I’m not going to talk politics. I won’t debate conservative vs. liberal, red vs. blue, or big gov vs. small gov. This isn’t the place for it and I’m no authority on those subjects.
What I do know is that being the president is a hard job. That’s not a partisan statement, that’s a fact. The idea of living your life “on call” and having every movement constantly tracked sounds miserable. So does having people pick apart your every decision, but I can deal with that bit (internet commenting makes a person strong).
Today, Barack Obama celebrates his 54th birthday. That news might be confusing, because clearly the time he’s spent as POTUS has aged him by about 15 years.
When our commander-in-chief blows out his candles tonight, I like to think of him harkening back to this day, in 2008. At the time, he was a fresh-faced Senator, just a week after turning 48, taking a break from the campaign circuit. He visited Oahu, strode into the ocean, chatted up some locals, and proceed to rip a few waves. He looked, above all things, like a man having fun. Which leaves me convinced that if we could see inside the president’s thoughts right now, it would look something like this:
And then, after drying off, I imagine Obama going for his favorite treat… Hawaiian shave ice.
Lots of shave ice.
Shave ice for everyone!
“Annnnnnnd I’ll have another!”
And then, upon seeing an urgent call come in, Obama will be able to exert the real highest power in the land… the ability to say, “Nope. I’m busy relaxing.”
Happy birthday, sir.
