<![CDATA[The Obama Presidential Center]]>From The Guardian:

‘Like a Klingon prison’: inside Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library

I like the building itself. I think it's a very visually interesting building, and I would not compare it to a Klingon prison.

I would compare it to a monument to a King. And that disturbs me. We don't have kings here. $850m for a library that is not even a library, built on public lands as a monument to a living person? We are surely on the wrong track. The glorification of the president's role and office is out of hand. I believe it was meant to be a humble office.

No, there are no books in this building, which is why it's not officially called a library. This adds to what I find disturbing. If it were actually a library, perhaps my thinking would be different.

This whole business of making celebrities of presidents disturbs me.

But I really love the building and the grounds.

]]>https://wtf.coffee-room.com/topic/3693/the-obama-presidential-centerRSS for NodeTue, 02 Jun 2026 17:19:21 GMTTue, 02 Jun 2026 14:44:16 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to The Obama Presidential Center on Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:06:41 GMT]]>Not a fan of the building. The statue of him and Michelle looks fine from that angle, I saw a closeup of the face with a caption that said he looked like Ron Howard and I couldn't help but laugh.

Still I could imagine visiting next time I have time to kill in Chicago.

]]>https://wtf.coffee-room.com/post/25635https://wtf.coffee-room.com/post/25635Tue, 02 Jun 2026 17:06:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to The Obama Presidential Center on Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:56:54 GMT]]>

@Bernard said:

I would compare it to a monument to a King. And that disturbs me. We don't have kings here. $850m for a library that is not even a library, built on public lands as a monument to a living person? We are surely on the wrong track. The glorification of the president's role and office is out of hand. I believe it was meant to be a humble office.

No, there are no books in this building, which is why it's not officially called a library. This adds to what I find disturbing. If it were actually a library, perhaps my thinking would be different.

This whole business of making celebrities of presidents disturbs me.

Agreed. I hadn't thought much about it before your post (I haven't been following the development of the Obama Ctr closely), but I think everything that Trump's doing kind of has a "numbing" effect such that it makes other things (e.g., this center) look normal.

That's not a good trend to participate in.

]]>https://wtf.coffee-room.com/post/25633https://wtf.coffee-room.com/post/25633Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:56:54 GMT