I'll be the first to admit that Obama had a bad day yesterday. The Iranians and the North Koreans were rattling their sabers, and Obama's conciliatory "unclench your fist" line has only been making things worse. The message of hope and change hasn't been quite as contagious as expected.
Moreover, Obama lost his Health Care Czar nominee, and his Performance Officer nominee—both for the same reason: more tax embarrassing tax scandals. Apparently Joe Biden is Obama's only friend who takes his patriotic duties seriously.
To make matters worse, as the economy continues to circle the drain, the highly partisan stimulus plan is becoming increasingly unpopular with the public and is running out of steam in the Senate. To get bipartisan support, it will need a radical makeover.
The clock is ticking. Reporters are asking annoying questions. Obama apologists are working overtime to smooth things over, but things look awful right now. Irrational exuberance is giving way to the grim reality of running the world's most important country during tough times.
So on Tuesday, under the cumulative pressure of two weeks on the job, Obama left the White House on short notice to chill out with second-graders. It's apparently a great way for presidents to decompress, but if we learned only one thing from 9/11, it's that world leaders can't sit around reading storybooks with grade schoolers when there's important work to be done.
Obama is cracking under the pressure, and Ahmadinejad and the North Koreans are lovin' it. If Obama can't handle the heat, he needs to make way for someone who can do the job.
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Obama escapes
"We were just tired of being in the White House," the president candidly told the gleeful second-graders at Capital City Public Charter School.
Withdrawal Syndrome
There's no question that the seemingly well-oiled machine of the transition has not hummed quite as smoothly in the first weeks of the Obama administration. The three appointees ought to have been thoroughly vetted and considered during the transition to avoid a conflagration at a time when President Obama has a government to run.
Why Daschle Withdrew His Nomination (according to George Stephanopoulos)
Already depressed by the recent discovery that his younger brother is stricken with brain cancer, Daschle wasn't prepared for another week of Senate hazing and damaging headlines. Stephanopoulos, your credibility is no good here.
North Korea Rattling Sabers
North Korea appears to be preparing to test-launch its longest range ballistic missile, media reports said on Tuesday, stoking tensions just days after the reclusive state warned that the Korean peninsula was on the brink of war. North Korea last week scrapped all agreements with South Korea, a move analysts said was in response to Seoul's tough policies toward Pyongyang as well as designed to grab the attention of U.S. President Barack Obama.
Iran launches satellite
Iran says it has launched its first domestically made satellite into orbit. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the launch had been successful and that with it Iran had "officially achieved a presence in space". A US state department official said the launch was of "great concern" and could lead to ballistic missile development.
Only 38 percent of Americans favor the existing stimulus proposal.
Creepy Obama worship from the Detroit Free Press: See Obama in yourself—and take a photo for our gallery.
Warning: facts are often mixed with parody on this blog, read at your own risk.
