Feel the love

Every time the POTUS comes to Manhattan, it causes huge traffic problems because city officials end up shutting down a lot of streets to keep the president protected. This is not a recent problem, either. 

A little story: Mrs. D and I were in Manhattan for the initial part of our honeymoon, way back in 1991, and I remember that we talking to the cab driver who was giving us a ride back to our hotel. He was complaining quite bitterly about the problems it caused when "El Presidente" comes to town. In this case, he was talking about George H. W. Bush, who happened to be in town for some event and was staying at the Waldorf-Astoria. We were staying at the Algonquin, which is about 6 blocks away from the Waldorf. Later on, when we walked out from the Algonquin to get dinner, we ended having to walk about three blocks out of our way to get to our destination because all the streets were blocked off around the Waldorf.

Of course, if you're as much of a narcissist as the current occupant of the Oval Office appears to be, you find the inconvenience you cause others to be very amusing:

President Barack Obama joked today during a New York speech that he doesn't seem to have the traffic problems the city's residents are always complaining about.

'It's actually pretty smooth for me during the week,' Obama said, after playfully arguing that everyone in New York 'hypes' the traffic.

'I don't know what the problem is,' he told attendees of the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting. 'I haven't noticed.'

This sort of behavior doesn't surprise me, nor does the reaction it gets:

The already busy streets were even more jam-packed this week as the United Nations convened for a climate change summit and a General Assembly meeting.

Per usual, New Yorkers took out their outrage over the gridlock caused by Obama's motorcade on twitter.

'GO HOME OBAMA NO ONE WANTS THIS TRAFFIC,' twitter user Rebecca Plaine said.

'Thank you Obama for causing all this bulls*** traffic in NYC,' a user named Ramirez tweeted.

'Pres and Lady Obama we love you guys but please leave NY ASAP! This traffic is unbearable!' user Rachel Johnson begged.

First Lady Michelle Obama accompanied the president to New York this afternoon, and the first couple will remain there through Thursday.

After learning that Obama had mocked their travel problems, residents of New York and the surrounding area were even more irate.

'I know multiple folks who missed flights today because of him. File Under: No laughing matter,' twitter user @lisaedlisa said.

It's not a laughing matter. But it's no big whip to a guy who has his own plane. Speaking of which, here's an amusing image:

Bet those Marines appreciated the sentiment. But the Leader of the Free World has an answer for people who notice such things.