In comedy, or in playing the stock market, or in just about anything else worth doing, timing is everything.
Take President Barack Obama’s scheduled fundraising visit to Seattle. The president reportedly will be a guest today at the waterfront mansion of Bruce and Ann Blume, with tickets going for $500 to attend, $2,500 to attend and have a picture taken with Obama, and $10,000 for additional access. Funds will go to the Democratic National Committee. According to Patti Payne of the Puget Sound Business Journal, “Reliable sources report that Obama will also visit the Hunts Point home of former Costco CEO Jim Sinegal . . . for a more intimate roundtable event that would cost significantly more.”
The idea of a high-powered politician taking part in fundraising activities to shake a few hands and cultivate support certainly is nothing new. Nor is it limited to Democrats. But, as we mentioned, timing is everything, and the timing of Obama’s Puget Sound jaunt is garnering plenty of attention.
To start with, Seattle already was preparing for what is being billed as Carmagedon. Several lanes of Interstate 90, which crosses Lake Washington, are scheduled to be shut down all week for maintenance, promising to turn the typical Seattle commute from miserable to apocalyptic. Presidential motorcades tend to cause enough traffic problems on their own; add one to the perpetual parking lot that is Seattle and things could get ugly.
Not that Obama — or any other president — should plan their schedule around local traffic concerns. But the president’s visit to Seattle for some glad-handing and some cash-counting does touch upon a larger issue. Last week, in the wake of a Malaysia Airlines jetliner being shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people on board, Obama attended a fundraiser in New York while details of the attack were still emerging. This gave rise to questions about when it is appropriate to cancel a fundraising excursion — in other words, when the president or any other politician should be busy working instead of meeting with donors.
The Washington Post reported that Obama has attended 393 fundraising events during his 5½ years in office; in comparison, George W. Bush headlined 318 fundraisers during his full eight years as president, and Bill Clinton attended more than 600 while president. Michael D. Shear of the New York Times wrote, “With some rare exceptions, the public relations team around the president has remained consistently stubborn about refusing to let the never-ending stream of political, economic or international crises affect Mr. Obama’s daily schedule.”
It’s not as if the president isn’t working while attending a dinner or meeting with donors. Bush often was criticized for going on “vacation” at his Texas ranch, but in reality the President of the United States never is on vacation. The issue of attending a fundraiser while information about the jetliner attack was being uncovered is a matter of the president demonstrating the proper tone and demonstrating leadership. When should a president cancel a scheduled engagement? Which circumstances warrant immediate, undivided attention? How much time should Obama spend acknowledging the events of the day when at a pre-planned speech?
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said of Obama’s response, “This is just what we used to call in the military AWOL,” and additional criticism came from other angles. The only sure way to avoid such criticism would be for Obama to cancel the fundraiser. Anything short of that, and it’s all about timing.
