 It was all pretty locked down and predictable in terms of the reality you could access as a member of the press with a White House hard pass. I followed the first lady's gaze and found the president. Now I understood her panicked expression. Up close, the president does not look quite plausible. It's not that he's old. We all know what old looks like. Bernie Sanders is old. Mitch McConnell is old. Most of the ruling class is old. The president was something stranger, something not of this earth.