Obama seeking to become a wartime president

Obama wants the Congress to approve his plan to attack Syria so he can become an officially certified wartime president, and put the country on “unified status.”

Even in the wake of a brief air invasion, this stance would improve his standing in the eyes of the press, the Congress, and the public.

The press, in particular, would have a new reason to fawn over him, praise his effort and his moral position, adding that “the nation is behind him.”

Factually, it means very little, but for PR purposes, it’s gold. Suddenly, Obama would become generalized as a “unifying president,” which would be extrapolated to mean that his other programs and plans carry additional weight.

This is the way the press operates. A victory in one arena is taken to imply validity in other areas. It’s about as logical as inferring that a mule who can knock down an old fence with a kick should be anointed heavyweight boxing champion of the world.

“Mr. Obama emerged from the missile attack on Syria with an enhanced presidency. He has earned respect from our allies, even those who refused to back his plan. And domestically, the bipartisan support he was able to gather from the Congress has cast him in a new light…”

Absolute nonsense, but it works.

“The attack on Syria was a brave move, given that Russia and other nations opposed it. Obama emerges as the winner…New polls today showed a sharp jump in his overall approval rating…”

Keep slicing that baloney. Sell it.

Think of it as a mini-mini-911. Obama is doing a Bush. His predecessor in the Oval Office could barely navigate a teleprompter, but his response to the attacks on the Trade Center and the Pentagon earned him a year or two of immortality.

The art of PR creates goodwill on the slenderest of threads. It transmits the impression that what it is celebrating is the end result of public acclaim, when in fact it is inducing acclaim through bald pretense.

Reputations are built out of thin air this way. The phrase used to be “overnight sensation.”

“President Obama has gotten his groove back…”

Were chemical weapons used in Syria? If so, who really used them? How many people died in the US missile attacks? Dead issues. The important thing is the President won support from Congress and went to war. It was “clean and decisive.”

And network news ratings soar. Maybe we’ll even see a few anchors standing on rooftops in the Middle East at night, wearing Dan Rather bush jackets. Wolf Blitzer can get his groove back, too.

“This may look like a fireworks display in the evening sky, but these missiles are deadly and precise and smart…”

Bring all the old jive artists out of mothballs.

“The country needed this. In the wake of Benghazi and other troubling scandals, the administration was mired in problems. But now…”

Whoever came up with the bright idea of going to Congress to approve an attack on Syria deserves a PR plaque for ingenuity. Even if the Congress turns thumbs down on the Obama plan, he can “go it alone.”

“A valiant President, rebuffed by Congress, stood on principle and launched an attack and sent a message to international criminals…”

Somewhere in the bowels of the White House, an advisor is making midnight notes, trying to sort out the op: “Let’s see. We’re backing the thugs and terrorists in Syria. We helped arm them. If anyone used chemical weapons in Syria, it’s most likely those people. And now we’re supporting them with a missile strike against Assad, which could ultimately put them in power, with access to all the weapons, of every kind, that Assad possesses. What the hell is going on?”

It’s not the kind of contemplation that will make it into a later tell-all book or memoir.

Engineering perception is first order of business for any White House. They’ve got their hands on a valuable moment, and they’re going to squeeze every last bit of juice out of it.

Jon Rappoport