Asia-Pacific

The state of Obama: More humble

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-29 08:04

Time for a few - but just a few - laughs

WASHINGTON: For President Barack Obama, these are serious times.

But humor helps.

The president made sure to throw in a few laugh lines in his State of the Union address.

Referring to his struggles in getting a health care bill passed, Obama said dryly: "By now, it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics."

The lawmakers liked that one.

When Obama introduced first lady Michelle Obama, she sat respectfully in the gallery while others applauded. The president poked a little fun, saying: "She gets embarrassed."

And when Obama announced he wanted to hold monthly meetings that included Republican leaders, he looked at them and said: "I know you can't wait."