Back in the television news days, I was responsible for booking guests for the morning newscast I also anchored. One particular morning, we had a sushi expert on the show to teach us some of the finer points of the Asian cuisine. He brought with him some samples.
I had never tried sushi before that day. But, I had observed countless others enjoying it, and therefore figured it was something I had to do to earn some sort of bizarre credibility.
For those of you who actually enjoy sushi, my guess is you've not had it after it had been sitting under television lights for approximately 90 minutes. The thought crossed my mind that actually consuming the sushi at that point was not in my best interest, but pride and peer pressure took over. And not long after, so did Mother Nature.
I bore you with that story to reiterate the time-honored truth that just because everyone else is doing it, you don't have to.
The politically-minded among you likely saw news of President Obama's hot date to New York to see a Broadway play. Much ado was made about the cost to the taxpayers, the unseemliness of such a venture when General Motors was about to announce its death a few hours later, etc.
The GOP ripped the president in a press release that said, according to reports, "As President Obama prepares to wing into Manhattan’s theater district on Air Force One to take in a Broadway show, GM is preparing to file bankruptcy and families across America continue to struggle to pay their bills." (I say according to reports, because I have been unable to find the release on the RNC Web site, perhaps intuitively so.)
A meek suggestion for the GOP: This is not a battle you should choose, because it's not a battle you can win. My problem is not with the above statement, or indeed, with any criticisms of a lavish evening at taxpayer expense while thousands more face the prospect of unemployment due to an iconic American industrial figure's failure. Rather, attacking Mr. Obama on this rings of desperation and petulance.
Republicans need to realize the class warfare argument is spoken for. The other side is decades ahead of the GOP in seeking to pit the "working class" versus the "wealthy" (to wit, this shining example of misinformation from which you could be forgiven for thinking the only people who ever receive tax cuts are those with six-figure incomes).
Painting Obama as out of touch is a losing political battle, even if the argument is technically correct. As LA Times blogger Johanna Neuman rightly points out: "The truth is that the real cost of the trip, the political cost, is something Obama can shoulder because he is a popular president in his first year of office. Next year's date nights might not be as extravagant." Moreover, even if the public cared (and I'm not convinced they really do), the parallel could always be drawn (no matter how tenuous) to President Bush's trips back and forth to Crawford.
Republicans will always lament their impotence so long as they borrow the tactics of their opponents. They would do much better to stick to issues, and not give Obama's press corps an excuse to paint them as grumpy, petty whiners who are devoid of anything new to offer. Take the high road, no matter how tempting that glistening sushi may be.
You feel me?
AF
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