And we visit a play that honors one of the world’s most beloved reggae musicians.
But first, we hear from the “leader of the free world,” or at least someone pretending to be him.
Being President of the United States Takes Work
In some countries, people can be put in jail for impersonating a political leader. But in places where freedom of speech is protected, you may see people copying politicians in public or on television. Today, Kelly Jean Kelly tells us about one such impersonator in the Washington, DC area.
Larry Graves looks a lot like President Obama and Mr. Graves spends much of his time acting like the first black president of the United States. He recently spoke at an environmental conference in Arlington, Virginia.
“I want to thank the Environmental Information Association for having me here today. Now I understand this is your 30th anniversary, so congratulations.”
As expected, some people attending the conference thought they were seeing President Obama. Mike Farrell was one of them.
“It’s really astonishing how close he actually is -- his mannerisms, the way that he speaks, actually his hair, you know the whole package.”
The crowd smiled and laughed once they understood that Larry Graves was just a President Obama look-alike. His performance includes two men who act as Secret Service agents, protecting the look-alike. Matt Baldwin has worked with Mr. Graves for five years.
“People have actually come up to me and asked 'Is that really the president?' Like really. I’ve had fun with it and I just didn’t say anything.”
Many people wanted to have their picture taken with the look-alike president, including Eric Goeller of Arizona.
“I just sent this picture of myself and Mr. Obama back home and I’ve gotten about 25 text messages.”
Environmentalist Sean Fitzgerald spoke at length with Larry Graves about the dangers of asbestos, which is known to cause cancer.
“I was thinking what would it be like if this was the real president.”
Mr. Graves is shocked that people talk to him like that, even knowing that he is not the president.