Obama Takes Credit in India for an Agreement Started Under Bush and Goes Downhill from There

Interesting commentary by Chip Reid of CBS when Obama talks about Obama's use of words saying "supporting" 50,000 jobs, Reid is quick to say that is less than "creating" which is interesting. The deal with India was signed under Pres Bush in early 2008. The contract was set for Lockheed Martin when India Delayed the Fighter Deal because India could not make a decision on what fighter to buy during the two-year contract window as other companies decided to submit bids.  Now in typical Obama fashion he is taking credit for a contract originally negotiated under President Bush.

Where was Hillary? We don't remember seeing a major trip overseas by a President without the Secretary of State being right by his side. Everything should have been negotiated ahead of his visit by the Secretary of State but then Hillary seems to have her own agenda.

There is no way that the White House can spin this trip was successful -- trying to make lemonade out of lemons this time is not going to work. The trip was a failure and Obama is quickly losing what little amount of respect he had left from world leaders who were way too quick to embrace someone with no experience and frankly by all accounts very lazy.

Amazing to watch many members of the media quit covering for Obama.  Wonder when some woke up and had to admit to themselves that this man should never have become President based on his hollow rhetoric.  Many of the press corps willingly bought into everything he said refusing to acknowledge the truth or do any investigation.  They allowed their disgust at Bush to cloud their reporting and Obama took full advantage.  Don't expect an apology but I expect fair reporting. 

Chip Reid is one of the rare reporters who doesn't need to aplogize to anyone because as  a White House reporter over the years he continues to report facts not spin no matter who is President.  We first noticed Reid when he was reporting from the White House during the Clinton troubles with Monicagate.  Never have a sense when watching his reports or reading what he writes that he is someone who spins or covers up for any President.  In fact he is quick to point out, as he did in this article, when he perceives a White House Press Secretary or Advisor is spinning.  Over the years he has earned respect for his ethics as a reporter by reporting the facts and pointing out the spin which we wish was emulated by more reporters.

November 14, 2010 8:20 AM
White House Push-Back on Asia Trip Failure MemePosted by Chip Reid

President Barack Obama's 10-day trip to Asia started off surprisingly well. Right off the bat he got a "deliverable," as they call it in the world of international diplomacy.

During his first stop in Mumbai he announced more than 20 trade deals between India and American corporations worth about $10 billion, "supporting" (something less than "creating") more than 50,000 jobs in the U.S.

But there's a danger in front-loading the good news on an international trip. There's also a danger (as the White House certainly should have known) in building up expectations and then not meeting them.

That's exactly what happened in South Korea. To hear administration officials talk about it, the Free Trade Agreement with Korea was all but in the bag. So when it somehow slipped away, some reporters quickly declared it a "failure."

That was compounded by the fact that the administration was unable to convince other nations to agree to tough language on China's manipulation of its currency.

So in rapid succession they fell short twice, and the word "failure" started to creep into stories in a way that seemed to sum up the entire trip.

The President clearly was not pleased.

At his wrap-up press conference in South Korea he was unusually defensive. As he often does -- and sometimes he's right -- he criticized the media for focusing on immediate drama and disagreement, instead of the hard-fought, long-term results of international diplomacy.

It's not clear what irked him most: the media, or his frustration at not getting everything he wanted. But something had gotten under his skin.

When I asked him what was the "number one complaint, concern, or piece of advice that you got from foreign leaders about the U.S. economy and your stewardship of the economy?" he snapped back: "What about compliments? You didn't put that in the list."

Sheryl Stolberg of The New York Times asked him if his relations with other foreign leaders were a bit rocky now compared with previous summits when they "maybe were just a teensy bit falling all over you when you first arrived on the world stage."

The President didn't take kindly to that, either, sharply (some would say angrily) responding: "That's not how I remember it. I remember our first G20, you guys writing the exact same stories you're writing now about the exact same issues. Don't you remember that, Sheryl?"

So with the President apparently frustrated, and the word "failure" appearing in a steady stream of stories, the White House shifted into damage control mode, sending new National Security Advisor Tom Donilon to give a briefing to the White House press corps.

Here's how he summed up the trip:

"From the first day in Mumbai to today in Japan, I think that the United States has dramatically advanced its critical goals and its strategic interest in the region."

Wow -- sounds like a gigantic success. How does he justify that?

Source: CBS News.com