Bad At Political Theater?

I predicted in a previous post that press poodle turned host of Meet The Press, Chuck Todd, would not ask The World’s Most Dangerous Community Organizer about the scandalous stand-down order that resulted in the savage death of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.

Chuckles did ask one question that revealed the cold-bloodedness that so dominates his persona. 

TODD:  I got to ask, so—so during that vacation, you made the statement on Foley. You went and golfed. Do you—do you want that back? 

THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS COMMUNITY ORGANIZER:  You know, it is always a challenge when you're supposed to be on vacation. Because you're followed everywhere. And part of what I'd love is a vacation from… 

TODD:  Yeah, you want to… 

TWMDCO:  …the—the press and—and—because… 

TODD:  I promise you, 2 1/2 years, I think that happens. 

TWMDCO:  Because the possibility of a jarring contrast given the world's news, is always—there's always going to be some tough news somewhere—is going to be there. But there's no doubt that—after having talked to the families, where it was hard for me to hold back tears listening to the pain that they were going through, after the statement that I made, that you know, I should've anticipated the optics. 

You know, that's part of the job. And you know, I think everybody who knows me, including, I suspect, the press, understands that that you know, you take this stuff in. And—it—it's serious business. And—and you care about it deeply. 

But part of this job is also the theatre of it. A part of it is, you know, how are you, how, how are you, well, it's not something that—that always comes naturally to me. But it matters. And I'm mindful of that. So the important thing is, in addition to that, is am I getting the policies right? Am I protecting the American people? Am I doing what's necessary? 

And when it comes to the policies, when it comes to the actions we've taken, I have no higher priority than keeping the American people safe. I think I've done a very good job during the course of these last, close to six years, doing so. And I intend to continue to meet that responsibility or meet that duty, for as long as I have the privilege of holding this office.

Noah Rothman opines, “A charitable interpretation of Obama’s remarks would allow for the possibility that he was expressing his genuine regret for the hard-edged display that followed the Foley speech in an artless manner. Obama played pundit, as he often does, and sounded callous by making an assessment of the political implications surrounding what the public saw as a lack of empathy for those wounded by Foley’s execution. But the president’s implied scolding of the media for amplifying that criticism indicates that this interpretation of his remarks may be a bit too forgiving.”

Didn't "theater of politics" -- and then-Sen. Obama being "good at it" -- initially propel him at 2004 Dem National Convention?

— Ed Henry (@edhenryTV) September 7, 2014