A STEADY HAND

I am squeezed for time this morning. After two weeks at our Laguna Beach cottage, we return to Los Angeles for three. We have to leave the cottage in good shape, with some drawer and closet space cleared out for the guests who will be spending ten days here as a part of our house swap--the first we have attempted. We will be staying at their flat in Islington, London, for ten days in the fall. The exchange also involves a car, and we will be an easy (we hope!) drive from where our grandchildren live. Our swap-mates are a young British couple, both actors, who are relocating to Los Angeles in the hopes of finding work in Hollywood; they'll be enjoying some down time in Laguna Beach. All this means a morning of preparation for their arrival--and our departure for the city.

Still, I could not let the moment pass without a word of praise for the President's interview on last night's 60 minutes. He was calm, clear, concise in his answers to Steve Kroft's questions. He avoided boasting or self-aggrandizement--though not coy about taking credit where it was appropriate--and came off, I thought, as a steady and reliable "Commander-in-Chief." He stands comfortably head and shoulders--and more!--above the craven contenders for his office, and is remarkable for the ease and comfort with which he handles himself in the most trying of circumstances. I get the sense, watching him, that he has the context of a much larger perspective in mind in all that he says and does, and that he is not easily swayed into rash decisions and actions by the pressures of the moment. I think we are wise to have elected this clear-headed man at a time when our country and the world are rushing toward the precipice. I trust that he will prevail in the 2012 election. I need to believe we have placed the reins in steady, thoughtful hands.