Randi Kreiss

President Obama sits out a dance with ISIS

Posted

Instead, he dances the tango in Buenos Aires.

On a trip to Argentina last week, the president and Michelle Obama attended a state dinner in their honor, at which they enjoyed a tango performance and were then invited onto the dance floor. The first couple stepped smoothly into the complex dance, displayed some graceful moves and left the floor, having done America proud.

Unfortunately, the long-planned trip last week to Cuba and Argentina coincided with a deadly ISIS attack in Brussels that killed 35 people and wounded more than 200 others. No sooner had word of the attacks hit the media than critics began huffing and puffing about the president’s trip, his attendance at a baseball game in Cuba and particularly his tango debut as proof that he is too removed from world events that impact America and its allies.

Talking heads on multiple news outlets questioned the “optics” of the situation — how it looked for an American president to be seen having a good time when friends near and far were hurting.

In a New York Times column many years ago, William Safire wrote, “How did optics achieve buzzword status in American politics?” He noted, “‘Optics’ is hot, rivaling content. When politicians fret about the public perception of a decision more than the substance of the decision itself, we’re living in a world of optics.”

I didn’t hear anyone complaining when Obama put on a game face, along with his tux, went to the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner and delivered a really funny stand-up routine, even as our Navy Seals were preparing for their raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. The president had given the “kill” order before departing the White House for the dinner. There was no hint of tension or stress in his demeanor that night. Look at the clips. The man was completely cool and composed. He is a master of optics when he needs to be, but he is not a poseur.

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