COMM 506 Obama's Slip?

     

     Before President Barack Obama was set to have an on-air meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the two of them talked quietly about some things. Their microphones were on, and being in the positions that they are in, they had to know that whatever was said between them would be able to be heard and then re-transmitted. They were talking about nuclear missile policy, and Obama said that this is his "last election," and that he would have "more flexibility" to talk about it after "my election."

     This little "slip" on Obama's part has been argued about for the last few weeks. Some say that he did it by accident, and that there is no intent behind the statement. Others argue that he said it purposefully, and it is showing confidence on his part that he will be reelected.

     In these times of 24-hour news channels and the Internet, any tiny piece of news can be blown out of proportion. Especially in the United States, where politics is a hotly talked-about subject, anything that the President does, says, doesn't do, or doesn't say can and will be talked about by all parties. With the election looming, politicians are getting more and more desperate for something to use to attack the opponent. 

     Personally, I do not think Obama had anything malicious behind this remark. I think he was being confident in that he is going to be reelected, and when that comes, he will have more breathing room to talk about hot-button subjects like nuclear safety. He has been the President for close to four years, and was a senator prior to that; he knows the game of politics, and he knows that if there is a microphone in front of him, odds are there are people on the other end listening and recording. This is just a case of the other side wanting some ammunition against him; whether or not the general public will be swayed by it is up to them.