A couple of surprising words were missing from President Barack Obama’s 55-minute news conference yesterday: “Iraq” – and “Afghanistan.” Also MIA: “Korea,” “Pakistan,” “soldiers,” “surge” and “war” – as well as the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. The omissions were partly a result of the short attention span of the press, which did not ask about those topics after the president did not mention them in his opening statement. But the silence on those subjects also provides a striking illustration of one of the singular differences between Obama and his predecessor.
Whereas President George W. Bush invoked his status as wartime commander in chief so often that it seemed like a crutch, Obama has much more of a domestic focus, and resists rhetorical calls to arms like “war on terror.”
It’s the Mars and Venus of the 43rd and 44th presidencies.
David Axelrod, Obama’s senior adviser, said the president’s aides have never had a conversation about balancing the role of commander in chief with domestic-policy priorities.
“He feels equally comfortable on each role,” Axelrod said. “His focus isn’t just solving the problems as we find them, but hopefully forestalling some for the future.”
Obama aides say that the attack of 9/11 made war central to Bush’s presidency, whereas a twice-in-a-century recession has forced them to multitask – restoring the economy at the same time the president was engineering a surge of troops into Afghanistan.
“The war was the central story of his administration,” a White House official said. “For better or worse, we have an economic crisis and a number of other things going here that a president has to deal with.”
Aides leave open the possibility that Obama will talk more about Afghanistan later this summer as a new wave of troops ramps up engagement with the Taliban.
“His fundamental approach to these things is to be transparent and open about our policies – why we’re doing what we’re doing, and what the challenges are,” Axelrod said. “I don’t think this will be any different.”
One White House official said that the topics of news conferences and speeches are often dictated by events.
“In a sense, these things are pressed upon you,” the official said. “There are some sustained stories, and some that pop up. But we haven’t sat here and computed how much time we should spend on domestic and how much time we should spend on international. It’s basically been all-hands-on-deck in response to need.”
The official said Obama signs letters and makes calls to family members of soldiers who are killed in action, and is briefed each morning on national security matters, including the wars.
“It’s never far from his mind, and I don’t think anybody who’s in that role can escape that,” the official said. “The only times that I’ve seen him genuinely low – because he’s a very even person – were signing those letters or talking to the families. I think he feels that very, very strongly.”
Aides habitually mention Obama’s practice of looking at 10 letters each week from people around the country who have various concerns and problems.
“That’s a poignant thing for him,” the official said. “He’s a very confident and optimistic person. But it’s a sobering thing each day to remind yourself of the struggles that people are going through. I think that’s why he does it, frankly – because it’s so easy to get isolated, and everything becomes very clinical.”
Administration officials say that while Obama took a while to adjust to the role of a presidential candidate, he has acted authoritatively since his first trip to the Situation Room or The Tank, the secure area of the Joint Chiefs of Staff wing of the Pentagon.
“What was remarkable to all of us was how comfortable he was from the beginning – his willingness to make decisions, his fluency,” Axelrod said. “It’s been kind of a breathtaking thing to watch.”
But don’t be looking for “enemy,” “troops” or “wounded” in the press conference. They aren’t there.
{Capitol News Company, LLC/Matzav.com Newscenter}
