# Barack Obama -- The man. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032 "2015-02-18T19:39:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/1 "2015-02-18T19:39:12Z")
He’s not very popular as a president these days, but I can’t help but REALLY like him as a person. I can’t say the same for other presidents I grew up with. I think Clinton was an excellent politician, and I would certainty vote for Hillary if the election were today. Perhaps Obama didn’t ‘play the game’ as well as Clinton. He probably should have tried to, because he may have gotten more accomplished. Even though I voted for Obama twice, I wasn’t \*always \*attracted to his character. One thing that took me by complete surprise is when he agreed to be on Zach Galifianakis’ ‘Between Two Ferns’. Sure he was pimping ObamaCare, but I never saw ANYTHING like that in my life. Of course, he got some criticism for it, but that was the day that I kind of grew to like him more as a person. It’s difficult to put into words, but the skit wasn’t patronizing at all. I certainly might have reservations about being grilled by a comedian like Galifianakis, and I’m a nobody! Sure, Clinton playing the sax on Arsenio Hall was great, but the ‘Between Two Ferns’ skit really made me look at the President in a whole different light. I would have a beer with any living president, (well… a Dr. Pepper, because I don’t drink alcohol,) But Obama I would actually like to hang with. Maybe play some laser tag. Oh, I also think Michelle is pretty cool too. I may be naïve though. Maybe I’m missing something. I really haven’t been paying much attention lately, and perhaps there are things I’m not aware of that would damage my perception of him as a man, (not a President). Jimmy Carter seems like a good man to me, but I know how people perceived him as a leader. What do you think of Barack Obama, and why? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/2 "2015-02-18T19:48:44Z")
I’m a conservative. I don’t like Obama’s policies or his supporters, but I think he’s a good person. It’s kind of like how I feel about the Philadelphia Eagles: Their fans/supporters are terrible, but the team’s okay. (OK, maybe that wasn’t the best analogy.) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/3 "2015-02-18T19:49:48Z")
As a politician I’m not too impressed. He doesn’t seem to have to stomach or talent for governance. We need another lbj, Obama is no lbj. As a person he is OK. Supposedly he plays basketball with various ex NBA and ncaa athletes and can hold his own. Not bad for someone middle aged. But no idea beyond that. Don’t care. For his wife. I’m going to assume that behind the scenes she and he don’t get along well. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/4 "2015-02-18T19:51:32Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > As a politician I’m not too impressed. He doesn’t seem to have to stomach or talent for governance. We need another lbj, Obama is no lbj. > > As a person he is OK. Supposedly he plays basketball with various ex NBA and ncaa athletes and can hold his own. Not bad for someone middle aged. But no idea beyond that. > > Don’t care. For his wife. I’m going to assume that behind the scenes she and he don’t get along well. I understand. What don’t you like about his wife? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/5 "2015-02-18T19:58:37Z")
She strikes me as a perpetually discontent social climber. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/6 "2015-02-18T20:00:02Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > She strikes me as a perpetually discontent social climber. I can see where she might come off that way to some people. ---
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/7 "2015-02-18T20:33:37Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > I can see where she might come off that way to some people. I don’t. In what way? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/8 "2015-02-18T20:37:54Z")
I’m not voting for a buddy; I’m voting for a President. Maybe he is a great guy, maybe he jerks off in the punch bowl at White House functions. I don’t care. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/9 "2015-02-18T20:38:13Z")
He strikes me as very intelligent, a good balance between idealism and realism, fair and almost too patient and understanding. Great sense of humor, great tact, self assured yet not fill of himself. I like him and you americans are lucky to have him. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/10 "2015-02-18T20:53:45Z")
> [@threeorange](#): > > I don’t. In what way? In all honesty, a lot of it has to do with some of her facial expressions. At least the ‘perpetually discontent’ part. That’s all I got. I can see where, if you’re judging a book by it’s cover, someone might jump to that conclusion. As far as her being a ‘social climber’, I don’t know why anyone would get that impression, and I shouldn’t have said that I understand why some people might. I was totally lying and was wrong for implying that I understood what **Wesley Clark** was saying. I apologize for not being completely honest. But the ‘perpetually discontent’ part I can see on a superficial level. Maybe \*\*Wesley Clark \*\*could go into more detail. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/11 "2015-02-18T20:58:42Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I’m not voting for a buddy; I’m voting for a President. Maybe he is a great guy, maybe he jerks off in the punch bowl at White House functions. I don’t care. > > Regards, > Shodan That’s great. But not really relevant to this thread. No one said anything about voting for someone because they’re a “great guy”. The topic is, what do you think of Obama as a man? I mean, as far as you can tell. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/12 "2015-02-18T21:01:58Z")
I don’t know how intentional your second to the last sentence was, but I think it’s telling that you referenced Carter: > [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > Jimmy Carter seems like a good man to me, but I know how people perceived him as a leader. This is how I think of Obama. Probably a nice guy. But it’s hard to really care if he’s a “good guy” or not when he’s in the White House. But I don’t want a nice guy. I want a leader. But I have Carter II instead. This is why we need to elect businessmen and Governors, not less than on term Senators. (And yes, I’m aware Carter was a Governor.) ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/13 "2015-02-18T21:06:24Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > In all honesty, a lot of it has to do with some of her facial expressions. At least the ‘perpetually discontent’ part. Has no one heard of [Bitchy Resting Face](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v98CPXNiSk)? FLOTUS has a severe case of this syndrome. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/14 "2015-02-18T21:14:38Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Has no one heard of [Bitchy Resting Face](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v98CPXNiSk)? FLOTUS has a severe case of this syndrome. I might have a Bitchy Resting Face. I look more like I’m bitchy than I look like I’m an Assh\*le. ---
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/15 "2015-02-18T22:19:25Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > This is why we need to elect businessmen and Governors, not less than on term Senators. [With apologies for the hijack, but…] Some former governors have been good presidents, some have been bad. The last president who was a businessman was either Hoover, or (if you want to relax the criteria) Bush II or Carter. Of congressmen who’ve gone on to be president, few had a thinner resume than Lincoln, universally ranked among the top 3 presidents. So Obama’s lack of gubernatorial or business experience is neither sufficient nor necessary to explain his (alleged) incompetence in office. Rather, the Executive Experience fixation on the right is an ad hoc means of delegitimizing a president whose person and/or policies they intensely dislike. As a generalizable principle, it’s totally without basis. The right will eventually be forced to jettison it altogether when their best candidate at a given point in time turns out to be a first-term senator. Look, everyone’s entitled to their pet theory about what it takes to be a great president, but in a sample of just 43 dudes (and that’s counting Wm. Henry Harrison) across 225+ years in wildly different historical circumstances, I just don’t think there’s enough empirical data to support any blanket statement that businessmen, governors, mayors, generals, or other so-called “executives” are likely to make better presidents (however defined). ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/16 "2015-02-18T22:28:34Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > He strikes me as very intelligent, a good balance between idealism and realism, fair and almost too patient and understanding. Great sense of humor, great tact, self assured yet not fill of himself. I like him and you americans are lucky to have him. I agree. I like most of his policies too, but if the question is what kind of man he is, I’d say a very good man. [and from what I can see, he has a strong marriage to a wonderful woman] ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/17 "2015-02-18T23:14:35Z")
I like Obama and his wife. I think they are genuinely good people. I’ve been a little disappointed in the president of late, I admit, but watching David Axelrod talk about him the other night on The Daily Show, my opinion has improved. I think the President looks to the future when he makes policy decisions and I think history will remember him well. I have always thought he was a pretty cool dude. Michelle comes across as very much a mom and loving wife. I also support her efforts to fight obesity. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/18 "2015-02-18T23:17:42Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > He strikes me as very intelligent, a good balance between idealism and realism, fair and almost too patient and understanding. No “almost” about it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/19 "2015-02-18T23:18:49Z")
> [@spifflog](#): > > This is why we need to elect businessmen . . . Let’s not. Government is not a commercial enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032/20 "2015-02-18T23:23:49Z")
I disagree completely. Barack Obama strikes me the way Richard Nixon did: as an empty suit, utterly lacking in warmth or humor. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-the-man/713032.md?page=2)