Did you hear about the rat that ran up Barack Obama's leg? No, it didn't happen at the inauguration,
though I'm sure many rats would have liked to. And not just Democrats.
Obama's encounter with the rat happened 15 years ago, when he was working for a Chicago law firm. As his former boss recalled:
"Our law firm is in an old building that at one
time had a problem with rats running around in the conference room. And Barack was down there one time hosting a meeting
and one ran right up his leg. Without batting an eyelash he shook the
rat off and continued to talk at the meeting in a completely composed
way. Other people would have erupted." [Link]
Yes, other people would have erupted, but not SuperObama!
I don't know why this wasn't brought up during the presidential campaign. Imagine how many more Americans would have voted for Obama had they known how good he is with rats. His political ad would have been very effective: "Barack Obama once shook off a rat during a meeting. Imagine how well he'll deal with lobbyists."
It's too bad that the rat isn't alive, because if it were, we can be certain of one thing: it would have appeared on Larry King Live.
King: "Tonight, we have a very special guest: the rat that climbed up Barack Obama's leg. Thank you for being here, Mr. Rodent. How do you feel about your newfound celebrity?"
Rodent: "It feels good, except for one thing: I don't like being followed around by the papa-rat-zi."
King: "Let's cut to the chase. Why did you run up Barack Obama's leg?"
Rodent: "I didn't mean to. I was just trying to win the rat race."
King: "Was it the last leg of the race?"
Rodent: "No, it was the first leg. I was supposed to run up the first leg and down the second. But he didn't let me finish the race."
King: "What did he say?"
Rodent: "He said, 'What do you think this is, Central Park?'"
King: "And what did you do?"
Rodent: "I kept going. As you probably know, it's hard to get out of the rat race."
King: "And what did he say?"
Rodent: "He said, 'If you don't stop, I'll take you to see my Aunt Thelma. She makes very good rat soup."
King: "He was kidding, right?"
Rodent: "I'm not sure. I didn't stick around to find out."
Comments