Turns out that President Obama’s threat against Syria on chemical weapons being a “red line” in the civil war there was a rare unscripted moment – one that has brought the U.S. to the brink of a rare war it doesn’t want.
Crisis: Authenticity Alert!
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication and WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a contributor to Centerclip and co-host of "The Final Countdown" talk show on Radio Sputnik. He is a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "2024: Revisited."
4 Comments. Leave new
Foreign policy is foreign policy. If anything, this just proves that the president doesn’t create foreign policy.
Ted,
The office of president was specifically invented so that the people would have a single entity to whom they could look in time of crisis — one voice taking charge in the burning theater. Part of the way to defuse the potential for scripting is by having a press corps that really puts the screws to the president during a press conference.
When was the last time that happened? Seriously, can anyone recall the last time a group of hard-nosed, humorless reporters with facts and figures at the ready started grilling the president? They sure as hell didn’t do that on 9/11 when Dubya finally sobered up enough to be pushed in front of a podium. They sure aren’t doing it now.
How many press conferences has Obama had by the way? Two? Three?
Reporters stopped doing their jobs not long after Connie Chung and Dan Rather lost their for going after politicians who had the clout to have them fired. 🙁
Reporters stopped doing their jobs not long after Connie Chung and Dan Rather lost theirs for going after politicians who had the clout to have them fired. 🙁