Of all the White House optics, few–if any–can be as cringe-worthy as context for a president’s fund-raising flights. It would be nice if the office were above such expedience, but it comes with the job. Indeed, as we’re periodically reminded, any president is also the Hustler-in-Chief.
Last Tuesday, for example, President Barack Obama was shown boarding and disembarking from Air Force One for a pair of high-roller affairs in New York and then a Marine One helicopter sortie for the short flight to Greenwich, Conn. to charm some more 1 percenters. It was all in a glad-handing, entreating day’s work–even as the world confronted the viral duo of Ebola and ISIS.