Having been forced to face up to the tense realities of 'leading the free world', President Obama's early return to Washington from his vacation likely means something of note is coming. With Iraq now transitioning from a humanitarian crisis to helping a troubled nation, it seems the advisers 'boots' that are not on the ground around the Mosul Dam are very much on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri. The deployment of the National Guard in Ferguson was not run by the White House PR department and so it will be intriguing to see whether Obama backs it or questions it... Of course, as the signs show below, the people of Ferguson want to know when he will visit...
President Obama is due to speak at 4pmET (so go grab dinner and he will be on when you get back)
A growing force in Iraq...
U.S. jets, drones and bombers pounded Sunni insurgent positions to ease the siege of Mosul Dam http://t.co/MS4LleE7dg [7] pic.twitter.com/tdf8F5kdBF [8]
— WSJ News Graphics (@WSJGraphics) August 18, 2014 [9]
As Bloomberg asks... when will Obama visit Ferguson? [10]
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There’s a good reason presidents usually don’t swoop in to the scene of a local catastrophe like the one that has emerged in Ferguson, Missouri, since a police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, a little over a week ago. It’s because the presence of the commander in chief would greatly complicate the logistical and security difficulties police are already struggling to confront.
But in Ferguson, it’s now become clear that those security problems are being exacerbated by the police.
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In Ferguson, the logic of why a president should keep his distance has now flipped. That’s because the main force driving the protests is no longer Brown’s death, but widespread anger at the acute lack of leadership displayed by almost every local and state official with responsibility for addressing it.
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Clearly, they lack confidence that local law enforcement officials will do a capable and honest job. But things are so far gone in Ferguson that only Obama himself can reassure the broader public and instill confidence that Brown’s case will be handled as it should be. All the more so, given his impressive track record of speaking to the country about race. Obama did the right thing by cutting short his summer vacation. But he should go to Ferguson before returning to Washington.
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Read more here... [10]
