by Mark Silva
The three-legged stool, one of the great if overwrought rhetorical tools of political and governmental, well, rhetoric, is alive and well in the early days of the Obama White House.
Today, surrounded by congressional leaders in the Roosevelt Room, President Barack Obama told them that the economic stimulus package that he wants approved by President's Day is "only... one leg in... at least a three-legged stool.''
Which suggests there may be a four-legged or five-legged stool around the White House as well.
For now, however, the team is working on three legs.
With her arrival at the State Department on Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the assembled civil servants and foreign service corps that there are three legs to the stool of American foreign policy: Diplomacy, development and military power.
She grabbed one leg at State, and a second in an appearance at the U.S. Agency for International Development today.
And the Obama administration, Clinton is suggesting, will be regaining the balance of a stool that has been weighted toward military power in the Bush White House.
Comments
Mark, thanks for using the bandwidth to display, not one, not two, but 3 pictures of a three legged stool today. While us dems roll our eyes, I'm sure it is a great visual aid for the pugs.
Posted by: Xcellentform | January 23, 2009 3:37 PM
Somebody needs to teach silva about photo sizing...
Posted by: Jeff | January 23, 2009 4:48 PM
Mark, your explanation of three legged stool. In government structures it relates to executive, judiciary and legislature as a way to balance the power and provide checks and balance.
Posted by: George Oyeho | January 29, 2009 2:53 PM