Reginald Love leaves Obama

This is a post about this man :

There are lot of hearsay stories attached with the late MG Ramachandran (MGR).  Before that, can you group Clay Russel, Huma Abedin, Blake Gottesman, Marvin Nicholson, Stephen Goodin, Davide Powers………..

Coming to the tinseldom,   Vijay as ‘Bhoominathan’ in Kavalan ran in some centres successfully.  You know that Vijay’s role is that of a bodyguard ! – it earlier ran into controversy owing to the title resembling another MGR popular starrer ‘Kavalkaran’.  Kavalan itself was made from a Malayalam film titled ‘Bodyguard’  starring Dileep and Nayantara  of a simple story of romance between a man who is obsessed with heroism, and the daughter of the man he is sworn to protect.  With self-proclaimed statement of not writing on cinema, any comparison ends here.

There were stories aplenty that MGR had a herd of bodyguards – capable stuntman who used to travel with MGR, protecting him, some his look-alikes, who would do anything for him ! – how far in real life this was true, is questionable – some MGR loyalists would swear that this is truth but ……………….

Whilst it is bodyguard here – somewhat akin in US is ‘Body Man’ – who is a personal assistant to a politician or political candidate. A body man accompanies the politician or candidate virtually everywhere, often arranging lodging, transportation or meals, and providing companionship, snacks, a cell phone, and any other necessary assistance.  The list in the first para are all bodyman to various Presidents and celebrities.

A bodyman of Barack Obama is in news ! -  Reginald L. Love (born  1981) till recently, served as the special assistant and personal aide  to United States President Barack Obama. Now he is news as reports state that  Love will leave this position at the end of 2011, to complete his Master of Business Administration degree at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

Generally, we read and get degrees to get into some respectable job; here this man is leaving the prized job to read and get a MBA !  Mr Love, a former college basketball player, had already been studying part-time to receive his MBA at the Wharton Business School.  Over the years, he has been close to the President having performed  roles as varied as personal valet, gatekeeper and basketball partner.  "His ability to juggle so many responsibilities with so little sleep has been an inspiration to watch," Mr Obama said about Mr Love in a statement. Mr Love joined Mr Obama's office in 2006, when the future president was a fresh-faced senator from Illinois. Since then they have been virtually inseparable.  ABC News estimated that Mr Love and Mr Obama have travelled 880,780 miles (1.4 million km) together since the beginning of the 2008 presidential campaign.  The close relationship even extends to the bathroom, with Mr Love often in attendance when the president flosses his teeth.

There are further reports that President Obama is losing not only his "body man," but the guy who introduced him to the music of Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.   Some reports state that Love was so close that he worked up to even 18 hours a day and often sleeping on the burgundy couch.

The decision to leave should have been a tough one and reportedly Love took the advice of the President himself, who was supportive.  People are not emotional and attached to sentiments everywhere all the time.

Regards – S. Sampathkumar.