Obama Engagement

[Geee]

American Spectator:


Obama Engagement
By The Prowler on 8.9.10 @ 6:08AM

SHOW OFF

Last week, the Washington Post's David Ignatius wrote about one of the odder White House briefings he's attended. This one involved Iran: "The White House chose an unusual way to send its signals to Tehran. A small group of journalists was invited to a 'background session' on Iran policy with 'senior National Security Staff.' The briefer turned out to be Obama. An official said later that the president plans more of these unscripted, informal meetings."

Ignatius is right. It was a bit odd, and White House senior staff, including chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, will have President Obama doing more of them. "It isn't because we want to have him show off how smart he is," says a White House source. "It's to blunt criticism that he's not engage in foreign policy."

According to White House sources, a number of senior Obama officials are concerned about anecdotal stories going around town about the President's seeming disengagement on foreign policy issues. They cite one in which the President is said to have cut short what was intended to be a briefing on Afghanistan. "The NSC guys came out of it and said that because there were no action items, he didn't want it," said another White House source.

While not specific to foreign policy, there is a mounting whispering campaign in Washington about the current President's disenchantment with the job he currently holds. "You hear it a lot from White House staff," says a Democrat lobbyist in the financial services sector, who worked on the Obama transition team. "The President is tired of dealing or bored with all the B.S., or that things haven't broken the way he wanted and it's not shaping up to be the job that he thought it was going to be. The way some of them talk they make the President sound like a recent college graduate unhappy with his first job stuck in the mailroom."

[nickydog]

Everything is just for appearances -- special briefings for small groups of chosen journalists to show how "smart" the pres. is, a "fall media assault" that will show a more engaged and energized president, behind the scenes TV specials with the WH having editorial and creative control and setting the agenda to make it look like a it's "a real day." Shoot, why doesn't he just move to Hollywood now and start making movies?

[AceRimmer]

While not specific to foreign policy, there is a mounting whispering campaign in Washington about the current President's disenchantment with the job he currently holds. "You hear it a lot from White House staff," says a Democrat lobbyist in the financial services sector, who worked on the Obama transition team. "The President is tired of dealing or bored with all the B.S., or that things haven't broken the way he wanted and it's not shaping up to be the job that he thought it was going to be. The way some of them talk they make the President sound like a recent college graduate unhappy with his first job stuck in the mailroom.

 

I'm sensing that he knows Her Heinousness, among other RATS, smells blood in the water over his approval ratings and hasn't ruled out a challenge in 2012. If he totally tanks in the ratings, I wouldn't rule out a LBJ-style bowing out. The RATS did this with Kathleen Blanco down here in LA after she totally screwed up the Katrina fiasco and they more or less forced her not to run for reelection.

 

November will be a huge decider, because I don't see him being able to veer to the center like King Bubba did after the '94 disaster for the RATS. He's too arrogant and socialistic to make that kind of change.

[clearvision]

I would think Hillary would resign sometime shortly after November if she is planning a run again.

[AceRimmer]

I would think Hillary would resign sometime shortly after November if she is planning a run again.

 

I think she's already tired of the job, so don't be surprised if she does resign after the mid-terms. It's what happens in November that will determine whether or not she thinks she can beat Obambi in the RAT primaries in 2012. If it's wipeout like '94, I think she'll jump in, if it's not, she'll stay out and wait for '16, when she'll get the Dole/Mondale/McCain nod for a lost cause: TRANSLATION: she'll be too old, too liberal, and too angry at everybody for not anointing her Queen for indy's to stomach, plus I doubt she'd get a single GOP vote.

 

I predicted during the primaries in '08 that whether McCain or Obambi won the Presidency, they'd be a one term POTUS, and nothing I've seen so far has caused me to change that prediction.

[cudjo]

I don't know why anyone is surprisd that the big O can't do the job, he's neve done anything but live off gov money, oh yeah community action, great resume, the jerk is working very hard to be sure he out does Jimmy Carter