This is where I weigh in

"Awww, you were such a cute baby, Jon."

Looking around at the morning news, I found an NBC TV story about The Prez's latest gig on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. I'd heard about His Highness's "optimal" remarks and wondered if this might give me a little more information. It did.

You've probably heard and heard and heard about "optimal," so I'll skip that and comment on a few other tidbits. (Just part of the service we offer around here, finding stuff you may not know.)

Keep in mind, this program was pre-recorded. I doubt Stewart or his staff edited anything but, if the Prez, at any point in time, said anything he thought was really, really dumb, I'd think he could/would stop everything and ask (maybe even issue some kind of "Directive" or "Order" or claim a "Privilege) for a do-over. I know there are "Guidelines" (Rules) about his gigs. And I'd bet a stack of Benjamins bits and pieces were even scripted. By His Highness's sycophants/minions.

"After weeks of listening to Jon Stewart cheer, cajole, criticize, and generally fuss over the

state of his campaign, President Barack Obama showed up to “The Daily Show” on Thursday

and got the chance to speak for himself in person rather than through cable news soundbites."

So, he came prepared. He'd been briefed (since this didn't involve National Security, he showed up for the briefing).

"The president and Stewart talked about issues domestic and foreign,

with jokes mixed into the generally serious conversation."

His "numbers" are going down the crapper, he's concerned about folks' opinions of his term in office, he wants to "speak for himself" and he jokes! Tells you something about the audience he's playing to. 

"But Stewart started by asking what he’s asked on the air since the day it happened ... 

what went wrong for Obama during that first debate?"

  

Not my idea of an opening question, since the subject's been off most folks' radar quite some time now. But, it's his show, so he get's to ask (or, maybe The Prez wanted another shot at essplainin').

Stewart, being a comic, added this before The Prez answered...

“Sometimes I’ll go onstage and have an open-faced turkey sandwich and a shot of

NyQuil, and halfway through I’ll look up and say 'Are we on?'"

To which The Prez replied...

“Obviously I had an off night. The presentation wasn’t what it needed to be..."

Duh. Obviously it wasn't. Even your pals in the "media" knew that. And talked about it. A lot.

I do not want a man sitting in the Oval Office who does not go into any situation, anywhere, at any time, unprepared. I do not want to hear my President saying he "had an off night." I do not want the enemies of my country hearing my President talking about "off nights."

He then proceeded, evidently, to go into Campaign Mode. Blame, shift responsibility, blame, deny, rinse and repeat. You know, politician stuff.

Now hear this (as my Navy buds often say)...

“We could be growing even faster than we have if Governor Romney’s allies in

Congress would move on some of the things we’ve recommended.”

Lord love a duck! Those "allies" are the Republicans. The opposing party. The "other side of the aisle." The folks he should be having sit-downs with. Negotiating with. Finding things to agree on with. Maybe even, occasionally, compromising with. And getting positive things done! (Please note: I'm refraining from commenting on the "growing even faster" part.)

“We ended the war in Iraq. We’re ending the war in Afghanistan. We’ve gone after al-Qaeda

and its leadership. It’s true that al-Qaeda is still active, at least sort of remnants of it are staging

in other parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Sometimes you’ve got to make some

tough calls, but you can do so in a way that’s consistent with international law and with

American law,” Obama said.

"At least sort of remnants?" What the hell does that mean? Is that a description used in the Daily Presidential Intelligence Briefings? Oh, I forgot. He doesn't attend those briefings. They're scheduled when he's on the golf course. (Ever seen the video clips of his swing? Funny stuff.)

And let's be damned sure, when dealing with thugs, cretins and troglodytes, we're concerned with Law. (Always at the top of my list of concerns.) Maybe that's the "tough call" part. With Eric Holder as his Attorney General, Law can get kinda fuzzy. And it's "tough" to figure out if he knows what the hell he (Eric) is talking about. Law-wise.

"Not surprisingly, the President treated the interview like a stump speech, and he

closed with a plea for people to go to the polls."

(Insert another "duh" for the "stump speech" observation.) Then it's back into Campaign Mode. (refer back to above)

The article's author (Craig Berman, NBC News contributor) wrote...

"Of course, there was some humor mixed in with the political discourse."

I thought there was more than "some" humor and a helluva lot of "political discourse" (re: BS)

If you're interested, there are video clips at the link to the story.