|
47 things you didn't know about Barack Obama In the aftermath of the hurricane that is the 2008 Presidential Election, many people are now asking: who is this Obama guy anyway? Where did he come from? What is his background? Does he like pie? What comics does he like? Has he ever eaten dog?
And while some of those questions have already been answered, the UK's Telegraph has found a few (well, fourty-seven) facts about President Elect Obama that you may not know.
• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics
But which comic philosophy will he adopt in his presidency? "With power comes great responsibility" or "Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!"?
• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball
If the Republican campaign knew about this before the election, this could have come in very handy.
• His name means "one who is blessed" in Swahili
The fact that he won the presidency with the severe stumbling block of having “Hussein” as his middle name and “Obama” as his last says something, at the very least.
• His favourite meal is wife Michelle's shrimp linguini
Shrimp IS very versatile.
• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father
Both Kenny G and Michael Bolton have won Grammys. This is not really a club you want to be associated with.
• He is left-handed – the sixth post-war president to be left-handed
A lefty for the lefties? What of ambidextrous presidents? Besides their ability to play sweet dual-necked guitars.
• He has read every Harry Potter book
Although this was a great bonding exercise to get closer with his daughter, unfortunately the hardcore Christian right will be further separated from him, and will now believe he is directly involved with witchcraft – not to mention being single handledly responsible for the inevitable manifestation of Satan on our earth.
• He owns a set of red boxing gloves autographed by Muhammad Ali
Also rumoured, less prestigiously, to own a stock standard George Foreman grill.
• He worked in a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop as a teenager and now can't stand ice cream
As a teenager, it was rumoured he also taunted kids by singing, “I haaaave some ice cream. And I’m gonna eat it all. I’m gonna eat aaalll”.
• His favourite snacks are chocolate-peanut protein bars Better than dog meat, snake meat and roasted grasshopper.
• He ate dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper while living in Indonesia
Could set presidential mandate to include all these items at McDonald's nationwide.
• He can speak Spanish
And by the sounds of things, considering his comic collection, he isn’t too shabby with Klingon either.
• While on the campaign trail he refused to watch CNN and had sports channels on instead
Who can blame him. There were so many bells and whistles on CNN it was almost seizure-inducing, not to mention the holograms. WTF?
• His favourite drink is black forest berry iced tea
Better than black pudding iced tea, rumoured to be Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond’s favourite beverage.
• He promised Michelle he would quit smoking before running for president – he didn't
The amount of time taken by President Obama’s smoko breaks is estimated to equal the holiday time taken by President Bush at his Crawford Ranch – 879 days in total. (True!)
• He kept a pet ape called Tata while in Indonesia
Sigourney Weaver, Michael Jackson and Clint Eastwood unavailable for comment. Charlton Heston turns over in his grave.
• He can bench press an impressive 200lbs
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was heard to comment “He’s just a little girly man” regarding this issue, before lifting up his APV Hummer with one arm.
• He was known as Barry until university when he asked to be addressed by his full name Shame. We could call him Bazza during his presidential visits to Australia. • His favourite book is Moby Dick by Herman Melville Which is fitting, as he has a whale of a job ahead of him. (OK, they cant all be gems)
• He visited Wokingham, Berks, in 1996 for the stag party of his half-sister's fiancé, but left when a stripper arrived
Allegedly, the stripper was Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
• His desk in his Senate office once belonged to Robert Kennedy
It’s nicknamed “The lucky workbench”
• He and Michelle made $4.2 million (£2.7 million) last year, with much coming from sales of his books
And, amazingly, none of them had the words "…for dummies" in the title.
• His favourite films are Casablanca and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Working in a madhouse like the White House, Barack Obama could soon be known as H.P Murphy. Just don’t let him near any pillows.
• He carries a tiny Madonna and child statue and a bracelet belonging to a soldier in Iraq for good luck
This one is confusing. Why would he keep a small version of The Material Girl and her son, Rocco, on him?
• He applied to appear in a black pin-up calendar while at Harvard but was rejected by the all-female committee.
Denied, comic-book boy!
• His favourite music includes Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Bach and The Fugees
Just as long as it’s not country, Barack, just as long as it's not country.
• He took Michelle to see the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing on their first date
Nothing like a bit of light hearted fun to get the lady in the mood! (Although, props Obama, it worked)
• He enjoys playing Scrabble and poker
At the same time?
• He doesn't drink coffee and rarely drinks alcohol
Good. The less jittery, caffeine filled fingers on the Red Button, the better.
• He would have liked to have been an architect if he were not a politician
So did George Constanza.
• As a teenager he took drugs including marijuana and cocaine
Standard procedure for any American president nowadays?
• He hates the youth trend for trousers which sag beneath the backside
Will also tell stragglers on the White House to “Get off my freakin lawn”
• He repaid his student loan only four years ago after signing his book deal
Lucky Barack. Most of our HECS debts continue on into several re-incarnations.
• His house in Chicago has four fire places
Which makes Santa’s life a living hell.
• His daughter Malia's godmother is Jesse Jackson's daughter Santita
Is her godfather Vito Corleone?
• He says his worst habit is constantly checking his BlackBerry
Well, it’s cleaner than biting his toenails at the Presidents desk.
• He uses an Apple Mac laptop
Which has lead to a call for a separation of Steve Jobs and State.
• He drives a Ford Escape Hybrid, having ditched his gas-guzzling Chrysler 300 SUV
How un-American!
• He wears $1,500 (£952) Hart Schaffner Marx suits
Marx suits eh? Hmmm. I leave that one for those who want to go there.
• He owns four identical pairs of black size-11 shoes
All perfectly designed for ass-whoopin’.
• He has his hair cut once a week by his Chicago barber, Zariff, who charges $21 (£13)
He has hair?
• His favourite fictional television programs are M*A*S*H* and The Wire
If we start to see Obama getting around in a dress, we will know his favourite character is Klinger.
• He was given the code name "Renegade" by his Secret Service handlers
Well, it’s better than “Jeff”.
• He was nicknamed "Bear" by his late grandmother
And when he was naughty, she would not feed him.
• He plans to install a basketball court in the White House grounds
Key congressional debates will also take place on court, with disputes settled by first to 20.
• His favourite artist is Pablo Picasso
Yeah, right. As if it isn’t Stan Lee, comic book boy.
• His specialty as a cook is chili Just as long as he says away from the dog.
• He has said many of his friends in Indonesia were "street urchins"
Well, obviously that is the marijuana talking there. So there you have it. The new American president. Just mind your puppies, watch your dribbling skills, become a wizard and kick off with a Miles Davis cigarette - and everything will be fine. By Jesse Perez
|
