Earlier today we learned that President Obama had been named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” — for the second time! As managing editor Richard Stengel explained, “Obama is the first Democratic President since FDR to win more than 50% of the vote in consecutive elections and the first President since 1940 to win re-election with an unemployment rate north of 7.5%. He has stitched together a winning coalition and perhaps a governing one as well. His presidency spells the end of the Reagan realignment that had defined American politics for 30 years. We are in the midst of historic cultural and demographic changes, and Obama is both the symbol and in some ways the architect of this new America.”
In light of this news, we decided scour the Internet for a few of the most memorable photos snapped of the President over the course of 2012. From an adorable photo of Obama playing with a tiny Spider-man in the Outer Oval Office to the heartbreaking shot of him surveying Hurricane Sandy damage alongside New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, click through to check out some of our favorite presidential shots of the past year.
“Four more years.” [via @BarackObama]
President Obama greets Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on the floor of the House Chamber as he arrives to deliver the State of the Union address. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Barack Obama and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Toni Morrison. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama sits on the famed Rosa Parks bus at the Henry Ford Museum. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama, Malia, and Sasha watch as the First Lady delivers her speech at the Democratic National Convention. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama plays with the son of a White House staffer in the Outer Oval Office. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House via Time
President Obama mimics Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney’s “not impressed” look. Photo credit: Pete Souza /The White House via Time
President Obama walks towards the podium during the transfer of remains ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, marking the return to the United States of the four Americans killed in Benghazi. Photo credit: Pete Souza /The White House
President Obama with Jay-Z and Beyoncé during a campaign fundraiser in New York. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama meets privately with Damien and Glenda Moore at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center tent in Staten Island. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie survey storm damage along the coast of New Jersey on Marine One. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama gets a gigantic bear hug from Scott Van Duzer, a registered Republican who supports him, while campaigning in Florida. Image via
President Obama and Mitt Romney talk in the Oval Office following their post-election lunch. Photo credit: Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama writing his Newtown address in the audience of Sasha’s ballet rehearsal. Photo credit: Pete Souza/ White House via @lauraolin
President Obama holds Arianna Holmes, 3, daughter of Angela Holmes, a departing Special Assistant in the International Economic Affairs office of the National Security Staff. Photo credit: Lawrence Jackson/The White House