COMMENTARY | According to RealClearPolitics, President Barack Obama and Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican, had a tense confrontation on the tarmac of the Phoenix airport. At issue was an account in Brewer's book about a previous meeting.
Obama did not appreciate the account, suggesting that it was not "cordial." Brewer described Obama as being "tense" and "thin-skinned."
According to the Weekly Standard, this was not the first time that Obama has had a public set to with a Republican governor. In the wake of the BP oil spill, Obama had a row with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal over a letter the governor had sent to the Secretary of Agriculture regarding food stamps for some of the victims. Obama believed that the letter made him look bad.
The Houston Chronicle says Obama had a tense 34 second meeting with Texas Gov. Rick Perry at the Austin, Texas, airport over border security. Obama refused to take a letter on the issue Perry offered, instead motioning for an aid to take it for him.
How does one explain President Obama's going off so publically on Republican governors who displease him? He seems to have a personality quirk that does not tolerate opposition or contradiction very well. This has been a trait that has tainted his entire administration. A good quality in a leader is the ability to listen to one's critics. The theory is that one's political enemies are motivated to ferret out the flaws in ones programs, thus allowing a good leader to examine and fix them at will.
But Obama, by not being able to take criticism, has had a tendency to make proposals that are either unworkable, unpopular, or both. His two signature accomplishments, the stimulus package and health care reform, are not only fatally flawed but also wildly unpopular. Because of the shift in political power in Congress brought on by the 2010 election - caused by public discontent with Obama's programs - the president's ability to make policy has become extremely inhibited.
Besides, publicly fighting with other politicians is not very attractive. It makes one seem petty, never a good quality in a president, especially someone who is running for reelection.
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