Only weeks from the presidential election, Obama shares how he balances his time on the campaign trail, the promise he made his daughters, how he avoids disappointing others and his personal battle to stay fit and healthy while running for President, which he admits has not been an easy road, “I wish I was getting a 90-minute workout. Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts. There’s always a tradeoff between sleep and working out.”
Barack on why he works out: “My blood pressure is pretty low, and I tend to be a healthy eater. So I probably could get away with cutting [my workouts] back a little bit. The main reason I do it is just to clear my head and relieve me of stress. It’s a great way to stay focused.”Barack on staying healthy on the campaign trail: “I wish I was getting a 90-minute workout. Most of my workouts have to come before my day starts. There’s always a tradeoff between sleep and working out. Usually I get in about 45 minutes, 6 days a week. I’ll lift one day do cardio the next.”
Barack on trying to quit smoking: “There have been a couple of times during the campaign when I fell off the wagon and bummed one, and I had to kick it again. But I figure, seeing as I’m running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack. There wasn’t some dramatic moment. Michelle had been putting pressure on me for a while. I was never really a heavy smoker. Probably at my peak I was smoking seven or eight a day. More typical was three. So it wasn’t a huge challenge with huge withdrawal symptoms. Eliminate certain key connections–that first cigarette in the morning, or after a meal, or with a drink. If you can eliminate those triggers, that should help.”
Barack on how he would improve the health af Americans: “We need to have an awareness built in throughout various agencies charged with improving health. I’ll give you a specific example. My grandfather died of prostate cancer. As men age, regular checkups are critical. But it’s hard to get them to go in for that mildly unpleasant checkup. Increasing awareness of the difference it could make shouldn’t just be the activity of the Department of Health and Human Services. A good friend of mine who was the head of the Illinois department of public health designed this wonderful program targeting black men, where health information was provided through barbershops. The idea was that black men underutilize doctors and don’t talk about health much. But they go to the barbershop, and that’s where they kind of let loose. The department designed programs where clinics at different barbershops would provide various health screenings, talk about prevention. Those kinds of strategies have to be developed and targeted, perhaps, because a lot of the time we’re most resistant to going to doctors. That kind of thinking should be embedded in a lot of the work we’re doing.”
Barack on what he would change in the White House: “We’re going to do a thorough evaluation, but it may need an upgrade. The bowling alley, I understand, offers us some potential for expansion. Barack on managing his time on the campaign trail: “I’m part of an organization, and one of the things I really try to push in the organization is to make sure that everybody is focused on the two or three things that are really going to be game changers. I ask them to design my schedule in a way that focuses not just on what’s coming at us, but on being active instead of reactive. I think we’ve been pretty successful. I don’t spend a lot of time returning phone calls or e-mails. If somebody needs something, most of the time there’s somebody else who can handle it. Eliminating TV has been helpful– I’m still a sucker for Sports Center. The most difficult thing is to carve out time to think, which is probably the most important time for somebody who’s trying to shift an organization, or in this case, the country, as opposed to doing the same things that have been done before. And I find that time slips away.”
Barack on being a father and presidential candidate: The pledge is, they’ll get their dog, win or lose. Their main concern was, ‘When are we going to get a dog?’ They did ask about what they called ’secret people,’ which were the Secret Service folks. ‘Are we going to have to have these people with sunglasses and earpieces following us around all the time?’ And I told them, well, not right away. They’ve adjusted wonderfully. And I’ve tried to make sure that they haven’t had to participate too much in the political process. What I’ve been able to do is create a zone of normalcy for my kids. I have been able to transmit to them my absolute interest in them and my absolute love for them. I don’t miss the important things. I haven’t missed a dance recital. I haven’t missed a parent-teacher conference. But there are some things I do miss, and those are some of the tradeoffs you make. But, look, there’s no question there are sacrifices involved here. I’d like to say that quality time replaces quantity, but sometimes it doesn’t. You know, a lot of the best moments of family life happen spontaneously. If you have less time to devote to them, there are fewer of those moments.”
Barack on what being a father means to him: “I would like to think that most of the issues related to my father have been resolved.” “That’s part of what writing Dreams from My Father was about: understanding him, his own personal tragedy. He wasn’t a presence in my life, he was an idea that I had to wrestle with for a long time. Somebody once said that every man is either trying to live up to his dad’s expectations or make up for his dad’s mistakes. And I’m sure I was doing a little bit of both. But I feel that somewhere in my late 20s or early 30s I sort of figured out what his absence had meant. It is part of what I think has made me a pretty good dad. I don’t think it would have too much of an impact on my decision-making as president. There’s no doubt that it has contributed to my drive. I might not be here had it not been for that absent father prodding me early in life.”
Barack on not disappointing himself or those around him: “I always try to make sure that my expectations are higher than those of the people around me. A lot of people have a lot at stake in this election. The American people are having a tough time. I never want people to feel as if I’ve overpromised to them. I try to explain in a real honest way how difficult some of the changes I’m talking about will be. But I never want the effect to be that I’m not working as hard as I can on their behalf…that I’m not continually trying to improve. I’m actually glad for the high expectations. One of the interesting things about a campaign like this is that it really does push you to the limit and then some. And it turns out that you have more in your reservoir than you expected.”
16 Comments
Barack is hot, I’d hit it ! ! !
God speed Obama to the White House. We cannot withstand another republican administration.
God bless you Mr. Obama!!! You are the savior for this country and I am so happy to see you and can’t wait to have to lead us!
Good article. I understand the quiting smoking part so much. I miss having one with a glass of wine-bottle of beer-cup of coffee. Those are the hardest times but I still won’t smoke again.
I trully mad my decision last night to support Mr. Obama! He was the president to me last night! McCain is a good man but not the right man!
The responsible thing to do is to vote for OBAMA AND BIDEN, both have proven to be at a level mandatories should be.
The responsible thing to do is be consequent by understanding the implications of voting for another republican period; foremost being able to understand how dangerous, how reckless, how inconsiderate, how insufficient is to give your vote to Palin: to allow the most opportunistic figurine to play the fantasies of equally reckless republicans and their religious, economical, and political extremism.
Deregulation, fanatism, greed, and ignorance, thats what they have to offer for the future!
This site may as well be called the Obama Fan Site. I have yet to see one controversal story about him (and there are plenty of them out there). I guess only Republicans are fair game?
Post 3 really says it all. Let us all bow down and worship Obama our savior. Let’s overlook his shady connections and blatent lies. If anyone opposes Obama, let’s call them racist. Hail Obama. All together now ……Yes we can almighty savior.
Are you kidding me?
#7, the only people that I have seen called “racists” on here are the ones that refer to Senator Obama as “monkey boy” or other racist and derogatory names. People will certainly be called what they are. As for Senator Obama being a “saviour”, I hardly think he’s need to be demagogue. I do believe he’s by far the best choice this election to turn our economy around after 8 years of Bush ineptness. When Clinton left the White House, we had a surplus. Eight years later, the stock market is lower than it was in 2000 and we are the biggest debtor nation in the world. Senator Obama has a concrete plan to turn the economy around while all Senator McCain can do is call him a terrorist because he served on a non-profit board with someone who when Senator Obama was 8 years old, was a part of a violent criminal group. It has come out that both Palin and McCain served on boards and associated with violent and hate-mongering criminals as well, especially McCain as part of the Keating 5. All I want is a plan to help my family not a bunch of hate. All the GOP can offer is a bunch of hate.
Not only this site but many many many other sites are full with comments in favor of Obama. The only reason: republicans had abused their term in the white house, and the possibility of more of the same is just not good enough…it would be BAD, NOT DESIRABLE OR EVEN SUSTAINABLE; IT IS REALITY!!
Maybe instead of fan site you can call it the OBAMA zeitgeist.
sunshine, why don’t you go to FOX news site, maybe you can repeat all those conspiracy theories and make up more with more success than here.
READ, even Rolling Stone has a standing:
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain/page/1.a
Once Barack is elected we need to eliminate term limits. He’s still young enough to be our leader for the next 30 years.
Obama/Biden 08!
finally, a president that understands the inherent superiority of the socialist model of democratic government. Most other countries have already implemented socialist governments. Now that republicans are out of power they won’t be able to oppose the transition to a socialist model.
oh there you go Joe…..
It must be nice to walk around with the rose colored glasses that you wear. Marline has falied to read the MANY posts where when not a word is uttered about race, someone will say “you racists”, to those opposing Obama. Also, she and most others fail as well to understand that the subprime mortgage issue began with the Clinton administration (try looking it up). The Democrats hold blame on this economic crisis as well (you’ll even see that on Meet the Press).
As Post 3 bestowed God’s blessings on Obama and halied him as the savior of this country the reality hits some of us (sadly not all) that people are obviously not looking at this man objectively. He has been personified as a perfect man with a perfect plan (according to Marline his economic plan will “turn this economy around”). When a question arises about his ability to lead this country given his lack of experience, you all turn your heads. Please watch Obama’s response about his qualifications to lead this country when asked if he would be running for president.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gexyfVpFMU
No man is perfect. It is sad to watch people not be able to look at him objectively and at least admit his shortcomings.
How can someone who exercises 45 minutes a day and still smokes periodically beat out Lance Armstrong on this list? Supporters of Obama will believe anything they hear. Ridiculous.