June 07, 2009

Dude, this pyramid is hella big

Reason #742 why I love President Obama: For an exceptionally articulate scholar type, he keeps it real.

From the New York Times, about his recent travels:


A particular favorite seemed to be in Giza, Egypt, where he spent more than an hour and a half marveling at the Great Pyramid.

“This thing’s huge,” Mr. Obama said in amazement.

Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, took a camel ride in the 100-plus degree heat. When the president learned of it, he seemed interested, too, until he glanced over at the pack of reporters and photographers who were standing watch.

“If you weren’t here,” Mr. Obama said, “I’d get on a camel.”

5 comments:

Dad said...

So why is Obama cool for saying that the pyramid is huge, whereas Nixon looked like a jerk when he said, "It's a really great wall" in 1972? It's true, but I don't understand it. Maybe it's just inherent coolitude.

The BCB said...

I'd argue that on the coolitude meter, Obama and Nixon are in different stratospheres for more reasons than we can count. But to be fair, if Obama had said, "Wow, this Great Pyramid really is great," I'd be making fun of him also.

Dad said...

Let's hear it for consistent objectivity!

missmobtown said...

Nixon's middle name was Millhouse. I'm not saying middle names are the ultimate deciding factor for assessing lifetime achievements in cool, or anything. But it's a fact which simply cannot be ignored when discussing inherent coolitude (or lack thereof, as seems to be the case). If I was picking team members for my kickball team, and only two kids were left -- Millhouse and Hussein -- I think I know which one I'd go for.

The BCB said...

Remember that time when I said you're always wise, Miss M? It's still true. (This guy agrees.)