To support Small Business Saturday, Pres. Obama has made a tradition of doing some of his holiday shopping at D.C. area small businesses. For the last two years,?he and his daughters have shopped at?Politics and Prose,?a?popular?Washington bookstore.?As they were checking out this year, they were captured on camera exchanging banter about Meet the Press host Chuck Todd’s book,??The Stranger: Barack Obama in the White House, which the president spotted behind the counter. He feigned surprised delight and said:
“Oh, Chuck Todd! Let’s see what Chuck has to say here…”
Malia, clearly amused, asked:
?How is he writing a book already??
They then discussed the very lonely and sad looking photo on the book’s cover.
Obama ?Look, he’s lonely.
Malia: ?Sad.?
Obama: ?Looking alienated?oh my. He’s so sad.?
Malia: ?It’s just, like, a sad photo.?
The cashier weighed in:
?They tried to find the saddest photo they could.”
Scroll down to read more.
From The Daily Banter:
The exchange was a bit of a glimpse into how the President and his kids deal with the often-critical narratives that are the lifeblood of the Beltway media. Todd’s tome (which I haven’t read yet) is known as a rather intensely negative portrayal of Obama’s presidency, so much so that The New York Times? book reviewer noted that ?If the president reads Mr. Todd’s new book ?The Stranger,? it’s hard to imagine him wanting to return to the (Todd-hosted Meet The Press) program anytime soon.?
The New York Post incorrectly reported that Pres. Obama was calling Chuck Todd “sad.” The president was actually joking about how sad his own image looks. Chuck Todd himself was quick to point that out, too. Via Twitter:
@ComfortablySmug @lachlan you may shocked to learn that the nypost got this wrong. But the comment was about the photo on the book. Nice try
— Chuck Todd (@chucktodd) December 1, 2014
The president didn’t buy The Stranger, but the White House did let The Daily Banter know (via email) what books he and the girls bought.
- Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End ? Atul Gawande
- Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business (Junie B. Jones Series #2) ? Barbara Park
- A Barnyard Collection: Click, Clack, Moo and More ? Doreen Cronin
- I Spy Sticker Book and Picture Riddles by Jean Marzollo
- Nuts to You ? Lynn Rae Perkins
- Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (Junie B. Jones Series #1) ? Barbara Park
- Brown Girl Dreaming ? Jacqueline Woodson
- Redwall (Redwall Series #1) ? Brian Jacques
- Mossflower (Redwall Series #2) ? Brian Jacques
- Mattimeo ? Brian Jacques (Redwall Series #3)
- Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms ? Katherine Rundell
- The Narrow Road to the Deep North ? Richard Flanagan
- The Laughing Monsters ? Denis Johnson
- All the Light We Cannot See ? Anthony Doerr
- Heart of Darkness ? Joseph Conrad
- Nora Webster ? Colm Toibin
- Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth and Faith in the New China ? Evan Osnos
Watch the hilarious exchange via video below and read more about this story at The Daily Banter.
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Tiffany Willis is a fifth-generation Texan and the founder and editor-in-chief of Liberal America. An unapologetic member of the Christian Left, she has spent most of her career actively working with ?the least of these? and disadvantaged and oppressed populations. She’s passionate about their struggles. To stay on top of topics she discusses,?like her?Facebook page,?follow her on Twitter, or?connect with her via LinkedIn. She also has?a?grossly neglected personal blog?and a?literary quotes blog that is a labor of love. Find her somewhere and join the discussion.
h/t The Daily Banter via Liberaland
