# The White House gets a swingset! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362 "2009-03-05T03:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/1 "2009-03-05T03:49:48Z")
Yeah yeah yeah, it’s mundane and pointless, that’s why I’m posting it here. Please don’t be churlish. I love that there are kids in the White House again. [Story](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izmwwif2V4nx8I5aPscRWAAPvmdgD96NH1TO0) (with pictures) [This thread](http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8244519) has bigger pictures (scroll down) including a picture of the “Malia & Sasha’s Castle” plaque. > [@](#): > > WASHINGTON (AP) — First daughters Malia and Sasha Obama got a big surprise after school Wednesday: a brand-new swing set. > > They squealed with delight upon seeing it, a spokeswoman for the first lady said. > > President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, went to work while the girls were at school, arranging for the set to be installed on the south grounds of the White House within sight of the Oval Office, where their father spends plenty of time. > > Late last year as the couple planned the family’s move to Washington, they talked about ways to make the historic residence feel more like home for their girls, said Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a spokeswoman for Michelle Obama. > > Malia and Sasha, ages 10 and 7, had never lived anywhere but Chicago. > > “Many first families have made these sorts of changes to make the White House feel like home,” McCormick Lelyveld said. “This one is like their little mark.” > > The 100 percent cedar and North American Redwood structure has four swings, including a tire swing, a slide, a fort, a climbing wall and climbing ropes. There’s also a picnic table with brass plates etched with the names of all 44 presidents, she said. > > “They ran right for it. They were really, really excited. All four of them,” McCormick Lelyveld said. > > The girls played on the set for almost an hour in chilly weather, she said. > > The Obamas paid for the swing set, which was made and installed by Rainbow Play Systems of Brookings, S.D. The company advertises itself as the most trusted brand name in wooden swing sets, according to its Web site. > > … [That company](http://www.rainbowplay.com/index.php/rainbow-difference/the-finest-materials/) (which, as a plus, is green) is going to be doing some booming business for quite some time. The Obama’s are a one family Stimulus package themselves! ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/2 "2009-03-05T04:00:09Z")
This made me smile. Thanks for the great story. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/3 "2009-03-06T00:56:07Z")
i am so very jealous. i’ve always wanted my own swing set. the teeny tiny inner city yard i have is way to small for one. if i ever move and get more of a yard i’m def. getting a swing set. lucky girls! even better than a pony! ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/4 "2009-03-06T02:27:06Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > lucky girls! even better than a pony! They’d probably get a pony for the White House grounds. ---
**Author:** ![MissGypsy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8491ac/32.png) [@MissGypsy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissGypsy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/5 "2009-03-06T02:53:38Z")
Having a happy, fun family in the White House is such a refreshing, uplifting change. A swingset, a puppy… it’s hard to feel glum about the sucky economy when you remember swings and puppies. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/6 "2009-03-06T03:25:00Z")
> [@MissGypsy](#): > > Having a happy, fun family in the White House is such a refreshing, uplifting change. A happy, fun, _loving_ family! It’s so obvious that not only do Barack and Michelle like, respect and love each other, but they love their kids and are passing along great values and being great role models. Coming from a dysfunctional family myself (none of us were or are close), I’m full of envy and can’t get enough of this wonderful and delightful First Family. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/7 "2009-03-06T04:13:39Z")
I love swingsets! I hope they can have all their friends over to play on it! most of the happiest hours of my life, and my kids’ lives, also, were spent on swingsets and jungle gyms. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/8 "2009-03-06T06:12:11Z")
Possibly the best thing for the Obama family is that, even though Barack works a lot, he usually works from home. When he was a Illinois State Senator and a US Senator, he was in other cities a large percentage of the time, traveling for the entirety of Sasha and Malia’s lives. Politics is a hard career on a family, and Governors and Presidents have a tremendous advantage over Representatives and Senators because the job (usually) comes with housing. I hope the Obamas continue being able to make the _Jewel of the Federal Prison System_\* a home. - credited to various Presidents, but Harry Truman was probably the first. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/9 "2009-03-06T06:16:13Z")
Oh sure… Obama… uh… _Jragon realizes he’s lost his wit by this late at night_ \ ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/10 "2009-03-06T06:33:43Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > A happy, fun, _loving_ family! It’s so obvious that not only do Barack and Michelle like, respect and love each other, … I heard they like fisting too. Very open minded people. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/11 "2009-03-06T07:16:07Z")
Poor kids can’t have Monkey Bars. Some asspipe would claim it was racist! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/12 "2009-03-06T14:43:04Z")
John Stewart said it was recycled material from tearing down Cheneys guard tower. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/13 "2009-03-06T15:00:08Z")
> [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > I heard they like fisting too. Very open minded people. I know this was a joke referencing the playful fist bump (pound) that Fox so memorably and stupidly called a “terrorist fist jab” but the alternate meaning it conjures is really, REALLY inappropriate in a thread about a children’s swingset. Shame on you. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/14 "2009-03-06T17:47:53Z")
Wait, I thought some talking head on a Fox station actually referred to the fist-bump as “fisting” during a post-election news report? I love that swingset. My elementary school had a wooden playset; even though it didn’t have swings, it was awesome – it had a little bridge, all kinds of bars, and a deck with a big slide. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/15 "2009-03-06T17:51:57Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Shame on you. Seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/16 "2009-03-06T18:04:40Z")
Someone out there called the fist bump thing fisting. Made the youtube rounds and I laughed pretty hard. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/17 "2009-03-06T18:16:46Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Wait, I thought some talking head on a Fox station actually referred to the fist-bump as “fisting” during a post-election news report? Maybe someone did post election. I didn’t hear that. A [“terrorist fist jab”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-TG6jorKfs&feature=related) is what it was called when it happened. By Fox anyway. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/18 "2009-03-06T18:21:10Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > [That company](http://www.rainbowplay.com/index.php/rainbow-difference/the-finest-materials/) (which, as a plus, is green) is going to be doing some booming business for quite some time. They really are very well made and many of the attachments are interchangable so if you get tired or outgrow one thing you can replace it with another. We’ve had one, albeit only 3/4 that size, for about 4 years now and with one refresh application of stain it still looks and, for all intents and purposes, is new. While they were already a popular brand, yeah, sales are probably gonna skyrocket. I think we’ll have a lot of darling shots of the girls and their friends here in the years to come. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/19 "2009-03-06T18:22:40Z")
I got the fisting reference - and the youtube video is quite funny - but have to agree it kinda brought down the cheery feeing in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362/20 "2009-03-06T18:23:47Z")
> [@Darth\_Sensitive](#): > > Someone out there called the fist bump thing fisting. > > Made the youtube rounds and I laughed pretty hard. Yeah, I did too. I laughed out loud in this thread, too. Jokes about fisting might be inappropriate in a thread about swingsets if it was just KIDS reading it. ETA: [Here’s the video about how they like fisting.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFJbacFwspo) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-house-gets-a-swingset/488362.md?page=2)