Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Get Your Feet Off the Desk!



This photo has been making the rounds on the Net and, frankly, when I saw it, my blood pressure rose. It is so disrespectful of the long history of the Oval Office that words defy the contempt it engendered.

His feet are on the Rsolute Desk, a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880. For the most part, every President since then has used the desk either in the Oval Office or in a nearby reading room. Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy used it in the Oval Office and President Clinton had it returned there for his use.



Note the beautifully carved Presidential Seal.

It's said that one picture is worth a thousand words. This one speaks to the arrogance and immaturity of the current President.

14 comments:

Kyla Denae said...

I find it disturbing that people can find nothing more substantial to nit-pick him about. It's like throwing a fit because he said a word wrong.

TexasFred said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Eddy said...

It's a sign of bad manners to put you feet on furniture. I teach my children this, and I was taught the same by my parents. It is even worse to put your feet on ANTIQUE furniture. Finally, it is totally shameless if the ANTIQUE FURNITURE DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU!
Eddy

sdkar said...

If this desk could talk, it would state a popular line from the movie Planet of the Apes.

Alan Caruba said...

I am informed that other presidents were photographed with their feet on the desk.

They were wrong to do it, too!

Carolyn said...

Mr. Caruba, I heard about this a few days ago, and I thought the same, although I wasn't sure of the history of the desk. Seems to me that any president worth any thing would respect not just the office, but all that is in the White house as so much history is there! I agree with Eddy, it's bad manners to put your feet on furniture, and I don't allow my son to do it either. I'm surprised I haven't seen Michelle O on antiques roadshow to try and find out what the desk is worth!
God Bless you Mr. Caruba~

downdraft said...

I worry less about the feet on the desk, antique or otherwise. However, what it communicates is mostly his arrogance in doing this, and his anger or hatred for this country...also, remember, someone had to have been allowed to take this picture, in the Oval Office no less, and that same someone had to have been allowed to release it for publication across the country...so, it appears those of us who are upset seeing him do this, have been suckered...and those who aplauded him, have also been suckered...pictures like this don't just sneak out by themselves, nor are they taken by themselves...someone gets either permission, or directions to do so (like Air Force 1 doing a fly-over New York, huh?)...basically the mesaage I get is someone posing at the desk thumbing his nose at us.

Guy said...

Believe me, Liberty, there are PLENTY of substantial things to nit-pick about when it comes to Obama and his administration, and we do it on a daily basis. Just read the rest of this blog, or any one of a million other ones. Just because the item Alan chose to discuss today is a little further down the scale of importance, it's still worthy of discussion. Sometimes, you have to take a break from dwelling on the really serious "destruction of our country" stuff, which is being thrown at us at a frightening pace.....

whooper said...

WHAT ABOUT THESE GUYS????

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/photos/desk.asp

Alan Caruba said...

Get over it, Whooper. I have already acknowledged in a comment above that I was and am aware that prior presidents have put their feet on the desk.

They, too, were wrong to do so.

Unknown said...

Get over it, Whooper. I have already acknowledged in a comment above that I was and am aware that prior presidents have put their feet on the desk.

But you were never bothered by it before, were you? I wonder what's different now. Hmmm.

Alan Caruba said...

For the record, I was not aware of it before.

IF you had bothered to read the whole thread you would have known that.

Go to the back of the class and put on your dunce cap.

Unknown said...

"For the record, I was not aware of it before."

And yet you chose to rant about Obama, while ignoring his predecessors. If you were really as outraged about the treatment to the desk as you claimed, you'd be starting a campaign to move the desk into the Smithsonian, instead of copypasting this week's right-wing racist diatribe against the President.

The only thing more transparent than your motive is your hypocrisy.

Alan Caruba said...

jrung: I hope you're happy among the dwindling number of people who actually believe Barack Obama is anything other than a total incompetent in the Oval Office.

You've had your say now. Don't bother to "share" any more.