A Mix of Politics and Business With Obama
Former President Bill Clinton used state dinners as a pretext to party with his Hollywood acquaintances. Past President George W. Bush filled up his guest list for state dinners with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, prominent Indian American GOP fundraisers and their friends.
On the contrary, in the current administration’s first state dinner, the guest list for President Barack Obama’s formal gathering for Prime Minister Singh was a carefully calculated blend of business and politics, of soft and hard power.
The administration members on both sides of the table were no-brainers that required very minimal explanation: the cream of the Indian delegation was there, as were the American vice president, the Secretary of State, and top officials of key departments such as energy, homeland security, and climate change among others.
On the political aspect of the dinner, Barack Obama made a few surprises. As a result, while the selection of House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer or a Gary Ackerman was obligatory, given Hoyer’s membership and Ackerman’s status as associate chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, other visitors were analytical and thoughtful going into appeasing Indian matters and minimizing opposition on the Hill.
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True to an extent, which is a big share of the reason the Conservatives started out leaving behind the Republicans a whole decade ago, or at the very least ceased voting for their candidates. Im somewhat middle-of-the-road, but no way was I going to vote for a Bush or McCain. However, the Presidency merely has so much power – they CANNOT pass and a more precise assesment of expenditure comes from looking at who is leading the House and Senate, not the White House. The Obamabots are making a differentiation when it suits them as their President struggles to act out his agenda, and the Bushies did the same when the spot was reversed later in his Presidency.