If you got to have dinner with Obama...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

I know we all have questions we'd love to ask...

I keep getting these emails urging me to apply so I could eat dinner or lunch with him. So far, I've resisted.

Of course, my chances are infinitesimally small.

But what if I were able to go?

I'd love to ask the hard questions: the ones about marijuana, about opening the North Sea for oil drilling, about the Keystone Pipeline, and so on.

Would you ask them?

I'd sure be tempted...

[hrmjustin]

1. I get tongue tied.

But i would ask him what is his home life like at the white house.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. That would be an awful time to be tongue tied...

[cynatnite]

3. I'd talk to him about health care and what a normal day is like for him. n/t

[HarveyDarkey]

4. So many

1 Why is Guantanamo still open? would be my first, I guess

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. So, you'd ask the hard questions...

Good for you!

[HarveyDarkey]

11. I thought I'd start with an easy one

I didn't think that was hard.

[Tx4obama]

18. The answer to that question can be found below

GITMO is still open because of the obstruction in The CONGRESS.

Click on the link below and then go to the bottom of the page and work your way upward to see the updates in chronological order

Here: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/177/close-the-guantanamo-bay-detention-center/

[rightwinger77]

6. In my head

In my head " What was it like when Bin Laden's face came on camera in the SIT Room?" what would come out of my mouth "Are UFO's real?"

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. Welcome to DU!

UFO's? I doubt Obama would have any interest in that...

Who knows?

[elleng]

7. I'd like to tell him what I think of his education secretary but I wouldn't;

it would be rude.

Might talk about the impossibility of dealing w Congress.

And about his daughters and Sidwell.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

10. That's what I'm afraid of: being rude.

But omigod, what an opportunity to really find out what he's thinking about the controversial topics.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

23. Peggy, we won't find out what he's really thinking about the controversial topics until he goes

i.e. leaves office and hopefully that won't be for another four years. Even in an intimate setting with diners, President Obama will be careful in what he says because he knows that word of mouth and/or the possibility that some guests could do media interviews could occur. So he might be more open than he would be in front of the media and the public but there'd be a limit to that I would imagine

It would be really good if President Obama is keeping some sort of record of his real thoughts and feelings as he goes through his years in office -sought of like we now know that President Clinton did with his oral history project he conducted over eight years with author Taylor Branch, which were subsequently published as "The Clinton Tapes: Wrestling History With The President". I've read some of that book and found it much more insightful and informative than Clinton's own memoirs! I hope that President Obama is doing the same

[CaliforniaPeggy]

24. *sigh* I expect you're right about that.

I had not actually thought about repercussions.

Oh well...

I really did want some answers, damn it!



Good to see you tonight!

[rightwinger77]

13. What about Sidwell

The girls went the the University of Chicago Charter School, not exactly a bullet ridden school on the south side.

[elleng]

19. We have friends who attended Sidwell.

I lived in Hyde Park; know kids who attended the U. Chic. Lab School. 'Bullet ridden?' That desirable?

[goclark]

37. I would be telling him how much I appreciate

being there ~

Love to be there!

MsgoclarkObama

[elleng]

40. Yes indeed!

[WingDinger]

8. I would give him ONe night off. No political questions.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. That would be very kind of you.

[elleng]

20. Nice of you!

[Wait Wut]

14. The important questions...

...we hear all the time. I want to know:

1. How do you get to sleep at nite? (I've had chronic insomnia for over 30 years...that shit is important to me )
2. Do you get to have any normal life...alone...without feeling like you should be doing something else?
3. Do you get sick of those suits?
4. Do you have any real Republican friends? If so, what do you talk about and do you think they'll vote for you?
5. Is the First Lady as overprotective of her family as she seems to be?
6. Do you let Bo sleep on the bed?

I think what I really would like to know, can he still be a "normal" person in spite of his job. The guy is bombarded by the same questions every single day. I want to know how he survives it all. I think I'd also like him to ask me some more difficult questions. Maybe he'd ask you or me how we felt about the important issues. Or, maybe he'd like to know how we live our lives. I don't know which line of questioning I'd prefer. I think I'd rather just chat with him. I have the feeling he'd like to just be normal for awhile.

[madamesilverspurs]

15. Actually . . .

I'd move the dishes aside and bust out my travel cribbage board. Let him just relax a bit. Amazing what you can discover during a game of cards. . .


-

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. You mean my accusatory style might not work???

Ah, you're probably right!

[Tx4obama]

17. I would ask him some of the things that probably no one would

Last edited Sat Jun 23, 2012, 02:22 AM - Edit history (1)

1) If I could bring my dog over to the White House to play with Bo




2) If he still has his old pair of shoes (with the holes on the bottom) and will they be included in his presidential library.




3) When he moves out of the White House January 2017, will he and the family move back to Chicago? Or to Hawaii? Or somewhere else?


4) And on a scale of 1 to 100 exactly how pissed off is he at the Republicans for obstructing everything he tries to do

[Jamaal510]

21. OP stole my idea

about asking him the marijuana question. But in addition to that, I'd ask him how he is able to put up with all the hostility from conservatives. On the Internet, he constantly has people mocking his name (0bama, Obummer, Obozo, etc.). He gets racial comments all the time. He already has more death threats than any other president. He has Fox News and RW radio lying about him daily. He has the "liberal media" doing all they can to keep him from getting too far ahead of Mitt Rob-me. And he is forced to work with a Republican-majority Congress that has vowed to block his attempts at a 2nd term.
I know if I were in his position dealing with the righties, I may not have even lasted past my 1st month in office without losing my sanity.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. He is without question a very strong man, a strong personality.

I couldn't do it either.

Good questions!

[Raine]

25. I think I would talk to him about BO

I'm pretty shy and have a hard time talking to people but I really really love animals so I think that would get the ball rolling. After that I might tell him my main concern is the enviroment and I'm worried about global warming. Perhaps get him to tell what he plans on doing regarding those issues.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. Those are good thoughts, my dear Raine!

[WCGreen]

27. I would ask him to hire some regular people who are living with the consequences of

all that comes down from Congress and the Executive orders...

I would ask him to establish a liaison between the people out there beyond the beltway in order to put things into proper persecutive.

I would tell him that almost no one is happy with what comes out of DC because of the perception that all is done for specific interest groups.

I would tell him that people who should be voting for him are not even registered because the feel so alienated by the process itself.

i would tell him that the first thing I would do is send in people from the AG's office to investigate the various voting purges going on and to find and then prosecute those who would deny others the right to vote just because they don't agree with what they believe in....

And then I would say pass the A-1 dude...

[lovemydog]

28. He would probably ask a lot about me

He seems interested in other people's stories.

I'd ask him about his plans after retiring from the presidency in (hopefully!) 2016.

And what I can do to help provide a better life for working people.

[MADem]

29. I would not ask him a damn thing--I'd tell him what I thought...

I'd give him MY perspective as a life-long retired military Democrat; I'd urge him to at least decriminalize that weed, to get health care to everyone even though MY ass is already covered, to work on improving education from K through college for all Americans, regardless of income status--and include a plus-up on the maths/sciences while we're at it; to make sure that no one goes hungry while we find a way to get better nutrition to poor kids--apples instead of applesauce, that kind of thing.

Here's how I look at it--he's got my vote, he doesn't have to "prove" a damn thing to me. He might find it useful to know what geezers like me think, though. I think a lot of people assume that after a certain age, people turn into Grampa Amos McCoy or Aunt Bea and we develop a bad case of CRS (Can't Remember Shit). Truth is, most of us have the same wild hearts we did at sixteen, even if we're a bit more temperate in our behavior in our later years.

[magical thyme]

31. agreed. any questions we either already know the answers to, or will get stock answers

Dinner with O is the opportunity to tell him what matters and what he needs to do.

And I'd write it out on 3x5s ahead of time, to make sure that 1. I didn't leave anything out, and 2. if I got tongue-tied, I could just pul the cards out of my purse, one at a time. It would probably give him a laugh...

[polichick]

30. I would - and I'd TELL him a few things too. ;)

[greytdemocrat]

32. I'd ask...

You're paying, right????

[lame54]

34. actually we are paying

[lame54]

33. pot poker and drones

[HopeHoops]

35. I wouldn't ask them anything. I'd TELL them to make sure everything is vegetarian.

[LiberalEsto]

36. No questions. I'd tell him I'm disgusted with the use of drones

the savage prosecution of whistleblowers
and the weakening of civil liberties.
I'd also tell him he should have prosecuted Bush and Cheney over the fraudulent war.
Then I would turn my back and walk out.

If I cast a vote for him this fall, I would be voting for Supreme Court control. Nothing else.

[pinboy3niner]

38. I just spoke today with a friend who met the President and First Lady at the WH recently

My friend and her daughter attended a Memorial Day breakfast there. They did not expect the Obamas to be there, but the arival was announced with a request that the guests remain seated, and then the Obamas entered and proceeded to move from table to table to meet everyone (80-100 people at tables seating 8 each).

When the President got to my friend and asked, "How are you?" she couldn't help exclaiming, "You're my favorite President!" President Obama responded, "That deserves a hug."

So my friend and her daughter both got big hugs from both the President and Michelle, and then the daughter ended up in a long talk with the First Lady about being moms with daughters of the same age. Eventually the President said, "Michelle," and made a motion indicating it was time to go. Michelle replied, "We're having a mom chat here." The President: "We need to leave now."

The only time policy came up (sort of) was when my friend told the President that her husband was listed as MIA in Vietnam for years before being declared KIA. She said the President told her, "We made a lot of mistakes in that war. I hope we've learned enough to avoid repeating them again."

It was a neat story about the meeting, and my friend and her daughter were so impressed at the warmth and sincerity of the Obamas that when the Secretary of Defense ended up being seated with them, it was no BFD, lol. (Panetta immedately turned to the young woman seated next to him, a Naval Academy Midshipman, and engaged her in conversation.)

We may not have our names drawn to do something like this, Peg, so I guess we'll just have to settle for these vicarious thrills.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

39. That's a great story, and thank you for sharing it, my dear pinboy3niner!

I guess we'll just have to settle, all right...

[a la izquierda]

41. I would ask him for advice on how to pay back...

my massive student debt, possibly without a job.
Then I'd ask him if he had any need for a specialist on Mexico. I'd happily volunteer. It would solve the first question at any rate.

[Ghost of Huey Long]

42. Ask him to stop the outsourcing!! Ask him where the hell does he think the jobs are going??

WE need to take the lead on this, and demand our 'leaders' follow.

He need to stop pursuing future free trade agreements, apologize, then use it against Romney right now!!

[Ghost of Huey Long]

43. Ask him why he doesn't shut the Republicans down on the debt

Ask them how they can possibly blame Obama, the poor, and the unemployed for the debt, when they started two wars and two Big Government programs Homeland Security and the TSA while giving a tax cut!

This is so absurd that we are not speaking this truth in their faces every day! It is ridiculous what the Republicans get away with and blaming Obama for the debt they created!!%$&^


And how preposterous that they pretend to be protectors of the Constitution when they used 9/11 to quickly shove the 'Patriot' Act down everyone's throat, then started two HUGE violations of our Constitution (and unending government slush funds for Homeland Security and the TSA)

If he wants to score some points with both sides of the aisle, stand up there and say he is ending breaking up Homeland Security and returning airport security to the airlines.

This will bring voters to the polls.

Then you might want to talk to him about election fraud, and the easy access to flip elections electronically with 5 minutes undetected...

[Comrade_McKenzie]

44. I don't enter those contests.

How many names do they throw away before they find a photogenic winner with a clean record?

[lunatica]

45. I wouldn't ask him anything political

I'd be in complete awe and would just listen.

I can't pretend I know how to run this country better than he does.