White House: Nope, sorry, no Oval Office address from Obama on Libya

Makes sense. Only wars get the Oval Office treatment. “Time-limited, scope-limited military actions” get the cupped ear sorry-I-can’t-hear-your-question move as The One disembarks from Marine One.

Didn’t this guy used to look for opportunities to deliver major speeches? That was supposed to be his bread and butter, right? Communicating with the masses through (allegedly) fabulous oratory, sending thrill after thrill up the exhausted legs of Chris Matthews. Three years ago, his team would have been scrambling for airtime to do an Oval Office address. Three years later, after his endless “messaging” campaign of speeches on ObamaCare ended with a GOP tidal wave in November, I guess they’ve wised up.

President Barack Obama is resisting pressure to deliver an Oval Office speech explaining his policy on Libya — in part, because he doesn’t want to equate what he regards as a smaller, time-limited mission with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Administration officials said Obama is reluctant to make a major address on Libya at a moment when the United States is poised to hand over most command and combat duties to other nations. That’s not to say the president won’t talk about Libya over the next few days, aides say. They are considering various venues for him to speak but, at the moment, he’s likely to select a time when he can deliver news that the U.S. is decreasing its footprint…

“I think he needs to face the nation and tell the nation, and tell Congress, what the end game is and how this going to play out,” Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday…

The White House offered a concession of sorts on Thursday, agreeing to Boehner’s request that top administration officials, led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, personally make their case to House members at a classified briefing next Wednesday.

Serious question: What exactly is the status at the moment of NATO taking over command of the mission? A few hours ago it seemed like a fait accompli; then news broke that it was definitely happening; then CNN reported that things had hit a snag; now Reuters is claiming that “NATO falls short on Libya command deal,” with Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen cryptically insisting, “At this moment, there will still be a coalition operation and a NATO operation.” Possible new mission name: Operation Schrodinger’s Cat?

Here’s Hillary fulfilling her presidential duties with an update this afternoon on Libya.

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