The zhooshing of the Oval Office
Andrew fucking Jackson is gone.
President Biden has filled the Oval Office with images of American leaders and icons, focusing the room around massive portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt that hangs across from the Resolute Desk. It is a clear nod to a president who helped the country through significant crises, a challenge Biden now also faces.
…
Biden is also nodding to segments of the Democratic Party’s base via historic references. Behind the Resolute Desk is a bust of Cesar Chavez. The office also includes busts of Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and sculpture by Allan Houser of the Chiricahua Apache tribe that once belonged to the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) — the first Japanese-American elected to both houses of Congress.
Why talk about segments of the party’s base? Why not just say they’re activists and symbols of social justice? Why translate that into dopy insider jargon about “the base”? It’s good that busts of Cesar Chavez and Rosa Parks are there, especially after Trump’s murderous white guys, so how about not tainting it with cynical base-wooing bollocks.
A painting of Benjamin Franklin is intended to represent Biden’s interest in following science. The painting is stationed near a moon rock set on a bookshelf that is intended to remind Americans of the ambition and accompaniments of earlier generations.
I think “accompaniments” is supposed to be “accomplishments.”
Gone are the flags of branches of the military that Trump displayed behind the Resolute Desk. Biden has installed an American flag and another with a presidential seal.
From sojers to union organizers.
If Biden is redecorating, those creepy gold drapes could go. Maybe someone kept the nice red ones Obama had.
I look forward to the Democrats convicting Trump in the Senate (or rather voting to do so and failing to secure enough Republican votes to make out to 2/3rds) and the Republicans politicking about that to blockade absolutely everything until the Democrats remove the filibuster in order to pass anything at all, and then Republicans taking full advantage of that next time.
The staff must be quite amazing, to have accomplished those details and make everything look clean and nice and new, under shortened circumstances and obstruction by a petulant buffoon.
Oh, lookit this: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/a-total-failure-the-proud-boys-now-mock-trump/
He’s better than Jackson, but FDR’s not that great – the Japanese internment , for example. I guess no president would be without a big moral flaw though, depressingly enough.
I read somewhere that the staff actually had more time than usual, as contrary to usual practice when the outgoing president invites the incoming president for a visit and tour Trump slunk off in the morning and the Bidens didn’t show up until late afternoon. But of course they needed a lot of extra time for the required deep clean of the entire building, something I find satisfyingly symbolic.
The staff had lots more time than usual, thanks to Trump’s sulky departure at dawn.
Sastra @ 1 – actually those are different gold curtains, darker than the ones Trump had. I’m with you: no gold at all.
Anna @ 5: “the Japanese internment, for example” — that is counterbalanced by including the “sculpture by Allan Houser of the Chiricahua Apache tribe that once belonged to the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI) — the first Japanese-American elected to both houses of Congress.” In fact, when I read the article, I wondered whether that were Biden’s intention. Probably yes.
Ophelia, were you referring to this song?
https://www.themusicallyrics.com/b/179-bloody-bloody-andrew-jackson-musical-lyrics/890-im-not-that-guy-lyrics.html
“I’m Andrew Fucking Jackson.
And my life sucks in particular.
Life sucks.
And my life sucks in particular.”
@7 After scouring the interwebs, I’m pretty sure those are the same curtains. Maybe they look darker because they’re still damp from the steam cleaning, fumigation, sterilization, or whatever it required to get the stench of incompetence off of them.
I didn’t make it up about the curtains, it was reported somewhere yesterday.
Oh, duh – it was reported in the Post article, I just didn’t quote that bit.
I’m sure they will get around to burning them at some point. I know I would. :D