“Be Kind And Be Useful” January 8, 2019January 6, 2019 This is what President Obama would tell his daughters as they grew up in the White House — “be kind and be useful.” I know, because friends just sent me Obama: An Intimate Portrait, a big coffee table book. Wonderful photos that remind one of the dignity and intelligence, decency and seriousness that ordinarily infuse the Presidency — never more so than January 20, 2009-January 19, 2017. Other than mostly-spare captions, there’s almost no text; but a brief introduction by the photographer, Pete Souza, who arguably spent more time with Obama during those years than anyone else, and who heard the President’s exhortation. It’s a picture book, but those five words — “be kind and be useful” — speak volumes.