Although the film features Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry, and National Security Advisor Susan Rice, it focuses on United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power and Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, a 29-year-old speechwriter with no foreign policy experience when he joined the administration in early 2009.
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Rhodes is pretty much the star of the show, and he knows it. His performance might remind you of every quasi-serious role George Clooney has ever played: He acts like he’s unaffected but it’s obvious that each word, hand gesture, and facial expression is stagecraft designed to make him look pensive and really, really smart.
Rhodes holds his gaze on someone just a bit too long, either to make the person uncomfortable or to non-verbally say “F-you.” His twitching and pacing are supposed to show an indefatigable thinking man in constant motion. As one of Obama’s longest-serving and closest advisors to the president—Rice explains the “mind-meld” between the two—Rhodes is never far away from the commander-in-chief, seated close to him in meetings and whispering advice in his ear.
This explains why Rhodes is so impressed with himself ....
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Rhodes repeatedly cites what he views as the administration’s top national-security achievements: Cuba, the Iran nuclear deal, and the Paris climate accord. At one point, while musing about what more could’ve been done to halt the murder, rape, torture, destruction, and resulting refugee crisis in Syria, Rhodes says, “if we would have gone full-bore into Syria, we wouldn’t be sitting here with a climate agreement, we’d have no Iran agreement, we wouldn’t have had the time to do Cuba.” Sorry, Syrians, you were sold out for carbon emissions targets.
Echoing his boss (or could be the other way around), Rhodes insists climate change is a bigger threat to humanity than the Islamic State—“only one thing could destroy the world”—and dismisses any rebuke to that grievous misjudgment as “cable news” fodder. Rhodes also admits the administration miscalculated Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The error we made is that Putin doesn’t pursue Russia’s interests, it is to pursue Putin’s interest. We figured it out, but it took us too long.”
‘The Final Year’ Depicts The Chaotic Legacy Of Obama’s National Security Team
As the world implodes around them, President Obama and his advisors blithely find time to lavish praise on each other and themselves.
no wonder Foreign Policy was suck a cluster fluck ...
a guy with ZERO FP Experience, a former SPEECH Writer sitting at the right have of the President at every meeting offering advice
[clip]
Rhodes is pretty much the star of the show, and he knows it. His performance might remind you of every quasi-serious role George Clooney has ever played: He acts like he’s unaffected but it’s obvious that each word, hand gesture, and facial expression is stagecraft designed to make him look pensive and really, really smart.
Rhodes holds his gaze on someone just a bit too long, either to make the person uncomfortable or to non-verbally say “F-you.” His twitching and pacing are supposed to show an indefatigable thinking man in constant motion. As one of Obama’s longest-serving and closest advisors to the president—Rice explains the “mind-meld” between the two—Rhodes is never far away from the commander-in-chief, seated close to him in meetings and whispering advice in his ear.
This explains why Rhodes is so impressed with himself ....
[clip]
Rhodes repeatedly cites what he views as the administration’s top national-security achievements: Cuba, the Iran nuclear deal, and the Paris climate accord. At one point, while musing about what more could’ve been done to halt the murder, rape, torture, destruction, and resulting refugee crisis in Syria, Rhodes says, “if we would have gone full-bore into Syria, we wouldn’t be sitting here with a climate agreement, we’d have no Iran agreement, we wouldn’t have had the time to do Cuba.” Sorry, Syrians, you were sold out for carbon emissions targets.
Echoing his boss (or could be the other way around), Rhodes insists climate change is a bigger threat to humanity than the Islamic State—“only one thing could destroy the world”—and dismisses any rebuke to that grievous misjudgment as “cable news” fodder. Rhodes also admits the administration miscalculated Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The error we made is that Putin doesn’t pursue Russia’s interests, it is to pursue Putin’s interest. We figured it out, but it took us too long.”
‘The Final Year’ Depicts The Chaotic Legacy Of Obama’s National Security Team
As the world implodes around them, President Obama and his advisors blithely find time to lavish praise on each other and themselves.
no wonder Foreign Policy was suck a cluster fluck ...
a guy with ZERO FP Experience, a former SPEECH Writer sitting at the right have of the President at every meeting offering advice
