White House plots VA-scandal distractions

USA Today:

An air of hubris — a sort of we-know-it-all quality — has permeated the Obama White House from the beginning. It worked as a public relations strategy for the better part of five years. But it seems to be breaking down now.

The sophisticated swagger and savoir faireprojected by the President and his strategists — audacity with cool, if you will — captivated a major segment of the 2008 voting public, many of whom were tired of George W. Bush and believed Barack Obama could bring real change to Washington.

This somewhat-arrogant-and-sometimes-intimidating PR approach to governing had success. It helped him pass a $787 billion economic stimulus bill and browbeat fellow Democrats to enact a highly partisan health care plan that Republicans wanted no part of. It got him through a bruising re-election campaign despite a less-than-stellar record on the economy and still-lingering questions about his handling of the terroristattack in Benghazi, Libya.

But over the past 12 months, the vaunted Obama PR limousine, used to smoothing out bumps with ease, has been blowing tires as it tries to roll over a minefield of crises and scandals.

Troubles began with allegations that the IRS targeted conservative groups for special scrutiny during an election year.

They were followed by startling revelations about NSA domestic spying and the leaking of secrets by Edward Snowden.

Obama ran into criticism for waffling on chemical weapons in Syria, appearing to go soft on Iran’s nuclear program and not standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin over Crimea.

Then there was the disastrous rollout of Obamacare and the re-emergence of Benghazi through email revelations that the White House might have been involved in a cover-up, triggering a new set of hearings scheduled for summer.

Through it all, the Obama PR machine tried to spin all troubles away by staging feel-good events in schools and colleges and showcasing the president on the side of immigrants, poor kids and the little guy trying to earn a living. Despite all those efforts, Obama’s job-approval rating in the Gallup Poll has been below 50% for nearly a year.

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