With moguls such as the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson bankrolling super PACs on the other side of this tight race, Obama needs all the help he can get. Whether or not that cold shoulder is the cause, Soros and his money are sitting this election out. Presumably acting at the president’s behest, Jarrett turned down the liberal billionaire’s request for a private meeting with Obama to discuss the economy. It seems that Obama neglects that task less because of his devotion to his family than because of his distaste for the process.Ī recent New York Times profile of Obama’s closest friend and adviser, Valerie Jarrett, revealed that the White House needlessly snubbed George Soros. But we all know that egos require stroking from time to time – elite ones, perhaps, most of all. It may be counterintuitive that people of elite status, whether by virtue of elective office or a hefty wallet, are so insecure that they need coddling before they will support a cause they believe in. While the president’s devotion to his family is something we can all admire, I wonder if he doth protest too much. After the meal, he helps his daughters with their homework. And so he makes sure that at 6:30 each evening he’s seated at the family dinner table. In other words, while he is America’s only president, he is also his daughters’ only father his duty to them demands that he take time out from his duty to his country. It actually really has more to do with us being parents.” Speaking to CNN’s Jessica Yellin for the documentary “ Obama Revealed: The Man, The President,” Obama denied that his apparent standoffishness results from an icy personality: “Sometimes Michelle and I not doing the circuit and going out to dinners with folks is perceived as us being cool. He refuses to attend to the care and feeding of the lawmakers whose votes he needs, and is reluctant to provide simple favors, such as posing for photographs, to the wealthy donors whose money he needs. He lacks the human touch, goes this line of thinking, in a business that demands it. ![]() Indeed, only a robot could perform so demanding a job without time spent away from it.Īlmost since he took office, President Barack Obama has faced criticism for a supposedly aloof style that causes him to neglect a key facet of his responsibilities. Until technology enables us to elect robots to the White House, we’re stuck with presidents who, like the rest of us, are human beings, mere mortals who must spend time with family, unwind with friends, sleep, eat, veg out in front of the TV. If the kids need help with homework, hire a tutor, whose time is not so precious.Įxcept that it doesn’t work that way. How can a president ever feel well-enough informed? How can he turn off his desk light, close up shop and retire to the White House residence to help his children with their homework? Presidents belong to us. Given the size and importance of their job, it’s natural that we resent any time they spend not studying, discussing, thinking about or building support for the decisions they must make – decisions that affect the lives of millions. We hire presidents to shoulder for us the weight of the world.
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