Guys! Quick! Hubby Obama needs some help 'splaining that photo

(UPDATE: Oops. Now another peekaboo pic has shown up. Different woman. Same angle. Same two guys. Over here.)

OK, let's help the poor guy out here. It's a bipartisan gender solidarity thing.

Yes, yes, he's president of the United States of America. The most powerful male in the free world, perhaps le monde entier. Pretty wife. Great abs. Loving father. And a real good talker.

He better be 'cause, as they fly down to Africa right now, Mrs. Obama with the buff bare arms may be asking her hubby one or two questions about this photo that's been flying all over the world ahead of them for a day now. Just as Desi Arnaz would ask his wife in the old "Lucy" show.

On the surface it might possibly appear to some jealous people that the 47-year-old ex-senator from Illinois is eyeing the working backside of Mayara Rodriguez Tavares, a 17-year-old youth delegate from Buenos Aires, no, wait, Brazil at the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy. (And President Nicolas Sarkozy is checking it out too. But he's French.)

Such a suspicion about the nation's male chief executive is absolutely ridiculous, of course, and relies on the tired, old -- and patently erroneous -- sexist cliche about men having a roving eye for the opposite sex, even when they may already be in the company of a member of same said opposite gender.

There have, over the eons, been billions of misunderstandings like this between women and their men when the female followed the man's eyes and perceived them to be glued on some portion of another female's anatomy, back or front. It even happened in cave days when folks wore skimpy animal pelts. That's an Internet fact.

Those patently mistaken female impressions of visual infidelity have led to some verbal outbursts, punched arms, swung purses and long silences in the car followed by a night on the living room couch.

If the offended women would only wait one sec, they could learn the real honest-to-God object of their male's admiration. Most often, the male doesn't even know what other woman his lady is talking about. He was simply admiring a really attractive red sports car that was passing in the same spot but is now unfortunately out of sight.

The car one won't work this time. But there are other obfuscating explanations. Maybe the president had a speck in his eye -- it can happen to presidents anytime even with the Secret Service around -- and was looking down to try and get it out. Could be.

Also, as Ticket reader Tom points out, she does have great shoes.

The most innocent excuse or explanation is that the president was in the process of turning his head to thoughtfully take the hand of his life partner and help her safely down the last large step there so she wouldn't trip and embarrass herself with all the cameras around. What a guy! Chivalry lives!

And those European cameramen -- you know them -- cleverly snapped the photo to make it appear like he was looking at the long curly, brown hair and the female derriere in shiny red material that he hadn't even actually noticed was there. In fact, was there a woman there?

It's all perfectly innocent. So help him out, guys -- or gals. What other explanation can we helpfully offer the first man?

-- Andrew Malcolm

Photos of other male presidential encounters with derrieres below.

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Sonia Sotomayor cramming in practice sessions near the West Wing

These days, federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor is not in her New York chambers. She's not weighing cases or interrogating counsel or even writing opinions.

Instead, with hearings to start Monday in the historic, much-anticipated Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation process, Sotomayor is holed up in a small office in the Eisenhower Old Executive Office Building next to the White House.

A group of young aides and lawyers assigned by Team Obama poses mock questions based on research about each committee member's records. But mostly, reports CNN, Sotomayor is sitting quietly by herself, reading her back opinions, boning up on anything that might provoke a senator to raise a fuss.

"She's got to hit the books," said Thomas Goldstein, a D.C. appellate attorney. "They can ask you about any part of the law. And she's got to be ready for that."

In an earlier round of get-acquainted-sessions, Sotomayor met with 70 of the Senate's 100....

No second thoughts: Michael Jackson 'a child molester' -- Rep. Peter King

Maybe you remember a large ruckus the other day when Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) expressed puzzlement at least and probably more like distaste over the emotional national reactions to the sudden death of pop icon Michael Jackson at 50.

Now a day after the huge L.A. musical memorial service that drew thousands and glued millions to their TV screens around the world, in case you missed his meaning last time, King has gone a bit further.

In an interview tonight on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" with Bill O'Reilly, Republican King (in photo, right, above) says: "OK, he's a good singer, he's a good dancer. But why -- why is he getting all this coverage? Why has the nation stopped for Michael Jackson? That's why I said strip aside the psycho-babble. This man was a child molester."

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) announced to rousing applause at the Staples Center Jackson service Tuesday that she would be introducing a House resolution calling Jackson a "great American," an icon and someone who would be "remembered forever and ever and ever."

Lee has but one co-sponsor on the resolution, whose political fate is up to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and thus uncertain. It's a prickly issue for her and the Democrats as much as they would like to hail the record-breaking musical accomplishments of a world-famous African American.

Debating such an issue in the summer of President Obama's eagerly sought healthcare reform would be a distraction and hand the GOP a publicity bonanza to unite its base and others over what is, in effect, nothing but a ceremonial piece of paper.

Pelosi could well decide it's not worth the effort and the resolution will be buried too. Only without celebrities and ceremony.

Even in Moscow, talking about nuclear weapons, the president was forced to address the Jackson service to break into the news cycle, calling Jackson a member of a long line of black entertainers who impacted American culture. "There are certain figures in our popular culture that just capture peoples' imagination," Obama said, "and in death they become even larger."

On Fox, meanwhile, King said he certainly had no regrets over his weekend statements. "I stand by everything I said, and there's absolutely nothing racist or racial in any of the words I used.”

He added: “I just think that people who are raising this issue are absolutely phony… it's wrong.”

King said what put him "over the edge" was that he'd spent the Fourth of July with firefighters, veterans and police and detected "such a resentment building up" over the nonstop public and media attention about the troubled singer's death.

O'Reilly pressed King about possibly waiting a week or two before saying such things. King said: "I would say an adult male who sleeps with young boys is a child molester.... If nothing else, he's molesting and abusing their psyche."

And he noted: "It was a real reflection on the culture of our country.... It can't be much more down than what Michael Jackson did with young boys, and yet we exulted that over the last 10 days in two weeks. It was wrong."

Then King added something that may strike a note with others: “I was saying what millions of Americans really felt." What do you feel?

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Fox News Channel screen grab; AFP / Getty Images.

Michelle Obama tops hubby Barack in popularity, new poll finds, but...

And now some politically/socially revealing numbers from a plethora of polls:

While her husband's popularity takes a summertime dip, First Lady Michelle Obama's favorability ratings among Americans climb high.

According to a new online Harris Poll of 2,177 Americans, after nearly six months of an Obama administration, more than two-thirds (68%) give her a thumbs-up while less than one-third (32%) disapprove. In comparison, after nearly six years in the White House Laura Bush had a 64% approval and a 36% disapproval.

This compares with President Obama's recent ratings in a similar Harris Poll showing his popularity dipping from 59% to 54% while his disapproval rose from 41% to 46%. On the economy Michelle's partner fared even worse, with just 43% now approving of his handling of the economy and 57% disapproving.

That's understandable. Starting a White House vegetable garden and telling schoolchildren to work hard for good grades while being a poised fashion icon is somewhat less controversial than the president trying to explain a national unemployment rate soaring past the maximum his administration precisely predicted last winter, despite billions in stimulus spending.

Three-quarters of Americans (77%) think the first lady is a positive influence on her husband; 84% of women think so while 69% of men agree. But even a majority of....

It's always the media's fault; Robert McNamara talked about Vietnam

As The Ticket reported earlier, John F. Kennedy's secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, died today at 93. He was a key architect of the disastrous U.S. military involvement in Vietnam who later admitted his mistakes.

In this C-SPAN archive video from 1995, McNamara discusses with Brian Lamb the role of the often-attacked media in that Southeast Asian conflict, specifically about whether the critical American press coverage caused the loss. It's worth a listen in light of subsequent events.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: U.S. Air Force

Video: C-SPAN

Sunday Shows: Biden, Powell, Grassley and Queen Noor

ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Vice President Joe Biden.

CBS’ Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer: Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sens. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria: David Miliband, British foreign minister; author Dambisa Moyo; author Jacqueline Novogratz.

CNN’s State of the Union with John King: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell; Mullen; Queen Noor of Jordan.

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace: Mullen; Reps. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and John Boehner (R-Ohio).

NBC’s Meet the Press: Pre-empted by coverage of Wimbledon tennis.

-- Steve Padilla

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Photo: Associated Press

Palin's resignation speech has shades of Nixon's 1962 concession address

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's announcement that she was bowing out of Alaska politics on the eve of the Fourth of July holiday left a lot of viewers scratching their heads. As the Ticket reported Friday, Palin's friends report that she is genuinely sick of the attacks that seem to be part of the fabric of national politics these days.

But Palin's hastily announced press conference also had all the earmarks of Richard Nixon's famous concession speech in 1962, after he lost the campaign for California governor to Democrat Pat Brown. Nixon's rant was also a last-minute affair. Reporters had been told that Nixon -- a former congressman and senator who served as Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice president from 1952 to 1960 and lost the 1960 presidential race to John F. Kennedy -- would not be making a public appearance.

Instead, Nixon surprised even his staff by taking the microphone and, at the end of a long, rambling, 16-minute discourse on national and state politics, he dramatically left the stage.

I leave you gentleman now and you will write it. You will interpret it. That's your right. But as I leave you I want you to know — just think how much you're going to be missing. You won't have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference and it will be one in which I have welcomed the opportunity to test wits with you.

Like Nixon, Palin seemed fraught with emotion. Like Nixon, she seemed angry at her critics.

Listen to the audio of Nixon's infamous speech via the History Channel and then watch the Palin speech below. Let us know what you think.

Of course to the surprise of his detractors, Nixon recovered. He spent the next six years stumping the country, piling up chits from grateful politicians who benefited from his endorsements, chits he cashed in during his successful 1968 run for the presidency.

Palin gave no hints of her future, except to say that a person can influence from outside the electoral process as well as inside the governor's office. Maybe Palin, who landed on the national political map in August when Republican John McCain plucked her from Wasilla, Alaska, as his vice presidential running mate, is planning to follow the Nixon playbook on that front too.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: Nixon gives his "Checkers" speech on Sept. 23, 1952. Credit: Associated Press

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Analysis of Sarah Palin's strange move: Timeout or Flameout?

First, a few political givens:

These are different, changing times in U.S. politics.

The last three presidents each emerged from nowhere and achieved the White House on their first bid, though Bill Clinton and George W. Bush each had governor’s terms and reelections under their belts.

But what had Barack Obama ever accomplished as a freshman senator before announcing and achieving his desire for promotion? (And not finishing his first term either.)

The emergence of social media and online networking have created a whole new political environment beneath traditional media radar with untapped and unknown opportunities for unconventional politicians.

Sarah Palin is just such an unconventional politician, with surprising upsets in her past, a down-to-earth manner so different from the tired old suits you’ll see jabbering on morning TV this Sunday. And she has an astounding approval rate among her conservative base.

Most expected Palin not to run next year for reelection, like Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who now has the time and option to gear up for a 2012 presidential run.

Hardly anyone expected her to quit the governor’s office and turn it over to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell on July 26, despite Palin’s slipped popularity at home. (Full Palin text here.)

Professionals watching a withdrawal like this conventionally and immediately wonder, what bad news don't we know about her that's about to come out? Is there some scandal, indictment or personal revelation that would cause her to step down even before its announcement? Friday, especially a pre-holiday Friday, is usually a time to announce what you don't want heard much.

But here’s why friends say she’s really doing it:

Palin is genuinely sick of, as she calls it, “the crap” that comes with national politics, especially the....

Obama to Kobe, Lakers fans: Michael Jordan is the greatest!

Noted Chicagoan and basketballophile Barack Obama appears to be writing off the California vote in 2012, at least the basketball fans around Los Angeles.

In a pre-holiday interview with the Associated Press, Obama was asked who was the better player -- six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan or four-time champion Kobe Bryant?

Without even a moment's hesitation, the ex-senator from Illinois blurted out, "Oh, Michael!"

Then, apparently realizing what he'd just said and the profound impact on any 2012 election, the new president hastened to add: "I mean, Kobe's terrific. Don't get me wrong. But I haven't seen anybody match up with Jordan yet."

Too late.

Obama correctly picked the Los Angeles Lakers to thump the Orlando whatevers in the NBA Finals this year. And he was also right in picking North Carolina to win the NCAA championship this spring.

But then he also picked tax delinquent Tom Daschle as secretary of Health and Human Services.

Now, we'll see how the left-handed White Sox fan does on the mound at the upcoming All-Star Game in St. Louis.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photos: Associated Press

Sanford, sex and Maria: A case study in damaging damage control

Didja hear the story of the teenager who approaches his mother with a small cut on his finger?

Well, how'd you get that? she asks, reaching for the disinfectant.

From the glass, he says.

What glass? she asks calmly.

From the windshield.

The what?! says the startled mother.

It shattered.

What? Why?

In the big traffic accident.

What big traffic accident?

The one with all the cars and trucks. At the fire.

At what? Where?

The big explosion.

Wait, I don't....

We were all trying to avoid the stampeding elephants.

And on and on. Does this remind anyone of a particular governor in recent days?

The basic rule of political damage control is: Get it all out yourself fast and accurately. No loose ends. No stretchers, as Mark Twain would say. Take your hard hit one, maybe....