Pride or Ploy?

Last night I had a bit of a calendar crisis—I needed to pick up one child before heading to my first back-to-school night, which ended at the same time another child’s soccer practice began, which overlapped with my second back-to-school night, which all hit right at dinner time and the time my husband was leaving on a cross-country trip. Trying to deal with hungry kids, picking-up, sports, teachers, packing and saying good-bye to my husband for the entire holiday weekend—alone, was a bit crazy. I can’t keep track of everything! I need a secretary!

But not one from the same agency as the President got his.

Now, I fully appreciate how tough it is to keep a schedule and try to fit everything in for everyone. But I‘m just trying to run our household, not our nation. I’m not the President.

Who’s running his schedule? Who originally planned the President’s speech for the same night as the Republican debate? Was this a political ploy or just plain pride? Or maybe it was door number three—pure and simple obliviousness?

If it was a political ploy, maybe trying to make the Republicans look unreasonable or partisan, well that pot just called the kettle black. Asking the republicans to just set the DVR for the GOP debate (and the debut of Perry) isn’t a very big step toward trying to smooth over bi-partisan squabble. I'd say that plan back-fired.

Maybe it was just pride. Maybe the President really believed that Americans, including the Republican leaders would rather watch his speech (trying to convince us that this time his plans are really going to work), rather than watch a lively political debate.

Perhaps we should give our President the benefit of the doubt and say it was all just a coincidence, that he really had no idea there was something else going on that night, too. In which case, we just see again that he just doesn’t have his finger on the pulse of what’s happening in this country.

But, you know, there is still another possibility—maybe President Obama didn’t actually want as many people to tune in to his speech. Maybe he’s afraid his ideas are just no good. Hmmmm…

Well, the switch has been made. Rather than be up against Republicans battling it out on cable, President Obama will be up against the NFL. And you can bet that if he doesn’t finish up before kick-off, that ball won’t be the only thing getting kicked around.