Putting a Pretty Face on "Present"

I've noted before that some journalists are beginning to view with a negative eye the strange leadership vacuum in The White House.

Well, not the AP's Jim Kuhnhenn, thank you very much. Writing for the AP, Kuhnhenn describes the President's MO on the budget and the Wisconsin controversies as an "above the fray" strategy -- it's all part of the Obama genius, don't you know? Of course, the President is also remaining "above the fray," i.e., voting "present" on foreign policy, too (aside from the reflexive bullying of Israel).

One has to wonder how Kuhnhenn would airbrush the President's apparent willingness to involve himself in matters ranging from March madness to the conduct of the Cambridge police to school bullying. A reporter who wasn't so fully "in the tank" for the President might even come up with a rule of thumb: In any particular issue, President willingness to "enter the fray" seems inversely correlated with the necessity of presidential leadership.

But hey, if you want a guy who's gonna be tough on Cap'n Crunch, he's your man.