Obama Needs Urgent Damage Control

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright May 15, 2013
All Rights Reserved.                                         

               Piling up more potential scandals than flapjacks at the IHOP, President Barack Obama must act decisively to put his presidency back on track.  Knocked off course by revelations about Benghazi, Libya, malfeasance at the IRS and, more recently, damaging allegations about Atty. Gen. Eric Holder, Obama can’t sit idly by while the crises threaten to upend his second term.  Hoping for some type of reasonable gun control legislation, a new practical immigration reform bill and next year’s successful roll-out of Obmacare, Barack can’t let external events get out-of-hand.  With the economy and fiscal cliff debacle starting to take care of itself, the president must act boldly to undo the damage from several simultaneous controversies that threaten his presidency.  Instead to pretending they’ll go away, Barack needs to address each potential crisis head-on, dousing the flames before its too late.

             Beaten down by Obama’s Nov. 6, 2012 landslide victory over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP hopes to milk any possible mishap to help their chances in the 2014 Midterm elections.  Sweeping things under the rug hasn’t helped the Obama administration now confronting one possible scandal after another.  Starting at the bottom or the top, Obama must prioritize which scandal needs top priority.  Looking at landscape, the biggest hurdle seems recent revelations that Holder asked the FBI to review the cell phone records of 20 phone lines linked to Associated Press reporters and bureau chiefs.  Whatever the excuse, Barack knows that Holder must stand accountable for violating the AP’s constitutional rights as part of the free press.  Letting Holder skate, will only backfire when the screws get turned up in the 2014 Midterm election cycle

             Once Obama digests the facts, asking Holder to step down will start undoing the damage watching the Justice Dept. turned on its head.  No Atty. Gen. should be allowed to violate the freedom of speech of any news organization, charged under the First Amendment with defending free speech.  “It’s a torrential downpour, and its happened at the worst possible time, because the window is closing,” said former Clinton White House aid Max Bennett, concerned about Obama’s second-term agenda.  “It’s going to be very, very difficult,” referring to completing any meaningful legislation under today’s swirling controversies.  Bennett’s not correct that it’s the worst possible time.  That would have been before the Nov. 6, 2012 presidential election.  Republicans have contended that the contorted White House communications in the wake of Benghazi directly related to Obama’s re-election.

             Water under bridge doesn’t help Obama’s chances of getting off the hook, regaining control of his message and moving his agenda forward.  Holder’s presence on the scene is far worse than U.N. Amb. Susan Rice when Obama wanted her to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state.  Once she removed her name, the Benghazi controversy died down.  New media reports about how the State Department doctored Rice’s talking points haven’t helped matters, handing the GOP more fuel to keep the controversy burning.  Dealing with each negative publicity event helps defuse the crisis from potentially getting out of control.  White House spokesman Jay Carney is beginning to lose credibility reciting the same old talking points instead of pinpointing specific remedial steeps to address any unanswered questions.  Keeping Holder onboard exacerbates the controversy.

             Obama doesn’t have to sit back passively and wait out the various controversies.  GOP operatives are busy milking every unanswered question in response to the White House’s inaction.  However Holder has recently justified his actions, it’s time for the White House to act decisively.  Dithering only makes things worse.  While there’s little the White House can do to stop the GOP from going after Hillary on Benghazi, Obama can act decisively when it comes to Holder.  Obama has less control over another brewing scandal at the IRS involving GOP-bacjed 501 (c) 4 groups designed to advance political agendas, not social welfare programs.  Obama’s best bet to stop the PR hemorrhage is to can Holder for actions not befitting his office.  Given other problems with Holder’s Justice Dept., it’s time to ask for his resignation as a positive step toward fixing the problem.

             Ohama’s second-term agenda is threatened not by mistakes but by inaction and dithering to correct egregious mistakes, especially revelations about Atty. Gen. Eric Holder authorizing surveillance on AP’s phone records.  Instead of handing the GOP an early Christmas gift and making things worse, Obama needs to take the bull by the horns and do what’s right.  Whatever Holder’s past accomplishments or mistakes, it’s time to ask for the 62-year-old AG’s walking papers.  Too many folks who voted for Obama are counting on perfecting his domestic or foreign policies to be waylaid by poor common sense and bad judgment.  No matter what excuse, spying on AP reporters crossed the line.  Getting rid of Holder doesn’t fix all the White House’s problems but it sends a loud message that the process has begun.  Sitting on the fence only makes a bad situation worse.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.