The MagazineAmerican Narcissus (cont.), Bob Feller, 1918-2010, & moreFrom the ScrapbookDec 27, 2010, Vol. 16, No. 15
• By THE SCRAPBOOK
 American Narcissus (cont.)  Image Credit: Gary Locke A few weeks ago Jonathan V. Last catalogued at length the splendid narcissism of Barack Obama. Many readers sent in their own favorite moments of the president’s mirror-gazing and Obama did his part by adding fresh examples. For instance, last week Obama took time for an event in Northern Vir-ginia where he read to a class of second graders. The book he chose? Of Thee I Sing, by Barack Obama. The week before, Obama began a statement honoring Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, with the following: “One year ago, I was humbled to receive the Nobel Peace Prize—an award that speaks to our highest aspirations, and that has been claimed by giants of history and courageous advocates who have sacrificed for freedom and justice.” He then graciously allowed that Liu was “far more deserving of this award than I was.” No kidding. But while Obama will downplay his own magnificence every once in a blue moon, he gets testy when others do so. In late November, Obama held a public meeting with Hamid Karzai. The Afghan president thanked him, saying that Obama had “set the tone right.” Obama responded, “That was my goal. Every once in a while, I do things right.” The president’s unscripted moments are often uncomfortable. At a ceremony conferring the Medal of Honor on Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta in November, the president quipped, “Now, I’m going to go off-script here for a second and just say I really like this guy.” Two honors for the price of one! One reader flagged a passage from Ryan Lizza’s 2004 Atlantic profile of then-state senator Obama. Toward the end of the piece, Lizza describes watching the candidate doodle while making a series of fundraising calls: To read more, you must be a Weekly Standard Subscriber We're Sorry,
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