Steven Benen at MaddowBlog comments on the press conference Obama ran concerning the Iran deal:
And then Obama did something I’ve never seen him – or really, any president – do. From the transcript:
“All right. Have we exhausted Iran questions here? I think there’s a helicopter that’s coming. But I really am enjoying this Iran debate.
“Topics that may not have been touched upon, criticisms that you’ve heard that I did not answer…. I just want to make sure that we’re not leaving any stones un-turned here.”It’s really worth watching the video of this portion, because I’ve never seen anything like it at a White House press conference. In effect, Obama wanted to hear every possible criticism – from Republicans, from Israeli officials, from the media, anyone – of the Iran deal so that he could explain, in detail, why those criticisms are wrong. …
It conveyed an amazing level of confidence in the diplomatic agreement. Obama made it clear that no matter what anyone asked, argued, or complained, he knew this deal is stronger than anything its (or his) critics could come up with.
I suspect historians are going to look at the performance of President Obama and put him in the same category as Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, and George Washington Carver (and many others) – a man who realized that he faced more critical judgments and harsher (and irrational) criticisms than a white person might in the same situation, and found a way to exceed expectations. From the mundane – an Administration practically free of scandal – to dealing with the emergencies of the day, from Republican leftovers to, perhaps, the Iran nuclear deal – he has been more than competent. While the evaluation of the Iran deal by experts remains to be well-publicized (or I’m too busy to look), history may label him as superb.
Or, as Andrew Sullivan is wont to say with regard to Obama’s opponents, “Meep Meep, motherfuckers.”
