Obama's New Popularity Could Force Congressional Democrats to Admit to Knowing Him

By Andy Borowitz, The New Yorker

02 February 15

The article below is satire. Andy Borowitz is an American comedian and New York Times-bestselling author who satirizes the news for his column, "The Borowitz Report."

resident Barack Obama’s increasing popularity is forcing congressional Democrats to consider admitting that they know him, a leading Democratic staffer revealed on Monday.

After months of denying ever having been in the same room as the President, some Democrats are tentatively rethinking that position now that his approval rating has hit fifty per cent, the staffer said.

“We’re watching that number very closely,” the Democratic staffer Robinson Petrack said. “We could be looking at a scenario where it’s safe to acknowledge his existence again.”

Petrack said that while many congressional Democrats have not used the word “Obama” in a sentence since the President’s approval rating dropped to thirty-nine percent last year, they are toying with the idea of resuming that practice now.

But even as Democrats contemplate admitting that they have met Obama or even shaken his hand, some worry that such moves could have perilous consequences if his approval rating drops again.

“I say, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” Petrack said. “If you don’t know when to admit you know your President and when to desert him, you don’t deserve to call yourself a Democrat.”