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Obama keeps calm
The president who so famously rejects drama and derides political theatre walked into the East Room at 1:45 pm during one of the wildest political stretches in recent memory.
The president who so famously rejects drama and derides political theatre walked into the East Room at 1:45 pm during one of the wildest political stretches in recent memory.
In the past few days, a White House spokesman was forced to defend Obama’s pugnacious chief of staff and his departed social secretary. A Republican senator held a spending bill hostage, despite protests within his own party. A Democrat considered resigning as chairman of a major House committee, then vowed to stay on, then announced he would take a leave of absence.
As this chaos ricocheted through the Capitol, the president entered in a pressed black suit, shoulders straight, eyes calm, voice measured. “At stake right now is not just our ability to solve this problem,” the president said, “but our ability to solve any problem.”
Also at stake now for Obama is his trademark composure, which will be tested like never before during the next two weeks.
On Wednesday, at least, he seemed to believe that steadiness and cogency still could be effective.
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