IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
By Ed Hoffman
When the President responded to the terror attack in Belgium this week, there were more than a few pieces missing from his reaction. Here are just a few that I noticed.
A deviation from the norm. The President disappointed many people when he used his press conference Wednesday from Argentina as an opportunity to lecture Americans on Islamophobia yet again, saying he was troubled by the reaction of “some candidates” – but he certainly didn’t shock anyone. He has proven time and again that protecting the image of Islam is a huge priority for him. Why he does this is anyone’s guess (I have my own theories, as my radio listeners know) but regardless, he never fails to meet our expectations when it comes to rushing to the defense of Muslims.
Acknowledgement of the Americans affected. By now, you may be aware of the several Americans affected by the attack in Brussels. A brother and sister from New York are still missing as of Wednesday, and three young Mormon missionaries from Utah were injured; additionally, there were six other Americans (unidentified at the time of this publication) believed to be wounded. Did the President say anything about them? As I’m writing this, the answer is still no.
Basic common sense. In the hours after the attack, The President responded two ways. First, he devoted a whopping 51 seconds of his speech from Havana (a whole other debacle in itself) to speaking about the attack in Brussels. The rest of the speech was dedicated to praising the new relationship between the United States and the communist nation of Cuba, where human rights violations still abound; the only difference is that now, we are promising to look the other way. Later in the day, he gave a second response as he accommodated the four ridiculously giddy ESPN reporters who wanted to interview him on the attack from the comfort of his seat at a baseball game, with Cuban president Raul Castro sitting nearby. Is this bad optics? That seems obvious to everyone except for the President of the United States.
San Bernardino may be the location of the largest terror attack since 9/11 – but Brussels was the attack that took away any ounce of presidential decorum Obama may have had.
Ed Hoffman is host of The Main Event on AM590, which airs Saturday 9:30 AM- 10:30 AM and Sunday 4:00 PM- 5:00 PM. Follow him on Twitter @EdHoffman, and like him on Facebook by searching The Main Event 590.
