So you have to wonder what all those folks will do with this storyline once Mark Leibovich's book This Town about the incestuous and manipulative nature of those inside that bubble is finally published.
We already know that Politico reporters Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei are pretty nervous because they wrote what is clearly a pre-emptive strike on the book before its even published. But Jim Newell at The New Republic wrote that their reaction demonstrates exactly the point Leibovich is likely to make.
Politico attempts to pass off its column as a neutral, "fun" look at an anticipated Beltway book that's still under the lockdown of a particularly stringent publisher's embargo. But Allen and VandeHei don't do the discretion thing very well, and it's clear before long that this is their clunky attempt to kneecap a writer whose upcoming revelations may well depict them as the people that they are: obsessive insiders who are obsessed with insiderism.From what I've seen so far, none of this is really all that newsworthy or interesting except that I'm always up for a Politico takedown.
But as a justification for why President Obama keeps his distance from all of that insider obsession, its a pretty powerful statement. Its clear the culture is sick and dysfunctional. That the President choses to remain cold, aloof and detached from it all speaks boldly to his own wisdom. That none of them seem to notice speaks only to their own obsession with it.
I'm pretty aloof and detached when I really don't like a particular person. Why should the president have to lower himself to spend time with those scumbags?
ReplyDeleteVic78
Yeah, that's why he won 332 electoral votes, because he's so detached and aloof.
ReplyDeleteI think he knows this is temporary. Unlike the crowd in DC, he has friends all over the place, especially back in Chicago, and wants to keep them. Not only that, he wants to spend time with his daughters while they are still young, keep his marriage strong, and get as much rest as his job allows. Going to endless cocktail parties with those folks wastes precious time and energy for no result.
ReplyDeleteHells bells, the President has to travel so often that he wants to spend what time is actually "his" with his family. He's not a social butterfly; they need to get over it. I'm sure every hostess in DC would consider it a real triumph to snag an RSVP from the White House stating that President Obama would be happy to attend this or that function they were putting on.
ReplyDeleteHe's a private person. So what? If they want to "know" him, all they have to do is look at his policies. The policies ARE Barack Obama -- and thank God for that.
They could read his books, check his voting records, talk to his law students, and pay attention when he gives interviews. That would give anyone a god enough idea what he's like.
DeleteVic78