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Home Front: Politix
The Calgon President
2009-03-10
James Morrow, United States Studies Centre @ University of Sydney

If I could give one piece of advice to President Obama - besides telling him to shut up and let the Dow have a good day for a change - it would be to stop trying to do everything all at once. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel may have famously said that one should never let a good crisis go to waste (and oh, imagine the outrage had, say, Dick Cheney uttered similar words!), but in trying to do everything, Obama risks doing everything wrong.

"Look, I wish I had the luxury of just dealing with a modest recession or just dealing with health care or just dealing with energy or just dealing with Iraq or just dealing with Afghanistan," Obama said recently, even as it was reported that the new president is already "too tired" to do his job properly.

And the strain is starting to show. Take foreign policy, which Obama reportedly has very little interest in even at the best of times. Whether it is the clumsy snub of British PM Gordon Brown, the even clumsier offer to sell-out Poland and the Czech Republic to buy a little leverage against the Iranians, or the absolutely cringe-making "reset button" incident (what, the State Department doesn't have any translators), one is almost wistful for the clarity of George W. Bush's with-us-or-against-us doctrines.

None of this is helping the main game, which is the economy. The New York Times reports that "events are getting ahead" of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who has so far failed to impress either the public or the share markets.

The President needs to focus all his energies on restoring credit flows and national and international confidence in the American economy and its private capital markets. Now is not the time to tackle health care reform or attempt to impose the huge inefficiencies of a carbon cap-and-trade system on the US economy, nevermind the illusory promise of so-called "green jobs".

Obama's sort of stressed out, all over the shop sort of urgency does not inspire the feeling that the US has a confident, inspiring captain at the helm for the difficult times to come.

Instead, it calls to mind thoughts of the stressed-out housewife pleading, "Calgon, take me away!"
Posted by:Mike

#8  For eight years, we were told a moron from stole an election.

It only took fifty days to see Crawford and Chicago share more than the letter "C".
Posted by: Skunky Glins 5***   2009-03-10 21:47  

#7  Poor Barry. He's always been able to aim for a higher job classification once he grew weary of his current job, until now.
Posted by: Cornsilk Blondie   2009-03-10 14:42  

#6  Whatever possessed the Dems, the MSM and a majority of the voters to make them even consider him capable of handling the job, I can't understand.

It was his ghetto-cool...Daddy-O! /sarc
Posted by: Harcourt Chavitle7552   2009-03-10 13:22  

#5  How many people did Obama ever manage? A dozen? A hundred? I don't know, but it's nothing like what he has now. Google tells me that about 14.6 mill work for him now. That compared to the paltry number that he ever managed, let alone the 9.5 mill in Chicago or even the 11.4 mill in Illionis. The guy signs the paycheck for more people than he had in his state. Whatever possessed the Dems, the MSM and a majority of the voters to make them even consider him capable of handling the job, I can't understand. But the did it and we will pay for that totally irresponsible act on their parts. Anyone wish to record a blunder-of-the-day chronicle for this poor man? Victum of his fantasies and the monstrous illusions of millions of our neighbors. It would be funny if I didn't have to suffer, but I do and everyone it the US and the world will pay dearly for this.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon   2009-03-10 11:01  

#4  Methinks that since BO has never held a regular job, he probably doesn't have the stamina to work a twelve hour shift on four hours sleep.

He has a nine to five mentality with an eight hours of sleep personality and those don't work with being the POTUS.
Posted by: James Carville   2009-03-10 10:46  

#3  Underqualified and overwhelmed.
Posted by: Parabellum   2009-03-10 08:45  

#2  Inquiring minds want to KNOW!

Office of the Chief of Protocol
Under the direction of the Acting Chief of Protocol Gladys Boluda and the Deputy Chiefs of Protocol, the office is responsible for activities including the planning, hosting, and officiating of ceremonial events for visiting chiefs of state and heads of government, as well as coordinating logistics for the visits; managing Blair House, the President's guesthouse; and overseeing all protocol matters for Presidential or Vice Presidential travel abroad, working alongside the White House.

Read more about what the Office of the Chief of Protocol does or click below to read about the divisional duties.


Sorry Barry, can't claim too tired and stupid on this one. Better luck next time mate.
Posted by: Besoeker    2009-03-10 08:22  

#1  The "reset button" and the "too tired" incident are both very difficult to fathom as there are plenty of people in Washington that could/should have prevented both snubs. But the only other alternative is that the President intended these snubs and that is certainly far more difficult and frightening to fathom.
Posted by: Gluting Fillmore6653   2009-03-10 07:13  

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