The time has come to say goodbye. Soon, President Obama will leave the office of president to see it be taken over by an angry oompa loompa or a less attractive version of the white witch from Narnia. Obama’s presidency has had its highs and lows, and he has earned praise and scorn from America’s citizens, mainly contingent on whether they own a gun or not. Before his time is up, let us look back on his two terms and remember the events that shaped America under him.
Kanye West Interrupts Taylor Swift at the 2009 VMAs
We all remember where we were when we heard about this. The scene was set, a young Taylor Swift had made it to the big leagues, receiving her first Video Music Award, when Kanye burst onto the scene. “Yo Taylor, I’m real happy for you, and I’mma let you finish, but…” and the rest of it is history. Did Beyoncé have one of the best videos of all time? Probably. But the VMA belonged with Taylor. President Obama handled the situation with tact and grace that would come to define him, referring to West as a “Jackass”1, and the American public concurred. This incident still shapes policy today, with human yam Donald Trump calling for a boycott on Kanye West.2
Gaga Shocks the World with her Meat Dress at the 2010 VMAs
In 2010 Lady Gaga was on top of the world. The Fame Monster was making waves, and Bad Romance was universally agreed to be the greatest song of all time. That was when she made a strong statement for ending the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy3 (apparently that’s what it was for? I thought it was animal abuse or something.) by wearing a dress made entirely of raw meat. Less than a year later, Obama showed that he wasn’t chicken, and repealed the mis-steak of a law4, allowing openly homosexual people to serve in the US Military. Hillary “Skeletor” Clinton now has to live with the consequence of this act put into place by her husband as she tries to win the 2016 election.5
Kanye Announces his Candidacy for President at the 2015 VMAs
Only a few short years after becoming one of the most hated men in America in 2009, Kanye West redeemed himself in the eyes of the public. When accepting the Video Vanguard award from the woman he had upstaged years prior, Kanye West, in an impassioned speech, announced his intention to run for the president of the United States in 20206. Pundits immediately started looking at his odds of victory and trying to predict his platform. One thing, however, has certainly been called to the public’s attention: An egomaniac rapper with a penchant for publicity stunts still might make a better president than non-ironic Jack Donaghy or the candidate that is somehow not as bad as him.
Some other events under Barack Obama’s presidency, such as Miley Cyrus’s scandalous performance at the 2013 VMAs, or Beyonce announcing her pregnancy at the 2011 VMAs, still continue to shape the nation to this day. That’s why it’s important to get out there and vote. We need strong leadership from our leader through whatever happens on MTV these next four years.
-Allan, Senior Staff Member
Sources
1: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/15/obama-calls-kanye-west-jackass.html
2: http://www.mtv.com/news/1621475/adam-lambert-donald-trump-joe-jackson-slam-kanye-wests-vma-stunt/
3: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956399/lady-gaga-explains-her-meat-dress-its-no-disrespect
4: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/us/23military.html
5: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/jun/17/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-change-position-same-sex-marriage/
6: http://time.com/4048824/kanye-west-running-for-president/