Last month, after John McCain had taunted Barack Obama about not having been to Iraq in a couple of years, Obama went on an overseas tour with stops in Iraq, Israel and Europe. It was a beautifully executed trip topped off by a speech in Berlin before a crowd of 200,000 people.
At the time, the McCain campaign tried desperately to counter the presidential-looking visuals from the Berlin speech by accusing Obama of being “presumptuous.”
Speaking of presumptuous, what other word would describe the fact that John McCain has been doing a weekly radio address for at least the last month. Today’s address featured this bit of snark:
Taking in my opponent’s performances is a little like watching a big summer blockbuster, and an hour in realizing that all the best scenes were in the trailer you saw last fall. In the way of running mates, Senator Obama should consider someone with a knack for brevity and directness, to balance the ticket.
FUN-nee.
The tradition of the weekly presidential radio address was started by Ronald Reagan — who, ironically, loathed John McCain — and the practice has been continued by every president since.
Next we can expect Cindy McCain to visit Laura Bush so she can measure for drapes.
President Calvin Coolidge was the first president to address the public by radio. FDR popularized it.
http://www.brainyhistory.com/events/1924/february_22_1924_83802.html
Finally, you miss the criticism of the Obama Europe trip. The Europe trip was completely self-serving and did nothing for the US or Illinois.
It just added to his image as an empty suit.