The Incredible Shrinking President: He Doesn't "Own or Control Those Numbers"

It's a little past midnight in New York, and I'd like you to humor me with a one-minute exercise. Go to the home page of The New York Times and do a search for "Obama." I just came up with "no matches found."

Now go to CNN (I'm looking at the International Edition) and do the same search. Again, I came up with "no matches found."

Now have a look at the President's Schedule for June 22 as provided by the White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov/schedule): "No public schedule."

Enmeshed in scandal at home, buffeted with crises overseas, America's president has disappeared.

Disappeared? Well, not entirely. Somebody has to run the show and tell us what he's up to. Obama is making a week long trip to Africa, from June 26 to July 3, with his wife and daughters, and the cost of this excursion does not seem to want to go away. Asked about the cost of this upcoming journey, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications Ben Rhodes told reporters on a conference call Friday (http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-administration-defers-security-africa-trip-costs-skips-211646601.html):

"We don't have the exact figure on costs—frankly we don't own or control those numbers."

Hmm . . . Let's try that one out on the domestic front:

"Jeffrey . . ."

"Yes, dear."

"How much did that MRAP that you just brought back from Afghanistan cost us?"

"Sorry, dear, but we don't own or control those numbers."

Well, you can't see it online, but that was my pillow, blanket, trashy novel and medicinal vodka bottle (filled with water) being thrown out the bedroom door.