Is Obama's second term sunk? 'Maybe I should just pack up and go home.'
| Washington
It is Day 100 in President Obama鈥檚 second term, not the milestone moment it was in the first term, but still an opportunity for stock-taking.
In a hastily called press conference Tuesday morning, Mr. Obama laughed at a reporter鈥檚 suggestion that he may not have the 鈥渏uice鈥� to get the rest of his agenda through a divided Congress, after the defeat of a gun-control measure that had strong public backing and the president鈥檚 vocal support.
鈥淢aybe I should just pack up and go home,鈥� the president joked, speaking in the White House briefing room. 鈥淎s Mark Twain said, you know, rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated at this point.鈥�
What a difference a few days, and a wholly different context, make. At last Saturday night鈥檚 black-tie White House Correspondents鈥� Dinner, Obama stepped to the podium to the rap tune 鈥淎ll I Do Is Win鈥� and said, 鈥�Rush Limbaugh warned you about this 鈥� second term, baby.鈥�
The reality, of course, is somewhere in between. Each issue on the table has its own political dynamic. Obama expressed confidence that 鈥渁 range of things鈥� will get done, despite the 鈥渄ysfunction鈥� on Capitol Hill. 聽
鈥淚 feel confident that the bipartisan work that's been done on immigration reform will result in a bill that passes the Senate and passes the House and gets on my desk,鈥� the president said.
Obama also voiced caution over how the United States would proceed on Syria, given the recent signs that chemical weapons had been used in that nation鈥檚 civil war.
鈥淲e now have evidence that chemical weapons have been used inside of聽Syria,鈥� the president said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 know when they were used, how they were used, or who used them.... If we end up rushing to judgment without hard, effective evidence, then we can find ourselves where we can鈥檛 mobilize the international community to support what we do."
On the Boston Marathon bombings, the president backed up the Federal Bureau of Investigation, following the revelation that the FBI had been tipped off by the Russian government over the activities of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two brothers alleged to have detonated bombs at the marathon.
鈥淏ased on what I've seen so far, the FBI performed its duties; Department of Homeland Security did what it was supposed to be doing,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淏ut this is hard stuff.鈥�
Obama was responding to a question about a report that the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, has ordered a broad review of all the intelligence-gathering before the April 15 attack.
The president called Mr. Clapper鈥檚 review 鈥渟tandard procedure,鈥� saying that whenever there鈥檚 an incident, the government reviews all the steps taken beforehand and determines if any lessons can be learned.
鈥淥ne of the dangers that we now face are self-radicalized individuals who are already here in the United States, in some cases may not be part of any kind of network, but because of whatever warped, twisted ideas they may have, may decide to carry out an attack,鈥� Obama said. 鈥淎nd those are in some way more difficult to prevent.鈥�
Still, he said, he has asked his counterterrorism team to see what more can be done to engage with 鈥渃ommunities where there's a potential for self-radicalization of this sort.鈥�
The president took questions for only 48 minutes, less than the usual hour he devotes to press conferences. And he only called on TV reporters, except for Antonieta Cadiz of impreMedia, a Hispanic newspaper chain. On Thursday, Obama heads to Mexico and then Costa Rica.
But he did break from his usual practice of ignoring shouted questions as he leaves the room, when he responded to one about Jason Collins, the National Basketball Association player who announced Monday that he is gay and whom Obama called to congratulate. The president returned to the podium, and delivered effusive praise for Mr. Collins.
鈥淵ou know, given the importance of sports in our society,鈥� Obama said, 鈥渇or an individual who's excelled at the highest levels in one of the major sports to go ahead and say, 鈥楾his is who I am. I'm proud of it; I'm still a great competitor. I'm still seven feet tall and can bang with Shaq and, you know, deliver a hard foul鈥� 鈥� and for a lot of young people out there who are gay or lesbian, who are struggling with these issues, to see a role model like that who鈥檚 unafraid, I think it鈥檚 a great thing.鈥�
