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Saturday, May 4, 2013
Obama's Press Conference--Obama Sounds Tired Out
On Tuesday, Obama had a long-awaited press conference which has received considerable criticism. Obama was criticized for being passive, not even beginning the conference with an opening statement. Then in response to many of the questions asked, "he often found himself remarking on the difficulty of his job: intelligence sharing (“this is hard stuff”), closing Gitmo (“it’s a hard case to make”), Republican governors blocking his health-care law’s implementation (“that makes it harder”) and responding in Syria (“it is a difficult problem”)." He also revealed much frustration at the uncooperative Congress. For example, Obama mentioned signing into law a bill about flight delays which he disapproved of. When asked why he went along with it, Obama said that he "cannot force Republicans to embrace those common-sense solutions.” Unfortunately for him, this kind of slow government is what America was setting itself up for when it created separation of powers. People have also been making a big deal of when Obama said "If you put it that way, Jonathan, maybe I should just pack up and go home. Golly. I think it's a little — as Mark Twain said, rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated at this point." This comment seems to me to reveal an almost given-up attitude, and as one article said, it "prompted immediate online coverage that made the president sound downright self-pitying." Personally, I sympathize with Obama's plight. It must be tiring to always constantly have to look good for the public and make things work where others don't cooperate. But then again, that's basically been the president's job description from the beginning.
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While some people might interpret President Obama's complaints as whining, I sympathize with the enormous burden that comes with being the president of the United States. Having to deal with Congress, public opinion, the bureaucracy, etc. everyday is quite taxing (pun not intended). Especially thanks to recent events (Boston bombings, Israel utilizing an airstrike in Syria, Benghazi, etc.), he must have been even more stressed than before. Not sure if the Mark Twain quote is appropriate enough fir this situation though.
Understandably, the Founders created the legislative process with the idea that it would be slow in order to encourage debate so the best possible legislation could be passed. However, as the president noted, this has created gridlock that has prevented him from getting important legislation through. Notably, his recent push for gun control legislation has completely failed due to the reluctance of Congress.
Overall, it is understandable, as Tina said, that Obama is feeling the pressure in his second term. Hopefully he does not stay this way and gets his confidence back (well, we can hope anyway...). Sometimes, you cannot just rush things. The president just thinks Congress (and this blog) is in a period of stagnation right now. I am not sure if Obama's words will tug at the heartstrings of Republicans, but it would be nice to think it would push them to work more effectively and quickly to combat America's problems.
I believe that there is only so much one can take before he starts to break down. Especially with all the recent misfortunes, both domestic and foreign, that Obama is currently dealing with. Hopefully this is just a one time thing, and Obama does not show his irritation in future public appearances. Though, like Tina, I sympathize with him, I don't think this was very professional of the president. Being the face of America, he needs to keep his attitude in check.
As Tina and Savanna mentioned, the president must always look good for the public, and Obama didn't do that. Citizens have always looked for a strong, leader with a clear mission during trouble (look at FDR during the Depression), but in modern days is this subpar conference due to the extensive coverage of the presidency? With the increased media attention on the President, more people are looking to him and the government to handle everything with expertise. Perhaps this is an opportunity to remind ourselves that Presidents are human and feel discouraged just like citizens.
Then again, could this be the media's fault? When I was listening to NPR on Tuesday morning, there was a panel on issues that Obama would perhaps talk about (Syria, Obama Care, Gitmo, etc.) Due to the conference start time being delayed, most of the time the moderator was stalling. Overall the media jumped on the press conference expecting that something big would be revealed, but instead was faced with their own expectations being disappointed. Again, maybe the media is expecting too much out of one man.
The aphorism "if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all," makes me wonder why Obama even held this press conference if he didn't have anything new to add.
I agree with what many of the others are saying. Though Obama is the president, he is human with a lot of problems on his plate, it is no surprise he seemed worn out. With Sandy Hook and the Boston Marathon Bombings, it is no surprise that Obama appears this way. Personally, I am disgusted with humanity for these events, and I can understand how emotionally draining they must be on the president. I can also see how dealing with Congress is quite a burden, however, that is a part the President's job, and as tiresome as it may be, he has to deal with it. As Savannah and Matthew said, he needs to gain his confidence back and be strong when addressing the public. His job is incredibly challenging, but if the President can not be strong when he is in front of his people, then others may feel dejected about America.
I think it's completely fair to say that Obama has one of the most (if not the most) strenuous and difficult jobs, and I agree that it is important for him to remain strong and professional for the sake of the public. However, I don't think that he can be expected to be perfect at all times--whether his decisions or ideas or even aspects of his personal life are "good" or "bad," he meets with harsh criticism daily, and is constantly under the pressure of not only getting his job done, but knowing that that scrutiny is there. I don't think Obama is in any danger of crumbling, I think he was just particularly tired or frustrated.
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