Last night's recurring theme that I picked up on during Obama's interview on 60 Minutes was 'Let's draw negative attention away from me'. This theme was a constant throughout his candidacy and nothing has changed with that theme throughout his Presidency thus far.
Obama made sure to let everyone know, if we hadn't heard it before, during his interview that 'this is the legacy of the past administration that's been inherited' and trying to toss back the negativity ball on the Bush administration.
Is it just me or does it remind anyone else of when you were a child and being scolded and your reaction was to point out something wrong your sibling did? What did your parent or teacher usually say? Something along the line of "We're talking about YOU, not your (brother) (sister) (etc.),"right? When is our President going to start acting like a President and quit pointing the finger, start answering the questions that are asked of him, not react to opposition like someone in a school yard with a juvenile thuggish remark such as "bring it on" and "he'll tear him apart", and try not giggling when it comes to talking about the demise of our auto industry?
You're the leader of the United States. Please try to act like it.
Perhaps Mary Kate Cary said it best: The president sets the tone of the conversation in America. As much as President Obama would like to be a man of the people, "a regular guy," he's not anymore. His job description encompasses being Commander-in-Chief, leader of the Executive Branch of government, and Head of State. He's "The Leader of the Free World." Doing Jay Leno lessens the stature of the office, and diminishes the man. On Leno, he becomes just one more talk show guest, a celebrity on the circuit promoting his latest movie or book. It's a decision that speaks volumes about Obama's approach to the office. For that matter, so does his signing of op-eds about specific legislation in newspapers and his picking fights with radio talk show hosts...
What a sad statement it makes of our nation that our President and those running for office feel the need to reach the American public by going on celebrity talk shows. We are a bunch of citizens more interested in being entertained than being educated.
2 comments:
Whathe needs to do is be a celebrity judge on American Idol, he'll really get some respect from the public then. Get to a bigger audience too.
Chuck- It's funny you mention American Idol because Obama referenced it when he said the American public is all a critic of his administration and we're all Simon Cowell.
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