Chicago's president needles Washington over winter's cold

Although Barack Obama is supposed to have been living in Washington these last four years as a U.S. senator from Illinois, he played the neophyte newcomer today at the start of a presidential meeting with business people on -- what else? -- the economy.

While the cameras were present, the new White House resident took the floor to get off a good-natured needling about, well, how sissy the nation's capital is to close its schools -- at least his daughters' private school -- just because of a little old cold and ice.  Washingtonians don't seem able to handle meteorlogical adversity, said the Hawaiian native most recently of the Windy City.

Obama, who's taken to quoting his daughters' quips in recent days, said they'd noted that in Chicago no snow cancels school and they still have recess in the cold.

Obama proposed that he'd have to teach residents of the District of Columbia "some flinty Chicago toughness." All part of the change he hopes to import there. (See video below.)

What made his comments about the cold extra chilling was they came on the same day that former Vice President Al Gore gave more congressional testimony on the growing specter of global warming.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: NOAA.gov (an iceberg)

Comments

[freedom eagle]

http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/feedback/chi-051224obamamichelle,0,6820613.story

"Q. You didn't move to Washington. Why?

A. We made a good decision to stay in Chicago, to remain based in Chicago, so that has kept our family stable. There has been very little transition for me and the girls. Now he's commuting a lot, but he's the grown-up. He's the senator. He can handle it. That's really helped in keeping us grounded."

I mean I found that in 2 minutes of searching, based on a vague recollection Senator Obama *wasn't* living in Washington DC.

So, what's your excuse for not knowing that?

[Peggy Pendleton]

So far he can do no wrong. Charming, smart, funny and good looking. And a tease. I love our President.

I hope the Republicans are paying attention to how much we, the voters who elected President Obama, are behind his stimulus bill, and how angry we are with them tonight for voting unanimously against him today.

I love you on twitter. You're one of my favorite twitterers.

[steve rodriguez]

So he had no Washington experience?
Even less experience than we thought the inexperienced Obama had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vulture Breath]

Obama was living part time in DC, part time in Chicago. Like a bunch of Senators do. (This is why nothing ever gets done in Washington on a Friday.) In DC he kept a small one bedroom apartment.