Obama, Clinton take Oval Office talk outdoors

[Beacool]

The Associated Press
Thursday, April 9, 2009

WASHINGTON -- It was such a gorgeous spring day Thursday in the nation's capital, with blue skies, plenty of sunshine and 60-degree temperatures, that President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton decided to move an Oval Office chat outdoors.

Reporters being escorted up the White House driveway after an event on the South Lawn were surprised to see the president, in his shirt sleeves, and his top diplomat exit the Oval Office and head straight for his daughters' swing set, set up nearby.

Clinton was seen fingering a wooden picnic table that came with the set before they sat down across from each other.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040903890.html

Ahhhh, they must have looked so cute sitting at the girls' picnic table. Pity there's no photo with the article.

:-)

[TahitiNut]

1. Maybe they know about the bugs Cheney had installed?

:evilgrin:

[Merlot]

3. Sounds about right.

[Beacool]

5. Wouldn't surprise me.

:eyes:

[formercia]

15. I agree

I wouldn't trust the wooden picnic table either. I'm familiar with that kind of work.

[HamdenRice]

17. In all seriousness, I believe something like this

The White House must seem like an incredible bubble. I wonder if every conversation still isn't taped (a la JFK, LBJ & Nixon). There's also the problem of all telecommunications allegedly being routed through certain foreign telecom companies with intelligence connections.

Hil certainly is aware of any experiences Bill had with the recording of white house conversations.

We know as documented fact that someone within the NSA wiretapped Colin Powell during the first 4 years of the Bush II administration and provided the intercepts to John Bolton.

If I were Bam and Hil and wanted to talk about upcoming initiatives in the Middle East and their plan to insulate congress, I'd take it to the swing set as well.

[Beacool]

23. I think that it was probably simpler than that.

It was a beautiful day and they probably had cabin fever.

Next time they should meet at the swings and have a friendly competition over who can swing higher!!!

:7

BTW, I didn't know that NSA had wiretapped Powell. Why, who ordered it?

[HamdenRice]

27. "I didn't know that NSA had wiretapped Powell."

This is one of the most important and under-reported stories of the Bush years, and despite the hoopla over warrantless wiretapping, no one ever brings this story up.

The reason the story is important is that there have always been suspicions that warrantless wiretapping had nothing to do with "terrorism" and had to do with political manipulations, intimidation and surveillance within the Washington elite. This story was as close to proof as we have gotten so far.

The story broke when Bolton was trying to get confirmed as UN Ambassador. During the confirmation there was a lot of kabuki theater about Bolton being not a nice man as the reason the State Department, CIA and certain other agencies did not want him to be confirmed.

But the congressional committees investigating Bolton's fitness as ambassador uncovered evidence that he was abusing the NSA to spy on Powell, while he was Powell's subordinate. The story, reported in London by a former Clinton official, showed that the neo-con faction of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Bolton, et al seemed to be using the NSA to sabotage the parts of the Bush administration that were not on board -- especially Powell's State Department.

The NSA was wiretapping Powell and feeding the information to Bolton, so Bolton could pre-emptively undermine Powell's diplomatic efforts on Iraq, Iran, North Korea and and Syria -- even though Powell had tried to build a firewall around Bolton to prevent him from disrupting his diplomatic efforts and even though Bolton was Powell's subordinate at State.

[Beacool]

50. Amazing!!!

Bolton is a creep, a really scary dude. I wonder how Bush would have turned out as president if he hadn't allowed himself to be influenced by that evil bunch.

:scared:

[uponit7771]

25. Yeap

[ecstatic]

39. Wouldn't be surprised at all. Cheney is batshit insane nt

[DrToast]

2. Picture...

[Beacool]

4. Thank you so much!!!

I didn't find one.

:yourock:

[Undercurrent]

7. Oh thanks!

Yes, this is the view I saw on TV. Cool!

[GoCubsGo]

18. How dare he!

How dare he "dishonor the office of the President" by conducting his business on a picnic table next to the swing set! And, look! He's not wearing his suit jacket! Or a tie! OMG! What an outrage!!!




Honestly, I'm surprised there hasn't been an uproar from the wingnuts about "cheapening" or "defacing" the White House by putting that swing set on the property.

[Jennicut]

29. Is that not the cutest pic ever?

I love it.
And after all the primary fights Obama and Hill are sitting across from each other at a picnic table right next to his daughters's swing set at the WH

[rvablue]

38. I agree. It's very soothing every time they are pictured together and I think it

sends an incredible message to Americans and to the world that they are working as a team now after being rivals. It's a nice image!

[Arkana]

40. Hard to believe there was such a violent primary campaign between them less than a year ago.

[rvablue]

41. "Violent?" Well, I don't remember any punches being thrown, maybe "heated?" n/t

[Arkana]

47. I think there would have been punches thrown if folks were given the chance.

:)

[AtomicKitten]

35. Nice pic, but next time let's see some swingset action. Or the slide.

n/t

[rvablue]

37. The quality of this photo looks like one of the reporters took it incognito from a cell phone. n/t

[joanski0]

42. Hope there's no pigeon poop on that table. n/t

[busymom]

43. Love this...Thanks!!!

[Undercurrent]

6. I saw this on tv, and

there was footage of them. I can imagine the serious discussion about world affairs they were having sitting at that picnic table. It was a really nice image.





btw: I hear the Obamas, and the Clintons will vacation at the same time on Martha's Vineyard.

btw2: It sure looks like Hillary is having the time of her life! Very happy woman these days. It's nice to see.

[Beacool]

9. I don't blame them from wanting to be outdoors.

It was a beautiful day in the Northeast.

Martha's Vineyard is a place where the Clintons have vacationed for years. It's nice that their vacations overlap. I love the Cape, have been going there for a long time. Nantucket is my favorite.

Yes, she does look happy. I'm glad to see it.

:hi:

[uponit7771]

26. Yeap, top choice for Obama

[Beacool]

8. I found Jake Tapper's report and it has a bit of footage

Obama and Clinton Hold Private Meeting at White House Swing Set
April 09, 2009

ABC News' Jon Garcia reports: Every once in a while the carefully choreographed movements at the White House don’t go quite as planned. Witness today's "oops" moment. Members of the press corps returning from an event on the South grounds of the White House unexpectedly surprised President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a "private" walk. They emerged from the Oval Office and strolled down the path to the Obama's swing set and picnic table on the lawn just outside.

Obama and Clinton were chatting alone, trailed only by the White House photographer, when the president spotted approximately 20 journalists who had stopped in their tracks about 30 yards away. The president smiled and waved. But the smile went away when the journalists took out cameras and started shooting. As the president waved off them off, nervous press staff tried to round up the media as quickly as possible. However, the press stayed long enough to witness what looked like a "picnic table" strategy session of sorts between Obama and Clinton.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/obama-and-clint.html#comments

:D

[hileeopnyn8d]

30. That article

backs up what I feel was going on in the photoa few post up.

To me it looks like Hillary is telling him - "just ignore them, pretend they're not there", or he suggested they swing, and they're both amused at the idea.

[Beacool]

33. They should have swung!!

Just to watch the reporters' jaws drop to the floor. They could have then laughed at the whole bunch of them.

:rofl:

[greguganus]

52. Yea, then the morning headlines would read "Obama And Hillary Are Swingers". n/t

[Beacool]

53. Oh yeah, I can just see it right now.

The media would dissect the pic to death and the RW pundits would go batty clamoring that while pirates held an American hostage, the president and SOS were swinging away without a care in the world.

:eyes:


:7

[asphalt.jungle]

34. here is the link without that dreaded #comments bookmark

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/obama-and-clint.html

that's good enough to just see the video. i don't think anyone wants to read jake tappers wingnut commenters.

[Beacool]

36. Thanks!!

I didn't know how to take out the comment section.

:hi:

[jberryhill]

10. "Clinton was seen fingering a wooden picnic table that came"

Did they fire the copy editors at the Washington Post?

[Beacool]

12. Wow, those must be some mighty fingers

to make an inanimate object come.........

:evilgrin:

BTW, didn't some guy get arrested because his neighbor reported that he would regularly come out to his deck and have sex with the picnic table (he abused the hole where the umbrella is supposed to go). Which begs the question, didn't he get splinters on his genitals?

I digress.......

:7

[joshcryer]

44. I thought the same thing, haha.

[Beacool]

49. You guys have a dirty mind.

Tsk, tsk........

:spank:


}(

[Hippo_Tron]

46. They probably can't afford copy editors in this economy

[Flash Bazbo]

11. Is there no private outdoor area for the First Family's use?

It's kind of a bummer to think there are no areas of escape at the White House.

[Captain Hilts]

13. There are not. The tennis court is surrounded by plants. I guess that's private. nt

[Clio the Leo]

20. Yeah. All over the place....

... but the swing set is relatively closer to the Oval than all of the other places.

[polichick]

14. Rachel covered this last night - thought she was going to say they met on the swings!

[Beacool]

21. That would have been too funny.

It would have been cute if they had an urge to swing like they probably did when they were children. I think most of us have been on a swing at some point or another as a grownup. It gives you a sense of freedom to swing as hard as you can and almost reach the sky. Great stress reliever. Besides, the visuals alone would have been priceless. Photographers and cameramen would give a right arm for those kind of shots.

:7

[polichick]

28. That really would be a cute shot! I love to swing - for the reasons you give.

[Muttocracy]

51. maybe Secret Service would think it's too dangerous... nt

[HamdenRice]

16. delete - wrong place nt

[Clio the Leo]

19. This just proves what I've long suspected.....

.... Obama is a PUMA.

:)

[Beacool]

22. Well...........

He's a cool cat and she's a slick kitten.

}(

[ruggerson]

24. It's very clear that these two have grown to have genuine affection for each other

you can see it in their faces and their body language.

[960]

31. Awesome! They look like little kids giggling at recess.

[Beacool]

32. Hmmm, will he pull on her hair and will she hit him with her backpack?

That's how I remember kindergarten. When a boy liked you he would inevitably become a pest.

}(

[jesus_of_suburbia]

45. Awesome pic! They look like 2 kids. It's obvious they are friends now.

[girl_interrupted]

48. Great Picture! I just love these two!

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I get the feeling, Hillary reminds President Obama of his mom and the struggles those two women shared in that generation. They were very much alike. So nice to see them bonding and enjoying the day.