This morning on the Today Show I heard NBC’s political analyst Chuck Todd suggest that Barack Obama’s laughing incident on Sunday’s 60 Minutes was a consequence of the president’s fatigue. IN short: when asked on the CBS news program last evening about the economy the president did some extended chuckling as he framed his answers–so much chuckling that Steve Kroft of CBS asked the president to explain himself.
The president dutifully said that he didn’t think the economic state of the nation was funny but added that sometimes one has to see the dark humor in a bad situation. (The paraphrase is mine.)
“Well,” I thought. “If I ain’t a horn swoggled Deja-Vu Voulez Vous–I mean, what the heck–I mean didn’t we just get rid of a smirking sub-Cartesian-ding-Dong? I mean, weren’t we bargaining for big C Change?”
“What is it?” I asked just out loud enough that my dog looked up. “Is it the drinking water at 1600Pennsylvania Avenue? Do presidents move in, unpack their boy-toys, drink a glass of water and turn into Schmucks? Did the CIA engineer this back in 1960? (I know of no particular incident where J.F.K. laughed at the nation’s problems but he “did” bring Thumper and Bambi onto the premises for sexual hijinks in the White House swimming pool–an activity that requires some serious smirking.
Personally I don’t care if the president is tired. That’s what we elected him to be: tired. Tired beyond any routine level of human suspension. I want the man to be tired and serious. I want him to be serious as a Special Olympian. Serious as an Iowa farmer. Serious as all the people who are frightened out of their frigging wits because has anyone noticed–there are no jobs in Michigan?
Last night’s interview on CBS may have done the White House a whole lot of damage. CNN has a headline today: “First 100 days gone in 60minutes”. That may well be far fetched but perception is nine tenths of public relations and getting good will “back” in Washington or with the Washington “bubble” media is very hard to do.
S.K.
Planet of the Blind 