In response to the revelation that our commander on the ground in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has only spoken to Barack Obama once in the 70+ days he's been there, White House flak Robert Gibbs offers up the following defense:
White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs in a briefing Tuesday dispelled speculations that the President isn’t consulting with the general.
“The president receives a memo every week from General McChrystal,” Gibbs said.
As anyone who's ever been told to "put it in a memo" knows, that is tantamount to having one's issue ignored. But just out of curiosity - who does Barack Obama speak to on a regular basis?
Ah. Here we go :
[SEIU head Andy] Stern estimates he visits the White House once a week.
SEIU officials talk to senior Obama advisor Nancy-Ann DeParle about healthcare -- a top priority for Stern -- and to Obama aide Cecilia Munoz about immigration, Stern said.
Union leaders - unfettered access to the president. Military leaders, with the responsibility of winning a war while trying to protect the lives of the tens of thousands of soldiers under their command - one teleconference a quarter, apparently. Hey, flying to Copenhagen for a 24 hour jaunt is important too, and we've got to cut back somewhere to afford those critical "his and her" plane rides, right?
Realistically, most people shy away from stuff that doesn't interest them. It explains the rise of the internet as a news portal, actually - read only the news that fits your worldview, without glancing at opposing argument!
But when you take a job - any job - you are just as responsible for the parts of the job you don't enjoy as the once that bring you pleasure. Teaching is great fun, but you need to draw up lesson plans and grade papers. You can be a great salesmen, but if you don't send out invoices and write up reports, you'll never get paid.
I get that this president still is enraptured with what he perceives as his roots - trying to free the oppressed American worker from the shackles of capitalistic tyranny, and all that. But when you take the job (beg for it, actually) of president, you need to fulfill all of its requirements, not just the ones you like. Otherwise the whole thing just falls apart, and even your dreams of creating a socialist utopia in America can be derailed by refusing to pay attention to the details - in this case, the details being a winnable war that's being allowed to die on the vine due to indifference.
And what happens when one does not pay attention to the minutia of their job? Just ask some of the folks on the unemployment line...
Well Said
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