General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsEye Candy for Weary Eyes
Here's a gentle reminder of what we still have in us. We can't help but compare these pictures to our current waking fucking NIGHTMARE.
Today, instead of mourning, I'll flex that muscle in my mind that points to my perspicacity: All of this is still somewhere in all of us. It didn't die, it's hiding behind legitimate fear. It's still there & will never go away. I'll pretend just for a few moments that trump & co don't even exist. I'll even pretend it's now. I'll remember what it was like to have an engaged adult and an actual man representing us. You know, instead of an idiot.
Here's a working, real family man. Youthful, black, intelligent, athletic, talented, handsome, and forever in his element. And the first thing we see in this picture is the "Miles to Go Before I Sleep" warm-up & preparation of his mind, body and spirit.
http://micheleroohani.com/blog/2008/06/09/may-means-purple-rain-in-los-angeles/
" Barack Obama loves ranch dressing and cannot resist a plate of nachos
But he can't stand trail mix with M&Ms and tries to avoid fast and fried food
The President's tastes were revealed by his former aide Reggie Love
He once forgot Obama's taquitos when out campaigning, infuriating him
Obama confessed he eats nachos until 'guacamole comes out of my eyes'."
http://www.nollyscoop.com/general/14109-barack-obama-hates-trail-mix-with-m-ms-and-only-eats-salad-in-an-emergency.html
?20170525203049
http://news.sky.com/story/a-tale-of-two-presidents-angela-merkel-meets-obama-and-trump-10893212
https://www.rbb-online.de/politik/thema/2017/kirchentag-2017-berlin/beitraege/aufbau-evangelischer-kirchentag.html
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/434597432762383084/
http://politicalhotwire.com/current-events/164281-news-conference-trump-rails-against-fake-news-now-hes-all-inventing.html
http://www.runyweb.com/articles/usa-today/white-house-easter-2013.html
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/258957047294046768/
https://www.pinterest.com/kimmdlett/history-president-barack-hussein-obama/
https://www.pinterest.com/source/viewstonews.com/
http://www.bunkersparadise.com/37015/is-president-obama-losing-his-golf-balls-one-mans-find/#9
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3511568/Obama-family-wishes-America-Happy-Easter-attend-service-historic-Virginia-church.html
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/141581982005501065
Edited to add: Please feel free to add your favorites!!
Phentex
(16,334 posts)I love all of these you posted too!
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)Phentex
(16,334 posts)I love to look at it.
Ilsa
(61,695 posts)Baitball Blogger
(46,705 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)Rhiannon12866
(205,320 posts)The little boys are so cute and excited - and that wonderful experience with the president will be with them always!
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)Probably without a second thought. Those kids are thrilled!
https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/obama-yosemite-kids?utm_term=.ifE1ROabl#.fwxMQp8v3
I MISS that man.
Rhiannon12866
(205,320 posts)He loves them and they know it, even the youngest ones. Actually, he was pretty damn good with everyone. I miss him, too.
sinkingfeeling
(51,457 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)lostnfound
(16,179 posts)He could also fit right in in Men In Black. Picture McConnell and Trump as alien blobs...
But I repeat myself.
Control-Z
(15,682 posts)Hmm. I wonder if he can act. Wait. Duh, of course he can.
Wouldn't that be some good fun for him?
BumRushDaShow
(128,958 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)Barack Obama, The President of the United States of America.
https://www.pinterest.com/explore/taring-padi/
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a50418/hillary-clinton-rain-speech/
babylonsister
(171,065 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)And it's reminding me of the man WE CHOSE to represent us.
Here's a dose of Presidential comportment: serving Thanksgiving dinner to veterans.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3334826/Obama-s-turkey-duty-Michelle-s-vegetables-Sasha-Malia-dish-mashed-potatoes-cranberry-sauce-Family-join-forces-serve-homeless-veterans-Thanksgiving-dinner.html
babylonsister
(171,065 posts)so very happy we got to share him, and I miss him dearly.
madokie
(51,076 posts)I was able to see that early on and voted for him in the primary and both general elections
To be honest with you those votes were my Proudest Votes yet
babylonsister
(171,065 posts)and have never regretted it.
CTyankee
(63,912 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,457 posts)lastlib
(23,226 posts)lamp_shade
(14,831 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)monmouth4
(9,700 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)HipChick
(25,485 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)lamp_shade
(14,831 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)https://theobamadiary.com/tag/pictures/
His humanity comes through so strongly in the pictures I've seen of him. I miss that humanity in the WH. But it reminds me that this is still who we really are.
lamp_shade
(14,831 posts)Moostache
(9,895 posts)The chasm between what was and what is breaks the spirit and confounds the mind.
Where are the great songwriters of the age? Someone with talent needs to echo Simon and Garfunkel...a nation's eyes and gaze are certainly left wandering now...
DK504
(3,847 posts)I miss him so much. An intelligent, thoughtful, understanding, respectful of protocols, a diplomat and a true gentleman.
My heart also hurts.
jamesatemple
(342 posts)In fact, somehow the "candy" in my eye got damp just lookin'... and hurtin'...at all those wonderful pics. We can only guess how great our Country would have been with the absence of all the haters and their progress blocking.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)"The chasm between what was and what is breaks the spirit and confounds the mind."
You put that so beautifully and summed up what so many of us are thinking and feeling. Just look at the way he is with Michelle vs. Trump & Melania
And above, Obama is so loving with his family vs. Trump below w/ his
I just love seeing Obama w/ kids, with audiences, with other world leaders - look at Obama above w/ Merkel and compare to Trump w/ Merkel
?itok=02gkwsO6
I wish so much we could have him back. We didn't know how good we had it!
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)I wanted to start a thread that reminds us (me) about where our/my standards are.
The 2 couples standing on the steps is particularly vivid. A couple who obviously loves each other- young & about to go do exactly whatever the hell they want: they've paid their dues. Next to them, 2 uncomfortable-looking cardboard cutouts. Shaped like adults.
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2164246/Gentlemen-tips-Michelle-Obama-shares-memories-dinner-date-future-President.html
If you don't have a sense of humor, you got nothing. And it's one of the things I most appreciated during his years as our president. This sort of thing is reminding me that I will never be susceptible to the soullessness in the WH today.
byronius
(7,394 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,083 posts)And, it has only been five horrible, godawful months.
SkyDaddy7
(6,045 posts)Thank-You to the OP for this post I needed it! It is so sad that we went from "Hope & Change" to "Now We Must Deal with the Deranged" #TrumpCult
SCantiGOP
(13,869 posts)Class
Competence
Compassion
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)paleotn
(17,912 posts)Bayard
(22,069 posts)I started my Obama file with that first pic when he was elected the first time. I keep adding to it, and any of these that would copy, went in it.
There is just no bullshit about this man.
CrispyQ
(36,463 posts)Obama has grace. That's not something you find often, especially in men, but he has it!
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)grantcart
(53,061 posts)lovemydogs
(575 posts)Politicub
(12,165 posts)It seems so long ago, doesn't it?
Your post also reminded me of something. I remember thinking, when Obama took the oath of office for his first term, that anything is possible America.
In the Trump era, it's easy to forget just how improbable Obama winning the presidency was. When he was elected, it was improbable that gay marriage would become the law of the land. It was improbable that someone would finally start to address the inequalities of our healthcare system and pass the ACA.
Above all, Obama strengthened how much I love my country. Every one of his speeches is a love letter to America. Even with all of the negativity and racism directed at him, Obama's faith in us never wavered. He inspires me to fight the GOP and others who would do harm to America with every fiber of my being.
And you know what? Obama's words are truer today than ever: We are the ones we have been waiting for.
That gives me hope. And sometimes that's all we have. Until we regain political power. Then hope and longing become the blueprint for a brighter tomorrow.
lovemydogs
(575 posts)I did not always agree with Obama but, I thought he was a great senator for us here in Illinois, along with Dick Durban. And I thought he was a great President.
And going from Obama to the horror in the White House today, I always get tears in my eyes when I read about Obama. Even Biden makes me sad.
TNNurse
(6,926 posts)Unfortunately, I have not moved, but the country is not the same.
cilla4progress
(24,731 posts)seems we were such good people then. Led by a good, good man.
What became of all that? And how did it change so fast?
I find the speed with which it changed most terrifying. What other horrors are we capable of? Germany, 1930s? Cambodia, 1970s? Balkan states, 1990s?
spanone
(135,831 posts)Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)See, THAT is exactly what I'm talking about. That video was great. Thank you. We took this as a matter of course, didn't we. Just today, I'm re-learning what *that* being normal was.
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/barack-obama/images/8299096/title/funny-obama-picture-photo
IronLionZion
(45,440 posts)Squinch
(50,949 posts)lamp_shade
(14,831 posts)Hamlette
(15,412 posts)I was going to go find it if you hadn't. What a class act.
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/04/24/vo-obama-quiets-crying-baby-2011-wh-gov.cnn
When real people were in charge.
Beaverhausen
(24,470 posts)so many wonderful moments with Obama and his family. I'm in tears.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,855 posts)He is just so natural with them that it was always a joy to see such pictures.
ancianita
(36,055 posts)Soxfan58
(3,479 posts)With a Capital C
furtheradu
(1,865 posts)Thank YOU.💖
Aristus
(66,342 posts)BobTheSubgenius
(11,563 posts)an acquaintance of mine on another site came in (so to speak) completely bubbling over after being at a candidates' meeting. Her takeaway from the event was...
"I've just seen the first black President!!!"
Astute, or clairvoyant.
mopinko
(70,102 posts)w the same refrain.
kimbutgar
(21,141 posts)Everyone should post pictures of him on Facebook and nothing else that day. Overwhelm Facebook saying how much you love and wish he was still our president, we can do it on all social media that day.
It will piss off chump boggy!
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)Last edited Wed Jun 28, 2017, 06:51 PM - Edit history (1)
http://www.businessinsider.com/report-obama-rejected-from-ny-golf-clubs-2014-9
?2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/17/obama-eating_n_4777124.html
http://twentytwowords.com/see-barack-and-michelle-obamas-love-story-over-the-years-in-these-beautiful-pics/4/
These are relationships and things what's-his-fuck will never, ever have or be. Let's make August 4th the sweetest, nicest, most in-your-face birthday ever.
"Splatter Twitter, August 4th!"
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)He was a funny guy!
hibbing
(10,098 posts)Love him, adore her.
Peace
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)hibbing
(10,098 posts)kag
(4,079 posts)had so much more class and beauty--inside and out--than anyone in the the Orange fuckface's family.
I would love to see Malia face off in a debate with Eric. She'd wipe the floor with him.
dem in texas
(2,674 posts)thank you so much for the pictures, I sure miss him, especially when I see what is sitting in the oval office now.
Does anyone have the pic of Obama sitting in his chair at his desk, tossing a football in the air? It was taken through the window. I was going to save that pic, but forgot it and later couldn't find it.
SonofDonald
(2,050 posts)RickHworth
(123 posts)With all of this insanity, it's a welcome break to when things were normal
calimary
(81,260 posts)It definitely IS a welcome break. Back when we had true class and legitimacy, compassion, and a sense of true service in the Oval Office.
No, he wasn't perfect. Yes, he made some mistakes. But overall, he was a pretty doggone magnificent President. Noble, dignified, a role model in EVERY sense of the word - as a leader, a man, a husband, a father, a scholar. We don't have ANYTHING like that in there now. trump can't even begin to think of filling Barack Obama's shoes. Hell, he couldn't dream of filling Hillary's shoes, either. Sniveling, lying, vulgar, deceitful, scheming, manipulative coward is what we've got in there now. He's such a disgrace he couldn't even fill dubya's shoes.
TalenaGor
(1,104 posts)get the red out
(13,466 posts)I miss feeling deep respect and admiration for the President of the United States.
tblue37
(65,340 posts)but Sasha sure has the cutest darned dimples!
And also like their parents, the girls are smart and well-educated--and raised to be decent, socially conscious, and responsible.
Unlike at least the 3 oldest Trump kids.
George II
(67,782 posts)brer cat
(24,565 posts)Thank you for adding it.
niyad
(113,302 posts)Amaryllis
(9,524 posts)gademocrat7
(10,656 posts)I truly miss the grace,dignity, intelligence, decorum and diplomacy.
Bernardo de La Paz
(49,001 posts)DFW
(54,378 posts)I added the caption to this one........
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
And I'm the one on the other end of his hand in this one:
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)DFW
(54,378 posts)Either he remembered me from the other times I had met him (don't think so, though he remembered me by name at the WH subsequently), or he had been prepped. At any rate, I was the first one he greeted when he entered the room, and he knew from the start who I was (greeted me by name immediately) and that he'd be in friendly company.
octoberlib
(14,971 posts)unlike the frowner in chief.
DFW
(54,378 posts)He has never once had even a hint of a scowl--something Trump seems to have in 31 different flavors.
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)DFW
(54,378 posts)Just like Bill Clinton and NOT like "dead fish" Ginrgich
Can't tell you about W--I don't hang with a lot of Republicans LOL!! I did meet his dad, but I don't remember his handshake.
Hekate
(90,681 posts)ailsagirl
(22,896 posts)We were so fortunate to have him--
But I miss him SO MUCH!!!
meadowlark5
(2,795 posts)I would have missed him if Hillary had won but it is so much more stark with the asshole we now have occupying the White House.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)DippyDem
(659 posts)woodsprite
(11,914 posts)And it contrasts sharply with wanting to cry over the freaking mess we have now and the destruction of his legacy. So much wasted opportunity. We should string the Repubs up for eons for taking that away from us and sticking us with that orange asshat currently squatting in the people's house.
adigal
(7,581 posts)I don't think it is Michelle, right? Seems too young.
amuse bouche
(3,657 posts)orangecrush
(19,551 posts)That the country that elected this man could elect what we are suffering now?
Wawannabe
(5,657 posts)My POTUS and FLOTUS and first family.
[sigh]
LiberalLovinLug
(14,173 posts)..and how he acts, how he is great with children, how thoughtful he answered questions.
How do they jump from seeing these kinds of pictures, or TV feeds on his smiling interactions with other leaders etc..and then watch Fox News and read Breitbart and listen to Limpballs and be convinced that he is the anti-Christ, possessed by the Devil and was going to rain down death and destruction on all of America?
I guess what I'm saying is that despite the truth in the saying "you can't judge a book by its cover", sometimes you can get a good indication about the person from the face, and how they interact with people, how they maintain eye contact, and do not avoid human touch etc.. Laugh lines, sparkle in the eyes.
Of course there are those that through no fault of their own, perhaps they've had a hard life, and just have a RBF. But are die in the wool liberals. And conversely, those who are ruthless capitalist that look sweet and innocent coughIvankacough. But many many times, like Dorian Gray without his painting, they wear their bitterness, their xenophobia, their prejudices, bigotry and greed, their disdain and contempt for those "beneath" them...on their faces. Obama just exuded positive energy, as did Bill Clinton. While Republican politicians always look dead in the eyes, and are always on the war path (against anyone blocking their way to more money and privilege for themselves). And it shows.
oasis
(49,383 posts)KT2000
(20,577 posts)and call him back? America was great then.
klook
(12,154 posts)Oh, what we've lost!
But the inspiration lives on. The ripples spread out across the pond. And we will continue working to make the world a better place.
Beaverhausen
(24,470 posts)I highly recommend following him.
bdamomma
(63,849 posts)President, god, I miss his articulate speaking. and no tweets either.
Geez we are a 2nd tier country now. sad.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)dalton99a
(81,485 posts)ROYDOG999
(8 posts)That's a REAL President
Goonch
(3,607 posts)dalton99a
(81,485 posts)madinmaryland
(64,933 posts)Even a one-legged man (or woman) would kick his ass.
hedda_foil
(16,373 posts)Gag!!!
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,234 posts)doc03
(35,332 posts)SalmonChantedEvening
(31,951 posts)We have fallen so far, so fast. From a decent man like this in the WH, to where we are now.
Thank you for posting this.
dubyadiprecession
(5,711 posts)We all need to vote every two years like it's 2008.
LakeArenal
(28,817 posts)Equinox Moon
(6,344 posts)LAS14
(13,783 posts)Cha
(297,205 posts)Tarheel_Dem
(31,234 posts)Cha
(297,205 posts)Rafting And A Temple Visit
More pics..
https://theobamadiary.com/2017/06/27/rafting-and-a-temple-visit/
Tarheel_Dem
(31,234 posts)Cha
(297,205 posts)an Awesome Vacay and Fascistrumps are soooo Jealous!
Sugar Smack
(18,748 posts)Mahalo, Cha! Another solid reminder of our last real first family.
Cha
(297,205 posts)Absolutely the "last real First Family"!
MerryBlooms
(11,769 posts)I love and miss these folks more than words can describe.
I refuse to call what we have in office now a president. He and his filthy clan are trash to me.
The Wielding Truth
(11,415 posts)sprinkleeninow
(20,246 posts)I played make believe for a few minutes this morning, closing my eyes, picturing Barack still in the Peoples' House and lo and behold, that horrid sinking feeling I carry around with me disappeared!
This is extremely harmful what has come upon us.
These reminiscences of this glorious family did my spirit and heart good.
This OP and contributors made it a spiritual blessing for me.
💙
ellie
(6,929 posts)I have no faith in the American people. I can't believe people voted for that asshole now currently occupying the WH. I know HRC won the popular vote.
Response to Sugar Smack (Original post)
rury This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to Sugar Smack (Original post)
rury This message was self-deleted by its author.
rury
(1,021 posts)Beautiful man and president.
I keep trying unsuccessfully to add pictures of him.
But when I do I just see the link and no photo.
:
Lyricalinklines
(367 posts)I'm so blessed and proud to have witnessed such elegance, compassion and grace occupy the White House. I feel like I know how my grandparents felt about President Kennedy...the pride and honor they felt witnessing it.
God I miss the way he protected us, articulating governance with compassion. I slept so well.
Alice11111
(5,730 posts)A HERETIC I AM
(24,368 posts)Speaks volumes about the man
Photo taken May 4, 2010
Lochloosa
(16,064 posts)Cha
(297,205 posts)tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)The family picture is perfection personified.