"Air Force One" news and stories

While many comparisons have been drawn between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln, I am eager to offer up what I am convinced will be the absolute silliest. Like the venerable Mr. Lincoln, Obama has already become a lightning rod for the advice of young children. A recent New York Times article highlighted several letters, most of which focused on bold initiatives for the young President. One, however, offered dietary advice for Obama:

Dear Barack Obama,
You look too skinny.
You should eat more food.
This is what you should eat:

1. Pizza
2. Ice Cream
3. Butter Popcorn
4. Cupcakes
5. Hamburgers
6. French Fries
7. Hot Dogs
8. Hot Chocolate
9. Cookies
10. Cotton Candy

from,

Jayme

While not quite as eloquent as Grace Bedell's admonition that then-candidate Abraham Lincoln needed to "let your whiskers grow," Jayme's succinct, thoughtful suggestion was nonetheless clear and concrete. What's more, it seems to have caught Obama's attention: a recent National Geographic documentary captured him ordering a burger on Air Force One.

On the one hand, I have to admit that I am a little creeped out by the amount of coverage that the Obama family is getting. There is no reason that I need to know the menu options offered by Sidwell Friends School or the identity of Michelle Obama's favorite clothing designer. These things have no impact on the President's ability to govern or on my day-to-day life.

On the other hand, I, like so many of my fellow Americans, am fascinated by my new President, and the more I learn about the little details of his life, the more human and real he seems. While I admit to being a little disturbed by the nascent cult of personality that seems to be developing around President Obama, I feel like I can trust him to keep a clear head, no matter how hard the country seems to be working on giving him a messiah complex. In fact, the man who emerges from this National Geographic trailer seems as level-headed as they come.