Talk About Posturing

[babylonsister]

http://www.slate.com/id/2250576/pagenum/all/#p2

Talk About Posturing
Palin and Gingrich are wrong about Obama's nuclear strategy.
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Monday, April 12, 2010, at 12:22 PM ET


Long ago, during one of President Lyndon Johnson's informal Oval Office press gaggles, a reporter put forth a particularly trivial question. LBJ gave him a hard look and said, "You're talkin' to the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world, and you ask a chickenshit question like that?"

Barack Obama must have longed for those days last week when, sitting for an exclusive interview on ABC News, he was asked by host George Stephanopoulos to comment on Sarah Palin's critique of his Nuclear Posture Review.

Obama might have considered three options in replying. He could have gone LBJ on Stephanopoulos (no longer a real option); he could have dealt with her attack seriously; or he could have dismissed the question's premise.

He chose the last option. "Last I checked, Sarah Palin's not much of an expert on nuclear issues," Obama said, adding, "If the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are comfortable with it, I'm probably going to take my advice from them and not from Sarah Palin."

In retrospect, that turned out to be the right approach. The next day, at a convention of Southern Republicans, Palin scratched back, poking fun at Obama for "all the vast experience that he acquired as a community organizer."

If there were any doubts that Sarah Palin is a total idiot, she settled them with that single statement.

Was the former half-term governor of Alaska really claiming that the president of the United States has no more experience on nuclear matters than she does? For starters, he has been the president of the United States for the past 15 months, making momentous decisions about war and peace, getting the briefing on the nuclear war plan, and chairing a dozen meetings at which top generals and other advisers deliberated over the Nuclear Posture Review (which, it's worth noting, is a document signed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, who was also a top adviser or Cabinet officer to both President Bushes).

snip//

What's really going on is this: The Republicans are looking for any excuse to lambaste anything that this president says or does. You'd think matters of national security might be exempt from this election strategy, but apparently you'd be wrong.

[elleng]

1. Correct, 'you'd be wrong.'

They're after blood, but they ain't gonna get any!

"You're talkin' to the commander in chief of the most powerful military in the world, and you ask a chickenshit question like that?"

[FrenchieCat]

2. Trifling things they are........

which makes them not only dangerous, but frightening.

[polichick]

3. Wish the prez would be choosier about interviewers...

There's nothing to be gained by subjecting himself to idiots like Stephanopoulos - Palin ran with his answer and it played well with that crowd. No matter how he'd answer such a ridiculous question, they'd run with it.

[babylonsister]

4. Unfortunately, if his intent is to reach the most people via a network

program, his options are few despite all that 'librul media' out there.

[polichick]

5. imo it's better to air talks from the WH every once in a while...

Let the people hear what President Obama has to say directly and without stupidity.

[Clio the Leo]

7. He's simply using the same technique he used during the campaign....

.... while WE were all listening to that Palin woman yap her way through the last few days of the '08 campaign on the cable news, the President, Vice President, First Lady, the Clintons, etc. etc. were monopolizing the LOCAL affiliate news in the swing districts. Pushing their message to those crucial undecideds (this is via Plouffe's book.)

I would LOVE for the WH to take the message directly to the people, but I'm not sure how he does that (in a traditional, televised manner anyway) without the press.

They are, however, making taking full advantage of the internet, using it in a way that it's never been used before.

Here's an example of their latest thing, it's cute ...

http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse#p/u/7/rrjE8cmJ6Fw

BTW, this post seems a little argumentative w/you, that's not my intent ... just using your post as an opportunity to point out what I believe to be the WH continuing to use a strategy that worked well for them in the past. ;)

[Clio the Leo]

6. "And back to half-term Governor Palin for her reaction to this week's nuclear security summit...."

(crickets)

[discopants]

8. I believe those "community organizing" skills just paid off

as witnessed in President Obama's success in organizing the international community.

=)