Representative Rob Bishop (R-Utah) is upset that President Obama went to play golf last weekend. "As commander-in-chief, the President is responsible for ensuring the health and viability of our national defense capabilities--yet he appears unengaged. With only a few days left until sequestration, the President is reported to have been playing golf in Florida. He has certainly proven capable of leisure, now it's time to prove that he's capable of leadership."
what eye thynk: First, we know that Republicans don't really want President Obama to lead. They say they want it; but when it happens, they suddenly find themselves hating the idea. (See my post from last Tuesday http://whateyethynk-politics.blogspot.com/2013/02/president-vs-congress-its-deja-vu-all.html).
And Mr. Bishop's complaint is so ridiculous that I‘m amazed he was able to say it with a straight face. While Mr. Bishop is complaining about the President taking a mini-vacation instead of remaining in Washington to deal with our looming problems, where are he and his congressional cohorts? They're on vacation for an entire week!
A typical congressional work week is three days; the 113th Congress has been in session for six weeks. During those eighteen work days, members of Congress held committee meetings where they aired ludicrous accusations about the President’s nominees for Secretary of Defense and for head of the CIA, posed for their nightly news-bites and then decided not to vote on either nomination. Finally, they announced that they were uninterested in reaching any compromise with the President over the coming sequester and then left town.
If Mr. Bishop is so worried about the national defense, he and his fellow congressmen should have voted for the confirmations of Chuck Hagel and John Brennan before leaving Washington. If Mr. Bishop is so worried about the March 1 sequester, he and his fellow congressmen should have remained in Washington to work with the President.
- A side note: Ronald Reagan took 436 vacation days during his two terms. When unemployment was at 9.5%, he took an entire month off, which included some days when his aides stopped relaying news to him so he could rest. W. took 977 days off--the equivalent of 2 ½ years! In contrast, President Obama took 131 vacation days during his first four years in office.
Right now, President Obama is in Washington working. And waiting for his national security nominations to be confirmed. And waiting to shape a sequester compromise with Congress. Congress itself is, well, absent.
So who should we really be calling "unengaged"?
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