Obama's Bad Week

Being the President of the United States of America is undoubtedly very hard work. No one can deny that. However, in my opinion, Obama had an especially rough week. The past seven days have proved to be exponentially difficult for the President. Last Saturday, September 12th was the 9/12 march on Washington. The 9/12 people, also known as the Tea Party, are a group of ultra-conservative right-wingers who oppose many of the President’s policies. Their website and correspondence has become an outlet for people who agree with the organization to network and organize. They consider themselves a type of grassroots organization. While the turnout was a lot less than the org expected, it was still a sufficient amount to cause the White House a bit of a head ache. But that’s not even the worst part. The worst part of the whole day for Obama, the most personal attack, were the many creative signs that people came with. Not only were they creative, but racist and by my standards, completely ludicrous. They decided to march against Obama's mission, as covered in this LA Times article. While the signs were a moving demonstration of 1st Amendment rights, what the hell?

Of course, there is also the Joe "You Lie" Wilson story. During Obama's speech to both houses of Congress about health care reform, a boisterous senator from South Carolina decided to speak up in a disastrous manner. Wilson screamed "you lie!" at the top of his lungs as Obama claimed that his health care reform would not provide illegal immigrants with free health care. As this LA Times article confirms, the House voted on Tuesday for an official admonition of the South Carolina Senator. While I am thrilled that the out-of-line senator was officially reprimanded for his idiotic behaviors, the intense media coverage and uncalled-for voting in Congress has turned Joe into a sort-of right winged hero. Was it absolutely necessary to pass an official document saying that what he did was wrong. Personally, I thought that was a waste of time and a bit ridiculous. I recently watched a video of English Parliament, in which there are about 100 Joe Wilson's screaming at the Prime Minister and opposition leader. All I have to say is that if our Congress was like that, C-Span would have higher ratings.

And finally, Obama is attempting a "full Ginsberg" in attempt to convince the American public that his plan for USA's health care reform will work. Obama will appear on five Sunday morning talk shows. This article from Yahoo News says that: "Starting at 3:30 p.m. Friday, the hosts began rotating in and out of the room with Obama in this order: CBS, NBC, ABC, Univision, CNN." That is quite a load for one man to pull off. Named after Monica Lewinsky's lawyer William Ginsberg, who first attempted the media blitz in his client's defense. However, he was fired later for incompetence. That is what makes this such a risky move--the risk of over exposure, which many argue Obama has achieved already. With health care reform seeming to hit a glass ceiling, a mob of quasi-racist Glenn Beck worshippers at his back and Republican senators screaming at him, Obama truly has had a rough week.