Three months and what does the president have to show for it? Photos.
While the White House claims that the President is “on the cusp of a decision” of Afghanistan, it has released a photo of the deliberations in the Situation Room via Flickr (link here). Of significance is the presence of Peter Orszag, White House budget director, second from the right, which, according to Politico, signals concerns about the rising cost of Afghanistan.
This is the image the White House hopes to see in papers. Similar to previous ones, the president is doing the talking. In this most recent, he is motioning his hand in a decisive way. In the most recent, note how many folks still have the coversheets on. (Maybe they’re cover sheets?)
During every meeting for the last three months, the president has released photos of himself talking to national security staff about Afghanistan. This is during the three months after General Stanley McChrystal warned the president that if we didn’t take action within a year, the situation in Afghanistan would deteriorate beyond repair. While Obama has campaigned on the idea that Afghanistan is the war of necessity, actions he has taken (or the lack thereof) show his lack of seriousness about that claim.
I for one am unnerved by the need for name plates in the Situation Room. Also: What does Orszag drink? Coffee? Pepsi? Diet Coke? PICK ONE. His coffee is larger than anyone else’s. He’s the only one with a Pepsi, too. This man is a caffeine addict. Unlike Obama, who’s on the Gatorade.
