Two Huge Int’l Crises Can’t Alter Busy Schedule of Fundraiser-in-Chief

Concha: Two Huge Int’l Crises Can’t Alter Busy Schedule of Fundraiser-in-Chief
Mediaite ^ | 17 Jul 2014 | Joe Concha 
Posted on 7/17/2014 5:00:36 PM by mandaladon
Jon Stewart was exactly right during the open of his Monday show this week: The world really has gone mad.
Actually, Monday now looks in retrospect downright tranquil compared to what we’re seeing on our television sets and on our phones this afternoon. A commercial airliner with 295 people on board — including reportedly 23 Americans — are killed after a plane is shot down in Ukraine. Who exactly is responsible (pro-Russian separatists are suspected) has not been confirmed. More importantly, the State Department hasn’t confirmed any Americans were on the flight.
As if this wasn’t enough, a few hours later, reports of an Israeli ground offensive being launched in Gaza broke as well. A chaotic day in an already much-heavier-than-usual month for news in the middle of summer.
With every story, particularly the big ones, there’s always a political element to it when it comes to the Commander-In-Chief. What’s his reaction? How is he leading in a difficult time? We saw the analysis after 9/11 with former President George W. Bush… who was criticized in some circles for being too passive while reading to school children during a trip to Florida that morning as the attacks were initially unfolding. We heard the same kind of criticism after Hurricane Katrina.
President Obama has faced the same kind of criticism in regards to his reaction to big events as well. But in Mr. Obama’s case, there’s an unsettling and dumbfounding pattern that has clearly emerged: The need to attend fundraisers as important events–the kind of events that call for the President to return to the White House Situation Room for monitoring and assessment of said events while being debriefed by military brass and talking with our allies, including Israel–unfold in real time.

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