Obama writes excuse note for 4th grader (Cool)

[Rodger Tellefson]

Yahoo! News - The president scribbles a note in the middle of his town hall meeting for a 10-year-old who skipped school.





I have an excuse, I swear



Today, President Obama hosted a town-hall meeting in Green Bay, Wisconsin to sell his ideas on health-care reform. During the Q&A portion, the president and father of two also wrote a note excusing one 10-year-old audience member from school.



Before asking the president a question, John Corpus told Obama that his 10-year-old daughter was "missing her last day of school."



"Oh no! Do you need me to write a note?" asked the president, who began walking back to the podium. Obama then took a pen out of his jacket, saying "Go ahead. I'll start writing." When the president asked for her name, Mr. Corpus gave his own again, "No. HER," said the president, to much laughter.



Then in a feat of multi-tasking, Obama held onto the microphone while writing a note and listening to Mr. Corpus' long-winded question. He then began answering the question, while walking off the stage and into the audience to hand the note to Mr. Corpus' daughter, Kennedy.



What did the now most-famous school excuse say?



"To Kennedys teacher - Please excuse Kennedys absence. Shes with me. (signed) Barack Obama."



Not a bad reward for skipping school.

---------------------------------------------------

Can we say frame it to show your children & grandchildren

 

[OLE442]

Even though I'm not a fan of BarryO....this was a neat story.



'07 ST

 

[Dave S 2]

Really amounts to just another lie from BHO.

She wasn't "with" him. Nor did he even know she would be there.



Child probably now thinks it's OK for her to skip school as long as you can cover it with a lie.



Dumb, dumb, dumb...

 

[Steve McKellop]

Not a bad reward for skipping school.

Rewards for bad deeds .........That seems to be the norm for this administration ..............my opinion.



(yes, flame away!)

 

[Bud Williams]

Now how many notes did Barack's non existant father write when he skipped school to smoke the weed?!?:banana:

 

[Jenn D]

Awe, come on guys. I'm with Gary on this one. Like the guy or not, that's a neat story.

 

[A K]

I feel like if Joe Torre did it, we'd all think it was fine. Enjoy it for its cute factor.

 

[Kevin Lang]

The president truly is giving excuses for all kinds of behaviors...except the right ones.



This is getting absurd--even the most stalwart neoliberals (and they are adamant in their misguided believes, I assure you) condemn BHO's administration for de facto buying GM & Chrysler.

Awe, come on guys. I'm with Gary on this one. Like the guy or not, that's a neat story.

It's PR. Without a doubt, that's why BHO did this, to help make himself look good in the eyes of the people. BHO works on manipulating emotions, and what better than the "awww, that's so cute"-esque emotions to toy with to further himself?

 

[A K]

I'm not a BHO zealot. I am a supporter of a fun story. If it was November, it would not have swayed my vote.



Again, it's simply cute. No more, no less.

 

[Shaun Tucker]

You guys read into some things way too much. Every now and then you should just take it at face value for what it is, instead of trying to breathe some right or left wing propaganda into the mix.



IMO Obama was simply trying to make the occasion special for one little girl. Not sway voters or send subliminal messages about how its OK to skip school etc...



It shows his human side, something we haven't really seen from leaders of any country for a little while.

 

[Kevin Lang]

So your opinion of obama has improved? You feel as though he cares for the people, or some such?



Then his PR work was successful.



Politics is a popularity contest, and popularity comes from perception. Politicians do not make uncalculated moves for "cuteness" or out of the "kindness of their hearts".



President Gerald Ford infamously pardoned Nixon, and he was remembered for that for his political career, negatively.



President Barack Obama pardoned a little girl, and he'll be remembered for that as a down-to-earth, empathetic president; seen in a positive light.



I see a large problem with this, but then again, "Perception is Everything"



Empathy and Charity win over actual fact and public service every time:



"You don't have to build a city to make people worship you ... just make the chumps believe they're worth a nickle."--Frank Fontaine

 

[Dre L]

Awwww how cute, the sore losers are having a tantrum. What's the matter, afraid the President might do a good job so you need to bash him 5 months into trying to fix things? God needed 6 days to create, maybe you could give the guy a year to try pulling an entire country out of a nose dive he inherited.



Then again, some of you are the same people who saw no wrong in President Bush's performance after 8 years of actions that speak for themselves, so frankly your opinions don't really carry much weight in the real world anymore. Those die-hard types that "hope the country fails" really do say it all. The GOP was once a great party, and very few remember what a true Republican stands for. It's amazing how even after most of the country is disgusted by their actions, they continue the same type of behavior that booted all but the best of them.



Try not being so blue or red, you might find things are really a different shade. He's half black half white, and yet people can't get past the H in his name.



I don't give a flying **** if his name is Osama Bin Laden. If he does a good job, thank you Mr. President.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Liking Obama or not...



This story/post is about a pretty neat thing that happened to a little girl. Why can't it be left at that.



If it was a President that you happened to like, would you feel differently?



My point, let the girl and her family have a pretty unique moment in their life.



I saw it on TV just a few minutes ago like I said, like Obama or not, it was a neat thing to do for her and her dad..

 

[Les]

Really amounts to just another lie from BHO.

She wasn't "with" him. Nor did he even know she would be there.



Child probably now thinks it's OK for her to skip school as long as you can cover it with a lie.



Dumb, dumb, dumb...

re: Obama writes excuse note for 4th grader

The president truly is giving excuses for all kinds of behaviors...except the right ones.

This is getting absurd--even the most stalwart neoliberals (and they are adamant in their misguided believes, I assure you) condemn BHO's administration for de facto buying GM & Chrysler.

Quote:Awe, come on guys. I'm with Gary on this one. Like the guy or not, that's a neat story.



It's PR. Without a doubt, that's why BHO did this, to help make himself look good in the eyes of the people. BHO works on manipulating emotions, and what better than the "awww, that's so cute"-esque emotions to toy with to further himself?

Give it a rest people.

Liking Obama or not...



This story/post is about a pretty neat thing that happened to a little girl. Why can't it be left at that.



If it was a President that you happened to like, would you feel differently?



My point, let the girl and her family have a pretty unique moment in their life.



I saw it on TV just a few minutes ago like I said, like Obama or not, it was a neat thing to do for her and her dad..

+1 what Coastiejoe said...

 

[TomT]

You guys read into some things way too much. Every now and then you should just take it at face value for what it is, instead of trying to breathe some right or left wing propaganda into the mix.

Couldn't agree more. I didn't vote for the guy but I think it's a great story. PR or not, give the guy some slack people.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Again, what is really wrong with this country rears its ugly head.



We have become a country of mean old ladies that sit on their front porch waiting for someone to do something they don't like so they can stick their nose in it, yell and scream, and generally make a mountain out of a mole hill.



The weak minded are easily lead. They have been easily programmed to look at people not like them as "the bad guy". If they don't think like them, they are idiots. If they don't sound like them, they can't be trusted.



Many people in this country hated GWB because he was a Republican and then nitpicked on everything he did from that point. There are those that hate BHO because he is a Democrat and are now doing the same thing. There are those that don't agree with abortion, or gay marriage, or bailouts, or whatever, and therefore they wait, and they wait, ready to POUNCE on the least little thing and say "Ah-ha! See, I TOLD you so!"



You know if you are part of the problem. You know if I am talking about you.



So, if you are the problem, then to you I say:



GROW UP! Stop acting like a CHILD, or if you must act like a child then go to the corner, or to your room, sit down and shut up while the ADULTS run the country for you!



TJR

 

[Bill V]

Child probably now thinks it's OK for her to skip school as long as you can cover it with a lie.

Huh? Get real!



There are certain educational opportunities which justify a child skipping school. The chance to see a sitting president speak--regardless of whether that president is Democrat, Republican, or other; or whether they are someone you mostly agree with or someone you don't-- is definitely one of those opportunities. This father ABSOLUTELY did the right thing by allowing his daughter to miss school for this.

She wasn't "with" him. Nor did he even know she would be there.

Again, get real!



Actually, she was "with" him. One definition of "with" is "among, or in proximity too: She planted onions with the carrots." Are you saying that because the onions and carrots didn't come into the garden together, and the carrots didn't know that the onions would be there, this somehow means the use of the word "with" is wrong in that sentence?

 

[Tom Schindler]

Another story that did not hit the news.



When my cousin was a little boy, he was on vacation with his parents in DC. While at The White House, he fell and hurt his head. He was rushed in to see the WH doctor. To make him feel better (you know how kids are) my cousin was allowed to eat the Jelly Beans that were reserved for President Reagan.





Tom

 

[TrainTrac]

Before asking the president a question, John Corpus told Obama that his 10-year-old daughter was "missing her last day of school."

Child probably now thinks it's OK for her to skip school as long as you can cover it with a lie.

:huh:



Lighten up, Francis. Where was the lie in this? Coastiejoe got it right: Like BHO or not, this was a once-in-a lifetime experience for this girl to see a sitting president, one that she'll now never forget. How many of you pull your kids out of school during the year for vacation or some other reason?



Furthermore, this girl likely didn't miss anything substantial on the last day of school. Most kids' last day of school for the year is only a 1/2 day long, often less, as they're only going in to get their report cards. My son's last day each year is only about an hour long.

 

[Roger Batts]

I, too, am not a fan of Barry O, but I gotta admit, that was pretty sweet!