(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By Andre Showell

It’s perhaps one of the most overused words ever to enter the American English vernacular: swagger. And more times than not, the word is used inappropriately. But if you had the chance to see President Obama’s first post-election White House news conference, you were seeing the word “swagger” exemplified.

It had very little to do with the way he walked or talked or his style of dress.  The president’s swag during his first second-term presser was a testament to what appears to be a new attitude. He seemed to shrug off his excessively polite, methodical, careful demeanor for a more opinionated, forceful and at times abrupt manner.

No example showed off the president’s swag more than his approach to one question about whether he would deter from nominating U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to the Secretary of State post amid Republican threats to block her nomination because of her handling of the recent attacks in Benghazi.

The president was sure-footed and resolute in his defense of Rice saying, “Let me say specifically about Susan Rice, she has done exemplary work.  She has represented the United States and our interests in the United Nations with skill and professionalism and toughness and grace.”

Critics had questioned whether a White House with such a reputation for putting only the most drama-free candidates before Congress would stand by Rice now that she finds herself in the hot seat.

But the most swagger-filled moment came shortly after President Obama’s defense of Rice when he gave the following retort: “As I’ve said before, she made an appearance at the request of the White House in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that had been provided to her. If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after somebody, they should go after me. And I’m happy to have that discussion with them. But for them to go after the U.N. Ambassador, who had nothing to do with Benghazi, and was simply making a presentation based on intelligence that she had received, and to besmirch her reputation is outrageous.”

I, for one, was pretty amazed that the president would stare Congress in the face, gangster-style and dare them to come after him. In so many words, he said he’d take a bullet if he had to so that a trusted appointee would not have to take the fall.

Is this a new President Obama? Without fear of making a re-election snafu, has he found his new stride? And is he emboldened to be more declarative and get a little gangsta now that he has received a new mandate to govern? If his performance in his first press conference is any indication of how he will proceed during the second term, we could be seeing a new side of President Obama, one defined by a new, yet fitting incarnation of the word “swagger.”

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(Photo: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

By Andre Showell

I was reading the Washington Post when I stumbled on an article that caught my attention: “Still waiting for our first Black president.” The writer, Fredrick Harris, highlighted an issue that has been picking up steam ever since American voters made history, electing Barack Obama as the first Black president of the U.S.

It emphasizes the “one America” strategy the Obama White House has adopted in an effort to brand him as the “President of All People,” not just the first Black president. He pointed out the time I asked President Obama during a prime-time press conference in 2009 whether he had any plans of pushing targeted efforts to specifically address the Black unemployment rate, which, at that time, was double the national rate. The writer took issue with the president’s “rising tide lifts all boats” approach, asking, “But what of those who have no boats to begin with?”

When the president answered that question, I remembered thinking the metaphor was a bit ill-conceived since my premise had already indicated that Black people were already underwater from an employment standpoint. Simply making the tide rise would do nothing to stop the drowning. I remembered thinking he’d probably not win any additional Black support with such a tentative response.

In covering the president, I now know his answer was classically Obama: measured and methodical, some would say, to a fault. His approach is cautious and insightful considering the legions of detractors who are waiting to point him out as a “Black” president who serves “Black” voters.

While he hasn’t given those naysayers the obvious ammunition they’ve been waiting for, it could and should be argued that many of the president’s policies have a direct impact on African-Americans. But the dilemma before him is a delicate one. Would targeting policies directly at African-Americans mean he’d have to lose his title as the “President of All People?”

(Source: The White House)

By Andre Showell

We lead hectic lives and often it’s difficult to appreciate the upcoming Memorial Day holiday as more than just a day off.  But this year, the White House is doing its part to acknowledge a number of veterans, including a man who has spent a lifetime dedicating his life to service for this country.  As part of the “Champions of Change” program, the White House held a special event to highlight the life of Sgt. Stephen Sherman, a 91-year-old African-American veteran who served in World War II.

And while most people would have been content returning to a life of leisure after putting their life on the line, Sherman did not.  Instead, he established the Dorie Miller Memorial Foundation which works to assist unemployed, disabled and homeless veterans nationwide. And as a result, he’s helped countless disabled veterans across the country.

“As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, we are reminded of their unwavering commitment to their country yesterday, today and tomorrow,” said Rosye Cloud, the White House director of veterans.

So as we look in anticipation toward a well-deserved break, Sgt. Sherman’s life reminds us that there is no respite in the quest to help those in need.

(Photo: Getty Images)

By Andre Showell

Today I covered the White House Summit on Financial Capability and Empowerment. Although it has a lofty name, the idea of the meeting is very simple: Business and communities meet with administration officials to discuss ways to help Americans to become financially savvy.

Listening to people talk for hours on end is not the most eventful undertaking, I had a conversation that, for me, was the most memorable moment.

Author Debra Owens told me about a parking attendant named Mr. John in Baltimore, Maryland who, although earning no more than 12 bucks an hour throughout his career, amassed a net worth of more than a million dollars. Although this man of meager means did not have a fancy White House invite, he is the kind of expert that would truly resonate with the people that the summit attendees are working to reach.

Alongside notables like Gene Sperling, Beverly Johnson and London Fletcher, Mr. John could have stood proudly. The Obama Administration has made a commitment to try and spur a culture of saving and investing. Who better than Mr. John to be the poster child of that effort?

He doesn’t have a lofty title but he “gets it” in a way that many people simply don’t.