Obama continues to be in the limelight - at this point in their presidency the shine had faded from both Clinton and Bush Jr, especially so with W, given his dubious assumption of the presidency. A few thoughts on some recent events:
Date Night seems almost a case of hubris. Surely there was a lower key way of taking his wife on a date to NYC? How about doing it when you are already in NY for some official event? He must be going there often enough what with the UN headquarters being there.
A little reported study is about the media's fascination with Obama. Sure, we have the rabid right wing that is willing to throw the man under a bus for anything that he says or does, but that limits their credibility severely. Sure, we should expect the media (& us the public) to view Obama differently given the historical context (both in his personal self as well as the state of the economy and world politics). But I tend to agree with the results of the above study that the main stream media is not being sufficiently objective.
The most recent splash is of course the speech at Cairo University. Given the occasion, the setting, and the person delivering it, it was bound to succeed on a oratorical level and it did. However, I wonder what difference it is likely to make? Yes, the elevation of the Palestinian cause to the same level as the Israeli one was noteworthy, but the call for a "new beginning" had me mostly yawning. There is a lot of symbolism in calling for democracy when you are being hosted by Hosni Mubarak, who heads one of the many 'quasi' democratic regimes in the region, but substantively what impact will such a call have? Of course, the big difference is in the person making the call - Obama with his muslim and African heritage has so much good will around the world that local politicians are forced to at least take him seriously. His repudiation of Bush-era rhetoric and policies cannot hurt either. I can only hope that this capital that Obama has today will be expended in a productive way.
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4 comments:
I don't feel that the Date Night was a case of hubris and it is the media that is making a big deal out of this. Why can't the media give Obama a break and treat him like any common man who wants to take his wife/SO for a date night? Of course people will say Obama is not living by example and lavishly spending given the current economy but I am sure if it were some other commoner couple who would have flown to NY for a broadway show and dinner at the Bluehill, no one would have cared.
Responding to Murali: The problem is that unlike any common man, this date was done on the public exchequer. If you set aside Fox and the right wing bloggers, most of the coverage has not been critical. Even Jon Stewart made no mention of the cost to the tax payer. Of course every president uses public money for personal vacations (a perk of the office), but the style and timing were inappropriate, imo.
I am not sure I agree with the style and timing comment; everyone (incl the prez) would want to go on a date night in style. I am sure given a choice (and of course a guarantee on his life -- which is highly impossible to provide), Obama would not mind going on the date in a low profile, low key manner. Re timing, I am not sure if there is any better time; the media would have have its share of criticism no matter what.
Hmmm... let me get this right: You thought that the inauguration should have been toned down to reflect the times but you don't feel the same about a date? The inauguration was a historic event, a date is not. Although this one has the potential of becoming one, but not for the reasons that Obama will like!
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