washington <u+2014> <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> it has become president obama <u+2019>s signature phrase on the campaign trail, a rhetorical flourish that he delivers with biting disbelief as he mocks republicans for outrageous behavior, hypocrisy or obstruction. <u+201c>this is a guy who, like, tweets they should cancel <u+2018> saturday night live ,<u+2019><u+201d> the president bellowed thursday in miami , making fun of donald j. trump for complaining about alec baldwin<u+2019>s portrayal of him. <u+201c>really? i mean, that<u+2019>s the thing that bothers you, and you want to be president of the united states? c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> if the slogan <u+201c>fired up! ready to go!<u+201d> defined mr. obama<u+2019>s enthusiasm eight years ago, <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon man!<u+201d> testifies to his exasperation with an election season defined by vitriol and name calling. and it betrays the president<u+2019>s frustration that tens of millions of americans want mr. trump to succeed him. white house speechwriters, who usually do not shrink from accepting praise for artful turns of phrase, say the credit for this one belongs solely to their boss. that raises a question: where did mr. obama pick up the phrase, which began creeping into his stump speech for hillary clinton a few months ago? one easy explanation is found in the president<u+2019>s well-known espn habit. mr. obama often uses his ipad to keep up with the scores of his favorite teams, and the television in the treaty room is often tuned to espn at night, when mr. obama is working through his briefing papers for the next morning. for years, the network has produced a segment on <u+201c>monday night countdown <u+201d> called <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon man!<u+201d> in which the anchors show particularly ridiculous moments from the weekend<u+2019>s football games, followed by the now-presidential exclamation. this week, the segment featured a referee who threw a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct after receiving an enthusiastic hug from earl thomas of the seattle seahawks. thomas later missed a critical tackle, prompting one of the anchors to exclaim: <u+201c>you got to make that tackle, earl. c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> seth markman, a senior producer for n.f.l. studio shows at espn, said the link was clear as day when he and others at the network first heard mr. obama use the phrase. mr. markman mimicked the exasperated <u+201c>we can<u+2019>t believe this guy just did that<u+201d> inflection that is a regular feature of the segment. <u+201c>we immediately said he<u+2019>s watching our show,<u+201d> mr. markman said in an interview on thursday. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s hard to mistake it for anything else. we were flattered, to be honest with you. it<u+2019>s always great when one of these things moves past sports and moves into a bigger pool.<u+201d> the <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon man!<u+201d> segment began after keyshawn johnson, a former player who was an espn commentator for years, kept uttering the phrase in the network<u+2019>s private game-watching sessions, mr. markman said. since then, the phrase has taken off, and fans often carry signs emblazoned with it to stadiums. <u+201c>the president saying it the way he<u+2019>s been saying it is really taking it to another level,<u+201d> mr. markman said. it is also possible that mr. obama is channeling vice president joseph r. biden jr., who has been using the phrase for a while. in september, mr. biden ranted about mr. trump<u+2019>s tax plan, saying that <u+201c>over 10 years, it<u+2019>ll put us in debt around $9 trillion more, or we<u+2019>re going to have to cut every program out there, counting social security , medicare , medicaid , by 40 percent.<u+201d> <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> mr. biden exclaimed, adding his own regular-guy accent to the phrase. in reno, nev., last month, mr. biden recalled debating a conservative academic years ago who was arguing that japan would soon own america. <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> mr. biden said to the audience. <u+201c>raise your hand if you<u+2019>re worried about japan owning america.<u+201d> but however mr. obama picked up the phrase, it has become an expected part of his appearances as he races from battleground state to battleground state in support of mrs. clinton. at the rally thursday in miami, a member of the audience yelled out the phrase after the president finished a broadside about republicans<u+2019> obstruction of ideas that they had once championed. <u+201c>i<u+2019>ll be like, well, this is in your republican handbook; this is in your talking points,<u+201d> the president said, feigning confusion. <u+201c>i thought you all were for this. <u+2018>no, but you<u+2019>re for it now; we can<u+2019>t be for that. i<u+2019>m sorry.<u+2019><u+201d> he added, quoting his adversaries. <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> the audience member shouted. <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> the president dutifully declared, a broad smile crossing his face. in cleveland last month, mr. obama used the phrase twice to punctuate his view that mr. trump was anything but a champion for working americans. <u+201c>all he had time for was celebrities, and now suddenly he<u+2019>s acting like he<u+2019>s a populist out there: <u+2018>man, i<u+2019>m going to fight for working people,<u+2019><u+201d> mr. obama said. <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> mr. obama leans on other rhetorical crutches, too: for years, he has responded to loyal crowds that boo at the mention of republicans with a simple command: <u+201c>don<u+2019>t boo! vote!<u+201d> and since 2008, he has sought to reach african-american audiences by urging them to work hard to persuade his fictional cousin pookie to get out and vote. <u+201c>i need you to call up cousin pookie and say, <u+2018>pookie, it<u+2019>s time to vote,<u+2019><u+201d> mr. obama said at a rally in las vegas last month. but <u+201c>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> may be the most frequent of mr. obama<u+2019>s verbal tics. it even popped up when the president held a news conference in london with david cameron, the prime minister at the time. after a long question by an american reporter, mr. obama used his favorite phrase to express his exasperation. <u+201c>oh, c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+201d> the president said, eliciting a chuckle from the assembled reporters. <u+201c>you<u+2019>re really stretching it.<u+201d> find out what you need to know about the 2016 presidential race today, and get politics news updates via facebook , twitter and the first draft newsletter . a version of this article appears in print on november 4, 2016, on page a19 of the new york edition with the headline: <u+2018>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+2019> obama brings an espn phrase to the campaign trail. order reprints | today's paper | subscribe
obama brings espn<u+2019>s <u+2018>c<u+2019>mon, man!<u+2019> to the campaign trail
michael d. shear