Obama Talks Childhood, Breaking Friend's Arm

In lieu of actually going to Indonesia—the visit was put off to seal the health care deal—President Obama recently sat down for an interview with a television station from the country where he spent some of his childhood. His breathless interlocutor appears focused on confirming or debunking myths about the president floating around Indonesia, and Obama is happy to oblige. Did he break a kid’s arm once? Yes, “by accident.”

The young Barack Obama was riding on a bicycle with the boy and they fell. “You tickled the guy!” accuses the interviewer. “Please tell him that I apologize.” Did Obama write a poem in school proclaiming his desire to one day be president? Lies! “When I was six I wanted to, I think, to be a fireman.” Mediaite can’t help but point out that when Obama mentions his love for the Mahabharata, he’s talking about the Hindu creation myth, not 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta. (More President Obama stories.)