Gilded cage - with armor

The President can't be normal. The world has too many deadly things in it. The day is gone when a President could walk the streets in search of perspective, an unfiltered view, citizen contact, or even a little fresh air and exercise.

The public question (as opposed to Obama's questions about his own enjoyment of life) is how to live in the security bubble without entering an information bubble. Every President needs a kitchen cabinet of old and trusted friends who'll still tell him the truth, instead of whatever they think he wants to hear.

I'm thrilled to finally have a President who still plays hoops, and I think he should make sure not to lose that. Basketball is a great pot-stirring sport. Those of us who love it may have nothing else in common, but we do find common ground on the court.

Yes, we jaw and foul and hand-check and drop-step and put a little extra into the box out and argue and talk trash, too. And hack, most of all we hack. Then, we either create space and prove it, or we don't.

The President-elect needs space where he can be "plain old Barack," and the bosom of his family is essential but not enough. He should play competitive hoops regularly for as long as his body can stand it, which is unlikely to be eight more years.

And if no one else will D up and tell him to bring whatever weak shit he's got left, I'm available. Of course, I'm older than he is, so I probably wouldn't be the one who could prove it. But I'm not ever going to let him score. He'd have to earn it.

That's what makes a democracy different from a monarchy. And different from Bushism.