Barack Obama Shoots, Misses, then Scores!


People are making a big kerfuffle about the fact that President Obama dissed Michelle with a half-hearted attempt at a smooch on the Kiss Cam last night at the pre-Olympic exhibition basketball game between the U.S. and Brazil in Washington, D.C.

The first couple was caught courtside looking all happy and casual with their daughter Malia last night, but when the Jumbotron framed their faces in those cheesy Kiss Cam graphics, neither appeared to know what to do. (Note to Obama: You kiss.) He sort of nuzzled up to her, then returned his attention to the game, causing the crowd to erupt in loud boos.

Twitter exploded, and the Obamas, realizing their mistake, more than made up for it when the Kiss Cam came back around for a second chance. This time, the President did not disappoint. Egged on by Malia, he dove in for the kind of genuninely affectionate kiss and hug that true Camelots are made of. The crowd erupted and all was well.

That news today is of the missed smooch and not the adorable, genuinely loving one, says it all about how jaded we are. It won’t be long before some columnist ties the initial, missed kiss to Obama’s leadership style, citing failure to launch or some other negative character trait.

But maybe we should cut the leader of the free world some slack for not being versed in proper Kiss Cam etiquette. Doesn’t he have other, more important things on his mind? Maybe the story of the Kiss Cam doesn’t have some bigger, negative narrative for us to parse. To me, the story is pretty simple: Whatever your politics, we’re lucky to have a President and a First Lady who effortlessly show us time and again what a real, loving family looks like.

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