The downside of an umbrella (but not a Brockabrella) is that it requires a free hand to hold it. This is fine if you're walking down the street, or leaving your Presidential helicopter and walking to your Presidential limousine, but makes life rather difficult when you're standing at a podium trying to deliver a speech. It's also difficult to pull off when you have a beer in one hand and a hot dog in the other.
There are times when we schedule events that require good weather. It may be something as simple as a backyard barbecue, or a trip to an amusement park. If the weather doesn't cooperate, you have the option of either changing your plans or cancelling them altogether. Maybe you have someone hold an umbrella for you while you tend the grill, or maybe you spend the day at the hotel's indoor pool and put off the Disney World trip for another day. When I lived in the Seattle area, we just ignored the rain and went on with our plans regardless of the weather. Sometimes you just have to deal with soggy buns.
Some occasions can't be cancelled, postponed or moved inside. If you've planned an opulent outdoor wedding and a surprise shower pops up in the middle of the vows, it's rather difficult to pack it all up and move inside. The same is true of a White House press conference. If the press conference is scheduled outdoors, then everything has to be set up. All the cameras and microphones need to be in place, along with the flags and podiums. Barring extreme weather, moving inside is not a reasonable option.
Last week, during a joint press conference with the Turkish Prime Minister, President Obama asked for two Marines to hold umbrellas for him and the Prime Minister. Suddenly, we have another scandal. It is against the Marine Corps uniform regulations for male Marines to use or carry an umbrella while in uniform. Doesn't the President have any respect for the Marines? Can't he hold his own umbrella? After all, according to Sarah Palin, "most Americans hold their own umbrellas".
Apparently, it's okay have someone else hold your umbrella, only if you're Sarah Palin.
There are several different things President Obama could have done in this situation. The first, most obvious is to just ignore the rain and finish the press conference. In lieu of that, he could have held his own umbrella, thereby forcing the Turkish Prime Minister to also hold an umbrella. He could have also offered an umbrella to the Prime Minister and done without, or used an umbrella without offering one to his guest. Why didn't he do any of these things instead of committing the most heinous offense possible by asking two Marines to hold umbrellas?
Here is a word you may want to write down on a slip of paper, have laminated and carry with you at all times. It is a word of great power, a word that allows two families that hate each other to be civil for a wedding. It is a word that allows countries with completely different ideologies sit down to work out their differences. It's a word that prevents me from screaming "You're an idiot", several times each day. That word is "Diplomacy".
Diplomacy requires the President to extend courtesy and equal treatment to his guest, so an umbrella becomes a diplomatic necessity. What you can't see in the photos, explains why he didn't force the Prime Minister to hold the umbrella himself. On the podium are prepared notes, either on index cards or paper. Reminders of what the Prime Minister wants to say, prepared answers to expected questions and maybe a few witticisms. Shuffling through those notes requires two hands unless the Prime Minister wants to look like a bumbling fool. Once again, diplomacy comes to the rescue.
To clear up the final point, while it is against regulations for a Marine to carry or use an umbrella while in uniform, the President is well within his rights to request 2 Marines to hold umbrellas. It's not like he was asking 851 of them to die over non-existent weapons of mass destruction. For the Marines involved, their friends and family get to see them looking their best on national TV and no one is shooting at them.
In the middle of all the ridiculous Republican mud-slinging over trivialities, not a single word has been said about the Congressional Budget Office's report that the Federal deficit is shrinking at much higher rate than previously projected. Currently the deficit is at approximately the same level it was when President Obama first took office and will continue to drop for the next decade, barring any massive changes. But all of that is fuel for another day. For now, I propose Presidential Brockabrellas for everyone.
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