Most people are at least marginally aware of the Tiny Tyrant’s recent claim that he turned down Time Magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’, which has been handily refuted by all the folks at Time Mag. There’s always a bit of room for trolling though, and for Pete Souza, the Obama administration photographer, it’s a fun pastime.
Someone has a lot of catching up to do.
Former President Obama’s White House photographer on Saturday taunted President Trump, sharing a series of 15 Time magazine covers featuring the Obamas.
Pete Souza shared the compilation of photos, which was originally posted by an account named @michelleandbarack,” on Instagram, with the caption: “Someone has a lot of catching up to do.”
Even if you disregard the fact the Obama was an infinitely better president, it is quite obvious that he is WAY more photogenic and handsome than the current occupier of the White House. Plus, look at that smile! It just makes you feel good about him and what he can do. (Michelle is also very photogenic and beautiful.)
I really feel like Barack is laughing at Donald in most of those pictures.
He does have a wonderful smile, it’s one which you want to return.
Trump’s so thin-skinned, it’s fun to watch him get tweaked. I hope he doesn’t decide to show everyone who’s boss by screwing things up worse -- that seems to be his response to criticism. The “fuckyou” presidency.
Obama’s certainly personable. I still think he was a horrible president, who only managed to look good because he was sandwiched between two gigantic piles of crap. I suppose we can look forward to him slowly being revised into sainthood by the media.
I don’t think he was a horrible president. You have to remember he inherited mountains of shit from previous administrations. He certainly wasn’t as liberal as I would have liked, but he did manage to do a lot of good, which has now all been undone out of fucking spite. It was certainly nice to have a scandal free administration for once.
And y’know, he made people feel better; he made for kinder people. That matters, because look how people are now, under the moron.
I loved seeing photos of him and Michelle together. Automatic smiles.
rq:
Me too. They are very much in love, and it shows.
I don’t think he was a horrible president.
Well, given that presidents are generally horrible, he was one of the least horrible.
His expansion of the police state, drone assassination, and provoking wars in Libya and Syria, as well as his cowardice about not closing gitmo or ending the war in Afghanistan … Yeah, he’s personable and articulate and has a nice smile but I don’t think he’s anywhere near as good as he looks. He looks good only in comparison to the gigantic turd-chunks he’s surrounded by on all sides.
He made for kinder people domestically, but he did a great deal to tip the US toward being an imperial superpower. So, maybe not so kind.
I can’t argue any of that, Marcus, but people around the world felt they could at least work with him; he was welcomed. Obama also did a great deal for marginalized peoples here in Ustates, and that gets easily forgotten, because most people don’t give a shit about any of us. He helped out indigenous people a lot; he helped queer nation; he acknowledged atheists exist; all that matters. I think your view is a tad narrow.
@9. Marcus Ranum : First, you have my sincere apology for my comments in past arguments in which I really wronged you. I’ve written a lot of things in the past that I now deeply regret and wish I could now take back and will never say again.
However, I don’t understand why you say that Obama was responsible for “” .. provoking wars in Libya and Syria..” and don’t think that’s the case although I could be missing something and mistaken?
I also would disagree that Obama pursued an imperialist policy and think his approach was much more multilateral and internationally co-operative wasn’t it? He did, after all, also end sanctions on Cuba and sought to improve the US relationship with the Muslim / Southwest Asian region generally. I think Barack Obama generally worked -- albeit imperfectly and mostly hamstrung by the Republican Congress -- towards a more peaceful & co-operative international community.
FWIW. I think this comic :
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/05/syria-climate-years-living-dangerously-symbolia/
Sums up how the Syrian Civil War started and its multiple causes really well.
Again, my apologies to you, Marcus Ranum, for my previous attacks on you especially on Mano Singham’s blog last year. I was wrong theer and am very sorry I hurt you.
SteveoR@#11:
First, you have my sincere apology for my comments in past arguments in which I really wronged you.
Well, thank you and apology accepted. I don’t think you wronged me particularly, but I appreciate that you care.
don’t understand why you say that Obama was responsible for “” .. provoking wars in Libya and Syria..”
Well, for starters Obama ordered US troops covertly into Syria. They built secret US bases inside of Syria in November 2015 That we know of. Also, US “logistical support” for the “freedom fighters” included special forces and weapons. At the very least the Obama administration began the US invasion of Syria. However, the entire ‘rebellion’ looks like a typical CIA-sponsored revolution attempt. There are no smoking guns but there were plenty of US “operators” in country at the time, and the CIA has been sponsoring anti-government forces for over a decade.
The story in Libya is similar. There were US and UK special forces on the ground in Libya when the rebellion started and there’s a strong likelihood that they were part of what started it. The US also trained anti-Ghaddafi forces just over the border from Libya, funded them, and hosted their leader (who was a CIA consultant who lived near CIA HQ in Virginia for a decade).
Mother Jones is not above telling the surface story when it’s convenient and most palatable. As usual such stories focus on the brave resistance who stood up and got their asses kicked, and doesn’t ask about where the guns the second wave was carrying came from.
Of course Obama pursued an imperial agenda. That’s what the “Asia Pivot” that they were touting was all about. Obama was definitely better than the gigantic turds on either side of him, but he only looks good in comparison.
We probably shouldn’t fill Caine’s thread with this discussion.
Marcus:
Nonsense, you can talk all you wish. It’s all relevant.
@ 12. Marcus Ranum : Thankyou.
PS. I’ll look into and think about what you’ve said there too. Didn’t know about the secret bases in Syria or troops in Libya. Still think its quite a stretch to blame those wars on Obama and had multiple causes but will have to look into & consider that.