Stephanie
Diamond Member
- Jul 11, 2004
- 70,230
- 10,865
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Holy smokes..
SNIP:
President Barack ObamaEver had something really important on your mind that you couldn't shake no matter what you were doing? You put the butter in the kitchen drawer instead of the fridge because you were replaying the meeting you had with your boss that morning or stay stopped after the light turned green because you're thinking about that presentation tomorrow. Imagine, then, what it would be like to be President Obama holding the operation to kill Osama Bin Laden in your head while trying to go about your day.
FacebookDiggRedditStumbleUponCLOSEIn the timeline of the Bin Laden operation, we see just how closely the secret life of a president bumps against his public life. Though this operation was a special case, it puts in high relief an oft-forgotten truth about the presidency: The president is occupied by a lot more than the public can see.
This would seem obvious, but it gets lost in the endless assessments of whether the president is "showing leadership" on any given topic. Much of that coverage assumes a president with more time than he actually has, buffeted only by the facts we know.
During the period of intense focus on Bin Laden, other problems and issues the president was dealing with included: a government shutdown, a big speech on the budget, the start of his presidential campaign, the birth-certificate follies, and the bombing of Libya. Oh, and trying to "win the future."
The presidency distorts the brain like perhaps no other job on Earth. In the First Noggin, there must be many compartments locked double tight, so the president doesn't show anything on his face. Sometimes he must keep secrets even from the people who work down the hall. But each box has to be accessible immediately if a decision needs to be made. Sometimes the contents of these boxes are difficult and profound questions about life and death. Other times, they concern merely a president's political fortunes—which appeals to the ego, making them perhaps even more difficult to control. And all the while, there are legions of journalists and opponents trying to pry open these little boxes through force, shame, and flattery.
read it ALL if ya want..
Obama's secret meetings: How the president kept the public from knowing about the plan to kill Osama Bin Laden. - By John Dickerson - Slate Magazine
SNIP:
President Barack ObamaEver had something really important on your mind that you couldn't shake no matter what you were doing? You put the butter in the kitchen drawer instead of the fridge because you were replaying the meeting you had with your boss that morning or stay stopped after the light turned green because you're thinking about that presentation tomorrow. Imagine, then, what it would be like to be President Obama holding the operation to kill Osama Bin Laden in your head while trying to go about your day.
FacebookDiggRedditStumbleUponCLOSEIn the timeline of the Bin Laden operation, we see just how closely the secret life of a president bumps against his public life. Though this operation was a special case, it puts in high relief an oft-forgotten truth about the presidency: The president is occupied by a lot more than the public can see.
This would seem obvious, but it gets lost in the endless assessments of whether the president is "showing leadership" on any given topic. Much of that coverage assumes a president with more time than he actually has, buffeted only by the facts we know.
During the period of intense focus on Bin Laden, other problems and issues the president was dealing with included: a government shutdown, a big speech on the budget, the start of his presidential campaign, the birth-certificate follies, and the bombing of Libya. Oh, and trying to "win the future."
The presidency distorts the brain like perhaps no other job on Earth. In the First Noggin, there must be many compartments locked double tight, so the president doesn't show anything on his face. Sometimes he must keep secrets even from the people who work down the hall. But each box has to be accessible immediately if a decision needs to be made. Sometimes the contents of these boxes are difficult and profound questions about life and death. Other times, they concern merely a president's political fortunes—which appeals to the ego, making them perhaps even more difficult to control. And all the while, there are legions of journalists and opponents trying to pry open these little boxes through force, shame, and flattery.
read it ALL if ya want..
Obama's secret meetings: How the president kept the public from knowing about the plan to kill Osama Bin Laden. - By John Dickerson - Slate Magazine
