When MSNBC starts criticizing President Obama for being aloof then we know he has a problem.
The presidential criticism of the day revolves around imagery. A photo op. On one side: the President playing and joking in Colorado. On the other: countless children in immigration warehouses on the border. All the while the President visits Texas, but not the border.
In this situation, however, the media and finger-wagging democrats need to acknowledge that Obama loses more if he goes to the border than if he doesn’t. Any photo even remotely looking like a concerned American President touring an immigration facility is a giant billboard saying “America welcomes you all”. That will only make the problem worse for everyone involved. There’s a reason that the emergency immigration funding Obama seeks (that Congress is not doing anything about) includes media outreach to the key Central American countries to broadcast that there is no amnesty for illegal immigrants.
What is President Obama doing about the immigration crisis? Not much. Nor can he. It requires Congress to act. Cry as the left and people living on the border might, a presidential visit doesn’t fix the immigration problem. Congress has to, and we all know they’re basically useless. America needs to deal with the humanitarian crisis first (take lead from the Dallas Country Judge), the Congress finally has to do something… which of course they won’t until 2015… if they do anything at all because complaining raises more money than action in Republicanland.
As I write this there are Republican Party senators on the floor of the Senate partaking in a back-and-forth dialog as if they’re putting on a play. It’s somewhat surreal, like memories of Junior High History Day. Some of the speeches from the right are so opportunistically hypocritical that I feel like my head will explode. They are the people who need to be doing something, but instead they put on political melodramas for their donor base on the floor of the Senate!
Maybe it’s reverse psychology. Republicans in Congress have shown they refuse to pass even their own bills if the issue is supported by the President. Is it possible that they’ll finally take up immigration reform if the President acts as though he is against it? At this point I’d bet Obama would try any strategy.
Reaction to Obama’s Non-Action
The left seems puzzled. The hard left is criticizing. Sarah Palin (as usual) is throwing impeachment into every snarky interview, and everyone right of center is joyous because Obama looks aloof and weak. If Obama goes to the border and makes a speech saying everyone has to go home, then the left hates him. If he goes and looks compassionate, then the right hates him even more. When you lose either way, sometimes its best not to play.
If you disagree with the lose / lose situation, look at the current status: the Tea Party photoshops Obama wearing a sombrero because they think he’s letting everyone into the country. The democrats call him “The Deporter in Chief” because his administration has deported more people than any that came before him. What is Obama doing about the immigration crisis? Other than throwing a lot of money at a broken system, not much. That’s about all he can do as President. We’re forced to ask, then: is his outward attitude a political move, or has he simply given up because Congress is an impossible group of sugar-high children who can’t tie their own shoes?
We’re stuck in the Obama Era Washington Catch 22: Congress won’t do anything, which forces Obama to act alone, which in turn causes Congress to yell about impeachment and dictatorship. There are limits on executive power, and it’s quite possible the President can’t do anything more than he has.
Who is to blame for America’s immigration problem
Republicans say Obama is to blame, democrats point their fingers at Congress. In the end, the practical line is that the House has to pass an immigration reform bill. The President cannot do that, and no amount of hand holding of Congress on his part will help it happen. We all know the House is incapable of passing a bill, let alone a controversial one. That’s the main problem that a photo op can’t fix. The less extreme side of the Republican Party still blames the President for inaction in Congress. They claim that Obama isn’t diplomatic; that if Obama “reached out” to Congress then magic would happen. We all know that is total balderdash as well.
The media seems to be wholly concerned with optics and photo ops. Their narrative has little to do with a dysfunctional government, and more to do with what it would look like if Obama actually visited the border. To the media: who the hell cares? All that matters is that something gets done about it. The Obama administration isn’t stupid. They have their reasons for not going to the border so report it, then let it go. To visit or not to visit is not the headline of the week.
Obama intentionally not visiting the border to make Congress look worse
No one outside the Obama administration know the real reason why Obama is being aloof, but as a small child I remember my parents sometimes being forced to give up trying to get me to behave. When faced with uncontrolled absurdity and temper tantrums, there are times when being aloof is the required response. Sometimes when a child refuses to learn by being taught, they have to learn from being allowed to make the mistake. Is that the tactic? “So sue me…” One never knows.
The right wing will always blame Obama for everything and anything. He could single-handedly fix immigration, but the Tea party would still find impeachable fault. Hating Obama is who they are. But for all those people in the middle of the political road: who will they blame for the immigration nightmare? Is Obama giving up on immigration reform a tactical move to push more blame onto Congress? It is an election year, after all.
Published: by | Updated: 07-14-2014 18:15:14
