Quotes on Obama's new rug; Oval Office Decor in History

[woo me with science]

A few pictures of past Oval Offices here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/08/31/GA2010083103664.html


I thought this was interesting:

The following five excerpts were handpicked by Obama to be stitched on the perimeter of the rug:


"Government of the people, by the people, and for the people"
-- Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (Nov. 19, 1863)

"No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings"
-- John F. Kennedy's American University speech (June 10, 1963)

"The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally on the welfare of all of us"
-- Theodore Roosevelt's state-fair speech in Syracuse, N.Y. (Sept. 7, 1903)

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt's inaugural speech (March 4, 1933)

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice"
-- Martin Luther King's address to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Aug. 16, 1967)



Pictures of Obama's new and old Oval Offices:

[Windy]

1. Much more subdued... I like it. nt

[AndyA]

2. Waste. Of. Money.

I don't care if it's always been done, I don't care who paid for it.

The money should have gone to help those in New Orleans, or the homeless, or for some other cause. Laura's rug was tacky, but they could have brought in furniture from another room in the White House. I'm sure the White House has lots of sofas, chairs, and rugs in it.

Switch them out, and viola! new decor at minimal cost. The money should have been donated to help those who really need it. Obama didn't need a new office.

[awoke_in_2003]

15. American companies and their workers...

benefit from this. Take the rug, for instance. It was made for free, but the workers who produced it did get paid. That company can now truthfully use the label "Rugmaker of the President". Company gets more business, American workers keep their jobs- hell company may even expand. There is plenty to criticize Obama about, this doesn't need to be one of them IMO.

[AndyA]

17. You're really stretching it. n/m

[awoke_in_2003]

18. How? There is great value...

in being one of the suppliers to the POTUS. Do not think that companies wouldn't use this.

[AndyA]

24. The money would have been better spent helping those who really need it.

The office was presentable, it did not need to be redecorated. Waste of money, especially with unemployment as high as it is, and so many out of work.

It sends a bad message to people. Waste of natural resources, waste of money.

[awoke_in_2003]

27. well fuck me...

American workers redecorated the oval office, with no cost to the public in general. There is a lot to bitch about this administration, but this is a non-story.

[Mimosa]

33. ^ True ^

[awoke_in_2003]

37. Thanks...

I was beginning to wander if I was missing something. Like I said, I have, at times, been critical of the administration, but I cannot find any fault here. I guess my rage reservoir is getting low :hi:

[malaise]

36. 100% correct

Any work is good in these times

[awoke_in_2003]

38. yes indeed. nt

[Chulanowa]

25. Well, he doesn't need the white house, either

bet we could chip it all down for at least a couple million bucks. While we're at it, let's do the same with the Capitol and Supreme Court buildings. Congress cam meet at Denny's, and the justices can tweet each other (unless you think they should put their phones on the block, as well)

Shit, man, do you know how much affordable housing could be built on all that parkland that's wasted on shit like that memorial to Washington? or that big black wall thing that makes everyone so depressed? Plow it, fill it, build it. Use the budget for maintaining the area to subsidize the housing. Stock the reflecting pool with tilapia, and pass out fishing poles.

I trust you're doing your part, right? I mean all you really need is a nice nutritive gruel, a pair of shoes, and something to keep the rain off your head, right? The fuck are you doing wasting so much money on a computer and internet connection anyway? You know there's kids going hungry in the Black Hills, don't you? Jeeze.

[Lagomorph]

32. We could tear down our monuments and donate all the Marble...

...to the NYC Mosque/Community Center.

[onethatcares]

39. laura ingram said the same thing today

for some reason she was also blaming President Obama for the Iraq invasion, and bitchin about why can't we get out of Afganistan sooner.

I no longer have a radio in my shop. All I could pick up was Spanish music/Spanish Religious programming and fucking rightwing talk radio.

for a while it was interesting hearing the spouting points, but then it got really bad. Today, I smashed the radio.

btw, i like the decor and I definitely like the quotes.

Peace

[State the Obvious]

3. Pictures on left (old)...Pictures on right (new). nt

[Skittles]

26. well thank you for that

I thought from the wording in the OP it was the other way around, and the one of the right (except for the coffee table) does look much better

[hlthe2b]

4. Love the quotes... O likes earth-tones, comfort & function....

His sofas looks more comfortable... I admittedly like a little more color and am more tradiitonal.. I actually liked GWB*s choices (the only thing I agreed with him on), but the Obama changes are nice, especially the wallpaper... 'Not sure about the coffee table though... but it is hard to see the detail.

[Ruby the Liberal]

5. Like the colors, LOVE the quotes

Hate the wallpaper. :hide:

[hlthe2b]

6. I think it looks a bit better in this view...

It seems to hide the entrance doors better than with the paint as shown here in the older version:

[Ruby the Liberal]

7. They need to replace those doors with classic 6 (or 9) panels.

It is an improvement, but wallpaper? Really?

[hlthe2b]

8. I agree...

trying to conceal as they do...

Interesting how the colors change from deep gold or even browns to yellow in some of the WAPO shots

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2010/08/31/GA2010083102758.html?hpid=artslot


That coffee table, though.. It may look better in person, but the styling is so 1970s...

[Ruby the Liberal]

11. I think its marble?

[State the Obvious]

10. Yes, it is a better view.... and I really like it.

It is such a large room and the heavier leather chairs and center (coffee) table make it appear more grounded and anchored.
.
The striped wallpaper is classic, bright, and adds a more refreshing look. By partially wallpapering over the doors, you can actually see the oval shape to the room.

This is the room that all foreign leaders and ambassadors will see. To me it represents a fresh new outlook for America!

[MichiganVote]

13. Ok that garden on the mantel is really tacky. And coffee table is too modern in that setting.

[OrwellwasRight]

20. Agreed. And I have to say I like the blue striped chairs over that yucky tobacco

leather color that looks like an old professor's office with 1950s industrial furniture.

But what really gets me is how he has those quotes sewn into his rug, but he doesn't speak with the moral force reflected in those words ever since he's been elected. Like that speech tonight, it was kind of a dud. I wasn't moved, inspired, comforted, or anything really. No emotional response at all. I know he can do better. When will he turn back on the fire??

[MichiganVote]

21. Maybe you feel about his speech the way you feel about the leather chairs.

[OrwellwasRight]

22. Maybe those chairs are like kryptonite. If we get them far away from him,

his full strength will come out. . .

[MichiganVote]

23. Its all about political decor my dear...chairs and speech, one and the same.

[SpiralHawk]

9. If the Repubbies can ever steal their way back into the White House...

They will rip that carpet out faster than Ronald DraftDodger Reagan ripped the solar panels off the White House Roof...

[FrenchieCat]

31. They won't have to steal their way in.....

We are holding the door for them.....
while we stand on Obama's head.

[Mimosa]

34. I agree to a point, Frenchie

I will always support the president when he does what's right and will not criticise him needlessly.

I think the redecoration is very nice and appropriate. The era which was worst was the Clinton Oval Office with the dark colours and neo-Victorian flourishes. The rug designed by Laura Bush? BLECH!!! Ick!

[Steely_Dan]

12. I'm Sorry....

With so much going on...can we...oh, never mind.

=P

[pansypoo53219]

14. i may have been wrong.

the drapes look better on teevee. they must be new. YAY!

[InvisibleTouch]

16. So glad he finally got rid of that ugly Bush rug!!

I like a little more color in my decor, but the new version is a vast improvement over the old.

[Fire1]

19. Never thought I'd say this but I like the 'old' better. n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

28. you must really dig on patio furniture then

[Fire1]

35. Not really, but I DO like a little color to balance the

earth tones.

[Kalun D]

29. The Room Needs a Bit More Color

How about some corporate logos? After all they own the place.

They could do like they do with the sports stadiums, they could sell sponsorship to each room.

"currently we are viewing the BP room, and if you step to your left you can enter the Goldman Sachs room."

[Kalun D]

30. Quotes, LOLZ!!!

"Government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations."

"No extent of greed is ever enough for the bankers who are currently running our country into the ditch."


"The corporate welfare is dependent fundamentally on the taxes taken from the working class."


"The only thing we have to fear is the phony ginned up fear of "terror", that is fabricated to drag the populace into wars for oil"


"The arc of the sold out politician ends with a fatcat job as a lobbyist"

[Radical Activist]

40. Nice MLK quote.

Considering how much Obama likes Lincoln, I'm surprised he didn't pick a more interesting quote. But I guess it's a good reminder.