Barack Obama gets the boxers vs. briefs question

Yup, he's not even the Democratic nominee for president yet, but Sen. Barack Obama got the boxers vs. briefs question from Us magazine. Really old people will remember that way back in 1992, MTV asked Bill Clinton the same question and he said boxers.

And the world was a much more informed place as a result, although we had no idea at that time how much more informed we would become about Bill Clinton and his personal habits during ensuing years.

The Obama question happened during an interview with the celebrity magazine Us, which has released a few of the questions and answers early in order to hype its sales this week.

They asked Obama how familiar he was with Us and he said, "My wife reads it." So we know the senator is no girly magazine guy.

They asked him if his daughters talked a lot about Britney Spears. And he said they were down on Britney and Paris and considered them "very yuck." He said they were much more into Hannah Montana and Beyonce. OK, good, sensible.

They asked him if he ever got starstruck and he said no, what impressed him was when celebrities like George Clooney do their homework and use their fame to advocate for causes like Darfur. So we know how socially committed he wants to be.

And then Us asked him The Big One, the question they had kept until they got some useful answers on tape just in case he walked out over an inquiry about his....

underwear. So: boxers or briefs? they asked.

And here's the surprising answer the candidate gave in this day and age: "I don't answer those humiliating questions."

Good for him. Good for him. Some people will vote for Obama just because of that dignified reply.

And then Obama added a bit more. He said, "But whichever one it is, I look good in 'em."

-- Andrew Malcolm

                                                                               Image from People Magazine

Comments

[Chrisinwien]

What a genius. he slaps Clinton big time, and then lets off with a laugh. Poor Hillary, she must be throttling Bill on the few nights she ever sees him.

At this rate, she'll be buying him a Lanz nightgown.

[lupercal]

haha...brilliant. he's not defined by the past as i observed, but he takes good note of it. all the better.

[katya]

jesus, whoever wrote this isnt hiding his smarmy..

dont criticize the candidate for answering questions, criticize the questioner..

(Did you actually read the piece? It actually suggests voting for Obama because unlike most he didn't play along with this celebrity interview junk.)

[athy]

Shout Out To All Who Care About Protecting Our Election Process-
URGENT-TO BE ACTED UPON BEFORE TUESDAY MARCH 4 (NEXT WEEK)

• The US media has failed us. Our election process is being turned into a 3 ring circus.
• This is a perfect example of why many citizens are strongly against media consolidation. The media pretends to be ‘objective’ but when important decisions need to be made by American citizens, we will not be provided with the appropriate information to make those decisions. The information that is provided (if it is provided) will be skewed. Look at what has been happening during the last few days. Use common sense. Believe your eyes and ears.
• It is up to independent journalists, educators, and others who care about our election process to inform & educate each other- NO MATTER WHICH CANDIDATE YOU SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT

How to do this

• Inform friends, family, neighbors about campaign issues & discuss who you will be supporting and why. TALK ABOUT IT…
• If you see interesting information on the internet –including blogs- send email to people you know so they can be informed. Copy & paste info. Opinions are great but nothing beats collecting facts from RELIABLE sources and passing them on to people so they can make up their own minds. Include links to websites that you find informative. Keep looking on the blogosphere as we will be sending each other links to important sources of information so that we can decide .
• ESPECIALLY pass on information to people you know who live in Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Vermont. Their primaries and caucuses are next Tuesday March 4. (Rep & Dem)
• Ask people you know-(people who may have difficulty getting to the polls) if they know the address of their polling location & how to get there. Ask if they need a ride. If so, offer to drive them
• Keep posting information you collect, and opinion pieces on the blogosphere. Links to sources of information are especially valuable
• Write and send letters to your media outlets (newspapers, television,radio) and let them know who you support and why
• Respect each other on the blogosphere. Do not get distracted. Do not waste your time and energy engaging in useless discussions.
• Most importantly, keep an open mind when gathering information and don’t be shy about respectfully challenging information someone is presenting to you.

JOURNALISTS-WE NEED YOUR HELP. STEP UP AND ASSUME YOUR ROLE AS A MEMBER OF THE FOURTH ESTATE. HELP INFORM OUR CITIZENS.

[zammy]

Okay, boxers or briefs for Obama. Good choice not to answer such a humiliating question. Would they ask a woman such a question? Were the media dare to ask Hillary "panties or thongs?"... Imagine that America?.. On second thought don't.. Wow, now it's clear why Mr. Clinton does what he does...

[noreen]

"very yuk" Looks like Americans are going to put in another well spoken president. I see many more comparasins to Bush then Clinton with this one.

[no obamanation]

The majority of the American Black community claims that they want to live in a society where discrimination doesn't exist, but appears they are not practicing what they are preaching. when Obama continually pulls 90%+ of the black vote, it's obvious that most blacks are voting for a candidate because of skin color. The odd thing is people like John Lewis who marched for equal rights jumps on the prejudice bandwagon, I’m sure he realizes what it does to his credibility. Obama camp have been calling African-American superdelegates to target, harass and threaten,” said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II (D-Mo.), a superdelegate who supports Clinton. Cleaver said black superdelegates are receiving “nasty letters, phone calls, threats, being called an Uncle Tom. Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., also is receiving several e-mails from individuals saying they won’t vote for her if she doesn’t change her support to Obama, she should vote for him because she, too, is black. Rep. John Lewis, a black civil rights icon, sadly enough has given into the racial threatning politics of the Obama camp and switched his support from Clinton to Obama.

THEN SHOULD ALL WHITES AND WOMAN VOTE FOR CLINTON?

[Robert Valiquet]

Very penetrating questions posed by a most objective
interviewer.How about some God questions ?Why would
Mike Huckabee be the only one to get them ?

[A. Clayton]

Actually, Bill said "briefs" not "boxers"...and I'm not that old to have remembered that.

[Karen H]

Noreen - I believe Obama's daughters are under the age of six. So "very yuck" seems like an appropriate response for a five-year old, whom he was quoting.

(His two daughters -- Sasha and Malia -- are 9 and 5.)

[David, Portland Oregon]

noreen:

"Very yuck" is his daughters sentiments about the 2 big nasties, Hilton & Spears - good for them, sensible enough to avoid cotton candy superstars.

Second -

You said, "Looks like Americans are going to put in another well spoken president. I see many more comparasins to Bush then Clinton with this one."

This would imply that Obama shouldn't be put in because he's well spoken, like Bush.

Um, hi there. Obama is like Bush because Bush is well spoken?

[Sylvie LG Pollard]

I think americans should vote for Obama because he is the only one who seems to have the guts to speak out about global warming. He is also the only one who is committed to spending $150 billion on tackling this huge problem facing our world! Hillary is only willing to spend $50 billion which is not enough! Her advert asking that when at 3am you get the urgent call concerning a global matter and who do you want to answer it ? makes you laugh, as she was one of those who voted for the illegal invasion of Iraq, that has cost 1000's of lives, billions of dollars and brought about more hatred for the USA than anything else in history. The taliban have gained support in Afghanistan because of this illegal war too, which has made the world even less safe than ever before. So in answer to the question posed by the advert...not Bush not her or anyone else who supported the decision to invade Iraq on false pretences.If I, a mere layman could see it was all made up what does that say about her?!

[dave]

good for obama he had sense enough to either copy the reply ron paul gave to the same question about a year ago in a google interview, or come up with the same one on his own.
but then, the future of the american republic is hardly to be reduced to the question of the emporer's new clothes, whether it's boxers or briefs. and is being president really about looking good in your underwear,
or about defending people's liberties and the constitution?