2015: The Year Obama Stopped Giving Any F--ks

By Tessa Stuart, Rolling Stone

01 January 16

 

Obama treated 2015 a little like his senior spring

here are some on the fringes of American society who have long believed President Obama isn't the person he purports to be. And, in at least one way, they're correct: Until now, Obama has presented himself as someone who can at least sorta-kinda deal with bullshit, as it is his job to do.

But 2015 was the year Obama dropped the pretense. It was the year he openly bashed birthers, and skewered whiney Republicans in a harsher way than ever before. He also showed he's gotten even more comfortable making bold moves, to hell with what his critics say (and his critics, as always, had plenty to say).

January 20, 2015: Drops Mic at the State of the Union

The first sign 2015 was going to be a good year for President Obama came in January, when during his sixth State of the Union address he teased Congressional Republicans determined to maintain that Obama's America has been a dystopian hellscape.

"We've seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled, and health care inflation at its lowest rate in 50 years," Obama said. He paused, but Republicans held their applause. "This is good news, people," he teased.

"I have no more campaigns to run," Obama said later in the address. "I know because I won both of them," he added, winking.

February 12, 2015: Uses Selfie Stick, Says "Thanks, Obama"

Before the State of the Union, the White House tweeted a photo of the tan suit that sparked so much controversy last summer when Obama wore it to a press conference: "President Obama's suiting up for the big speech." The joke was at Twitter's expense, and an indication that the president wasn't taking himself, or his critics, too seriously anymore.

That impression was confirmed in February, when Obama acted like a goofball — making funny faces in the mirror, posing with a selfie stick, and invoking "Thanks, Obama" in a BuzzFeed video promoting HealthCare.gov.

April 25, 2015: Explains His Bucket/F-ck It List

If there was any lingering doubt that this was the year Obama lost all his fucks, he came out in April and told us so in the most direct terms possible. At the White House Correspondents Dinner, Obama spoke about being asked if he has a bucket list for his final couple of years in office.

"I have something that rhymes with bucket list," he said. "Take executive action on immigration? Bucket. New climate regulations? Bucket — it's the right thing to do."

June 22, 2015: Hangs Out in Marc Maron's Garage

In June, Obama traveled to Eagle Rock, California, where he sat down in comedian Marc Maron's garage for a revealing interview on Maron's WTF podcast.

The president spoke candidly about his frustrations with Congress, particularly when it comes to gun violence. "Right after Sandy Hook, Newtown, when 20 six-year-olds are gunned down and Congress literally does nothing, that's the closest I came to feeling disgusted," Obama said.

June 26, 2015: Sings 'Amazing Grace' at Charleston Funeral

In late June, Obama traveled to the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, to deliver a eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine victims gunned down by shooter Dylann Roof inside the church the previous week.

During his remarks, Obama said it would be a betrayal of Pinckney if "once the eulogies have been delivered, once the TV cameras move on, [we] go back to business as usual — that's what we so often do to avoid uncomfortable truths about the prejudice that still infects our society."

Then Obama did something to ensure the reverend's eulogy wouldn't be quickly forgotten: He sang a few bars of "Amazing Grace." This is noteworthy because the president was delivering his remarks in a historically black church — a church not unlike his own in Chicago, which he had to try to make voters feel comfortable with, and to some extent distance himself from, during the 2008 campaign. Seven years later, Obama seemed to care much less about what his critics might say; he was so unselfconscious in the moment that that he broke out into song.

July 16, 2015: Is the First Sitting President to Visit a Federal Prison

In July, Obama became the first sitting president in history to visit a federal prison. Two days later he commuted the sentences of 46 non-violent drug offenders, the most commutations in a single day since President Lyndon Johnson.

"These men and women were not hardened criminals, but the overwhelming majority had been sentenced to at least 20 years,” Obama said in a video explaining the commutations. "I believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances. And I believe these folks deserve their second chance."

The visit and the clemencies were both unprecedented, but 2015 Obama isn't an Obama who cares about precedence. 2015 Obama just wants to see shit get done, and one of the biggest priorities still on his plate is criminal justice reform.

July 26, 2015: Travels to Kenya, Swears He's Not Looking for His Birth Certificate

In July, Obama traveled to Kenya, where had a laugh at the expense of conspiracy theorists who've raised (and continue to raise) suspicions about his country of origin. "I suspect that some of my critics back home are suspecting that I'm back here to look for my birth certificate," Obama joked delivering a toast at a state dinner. "That is not the case."

It wasn't the first time this year he's cracked a variation on that joke. At the Gridiron Dinner in May, Obama told the crowd, "If I did not love America, I wouldn't have moved here from Kenya."

September 25, 2015: Obama DGAF About Anything Other Than His Hot Wife

This fall, the president and first lady hosted a state dinner honoring Chinese President Xi Jinping. All sorts of VIPs were there, from John Kerry to Madeleine Albright to Mark Zuckerberg.

But all anyone wanted to talk about after the dinner? Michelle Obama's bangin' off-the-shoulder Vera Wang gown. No one appreciated her look more than the president himself, as this photo makes clear.

In October, addressing the nation after yet another mass shooting, this time in Roseburg, Oregon, Obama got serious about gun control. He didn't seem mournful, as he was after the Newtown or Charleston shootings. This time he was angry; you could hear the frustration and disappointment in his voice. He sounded like someone who no longer cares about irritating the gun lobby or ruffling the feathers of Republicans in Congress who kowtow to those lobbyists' demands.

"This is a political choice that we make to allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loves ones because of our inaction," Obama said.

He predicted that following the press conference, "Somebody, somewhere will comment and say, 'Obama politicized this issue.' Well, this is something we should politicize. It is relevant to our common life together, to the body politic."

October 10, 2015: Gives Kanye West Campaign Advice

At the Video Music Awards in September, as he was accepting the Video Vanguard Award, Kanye West informed the audience he would run for president in 2020. President Obama addressed the news at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser where West was scheduled to perform.

He advised Kanye that, should he decide to persue a bid, he'll be forced to "spend a lot of time dealing with some strange characters who behave like they're on a reality TV show. So you've got to be cool with that."

Secondly, he said, "Saying that you have a beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy? That's what known as 'off-message' in politics," Obama said, referring to Kanye's album by the same name. "You can't say something like that. A lot of people have lost their congressional seats saying something like that. You don't do that."

October 19, 2015: Tweets "Cool Clock, Ahmed," Sends Conservatives Into a Tizzy

One of the more embarrassing stories of the year involved Ahmed Mohamed, a Texas teenager who was arrested after his teachers mistook a clock he built and brought to school for a bomb.

Many commentators were quick to point out that Mohamed's arrest seemed racially charged, motivated by stereotypes of brown-skinned individuals as terrorists (and this was even before Donald Trump called for banning all Muslims from the United States).

Among the many celebrities and non-notables alike who had Mohamed's back in the aftermath of the incident was President Obama, who tweeted, "Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great."

Mohamed took the president up on his offer, visiting the White House the following month.

Meanwhile, conservatives foamed at the mouth.

October 30, 2015: Doesn't Give a F-ck About Schism, Recognizes Baby Pope

Though they had a pleasant meeting when Pope Francis visited the White House earlier this year, President Obama and the pope certainly don't see eye-to-eye on every issue.

You know what religious leader Obama can get behind 100 percent? The pope's toddler doppelgänger, who also visited the White House this year, at Halloween, riding high on his toy Popemobile. The president more or less lost it with that kid, giving him the top costume prize of the night.

November 3, 2015: Mocks GOP Candidates

At a Democratic fundraiser in New York in November, Obama fired back at the Republican candidates who whined about how tough the CNBC debate moderators had been on them.

"Every one of these candidates say, 'Obama's weak, Putin's kicking sand in his face. When I talk to Putin, he's gonna straighten out.' And then it turns out they can't handle a bunch of CNBC moderators!" Obama said.

"I mean let me tell you: if you can't handle those guys," he added, laughing, "I don't think the Chinese and the Russians are going to be too worried about you."

November 11, 2015: Addresses Folks Who "Want to Pop Off" About ISIS

At the G20 Leaders Summit in Turkey this fall, Obama, clearly weary of the critical blathering about his handling of ISIS, delivered a message to his detractors.

"Folks want to pop off and have opinions about what they think they would do? Present a specific plan. If they think that somehow their advisors somehow are better than the chairman of my joint chiefs of staff, I want to meet 'em, and we can have that debate," Obama said.

(The line itself was pretty great, but the remix was even better.)

November 25, 2015: Is Over the Turkey Pardon

Presidents have long dreaded the annual turkey pardon – truly the dumbest of the presidential duties. President Obama is no exception, often mixing his signature dad jokes ("As you may have heard, for months there has been a fierce competition between a bunch of turkeys trying to win their way into the White House") with exasperation over the tradition. As he said this year, "I know some folks think this tradition is a little silly. I do not disagree." Yes, Obama does not give a fuck about the turkey pardon, and thank goodness for that.

Another thing we can all be thankful for: This year we didn't have to endure any conservatives waxing poetic about the Obama daughters' lack of "class."