UNINVOLVED AND UNAWARE

I saw a quote today from a White House senior official in regards to a letter that was sent to Gov. Paterson of NY that urged him to not run for re-election. The official stated that, "President Obama is not involved in any way. There are officials in the White House that share the concerns that are widely held in NY about the very challenging political environment confronting Gov. Paterson. Nobody asked him to get out of the race. It is Governor Paterson's decision to make. We're confident he'll make the decision based on the best interests of the state."


Why did this quote stand out? Aside from the bully overtones - 'We're confident he'll make the decision based on the best interests of the state', what really drew my attention was the 'President Obama is not involved in any way.'


On reflection, we hear that line a lot these days, in some version or other - he also was 'not involved' in the Blagojevich scandal or the CIA interrogation probes. More often than not, though, he us just simply 'not aware'.


Take, for example, his comments on ACORN:

" You know, if -- frankly, it's not really something I've followed closely. I didn't even know that ACORN was getting a whole lot of federal money."


Or former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich:

"I had no contact with the governor or his office so I was not aware of what was happening. As I said it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don't think it's appropriate for me to comment"


The Tea Party protests:

""The White House says the president is unaware of the tea parties and will hold his own event today," "


If you think about it, this is not a new thing. He had similar problems with obliviousness on the campaign trail.


His Aunt Zeituni and her illegal status:

""Senator Obama has no knowledge of her status but obviously believes that any and all appropriate laws be followed"".


William Ayers:

"On Monday, Obama chief strategist David Axelrod said Obama was not aware of Ayers' terrorist background when he attended a political coffee at Ayers Hyde Park home at the beginning of his state senate race sometime in the fall of 1995."


And, of course, Rev. Wright:

"Obama has said he was unaware Wright had said “goddamn America,” blamed the government for infecting the black population with AIDS or made other controversial statements in his sermons in a highly billed speech on race and religion and in other appearances. "


There is also the:


Air Force One Flyover


Stock conflicts


Town Hall 9/12 protest in Washington D.C.


AIG bonuses


Is it just me or is the obliviousness of this administration breathtaking? It just seems that lately the only things they are aware of is what they are not involved in.