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Obama needs a "time out"
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In just 2 short months, the new president has been busy with the following.
Hosts Wednesday night cocktail hour with friends and foes at the White House
Attended special concerts at the WH including Stevie Wonder and Earth, Wind & Fire
Met the Jonas Brothers
Vacationed at Camp David
Visited Chicago and even squeezed in a pick-up-game of basketball
Hosted a Superbowl party where guests were served $100 steaks
Made an appearance on ESPN to choose his NCAA bracket
Appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno where he said he's "been practicing" bowling bringing his score up to 129
Traveled to California for press ops and townhall meetings seeking support for his budget
Accompanied elementary students for a chit-chat with astronauts
Met with the Boy Scouts of America
Appeared on 60 Minutes where he showed off the first swingset and laughed at the economy
Has spent time with his family including spring break and dates with Michelle
Obama has also been busy working in between practicing his bowling and catching the NCAA tournament.
Spoke at the joint sessions in March
Signed into law SCHIP and Stem Cell legislation, a $787 billion stimulus bill that no one has read in its entirety, an omnibus bill totaling more than $400 billion with nearly 9,000 earmarks and several executive orders
Wrote letter to former French president Jacques Chirac
Holds weekly Youtube addresses to the internet savy
Taken control of AIG, GM and other formerly privately held companies
Appointed nominees for cabinet posts and staff positions including the Treasury, HHS, Commerce, Secretary of State and others
Met with Prime Minister of England Gordon Brown (remember the gift fiasco)
Sent a Youtube video to Iran that was met with ridicule
Pre-empted regularly scheduled prime time programming 3 times
Has held several closed door meetings with advisors, senators and congressmen reportedly to discuss AIG bailouts, earmarks and more
What Obama obviously hasn't had time for, and what he didn't learn in the several short days he spent on Capitol Hill as a Senator, are the traditions, notions of respect, prestige and the properness that should be upheld by he who occupies the coveted office of the President of the United States of America.
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In an AP article on Feb 5, a reporter describes how a very excited Obama broke from protocol just before his first trip on Marine One. Apparently, he was so gitty about having his own helicopter that he forgot to salute the Marine at the foot of the stairs of the aircraft. Instead, Obama extended his arm for a handshake. The shocked Marine immediately returned to salute following the awkward moment.
This isn't Obama's first break from tradition in the last 60 days. He gave his first interview as president to an Arab satelite television station. Typically, the White House press corps has first dibs at the first official interview. Some have said that was disrespectful to the WH press.
Obama doesn't understand the importance of the Marines and the respect they deserve either. In an unprecidented slap-in-the-face move, Obama has ditched the U.S. Marine Band and replaced them with a single piano player. No longer will we hear the traditional "Hail to the Chief" when the president enters an event. In its place we could hear pop, jazz or traditional music of his choosing. Obama's favorite so far has been Sting's Arab-themed "Desert Rose."
The dress code in the Oval Office has also been far more slack than Obama's predecessors. According to reports, suit jackets are no longer required and rolled sleeves are the norm. Being that Obama prefers the room temperature close to 80 degrees, rolled sleeves may be necessary, but even sweatpants have now made an appearance in the most prestigious office in the nation.
Obama recently declined an invitation to the Gridiron Banquet to spend some quality spring break time with his daughters. Not since Grover Cleveland held office has a president not attended the extremely formal event. The backlash from this may still be to come as the Gridiron Banquet is made up of prominent Washington elite including statesmen, columnists and bureau chiefs. Reports have surfaced that some from the organization are not happy. Telegraph UK spoke with a reporter from Chicago who said that people feel "miffed" that the invitation was snubbed.
Other traditions broken include removing the Winston Churchill bust from the White House, and the refusal of a state dinner and dual press conference with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Obama also starts his workday significantly later than presidents past. According to reports, he prefers to work out, eat breakfast with his family, read several newspapers and see his daughters off to school before he clocks in around 9am. That is about 2 hours later than George W. Bush.
More disturbing than the changes in dress code or the hours of operation are the gravely significant changes in policy and the blatant disregard for the Constitution and the nation's free market system.
With the unions now running amock, campaign contributions and support more important than integrity, and the downright disregard for the capitalistic set of laws set forth in the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, the current administration has taken America on a path that is far from what her framers intended.
Then there's the stock market. Since the inauguration, the Dow has slipped 2,000 points. It had already fallen nearly 2,000 points since election day. Analysts and news personalities have weighed in saying:
"There's no confidence in Obama's plan. The markets respond to data." - Sean Hannity"The stock market is also demonstrating a lack of confidence in the president's big government agenda." - Lou Dobbs
It seem that every day there is another news story of how America is on the brink of total collapse if not for the Obama administration stepping in. Every few days viewers are seeing the face of our cool and collected Commander in Chief on every cable news station, local news shows, late night comedy bits and daytime talk shows. And every time the great one speaks, even when he says, "let me be clear," the markets tank.
A CNN poll earlier this month suggested that Americans believe Obama is doing too much. People were starting to get confused with his agenda, the markets were unsure of policies and on any given day, Obama could be holding a presser on anything from stem cell research to plans for a civilian militia.
Once the poll got out and other media outlets began reporting on the results, Team Obama changed strategy a bit and gave the president 3 things he was allowed to talk about - healthcare, energy and education. Just before his press conference last Tuesday, I predicted that his answers would focus solely on those 3 things so that viewers could finally see a clear vision from their president. There wer 13 diverse questions asked. Obama answered 11 of them with the big 3.
President Obama may have an ambitious agenda to save the world from annihilation due to greenhouse gasses, educate every child in the world to believe in the liberal, we-are-all-victims mantra, and to provide government-run healthcare to every resident (legal or not) of the United States, but it's time for a little time-out.
Why not take just a few minutes to reflect on what has been done for the last 2 months? Why not evaluate the ethics, morals, standards and policies that have led us to the confused state we are in? I propose, no... I beg of the president, take a few days off. Give us all a chance to take in the poor hand you have dealt us. Read a few of the bills you are signing into law and consider the consequences, not just the benefits for those with whom you owe favors. Keep your promise to allow both lawmakers and citizens to evaluate bills being brought to your desk. Give us the 5 days you promised.
Why do you have to move so fast on every piece of legislation and every decision from the White House? The democrats will continue to hold the power of the votes until the next election cycle, so why the rush? I understand that you and your staff don't want to "let a good crisis go to waste" as you have said, but maybe it's time to just relax a bit and reflect.
Take a time-out Mr. President. It works miracles on the Super Nanny.
AP Photo Gerald Herbert
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