Just a few days ago, the White House griped to Politico that the war in Libya was preventing President Obama from tackling domestic problems, ruining his image as an “economic commander-in-chief fighting a series of new threats to the fragile U.S. recovery.” But now that Obama’s domestic leadership is actually needed, the president apparently can’t get out of D.C. fast enough:
Despite the impasse in Washington over federal spending, the president as of early Wednesday was scheduled to give two speeches outside of Washington: one on energy in the Philadelphia suburbs, then another Wednesday evening to a group of black political activists in New York.
What is it with Obama’s inability to focus on the important issues of the moment? He was absent for the first nine days of the Libya war, and eager to shrink the U.S. role in the mission as quickly as possible. And now he may disappear during a major government crisis in order to hobnob with the Rev. Al Sharpton and friends at a gala in New York. The president often speaks of himself as a leader, but when it comes time to do the actual leading he’s nowhere to be found.
