Obama: I'm Annoyed By The "Shine Police"

WASHINGTON — Now it can be told: President Obama says one of the best-kept secrets at the White House is the pastry chef's to-die-for pie.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Obama was asked to reveal a White House secret, and he dished about the pie.

Obama says the pastry chef makes "the best pie I have ever tasted, and that has caused big problems with Michelle and I."

The president said he and the first lady are "having to figure out how to resist ordering pie every night."

Obama also came clean about one of his pet peeves _ the "shine police." The president says that before his interviews, aides "constantly want to powder my nose and forehead, and it's never enough."

He finds that _ in his words _ "quite irritating."

Comments

[judiNJ]

Everyone dotting on the "I" and "me" in what the President said, are you also having a problem with the term "Lashing Out" in the headline? I do not consider saying you are peeved or annoyed with "lashing out". But, then again, I just may be petty.

[Pupadup4oBama]

I agree - i think the headline is a LITTLE bit over the top.

[FabulousAt52]

"I agree - i think the headline is a LITTLE bit over the top."

Aren't many of the headlines around here lately?

[Passenger57]

After eight - plus years of Bush, Pres. Obama can do his next press conference in Pig Latin for all I care!

[roshni]

I don't think our president needs the shine police. He looks so much better without makeup. He is naturally gorgeous.

[joanjourne]

roshni,
Yeah, even those sugar-bowl ears of his are cute.

[WFV]

At least our president can actually answer 'off the cuff' questions, unlike the person we had for the previous eight years. Lighten up people.

[tallisse]

Instead of "Michelle and I," he should have just said "us" or "in our household.­" This solution solves both problems simultaneously; he would sound common and natural in his speech while remaining grammatically correct.

[spiritualized]

wtf?

[tallisse]

I do not understand what you are confused about. "Michelle and I" is grammatically incorrect, and yet "Michelle and me," although correct, at times can sound awkward.

[Matt7]

Common mistake. And . . . ?

[Condi1836]

Get a life

[ThinkTavern]

I second that. Get a life.

[nclayla]

After 8 years of Bush literally making up his own words, you have chosen now to comment on Presidential grammar?? I think perhaps you need someoutside interests - or hobbies - or possibly even a few friends.

[SurrealPumpkin]

If he uses "between you and I" I'll start pulling my hair out.

[Oldtt]

I think that the most important property of speech is clarity. When a particular usage is not only extremely common but has perfect clarity for the listener, why should English speakers have to abandon it in search of some other usage that accords to a formal rule? We invented language, not the other way around.

[harriscrl3]

Good grief the man gave one of his pet peeves. Dont you all have them its sad that some of you take something as simple as a pet peeve and turn it to a case for Obama bashing.

Know what my pet peeves : Petty Bitter People who have no lives and spend their time on this earth just spouting bitterness rather than finding some way to MOVE ON. And people that go around correcting prepositional phrases which is one of hte more complex areas of English. But forget that our last President could barely speak English. NO ONE in the WHite House has EVER mangled our language the way he did.

Nov 4th happened he is office for the next 4 years at least ACCEPT IT. ITs not healthy to be constantly bitter and petty.

[Chlowina]

Well spoken.

[JimmyFox]

....."peop­le WHO go around..."­... Not "people THAT go around"...

.... sorry... couldn't resist.... ;-)

[TanzaniteDiamonds]

Love it!! You caught my favorite one.

What about people who write "should of" instead of "should have"?

I couldn't resist either! :-)

[Sportsbabe]

Co-sign.
Also, it's just a human interest piece. If you're not interested then move on.

[Peaceisnecessary]

President Obama has a great sense of humor. I can imagine the irritation with someone always powdering your face before going on camera. He is doing a great job!

[gotsmarter]

Absolutely.

He's a wise and good (and sometimes funny) human being trying to do the right thing for all of us. I'm proud that he's our President.

[obamaequalsbush]

The teleprompter is known as the "um, um, um police." But it's less annoying than the shine police.

[Pupadup4oBama]

Obama thinks before he speaks...h­e actually wants to articulate his thoughts. I'd take um, um, um any day over hee hee hee.

[pearlx2]

I'll take "um, um" over nuke-ler and giving heads of state unwanted shoulder massages.

[Passenger57]

"Um, um, um police"?
I know of an ex-president that needs the REGUALR police to pay him a visit!!!

[Wiseup2Day]

Another cutsie question from the state-controlled media..Hey Obama( and it get printed here)..I could care less about your pie.You're spending our hard earned tax dollars on crap..Turt­les..skate parks..gra­pes..and your Kobi steak..dat­e nites..201­0 cannot come fast enough

[malinvr]

Have you ever heard of the lighter side of life?Must all questions be tough and hard hitting?An interview need to be well balance in my view.

[Siobhan11]

Thank you. I made a somewhat similar post below yours a few comments. I see this all the time. People who criticize the President for doing anything other than being huddled in a meeting trying to figure out how to save the country.

I don't care - Democrat or Republican, they need some down time. A few laughs. Golf. Dinner out with their spouse or family. Music. Entertainment.

I think it helps them do a better job. We may have our political differences about how they do their jobs. But the President chilling out has nothing to do with it.

[Jamchinadian]

"Cutesie" questions to Obama are the exception. Fluff to Bush was the RULE! to which there were basically NO exceptions.

Obama faces all questioners, face to face, via YouTube, via emails read at Town Halls, via live and UNSCREENED audiences.

A BUsh "press conference" consisted of him reading a brief statement, then possibly taking a question from a fawning planted and screened attendee. But more often that not the "press conference" would end with Bush simply walking away as questions were futilely shouted at his disappearing back!!!

Bush was paid by YOU for 900 days VACATION in 8 years, 100+ days per year, one-third of his time in office.

[Wiseup2Day]

This President gets has gotten nothing but drooling media/..an­d the wise people are begining to get it..and only drones don't. Bush..got nothing but beat up by the media..and the only thing Obama does is read a teleprompter at least once sometimes twice a day on tv. Did you happen to hear how he's controlling the media? His town halls are a joke..they pick the people and they pick the questions.­.it's all staged..he­llo..wake up..

[Passenger57]

Remember what happened to veteran reporter Helen Thomas when she "dared" to ask a REAL question of the Bush WH?

[Dynamohum]

EVERY president has enjoyed the fruits of being President and if you think otherwise you would be completely NAIVE AND IGNORANT. Bush spent more money on parties, dinners, food and his favorite things while he was in the WH. You need to wiseup2day ignoranus.

[Newsi]

Would you like some pie? Pie is good. I like pie. Maybe you would like some pie too. There are all sorts of different pies: apple, rhubarb, even savory pies - they are all very tasty pies. To some up: would you like a pie?

[NotStarvingArtist]

Why do so many people seem to begrudge the President and First Lady's date nights? If you were President, wouldn't you want to have a family life as well? All other Presidents have gone on multiple outings of one kind or another, spending just as much or more than this President does on his date nights with his wife. A President is not a private citizen anymore. He cannot go anywhere without a spotlight on him. Do you expent him and his wife to just stay holed up in the White House for four years? Get real!

[BBC9nch]

I'm annoyed at the fact that we have lost 3.5 million jobs this year (half a million in JUne alone) and all this guy can do is co.mplain about his makeup artist. Now, how long will it take the thought police at huffp.o to erase this message?

[FallenAngelII]

Yes, obviously those lost jobs were because of Obama and not of the already rampant recession which had been brewing for YEARS before Obama took office! And since he's not profusely apologizing for those lost jobs every single interview, he's a bad man!

After all, when asked about revealing "White House secrets", he should just dismiss the question with "No comment" or reveal national security-level secrets instead of random fluff to appease the reporters!

Oh come off it!

[Siobhan11]

Does any person who comments similar to this realize that all work and no play makes jack a dull boy? Human beings need to chill, to relax. I think I read somewhere that some really famous smart person, maybe Einstein, someone along those lines, read comic books.

I didn't really discover this whole world of commenting a few months ago, so I am curious, were you all over George Bush about his vacations, his bike rides, his little light hearted jigs before the camera when serious things like a war he started were going on.

And Oh Yeah, I am sure Obama is responsible for the job losses. He ran for President with the hopes of all this being his first six months.

[harriscrl3]

You really expect us to believe that you give a hoot about peole hwo have lost their job. Tell me what have you done to show that you feel their pain. Please stop using the umemployed as props for your bitterness. They are real people who are suffering and you are being INSULTING.

Dont worry when you lose your job it will be because of INCOMPETENCE.

[Johnni]

"all this guy can do it complain about his makeup artist"

You chose to click on the cutesy fun story where Obama dishes some friendly banter about life in the White House, because you think its interesting.

There are hundreds of stories about his policies printed every day, you could click on those .. your just like the rest of us, you cant help but read a good "Obama talking about fun stuff" story when you see it.

[jmsent]

I'm annoyed at the fact that you either have puffed way too much on the wacky weed, or are in the early stages of Alzheimers. Actions have consequences, and this mess is largely the result of 8 years of disastrous actions on the part of the last president and 6 years of a Republican run congress. Even after 8 months in the wilderness, your party still can't begin to suggest a better course of action, which is why you got your a*ses handed to you last November. Even after the very mild recession of 2001, it took over 2 years to get the economy moving again. And this is no mild recession, it's a worldwide meltdown. Unemployment in Europe is now well past 10%

[t iessa]

I guess he won't be the "education president.­"

[lpbj]

With degrees from Columbia and Harvard, of course not... How ridiculous!

[All4ME]

Ms Peace Rainbow!

I've missed you and your constant bashing of Pres. and Mrs. Obama and then when anyone disagrees with you you accuse them of being homophobic!

Where have you been? Organizing monster-truck rallies for PETA against cruelty to houseflies?

[db08]

I think Ms. Peace has missed the whole point of the rainbow...­.actually he or she has failed altogether.

[jefflorida]

obama should know an object of a preposition when he meets one. it is not correct to say "with michelle and i" it must be "with michelle and me"? this is not my biggest disappointment in the obama administration.

[strick9]

Now you want to speak about grammar, where were you for the last 8 years?

[t iessa]

Perhaps this poster was appalled about Bush's speaking patterns for the last 8 years as many of us were. It's not like they weren't mentioned in the press frequently and late night comedians didn't make fun of them constantly. Do you have no memory? Or are you suggesting that Bush sets your standard of expectation for Obama. If so, that's kind of a low standard, isn't it, dude?

[DonJM]

You should have had a field day for the past eight years!

[harriscrl3]

No its not but your PETTINESS might be.

You are correcting someone's prepositional phrase THATS CALLED PETTY and bitter and its so laughable that you say that is not my main reason for being disappointed in him.

[tallisse]

I wonder if he replaced the grammatically correct "me" with the incorrect "I" intentionally in an attempt to sound more common in his speech.

[NotStarvingArtist]

Your post is surely the most obvious "pot calling the kettle black" post I've ever seen. Check your own grammar, capitalization and punctuation before you start dissing someone else's.

[northernperspective]

Then there's the iconic campaign battle cry in Miami: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-hood/we-want-pie-we-want-pie-m_b_137152.html

And, of course, the economic team behind the scenes: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-03-07/

[kev1000]

Good grief - mustard, teleprompters, ties and "I"! Can't this guy go ten minutes without some yah00 out there criticizing everything he does? Man!

Here's the truth about the usage of I and me - IT. DOES. NOT. MATTER. People who go on about this sort of thing (particularly the whiny, pinched voice types who spew on about "To Boldly Go" being a split infinitive) make me thankful for the school bullies who used to take their lunch money - and I HATE school bullies!

[suec03]

Certain grammarians have argued that split infinitives may in some instances be preferable as they add to clarity. The "Michelle and I" vs. "Michelle and me" controversy is an instance of applying the strict grammar rules used in formal writing or speechmaking to common conversation. Although it may grate on the ears, it is a tempest in a teapot!

[tallisse]

Once again, I found it strange myself that he would say "Michelle and I." I wonder if he replaced the grammatically correct "me" with the incorrect "I" intentionally in an attempt to sound more common.

[ForVivi]

Sarah Palin, on the other hand might have said "Me and Todd"...

[Phyllis Cohen]

Actually, it does matter. If we all start ignoring the rules of grammar soon we will not be able to communicate clearly with one another. It's difficult enough that there are so many languages to contend with, if we aren't correctly articulating our thoughts how will we ever let others know what we mean? And it's really so easy to know the correct usage in this case, all one has to do is drop the other person from the sentence. He would never say 'caused big problems with I' so he can't say Michelle and I either. Simple as that.

[FallenAngelII]

Do you complain about contractions as well? Because they are clearly unacademic.

[lpbj]

You must be a frustrated english teacher wanna-be..­. oops... sorry... You must be a frustrated person who wants to be an english teacher. Better?

[blkbtrfly1]

If this is as bad as his grammar gets, I think we'll be ok -- compared to the past (notice how I used past instead of last -- see, my grammar is fine despite Obama's poor examples) eight years.

Not only did Bush's grammar and sentence structure suck, he used the wrong words and butchered other words.

Yeah, I think we'll be fine.

[Sabreen60]

What about beginning a sentence with "And"? Do you know the rule?

[Pupadup4oBama]

I don't think most people are paying THAT much attention.
Not that proper grammar shouldn't be used....bu­t seriously.­...we have other problems to deal with. This was a lighter side of a moment....­give it a rest.

[anothervoice]

Lol. Gimme your lunch money.

[barackobama4prez]

OMG....wha­t's up with the grammar police? The Prez. doesn't sound like Bush or Palin and I think people are putting way too much on this. I guess if this is the best you can criticize him about, that's pretty d@mn good.

[t iessa]

You're right. He sounds like Dan Quayle.

[anothervoice]

The contrast being - even if the delivery is flawed - that there are real developed thoughts behind the President's words. Which is contrasted by Bush, Palin and Quayle, who were pretty incoherent most of the time.

[Pupadup4oBama]

hardly..th­at would be ms Palin.

[mergina]

If he starts resembling M.J. in any way then it is time for concern.

[sheikwil4]

unlike mj the prez is happy with his blackness, so much so, he married a dark skin black women who gave him brown babies. ty Lord.

[yorkriver1]

I have an honest lack of insight into shades of black. I thought dark skin was like Seal or Grace Jones. Michelle looks pretty medium to me. Do we have to make her looks the focus all the time?