Gently, gently
Eugene Robinson is the latest ardent Obama supporter to question the President’s priorities and judgment, and his criticism is delivered with a light touch:
I understand why the president would want to support his hometown in its grab for glory. And it’s pretty much expected that heads of government will make a personal appearance before the lords of the International Olympics Committee — most heads of government, that is. Our presidents usually send emissaries. The break with tradition doesn’t bother me. But I do wonder what will be accomplished.
You could argue that such personal attention from such a popular, charismatic leader would boost Chicago’s chances. But there’s another school of thought, which holds that a presidential visit is overkill. The United States, assumed to have all the advantages in any competition, is often not allowed to behave like other countries. To the extent that Obama’s visit is perceived not as a token of respect but as a display of immodesty — an application of overwhelming force — it could hurt Chicago, rather than help.
I know this sounds like ridiculous overthinking of a simple question, but the Olympic bureaucracy is its own little world with its own arcane rules, customs and etiquette. As I said, the trip probably won’t matter much one way or the other. But if I’m right, you have to wonder whether the gesture by the president is worth being away while the rubber of health-care reform is starting to hit the road.
On the other hand, Michelle Malkin’s detailed critique of Obama’s mission on behalf of his political allies is anything but gentle. As a marketing matter, whether you approve of Obama’s goals and priorities or not, it seems undeniable to us that his constant TV presence and stunts like the Copenhagen boondoggle cheapen the image of the American Presidency.
October 2nd, 2009 at 3:41 am
bho jr should instead fly to chitown to see why the city has awful schools and high crime.
oh: he knows: the machine.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Boy, are you disappointing, wasting your entire Ivy League education and becoming a fan of Michelle Malkin, who has taken up the Ann Coulter/Pat Buchanan mantle as one of the most rabid hatemongers in the country today. Cheapen the image of the American Presidency????? Give me a break — at least we don’t have the extremist Republican Dicks in charge any more to strangle American ideals and ruin our image throughout a world that for most of my life used to look up to us:
On 9/15/09, a few good men, actual Marines, told chickenhawks Ex VP Cheney and his Brat Daughter, who have never served in the military, to STFU. Former Marine commandant Charles Krulak and former Marine general Joseph Hoar, who succeeded Schwarzkopf at Central Command, dressed down former VP Cheney on the issue of torture — “… we never imagined that we would feel duty-bound to publicly denounce a vice-president of the United States, a man who has served our country for many years. In light of the irresponsible statements recently made by former Vice President Dick Cheney, however, we feel we must repudiate his dangerous ideas — and his scare tactics. . . .What leaders say matters. So when it comes to light, as it did recently, that U.S. interrogators staged mock executions and held a whirling electric drill close to the body of a naked, hooded detainee, and the former vice president winks and nods, it matters.”
October 2nd, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Steve, what does Dick Cheney have to do with scamming a few billion for the Olympics?
Boy, are you disappointing…
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:28 pm
When the right has their ideologies skewered by Coulter or others, their heads spin around and they throw up pea soup on anyone within range. The truth is like holy water burning their thin skins.
The level of corruption in Chicago is outrageous, and it is growing wider than ever. Obama evolved in the midst of that. The IOC has a chance to humble him a bit … we’ll see shortly.
October 2nd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
oops … I meant when “the left” is skewered … of course, though Ann does at times skewer some that are supposed to be on the right … like Bush and McCain.
October 3rd, 2009 at 2:42 am
Steve, start your own blog if you want to pick topics you care about.
For the record, I saw worse mistreatment, of Americans, in boot camp – Parris Island, 1971. I’m not going to lose any sleep over some detainee’s a mock execution or the noise of a drill. I want these people scared, and telling us everything they know, if it keeps even one more American from having to choose whether to burn or jump.