Obama, The Party is Over

U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama depart the White House en route to Andrews Air Force Base on December 9, 2009 in Washington. The President and First Lady are traveling to Oslo, Norway to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony.

Someone asked me about Obama's pursed lips in the comments section of a previous post; and I had noticed in the last week he can be seen with pursed lips more and more often. I see it in candid shots in the Presidential limousine, when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, when being interviewed on Sixty Minutes.



U.S. President Barack Obama speaks before signing a Presidential memorandum which moves about $600 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money to spur construction and renovation projects at 85 community health centers around the U.S. during a ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House in Washington on December 9, 2009.

What does this all mean? Well they say when you are the President of the United States you will age drastically in the White House as a result of the stress and enormity of the responsibility and Obama is now understanding that in the last two weeks. Afghanistan and health care (and probably a few other things we are unaware of) are all taking their toll... His usual athletic stride and easy going style are replaced by a more reserved walk. He still flashes his trademark big smile, but not as often; and he is more likely to offer a social smile to the crowd.

Pursed lips are often done unconsciously. It is a sign that he is carefully considering his words and is now more comfortable listening than speaking. It is a sign of some anxiety that he is feeling internally. He always has occasionally pursed his lips, and it is a part of his baseline, the difference is he is doing it more often in the last couple of weeks.◦

Obama, The Party is Over