Beware The Hubris Trap

President Obama was typically pleased with himself when he displayed the ability to swat a fly while giving an interview. "That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it?" he asked his interviewer while inviting the cameraman to film his kill.
The President has been pleased with himself a lot lately, which he has good reason to be. He’s a highly accomplished man who has earned his place in history, at a very young age, and is enjoying great popularity at the most challenging job in the world.
While it’s natural to enjoy the power and trappings of the office, the non-stop celebrity being perhaps the biggest perk, Obama should do more to embrace the stature of the presidency rather than try to recast the commander and chief as an ordinary Joe who goes out for hamburgers and dates with his wife in Manhattan, hands school notes to little girls and talks to world leaders with his feet on the desk in the Oval Office.
Putting the Middle East peace process on the fast track shows fortitude and confidence, as does the President’s economic policies and initiatives such as health care reform. An activist, intelligent president surrounded by competent advisors and staff can get a lot done in four years.
But he must beware the hubris factor that comes naturally to leaders, especially when they sail into office as smoothly as he did. George W. Bush, elected by a hair, thought he’d have the conflict in Iraq wrapped up in a few short months. He became far less bold when that failure cut him down to size. With his popularity surplus, there seems to be no limit to Obama’s ambition, which means that the feet on his desk may not be as well planted on the ground as they should be.
The nuclear crises in Iran and North Korea will surely put the Obama administration to its biggest test. The president needs to know which solutions are realistic, and steer clear of those that will only have looked like great ideas in the history books.
Congratulations on that fly, Mr. President. Now be careful of the ones in the ointment.