My brother runs a hotel and bar in the Caribbean on a fairly remote island. And not long after he stepped down from the Presidency, Barack Obama was on holiday in the area, and one afternoon he ‘stopped in’ (with secret service entourage).
My brother said he was just a pretty chilled and relaxed cat. Drank his beer from the bottle and sat on plastic chairs like anyone else. Very happy to take selfies with staff and chat amiably with whomever. And then he went back to his kite surfing or whatever. Seems like a pretty ordinary and pleasant American Dad out on holiday – he just also happened to be famous.
I met Obama when he went on a tour of Moore Oklahoma after a string of tornados devastated the city. At the time, I was working as a disaster relief specialist, and led a waste management unit.
To be honest, I really didn’t want to bother with his visiting because we had a lot of work to do, and I didn’t want anyone to become distracted. So I protested his visit. My boss told me to suck it up, and count myself lucky, adding that the rest of the team would be ecstatic to meet him.
On the day he was to arrive, I spent most of the day in the modular concentrating on paperwork, when my boss arrived along with Obama, the governor of Oklahoma, the mayor of Moore, and a few others in tow. After a few minutes, I heard a knock on my door. It was my boss, who introduced me as the lone dissenter to their visit, much to everyone’s laughter.
Once the laughter died down, everybody took the time to shake my hand and thank me for what I did, including Obama. He was incredibly nice, and had these huge hands. There were no pictures taken, no need to make a ruckus. They came and they left. That was it.
I kinda wish I had taken a photograph now, but I was too wrapped into my own world to care at the time.
I have a good friend who worked on the rollout of the ACA website. Despite being an Army veteran who retired after his 20 years and a lifelong Republican, he was an Obama supporter and when he was offered the job, he was thrilled.
One thing he discovered was that when he was delivering a good news briefing, everyone with the most tenuous connection clamoured to come along with him. President Obama was invariably polite, asked good questions and did not dither if a decision was needed.
Before the rollout date, it became obvious that the website was not going to be robust enough. As in “not at all ready and would crash the first time a user blew on their keyboard wrong” not robust. They needed a minimum of another 3 to 5 weeks.
Then my friend discovered that when he had to deliver bad news, he walked alone. Even though he was not in charge of the project, not a manager, those in charge all had Reasons they just could not go to the briefing with him.
President Obama was polite, asked good questions, there was no attempting to fix blame, just a focus on available options and how to fix the problems. Obama decided not to postpone the rollout for reasons he explained to my friend (so that my friend could explain them to his own chain of command).
Then President Obama spent a few minutes chatting with my friend, found out a little about his background, thanked him for his military service and finished up with a smile and handshake that was just as warm as the ones at the end of the good news briefings.
My friend said that President Obama was nicer and more gracious than any boss he’d ever had in his entire life.
My Daughter was a student teacher working towards her Master’s Degree in Special Education. Obama came to town and wanted to meet with a few teachers, two student teachers and two regular teachers.
He sat with and asked questions of all of them and was really nice and after the photo ops and the cameras were turned off he sat around for an hour chatting and just being a nice guy. I wish we had another person like him for president.
I know people who have worked in or with the White House with various presidents since Clinton.
Here is how they stack up, best to worst.
- Laura Bush. “Everybody’s mother. Everyone loves her.”
- George W. Bush. “Really sharp and genuinely interested in the well being of the people that work for him.”
- Barack Obama “Engaged on domestic policy, but aloof, disinterested, and half asleep for national security and foreign policy meetings. Nice enough guy.”
- Tie between Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton when Hillary isn’t around. Michelle, “Nice, but always seemed uncomfortable in the limelight. Didn’t like the toll the job was taking on Barack.”. Bill “liked to tell dirty jokes and could get along with most people.”
6. Donald Trump. “Kinda pompass, but was usually right. Friendly enough, but you always knew who was boss.”
7. Bill Clinton with Hillary around. “Totally different person. Hardly said a word to anyone besides Hillary and political staff.”
8. Hillary Clinton. An 8 doesn’t do service, she is in a whole different category. “She despised us [secret service and military] and we despised her. Mean bitch. Yeah, she really is gay. When she threw a lamp at Bill resulting in a minor injury, we [secret service] had a meeting to discuss what to do if the first lady became a real threat to the President. She gave a standing order for housekeeping staff to ‘stay out of my sight’, so they would jump into a room when she came down the hall and hide in closets when she came into a room. Tyrant. I could believe she ordered a hit on Vince Foster.”
I was 23 years old, and on a business trip flying home from LAX to ORD on a Sunday night. I got on the plane, and recognized the man in the first row of coach. I stopped and said, “Are you, Barack Obama?” He smiled and said yes, and shook my hand. He had just recently been elected as a US Senator, so he wasn’t a very well known figure. He woke up Michelle, who was trying to sleep against the window, and introduced her, saying that they were flying home after visiting family, and that he was looking forward to seeing their daughters. I asked him how things were in Washington, and his reply was, “It’s horrible; you can’t get anything done.” I walked back to my seat with a smile, and told the people around me that our Senator was on the flight.
He waited at the baggage claim for his bags after we landed, talked to folks that recognized him, and was such a fun, relaxed person. Honestly, it was probably one of his last days as an everyman. Flying coach, picking up bags, and just having good, honest conversations with people. He had a glow, so you could tell bigger things would happen.
