Tristero hits the nail on the head with this post. What has been bugging me for a while now with the Louisiana crisis is not whether or not Obama was doing the right thing to lead the crisis, or whether he did the right thing before the crisis. We can argue about that with facts and expectations.
But somehow, the media (and the right) seemed to think that he had to be the father, or brother, or whatever, of the country, not a leader making cool decision.
I am happy that tristero from Hullabaloo (who has had his share of disagreement with Barak Obama on policy) makes the point on the blog.
We need leaders, not cheerleaders!http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/two-letters-from-times-by-tristero.html
Two Letters From The Times
by tristero
The Times has some astute letter writers:
To the Editor:
Re “Once More, With Feeling,” by Maureen Dowd (column, May 30):
Where is it written that the president of the United States should be everyone’s “daddy”?
We elected a president, and this one, for a change, is bright, articulate and coolheaded, and appears to work very hard to understand the troubling problems confronting the United States and most of the world.
This country’s leaders and its people are not participants in a TV reality show or Facebook “friends.” There are many serious issues to be addressed and we do not need a weepy, angry, emotional president “feeling” his way to solutions. It is a dearth of critical thinking, contingency planning and discipline that has brought us to our present sorry state.
Barbara Hood
Louisville, Ky., May 31, 2010
•
To the Editor:
It’s discouraging to see many calling for the president to “get angry” or show more outward emotion regarding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. What would that accomplish?
The president is not some puppet that must lash out as some in the public might find appropriate. He’s the president. And you know what? He’s acting like one.
Dylan J. Taatjes
Boulder, Colo., May 30, 2010
To those amongst my dear readers who simply cannot abide a blogpost that defends Obama without also dissing him, I"m sorry to disappoint you but these letter writers are, imo, 100% right.
...
I know many people find this difficult to believe, but leading the United States (translated: the world, at least in the early 3rd Millenium) requires a slightly different skill-set and emotional makeup than composing string quartets. Gut instinct just doesn't cut it: reason does. Emotional lability leads to erratic, bizarre decision making. You really want someone calm, cool, and collected as president. You most certainly don't want a hothead like Bush or - just as frightening - McCain. In short, you want someone smart and in control of his emotions - if not Obama, then someone with equal or greater ability for rational thought and - unavoidably - someone capable of deep political calculation.
...
So these calls for Obama to behave like a Big Daddy to rage and weep are worse than stupid and embarrassing. They're ignorant and dangerous. As I see it, it is to Obama's great credit that he has made a point, since he was president, not to play the populist rabble rouser. Genuine governance is ill-served by some power freak who's trying to tap into America's inner Tom Friedman and goes around saying, and far worse, believing this is the way a president should think:
One of the things I would do if I were President would be to sit the Shiites and the Sunnis down and say, 'Stop the bullshit
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