People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads and the boss drives.” President Theodore Roosevelt.
February 27, 2013
She goes where not only angels fear to tread, but also where she isn’t invited.
Heaven knows, we don’t get nearly enough politics these days, so I’m glad she introduced them to the Academy Awards.
Of course on Oscar Night you might have thought you were going to watch the ceremonies and immerse yourself in the fantasy of Hollywood. You probably picked a channel, chose your show, sighed and put up your feet.
But, darn, there she was and there were the politics you probably didn’t want to think about just then. For just one day, for just a couple of hours.
But these days we never know where she – or he -- will pop up next: Dr. Oz, Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America!
For the First Lady, she’s dancing, she’s doing push-ups, she’s welcoming back Robin Roberts – a nice thing – but she did it in person on a one-on-one with Robin, and then did it again via video link, once again on Good Morning America with the president.
Is it me or didn’t we just see quite a lot of both of them at the Inauguration? When was that? Three weeks ago?
As America grew tired of seeing the "magic” of the King of Pop, the American people are bone weary of the endless appearances and speeches of the First Couple.
That’s why I was glad to hear the news the other day that 70 is the new 30, because while the president seems to be aging before our eyes, he is aging all of us at an alarming clip. Heaven help me, all I want to say to him is "Stop talking!” To her, "Stop showing off your biceps!” And to both, "Just stop!”
How much more can we hear about her "hot new bangs?” How much more can we digest of him and Tiger on the links?
But mostly, how much more will we take of the "Boy crying wolf” routine? The "Management by Crisis” approach to governance?
From the "Crises” of the Stimulus, the Fiscal Cliff, the Debt Ceiling and Sequestration, we are now totally exhausted. Babbling incoherently to ourselves, we want to cry uncle just to make it all stop.
The latest is the game of "Chickie” that the president is playing with all of us. If everyone, mostly Republicans, will not do what he wants with the Sequestration, he’ll show ya’. He’ll take away your comfort level and scare the bejesus out of you.
Sure he signed the Sequestration into law, but never mind. He doesn’t like it anymore, so he warned and warned, taking his show on the road to warn that border patrol officers’ hours will be cut, ditto for the FBI; teachers will lose jobs; ditto the cops; airplanes will fly aimlessly around control towers without controllers; flights will be delayed four hours or more; children will lose daycare and medical research will grind to a screeching halt.
In my mind I see the way he does this. It’s an ever-changing scene, like a kaleidoscope. Obama’s always there, but with different backdrops and I’m dizzy with confusion.
There’s Obama with little children behind him to tout gun control; Obama with doctors (or people in white lab coats) behind him to push Obamacare.
I see him at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia this week with shipbuilders in hard hats as a backdrop so he can push Republicans for a deal in the Sequester. Then again last week with first responders, blue uniforms, badges behind him for the same push.
In Las Vegas last month, I see and hear him mentioning Alan Aleman in his speech pushing immigration reform. Who’s he? An "undocumented immigrant,” brought to our country "against his will” by his parents and then I hear Obama invited the guy to the State of the Union address. What the…?
Last month he paraded out the tragically injured Rep. Gabby Giffords to plug for gun control. And the military, well they’re always there for whatever is needed, as a backdrop, most recently to frame the First Lady in her Oscar awards performance.
Even though, military regulations prohibit "the wearing of a military uniform during or in connection with the furtherance of any political or commercial interests,” according to the Department of Defense.
Obama is everywhere, very, very visible except when announcing the big stuff, policy stuff that affects you and me.
Take this week for instance, in anticipation of the Sequestration kicking in, without going on Good Morning America or calling a press conference, some 10,000 criminal, illegal aliens were released from detention centers, jail doors flung open, without a tip of the hat to any governors or citizens who would be affected.
Predictably when I last checked, in a "Not it,” moment, neither the President, nor his press secretary, nor the Department of Homeland Security knew who did that! Still don’t, but "they” know it’s not them.
Like Benghazi and Fast and Furious, Jay Carney channeled that the decision was made by faceless "career officials.”
You have to remember that before this, Immigration and Customs Enforcement had been rendered toothless in performing its duties since last year when Obama allowed ICE Director Morton to stop deportations except of those with criminal records. "Prosecutorial discretion” would be exercised for all others, namely anyone under 31 was home free, no questions asked.
Now documented criminals -- child molesters, murderers, just the kind of folks anyone would like to have in their state -- are being exempted as well.
"Please,” we say to Obama. "What the heck are you doing releasing criminals like this? Protect us! We live here!”
And you’re right. Probably nothing good can come from a thing like that.
This week he met with governors from our states. Sequestration was on the table.
On Sunday night, the White House released a report to the press detailing what Sequestration cuts would mean for the states. But Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said there was a problem.
"You all in the media got it before we got it, so I think it’s pretty clear,” said Gov. Walker, "those were put out for political purposes – not to educate the governors.”
"Stop pulling the rug out from elected governors,” we say "and talk to them when they are standing right in front of you. Enough is enough.”
"Please,” we say, "stop banishing the press from your meetings as you did at the meeting with our states’ governors this week.”
We could go on. We could ask why the president will not meet with Congressional representatives until the day the Sequester takes effect, this Friday.
We could say, "Please, choose a secretary of defense that doesn’t have the thumbs up endorsement of Iran and anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan who believes the U.S. Congress is controlled by the Israeli lobby.”
We could say, "Please, choose a secretary of state who, for his maiden voyage overseas doesn’t tell the world that ‘Americans have the right to be stupid;’ someone to whom the Russians would return a phone call and whom the Italians don’t heckle.”
But instead we say to President Obama: "You can’t scare us. You can’t threaten us.”
You couldn’t threaten Bob Woodward and make it stick. You couldn’t intimidate Dr. Ben Carson and "review” his speech before he gave it. And you can’t scare us.
Hold the line, America.