When we elect a president, we aren’t just choosing someone to be a national administrator or a faceless bureaucrat. We’re selecting a family that for four to eight years will be in our homes through our television sets, in our cars over the radio, and on the front page of our mobile phones’ daily news feeds. We watch the children grow over the years and witness the president and first lady’s* relationship matures over time as well.
Presidencies are emblematic of an era. They come to represent a feeling that will forever exist in the national subconscious. So as we enter the final year of the Obama presidency, it’s time to take a mental snapshot of this place and time in American history before we move on to embrace or simply tolerate the next family to occupy the White House.
Recently, the Obamas gave us a reason to take that mental snapshot when they celebrated their final Valentine’s Day as the country’s first couple with a charming exchange on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Michelle surprised Barack with a poem:
“Roses are red / Violets are blue / You are the president / And I am your boo.”
President Obama returned the favor with his plans for a sultry Valentine’s Day with Michelle, capping it off with, “I Obamacare about you more than you even know.”
*We may have a first husband after the 2016 election.
