President Barack Obama attended his final White House Correspondents Dinner last night, and as is usually the case, he was much funnier than the comedian guest. I enjoyed last year’s comedian, SNL’s Cecily Strong, but I could see how Larry Wilmore would be a good choice for Obama’s final WHCD. While Wilmore had some strong jokes – the childlike glee of the “Zodiac Killer” line was genuinely a favorite – Wilmore’s reception was pretty mixed and he misread the room at times. We’ll have more coverage and photos from the event tomorrow, I just wanted to post the speeches today.
As for Obama, he just had so many great one-liners about Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Michelle, his presidency and more. Around the 24-minute mark of this video is the special video the White House made called “Couch Commander” about what he’s going to do in DC post-presidency.
Yeah… I’m going to miss Obama so much when he leaves office. No matter who wins the presidency, I’m really just going to miss him. We had a “cool” president, a funny president, but even more than that: we had a smart, compassionate, even-tempered president.
And here’s Larry Wilmore’s bit. He made a lot of “black jokes” and he even used the n-word at the end of his speech. It made me uncomfortable, but Obama rolled with it.
Michelle Obama looked amazing in this golden, glittery Givenchy! The president is right, she hasn’t aged a day in eight years.
"With that, I have just two more words to say: Obama Out." —@POTUS #WHCD pic.twitter.com/RQSDh92YsU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 1, 2016
Photos courtesy of Getty.
LOVE him. So sad he’s leaving.
I so agree!
And now you guys get Trump….I really am sorry!
No no no ! We still have options thank goodness
I voted for him twice and will miss him so much.
Same here. It’s been nice having a President who’s well-educated, articulate, cool headed, and composed.
His 2nd term was the first time I voted (I was too young in 2008). I was away at college so I had to do an absentee ballot. My roomate and I watched the election coverave on our macbooks and were so nervous he wouldnt win, it was amazing when he did and my then 19 year old self was amazed by whole ‘every vote counts, and i voted for obama and obama won!’ thing. The Obama’s hold a strong place in my journey-to-adulthood-life.
I actually liked Larry Wilmore! I think it’s a mistake to criticize him “not reading the room” because I don’t think his point was the ‘room’, it was twitter and social media. Twitters reaction was quite different from the audience’s. I liked that he made everyone uncomfortable, but I enjoy his style of humor and I get that he’s not for everyone
I am the same as you except my first was 08 in college. He actually was on my college campus with McCain during the election and the place was swarming with secret service. The roommate and I watched the election coverage together pretty extensively. We agreed and disagreed but both ended up voting for Obama. It was an honor to have my first two votes go to him. I’ll miss him a lot.
Side note: his speech was hilarious and I was totally here for the number of uncomftoable rich white people in the audience. Thanks Obama 😉
Me too. I wish we could keep him around for a third term. I’m truly frightened about the outcome of this upcoming election.
I’m going to miss him too. I lived in Illinois in 2004 and had the privilege of hearing him speak at his last campaign stop before the November election in Champaign, IL. You knew that he was something special. I got the chance to vote for him three times.
I don’t think the American people will be dumb enough to vote for Trump in November. I think we’ll be getting Madam President Hillary Rodham Clinton and First Gentlemen Bill Clinton back in the White House in January 2017. Let’s hope that Bill doesn’t mess with Michelle’s gardens.
I love him too. No one on the political landscape can even come close to Obama in coolness, style, or decency–much less in intelligence, humanity, and the courage to stand by his principles and ethics in the face of the enormous resistance of the GOP and their shameful blocking of the programs he was elected by a majority to implement. I volunteered for him in ’08, and the spirit of that campaign was infectious because we finally had someone we could honestly be excited about and inspired by. What a joke the 2016 political landscape is.
Amen to all you said.
Me too. Genuinely loved him and I’m not even American!
He will be missed.
I need him to stayyyyyyyyy 🙁
Forget 8 years ago; Mrs Obama looks just about the same age as her college graduation picture.
https://thegrio.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/michelle-obama-princeton.jpg?w=332
That’s pretty amazing. She’s had two children and been FLOTUS for almost eight years, which is stressful and tiring, two presidential campaigns, teenage daughters – she is remarkable.
And her gown is amazing. Love the over drape. She looks regal.
Agree. Michelle looks radiant and her gown is gorgeous
Not to mention insane levels of hatred and vitriol directed at her. Not many people could handle that with as much grace as she — along with her husband — has. She is remarkable indeed.
Agree – she looks vibrant, stunning, just fabulous. Glowing.
I agree, she looks amazing, hard to beleive she is 50, and I loved her hair, really suits that style.
I love Michelle Obama’s style – I wish that Kate Middleton would dress like her.
I’ll cry.
Me too. Sort of a bookend to the times I cried on election night 2008 and during his inauguration in 2009.
The inauguration is bittersweet for me. Dad had called his four daughters and all the grown grandkids to remind them to watch and while I was sitting in my office with a crowd of co-workers watching the ceremony I got a call that Dad had a massive heart attack and didn’t make it. So that day will always be a mix of joy and sorrow for me.
I’m sorry for your loss SusanneToo.
Oh SusanneToo, I am so sorry for your loss, I can see why you would have mixed feelings about the event.
Most of the time I can hardly wait until the President leaves office. Not so this time. Not only that, he’s got the best smile in presidential history!
It wasn’t his best routine, but it was pretty good. Loved Couch Commander, and Prince George not giving him any respect!!
The Prince George thing was pretty cute 🙂
That was truly hilarious–“a slap in the face”!!! Too cute.
Me too.
Me three. I have never wanted a third term but now I would support it.
Yep- think it’ll be a case of “don’t know what you got till its gone”. I hope he gets a chance to relax a lot!! But Michele’s dress- the other pics I saw were more flattering to the dress- this pic doesn’t pick up the shimmery effect.
I will miss the Obamas so much.
Can you even imagine replacing Obama with that 3 day old, used tampon known as Trump?
Or Hillary. She’s as bad as Trump is. Corrupt, sleazy and uninspiring. We have truly awful choices this time. The one downside to VP Joe Biden is that Obama didn’t get to set-up an obvious successor to himself since Biden was really too old to run for president. For that, I am sad.
I find Hillary pretty amazing and am very excited to vote for her in November.
And in no universe does Hillary meet the societal nadir that is Donald.
@Twodollars I couldn’t disagree with you more. I may agree with every choice that Clinton makes but she certainly has the skills to do the job, is pragmatic and will support civil rights so all Americans have autonomy over their medical & life decisions without having to live in accordance to someone else’s fundamentalist religious beliefs. If you can’t see that difference, you are willfully blind to it.
that should read I may not agree with every choice that Clinton makes above
I can’t even fathom replacing Obama with Trump. Ughhhhhhh!!! He is absolutely despicable. I can’t stand him or the fact that he can’t even formulate a complete sentence. “It’ll be great, great, gorgeous wall, beautiful wall, terrific, terrific, wonderful, wonderful, disgusting, disgusting, horrible, horrible, great, great, big, big, yugeeeee, yugeeeee.” He speaks a lot and says absolutely NOTHING. The last person that I remember doing that was Hugo Chavez. I cannot believe some unfortunate people are drinking the Kool-Aid and buying what he’s selling- uninformed bravado with keywords thrown in here and there. There was an excellent review about his “foreign policy” speech in the Huffington Post where they basically said that our standards for Trump are so low that a speech that would be considered mediocre by anybody else, is deemed decent coming from him. Just, ughhhhhhh!!!
He was charming and witty as always in that role, and Michelle looked beautiful.
You are absolutely right! He is a very charismatic, charming man.
A mic drop from POTUS. He’s so freaking cool. There will never be another and I’m actually pretty sad. Also, as always, POTUS is a sexy beast. Michelle is one lucky lady to have the affections of both the Foxy POTUS and the sexy Royal Ginger Snap. Life goals: Michelle.
@Shambles, who wrote: “A mic drop from POTUS. He’s so freaking cool. There will never be another and I’m actually pretty sad. Also, as always, POTUS is a sexy beast. Michelle is one lucky lady to have the affections of both the Foxy POTUS and the sexy Royal Ginger Snap. Life goals: Michelle.”
LOL! This! SO this! 🙂
Seriously. And lol at Royal Ginger Snap. Her ginger bae, as Kaiser called him the other day.
I’m not American and I’M GONNA MISS THE OBAMAS… I just adore the guy!!
Loved both speeches. Am I the only one who thinks the obamas should have used Helen Mirrens presence to film a response to Harry’s and the Queens video?
Nah, the filmed bit was probably put together and edited well in advance of the dinner.
I’m kind of AMAZED to read the gushing remarks.
I wish them well…but I can’t wait for a new president to take the reigns…
I’m sure you don’t mean reigns. And new president from the crop we’ve got to pick from? I think that’s why you’re seeing the gushing remarks.
You’re right…reins is what I thought I typed…autocorrect…
Putting aside the crop of candidates, I can’t be the only one who can’t wait for Obama to go.
You aren’t. But I am in no hurry to see them go, and I wish they didn’t have to, but I do think that some of the sadness is exacerbated when we look who could be there next.
I’m curious as your reasons why? Looking forward to hearing legitimate reasons.
Ditto. I’d love to hear some valid reasons as well
I have a long list of what I consider legitimate reasons.
But I won’t post them here because I’m sure it will start lots of back and forth heated disagreement.
It strikes me always when I read commentary in the newspapers and listen on television the divide in political viewpoint.
I am steadfast in my beliefs and know that those who disagree are steadfast in theirs.
I understand why you don’t want to, and your reasons for it — and I agree too. But don’t you think that’s been part of the problem; unwillingness to find common ground? Not you, but generally.
@bluhare – yes, I’m all for finding common ground, but the divide between liberals & conservatives is vast, I’ve found.
Differing political opinions is fine, but the attacks can be brutal, and that’s something I’ll never understand.
One of the polarising features is that Republicans often question Democrats’ patriotism. It should be possible to debate without suggesting your opponents don’t love their country. Or weren’t born in it. On topic…Obama has brilliant comic timing.
I also will not miss the Obama administration. I find him to be smug and ineffective.
Could not agree more, Francesca…. What he has done to this Country is mind boggling. Out credit has plunged drastically, Race relations are worse that than they have been in years, and he had the perfect opportunity to help, but drove a wedge even further. National debt is off the charts. I could go on and on… Don’t let the door hit you in the a** on the way out.
Because we won’t still have an obstructionist dumpster fire of a Senate?
Possibly not. Those scum are taking paychecks and benefits for themselves and staff while openly admitting that they are refusing to do their jobs for 2016. – they admit they are stealing our tax dollars. A number of them are up for re-election and are vulnerable. Senator Kelly Idiotte in New Hampshire is still ahead in most polls but not by very much. We don’t have a senate or gubernatorial race in my state this year so I’m planning to move in with my sister before election day so I can vote in NH and help throw that lazy, unethical, thief out of office.
Wrong spot
@ lilacflowers
Seriously….Senator Kelly Idiotte?? Please tell me that is NOT an actual name? Not trying to be offensive…….honestly…!
@BritAfrica: I don’t know if anything can actually be more offensive than the current state of our Senate.
@BritAfrica, her name is Kelly Ayotte. She had ethical problems when she was Attorney General in New Hampshire. She has made several really out there statements while serving as Senator and now she has stated that she believes the Senate should not act on President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee at all, not even to vote him down. In short, she wants me to pay her to do nothing. I want her lazy, unethical butt gone.
I’m in Wisconsin and I’ll be casting my vote to make Our Dumb Senator Ron Johnson unemployed. He’s another Tea Party welfare queen who has done nothing during in his 6 years except something with naming post offices. Russ Feingold has been leading in most polls since last fall, even the right leaning Marquette poll.
The Democrats probably won’t flip enough seats to retake the Senate – they need 6 to flip for that. Wisconsin and Illinois are likely to turn blue. Pennsylvania and New Hampshire could also flip as well. Florida is a tossup with Little Marco not running for reelection. There’s a number of other vulnerable Republican seats, including Arizona with McCain’s likely Democratic challenger either leading him or even with him in some polls.
He wasn’t perfect, but when I look at who the potential candidates are, I would have Obama in their place.
People need to look past the personalities and pay greater attention to the policies and outcomes of said policies. Obama promised change we could believe in but by and large people seem as disillusioned as ever and rightfully so.
Promise and change…. It is truly laughable, and so is he.
I wish them well, too. But the crowds and the energy behind Trump’s candidacy show the world what many Americans think about the Obama presidency. It’s good to stick up for good principles.
Good point. All that was rage was caused by something.
Um, ok, I’ll bite. I think all this rage is fueled by ignorance and racism. And by saying the Trump supporters are sticking up for “good principles” is pretty disingenuous if you ask me. Saying their anger is fueled by Obama not delivering on changes he promised is pretty rich considering all the opposition he faced from Day One of his presidency.
If you really believe Trump can be a positive force for our country…good for you, I guess.
I thought the Justin Trudeau joke was cute too.
I kinda felt bad for Larry Wilmore when the CNN jokes were being booed because the babies at CNN can’t take a joke I guess.
Sometimes people cant take a joke and sometimes people just arent funny Larry Willmore is not funny and also his use of the n-word was disrespectful and inappropiate
He wasn’t hilariously funny but he was entertaining ! Not familiar with him. I’m in Canada and have rarely had cable for the last 10 years or so. We use Netflix and read news online so I miss some things
damn Michelle does look fantastic
Long bob! My little daughter has one. I’m kind of considering it
I think Larry Wilmore is funny and smart but I could see that he’d not appeal to everyone’s taste. He’s pretty cerebral.
I watch clips of The Nightly Show on YouTube, and I really enjoy Larry Wilmore. He’s not as dedicated to being a comedy show as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are/were and discusses race issues with a calm frankness that is missing in mainstream news. So his brand of humor is not for everyone and is probably not quite what his audience was expecting.
@Ensom
Isnt pretty ” cerebral ” just another way of saying some people are not smart enough to get his humour ??
Gee I was “cerebral “enough to get the dig and yet I still dont think he is funny and his use of the Nword inappropriate and this is coming from a fan of Jon Stewart, the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert
I like Larry Wilmore but last night wasn’t his best performance. He’s better than that and, while the reference to the zodiac killer meme was cute, he beat it beyond death and ruined a few jokes by repeating the reference
I will miss his charm. Our first cool President and elegant First Lady. I dread to think who may be standing there next year.
I love Obama and his cool, but JFK was the first cool Prez and no other until Obama appeared. And don’t forget about Jackie.
True. I think JFK and Jackie were very cool and incredibly stylish.
The Camelot years of John and Jackie that ended so tragically as do for so many of the Kennedys. Here’s hoping the Obamas will live out their lives in harmony. He was the first Black American President and nobody can take that title away from him. I liked him back in ’08 when I first voted for him and would vote for him again. But we’re not in England……………..let’s just hope the Carrot doesn’t win the election, it frightens me.
Yes JFK may have been “cool,” but we are a society that loves revisionist history when people are taken from us prematurely. (See also: Princess Diana’s life). Prior to his assassination, his approval ratings were not the greatest. Google Bay of Pigs. He may have been “cool,” but he too struggled to find his footing and succeed.
I am still in denial that we only have a few months left with him. I thought Luther the Anger Translator from last year was funnier, but this was still good. And love the Obama mic drop.
I would Netflix the hell out of ‘Couch Commander’ !
Just a question: what is this event about? Aim? Never heard of it before but it seems that a lot of actors and actresses from GB have been there. Anyone who could explain this to me? Thanks in advance.
It’s the White House Correspondance dinner where the president of the country entertains Journalists to show respect for their role in keeping his feet to the fire and shining the light of truth to all the dark areas of our global world. I think scholarships and funding for promising young journalists are also involved?
The journalists are allowed to brings guests and they usually bring a famous celebrity to show how cool their network is. So it’s unofficially referred to as the “Nerd Prom”.
It’s been around a very long time – Milton Berle hosted at some point. My understanding is the reporters/news organizations that cover the White House (not just DC politics in general) have an organization all their own – among other things they grant journalism scholarships. This dinner is organized by that group.
I’m not sure if the President has always attended, but from what I’ve seen in recent years the speeches take the form of a roast – and POTUS takes the opportunity to poke fun at his hosts (and various other topics). Fun fact I learned on C-Span last night – technically he is an invited guest. In fact, all of the politicians, celebrities and various entertainment people are guests of the news folk. At this point I’m going to side-eye whoever invited the supermodels and the Jenner girl – usually the celebs are slightly more high-brow and can at least name all three branches of the US government.
The dinner is not without controversy, the New York Times famously opted out of the event a few years ago, they feel it compromises their journalistic ethics to spend too much time at social events with the people they cover. Part of me agrees with them, but they are missing a fun party. Someone coined the term Nerd Prom a few years ago, and that’s a pretty good description.
Sorry, Brit here….I am assuming the 3 branches mentioned are White House, House of Senate and House of Reps?
@BritAfrica – Executive (president), judicial (courts), and legislative (Senate and House of Representatives)
@OhDear
Thanks – much appreciated!
No worries BritAfrica, I’d wager most Murican’s probably couldn’t name them either. They are – Executive (White House and Cabinet), Legislative (Senate and House both), and Judicial (Supreme Court). Enjoy this fun educational video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EISWIY9bG8
The circus metaphor is pretty apt, although more tragically so than it used to be when it was first on television here in the states.
This one about our brave Colonials throwing off the yoke of British Imperialism is also great fun…no offense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT7dMHAiCfs
Thanks Dara!
We ‘Murican ladies-of-a-certain age were educated by School House Rock. I learned the Preamble to the Constitution from their videos during Saturday morning cartoons and sang it for my teacher when it was required!
Schoolhouse Rock rocks! I still find myself occasionally humming Conjunction Junction or I’m Just a Bill. Those videos were sometimes more fun than the cartoons.
NUTBALLS, I think the majority of my 7th grade class learned the preamble from Schoolhouse Rock. When we had to write it for the Constitution test you could hear the majority of the class singing it under their breath, lol. Me included. 🙂
@Brit-the 3 branches are Executive (the President), the Legislative (House and Senate) and Judicial (the Supreme Court).
Not trying to be mean, but why not just google? It probably took you more time to write the comment than just look it up yourself. The Correspondent’s Dinner is fairly big news, it would have been really easy to find.
cancel
It was a serious question, and one which you didnt answer either. Why not look something up yourself? What happened to intellectual curiosity? Do we need everything spoon fed in easily digestible sound bites?
For what it’s worth, I wondered why it was asked too, Bridget.
Huh….I only asked because I know there are ppl from the USA on here like Nutty and seem to be pretty smart. Of course I could have googled. I didn’t ask because I was too lazy. I asked because I wanted to get clarification from people who live over there. I am a curious person. Btw I am pretty sure that a lot of people have no clue what this event is about so I asked. If they do know, good for them. I didn’t. I am not from the USA. I was just curious because I saw the Jenner girl and asked myself since when she was so important to be invited to a gala like this one.
@ all who replied in a polite way
Thanks for your comments. Very nice. I guess it is a pretty famous event. Any preferences who they send to this event? I only saw models and actors. No athletes or musicians.
Bridget, as an American who is curious about cultural differences between us and others, I’d much rather get an explanation from foreigners here than look it up on online. I get shades of understanding that I wouldn’t get from an article.
Also, it’s more relational that way. We’re here for conversation and it’s like sitting around a table discussing, rather than tapping into our phones for information. When I’ve googled something and Sixer comes back to respond, I get a more meaningful answer than wikipedia.
Not all of us have the time to research every question we have so it’s nice to get a quick short answer from someone here who knows. It also invites others to add their take on the subject, which fleshes it out a bit more.
Added bonus, Dara had a reason to introduce foreigners to School House Rock, a cultural staple of the ’70’s and ’80’s!
Laziness is a response I can get behind! I think I wondered about your question thinking it might be a prelude to a why are the Brits here. You may call me overly sensitive.
Sometimes I ask other people questions because interacting with other humans can be nice and fun. Sure Google knows everything, but old fashioned information sharing retains its charms (at least for me)
He is funny!! What amazing timing he has. His jokes for his fellow dems were my favorites. “When I’m gone, you’re gunna miss me when I’m gone,” truth.
I already miss him. This is going to be really tough.
I am consoling myself by remembering that he’s young, he will still be doing great things, and I can’t wait to see what he dedicates himself to once he’s had a good rest.
I wonder what he and Michelle will do in the next chapter of their lives. Maybe she’ll run for President…
I don’t know of course, but she seems pretty anxious to leave politics in the dust.
He said they won’t be leaving DC for awhile. Maybe a think tank/policy wonk thing? He’ll probably give speeches too–no shade, it’s the usual thing plus, apart from his book earnings, they weren’t exactly flush with cash prior to the presidency. And now they have Malia’s Harvard tuition coming. 🙂
She’s already announced that she has no plans to run for POTUS. Considering the vitriol the right has directed at her is as bad, if not worse, than what they’ve been lobbing at CLinton for over 20 years, I can’t say I blame her
Obama is going to be really missed, I thought he was pretty funny, and I always liked his laid back kind of personality, but I think he will remain a superstar, and do talk shows etc. and be a public personality. But I am sure he will be glad to be a normal kind of person for a while and have a normal life with Michelle and his girls. Willl be fun to see who is up in that podium next year, who knows.
A Brit here: I’m studiously unimpressed by most celebs but, my god, I love these two. They’re so intelligent, articulate, thoughtful, don’t seem to take themselves too seriously, effortlessly cool at *everything* – I could gush about them for ever. He also has a beautiful voice …
Makes our ham-faced leader look embarrassingly lightweight, superficial & glib by comparison. Oh wait. He is all those things anyway.
Please GOD not Trump next. It won’t be, will it ……….?
If he wins, can I rent a room in your house? I’ll take ham faced and glib over that.
Ha! It’s terrifying, isn’t it. A lot of my American friends are really semi-seriously talking about moving to Canada. I lived in the States for several years during Bill Clinton’s terms & I know how strongly a lot of people feel about Hillary. Must admit I’m a bit worried about how electable she is.
Much as I despise Cameron, I agree: he’s a million times better than that orange buffoon.
Now, now Pip, be fair….he is not that awful! I do rather like David Cameron.
Remember, Obama might be great for the US but he will never go down well here. We seem to prefer our politicians serious and remote. If they get too easy going and familiar (Tony Blair) we are quick to dislike them and boot them out!
Hard to please the electorate eh?…….
Sorry but I have to disagree about Cameron. I think this has been the most damaging, divisive, unpleasant government I’ve ever know. Margaret Thatcher made my skin crawl but at least she had courage in her convictions. Cameron blows with the wind – he seems to have no real beliefs but will just do & say whatever’s expedient that day. They’re crucifying the NHS & a great deal of the British infrastructure – councils, the police, many institutions are really struggling to cope with the endless cuts. You certainly don’t want to be poor, disabled or in any way vulnerable under this government.
Give me Tony Blair any day (he served 10 years, so a pretty decent stint). Even Corbyn.
And the Obamas have announced that Malia will take a gap year and then go to Harvard, which is where they met.
I’m sure this will get its own thread, but I came here to discuss. I’m intrigued by the gap year, which is unusual in the U.S. it means being a year older than your peers when when you move into the dorms. That age cohort mattered to me at 18, but I’ve often wondered what a gap year might have given me in terms of maturity and real world goals, traits I lacked at the start of college.
I feel like the gap year is very slowly catching on here in the US. In our area, it seems bigger in the most affluent communities. I really wish it were more of a thing…I think kids could benefit so much from a year of “reality” before their freshman year, to get a better perspective on and understanding of what a privilege it is to attend college.
Like you, I’ve often thought that my life might be quite different if I had more maturity when starting (and throughout) college. Although a single year after high school might not have been enough for me to figure anything out!
I’d like to have my kids take a gap year but they and my husband don’t seem keen on the idea. Seems most people really are stuck in the mindset that college must happen immediately after high school. Not sure why, I think people think the kids might lose their academic momentum if they take a break.
It’s amazing how many college kids, if they move far away from home, end up flunking out sometime during that first year. It’s a huge adjustment, harder studies, a lot of freedom, and homesickness. I can see where a year off after high school would be a good thing.
An attorney had two kids in college, One went to NYC and one stayed in our city and went to the four-year university. He was bragging about his son in NYC. A year later I asked how his son was doing and he admitted he came home suffering from really severe anxiety My hairdresser had a daughter in college and she was having a really hard time adjusting and keeps wanting to quit and move back home, but her mother is trying to get her to hang in there.
. My sister’s best friend had a daughter in college four hours away in an amazing smaller private college. But she had so many issues adjusting in the beginning and feeling very depressed that she had to go on an antidepressant. She is doing much better the second year. Her son went to another state in college and excelled and had no problems at all, though.
So every kid is different, and you just need to know your kid and what is best for them. My oldest niece is in college going to college here in town because that was best for her, and she is flourishing. She did take a semester off after two years as she was feeling burned out and didn’t want her grades to suffer. So the time off was really good for her. .
My parents supported the idea with us and I’m going to do the same. 2 of my siblings ended up going to college overseas after loving it so much.
I wish more parents would see this as an important part of the overall education process. So many people languish in college without any idea of what they want to do and need a break from traditional academic surroundings and expectations.
I love the idea of a gap year and wish I had taken one. My school and parents offered no guidance in helping me figure out what might be a good profession for me and I ended up paying for a worthless degree, unsuited for my personality and ended up doing something completely different by the time I was in my late 20’s.
I know that if I had waited several years to go to college, I would have figured this out on my own and put my school loans towards the right degree for me.
I agree, Bettyrose. I was overwhelmed by all of the adjustments my first year in college. I was the youngest you could be when I started first grade, so many people in my class were a year older than me anyway. I was 17 when I started, and a very sheltered 17. I think a gap year would have possibly given me more confidence, but there was no such thing then.
My son is graduating this year and he’s taking a gap year. I think that extra year will be good for him–especially as packed as his last two years of high school were. Plus he will have the chance to travel while we finish up our last year here in Europe.
Actually, they didn’t meet at Harvard. They met in Chicago at the law firm that Michelle worked at, he was an intern at the time. I’m sure all will be revealed in this new movie about their first date. I absolutely love the Obamas and will miss them tremendously, but a movie about their first date….not sure we really need that.
I’m not American but I will miss him. He is exactly what a president should be – calm, authoritative and good-natured. He is also pretty hot. None of the current contenders will come close to him. Michelle has also been excellent in her role and will be missed.
I’m literally heartbroken he is leaving. I can’t stomach the thought of someone else in the White House; he hasn’t been perfect but when you look at the obstruction he has delt with he has been one of the most amazing presidents. The fact he turned the economy around and got us record job growth, 20 million more people insured and not to mention ended Iraq, found the Bin Laden and killed him all while being respectful, honest even tempered and calm.
Words can’t express how much I appreciate and respect this man and his family. They exemplified what a first family should be and the best about America to the world.
The idea of any of the canidates in the running or their families being the face of our country after these last 8 years is stomach churning.
Obama was hilarious last night. I thought last year was a bit better but the red wedding and the Prince George joke were great.
👏👏👏👍👍👍
fantastic speech. and yes will definitely miss him and his even-tempered, reasonable approach to everything. he was steady, intelligent, and kept us from the brink of financial and foreign affair disasters…. loved the whole First Family – i don’t think we’ve ever had a family (in my recent memory – going back to the 70s) who truly seemed as functional, loving, and “normal,” as they seemed to be.
I agree. No sleazy scandals or unsavory stories anywhere and you know people have tried their best to create some.
Yep. They did us proud.
I forgot the Red Wedding joke – that was one of the best of the night! Next best was the Secret Service fetching Michelle after she jumped the fence at the White House and made a run for it. “Settle down babe, you’ve only got another nine months to go”. His comic timing really is impeccable.
I am not a US citizen. But I was here when he got elected and I remember the celebration on campus. He’s right! I’m gonna miss him when he’s gone.
Remember the 2011 WH Press Dinner, where Obama mocked Trump obsession with Obama’s birth certificate, and tossed this one out there, suggesting that Trump move on to more pressing issues, “Like, did we fake the moon landing? What really happened at Roswell? And where are Biggie and Tupac?”
Trump was not amused, he decided to get even by running for president. Trump is Sarah Palin but with more bankruptcies.
And fewer dead moose.
I’m so glad I got to experience him. I will miss he grace and class. Not matter what was thrown at him from the beginning. He never ever lose the dignity of his office. Never forgot that he was the Leader of the Free World. Never stooped to the negative attacks. Even in his final words to the Press Core. He hit them; but it did it with CLASS.
There won’t be another of him for some time to come. He will be missed. And maybe that will be the best “How did we not appreciate him/Them”
OBAMA OUT… MIC Drop..
This makes it more real than it has ever been. I dread November like never before.
We need a fashion-centric post. There were some gorgeous dresses last night.
I agree. As far as red carpet looks I thought they outshone the Grammys and Oscars. FLOTUS looked especially gorgeous, but there were many lovely dresses.
I loved the dresses on FLOTUS, Gugu, Michelle Dockery and Helen Mirren.
I never understood why we only have to party system, we need people to think other than democrat or republican.
There’s a lot more play in local races.
We have a system with more than 2 parties, however we end up with a 2 party system anyway. The Liberals (Trudeau 2.0) and the Conservatives (Harper) are the 2 main parties. We have the NDP, which did well in previous elections with Jack Layton until he sadly passed away (good guy, not my choice in party though) as well as the Bloc Québécois, a Rhino party, a Green Party, a Nazi Party, a Communist Party and a few others. In the end, it really comes down to two though I am glad there are other choices.
You said it Kaiser,
“Yeah… I’m going to miss Obama so much when he leaves office. No matter who wins the presidency, I’m really just going to miss him. We had a “cool” president, a funny president, but even more than that: we had a smart, compassionate, even-tempered president.”
No he was not perfect (Who is? Honestly) but I’m gonna miss him so much.
Exactly so!
Michelle looks great. Not my favorite dress of hers but the color is great on her. As mentioned, she hasn’t aged. I’m always amazed as the presidents though–doing back to Clinton. It’s like the presidency ages you in dog years. Clinton, Bush and Obama–you can see the toll it takes. All three were on the youngish side when they were president and all were gray and a bit worn when they left. I’m sure Obama will enjoy the downtime when it comes.
He is hilarius! I love all the comedic things he’s been in through the year’s. I dont think our next president wil be near as funny.
The net debt has just exploded under the reign of the current president.
Obama is one of the worst presidents we have ever had, his health care bill is a disaster, he has spent more money flying around Air Force one then all the presidents put together, he has never addressed our terrorist issues and now he invites all these Hollywood people to a WH correspondents dinner? where are the news reporters? he invites the kardashians? This man is a joke and will go down as one.
The news reporters were there. Each agency has a number of guests they may invite and they are the ones who invite the celebrities including the Kardashians. Several comments above explained that the dinner is not given for the correspondents, it is given by them. The President is a guest, not the host. He had absolutely nothing to do with inviting the Kardashians etc.
Lol you really don’t “get” what the White House CORRESPONDENTS Dinner is, do you?
Yeah I will miss Obama, he was a nice guy.
At least we know he’ll be around for another 40 years, he’s so young and in great shape.
This non-American will miss him as well. Didn’t agree with all his policies but I have so much respect for him and Michelle for staying classy and cool as well as retaining their sense of humor in spite of all the vitriol and opposition they faced.
Hilarious and bittersweet. I miss Obama already! (And that’s all I have to say.)