129. Mother Who Slightly Favors Barack Over Hillary

Barack, Michelle, my husband, our daughter and I all went to the mall together. We walked through the racks at Macy's looking at clothes. Michelle spent the time entertaining my daughter by pretending to try on silly shirts she found. Barack was holding forth on how Macy's was a symbol of the American experience in the 21st century. I had trouble hearing him because my daughter kept laughing and distracting me.

We all walked together to the food court where we sat down and discussed the American experience some more over bad mall food. I tried to make some joke about how unsavory the American experience must be if it tasted like what we were eating, but I was nervous and the joke didn't go over too well. Barack leaned in and said, Well, my middle name isn't 'Middleman' is it.

What? I asked.

My middle name isn't 'Middleman' is it? he repeated, as if expecting me to laugh.

I wasn't sure if I'd heard him right, but I thought he might be making a joke about how his life was much more international than this suburban shopping mall. I started to laugh tentatively, glancing at Michelle to see if I was correct in thinking he had made a joke. She was already laughing.

Ok, so I'm not the best joke teller. I hope that doesn't ruin your image of me, he said.

It didn't. Actually, I thought it was both endearing and funny.