Every U.S. president faces a gadfly, a pest or a grandstander — depending on your point of view — in Congress says the New York Times on today’s front page.
President Obama’s nuisance is local Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, and the Times details how Issa has been a thorn in Obama’s side on the BP oil spill, the president’s nominees to various boards and attempts to clear the field in contentious U.S. Senate races.
All of it, Issa said, is enough for the president’s chief of staff to give him the finger in the House gym. And for the White House spokesman to publicly correct spelling errors in Issa’s reports.
The piece features more colorful details about Issa and his staff, particularly their media savvy.
The press loves Darrell Issa. The feeling is mutual — and co-dependent. He is a tireless publicity-seeker with a game-show-host smile and a Bluetooth affixed to his ear. His jet-black Congressional hair is brilliantly in place and perfectly stagnant. “Glue,” Mr. Issa said, is his secret. “That and a lot of spray.”
— LIAM DILLON