A Frustrated Obama Constrained To “Mundane Matters” Is Nowhere To Be Found When Crises Break

Is Your Out-Of-Office Reply Already Up?

• Last year, President Obama openly mused if he should “just pack up and go home.” Well, the past few weeks have shown he already has.

• Yet again, last week, President Obama was out raising campaign cash while international crises were unfolding.

• Throughout the summer, it’s clear President Obama would rather spend his nights at lavish dinner parties, fundraisers, or roaming about the city of Washington trying local eateries than working on the border crisis, dealing with Russia, or creating jobs.

• Not even halfway through his second term, President Obama has checked out. It seems that he simply doesn’t want to be president anymore.

• President Obama is the leader of the free world, not a teenager delivering pizzas after school. The American people deserve better than a part-time commander-in-chief.

Last Thursday, President Obama Went About His Normal Schedule As A Commercial Airliner Was Shot Down In Ukraine And Israel Sent Ground Troops Into Gaza:

The Wall Street Journal Headline: “On Hectic Day, ‘No Drama’ Obama Sticks To Schedule” (Peter Nicholas, “On Hectic Day, ‘No Drama’ Obama Sticks To Schedule,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/17/14)

• Obama “Appeared To Go About His Regular Business” As Television “Broadcast Pictures Of Smoldering Plane Wreckage.” “This conflict was on full display Thursday, as Mr. Obama decided to stick to his regular schedule amid news reports of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet crash in Ukraine that killed nearly 300 people. That decision generated a split-screen aspect to Mr. Obama’s day, as TV networks broke into regular programming to broadcast pictures of smoldering plane wreckage while the president appeared to go about his regular business.” (Peter Nicholas, “On Hectic Day, ‘No Drama’ Obama Sticks To Schedule,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/17/14)

• Obama Then Attended Two New York Fundraisers As Israel Sent Ground Troops Into Gaza. “From there, Mr. Obama flew to New York City for a pair of planned Democratic fundraising events, the first of which had about 30 people contributing up to $32,400, according to a press pool report. As he was en route, news reports popped up about Israel sending ground troops into Gaza.” (Peter Nicholas, “On Hectic Day, ‘No Drama’ Obama Sticks To Schedule,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/17/14)

The Washington Post Headline: “Obama Plays Hooky During A Perilous Time” (Jennifer Rubin, “Obama Plays Hooky During A Perilous Time,” The Washington Post, 7/18/14)

Obama Has Seemingly Become Disillusioned And “Restless” With Still Over Two Years Left In The Presidency:

A Disillusioned Obama Was Displeased After A Dinner In Rome “To Wake Up To The Reality Of More Mundane Matters.” “‘It was such an escape for Obama that the next morning he joked to aides that he was not so pleased to wake up to the reality of more mundane matters. The aides were briefing him for a ‘60 Minutes’’ interview about Ukraine and health care. One aide paraphrased Obama’s response: ‘Just last night I was talking about life and art, big interesting things, and now we’re back to the minuscule things on politics.’” (Carrie Budoff Brown and Jennifer Epstein, “The Obama Paradox,” Politico, 6/1/14)

The New York Times Headline: “At Dinner Tables, A Restless Obama Finds An Intellectual Escape” (Julie Hirschfield Davis, “At Dinner Tables, A Restless Obama Finds An Intellectual Escape,” The New York Times, 7/14/14)

This Is Not The First Time Obama Has Been A Mere Bystander During Crises:

Fox News Headline: “Obama Takes Heat From Both Sides For Skipping Border On Fundraising Trip” (““Obama Takes Heat From Both Sides For Skipping Border On Fundraising Trip,” Fox News, 7/9/14)

Democrat Congressman: Obama Has Time To Shoot Pool And Drink Beer, But Too Busy To Visit Border. (Youtube.com, Accessed On 7/18/14)

Obama Waited Three Days Before Speaking On The December 2009 Attempted “Underwear Bombing.” “In December 2009, he was vacationing in Hawaii during the “underwear bomber” episode, when a man tried to blow up an airliner bound for Detroit. It was three days before Mr. Obama spoke publicly about the incident, touching off criticism that he had stayed silent and continued vacationing while a jittery nation absorbed details of another terrorist incident.” (Peter Nicholas, “On Hectic Day, ‘No Drama’ Obama Sticks To Schedule,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/17/14)

He Was Also Criticized For Not Displaying Enough Emotion During The Oil Spill In The Gulf Of Mexico. “A year later, he faced blowback from his response to a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Critics said he didn’t display enough emotion, instead sticking to his calm demeanor.” (Peter Nicholas, “On Hectic Day, ‘No Drama’ Obama Sticks To Schedule,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/17/14)

Just A Day After The Benghazi Attack, Obama Attended A Las Vegas Fundraiser. (Youtube.com, Accessed On 7/18/14)

Los Angeles Times Headline: “Obama Meets With ‘The View,’ No Foreign Leaders During U.N. Assembly” (Kathleen Hennessey, “Obama Meets With ‘The View,’ No Foreign Leaders During U.N. Assembly,” Los Angeles Times, 9/24/12)

• In September 2012, Obama Didn’t Have Time To Meet With Foreign Leaders At The UN, But Was A Guest On ABC’s The View. “As Obama headed to New York for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, the president has no meetings with other leaders scheduled during his day and a half in New York. The low-intensity approach to the gathering was only underlined by the sitdown the president did make time for – an interview with the women of ABC’s daytime talk fest ‘The View.’” (Kathleen Hennessey, “Obama Meets With ‘The View,’ No Foreign Leaders During U.N. Assembly,” Los Angeles Times, 9/24/12)

At A Fundraiser, Obama Proclaimed It Was “Happy Hour With The Democratic Party” As Russian Forces Were Invading Crimea. “Minutes after issuing a stern warning to Russia and saying there will be a price to pay if it interferes militarily in Ukraine, President Obama headed to a “happy hour” with fellow Democrats. Speaking at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, Mr. Obama struck a very different tone than he had less than 30 minutes earlier, when he appeared with little warning in the White House press briefing room and issued a vague threat to Moscow. ‘Well, it’s Friday. It’s after 5 o’clock. So, this is now officially happy hour with the Democratic party,’ the president told his cohorts. ‘I can do that. It is an executive action. I have the authority.’” (Ben Wolfgang, “Obama Declares ‘Happy Hour’ With Dems Minutes After Ukraine Tough Talk,” Washington Times, 2/28/14)

After Mourning The Deaths At Fort Hood In April 2014, Obama Immediately Headed To Two Fundraisers. “The White House won some negative headlines for scheduling a fundraiser during President Obama’s trip Wednesday to Texas to mourn the shooting deaths at Fort Hood U.S. Army base, but he’s actually attending two, one with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at a $17.1 million home.” (Paul Bedard, “2 Obama Fundraisers After Grieving Fort Hood Deaths, One At $17 Million Home,” Washington Examiner, 4/9/14)

Last Year, Obama Openly Mused If He “Should Just Pack Up And Go Home”:

The Hill Headline: “Obama At 100 Days Presser: ‘Maybe I Should Just Pack Up And Go Home’” (Justin Sink, “Obama At 100 Days Presser: ‘Maybe I Should Just Pack Up And Go Home’,” The Hill, 4/30/13)