Barack “Yes we can” Obama has already proven that he’s big on slogans. Leaving behind FORWARD, and of course ‘Hope and Change…We Can Believe In,’ the president’s newest catchphrase is “In the shoes,” which describes loafer-lover Barack Obama attempting to reconnect with everyday Americans by metaphorically slipping into other people’s shoes.

To infuse added relatability into his plans to do future ‘in the shoes’ walkabouts, the White House is officially calling Obama’s planned encounters with the unwashed masses a “day-in-the-life” series, wherein the POTUS leaves his billionaire friends and devoted low-maintenance wife behind to venture forth onto the highways and byways of lower-class America.

I like to think of it as sort of a real-life version of that old Frank Sinatra tune, “A Day in the Life of a Fool.” Except in this case, the fool is the president.

The moccasins that Obama walked the first mile in belonged to Twin Cities mom Rebekah Erler, a woman from St. Anthony, Minnesota who supposedly came up with the idea all by herself to write the president and invite him to spend the day learning about the drudgery of everyday life. 

Inspired by Rebekah’s letter, Barack Obama rose to the occasion and is now embarking on what could be described as a sort of Hillary Clinton listening tour involving feet instead of ears and footgear instead of folding chairs.

Rebekah wrote and told the president she was frustrated because “those things, those little extras that make you feel like you’re making it, being able to put money aside for your kids’ college, going on vacation… You can’t do those anymore.” And whose fault is that?

Meanwhile, the president has no time to worry about missing IRS emails, or if ISIS is conquering Iraq, or if the broadest measure of economic growth, the GDP, contracted by 3%. Why? Because this president is all about priorities, and his current priority includes responding to Rebekah by squeezing his size 12 brogans into her pink flip-flops and taking a leisurely stroll around the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

In the run-up to the Minnesota visit, the president began identifying with the little people by breathing all over some Mexican food. Apparently, Barry got so excited about a burrito bowl at a Woodley Park Chipotle restaurant in Washington DC that he lost his head and did the unthinkable by crossing the sneeze guard border. 

By doing so, Obama was able to make everyone feel accepted and loved by sharing germs similar to the ones dispersed by the illegal restaurant workers behind the counter scooping out the Tomatillo-Green Chili. 

Purposely contaminating the food could have just been the president’s way of acknowledging that since the swine flu has infiltrated the borders of the U.S. and the superbug MDR-TB now threatens many lives, America feels that the mutual sharing of contagions is a great way for new friends to show how much they care.

On that note, Obama had this to say about his scheduled ‘in the shoes’ trip to Minnesota:

What I’m hoping to do when I get a chance to see Rebekah directly is to tell her that not only am I listening and paying attention, but there are actually policies out there that could be making a difference in her life if we could get Washington to work on her behalf.

What Barack Obama, who usually acts like he’s got political attention deficit disorder, was attempting to convey is that, unlike his political adversaries, he really does understand that despite Rebekah’s concerns about college and vacations, the only real worry American women have is whether or not they’ll get free birth control and unlimited access to abortion.

Hey, here’s an idea! Maybe instead of strolling around town with Rebekah pretending to be an actual human being, Obama should take the time to ‘listen and pay attention’ to the voices of those Americans who overwhelmingly reject Obamacare, are appalled at the IRS scandal, want to see Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi freed from a Mexican jail, and who fear MS-13 gang members and children with Third-World diseases streaming across our borders.

Prior to the visit, White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer spoke out about the president’s “day in the life”/“in the shoes” plans, saying that “The president is going to visit a community, spend the whole day there, talk to small business owners, families, workers, and get a real sense of what’s happening in America.”

So, judging by what Pfeiffer said, well into his second term President Obama still doesn’t know “what’s happening in America” and apparently needs a day-long walking tour in a woman’s shoes to find out. 

Mr. Obama did visit Rebekah’s community and hosted a town hall meeting where, if he had wanted to, he could have explained in more detail his ‘share the wealth’ philosophy with those whose wealth he’s been sharing for six years.

As for those poor, struggling small business owners and out-of-work workers Dan Pfeiffer was talking about, it’s surprising that the POTUS didn’t feel moved to remind the former again that they “didn’t build that,” and if he really wanted to make friends and influence people, maybe he should have invited the latter to Matt’s Bar in Minnehaha Park for a stuffed cheese “Jucy Lucy” burger, not exactly on Michelle Obama's approved list of healthy eating alternatives. 

He did none of that.

After the Minnesota “day-in-the-life” was said and done, what it all really meant was that, as the midterm elections draw near, the best the Democrats can come up with is to have Barack Obama replicate what worked for ex-Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, which was to charm potential voters by walking around town in women’s shoes.

Jeannie hosts a blog at www.jeannie-ology.com