Perhaps the most moving moment of Sunday’s Academy Awards came during author Graham Moore’s acceptance speech for writing “The Imitation Game” screenplay.  Moore brought the Oscar audience to its feet when he shared that as a teenager he’d tried to commit suicide because he felt “weird and different.” He implored young people watching at home who felt like outsiders to believe that one day they too will have their moment.  But what Loop fans might not know is that Moore has a direct connection to the Obama White House.  Moore’s mother is Susan Sher, who was Michelle Obama’s chief of staff and is now coordinating the push to have Obama’s presidential library located in Chicago. But their relationship is beyond professional – they’ve been friends for years. In July 2009, the Chicago Tribute wrote:  They regularly gather for dinner or a movie at the White House. Obama has visited the apartment building for a progressive dinner: drinks at (Valerie) Jarrett’s apartment, a stop at Sher’s place and a barbecue dinner hosted by (Desiree) Rogers. They all joined Obama and her daughters for a Beyonce concert in Washington last month.  Last week, Variety predicted that “The Imitation Game” – the film about a mathematician who helped crack Nazi code during World War II, but was prosecuted for being gay – was a White House favorite because of the Obamas’s relationship with Sher.  From Patricia Arquette's booming speech to an emotional performance of "Glory" from the film "Selma," here are the highlights from this year's Oscars. (Nicki DeMarco/The Washington Post)  And Moore himself is deep inside the Obama orbit. In 2010, when Sher hosted a Washington book party for her son’s novel, “The Sherlockian,” it was described as a “who’s who’s” crowd, by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet. The Bidens also hosted a gathering for the book’s release at the vice president’s residence. Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett called herself Moore’s “other mother.”  But outside of the Obama inner circle and the people who follow it closely, like Sweet, many people only learned of the Moore-White House connection when congratulations and comments poured out over Twitter after his Oscar win.  Had no idea: Graham Moore is the son of Susan Sher, formerly Michelle Obama's chief of staff.  — Jessica Reynolds (@reynoldsjessica) February 23, 2015  Colby Itkowitz is a national reporter for In The Loop.
Graham Moore, the writer who won an Oscar for adapting "The Imitation Game" screenplay, is the son of a close Obama friend.