http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ar...the_shaping_and_selling_of_obamas_legacy.html
It’s not what you might think.
The president is in Panama championing U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba, a centerpiece of this week’s Summit of Americas, where Obama and President Raul Castro are expected to make history by speaking to one another. At the same time, Obama, against tough odds, is trying to explain the merits of a nuclear deal with Iran before it can be completed by the end of June. He’s also nudging U.S. and international climate change commitments forward, and talking up a strengthening U.S. economy. Eyeing states he has not visited as president, Obama flew to Utah last Friday, and will likely complete his visits to all 50 (get ready, South Dakota) soon.
The president’s to-do list remains long, including promises dating to his 2008 campaign that remain incomplete. Meanwhile, the White House has launched a “fourth-quarter” scoreboard for the plays Obama has already run.
“Legacy” is a word with such a rear-view-mirror meaning that many two-term presidents openly chafed when they heard it used prior to their final year in office. But in a modern messaging era (and with a president who authored two books about himself before becoming president), getting even a slight jump on history with an effort at a comprehensive summary is thought to be savvy, especially when so many others inside the Obama administration seemed to get their books out while the president was in office.
For that reason, it was notable Tuesday when Ben Rhodes, Obama’s national security adviser for strategic communications, and Josh Earnest, his White House press secretary, separately used “legacy” to describe the president’s achievements in Central America, and with energy policy.
“I think if you look at the opening to Cuba and the process of normalizing our relations; the Central American initiative that we’ve committed $1 billion to now; the Colombian peace process, [at] which we have designated a special envoy to represent the United States; our focus on energy security; and our 100,000 “Strong in the Americas” initiative, together with the broader economic and export promotion efforts that we’ve undertaken over the last several years, the president has a clear legacy that he is aiming to build in the hemisphere,” Rhodes told reporters.
Hours later, when asked about critiques of Obama’s energy and climate change policies as something of a “mixed bag” in the eyes of environmental experts and advocacy groups, Earnest defended the administration’s “all of the above” energy achievements.
So there you have it, energy achievements through climate change.
Quite a legacy don’t you think?
It’s not what you might think.
The president is in Panama championing U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba, a centerpiece of this week’s Summit of Americas, where Obama and President Raul Castro are expected to make history by speaking to one another. At the same time, Obama, against tough odds, is trying to explain the merits of a nuclear deal with Iran before it can be completed by the end of June. He’s also nudging U.S. and international climate change commitments forward, and talking up a strengthening U.S. economy. Eyeing states he has not visited as president, Obama flew to Utah last Friday, and will likely complete his visits to all 50 (get ready, South Dakota) soon.
The president’s to-do list remains long, including promises dating to his 2008 campaign that remain incomplete. Meanwhile, the White House has launched a “fourth-quarter” scoreboard for the plays Obama has already run.
“Legacy” is a word with such a rear-view-mirror meaning that many two-term presidents openly chafed when they heard it used prior to their final year in office. But in a modern messaging era (and with a president who authored two books about himself before becoming president), getting even a slight jump on history with an effort at a comprehensive summary is thought to be savvy, especially when so many others inside the Obama administration seemed to get their books out while the president was in office.
For that reason, it was notable Tuesday when Ben Rhodes, Obama’s national security adviser for strategic communications, and Josh Earnest, his White House press secretary, separately used “legacy” to describe the president’s achievements in Central America, and with energy policy.
“I think if you look at the opening to Cuba and the process of normalizing our relations; the Central American initiative that we’ve committed $1 billion to now; the Colombian peace process, [at] which we have designated a special envoy to represent the United States; our focus on energy security; and our 100,000 “Strong in the Americas” initiative, together with the broader economic and export promotion efforts that we’ve undertaken over the last several years, the president has a clear legacy that he is aiming to build in the hemisphere,” Rhodes told reporters.
Hours later, when asked about critiques of Obama’s energy and climate change policies as something of a “mixed bag” in the eyes of environmental experts and advocacy groups, Earnest defended the administration’s “all of the above” energy achievements.
So there you have it, energy achievements through climate change.
Quite a legacy don’t you think?
