The Presidos and Don'ts of Presidents' Day

You may not realize it, but you've probably offended someone today. You see, Presidents' Day is a much more significant holiday than most people recognize, with an etiquette all its own…

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Tags: Barack Obama, Beyonce, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jay-Z, President's Day, United Kingdom

Monday Links: Drone Drama

* The Kroll Show dramatizes drones.

* Pope Beyonce? Yes please!

* A list of historical fallacies, from Cracked.

* A little girl hears Bad Brains for the first time.

* Please don't watch this if you're afraid of spiders.

* More George W. Bush selfies have surfaced.

* Maybe if we had fewer guns we'd have cooler fisticuffs.

* Jesse Thorn's new show on NPR looks very promising.

*How to order takeout during a blizzard without being a dick. (Save this one for next time.)

* Teddy Roosevelt had an interesting way of expressing himself.

Tags: Beyonce, Dick Cheney, Drones, Funny or Die, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Guns, Nick Kroll, NPR, Oscars, Pope Benedict XVI, Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, Spiders, Theodore Roosevelt, Weather

5 Rousing Mitt Romney Endorsements

After Rick Santorum has endorsed Mitt Romney in the 13th paragraph of a late-night email and George W. Bush endorsed him through the closing doors of an elevator, Newt Gingrich upped the ante with his "I don't particularly dislike him as a person" tribute to the Republican nominee. It's all part of a broader phenomenon of Mittsanity that takes hold whenever Republican politicians try to articulate the inspiring dynamo that is Romney…

1. "I do think it's time for the party to get behind Gov. Romney. And she was reminding me Kenny Rogers sang, 'It's time when to hold 'em and time when to fold 'em.' Well I think it’s time for people to all get behind this good man." – George H. W. Bush

2. "So I'm not completely misunderstood…I'm not as excited as I am desperate." – Rep. Louie Gohmert

3. "Now Mitt is not a perfect candidate…He has a number of problems. It's hard for blue-collar families like mine to identify with him. It's hard for economic conservatives to identify with him. He needs to do more to reach out to the Latino community." – George Pataki

4. "I think he might turn out to make a surprisingly good president." – Newt Gingrich

5. "I'm for Mitt Romney." – George W. Bush, behind closing elevator doors.

Maybe it's just as well that Romney isn't strongly associated with unsavory characters like Bush and Gingrich, I mean, he's running for President for Pete's sake.

Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Tags: George H.W. Bush, George Pataki, George W. Bush, Louie Gohmert, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich

Quote Unquote: George Bush – The Reboot

George P. Bush — son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and nephew of George W. Bush — on his possible future…

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"Right now I'm reviewing potential opportunities, and we'll — we'll see where it takes me."

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Unlike a lot of George Bush fanboys out there, I'm not totally opposed to this idea. I mean, sure, we've already had two iterations of this character in the past 20 years. But you've really got to discount the first one. The second one, however is classic. As close to canon as we're likely to get. But that doesn't mean that's there's no room for a new interpretation.

Like, what if this new George Bush had, like, mutant deciding powers? Or a robotic hand in which to crush civil liberties? It's a different take, but it could work.

Tags: George H.W. Bush, George P. Bush, George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Quote Unquote

Barack Obama's Approval Rating Even Higher Than Jimmy Carter's

Good news for the Obama campaign! His job approval numbers are… Well, they're not the lowest on record. And you've got to take your victories where you can get them…

Barack Obama averaged 46.8% job approval during his 14th quarter in office, marking a slight improvement from quarter 13. His quarterly average approval rating has improved at least slightly in each of the last three quarters after dipping to a low 41.0% in the 11th quarter…

The recent and continuing improvement in his approval rating, though, is a positive sign for his re-election prospects, but it remains below the 50% level that virtually assures a president of a second term in office. Obama appears in much better shape now than the two recently elected presidents who were denied a second term — Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush — both of whom averaged below 40% approval their 14th quarters in office.

You hear that? He has higher approval ratings than Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush! Both of them! That's… not nothing. It's sure as hell better than having worse approval ratings than Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, right?!

Sure, he's not rating quite as high as iconic presidents like Richard Nixon (57.8%) and George W. Bush (47.9%). But, c'mon, isn't that setting the bar a little high?

Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Tags: Barack Obama, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Polls