Let's end our day with some video and pictures of our President demonstrating what public service is all about.

Here are some pictures courtesy of The Obama Diary:

Greatest President of my lifetime.

Final images of the day, just because.

Caption: First Lady Michelle Obama snuggles against President Barack Obama before a videotaping for the 2015 World Expo, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House.

 Caption: President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hold hands as they listen to Rep. John Lewis during an event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches.

I saw these over at The Obama Diary and I just felt the need to share after suddenly feeling a wave of emotion over the fact that we only have these two incredible people in the White House for one more year.

I don't think it dawned on me just now much I would miss them until I saw these photos, and now it is literally all I can think about.

We've come so far in these last seven years and I truly believe we could not have accomplished half as much if any other candidate had been elected in 2008.

Here's hoping that the person who replaces President Obama stays true to his vision, and continues to move us in the path he set before us.

And that of course means it most certainly cannot be any of those clowns on Republican side of the aisle.

Can't we just keep him?

Today marks the President's last day up here in Alaska.

And the guy has been having a blast, while also learning a lot of important information about how climate change is impacting our state.

Watch President Obama get behind the camera next to a glacier in Alaska's Kenai Fjords National Park to show you the serious impacts of climate change: http://go.wh.gov/GsxVga #ActOnClimate
Posted by The White House on Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Not only that but MOST of the people really like him up here.

And he's even made some new friends.

And it's not like he can't get things done while he's up here.

Not only that but the fish like him so much up here that one of them could not hold it together.

I'll tell you what, I will gladly trade our two Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, PLUS  Rep. Don Young, AND any two Palins of your choosing, if you all will just let the guy stay up here permanently.

I mean come on, that's a good trade.

Okay well not a good trade, but a reasonable trade?

No you're right, that trade sucks.

Well maybe, just maybe, once President Obama leaves office he will consider coming back for a longer visit.

I am sure he will always be welcome.

Despite what some on our lunatic fringe might want him to believe. 

Taking Donald Trump's immigration policy to its logical conclusion.

‘I Support Your Birthright Citizenship Stand……’ #Trump pic.twitter.com/vU4M986bpV

— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) August 23, 2015

Having read extensively about our treatment of the Native Americans and Alaskan natives I would not blame them for kicking the whole lot of us off their land.

Final image of the day.

Courtesy of the Obama Diary:

Long after the last partisan battle has been fought over Obamacare, long after Barack Obama has settled into a comfortable post-presidency, and long after the last joke has been made about some Joe Biden verbal misstep, people will remember the moment when the always-in-control president struggled to control his emotions. They will remember the moment when president and vice president embraced in front of the altar and exchanged heartfelt kisses on the cheek. And they will remember how their hearts ached at this intimate glimpse of one family’s pain. In an age when so many political moments are scripted, this was real. In a country whose presidents and vice presidents have rarely been close, this was genuine closeness. In an administration that prides itself on being hip, this was decidedly old-fashioned love.

I have to admit that I did not watch much of the funeral on TV yesterday, I have attended too many of them in my life. 

However I have seen clips of the event and as expected there have been a lot of feels. Especially in response to the President's tearful and moving eulogy.

I started this day with a photo of the President frolicking with a baby, and I end with a picture of our President comforting a friend.

Both of them tell us something important about the man that we elected to lead this country. And it is something that no partisan attack or conservative lie can ever diminish.

Just a few photos of our fearless leader throughout 2014.

Charming the Aussies

Well somebody didn't like the joke.

I hear the Republicans are your new fan boys. You can have'em.

Going 3D

Never turn your back on kids.

Speaks for itself.

There are a whole lot more over at The Obama Diary if you want to see them.

These next two years are going to be really tough for the President, so I hope we get to see that infectious smile of his in spite of that.

Mark my words history is going to judge him as one of the best this country has ever produced. Of that I have no doubt.

The difference in how the New York Times describes a black murder victim to how they describe white murderers is quite striking.

Now remember Michael Brown is the VICTIM of a shooting while Tsarnaev was the perpetrator of a terrorist attack.

But wait there's more.

Here's NYT description of #MichaelBrown compared with Timothy McVeigh. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/kpO0Lkexil
— Sean McElwee (@SeanMcElwee) August 25, 2014

Here's the NYT description of #Michael Brown compared with John Wayne Gacy. John. Wayne. Gacy. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/6g45PraGW1
— Sean McElwee (@SeanMcElwee) August 25, 2014

How the New York Times described #MichaelBrown compared to Ted Bundy. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/VH0Q9euWew
— Sean McElwee (@SeanMcElwee) August 25, 2014

Here's the NYT description of Jeffry Dahmer compared with #MichaelBrown. #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/096hD6qSDU
— Sean McElwee (@SeanMcElwee) August 25, 2014

Yeah good for us that racism is finally dead in America, right?

(H/T to The Obama Diary.)

President Obama becomes one of only four US Presidents who have visited an Indian reservation.

Courtesy of KXNews:  

Only 4 Presidents have ever visited an Indian Reservation while in office. Calvin Coolidge to Pine Ridge in 1927, FDR on a Cherokee reservation in 1936, Bill Clinton in 1999 on Pine Ridge, and President Obama to Standing Rock on Friday. 

Tia Streeter-KX News: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are set to visit Fort Yates and Cannonball. Its a trip in which the Obamas can see first hand what's really going on in Indian Country. 

Rick Collin- President Obama coming on to a reservation to see up close and personal, the misery and quality of life will really drive home to him how he can't possibly, get otherwise, to understand what needs to be done what needs to be addressed in Indian Country 

Tia Streeter: During his time in office, President Obama has worked on Indian issues. Carole Barrett-a professor of American Indian studies at U Mary says this historic trip to Standing Rock will mean more than other political overture he could make. 

Carole Barrett: he's had tribal summits but those are always top officials from Tribal organizations so its still political level but this is on a grass roots level which is really what means something to American Indian people.

 Occasionally I just like to post something to rub in the faces of the Republicans about how much better our presidential choices are to theirs.

I mean sure when it comes to destroying the country's reputation, unprovoked attacks against sovereign nations, and tanking the economy, the Republican President's still hold the lead, but in everything else.....

(Photos courtesy of The Obama Diary.)

Meanwhile the President demonstrates the proper way to honor our American heroes.

President Obama placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery.

Courtesy of the Obama Diary:

President Obama on Monday honored all the Americans who have given their lives for their country, from the Civil War of a century-and-a-half ago to the Afghanistan war that is wrapping up this year. In Memorial Day remarks delivered a day after a surprise visit to Afghanistan, Obama said the U.S. troops there “are coming home” from the conflict that began a month after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will finally come to an end,” Obama said during the annual Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. During his speech, Obama praised veterans from all the nation’s wars. “Everything that we hold precious in this country was made possible by Americans who gave their all,” Obama said. 

Here you can find the video of the President's remarks.

Though there is much to criticize, the President took no cheap political shots.

Because it would be disrespectful to their memories to do so, and a REAL leader recognizes that.

And of course last night President Obama went to honor the troops still with us and tell them that he is going to get them out of harm's way as soon as possible.

 Because a REAL leader also tries to limit the number of new headstones that are placed in Arlington Cemetery during his term in office.

Just President and Michelle Obama hanging out with immigration protestors in their tent on the Washington Mall. Update!

Courtesy of the Obama Diary:

President Obama listens to hunger striker Eliseo Medina as he and the First Lady visit with immigration protesters in their tent on the Washingon Mall November 29. Since November 12, immigration advocates comprising “Fast for Families” have abstained from food as they call on congress to take up action on the immigration issue.

I'm sorry, but how cool is it to see the President kicking it in a tent, with protestors who came there to convince Congress to do something for the millions of undocumented immigrants in this country, by starving themselves during Thanksgiving weekend?

Could you imagine George Bush doing that? Hell no!

Update: And this really ought to blow the minds of the religious right.

What a difference four years can make.

The above is a picture of Dick Cheney swearing in Barack Obama as a new senator in 2005. All smiles.

Here he is during Obama's Presidential inauguration in 2009. Yeah, if looks could kill right?

It kind of makes me wonder what kind of look Cheney would give President Obama today if he was him? Somehow I don't think his opinion, or mood, has improved much.

Yet ANOTHER reason to really like President Obama.

Speaking of admiring this President here is a rather interesting examination of his presidency by the Examiner.

(H/T to the Obama Diary for the photos.)

Here let's brighten your day a little.

I think we can finally put this whole "enthusiasm gap" nonsense to bed, don't you think?

And if THAT is not enough to brighten your day here is a list of reasons why the country IS better off today under President Obama.

Need a little more? How about the softer, less political side of the President?

Courtesy of The New York Times:

 President Obama was schmoozing his way around the sports bar Gator’s Dockside, chatting up families and posing for photos as part of his campaign bus tour of Florida on Saturday night, when he stopped at a table of 10 people, including several children. 

“He was born in Hawaii,” one woman said, pointing to a blond boy down the table. 

The president lit up and flashed the Hawaiian shaka hand sign, which the boy — Andre Wupperman, who will be 7 next week — returned. 

“You were born in Hawaii?” Mr. Obama asked, then broke out into a smile. “You have a birth certificate?”

Are you smiling?

Good now you have yourself a pleasant Sunday. And remember, "Yes we can!"

But ONLY if we keep focused on the prize.

Mitt Romney for Dummies.

Thank God, I thought I would never get an easy to use instruction manual for this dipstick.

(H/T to the Obama Diary.)

Calling Politico out for their new "bromance" with Mitt Romney.

Of course polls at this stage of the game mean very little, as essentially today after the Texas primaries is the first time that Romney will officially become the GOP presidential nominee.

However there is something to be said for the fact that Politico has suddenly given Romney a pass on his numerous gaffes, and started to treat him like an actual viable alternative to President Obama.

Of course it is getting harder and harder to take Politico seriously, especially since just today they have gone out of their way to give Sarah Palin credit as a political pundit, and made the assumption that her endorsements are based on some sort of intelligence, and not just on who begged her for them the hardest.

Personally I think that President Obama should take Thomas Friedman's advice and use his secret weapon to blow the Romney campaign out of the water. His record.

Barack Obama is a great orator, but he is the worst president I’ve ever seen when it comes to explaining his achievements, putting them in context, connecting with people on a gut level through repetition and thereby defining how the public views an issue. 

Think about this: Is there anyone in America today who doesn’t either have a pre-existing medical condition or know someone who does and can’t get health insurance as a result? Yet two years after Obama’s health care bill became law, how many Americans understand that once it is fully implemented no American with a pre-existing condition will ever again be denied coverage? 

“Obamacare is socialized medicine,” says the Republican Party. No, no — excuse me — socialized medicine is what we have now! People without insurance can go to an emergency ward or throw themselves on the mercy of a doctor, and the cost of all this uncompensated care is shared by all those who have insurance, raising your rates and mine. That is socialized medicine and that is what Obamacare ends. Yet Obama — the champion of private insurance for all — has allowed himself to be painted as a health care socialist. 

Think about this: Obama didn’t just save the auto industry from bankruptcy. Two years later, he also got all the top U.S. automakers to agree to increase mileage for their vehicle fleets to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, from 27.5 m.p.g. today. As Popular Mechanics put it, this “is the largest mandatory fuel economy increase in history.” It will drive innovation, save money and make America less dependent on petro-dictators. Did you know Obama did this? 

I have to agree with this. President Obama has managed to achieve some rather amazing things, and he seems reticent to let the American people know about them.

However if they were to know about them, and truly understand what he has done for this country, his poll numbers would soar. So if he is too damn humble to blow his own trumpet, than I guess it is left to us to do it for him.

Romney may LOOK like what a President is supposed to look like, but beneath the facade there is nothing but emptiness. 

President Obama may appear NOTHING like what Americans expect their President to look like, but beneath his surface is the kind of intellect, and ability, that we can only hope that our political leaders will possess.

This may not be entirely fair to Mittens. But it is DEFINITELY unfair to the babies.

Click here to see larger image.

Clearly women are not the ONLY ones who feel an affinity for this President.