Obama Staff: #TheBearIsLoose” Or Something

Even The Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin can’t avoid writing in a snarky tone over this

Bears, beer and horse heads: What exactly is going on with the leader of the free world?

On a single day this week in Denver, President Obama scarfed down pizza and drinks with strangers, shot pool with Colorado’s governor and shook hands with a guy on the street wearing a horse mask. His top staffers are promoting these stops on Twitter with the hashtag #TheBearIsLoose – a term one of Obama’s aides coined in 2008 when the candidate would defy his schedule.

More than five years into his presidency, Obama is trying to free himself from the constraints of office, whether by strolling on the Mall or hopscotching the country as part of a campaign-style tour. White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer says the president “just wants to get out” and influence “our overall political conversation” by connecting with ordinary Americans.

Two points. First, if he feels so constrained by doing the job he ran for, twice, he can simply resign. Let’s not forget that his campaigns were not little campaigns, but massive monsters. Second, the attempts to “get out” wouldn’t be a problem if he was doing his job in the first place, rather than putting as little work as possible.

Senior White House officials say they cannot tear up the president’s schedule every time a domestic or international crisis erupts, although they’ve made exceptions before. Last fall, Obama canceled a trip to Asia in the midst of the government shutdown.

Yet, there is very little on (NMP) Obama’s schedule to start with. Take today: he gets the presidential daily briefing, then meets with some business leaders at 10:50am. That’s it. Out in the Real World, any CEO is going to change their schedule when Something Big happens. Especially if it is Bad.

“What I’ve said to my team is ‘Get me out of Washington,’ ” Obama said Wednesday night during a fundraiser in Austin. His summer schedule features out-of-town trips practically every week, including meetings between him and people who have written him personal letters.

In other words, this is all about continuing the Neverending Campaign. He’s basically just going to mail it in for the rest of his term. He’s doing what he has done for most of his political career: voting “present“.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach.

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