November 10, 2008

The Obamas pay a visit to the Bushes.

"Mr. Obama walked just at Mr. Bush’s shoulder and appeared to be speaking animatedly, gesturing with both hands."

Love the picture. Michelle looks great in a bright red dress -- as she towers over Laura. Laura's wearing a dull rust-colored dress and is careful to stand in a flattering 3/4 view, with one foot carefully placed in front of the other. Michelle's just standing there head on, with feet planted side by side. Laura and Michelle are wearing nearly identical sling-back shoes with 2" heels. Barack and George are wearing identical shoes too. They're also both wearing blue suits and blue ties. George's suit is lighter and much more rumpled and, while they are all squinting in the sunlight, George is squinting the most.

ADDED: I love this pic of George and Barack in the OO. Artfully composed and deeply historic.

132 comments:

Zachary Sire said...

Wonder what the "good brides" discussed.

kjbe said...

Love Michelle's dress. She looks fantastic. Laura's got on a cut and color that reminds me of the dresses my grandmother wore when I was a child.

Darcy said...

Great photos. And Michelle's dress is really gorgeous. Great style.

I don't think Laura Bush has to pose to take a flattering pic. Just a very sweet looking woman, IMO. It's been pretty clear to me that she's not one for fashion statements, and I love that about her. She's just Laura Bush.

I hope that Barack Obama can be more gracious in recounting this meeting with President Bush.

Sprezzatura said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Meade said...

"Wonder what the "good brides" discussed"

Don't you think they were busy cooking up a plan for how to keep those uppity gays happy down on the California plantations?

John Kindley said...

Michelle is an Amazon woman.

Trooper York said...

"Michelle is an Amazon woman."

Why does that dress give her kindle toe?

She should stick to Donna Ricco. Much better for her shape.

Darcy said...

You really don't think that dress is flattering, Trooper? I love it.
I think it makes her look very slim and it's a very elegant look.

Host with the Most said...

keep those uppity gays happy down on the California plantations?

I for one have been wondering where those uppity gays are. My plantation's dining room and kitchen need remodeling, damn it!


My favorite gay hypocrisy moment:

Opponents of Prop 8 declared that "Yes on 8" was "lying" when it claimed that churches could be at risk for losing tax-exempt status.

During anti-prop 8 demonstrations this past weekend at Mormon Temples, numerous calls were made for the Mormon Church to lose it's tax-exempt status for it's members exercising their first-amendment rights to support Prop 8.

This stuff just writes itself!

MayBee said...

Laura Bush, who looks lovely in red, knew this was Michelle Obama's moment, not hers. She dressed appropriately.

For her exit from the White House, expect Laura to wear a strapless boob-eye gown.

Trooper York said...

Also Michelle has to stick to purple. I laid in a bunch of purple dresses based on the fact that she loves that color. Sold four of them this weekend. So lets stick with the purple, please and stick with the program.

Meade said...

"Michelle is an Amazon woman."

True, but Janet Reno - now SHE was Astoundin.

Darcy said...

What is "kindle toe"? Purple would be fabulous, too.

Sprezzatura said...

Laura forgot Barbara's advice?

It was about eight years ago when she mentioned to some news source (I don't recall which one) that Barbara had advised her that bold, bright colors look best on TV.

dull rust-colored?

Maybe after eight years, she doesn't care. She's ready to get home and wear whatever she wants (and stand any way she wants to stand.)

P.S.

From the head-on perspective in the direction that Michelle and BHO are looking, Michelle may be a little angled herself.

Is this whole subject somewhat sexist? The blue suits were mentioned, so supposedly the guys' appearance is equally noteworthy.

Trooper York said...

Laura Bush wore a very retro outfit of a type I have been selling like mad. Very "Mad Men" style reminiscent of the early sixties.

You know the stuff that hdhouse was wearing back when he was cross dressing back then on Madison Avenue when he had the Tiparillo account.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Maxine Weiss said...

Height, although prized in terms of whites......works against blacks.

The image of big hulking blacks waiting to pounce....it would be better if the blacks in question were diminutive and nerdy.

2012: America's Mom, the petite Sarah Palin who shoots big game......big tall game.....

Good Times ahead !

Darcy said...

Oh, that's just pure crap, Maxine.
The Obamas are striking and elegant. Nothing "hulking" about them at all.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Laura and Michelle are wearing nearly identical sling-back shoes with 2" heels

Except for the color and that one shoe is peep toed and the other is pointy toed...yep. Identical :-)

Michelle's dress is a good color for her skin tone. She is a winter. But I think the dress isn't very attractive.

I'll bet George and Laura can't wait to get out of the White House and go home. I hope he does this to the press corp on his way out the door. Bye suckers....It's all yours now.

Trooper York said...

You get kindle toe when you stuff you kindle in the front of your pants because you don't want anyone to see what you are reading and it slides down to an unfortunate area.

Sometimes it's ok to let people know you like Jackie Collins instead of Tolstoy. Just sayn'

Palladian said...

"George's suit is lighter and much more rumpled and, while they are all squinting in the sunlight, George is squinting the most."

Well that's understandable. Obama is a "light-worker" after all. I'm sure the intense radiance of his nimbus would make even the Pope don sunglasses.

Trooper York said...

If Mort were awake he would say that you calling him a nimbus would be racist.

Darcy said...

LOL, Trooper. I'm glad I asked.

sean said...

I wonder why Obama doesn't have a pocket handkerchief. JFK generally did, folded in a triangle shape.

Is Bush's suit actually more rumpled, or is it just the light?

Darcy said...

I'll bet ol' George and Laura are looking forward to life in Crawford. What the media shows of Crawford, and the their home there doesn't do justice to it, by the way. I drove by there when I visited Texas. Just a beautiful area. And downtown Crawford is adorable and small. One coffee shop.

Expat(ish) said...

Bush may be squinting, but after the briefing BHO just got, I'm sure he's a lot more puckered.

-XC

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but I'm going to ask what everyone else here is afraid to: is that an erect nipple we're seeing there?

Sternhammer said...

Actually Ann, I think Michelle is making the same pose (or rather mirror image, since she has her left (!) foot forward) as Laura. But Laura is posing toward the camera that took this pic, Michelle is looking and posing toward someone to our photog's right.

Michelle looks spectacular. Maybe hottest first lady ever. But maybe it would help her husband if she wore flats. He needs to look more commanding.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Obama's is already meeting with Hitler ;)

dualdiagnosis said...

dull is not a word to use for Laura. Unless you just don't like her and her husband.

Matt Eckert said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Harwood said...

Laura's wearing a dull rust-colored dress and is careful to stand in a flattering 3/4 view, with one foot carefully placed in front of the other. Michelle's just staying there head on, with feet planted side by side. Laura and Michelle are wearing nearly identical sling-back shoes with 2" heels. Barack and George are wearing identical shoes too. They're also both wearing blue suits and blue ties. George's suit is lighter and much more rumpled and, while they are all squinting in the sunlight, George is squinting the most.
---
Quite a recitation of meaningless trivialities. Why didn't you mention that Michelle's right boob is bigger than her left boob?

Matt Eckert said...

The funny part about the whole mess is that George Bush is one of the only people who know what Obama has to deal with in the job. The pressures. The dangers. The over whelming sense of responsiblity. I bet he will call him often to get some advice.

I mean who is he going to call? Bill Clinton? He would just tell him to go get some head and bomb a aspirn factory or something.

Palladian said...

I wonder how all these pleasantries will seem in retrospect after the Obama/Biden administration begins their war crimes tribunal against the entire Bush administration in January?

garage mahal said...

I wonder how all these pleasantries will seem in retrospect after the Obama/Biden administration begins their war crimes tribunal against the entire Bush administration in January?

I wouldn't worry about it, I'm sure they didn't break any laws?

Widmerpool said...

Not to hijack the thread Garage, but you are showing your profound naivete of these matters. I am certain a politically-motivitated Congress or prosecutor would be able to find some law that some Bush functionary did in fact violate (as would the Republican congress in 2012 when they go after the Obama administration).

Expat(ish) said...

Bush may be squinting, but after the briefings that BHO has gotten lately, I betcha he's puckered a bit more.

I wonder if he looked at Cheney and wished he had a smart VP to lean on?

-XC

Sprezzatura said...

Following Palladian; are there any unknown wrong things that the W administration has done?

Would he mention these to BHO? Maybe he'd suggest that these things are best kept quiet, just between presidents. No reason to get all excited, you can't change the past anyway, it's best to move forward.

Or, maybe W wouldn't mention these sort of things. Just hope for the best. Mentioning them may unwisely highlight them. Maybe offer a general explanation by telling BHO that the president makes tough calls and it is counterproductive to get the public all riled up by disclosing every detail, wink, wink.

Or, maybe W's administration hasn't done anything wrong--other than the things we already know about. There's already been plenty of disclosed issues, it makes sense to assume we've already heard everything. So, there's no need for W to worry about something coming out.

Just a chat with BHO talking about the legal actions, personal impressions, and relevant experiences that may not be covered by official briefings.

Joe M. said...

From the article:
Ms. Bush wore a brown suit, and Ms. Obama a burnt-orange dress.

Sure doesn't look like a suit to me. And there's no way that's just a typo, with the explicit contrast.

LIBERAL MEDIA BIAS!!1!

Joe M. said...

(and the required online disclaimer: no, I'm not serious.)

But really--what *was* the writer thinking? Could that really be called a "suit"? Surely not!

David said...

"Michelle . . . . She big!"

Maggie Goff said...

Well, George's suit may have been rumpled because of where he was earlier:

http://yllescasfamily.blogspot.com/

Please keep this man, and his family in your prayers.

MadisonMan said...

I'm waiting for my car at the dealer, and this is all the TV news people are talking about. And I can't help but wonder, why is this news, that the Obamas are meeting the Bushes?

Laura's dress is very retro. Love it. I like both dresses. The suits on the men, eh.

ricpic said...

"So the President of The United States was visited today by the President of Swaziland?"

"Oh...you're kidding, you've got to be...Oh."

chuck b. said...

"Laura's wearing a dull rust-colored dress..."

That reminds me of the Laura Bush rose, "dusky orange...opening to ruffled, cinnamon-orange".

If Michell Obama gets a rose, I'm guessing it will be red.

Darcy said...

Aww...Maggie. Thanks for that link.
Really touching.

Maxine Weiss said...

Big, tall, and livin large.

Livin' the high life.

Revenant said...

During anti-prop 8 demonstrations this past weekend at Mormon Temples, numerous calls were made for the Mormon Church to lose it's tax-exempt status for it's members exercising their first-amendment rights to support Prop 8.

That's a really dishonest description of the Mormons' behavior here. You make it sound like a bunch of them just happened to come out against the bill.

The church *itself* was one of the driving forces behind the "Yes on 8" campaign. Religious organizations aren't supposed to endorse particular candidates in an election if they want to keep their tax-exempt status. I don't know if the same rule applies to ballot referendums, but if it does then the LDS church clearly violated the tax law.

Bissage said...

I guess all this positive vibe stuff means the Obamas get invited to the White House Christmas party this year.

Woo-Hoo!!!

ricpic said...

I thought the President of The United States was Hemorrhaging Hank Paulson. Silly me.

rhhardin said...

I liked this lawn sign today.

He's the guy in the audience, in Vicki Hearne's Comment.

In this, a poetry audience is like a circus audience from the point of view of Katja Schumann, an exquisitely good horsewoman and star of The Big Apple, a delectable and sometimes virtually faultless one-ring circus.

Once it came about that she complained to her father, Max Schumann, of the 150-year-old Danish Circus Schumann, about the audience's lack of comprehension, about those Yahoos, those Philistines, etc. Just as Herron, in a more world-weary way, diagnoses the Yahoos who walked out on his friend's reading. Katja's father said, ``Yes. But in every audience there is one guy who knows what you are doing. And: _he paid for his ticket._'' (Perhaps her father had read Goethe's Faust, in which the clown says about the rabble that comprises the bulk of the audience, ``The presence of a decent lad out there / Amounts to something, I should say.''


Vicki Hearne, ``Comment,'' _Raritan_ X:3, Winter 1991, p.147

Bissage said...

If Michell Obama gets a rose, I'm guessing it will be red.

Me? I've got plenty of red.

Here in USDA Zone 6b, the best red is Veterans Honor, by far.

But if Ms. Obama selects a purple . . . well . . . I'm going to break out the roto-tiller for a new bed.

Yeah . . .BOY-EEE!!!

ricpic said...

Bow legged wimmens
Play 'em like a fiddle,
Garnish with trimmins
Den piddle in dere middle.

Zachary Sire said...

Opponents of Prop 8 declared that "Yes on 8" was "lying" when it claimed that churches could be at risk for losing tax-exempt status.

During anti-prop 8 demonstrations this past weekend at Mormon Temples, numerous calls were made for the Mormon Church to lose it's tax-exempt status for it's members exercising their first-amendment rights to support Prop 8.



Host With The Most is, as usual, wrong and ignorant. Had he read the court ruling or bothered to do anything except trolling around the internet and jerking off to pictures of nude trannies, he might actually learn something. Highly doubtful, but I still have hope for even the lowest forms of slime on this planet.

Regarding the court's ruling earlier this year, undoing the ban on gay marriage:

"...no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs."

Bissage said...

What the HELL is wrong with me today with all these lousy HTTP 403 errors?!?!?!?!?

BALLS!!!

What, pray tell, what is God trying to tell me?

Well . . . too bad . . .

Veterans Honor!!!1!!

Darcy said...

Oh, that's beautiful, Bissage! I don't really care for the Laura Bush rose. I like the coral colored roses best, though.

Bissage said...

That'll show Him!

Harrumph!!!

Lawyerly said...

I disagree about the rumpledness of the suits. At first glance, George's may look more rumpled because it's lighter and because of the direction of the lighting, but if you study the photo closely, I'd say there is an equal amount of suit-rumpling going on.

chuck b. said...

"I don't know if the same rule applies to ballot referendums, but if it does then the LDS church clearly violated the tax law."


***

I would like to know more about the Knights of Columbus' contributions to Yes on 8. Donations to that Catholic fraternal order appear to be tax-deductible.

I know for sure my donations to No on 8 were not.

Palladian said...

"ad he read the court ruling or bothered to do anything except trolling around the internet and jerking off to pictures of nude trannies, he might actually learn something."

You're projecting.

Bissage said...

Darcy, you’ve made me realize that the 403 trouble lies not in my links but in my crappy ISP.

Grrrrrr.

But either way . . . Thank you.

Kirby Olson said...

I love this country.

Nice clean transition, with no problems in spite of massive philosophical differences.

This is the best possible country.

Darcy said...

You're welcome, Bissage, but I did get the error when I clicked on your first link. I just looked up the rose by the name and found it. :)

Bissage said...

Thanks, Darcy. The link works on the comment-input page but not on the comment-read page.

Color me confused!

(Or purple, at least.)

If I do nothing, maybe the problem will fix itself.

Heh.

Freeman Hunt said...

I absolutely hated the dress Michelle wore on election night. But this dress--wow! Beautiful!

chuck b. said...

Interesting how W and O basically dressed the same, and the wives are just a hue apart, the new wife more vivid, and the old wife a bit darker.

I think it would have been okay to photoshop out that shadow on the WH wall behind W.

Unknown said...

How tall is Michelle Obama? Will she be the tallest US First Lady ever?

Republican said...

Laura's dress is brown.

Beldar said...

It is a great photo, but the AP's claim to a copyright on it is absolutely spurious and shameless.

It's a White House photo, published at the official White House website. Feel free to copy and republish it, it belongs to us all.

Donn said...

Maybe hottest first lady ever.

I thought everyone was in agreement that this was Barbara Bush?

Donn said...

I wonder how all these pleasantries will seem in retrospect after the Obama/Biden administration begins their war crimes tribunal against the entire Bush administration in January?

It will be interesting to see if the Dems follow through on this.

Revenant said...

How tall is Michelle Obama? Will she be the tallest US First Lady ever?

She has given her height as 5'11", and Eleanor Roosevelt was just over that. So she either ties the current record holder or comes in a close second, depending on whether that 5'11" was rounded up or down.

Roger J. said...

since someone mentioned it as did Jackson and Perkin, and lest we forget tomorrow is veterans day. I plan to put on my dress blues and go to the national cemetary here in Memphis and participate in what i think is one of our more hallowed civic ceremonies.

I will celebrate the sacrifices of our veterans in keeping this country free and safe.I hope some of you will at least think about that sacrifice tomorrow.

Some things are beyond politics, and veterans day is one of those events.

Darcy said...

Is anybody else feeling badly that President Bush is leaving office with the lowest approval ratings ever? I am. I read that today, and I don't think he deserves that.

Donn said...

Is anybody else feeling badly that President Bush is leaving office with the lowest approval ratings ever? I am. I read that today, and I don't think he deserves that.

I don't think it matters, Darcy, it will be the judgment of history that will make the important determination (just like with Truman.)

Darcy said...

As a veteran's daughter, I thank you Roger J.

campy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Synova said...

The oval office picture is nice.

I notice that George likes landscapes and has a *gasp* cowboy on a bucking horse bronze. :-)

I'm not sure what the small statuette on the opposite side might be, it almost looks like an african mask.

Chip Ahoy said...

Your many remarks, quips, observations and links have cheered me.

I choked on the second photograph in the post. There's something truly awesome about a peaceful transition of power. That understates it -- more like cordial revolution. This country is really something.

Nonetheless, the straight up hatred felt by the population for Bush will last. There's been too much emotionally invested for it to simply evaporate. A seething primal hatred paid for with one's own first nature is a hatred that endures. Shame, that.

My friends reiterate Bush is the worst president in history. They cite his low polling domestically and internationally. How little they know of history. I remind them there's more to history than their own experience and what little they forgot from what little they failed to avoid while slidding through school -- that if they want to make sure he's made the worst in history, they had better write it, because real historians will be more generous than themselves. Historians at least will mention the challenges Bush faced, with you and your resolute partisanship listed among chief of those challenges.

Maxine Weiss said...

The Paper-bag test:

If you're browner than a paper bag, you don't get invited to country-clubs and deep society soirees.

He might be able to pass the paper-bag test, but she doesn't. And, she's got an attitude and chip on her shoulder to boot.

The rich white liberal friends they've tried so hard to cultivate might be nice to her face....but they won't let her in their homes.

Mark my words.

Chet said...

Maxine, that's rather harsh.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Historians at least will mention the challenges Bush faced, with you and your resolute partisanship listed among chief of those challenges.

President Bush did an outstanding job here in NY in the aftermath of 9/11.

If they polled the thousands of people directly affected by the attacks I believe Bush would be in the high 90s there.

Trooper York said...

The physical attributes of America’s first ladies have often been the subject of speculation and innuendo especially in the hands of political opponents of our chief executives. It is commonly agreed that Dolly Madison had the largest breasts of any first lady and that Helen Taft had the largest buttocks as she was well matched with her husband William Howard Taft. Lucretia Garfield was of course greatly renowned for her vestigial vagina that was the subject of songs and stories during James Garfield’s presidency.

A little know fact was that the wife of Warren G Harding did in fact have a wooden leg that was the result of a sexual affair that had gone awry. Florence Kling was the divorced daughter of Harding’s hated rival who “vigorously pursued” the Ohio newspaperman with series of depraved sexual escapades that led to their marriage. Florence Harding was the driving force in the popular ladies man political career and they delighted in having sex in strange and unusual places. Harding delighted in having sex with her supine on his desk in the editor’s office where he would unscrew his wife’s leg and use her other leg as a rudder to turn her around and around to have access to various orifices. The lies and excuses that they created to cover up their activities from their inquisitive reporters led to the practice of “spinning” that has endured to this very day.
(The Long and the Short of It, Presidential Penises by Doris Kearns Goodwin, St. Martins Press).

Palladian said...

"It is a great photo, but the AP's claim to a copyright on it is absolutely spurious and shameless."

I noticed this too, Beldar. I've seen AP do this with other works of the US Government. But "absolutely spurious and shameless" is SOP at the AP.

Anonymous said...

Laura Bush was correct to wear a dull dress. It's not her day, and she didn't want to risk showing up the incoming First Lady. Anyone with class would do the same.

Darcy said...

I'm just sitting here laughing at Trooper's post. And wondering if any of it is true.

And shall we say "understated" instead of "dull" for Laura Bush's dress?

Trooper York said...

The roundest of all first ladies was of course Mary Todd Lincoln who ate herself into a terrible shape due to lack of physical affection from her very depressed husband. The skinniest was of course Abigail Adams who her husband described in an unpublished letter as resembled a “scrimshaw carving of single masted schooner all planes and angles and with the gun port almost inaccessible at any angle.” Eleanor Roosevelt was reputed to be the tallest of the first ladies at just over six feet. But recent scholarship has led many historians to believe that it was in fact Julia Dent Grant who was the tallest as she stood 6’4” at the time of their marriage. However Sam and Julia Grant where deeply and totally in love and never missed an opportunity to express their devotion in the marital bed. Unfortunately the design of these beds favored massive oak head boards which Sam loving pounded his wife’s head into every night of their marriage. When she entered the White House she was 5’3” at the very most. Julia Dent indeed!
(The Long and the Short of It, Presidential Penises by Doris Kearns Goodwin, St. Martins Press).

Palladian said...

"I'm not sure what the small statuette on the opposite side might be, it almost looks like an african mask."

LOL. It's a bronze bust of Winston Churchill, lent to Bush by Tony Blair in 2001. Of course there was a campaign by British moonbats in 2004 to have the bust revoked.

I wonder where Obama's going to get a bust of Saul Alinsky?

ricpic said...

Troop, yer killin' me.

Maxine, I'm pale as waxed paper and I've never made it into a deep society soiree.

I think the really interesting question is whether Michelle would be more valuable to a womans' basketball team than Eleanor Roosevelt. Though Michelle undoubtedly would win more jump balls Eleanor's full court press idealism would wear down the opposition terribly. I'd have to go with Eleanor.

Chip Ahoy said...

Trooper, those are outstanding historic anecdotes, I will commit them all to memory, to spring at those uncomfortable pauses at dinner parties.

Trooper York said...

Darcy everything I have said is 100% true. It is just that the United Federation of Teachers refuses to teach history as it really happened. As Casey Stengel used to say, you can look it up.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Good point seven.

Deb said...

Kirby olsen said "I love this country. Nice clean transition, with no problems in spite of massive philosophical differences.
This is the best possible country."

And others have posted similar statements, and I agree. I felt that way when I voted, watching dozens of folks standing patiently in line and thought, this is the day Americans show the rest of the world how it's done.

And Laura Bush? Pure class. She did not want to compete with Michele Obama.

Host with the Most said...

ZPS,

You lost because your side lied.

Grow up and deal with it.

Trooper York said...

The only president to never marry was President James Buchanan. A noted dandy of delicate manners he did not find the company of the fairer sex congenial and often snuck away from the White House where he enjoyed visiting taverns in the low company of teamsters and roustabouts. His niece served as his official hostess when he absolutely had to entertain foreign dignitaries and ambassadors. He much preferred to relax in the Oval office with his house boy Titus that he had met in the Republic of Texas and his pet rare clumbers as they ordered food to be delivered from the Willard Hotel and played card and board games. In fact it is reputed that they invented two famous past-times, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “Poop shoots and Ladders.”
(The Long and the Short of It, Presidential Penises by Doris Kearns Goodwin, St. Martins Press).

Unknown said...

What I found interesting about the Oval Office photograph is that even though I have come to view Bush's presidency as a failed one, I was very drawn to him as the focal point of the picture. He owns the room. You can say what you like about him, but he has that certain odd something that a President needs.

Obama certainly has that too, but it feels different. Perhaps that's the sense of otherness, difference or something altered from his predecessors that he brings.

Host with the Most said...

Rev,

I expected better from you.

1) While no church or registered religious organization can endorse a specific candidate, they are free under IRS rules to comment and advocate regarding issues and referenda.

2) Any church member can, as a private citizen, give money to or endorse any political issue or candidate.

What makes this hypocrisy so delicious is the hate shown towards Mormons and Evangelicals by the so-called tolerant gay community. On top of that, there is the desire to take away first amendment freedoms form people that disagree with them - and that is called Fascism, no matter who is pulling it.

The "No on 8" side would have gained several thousands of more votes if they had not so transparently taken a disingenuous stand by calling their opponenets liars. Just as most people know well someone who is gay and therefore is sympathetic to the gay person when that gay person is unreasonably attacked, so also do many Californians know people who are decent who oppose changeing the definition of traditional marriage. And they don't like seeing those people slimed either.

The "No on 8" people did this to themselves.

Hey, if you don't agree with me, self-loathing Zachary Paul Sire of Orange County California, this gay man of the Volock Conspiracy does: An alternative to anti-Mormon protests

Trooper York said...

The only marriage that rivaled the unending love story of Julia and Sam Grant was the most happy union of the taciturn Calvin Coolidge and Grace Anna Goodhue who was a schoolteacher at the Clarke School for the Deaf when they began courting. The strange and wondrous fact that has often been rumored was that Grace Coolidge had an extremely elongated clitoris that she could actually manipulate in the most amazing ways. It is rumored that she could wrap it around old Cal’s penis like a boa constrictor so as to prevent him from reaching his climax too fast. As a consequence he had tremdous staying power and they would make love for hours at time. It did however lead President Coolidge to be very quiet because if he got too excited or overwrought he would have exploded like a geyser and would have tragically stained the entire Oval office. Luckily this did not happen until the advent of the Clinton administration.
(The Long and the Short of It, Presidential Penises by Doris Kearns Goodwin, St. Martins Press).

hdhouse said...

glad he found mr. bush at home.

Meade said...

Synova said...
The oval office picture is nice.

I notice that George likes landscapes and has a *gasp* cowboy on a bucking horse bronze. :-)

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I hereby declare post # 100.

Henry said...

The whole sequence is great. Here you have an embattled president meeting the man who will replace him, and they really seem engaged with each other. For all we know they are arguing about the BCS, but still....

Being president is an exclusive club. Outside of a few self-pitying losers (you know who they are), most ex-presidents (or soon to be ex, in Bush's case) seem to have real sympathy for their successors.

Bill Clinton always seemed much more understanding about Bush's problem with bad intelligence than the run-of-the-mill political hacks. Clinton had been there.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

OT.

Maybe Jamie Gorelick, another past Clinton Justice No. 2?

She, though, has a Fannie Mae problem. She worked at the recently bailed-out mortgage company from 1998 to 2003, netting about $25 million in salary.

With Democrats decisively in control of the Senate, she probably could be confirmed. But would Obama want to hand the Senate Republicans--diminished though their numbers are--a piñata?


It looks as if Gorelick was a tease.

Meade said...

My own favorite Remington.

Darcy said...

Very cool, Meade. How did you know what the bronze was? You recognized it?

Meade said...

Yep. You mean to tell me not everyone's grandpa had a knockoff "Broncho Buster" proudly displayed on his desk?

Darcy said...

Haha. Excellent. That's a lot more fun than "The Thinker".

Palladian said...

Ugh, I hate Remington.

Anthony said...

I remind them there's more to history than their own experience and what little they forgot from what little they failed to avoid while slidding through school. . .

Word. My local "news" people have referred twice to the current unemployment rate as "record unemployment".

Simon said...

President-elect Obama visit the White House.... And is aged five years before he leaves. You know I can't stand the man, but I don't envy the poor bastard the weight that's about to drop on his shoulders.

veni vidi vici said...

"I'm not sure what the small statuette on the opposite side might be, it almost looks like an african mask."

At the beginning of his presidency, he had a bust of Eisenhower in his office. Whether it's still there or was replaced by the Churchill mentioned upthread, I don't know.

His choice of Eisenhower was brilliant, when you consider Eisenhower was the first Republican elected since Hoover, presiding over opposition majorities in the Congress, and Ike was terrified of making Hooveresque mistakes that would damage the frail Republican brand.

I think Bush saw a lot of himself in that side of Eisenhower, coming into the office after the bruising 2000 election. What happened after 9/11 changed everything for him, but it's interesting to consider that Eisenhower bust as an indicator of his thinking about how he would approach his presidency at its outset.

Like I said, fate in the form of 9/11 grabbed him by the lapels and propelled him in a direction not of his choosing (and those who think that any president, much less this one, enjoy and crave the idea of sending ours off to get killed or maimed in wars, are idiots), which is why the early hints of where his head was at demonstrate an interesting, thoughtful side of him he's probably not had much opportunity to indulge since the famous "shark attack" summer of 2001.

Yeah, I'm something of a Bush fan, but that doesn't mean I'm not looking forward to Obama's administration. The other photos at the White House link Beldar provided are also very nice; they reveal something about these two guys that is heartening. It looks like they understand and appreciate one another. I hope Obama is judicious enough to call upon Bush's experience if and when he needs to. There are few presidents who've seen more good, bad and ugly than Bush, and there's not all that many presidents to begin with.

Simon said...

Palladian said...
"I wonder how all these pleasantries will seem in retrospect after the Obama/Biden administration begins their war crimes tribunal against the entire Bush administration in January?"

Oh, but that won't happen. Althouse said that she couldn't vote for Obama if she thought he would do that, and she voted for him. Ergo, no investigation and prosecution.

Chip Ahoy said...

"... pay a visit to the Bushes."

Ha ha ha.

So I have a juvenile sense of humor. Sue me.

Meade said...

"Ugh, I hate Remington."

That's fine, it's a free country. Hater.

Meade said...

Nice sentiment, nicely expressed, veni vi.

Roberto said...

Simon said..."President-elect Obama visit the White House.... And is aged five years before he leaves. You know I can't stand the man..."

You're such a creepy little man.

Instead of belittling our new President, why not tell us what you've accomplished in your life?

Roberto said...

gavin: "I was very drawn to him as the focal point of the picture. He owns the room. You can say what you like about him, but he has that certain odd something that a President needs."

George W. George..."has that certain odd something that a Presidency needs"?????????

What?

Ineptitude? Abject failure? Lack of intellect? Dishonesty?

Are you daft?

1775OGG said...

So, did President Bush and Senator Obama discuss Obama's plan to have a Civilian National Security Force?

I'm very curious what Obama's minions have to say now about that aspect of his campaign platform?

Meade said...

"Ineptitude? Abject failure? Lack of intellect? Dishonesty?"

Michael, you're projecting again. And getting spittle all over your poor monitor.

Roberto said...

meade,
If you have any defense of G.W....bring it on.

Right now the man carries a 76% disapproval rating via the American people...and you want to disparage my opinion?

It's because of idiots like you we've had this fool around for 8 long years.

Roberto said...

I've said it before and will say it again: I can't believe how many here continue to support George W. Bush.

Do any of you people read anything?

1775OGG said...

I'm forever grateful that Althouse's blog has Michael with his astute and delightful insights. How could humanity ever had survived before Michael's miraculous birth?

Here's praying Michael is using his vast wealth of knowledge to assist President Elect Obama during The Messiah's transition to his ascendancy here on Earth!

Mark said...

Michael, I read Maggie's comment, and followed the link. Did you?

There's Bush, in the hospital, visiting someone who's pretty permanently messed up to give him his Purple Heart.

Bush wore the same suit he wore to meet with Obama.

Did the AP report it? Did any of the networks? I haven't heard.

I read a lot. I just don't think I get the full story, even so.

Meade said...

"It's because of idiots like you we've had this fool around for 8 long years."

You mean we could've had Gore or Kerry if idiots like me had voted like idiots like you?

You're welcome.

Unknown said...

I wonder if the press is going to call him Mr. Obama or President Obama?

Anonymous said...

Praise the Lord for Obama-Man
he shrinks my tumors, yes he can
fixes the budget, and that's not all
he reduces my cholesterol
he talks so good that I'm in awe
get my kids into Harvard Law
drops by the house on Christmas day
turns water into Chardonay
gives me tips on shooting hoops
perfumes the air whereof he poops
we don't deserve a man like this
all praise to his Obamadness

Unknown said...

Michael: Calm down dear.

Just to be clear, I think Bush has been a terrible failure. It isn't clear what will be historically down to him and what will be down to circumstance, but I'm fairly confident you can call his 8 years a disappointment at the very least.

I figured stating I thought his Presidency was a failed one spelled it out pretty clearly. Evidently you're only here to find what you think you're looking for.

hdhouse said...

Trooper York said...
Laura Bush wore a very retro outfit ...You know the stuff that hdhouse was wearing.."

Laura is a proverbial "retro"....as to the other little shot in the dark...I would suspect that loosing brings out some of the silly-traits among those who were on the wrong side of the coin...

So Trooper, what does it feel like to have your hopes dashed...do you just lash out as an escape? You lost. Ya'betcha.

Ann Althouse said...

Why the endless obsessing over Michael? He's a commenter I wouldn't even have noticed if others hadn't talked about him.

holdfast said...

"It's because of idiots like you we've had this fool around for 8 long years."

-Don't forget about the idiots who nominated John Kerry!

Revenant said...

While no church or registered religious organization can endorse a specific candidate, they are free under IRS rules to comment and advocate regarding issues and referenda.

If that is accurate, then the LDS didn't do anything that would cost them their tax exempt status.

What makes this hypocrisy so delicious is the hate shown towards Mormons and Evangelicals by the so-called tolerant gay community. On top of that, there is the desire to take away first amendment freedoms form people that disagree with them - and that is called Fascism, no matter who is pulling it.

First of all, Mormons and Evangelicals preach bigotry and hatred. It isn't unreasonable that the targets of that bigotry would come to dislike Mormons and Evangelicals -- or even to be "bigoted" against them (is is bigotry to dislike someone who thinks you're a pervert?).

Secondly, there is no first amendment right to tax-exempt status for religions. It could more easily be argued that the tax exempt status for religions is a violation of the first amendment, as it represents government sanction of some religions to the exclusion of others. In either case, the first amendment rights of Mormons and Evangelicals are not being threatened.

The Dale Carpenter link you noted (I'm not sure he's gay, incidentally) points out that both the criticism of churches and the anger at the "Yes on 8" crowd are well-justified, but simply counterproductive. I agree with that sentiment. He certainly doesn't agree with your view that the "No on 8" crowd lost because they lied, though.

The "No on 8" crowd lost because Obama was on the ticket, and thus voter turnout among homophobic minorities was higher than usual. There's no deeper explanation needed, really.

Trooper York said...

Hey Hd, your guy won fair and square. I have lost before and I will lose again. Whats the matter can't take a little ribbing. Are you as humorless as your fearless leader.What does any of that have to do with the fact that you enjoyed dressing up like Rose Marie in the Dick Van Dyke Show?

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Unknown said...

historic isn't a good enough reason