Monday, September 24, 2012

Going on The View 'Missed Opportunity for Obama to Meet With Some World Leaders'

NewsBusters.org ^ | September 24, 2012 | Noel Sheppard

Criticism for President Obama's decision to go on ABC's The View Tuesday rather than meet traveling dignitaries in for the United Nations General Assembly came from a peculiar source Monday.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer said of this decision, "There potentially is a missed opportunity this week for the President of the United States to meet with some world leaders" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
Wolf Blitzer: Going on The View 'Missed Opportunity for Obama to Meet With Some World Leaders'

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD: Can you weigh in on the fact that the President will not be holding bilateral meetings? He is leaving it to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton while he does a taping of The View. A, do we get anything really accomplished in these bi-lats? Do we get real foreign policy accomplished in these bi-lats anyway? And B, are the optics just as important as the actual functioning of the bi-lats, whatever they do put on paper?

WOLF BLITZER: I think any time a president, a sitting President of the United States, meets with another world leader, important issues can be discussed, especially when they are sensitive, important issues, and usually around the time of the United Nations General Assembly. And I’ve covered these meetings for a long time. When a president goes up there, he uses the opportunity to have one-on-one meetings whether at where he is staying at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel or someplace else and they can get business done. In this particular case, coming only as you point out six weeks before an election, he’s got other issues on his agenda like getting reelected.
Going on The View, which is not just meeting with Whoopi Goldberg and a bunch of women on The View, he’s going to be speaking to millions of people who will be watching The View, and they determined that is an important thing for the President to do only six weeks before an election. Same reason why Mitt Romney the other day went on, you know, Kelly Ripa's show and appeared on that show. You know, he’s got important things he’s got to do too. He’s not a sitting president of the United States, but they want to speak to the American people and these are various venues where they have that opportunity to do so.
This seemed like a pretty weak analogy. A currently out of office presidential candidate has absolutely no responsibilities to the nation at this moment.
As such, Romney choosing to go on some television show is likely just keeping him from appearing on another television show or at a campaign stop.
By contrast, Obama is snubbing world leaders such as Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at a time of serious international insecurity, to go sit on a couch with a bunch of cackling hens that largely adore him.
But I digress:

BLITZER: So if he wants to do a television interview, The View or Kelly Ripa, or if he wants to come on my show, I’ll be happy to have him on my show. I do think that there potentially is a missed opportunity this week for the President of the United States to meet with some world leaders, but he's made the decision, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with those world leaders, not him. BANFIELD: And I think he'll be taking it on the chin for it, too, without question, by the critics.
Obama's critics? Outside of some people on Fox News, talk radio, and in the blogosphere, who might that be?

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