character.

garage mahal said...

Wow! What a beautiful family. So American. So Christian.

and Michelle. Hubba hubba! Why isn't she on the cover of every glamour magazine???

chickelit said...

Garage is dogged by wolf whistles

donald said...

Andy is the head of my church.

My wife and I started going to the Southside church in Peachtree City about a year before she died.

I thought this was weird, cause I was a desperate atheist doing anything to save my wife and these guys were doing videos (he does his sermons for all of the campuses by video). How the hell ya gonna get the word like this?

When she passed I met with the pastor at my branch about the stuff you do for the funeral (I would not wish that on anybody). It came up that Andy had met with Michelle Obama in some kind of White House photo op. through my absolute misery I just kinda looked at Chris. Before I could say anything he smiled and said "like Nixon to China". Then he grinned a little.

I think we got a payoff from Andy! He spoke that truth to power and Barack will never get it. So that sucks, but thanks Andy. Cause that's what he just did.

Seeing Red said...

Forward - it worked well for Stalin.

The Russian people, not so much.

Petunia said...

Her coat looks nice, but what's with the purple gloves?

Joe Schmoe said...

This sucks.

Anonymous said...

The FLOTUS is not an attractive woman, is not a fashion icon, and has yet to wear anything well. I am not aware that anyone but lazy middle aged black women and old ladies with bald spots (and cancer survivors)have any excuse to wear wigs. This is nothing but self-forced adoration trying to get everyone else to agree that the emperor (and the empress) are beautiful people in beautiful gowns. They are not. They are evil and petty people, and socialist to the core.

Anonymous said...

The FLOTUS is not an attractive woman, is not a fashion icon, and has yet to wear anything well. I am not aware that anyone but lazy middle aged black women and old ladies with bald spots (and cancer survivors)have any excuse to wear wigs. This is nothing but self-forced adoration trying to get everyone else to agree that the emperor (and the empress) are beautiful people in beautiful gowns. They are not. They are evil and petty people, and socialist to the core.

TexasJew said...

What color goes well with a ball gag?