The Eight Year Vacation

Something caught my attention in the news. Actually a few somethings. It seems that President Obama never hears about any crisis until he hears it in the news. That struck me as odd. I understand that President Obama is a little fast and loose about his morning security briefing. After all it's not much fun to get out of bed early, shower, dress, and have breakfast and be ready for a briefing at 8 am. He's lucky he doesn't have a commute, like most Americans.

Presidents get briefed on all sorts of things. Not necessarily deep briefings. Just little FYI one page, just so you're aware briefings. I think that the problem is that the President likes to talk more than he likes to listen. After all, he is the smartest man in the world. I know this because Chris Mathews said it is so.

So the President is a schmoozer. How many days in Mr. Obama's reign has he given at least two speeches. He must write these speeches himself since, by his own admission, he is a better speech writer than his speech writers. I write, and I know it takes a lot of time to get the words just right and make the exact point that you wish to make.

And then there is the flying. President Obama has taken over one thousand trips on Air Force One. That would also mean over two thousand trips on Marine One. That's a lot of hours in the air. Travel is tiring so much rest is required so that one appears fresh and bright as on disembarks their favorite mode of transportation. That is even more important for a public figure.

Add in lots and lots of golf days and date nights and big celebrity bashes. That all really cuts into the fund raising time. A President must be out amongst the rich, famous, and infamous to separate them from their money. This takes a lot of hours shaking hands an sipping champagne. What is a hard working politician to do.

I know that the President knows that he was hired to be CEO of the country. I know another thing. In spite of his vaunted intelligence, he has no idea how to do the job. So he does what he enjoys doing most of the time, and his staff takes care of the real work. He's not a hands on worker. He's an idea man. You know, a creative type. Yep taking an eight year vacation gives you plenty of time to be creative.