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Obama's selfie

What do you think of obama's selfie


  • Total voters
    60
I thought this was rude, childish and egotistical behavior. Yucking it up and taking selfies as speeches were being made about the man people came to honor at his memorial. Is this spoiled child really our president? Even Michelle looks disgusted. God help us.
A second in time while the crowd was singing and dancing and laughing and celebrating he posed with another PM. The photographer that took the snap said moments before Michelle had been engaged and in the moment of lightness ... Obama went along with another head of states request.

So much amazing and historic significance of that day and this is the best infotainment can come up with ... pathetic.

8 Photos You Didn't See From Obama's Trip to South Africa - PolicyMic
 
It was a long event, do you know at what point in the event this was taken?

Even ignoring that important context, which you did without hesitation, BTW, it's just a picture with two heads of state, it's no big deal.

Exactly, and it wasn't even a "funeral". It was a celebration of Mandela's life, with lots of singing, dancing, a live band, etc. Obama isn't actually "doing" anything beyond looking at what appears to be a smart phone held by the Danish Prime Minister, as was the UK Prime Minister Cameron. We have no idea what was on the screen of that phone, and if there was any picture-taking, the Danish Prime Minister was doing it!

The pettiness of political finger-wagging has sunk to kindergarten proportions. It's embarrassing to actually be an adult these days.
 
A second in time while the crowd was singing and dancing and laughing and celebrating he posed with another PM. The photographer that took the snap said moments before Michelle had been engaged and in the moment of lightness ... Obama went along with another head of states request.

So much amazing and historic significance of that day and this is the best infotainment can come up with ... pathetic.

8 Photos You Didn't See From Obama's Trip to South Africa - PolicyMic


It’s almost as if photographers go out of their way to present isolated images of political figures ...

Not only politicians any time as photographers we are looking for the decisive moment in a 60th of a second
 
Obviously it's a big deal to a lot of people. 281 posts in this thread. With all the problems we have as a country, I guess this is a BIG deal. :roll:
 
Obviously it's a big deal to a lot of people. 281 posts in this thread. With all the problems we have as a country, I guess this is a BIG deal. :roll:

Eh Miley Cyrus is on vacation yanno...
 
Eh Miley Cyrus is on vacation yanno...

Well that's an entirely different thing. There are PLENTY of things to complain about regarding Obama. I don't think this is one of them. This is just stupid really IMO.
 
Inappropriate. But also not HIS selfie. It was hers. She probably wanted a picture with the President of the United States and Prime Minister of Great Britain. If she asked, the polite thing to do is to quickly, neatly, take the picture and then refocus on what is going on with the actual funeral.

If I was going to talk about egotistical behavior, I would point out that Obama's speech mentioned himself 14 times, and Mandela only 8 times, before I complained about this.
 
Well that's an entirely different thing. There are PLENTY of things to complain about regarding Obama. I don't think this is one of them. This is just stupid really IMO.

I was juxtaposing of how society reacts to these images. I was making fun of both of the images and the reactions.
 
Inappropriate. But also not HIS selfie. It was hers. She probably wanted a picture with the President of the United States and Prime Minister of Great Britain. If she asked, the polite thing to do is to quickly, neatly, take the picture and then refocus on what is going on with the actual funeral.

If I was going to talk about egotistical behavior, I would point out that Obama's speech mentioned himself 14 times, and Mandela only 8 times, before I complained about this.

You said "I" three times in two sentences. How many times would you say it in a paragraph based on that average?
 
You said "I" three times in two sentences. How many times would you say it in a paragraph based on that average?

That depends. Am I discussing my position (as I did above) in that paragraph, or is the paragraph supposed to be about Nelson Mandela at his funeral?
 
That depends. Am I discussing my position (as I did above) in that paragraph, or is the paragraph supposed to be about Nelson Mandela at his funeral?

So it is all about you?
 
Inappropriate. But also not HIS selfie. It was hers. She probably wanted a picture with the President of the United States and Prime Minister of Great Britain. If she asked, the polite thing to do is to quickly, neatly, take the picture and then refocus on what is going on with the actual funeral.

If I was going to talk about egotistical behavior, I would point out that Obama's speech mentioned himself 14 times, and Mandela only 8 times, before I complained about this.

Good point. :lol:
 
So it is all about you?

If it is me responding to a poll question asking what my opinion is, yes.

If it is giving a Eulogy, no.

There is a rather sharp distinction between those two things. I realize you are trying to say that I was blowing the Presidents' continual self-absorption out of context by referencing it, but the argument you are attempting to bring to bear here to do so is fail.


H.W. Bush used to go through his speeches after final drafting and perform what he called an "I-Ectomy". He would remove all the "I"s, unless the sentence was him accepting responsibility for something that had gone wrong. It is extremely unlikely it would occur to our current President that doing so would even be advantageous.
 
All fine points, except BI is a CT caliber blog.
There's nothing wrong (or partisan) about the BI article. The AP is pissed off at the White House for freezing out photojournalists; it's been going on for awhile, and the press has been trying to call the White House on it for awhile.
 
There's nothing wrong (or partisan) about the BI article.

Just like sometimes there's (supposedly) nothing wrong about PressTV articles. It's still an unreliable and, frankly, embarrassing source. It weakened your argument.
 
If I was going to talk about egotistical behavior, I would point out that Obama's speech mentioned himself 14 times, and Mandela only 8 times, before I complained about this.
Then apparently you didn't actually hear (or read) the speech.

Here's a transcript: Nelson Mandela memorial service: Transcript of President Barack Obama's speech - NY Daily News

Almost all of it is talking about and praising Mandela. The only part where Obama talks about himself is to say that Mandela was an inspiration, and that he benefitted from Mandela's struggles. Characterizing that speech as though it was the rantings of an egomaniac is patently ridiculous.
 
Just like sometimes there's (supposedly) nothing wrong about PressTV articles. It's still an unreliable and, frankly, embarrassing source. It weakened your argument.
Dude, there's a dozen sources for this, from all across the political spectrum.

White House Fights Charges of ‘Orwellian’ Tactics From the News Media | TheBlaze.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/opinion/obamas-orwellian-image-control.html
Reporters Revolt Over White House Press Access - ABC News
White House press corps, Jay Carney spar over access | AL.com
No Obama Selfies in Official White House Slideshow - Washington Wire - WSJ
White House faces press revolt over access to Obama's South Africa flight - Washington Times
Obama boycott: Major US news outlets refuse to use White House photos ? RT USA
Why Photographers Need More Access In The White House - LightBox
WH Press Corps Goes Off on Carney over Press Access | National Review Online
Newsroom protests against White House spread | Fox News

So no, there's nothing wrong with citing Business Insider (or the NY Times or Fox news) on this issue. There is no question that the Obama White House is doing more than any other president to control his image by restricting access. And the reality is that even the President of the most powerful nation in the world cannot categorically stop every photographer on the planet from taking his picture, and publishing the images.

I.e. the WH didn't screw up. The real issue is that partisans (of any stripe) look for any reason to smack-talk "The Other Guy," even about the most trivial things imaginable.
 
So no, there's nothing wrong with citing Business Insider (or the NY Times or Fox news) on this issue.

You obviously do not realize that BI is a fraud. It's like using Alex Jones or PressTV, not NYT, Fox, MSNBC or even Huffington/TownHall. Your post was solid until you defiled it by citing trash. Just sayin'
 
So now we are complaining about pictures?

Geez. Man I feel sorry for the next republican POTUS. That M.F better walk on water.
 
Then apparently you didn't actually hear (or read) the speech.

Here's a transcript: Nelson Mandela memorial service: Transcript of President Barack Obama's speech - NY Daily News

Almost all of it is talking about and praising Mandela. The only part where Obama talks about himself is to say that Mandela was an inspiration, and that he benefitted from Mandela's struggles. Characterizing that speech as though it was the rantings of an egomaniac is patently ridiculous.

Rantings? I never claimed such - I simply point out that it is a better example of egotistical behavior than the picture in the OP.

However, as to the Speech - you are correct, the vast majority of it is simply what you should say. But I'm sorry, but no. Nelson Mandela leading South Africa through Reconciliation is not on the same historical trendline as your decision to pivot to talking about income inequality.


Agreeably both are small potatoes - there are far better examples of the presidents' egotism. I hold them up (again) mainly as superior examples to the OP.
 
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Rantings? I never claimed such - I simply point out that it is a better example of egotistical behavior than the picture in the OP.
You're "pointing it out" based on a deeply flawed grammatical analysis. Obama wasn't talking about himself, except to the extent that he was inspired by Mandela -- and that was a very small part of the speech. Accusing Obama of being "egotistical" because of that speech makes no sense.


However, as to the Speech - you are correct, the vast majority of it is simply what you should say.
The overwhelming majority of Obama's speech was talking about Mandela. Obama was not praising himself, he did not spend the entire speech talking about himself -- as you suggested with your bizarre analysis based not on the content of the speech, but on counting pronouns.


But I'm sorry, but no. Nelson Mandela leading South Africa through Reconciliation is not on the same historical trendline as your decision to pivot to talking about income inequality.
But I'm sorry, but yes, it's very clear that you're determined to find fault in the most trivial of matters. Obama mentioned inequality in one line of a eulogy, for a leader of a nation with one of the highest rates of income inequality in the world. Was it "egotistical" of Obama to say that "we, too must act on behalf of justice" ? Or "we will never see the likes of Mandela again" ? Or "I will always fall short of Madiba's example" ?
 
But I'm sorry, but yes, it's very clear that you're determined to find fault in the most trivial of matters.

:roll: Nevermind. Pot, meet Kettle.
 
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