The Call is Coming from Inside the (White) House

Richard Cohen on last week’s revelation from Iran:

For a crisis such as this, the immense prestige of the American presidency ought to be held in reserve. Let the secretary of state issue grave warnings. When Obama said in Pittsburgh that Iran is “going to have to come clean and they are going to have to make a choice,” it had the sound of an ultimatum. But what if the Iranians don’t? What then? A president has to be careful with such language. He better mean what he says.

SecState Hillary Clinton was on Face the Nation on Sunday morning, only her second Sunday morning appearance that I can recall, since she was sworn in back in February. President Obama appeared on more shows than Clinton, just the Sunday before. He’s everywhere, saying everything. Clinton’s appearance — she had very little new to say — seemed almost like a demand: “I’m still here!” Obama is simultaneously debasing his own currency while wasting one of the stronger assets in his cabinet.

There was a terrible ’80s horror flick called “The Unnamable.” How bad was it? It’s never had a DVD release. It’s so bad that, if I remember correctly, despite the title the monster had a name.

Anyway, that’s the movie that popped into my head this morning. Because if President Obama was a bad ’80s horror flick, it would be called “The Inescapable.”