'The Shug': Will Obama's Signature Greeting Last? (SLIDESHOW)

Much has been made of President Obama's handshake-hugs. "The Early Show" counted nine embraces between the president and senior staffers at a meeting on Wednesday, and now the Chicago Tribune has given the handshake-hug-back-pat routine a name:

"I call that a 'shug,'" said Ross McCammon, an editor at Esquire magazine. "It's a shake and a hug together."

....Whether we'll get more hugs from our commander in chief remains to be seen. "People want Obama to look like a president and act like a president, even in small ways" McCammon said. "This hugging, I wouldn't be surprised if he backs off it after a while."

• • • • • • • • • • Vice President Joe Biden

Do you think Obama's shugs should last? Chime in below.

Comments

[rury]

12:48 PM on 02/11/2009

The shug is cool.
But being a female who finds President Obama very handsome, I would prefer a hug from him!

[mybelovedcountry]

08:51 PM on 01/27/2009

NONSENSE!

[DotMatrix]

07:40 PM on 01/27/2009

Bushie looks like he's planting a booger on Obama's coat. But seriously, what would he replace the "shug" with? The fist bump? How I would love to see that! GObama!

[psychmaj323]

05:34 PM on 01/27/2009

GWB looks really sad. He's a good man.

[psychmaj323]

05:33 PM on 01/27/2009

LOL @ John McCain. He looks like he's uncomforta­ble.

[MariaHopeful]

02:32 PM on 01/27/2009

He should continue to do any and every thing that makes him authentica­lly Barack Obama. I love Barack Hussein Obama. So there!

[robertsandimas]

02:42 PM on 01/27/2009

Perfectly said, Maria. Just perfectly.

[NoMoreFreepers]

05:04 PM on 01/27/2009

I second that motion!! WE LOVE YOU OBAMA!! NEVER CHANGE WHO YOU ARE!!!

[movecenter]

05:33 PM on 01/27/2009

Ditto.

The shug is warm...sig­nature Obama.

Bush seemed to sincerely appreciate the hug, because clearly he hugged right back.

[rzzza]

02:08 PM on 01/27/2009

"they" didnt say anything bad about the dap/fist bump. only one person on fox news called it a terrorist fist jab, and now she's been fired.

[southwindow]

02:00 PM on 01/27/2009

those pictures are priceless! mccain is like wtf? and bush is like oh thank god, peace out.

[Natamic]

10:05 PM on 01/28/2009

OMG, I just let out a loud laugh, because those were my same thoughts.

[Niasia]

01:44 PM on 01/27/2009

Oh come on people for the people not familiar with the African American culture...­.we do this all the time especially the men! It is just what we do...I don't even think anything of it when Obama does it because I see it all the time in my community. Nothing new and nothing to fear...he is not going to bring the "HOOD" to the "white" house! It is just a way we greet each other...I wonder what they said about the "dap" he and Fenty shared outside of Ben's chilli bowl...I know that was something new for them! You know the one where we slap the other's hand (as hard as possible it seems LOL ) and then come into an embrace...­I love Obama for being so real. People of all races have little idiosyncra­cies and I love that Obama doesn't hide his "black" ones!

[psychmaj323]

05:28 PM on 01/27/2009

lol, me too.

[voting4BO]

03:31 PM on 01/28/2009

Thanks for this reply!!! It's no big deal, just how we greet each other.

[Clavis]

01:38 PM on 01/27/2009

Three important rules for giving good hugs:

1. Nothing in between the two of you: no clenched fists, no hand-holdi­ng. Nothing but your clothes (if that).

2. Don't form an "A"; form an "I". Don't just hug the top halves of your bodies while your hips are five feet apart. Hug with your whole body!

3. DON'T PAT THEIR BACK! They're not a baby who needs to be burped! Make contact with your hand and leave it there. Nobody's going to think you're gay just because you didn't add the "hetero pat".

Enjoy!

[Smurfaveli]

03:56 PM on 01/27/2009

Sorry homie. When I man-hug another dude there will be a definite "A" formed, not an "I".

[SouthernBlueBelle]

01:13 PM on 01/27/2009

This is all so so pathetic. He can do what he wants, remember he won!

[rzzza]

01:13 PM on 01/27/2009

some of those are really funny. like the mccain one and the arne duncan one

I'm not from the hood but kids in my day rarely did the shug. Sometimes we'd do this long hand shake routine then bump eachother kinda in the chest/shou­lder area but i dont count that as a shug because theres no real embrace.

[johnnynyc]

01:09 PM on 01/27/2009

I always check to see where my wallet is after the shug.

[YouDisgustMe]

01:54 PM on 01/27/2009

lol oh dear...

[LaurettaK]

12:55 PM on 01/27/2009

I love the Shug!

[Adrienne Williams]

12:51 PM on 01/27/2009

And I like what President Obama is doing -- good to be touchy-fee­ly, most men aren't.