Obama offers radical argument that Abe Lincoln was human

CNN: President Barack Obama defended himself Thursday against critics who argued that his recent appearance on a Web-based comedy show [Zach Galifianakis’s scripted interview show “Between Two Ferns”] undermined the dignity of his office and would never have been done by one of his most famous predecessors – Abraham Lincoln.

Obama said in an interview with ESPN radio host Colin Cowherd that Lincoln “loved telling the occasional bawdy joke and, you know, being out among regular folks.”

"One of the hardest things about being President is being in this bubble that is artificial and, unless you make a conscious effort, you start sounding like some Washington stiff," Obama said.

"You have to consciously try to get out of that if you want remind yourself of the wonderful people you’re supposed to be serving who have a sense of humor and aren’t thinking every day about position papers."

The short version here is just because you’ve got a stick up your butt, it doesn’t mean everyone you’ve ever admired had a stick up their butt too. As Mozart’s character is the movie Amadeus” put it: “Come on now, be honest! Which one of you wouldn’t rather listen to his hairdresser than Hercules? Or Horatius, or Orpheus… people so lofty they sound as if they shit marble!” The first step in connecting with voters on a personal level is to be an actual person.

Republicans need to get over themselves. Or do we have to remind them of the solemn dignity of this guy?

[photo via Wikimedia Commons]

News Roundup for 4/6/11

A win is a win

-Headline of the day-
"Kloppenburg declares victory over Prosser in Supreme Court race."

The race that came to be seen as a proxy war between Gov. Scott Walker and pretty much everyone else has produced a winner. JoAnne Kloppenburg defeated incumbent Justice David Prosser in a stunning come-from-behind victory with a decisive landslide of... 204 votes. The next time someone tells you that every vote counts, nod knowingly, 'cause it's so true.

The race went all freakin' night -- back and forth, back and forth, until everyone was tired of it -- as districts overwhelmed by high turnout struggled to get a vote count out while it was still election night. Three failed. Two Milwaukee County districts and one Jefferson County district were left when I checked this morning. While the Jefferson County vote had been leaning strongly toward Prosser, when the remaining district finally came in it reflected the rest of the state -- Prosser closed the gap by only two votes. With only Milwaukee County left, it was all but hopeless.

Then Milwaukee County finally came in and, yeah, it was hopeless. With nothing left to count, Kloppenburg took the prize.

For now. The Prosser campaign says they'll file for a recount, which they can have done at state expense, since the vote total is so close. So who knows, really?

Still, round one goes to Kloppenburg. And the people of Wisconsin. (Wisconsin State Journal)


-Not good, not good...-
Apparently, GOP presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty's campaign staff is dedicated. While everyone else is asleep, they're still out there pounding the pavement and knocking on doors -- which is weird because, as I said, everyone else is asleep.

According to the report, "A 15-year-old [Iowa] girl found a campaign worker from Alabama banging on her Ankeny family's back door early Wednesday morning" -- "early" being three in the morning. Apparently, the T-Paw worker, Benjamin Foster, was doing some sort of creepy Night of the Living Dead impression. At least, that's what I got out of the girl's description of it.

"His arm was in my back door, trying to get in and I screamed and went upstairs to my parents room and I continued screaming," she said.

Cops were called and Foster was taken in for "public intoxication and trespassing." No word on what the fuck he thought he was doing.

For his part, Pawlenty says he's "extremely disappointed" in Foster and fired his sorry ass on the...

Oops! Misread that. Pawlenty has place him "on a two-week unpaid suspension."

That'll learn him. (KCCI, with video)


-Bonus HotD-
"Bachmann: Why I'm qualified to be president."

"As you know, when Abraham Lincoln founded this country in 317 BC, he had the help of Jesus, Superman, and a bag of magic beans..." (The Hill)