Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I found the Obama Administration’s willful deafness to the Iranian protesters in the summer of 2009 one of its lowest moments. What made it doubly bracing was that it represented a brand of extremely soft-headed realpolitik. The attitude the White House seemed to be telegraphing was that the Administration had invested so much in the notion of breaking through the
diplomatic impasse with Iran that it couldn’t be bothered with a movement that threatened the nation’s leadership – even though successful regime change would almost certainly have been better for America’s national security interests and the Iranian people.
Now we come to Egypt, where the upshot is decidedly more ambiguous. I, for one, don’t hold much hope that a post-Mubarak regime will represent an improvement, even though Mubarak’s government has many loathsome qualities. Yet one factor is consistent between the Iranian and Egyptian examples: the White House finds this all terribly inconvenient.
In today’s installment of Politico’s Playbook, Mike Allen writes:
The eruption in Egypt has dampened spirits in the Obama White House, where officials were having their best run in more than a year. “We’re struggling to figure all this out,” said a top official who spent much of the weekend on the crisis. Obama’s closest aides have been enjoying three Rs: political resurgence, economic recovery, and a White House reorganization that most West Wingers applaud. But now these officials fret that new instability in the Middle East will 1) distract from President Obama’s jobs-and-innovation message, 2) dim hopes for a breakthrough in the peace process, and 3) stall the economy if the revolutionary tsunami spreads to other Arabian states, driving up the price of oil.
With all due respect, it’s hard to believe that anyone who is reacting to the Egyptian crisis this way is intellectually prepared to work in the White House. One of the things you have to account for in any presidential administration is that exogenous events will intrude on the sanctity of your message. That may be an inconvenience, but it’s a very basic function of the work. Thus, saying it out loud comes off as (1) churlish, (2) naïve and (3) wildly insensitive to the people in the region.
The dirty secret of the presidency is that – even though its powers have expanded over time – it’s still a deeply reactive job. You take unexpected events as they come, and if any of the agenda that you ran on manages to survive the external onslaught you should consider yourself lucky (you’d think a president who endured a months-long crisis created by an oil spill would understand this).
As our Commander-in-Chief, the president has no higher responsibility than ensuring the safety of the American people and the protection of our national security interests. Carping about the fact that the outside world won’t choreograph itself to meet the needs of the president’s domestic agenda makes a mockery of that responsibility. President Obama would do well to remember the words he used to lampoon John McCain in the 2008 campaign: "I think it is going to be part of the president's job to be able to deal with more than one thing at once.''
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Oct '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
You know what Obama needs right now? More Sarah Palin. She'd be a welcome distraction. Now if CBS or NBC gets her to talk about Egypt and the Middle East...
But seriously, outside the US, most countries including China, Iran, Russia, see Obama as a weak leader. If it was not obvious then, it is now. The media comparing him to Reagan is a joke.
Oct '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
The problem is bigger than this Administration. Media outlets examine every event through the lens of domestic politics. Thus, Obama's Tucson remarks are framed by the press as a fraught moment for <i>the President</i> and his upcoming campaign. Developments around the world are assessed for their (potential!) impact on whatever election is coming up next. Everything is part of that horse race, and ubiquitous polls substitute for analysis. Unfortunately, the current Administration operates in like fashion.
We desperately need more reporters and fewer "journalists." Specialists with expertise or experience in the areas they cover are the first to get the ax, when newsrooms contract; we are left with generalists and opinionators who don't know much about anything in particular.
May '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
What a pack of amateurs, in over their heads. As with Iran, Obama's posture seems to be "I'll wait for the police-state apparatchiks to finish hosing the blood off the sidewalks then we'll talk."
Typical of the leftist mindset; real people with real lives are some kind of abstraction. The Grand Design of the Important People is what's important.
I feel sorry for Obama, though, I really do. The job is his to do and he's no better prepared to do it than Hamlet was prepared to do his.
Dec '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
That may be a generally accepted requisite in his job description (having less legal authority than the Constitution’s Article II, Section 1 provision that “No Person except a natural born Citizen […] shall be eligible to the Office of President”).
His oath only affirms he will “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States” (with the mitigating proviso of “to the best of [his] ability”).
Was there any form of allegiance to our way of life when our historic first Islamic apostate president made his pronouncement to fundamentally transform the United States of America?
In mustering enough forces to fully achieve his goal, wouldn’t he have to organize aggression, both domestic and foreign?
Jul '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
I don't feel sorry for this Regime. I feel sorry for the generation of teens missing out on getting early job skills and dating dollars, the many millions who have lost their livelihood and much if not most of their savings in a single stroke. I keep finding engineers and masons waiting tables and running registers. And compared to the rest of the nation, this area is seeing a boom in highly paid lawyers and regulators.
I feel sorry for the people who will have to live through the fallout of this grotesquely irresponsible, if aptly named, ObamaCare Law. I feel sorry for those Gulf area families and businesses that got dumped on their tails by the senseless drilling bans. I feel sorry for everyone that has felt the icy cold hand of the Regime wrap itself around their heart and squeeze.
The list goes on and on.
And I feel sorry for the unending poor in Egypt, who suffer in ways most of us could never imagine, and hope against all reason that they find their path to a better life.
May '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
Sisyphus: I don't feel sorry for this Regime. I feel sorry for the generation of teens missing out on getting early job skills and dating dollars, the many millions who have lost their livelihood and much if not most of their savings in a single stroke.
I feel sorry for the people who will have to live through the fallout of this grotesquely irresponsible, if aptly named, ObamaCare Law. I feel sorry for those Gulf area families and businesses that got dumped on their tails by the senseless drilling bans. I feel sorry for everyone that has felt the icy cold hand of the Regime wrap itself around their heart and squeeze.
And I feel sorry for the unending poor in Egypt, who suffer in ways most of us could never imagine, and hope against all reason that they find their path to a better life. · Jan 31 at 10:12pm
Yes, I agree. My sorrow goes out to those above first. Maybe I should have said I feel sorry for us, being stuck with a man so inadequate for the presidency.
Still, I would not want to be in his shoes right now.
May '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
Kervinlee
Sisyphus:
.
Still, I would not want to be in his shoes right now. · Jan 31 at 10:38pm
Frankly, most people on this forum could do better than this anti-American president. Every day, he seems annoyed that he actually has to govern. I think his penchant for golf reveals his expectation that he would only have to reign, not rule. Making tough decisions is cramping his style.
Sep '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
“As Commander- in- Chief, the president has no higher responsibility than ensuring the safety of the American people”
Did I miss the speech where Bush apologized for not fulfilling his highest responsibility? Too busy with “no child left behind”?
Dec '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
"Did I miss the speech where Bush apologized for not fulfilling his highest responsibility? Too busy with “no child left behind”?"
It's been 10 years, but I seem to recall that was primarily an Edward Kennedy ambition, that the Bush administration supported in the interest of bipartisan cooperation. The country was pretty deeply divided, domestically, following the 2000 election and that was sold (to some) as a healing effort. I know no conservatives that ever accused Bush of being a conservative.
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
Troy: I, for one, think you are on to something very important here. It's insightful of you to observe this common denominator in Obama's dealings (or lack thereof) with Iran and Egypt. The idea that both are inconvenient hits home. I think, sadly, the Egypt example, also graphically illustrates Obama's narcissism -- everything's about him and his standing politically, thus making this not just inconvenient but extremely annoying. As you say, these unexpected events are interfering with Obama's mini-resurgence. But not only are they interfering with it in the sense of distracting people's attention from seemingly better economic times, but they are affirmatively hurting him because of his obvious ineptitude in handling the situation. He doesn't have a clue; there appear to be no adults in the White House; no one with gravitas. So, Obama's a big loser and I'm sure that worries him way more than the plight of Egypt.
May '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
"3 AM Phone Call Comes, Obama Hits 'Snooze'"
Edited on Feb 1, 2011 at 7:24amDec '10
Re: Egypt on Fire; Obama Annoyed
Obama: "But enough talk about me. Let's discuss Egypt: how will the events in Egypt affect ME?"