President Obama is famously, and sometimes, maddeningly even tempered, especially during an avalanche of criticism (can anyone say health care?). His penchant for self-control has, unlike during the campaign, come off as weak, aloof and professorial, none of the traits that inspire passionate discipleship or idolatry as happened with Franklin Roosevelt, Bill Clinton and, of course, the Kennedys.
Well, finally, the president bucked back. During a White House interview with a Texas TV reporter, a visibly aggravated Obama was sharp in his answers during a questioning after the reporter repeatedly interrupted him. Obama slightly scolded the reporter in a low baritone that was clearly audible to listeners (youtu.be/55Cjum7_mtU).
It was a rare departure from Obama’s usual mechanical expressions. But it was a start. While we don’t have other intense moments to share with you, here are some of our favorite Obama moments during his presidency:
- Presidential flyby: During the media tour of the unfinished Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington D.C., on Dec. 1, 2010, foundation president Harry Johnson began his interview with the press when Obama’s Marine helicopter flew over. Though it wasn’t scheduled, it seemed fortuitous. The media tour came exactly 55 years to the day that Rosa Parks sat down on a bus in Birmingham, Ala., which commenced the Civil Rights Movement.
- President Obama welcoming the Los Angeles Lakers to the White House: It was one of the few and rare times that Obama the human and humorist trickled to the surface of his oft-robotic exterior. He repeatedly joked with the players, especially Magic Johnson, and seemed to have had a genuinely good time.
- President Obama giving the Medal of Freedom to NBA legend Bill Russell. Most people have no inkling as to the depths of Russell’s personal struggle and fight for racial equality even while creating a basketball dynasty in Boston during the ’60s. Receiving the nation’s highest civilian award clued the nation into just what Russell endured during those tumultuous times.
- I was near the U.S. Capitol when Obama delivered his latest State of the Union address. He seemed for the first time to radiate confidence in the direction of the country and he tossed out a few subtle zingers at his opponents. At one point, Obama said “we do big things” which is a term popular among Generation Y and the hip-hop generation, key constituencies.
- My personal favorite Obama moment took place before he was even president. He had just been elected a junior senator from Illinois. During the Congressional Black Caucus convention in 2004, Obama walked into an upscale Washington, D.C., hotel alone and without fanfare for his very first national cover story with rolling out. He was patient, eloquent, detailed about what needed to be done to turn the country around and was very knowledgeable on African American history.
–terry shropshire
