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Opinion: Obama news conference: What’s surprising? Troubling?

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One reporter asks several questions. “What has surprised you the most? Humbled you the most? Enchanted you the most? Troubled ...”

“Let me write this down,” President Obama says, fetching a pen.

“Surprised, troubled, enchanted,” the reporter says.

“Nice,” says the president. “And what was the last one?”

“Humbled.”

There’s a pause as Obama considers, then takes each word, one by one:

Surprised? “I am surprised, compared to where I started, by the number of critical issues coming to a head all at the same time.” When he first starting running for office, Iraq was dominant. The economy was an issue. “Obviously I did not anticipate the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.” So unlike new administrations that deal with three big issues, he says, his has about eight to address.

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Troubled? He’d prefer the word “sobered.” He says he disappointed that “change in Washington comes slow.” Bickering and posturing remains, even in a crisis.

We’ll get to enchanted and humbled in another post.

-- Steve Padilla

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