Stop Already -- I'm Dizzy From All That Spinning

From the Washington Post. Who the heck is Chris Cillizza and how can he look himself in the mirror?

Can't excerpt. This is too much of a piece. Note second paragraph uses the phrase, "the Obama" -- a typo?

The resolution of the Somalian pirate hostage situation on Sunday revealed a White House working actively behind the scenes to avoid the sort of disaster that could come to define the early days of President Obama's administration.

On the surface, the Obama and his senior aides were only monitoring the situation but, according to a White House official, the administration was far more engaged behind closed doors.

Obama received his first briefing on the incident just hours after returning from his eight day trip abroad on Wednesday, and over the next 48 hours received further briefings to keep him apprised of the situation. By late Friday the president had authorized "potential emergency actions" to free the ship's captain and he did so again on Saturday. By Sunday at 4 p.m., Obama was on the phone with the rescued captain congratulating him on his new-won freedom.

The president's deep involvement in the hostage situation is a recognition that seemingly small events can grow into massive crises in a matter of days, catastrophes that can do significant political damage to even the most popular of presidents.

For those who scoff, one need only look at the Branch Davidian siege of 1993 or the Terri Schiavo case in 2005 as evidence of just how much impact localized stories can have on the national political debate if they are not managed well.

Obama and his senior aides are acutely aware that one of the major reasons the American public soured on former president George W. Bush was the impression that he was simply not attentive enough to the complicated problems that crop up domestically and internationally on an almost daily basis.

That lack of attentiveness was symbolized by the Bush administration's handling of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but that was only the tipping point for a sentiment that had long dogged the former president.

All presidents -- consciously or unconsciously -- react in opposition to the man who preceded them in the office. Jimmy Carter was too pessimistic for many Americans so Ronald Reagan ran -- and won -- on a message of sunny optimism. Bill Clinton brought a moral cloud over the White House so George W. Bush promised "restore honor and dignity to the White House." And so on.

Obama's willingness to get his hands dirty in what could have been originally dismissed as a minor matter (although it grew into a national and even international story) paid off with the successful release of the captain.

It's a public relations disaster dodged -- one of many Obama will have to avoid as he seeks to retain political momentum and keep his agenda on track.