As my colleague Heather Timmons reports, video of Michelle Obama dancing with Indian children during a state visit has won hearts in India. “Twice in two days,” The Times of India reported, “the First Lady demonstrated in Mumbai that she could swing to desi beats with the best of them, pulling off matkas and jhatkas [dance moves involving swaying hips] like a seasoned performer.”
While Mrs. Obama was widely praised, her husband got only lukewarm reviews for his tentative foray onto the dance floor at one school. To be fair, though, Mr. Obama might have been watching his steps, mindful of how hard it can be to look presidential while simultaneously busting a move.
Somewhere in the back of every president’s mind, when stepping onto the dance floor in front of the cameras, there must lurk a fear of really getting lost in the moment and suffering the fate of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, whose global image never quite recovered from these few seconds of unbridled boogie during his 1996 re-election campaign:
After Mr. Yeltsin’s death in 2007, the Guardian looked back fondly on his unforgettable performance and suggested, on the basis of video evidence, that he was, at least, a better dancer than many of his fellow world leaders, including Yasser Arafat, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Prince Charles and Saddam Hussein. (If readers know of other examples of spectacularly good, or bad, dancing by world leaders, please submit your links in the comment thread below.)
That Mr. Obama can dance — or at least that he could before he became President Obama — we know because he was far less shy during the 2008 campaign, as this video of his appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show reminds us:
Then again, if history is any guide, President Obama could be more willing to cut loose on the dance floor if he manages to get re-elected in 2012. That, certainly, seems to have been what happened during the second term of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Liberated from the fear of attack ads, during his last years in office Mr. Bush threw himself into everything from African dance to Saudi tribal rhythms and even a little soft shoe:
