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Obama at D-Day ceremony on Sword Beach at Normandy.... (Original Post) ClusterFreak Jun 2014 OP
Well, I hope UncleYoder Jun 2014 #1
Please, thats your biggest gripe? philosslayer Jun 2014 #2
Nope. ClusterFreak Jun 2014 #3
It may have been nicotine gum. He used to smoke and maybe dealing with Putin and some others got his okaawhatever Jun 2014 #4
That's a good point. ClusterFreak Jun 2014 #5

ClusterFreak

(3,112 posts)
3. Nope.
Fri Jun 6, 2014, 07:00 PM
Jun 2014

Biggest gripe - besides people who preface their knee-jerk replies with "Please..." - is the fact that the French thought commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day and the deaths of thousands of brave young men, especially with a group of those now elderly and frail men in attendance, was through interpretive dance. Obama's gum-chewing was a passing observation. Then I had to go to work. It wasn't meant or expected to garner such a reflexively defensive response to what really was a pretty minor criticism.

okaawhatever

(9,453 posts)
4. It may have been nicotine gum. He used to smoke and maybe dealing with Putin and some others got his
Fri Jun 6, 2014, 07:56 PM
Jun 2014

ire up. Needed to calm himself down via nicotine therapy. That or it also could be that your mouth gets dry from speaking for a long time and that is one way public speakers deal with it when they don't have water handy. Unpresidential I know, but i'm not familiar with him doing that too often so it sounds like a special situation.

ClusterFreak

(3,112 posts)
5. That's a good point.
Fri Jun 6, 2014, 10:12 PM
Jun 2014

It doesn't look good but I don't suspect any disrespect was intended by him. God knows the stress of that job (and ya, Putin on the same stage) might be enough to make any former smoker reach for a stick of nic gum just to deal.

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