Rest assured, America. Barack Obama has confidence in his own instincts again.
In the first two years of Obama’s presidency, his top aides had grown accustomed to a process in which Obama drew out and explored the views of his full team and searched for a consensus — decision by ballot, some called it.
Increasingly, however, that process has changed, according to a wide group of Obama’s personal friends, informal advisors and top aides interviewed during the spring. In recent months, they say, the president has been relying more heavily on his own instincts and feeling less impelled to seek accord among advisors.
Apparently his advisors can bore him quite a bit. The White House released this photo with the caption, “President Barack Obama listens during a meeting with advisors in the Oval Office, June 8, 2011.”
You may scoff at the notion of Obama not trusting his own amazing decision-making powers, but I had wondered if those self-comparisons to LeBron James were actually a very subtle form of self-criticism.
Finally, President Obama – author of two memoirs by the age of 45, speaker of the famous argument, “I won,” the man who famously assured his party that they wouldn’t endure a 1994-style shellacking because they had him, the man who gave an iPod of his speeches to the Queen of England, the man who claimed his election would trigger the falling of oceans and the healing of the sick, the man who believed the best candidate to be his chief of staff was himself – has overcome all of that crippling self-doubt.
Obviously, his grandmother didn't make much headway with "keep your feet off the furniture!"
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseComment didn't go through last time.
In past presidencies, you typically had in-fighting. Powerful people in small rooms trying to get their position to be policy. Havent' heard any of that in this guy's tenure. I wonder why not. Or, maybe, it's just around the corner as he decides to decide things by his lonesome.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Why is this person talking to me about Small business."
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI have a SportsCenter to watch.
Feet off the furniture ... didn't your mother teach you anything ?
(At least he has a flag pin ... :)
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abusewell, at least he's not scratching his head with his middle finger ... Hillary must not be in the room ...
oh, wait ... maybe that is a double FU ...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseDid they airbrush out the ear buds?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhoever decides on which photo get officially released from the White House and this administration needs to be reassigned, because they keep giving pictures full of bad impression. Remember the official photo of Obama enjoying the scenery in the Rose Garden at the same time the memorial ceremony for the Polish President was going on (The ceremony where, for many reasons, Obama could not attend?)? Now we have a photo showing this reaction to his advisors?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhat, the vaunted "cabinet of rivals" is no more?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMagnificent crease in those slacks, though.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMake that "author".
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI find that I am truly annoyed by the disrespect that Obama continually displays towards the "people's house". The feet on the White House Oval Office coffee table is the perfect image to display every time he pulls another one. Examples include vile rap artists in the White House and Mao decorations on one of the White House Christmas trees. The man works a lot fewer hours than my husband who is 49 and hasn't been able to find the time over his entire life to golf half of outings Obama has WHILE POTUS! It would be interesting to add up all of his recreation time, golf, vacations, parties, fund raisers and travel time... How has he had any time to do the actual work of POTUS? Oh yeah, forgot he can also have the AUTOPEN of theUS do the actual signing of bills as well.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWell, after all, he is more prepared than the people briefing him, isn't he?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMaybe he's watching a one-sided basketball game on TV.
Halfway seriously, I agree that the White House should get a clue on which photos to release. I can see this one turning up in a Romney attack ad. Not that Obama doesn't deserve it, but his photographers are supposed to help him look good.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse