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Erratic Obama Cheapens the Presidency

Time for leader of free world to stop acting like a candidate: Cohen

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 29, 2009 6:03 AM CDT

(Newser) – Barack Obama has been in office for nearly a year, but for Richard Cohen, he's still "the candidate-in-full," unaware that he is already president. Watching Obama alongside Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy last week, the Washington Post columnist perceived "a faux Cuban missile crisis"—and a president dangerously eroding his own authority. If the US has known about Iran's second site for years, why issue an ultimatum it surely won't meet?

Iran's entire nuclear program will result in a legitimate crisis, "possibly one that can only end in war," yet Obama made last week's announcement of a years-old facility into a set piece. It was just another case of Obama getting caught up in the moment—as with health care, Afghanistan, and CIA abuses, he's lost credibility by posturing and then backpedaling. "Obama's the president," Cohen writes. "Time he understood that."

[Images (2)]

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President Barack Obama, British PM Gordon Brown, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrive to make a statement on Iran's nuclear facility, Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, during the G-20 in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

President Barack Obama, accompanied by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, makes a statement on Iran's nuclear facility, Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, during the... (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Sooner or later it is going to occur to Barack Obama that he is the president of the United States. The election has been held, but the campaign goes on and on. The candidate has yet to become commander in chief. - Richard Cohen

For a crisis such as this, the immense prestige of the American presidency ought to be held in reserve. When Obama said Iran is "going to have to come clean," it had the sound of an ultimatum. But what if Iran doesn't? - Richard Cohen

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 59 comments

Kant

Sep 30, 2009 6:54 AM CDT

@cornelision: How many dead, dying or sick Americans will it take to bring health care for everyone? How many for you, osu?" My answer to your first question: It will take everyone in America minus the 46,000,000 you claim don't have health insurance. Then, everyone still alive will have health care...according to your numbers. Answer to your second question: Irrelevant. I'm not responsible to bring healthcare for the dead, dying, and sick. Nor can I find anywhere in the Constitution that states the Federal Government holds the same responsibility. That may seem cruel and inhumane to you and I agree it is. My answer lacks any compassion for the suffering of my fellow man. But I am under no obligation to provide a specific QUALITY of life for my fellow man by providing the means to live a quality life. Nor does my federal government guarantee a specific quality of life for every person.

Pragmaticrealism

Sep 30, 2009 6:36 AM CDT

Wwwonderer, yummines. Thank you both for the best posts on the entire page, in my opinion

Kant

Sep 30, 2009 6:19 AM CDT

@Bryanw55: I'm going to call bullshit on your reply (since that seems to be what a lot of people do on this site) Or my favorite: "FAIL!". The fact that Republicans controlled Congress for 6 of 8 years during the Bush administration is irrelevant. Democrats denounced Bush everyday, and Republicans denounced Democrats for making "the country fail and using the media everyday to spread hate" regardless of who controlled Congress. You're reply is pointless. FAIL!

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Erratic Obama Cheapens the Presidency