Our easily-distracted President needs more non-issues

Barack Obama isn't the first president to inject himself into non-presidential non-issues. Most recently, George W. Bush urged pro sports to get tough on steroids, while past chief executives stood out for literacy, physical fitness, and indoor sports with female interns.

But Obama has been busy these days. Last week he flew to Copenhagen in an unsuccessful attempt to bring the Olympics to Chicago (now, that's a mismatch). He's also arranged cop and suspect to get together over a cold one at the White House, and urged kids to stay in school, to stand up for bullied friends, and to keep hands washed. If nothing else, Obama's proving himself as easily distracted by side issues.

While it's natural for anyone elected to high office to use the bully pulpit for smaller, more personal causes, Obama seems to be bringing this to art form. Here's an op-ed piece by Gene Healy:

... the president's flight to Copenhagen last week to make a personal pitch for holding the 2016 Olympics in Chicago was an audacious move — and a dramatic failure. "Second City Absorbs Its Latest Defeat," read the (rather snotty) headline in the New York Times ... but shed no tears for Chicago. As a 2006 report from Europe's leading tourism trade association concluded, there's "little evidence of any benefit to tourism from hosting an Olympic Games, and considerable evidence of damage." With a projected half-billion-dollar deficit next year, the Second City is better off without the Games. We can't say the same for Obama's reputation after his in-person appeal failed to get his adopted hometown past the first round of voting. What new project can the president undertake to save face? How about ... reforming college football? In a post-election 60 Minutes interview last November, Obama called for selecting the national champion via an eight-team playoff: "I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."

H'mmm ... maybe he ought to pile a few more of these nonessential non-issues on his plate. One man can only do so much, and the more of these he takes on, the less the likelihood he'll screw up something really important.