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What Obama's Remodel Really Needed

NYT scribe isn't so hot on the president's office makeover

By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 1, 2010 2:28 PM CDT

(Newser) – Well, Obama's got himself a fancy new "redecorated man cave" (aka Oval Office) in the middle of the recession, gripes Maureen Dowd, in the latest "tone-deaf" move out of the communication-handicapped White House. "It might have been wise, given America’s slough of despond, to hark back to a time when presidents just took their office pretty much as they found it," she writes in the New York Times. But since he did the makeover, she's got a few suggestions for his quote-emblazoned carpet:

  • For the administration: "What we've got here is a failure to communicate." Cool Hand Luke
  • For John Boehner: “You’re not too smart, are you? I like that in a man.” Body Heat
  • For Obama himself: "It's the economy, stupid!" James Carville
  • Speaking of the economy: "We're going to need a bigger boat." Jaws
  • And when Obama reaches across the aisle: "Post-partisanship doesn’t work with Mitch McConnell.”

President Obama, photographed from the Rose Garden, delivers a primetime address marking the end of combat mission in Iraq from the Oval Office, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010.
President Obama, photographed from the Rose Garden, delivers a primetime address marking the end of combat mission in Iraq from the Oval Office, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
This Dec. 29, 2009 file photo shows President Obama's Oval Office.  Every president eventually puts his own mark on the Oval Office, decoratively speaking.
This Dec. 29, 2009 file photo shows President Obama's Oval Office. Every president eventually puts his own mark on the Oval Office, decoratively speaking.   (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, FILE)
This Jan. 22, 1990 file photo released by the White House shows President George H.W. Bush's Oval Office.
This Jan. 22, 1990 file photo released by the White House shows President George H.W. Bush's Oval Office.   (AP Photo/White House, Susan Biddle, FILE)
This Feb. 5, 1961 file photo shows the Resolute desk in President Kennedy's Oval Office. Built from the timbers of a British warship, the desk was installed by Kennedy, and has been used by Presidents Clinton, Carter, Reagan, and George W. Bush.
This Feb. 5, 1961 file photo shows the Resolute desk in President Kennedy's Oval Office. Built from the timbers of a British warship, the desk was installed by Kennedy, and has been used by Presidents...   (AP Photo/Bob Schutz, file)
This Feb. 29, 2008 file photo shows President Bush's Oval Office. Bush brought in a rug designed by his wife, Laura. It included radiating stripes.
This Feb. 29, 2008 file photo shows President Bush's Oval Office. Bush brought in a rug designed by his wife, Laura. It included radiating stripes.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds, File)
Renovations to the Oval Office, including a new carpet, wallpaper and furniture, are seen, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, at the White House in Washington.
Renovations to the Oval Office, including a new carpet, wallpaper and furniture, are seen, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, at the White House in Washington.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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The recession redo was the latest tone-deaf move by a White House that was supposed to excel at communication. Message: I care, but not enough to stop the fancy vacations and posh renovations. - Maureen Dowd

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 23 comments
cornelison
Sep 2, 2010 12:17 AM CDT
Furniture donated. No expensive interior decorator bills. Not one cent of taxpayers' money was used. Probably done with consideration of hard times for Americans.
dawnarun
Sep 1, 2010 9:27 PM CDT
Did anyone look at the pictures before? That couch really needed to be reupholstered. Nothing says "emasculate me" than Waverly prints.
SilenceDogood
Sep 1, 2010 7:51 PM CDT
da man pimped his ride.

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