‘Quite absurd,’ he said. ‘Suffering bores me, any more.’

On Friday, the administration also released some behind-the-scenes footage. It shows an aide, deputy director for online outreach Kori Schulman, complimenting the president for what she calls a “twoosh,or a perfect, 140-character tweet (a Twitter swoosh). Are you proud of me?he asks. “It was a record for twooshes, Schulman says. I'm the twoosh master, Obama says.

Everyone laughed again, as Zoar removed a piece of wrapped-up, cookielike pastry from a belt-pack he wore.

By Crums, they might get the salts and oxalic acid mixed up if they came to treat me, for there’s no love lost between us.