President Obama held the second press conference of his 63-day-old presidency last night and once again came across as steady, unflappable, and up to the enormous task. He showcased his command of the issues confronting our great nation, reminded everyone that the pile of shit dust he is trying to clean up was left behind by the incompetents of the previous administration, and reiterated the fact that it is going to take a long time pull out of it.After eight years of speeches and press conferences that were written and read as if by a C- junior high school student with lazy speech patterns, Mr. Obama's competence was front and center last night, reassuring Americans of all political stripes that he has command of things and that the grown ups are back at the helm.
Add to that the fact that the President ventured out into rough seas last night, calling on members of the press who could be labeled as a bit "unfriendly." The AP, the Washington Times, and even ABC's Jake Tapper have all been accused of having pretty strong right-wing leanings over the last couple of years, and their reporting has had a slight anti-Obama edge. And Obama went out of his way to call on them for questions last night. No male hooker press plants for this president, no sir. (In fact, President Obama shook things up further by not calling on such traditional media outlets as the New York Times and the Washington Post.)
The questions by these reporters weren't necessarily gotcha questions (although Chuck Todd's came from the far reaches of outer-space), but Obama handled them with ease none the less. I think only the bat-shit crazies on the far right could have come away from last night's press conference thinking Mr. Obama is unable to handle the enormous problems left behind by Hurricane George.
As for mainstream America, they know full well who is responsible for the mess. And right now they're willing to give the new president some time to figure it all out as he tries to put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
