Oh my.... so many distractions for Obama, aren’t there? Only a week ago, the North Korean missile test was an “annoying distraction” from Barack Obama’s call for a world without nuclear weapons and his pledge that America would lead the way in disarming. And only a couple of days earlier the president insisted Iraq was a “distraction” — from what, I forget: The cooing press coverage of Michelle’s wardrobe? No doubt when the Iranians nuke Israel, that, too, will be an unwelcome distraction from the administration’s plans for federally subsidized daycare, just as Pearl Harbor was an annoying distraction from the New Deal, and the First World War was an annoying distraction from the Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s dinner plans.
Some bright reporter notes that in the last 30 days there have been some 2,500 stories featuring Obama and “distractions,” as opposed to about 800 “distractions” for Bush in his entire second term. The story suggests the unprecedented pace at which the mountain of distractions are piling up: “First North Korea, Iran — now Somali pirates.” Hmmmm.... what's next on the "distraction" list, new White House Dog Bo just dropped a man-size dump in the Lincoln Bedroom?
Er.... okay. So the North Korean test is a “distraction,” the Iranian nuclear program is a “distraction,” and the seizure of a U.S.-flagged vessel in international waters is a “distraction.” Maybe it would be easier just to have my ol' State Department maps reprinted with the 'Rest of the World' relabeled “Distractions.” Oh, to be sure, you could still have occasional takes of presidential photo-opportunities —that square in Prague, Buckingham Palace — but with the land beyond the edge of the Queen’s gardens ominously marked “Here be distractions . . . ”