Eclat

I said something at the dinner table last night that I think needs to be turned into a blog post. After watching Obummer's interview with Steve Kroft wherein he broke both arms patting himself on the back, I said that he was "blinded by his own eclat." Here are  few of his eclat moments:

"I became a lightning rod for some partisan battles. I could not be prouder of the track record we’ve put together. By almost every measure, the country is significantly better off than when I came in. If you can look back and say, “The economy’s better. Our security’s better. The environment’s better. Our kids’ education is better,”

"You know, I changed those things that were in direct-- my direct control. I mean, I-- look, I’m proud of the fact that, with two weeks to go, we’re probably the first administration in modern history that hasn’t had a major scandal in the White House. 

"Part of the job description is also shaping public opinion. And we were very effective, and I was very effective, in shaping public opinion around my campaigns." 

"In the first two years, when I had a strong majority in the House and the Senate, we were as productive as any administration has been since the ‘60s. I mean, we got a lot done." 

" Yeah, look, if you’re putting all the weight on that particular phrase [red line], then in terms of how it was interpreted in Washington, I think you make a legitimate point. I’ve got to tell you, though, I don’t regret at all saying that if I saw Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons on his people that that would change my assessments in terms of what we were or were not willing to do in Syria."

"[Next] I’m going to try to get some sleep. And do a little puttering. Because I haven’t had a lot of chance to reflect and absorb all this. I do not expect to be behind a desk a lot. I look forward to teaching the occasional class, ‘cause I was a professor. And I had fun doing it."

"I am looking forward to getting out of the bubble. I am glad that I’m leaving this place at a relatively young age, at 55. So I have the opportunity for a second maybe even a third act in a way that I think would be tougher if I were, you know, the age of some presidents when they left. "

If you want to read the whole 60 minutes interview, go to CBS Recap. Wear your sunglasses ...