November 23, 2008

The Bush twins, Barbara and Jenna, taught the Obama girls, Sasha and Malia, how to jump on the White House beds.

First Lady Laura Bush verified the story, and added that there was a real trick to proper White House bed-jumping: "They're really tall beds; you need to get a running start."

***

In some families, you can jump on the beds, and in some, they tell you no jumping on the beds. Both the Bushes and the Obamas allow bed jumping. Or, no, maybe Barack and Michelle are the no-jumping-on-the-beds kind of parents. And Malia and Sasha will say but Jenna and Barbara jumped on the beds -- they showed us how to jump on the beds. And Barack and Michelle will be all: The American people voted for change. No more of the failed policies of the Bush years. No more jumping on the beds.

49 comments:

Bissage said...

If you’re going to do it, you should do it right.

LINK.

Note that there’s plenty of room on that thing for the Presidential Seal.

** boooiiinnnnnngggg **

zeek said...

If we taxpayers are footing the bill for these mattresses and box springs I can see the first scandal of the Obama Administration: PosturepedicGate.

Jason said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
David said...

I think the Bush girls may be into a different kind of bed jumping.

Wince said...

Bed hopping?

What's next, Jenna will teach Sasha and Malia how to do tequila Body Shots!

JAL said...

I re-read the bed jumping claim, and my guess is these are the colonial style high beds -- my late sister-in-law had a couple -- a shorter "normal" height person needs a step stool to get up on things.

So teaching the smaller kids to take a running leap to get on top of the mattress is my guess as to what this means ... jumping up to get on rather than jumping around on top of them.

rhhardin said...

Doberman taught to heel next to a bicycle.

Video from an hour ago.

Mark O said...

Just to put this childish behavior in context, when Bill and Hillary took possession of the White House, they jumped on the beds.

Joan said...

Cute story. I'm with JAL -- they were showing the girls how to jump up on the beds, not jump on the beds as those five little monkeys famously did.

I know my kids jump from bed to bed in the room the two boys share, even though I've told them not to. How can they resist the temptation? It's too great. I'm just glad they never got hurt doing it. I don't know they've ever used their beds as a trampoline -- they don't have to, as we have a trampoline to use for that kind of thing, and trampolines are a lot better for actual jumping.

John Stodder said...

When you jump on the bed in the Lincoln Bedroom, it sings "People" and a $10,000 check comes out.

Synova said...

Ah, jumping on the beds is no fun anymore. My kids never much jumped on any beds because the beds don't *bounce*.

Used to be that beds *bounced*. Box springs are no good. You need *bed* springs... those old fashioned things with trampoline type springs hooked to the frame.

Granted, a little bit of this and the mattress gets a big dip in the middle of it and if you have to share you pretty much both roll to the center. My dad had 8 brothers and sisters so they shared... being the youngest of three kids in a bed meant being stuck in the middle. No fun!

Unknown said...

The trolls are out today, aren't they?

Synova said...

Oh, and I thought someone linked to something or other about Obama home life that had Michelle explaining that the kids weren't allowed to have their feet on the furniture... *except* in their rooms, where they could even jump on the beds.

Cedarford said...

Excellent! Lets hope that the Bush twins do impart some mischief in the Obama girls..which coincidentally mark the 3rd Presidency in a row with only female offspring...Adding in the past, that Truman, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan (if you discount Ron, Jr and adoptee Fundie Michael) were cursed with all female offspring..
And of course, FDR and Carter had grown sons by the time they got to the White House, so their Presidencies meant the place was boy-free and FDR & Carter were stuck with a buck-toothed lesbian and Amy, respectively.

EDH said...
Bed hopping?
What's next, Jenna will teach Sasha and Malia how to do tequila Body Shots!


Another excellent diversion! Hopefully Jenna will be responsible and say that the girls can only do alcohol-free body shots at parties until they turn 18.

Laura Bush can do her part by warning Michelle Obama that the ghosts of pro-slavery Presidents are sometimes heard late at night, rattling chains and shackles, trying to round up stray Negroes..

"I wouldn't be too worried Michelle, those ghosts never bothered us, and I heard they were kindly towards Negros that had a lot of white blood..."

BJM said...

rhhardin: The only problem is that dogs have hard wired trigger responses and breed behaviors.

I taught my Gordon Setter to heel next my bike. Setters are "traveling" dogs and he loved to run next to the bike and we happily clocked many miles together.

Then one fine day as we were cycling/trotting down an asphalt bike path on the beach on the return leg home; my well-trained dog picked up an unseen prey opportunity (the breed hunts by air born scent) and instinctively made a right-hand point turn. Ass over tea kettle is the phrase that leaps to mind.

Fortunately I was cooling down and moving slowly so neither of us was hurt other than my dignity and skinned knees. Thus I learned that dogs in close proximity to moving bicycles is not always a good idea.

We traded the daily beach ride for a run and a fetch session.

Synova said...

I think the Bush girls may be into a different kind of bed jumping.

On what possible evidence?

Or is it okay to make really personal baseless insults because their dad is GWB?

GAWD I hope no one is that hateful to Obama's girls.

JAL said...

GAWD I hope no one is that hateful to Obama's girls. 2:24 PM

For one thing they are still "little" girls.

And you notice that Amy Carter was off limits, as was Chelsea.

But the Bush girls -- well, since they are related to that sack of ><><>< according to the oh-so-tolerant libs, they were fair game.

As for the Obama girls, even if they were older teens, they would not be game, fair or unfair. Need I state the obvious? Besides the adoring millions ...

I think they are very pretty girls, not that that matters as much as their hearts, but please, Michelle (if you have your trolls reading) DO NOT EVER put them in black on a stage again.

Little girls do not do well in black (or red and black). Not a young girl color. Not to mention that on stage with dark backgrounds, they disappear.

rhhardin said...

BJM: Look at Koehler's training methods and you'll see why that doesn't happen.

Distractions are welcomed and part of the training.

Darcy said...

Exactly, Synova and JAL. They are the charmed children of a Democrat.
Enough said.

Children of Presidents should be shielded from negative press. Too bad we have that double standard now, with the Bush twins and Bristol Palin.

The Obama girls will be fine, thank goodness. As it should be.

Cute story, by the way!

Jennifer said...

The American people voted for change. No more of the failed policies of the Bush years. No more jumping on the beds.

Lol.

I was all for jumping on the beds until my two year old fell off the couch, broke her arm, required surgery and a cast (albeit a pretty pink cast) for 6 weeks and I had to look countless doctors and nurses in the eye and explain that yes, I was letting her jump on the couch and now her humerus is in two pieces and assorted chips. Now, I'm all for change.

Synova said...

Ouch, Jennifer!

Not your fault, though. Just bad luck and falling exactly wrong. A tumble from the couch wouldn't normally break bones. It's not healthy to keep kids too wrapped up in cotton either.

Darcy said...

Ouch, Jennifer! I've been through that...mine fell off the monkey bars at five and broke his elbow.

Darcy said...

I'm not going to delete my post just because Synova and I responded the same way. LOL.

Jennifer said...

This is true, Synova. None of the previous tumbles from the couch broke bones on either of my jumping monkeys. But, I just can't see another gaggle of doctors and nurses accepting that another couch tumble caused another broken limb. I think I'd be carted off to jail. So, climbing trees, going apeshizz on the playground and doing karate...? A ok. Couch/bed jumping...? No way jose.

Jennifer said...

Lol, Darcy. Our monkey bars have swings hanging off them. About a month ago, my 5 year old lost his grip, caught his foot on the swing on the way down and landed head first on the ground. My heart stopped. He jumped up, ran around the side and climbed back up. Kids are resilient little monkeys. Moms...? Well, I'm a little more delicate.

Freeman Hunt said...

I was going to comment on how I was always allowed to jump on the bed and how I'll always let my kids jump on the beds, but now after reading Jennifer's comment, I am sobered.

Anonymous said...

I'll bet they'd trade the bed jumping privileges for some Christmas presents.

Jennifer said...

Well, now I feel bad, Freeman. I'd hate to deprive the Huntitos of all the jumping joy. It really was a freak accident. Dillions of kids the world over have jumped without consequence.

Freeman Hunt said...

Okay, we'll just limit the jumping to the larger beds with more margin for error. My brother and I always jumped on my parents' bed because it was the biggest.

David said...

Synova--Sorry. I will never again make a baseless comment about anyone, even in jest. You have changed my life with a single stinging comment.

kjbe said...

We were never allowed to jump on the beds- I seemed, though, to find plenty of ways to break bones and require stitches outside.

Ralph L said...

When I was 4, I slipped and fell face-first on a steel hide-a-bed frame. Had a little scar next to my nose for years. I blame all my troubles on that accident (and my parents being 5th cousins).

There is a famous photo of a Clinton female crony jumping on the Lincoln bed (next to husband) in the Lincoln Bedroom.

knox said...

But, I just can't see another gaggle of doctors and nurses accepting that another couch tumble caused another broken limb.

A legitimate concern for parents today. I am always afraid of my kids getting injured, as are all moms. But I'm REALLY afraid of them getting injured in a way that sends Child & Family Services to my door.

My dog's tail got broken in a fight years ago and just the grilling we got from the vet--who obviously thought we had done it--was bad enough. We'd done nothing wrong and I felt like a felon.

Joan said...

I have four brothers. My mother spent so much time at the ER at the Carney Hospital in Dorchester that nowadays, they definitely would have sicced Child Protective Services on her. Is it her fault that her son got hit in the nose with a street hockey puck the week after his brother rode his bike down the front porch stairs? The movie Peter Pan caused no end of trouble for my mother -- one of my siblings was painted head-to-toe in red (lead) paint so he could be the Injun. (He survived without apparent injury or impairment.) Another time Mom interrupted the scheduled trip to Never Never Land just in time to remind them that they didn't have any pixie dust so they couldn't fly...

Meade said...

Great job, RH. Nice clip.

blake said...

Wait, Huntitos?

Shouldn't they be Freetos?

blake said...

The Boy broke his arm once.

We had one of those big red hippity-hop type things. Might've been a therapeutic one, because it was bigger than the usual ones.

He chose an unsupervised moment (of course, children quickly learn what buzzkills adults are) to lodge the ball in a corner and climb on top of it.

Being round, it was unsuited to the task for which he had selected it, and he managed to fall just so and break his arm.

Tough kid. He had it for 2-3 days before we realized how serious it was.

Yeah, it didn't look too good at the doctor's office.

Wince said...

Jennifer said...
Kids are resilient little monkeys.


You have to be careful who you call a "little monkey."

The "little monkey" incident

Cosell drew criticism during one Monday Night Football telecast in September 1982, for stating "look at that little monkey go", when he referred to a play by black wide receiver Alvin Garrett of the Washington Redskins. While some saw "little monkey" as a racial slur, televised footage shows that Cosell routinely used this phrase in an approving way to describe quicker, smaller players of all ethnicities.

Cosell left Monday Night Football shortly before the start of the 1984 NFL season. Afterwards, his duties were then reduced to only baseball, horse racing, and a sports news program called Sportsbeat. Howard Cosell never got a chance to commentate a Super Bowl, as by the time ABC finally got into the Super Bowl rotation with Super Bowl XIX, Cosell was already gone from Monday Night Football.

dualdiagnosis said...

I wonder if they have American flag bedspreads in the Ayer's kids room.

Anonymous said...

Funny comments apart from the tasteless and unsubstantiated Jenna bed hopping snark. Of such are libel suits made. Take a gander at that clip of Jenna Bush calling her dad (was it on Fox and Friends?) and being very apprehensive about how her strict dad would react. It seemed to me that, watching it, I got the impression that GWB is a stern but loving dad and his girls esteem him and desire his approval. That kind of father-daughter relationship does not encourage bed-hopping.

One wonders what kind of fantasy land doctors et al live in that they've forgotten how kids can be, well, kids. Boys, especially, and girls in a boy-dominated household. The 13-year old son of a friend rode his Chopper bike down and almost vertical hill once. The hill also had some bumps and potholes. He made it three-quarters of the way down at the expected high speed before wiping out and earning himself an assortment of scratches and road rash. He also got lots of macho points. When asked why he did it, he merely said he wanted to see if he could.

My friend in New York, in response to an email from me, recently commented thus: "well I'll be a monkey's uncle!" (The obligatory racial declaration here: we're both black:<) That tickled the funny bone well and good cuz it'd been a long time since I'd heard the expression. Extending the humor of it, I wrote back: "don't say that in D.C. or in the hearing of many in the community."

Good that the girls bonded. Kudos to both sets of girls.

Anonymous said...

Funny comments apart from the tasteless and unsubstantiated Jenna bed hopping snark. Of such are libel suits made. Take a gander at that clip of Jenna Bush calling her dad (was it on Fox and Friends?) and being very apprehensive about how her strict dad would react. It seemed to me that, watching it, I got the impression that GWB is a stern but loving dad and his girls esteem him and desire his approval. That kind of father-daughter relationship does not encourage bed-hopping.

One wonders what kind of fantasy land doctors et al live in that they've forgotten how kids can be, well, kids. Boys, especially, and girls in a boy-dominated household. The 13-year old son of a friend rode his Chopper bike down and almost vertical hill once. The hill also had some bumps and potholes. He made it three-quarters of the way down at the expected high speed before wiping out and earning himself an assortment of scratches and road rash. He also got lots of macho points. When asked why he did it, he merely said he wanted to see if he could.

My friend in New York, in response to an email from me, recently commented thus: "well I'll be a monkey's uncle!" (The obligatory racial declaration here: we're both black:<) That tickled the funny bone well and good cuz it'd been a long time since I'd heard the expression. Extending the humor of it, I wrote back: "don't say that in D.C. or in the hearing of many in the community."

Good that the girls bonded. Kudos to both sets of girls.

tim in vermont said...

Even a cute little story like this serves to bring out the haters.

hdhouse said...

generally helps if you are pie-eyed drunk but that is another story.

Aloysius said...

This is clearly a racist setup by the Bush twins. Shame on them. Everyone has heard the velcro on the ceiling joke.


;)

knox said...

generally helps if you are pie-eyed drunk but that is another story.

What a giant prude you are. I partied a lot in college. So do most other kids, at some point. It's hardly unusual.

It's not enough to hate Bush is it? You've also got to hate his 2 young daughters.

tim maguire said...

In some families, you can jump on the beds, and in some, they tell you no jumping on the beds

"no jumping" families are better. Makes the jumping much more fun.

Darcy said...

LOL, Tim! It's true. :)

blake said...

knox,

You have to pity hd. His whole identity has been consumed by Bush hatred. He's got to be a little scared with W leaving office.

Clemens said...

I think the Bush girls may be into a different kind of bed jumping. ... couchbedsforteens.blogspot.com