Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
“I should have anticipated the optics.”
–President Barack Obama
President Obama claimed in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press that he regretted playing a round of golf immediately following a press conference in which he spoke of the murder of captured Journalist James Foley by ISIS terrorists. This comes after weeks in some media circles of condemnation for showing lack of sincerity and being aloof to what had taken place.
The president stated that he “had to hold back tears” when speaking to the family of Mr. Foley but added that there was the possibility of a “jarring contrast” between world events and his desire to carve out a semblance of a normal life involving recreation.
The president also admitted that sometimes his own performance in some of the more public rituals of the presidency was lacking.
“Part of this job, is also the theater of it.
“It’s not something that always comes naturally to me. But it matters. And I’m mindful of that,” Obama said.
President Obama’s statements are surely not going to temper anger in the minds of those who were affronted by his remarks. It could be asked if his regret was whether he might have upset the family and those who knew and loved Mr. Foley or if his own image might have been tarnished.
One has to wonder how much else is theater with proffered claims of sincerity.
By Darren Smith
Source:
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Nick,
The reaction among this group is not much different than I experienced dealing with junior enlisted personnel. They would be given an order to do something and would say, “That’s not how we did it on my last ship!” My response was always the same, “this is NOT your last ship!”
I would like these folks to realize we had a command change and this ship’s CO should be measured by the standards expected of the position and not the last CO.
Olly, That’s the way it works here. Many old timers have Bush Derangement Syndrome and any criticism of their cult leader sets it off. It’s sort of like Tourette’s.
The interesting thing is that VERY rarely are the Bush Adminstrations blunders ever criticized here by non liberals.
Yup, missing or non existent WMDs are hilariously funny.
What I find most troubling in the following video is the audience’s reaction to Bush’s “comedy” bit about being unable to find weapons of mass destruction:
George W. Bush jokes about weapons of mass destruction
That’s your best defense: Bush did it worse than my guy? One would think your standards were a bit higher than “George jumped off the bridge so I followed him”.
BDS.
Elaine, some here talk about the importance of good character in a President. I agree character is of utmost importance. Bush displays his character in that video.
Both Bush 41 and 43 are very classy in defending current Presidents. W was asked during an interview by a sports reporter about Obama golfing so much and W defended Obama. The worst President @ criticizing is the pompous loser, Jimmy Carter. He has been critical of every President since he got his ass kicked in 1980.
George Bush “Now, Watch This Drive”
Question: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?
Short answer: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/2014/09/07/fact-check-obama-bush-take-vacation/14948189/
Bush never stopped playing golf or taking vacations.
President Barack Obama has already played nearly eight times as many rounds of golf during his presidency as President George W. Bush did throughout his eight years in office, according to noted presidential chronicler of all things numerical, CBS News’ Mark Knoller.
Knoller told Yahoo News that in his six years in office, Obama has played 186 rounds of golf so far. Bush, on the other hand, only played 24 rounds of golf.
“[Bush] later explained his decision to stop in the fall of 2003 by saying he felt it was not appropriate to be seen golfing while American troops fought in Afghanistan and Iraq,” reports Yahoo News.
President Barack Obama is currently on a two-week Martha’s Vineyard vacation where he is staying at the $12 million, 17-room private mansion of Democratic Party donor Joanne Hubschman.
I enjoy it when factual statements are expressed here and it’s quite liberating to point out when assertions are made that have no factual basis. Quite a few of those lately.
Not to worry Annie. Once you become used to them you will feel liberated. 😉
Leej, facts are so inconvenient!
Darren, will you please assist with getting my post out of the filter @1pm?
RSA,
The difference is that the golfing meme fits a wider body of criticism that Obama is disengaged in various ways from the ordinary work of his office. Even when Obama is at work, the impression he’s left as President is he’s not all there.
In contrast, Bush’s reputation is that he conscientiously engaged with the work of his office. An example is the account of Bush’s deliberation behind his decision for the Counterinsurgency “Surge”, which was a highly disputed choice at the time:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/washington/31military.html?ref=world&_r=0
FILTER ALERT:
If his goal was to demonstrate nothing will disrupt his agenda then mission accomplished. That he has his most ardent followers supporting his behavior signifies they too don’t want him bumped off course.
It’s been asked what should he have done instead and that question would never come to mind of someone already considered a leader. Having spent 20 years in the Navy you learn there’s a difference between leadership and management. You manage processes and lead people. The military devotes a significant amount of time teaching those behaviors and one does not get promoted to the next position without effectively demonstrating you have the skills to perform it.
This President, this CinC has been promoted to this position without demonstrating the competencies necessary. The top position in the administration of the United States federal of government is not where you want to begin OJT. What’s worse is he has demonstrated a complete indifference to reasonable adjustments in style and an immature capacity to take responsibility for anything. I’m astounded otherwise intelligent people defend this penultimate example of the Peter Principle. He has cemented his legacy as the President of the un-United States of America. That’s what you get from someone who’s qualified only to the level of community organizer.
Olly, I retrieved your comment at 12:45.
The difference between Obama-Golf and Bush-Golf is that Bush stopped playing after the public and the press called him on it.