Obama's Message Wednesday Night
For most of the last 100 days, President Obama has fended off criticism that he is trying to do too much at once. He had no choice, he would counter. "We cannot successfully address any of our problems without addressing them all," he famously said in a radio address on February 21.
But on Wednesday, in his third primetime press conference, Obama moved beyond the defense of his actions to a confession of sorts. Doing so much at once, it turns out, is actually quite a chore. "The typical president, I think, has two or three big problems," he said, just hours after a flu pandemic was declared "imminent" by the World Health Organization. "We've got seven or eight big problems."
He went on. "I don't want to run auto companies, I don't want to run banks. I've got two wars I've got to run already. I've got more than enough to do," he said. "So the sooner we can get out of that business, the better off we're going to be."
A few minutes later, in response to another question, Obama returned to the same theme. "If you could tell me right now that, when I walked into this office that the banks were humming," he said, "that autos were selling, and that all you had to worry about was Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, getting health care passed, figuring out how to deal with energy independence, deal with Iran, and a pandemic flu, I would take that deal."
What to make of all this talk? It was not so much a complaint as an acknowledgment of the historical confluence of crises that have greeted Obama's first months in the White House. A list of the major issues Obama has faced down would include everything from pirate standoffs in the Indian Ocean to banking conflations in New York, from North Korean missiles to auto industry collapses, from floods in Fargo to swine flu in Mexico. It is the sort of sequence of events that would strain credulity if written in fiction, a sequence made all the more remarkable by the fact that for the early weeks, Obama and his staff were still learning their way around the White House. (According to the New York Times, on one particularly hectic day in the White House, Obama's top message man, David Axelrod, asked aloud of another aide, "What is this, a 'West Wing' episode?")
But Obama's point was not to plead for pity or sympathy. It was to prepare the American people for the long road ahead. "I'm humbled," he said. "By the American people who have shown extraordinary patience and I think a recognition that we're not going to solve all of these problems overnight." This was the second time in 60 minutes that he had thanked Americans for their patience.
The country, he was saying, is going to need it.
-
1
" . . . . the American people have shown extraordinary patience and I think a recognition that we're not going to solve all of these problems overnight." Tell it to Fox News, where one of the growing memes (complete with smacking lips) is "He can't keep blaming George Bush forever". NO, he can't. But he cannot fix a process of deregulation and deindustrialzation that has been 40 years in the making either. I was in Detroit in 1977 and saw that the Motor City was in real trouble and we have done precious little in the 32 years since to get that corner of the Rust Belt going. It is worth remembering that it has been 20 years since "Roger and Me' was filmed, a whole generation of manufacturing hemhorrage. So I say we give the guy another 100 days before we go crazy with the potshots.
-
2
"This was THE second time in 60 minutes that he had thanked Americans for their patience."
-
3
Agree with your take on this. Also, he's trying to counter the notion that intervening in crises = socialism.
.
Stephen Hayes on CNN: "However controversial these techniques..." Is "controversial" the new euphemism for "illegal"?
.
Ed Rollins was "bored" - Do all Republicans have short attention spans? -
4
You asked the best question of the nite, Scherer, and the only one that didn't really get a satisfactory answer, in MY very humble opinion. Were you looking for any specific response?
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. During the campaign, you criticized President Bush's use of the state secrets privilege, but U.S. attorneys have continued to argue the Bush position in three cases in court. How exactly does your view of state secrets differ from President Bush's? And do you believe presidents should be able to derail entire lawsuits about warrantless wiretapping or rendition if classified information is involved?
Well he DID say that he thought it was too "broad." Part II of your question was, eh, argumentative. Perhaps you'll follow up with a nice little Friday piece?
-
5
James LA
.
Welcome back man, haven't seen you in forever. -
6
Can't imagine a better presser Obama could have delivered. There is a reason why he won the election and is enjoying such high approval numbers in the midst of crises (most of which are not of his doing, but still).
-
7
I can't get past the feeling that MS is starting to realize the historical importance of this period and just far off the rails we have come in a way that was NOT apparent during the campaign season.
.
Certainly before the Wall Street meltdown and the bailout, everyone seemd to treat certain issues as if they were all just fun and games. I'm liking the change even if it means that Obama has to endure scrutiny that McCain would have been able to avoid by reciting platitudes. -
8
Michael:
I agree with James LA. Welcome back to the real world where problems exist and can not be solved by lowering taxes or invading another country.
-
9
Just watched the Cspan replay of the press conference. Let me agree with the other commenters, excellent question but not a satisfying answer.
Well done MS. -
10
Cspan replay: "Why God Invented Cspan" I am glad I am not the only one who needed to see the presser replayed. You earned your per diem Michael.
-
11
Hey sg, good to "see" you too.
.
Scherer's always been good on civil liberties issues. Especially when he perceives the Dems in violation. Remember how incensed he was about the protesters at the Dem convention? He wrote a great piece on that. Not so much at the RNC though. To be fair, that's no different than anyone else in DC. -
12
I thought he was a bit evasive on the torture issue, particularly in not answering whether he favored prosecuting those involved.
.
But as an aside to that, on the Cheney memos about it and the stuff in the yet-to-be declassified documents, he was as forceful as he could be in rebutting Cheney's claims without divulging anything.
.
He wrestled a lot, I think, not finding the words "high moral ground" when delivering his reasoning for not torturing.
.
These aren't complaints, just notes, but I thought it was great. It wasn't intended for anything other than a "working meeting" with the American people anyway. -
13
Good to see you, too, James!
-
14
[...] For many of a final 100 days, President Obama has fended off critique which he is perplexing to do as well most during once. He had no choice, he would counter. Continued here: Obama’s Message Wednesday Night (Time Magazine) [...]
-
15
hey fifty-three! long time no "see"!
.
How about that little Condi Rice:
"The United States was told, we were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture, and so by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture."
Huh. If the President authorizes it, that means acts that are acknowledged to be torture, when you do it, it's legal, so sez Condi Rice. Will the press hyperventilate about this, or not? -
16
MS: Nice job last night. Feel free to take some office supplies home as a bonus. Maybe a laptop? I really liked the line in your article "It is the sort of sequence of events that would strain credulity if written in fiction". I agree and there hasn't been a president in the last generation that I'd rather see dealing with all of this right now. It's such a relief to realize that what can be done is being done.
-
17
James LA!
.
True. Aint "seen" you since before that rock from space I warned 'em about hit!
.
Try this, for her reply:
"I didn't authorize anything. I conveyed the authorization of the administration to the agency, that they had policy authorization, subject to the Justice Department's clearance. That's what I did."
.
In other words (Arkele's, I believe):
.
Wasn' me! -
18
Condi pointed upstream...
-
19
Wouldn't it be worth a chuckle to see Condi on the stand nailin' the boss? I'll even supply a banner. "Mission Accomplished".
-
20
Shorter Obama in response to the Scherer question: "We're figuring out how far we can walk back Bush's excesses without actually jeopardizing national security. We'll go as far as we can as soon as we're sure we know how far that is. Until we're there we aren't going to overcompensate just to look good."
.
As someone who has been sickened by the Bush abuses I have no problem with the new guy's approach. -
21
sacredh:
.
It depends just in which context you are using the word nailin'. Forgive me, I'm still only on my second cup of coffee and havn't cleared out all the potential nightmares from my mind.
.
Thanks to you, I now have another!
FO:
.
Me neether. I think he might have been trying the Mandela approach, but after having learned that some of our treaties require us to prosecute the perps, I changed my mind. Just the same, I think his approach is about right. -
22
sacredh:
Edward Scissorhands... -
23
Sacred, did you see Will Ferrell's "You're Welcome America"....Condi got nailed alright!!
.
That show was pretty funny, anybody catch it? -
24
somepeoplelikeit: If that was the HBO special, I have it on the DVR but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.
53_3: Condi and Bush bumping uglies? I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth. -
25
somepeoplelikeit: You got the Featured Reader's Comment on the main Politics page.
- michaelscherer Gibbs says Desiree Rogers will not testify tomorrow before House on WH gatecrashers. - 1 hour ago
- michaelscherer Always a bad sign when you (NBC) have to preface every news report (Salahi) with big disclaimers that the parent company is not a factor. - 5 hours ago
- michaelscherer Ah.... Richard Wolffe. - 18 hours ago
Most Popular »
- "Personal Sins Should Not Require Press Releases"
- Congress's Tepid Reaction to Obama's Afghanistan Plan
- Tiger Speaks
- State Dinner, Uh, Fashion
- The 'Alice' Interview: A Very Different Brand of Wonderland
- Gleeks and Shrieks: Fox Unveils Midseason, Glee Gone Until April
- White House Hypocritical Attack on Politico
- The Dreaded X
- First Look: 'Lovely Bones' and Peter Jackson's Virtuoso Vistas
- False Economy: Think You're Saving Money? Think Again
- Helicopter Parents: The Backlash Against Overparenting
- Italian Town Dreams of a White (No Foreigners) Christmas
- Rachel Uchitel: Tiger Woods' Alleged Affair Connection
- Europe's Secret Nuclear Weapons: What Should NATO Do?
- Can Attack Dogs Be Rehabilitated?
- Why Fritz Henderson Resigned as GM's CEO
- Ireland: Lack of New Catholic Priests Spurs Campaign
- Study: Loneliness Can Be Contagious
- Could White House Party Crashers the Salahis Go to Jail?
- The End of the 2000s: Goodbye to a Decade from Hell
Quotes of the Day »
RSS