Was President Obama's Open Mic 'Gaffe' Really A Gaffe?

Beltway Media luminary Jonathan Capehart gravely intoned that President Obama ought to know by now that "every moment is an open mic moment." I'll say. Watch the President's body language. Does this look like a leader who is having a private 'moment' with a counterpart? Or rather, one who is well aware that the cameras and mic are trained on them, and in case someone doesn't catch on that a little Beltway news is being generated, there's the familiar fist churning gesture of the President's and what I thought was a nice touch/counter-touch: a lingering hand on Russian President Medvedev's arm and Dmitry's hand over the President's, signaling friendly assent and understanding. Watch:

Gaffe?! Really ... CHECK! I love it when the President plays his political opposition and the MSM/Idiot Punditocracy/Beltway Media like a Stradivarius violin. Let's go over this thing objectively. What do the media IDIOTS, Obama haters, and wingnut political opposition think the President says to his counterparts privately?! ("NO, THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR AND THEREFORE I SHALL HAVE ALL THE NECESSARY FLEXIBILITY TO, e.g., NEGOTIATE TREATIES AND GET THEM PASSED BY A CONGRESS THAT IS ALSO UP FOR ELECTION!") RIIII-IIGHT.

How about this: The Republican candidates have already been publicly SCOLDED by this President for their jingoistic "talk of war," reminding them not so subtly that, in his position as Commander-in-Chief, he has a SOLEMN responsibility to protect the American people and to seek negotiated, peaceful solutions to thorny foreign policy issues before they escalate into crisis and war. The old adage that "all politics stops at the water's edge" no longer applies with this new breed of treasonous Republicans, who have done everything in their power, from day one, to oppose this President on everything, from the economy to foreign policy — to the ultimate detriment of We, the American People. Wouldn't President Obama just looove to remind us of Republican anti-American intransigence.

And what about this: What kind of profile in courage and presidential leadership is Willard Mitt Romney, when he AVOIDS LIKE THE PLAGUE taking a stand on the health care debate before the Supreme Court, and how it relates to Romneycare, nor will he take a foreign policy position on whether or not we should remain in Afghanistan, per the President's mandate and timetable? Want to talk about "FLEXIBILITY" on foreign policy during an election year, wingnuts? REALLY?! BRING IT ON, IMBECILES.

What surprised me: President Medvedev's excellent English. These guys — Medvedev and Putin — would do wonders for Russian-American relations if they shared some of their multilingualism on official foreign visits, instead of always playing to their respective domestic political bases with clunky translated statements. Actually, it's nice to know that the leaders communicate much more clearly and concisely in private than those awkward joint public appearances where important language and nuance can truly be lost in translation.