The stock market plunges, people are losing their jobs and their homes, and our fearless leader is nowhere to be found. Politico sums it up.
“I will continue to closely monitor the situation in our financial markets and consult with my economic advisers,” President Bush said Thursday in a two-minute address from the Rose Garden.
That’s right, two minutes. Delivered, according to the official White House transcript, from 10:15 a.m. EDT to 10:17 a.m. EDT. Maybe you missed it. Maybe you were at work. Maybe the president doesn’t care.
Maybe that’s the problem.
On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 504 points, its worst drop since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. But Bush did not address the nation that night.
Instead, he held a state dinner for the president of Ghana. Gratin of Maine lobster, late-summer corn pudding, ginger-scented farm lamb and graham cracker crumble with cocoa pod shell was served. Eleven members of the cast of “The Lion King” came down from Broadway and performed. It was quite a bash. The Washington Post described President Bush and Ghanaian President John Kufuor as “ebullient.”
And my personal favorite.
The toast President Bush gave to President Kufuor Monday was 383 words long. Bush’s Rose Garden address to the nation Thursday on the financial crisis was 263 words long.
Could this be a case of misplaced priorities? Do you think?
In other words, the president is not going to get involved with restoring public confidence in our financial system because he is afraid somebody might ask him a question about politics. And because he doesn’t want to talk about politics (and why doesn’t he, considering he is supporting John McCain?), he won’t talk about anything.
Does this make any sense? Calm any fears? Soothe any troubled minds?
He needs to sit down behind that big desk in the Oval Office and have a formal address to this nation. Then he needs to hold a news conference and answer questions, even the unpleasant ones.
Ummm… yeah, leadership would be nice. I’m not holding my breath since leadership in this crisis would entail assuming some responsibility – Not exactly Bush and Co.’s strong suit.
But maybe I’m being too tough on the guy… After all, the fundamentals of our economy are strong.