When Barack Obama finally boards Marine One for the last time 286 days from now, I’d be lying if I said I’ll be anything short of overjoyed and relieved.
It’s hard to see what I’ll miss least about the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard experience of this man’s presidency, but his “sense of humor” is right up (down?) there.
His “wit” was on display again during a Q & A he conducted at his alma mater, the University of Chicago Law School, where he was asked to enlarge upon his Supreme Court appointments.
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After congratulating himself over the his efforts to “transform” the federal court system from a “diversity standpoint,” he mused, “Now, I appointed a Latino woman, and another woman right before that.” It’s a minor quibble, but his chronology is off. The “Latino woman” he was referring to is Sonia Sotomayor, who was nominated and confirmed in 2009. The “other woman” is Elena Kagan, who was nominated and confirmed a year later.
As for Merrick Garland, the jurist he named recently to fill the seat vacated by the death of Justice Samuel Alito?
Of the two automatic strikes Garland has against him — his sex and his ethnicity — Obama quipped, “You know, yeah, he’s a white guy. But he’s a really outstanding jurist. Sorry!”
Here’s the video, courtesy of MRCTV:
