Print and television news media report that President Obama will visit Texas to do a little fundraising but has no plans to visit the border area while there, notwithstanding the "humanitarian crisis" he declared after delayed administration acknowledgement of the tsunami of human beings crossing the Rio Grande Valley from Mexico into the United States. He is not scheduled to go to the border despite a request that he do so from Texas Governor Rick Perry (R), and even some pointed criticism from fellow Democrats who represent the state in Congress.
This is curious in the extreme. The president has left no photo-op unturned in his past visits to the sites of various natural disasters: floods, fires, tornadoes, you name it.
It's astounding that the president, who is usually so well-tuned to the nuances of "optics" and "atmospherics" (to use the words invented by pundits to refer to political theater played out in a public forum), could be so blind or tone-deaf as to go on a money junket to the same geographical region where the crisis is unfolding — a crisis that his officials continue to refer to as driven by "poverty and violence" in the countries of origin even though there is ample evidence to suggest otherwise, including statements contradicting that version of events from consular officials of the source countries.
One would think that the president might show a little interest in the unfolding crisis, at least enough to make a token appearance, and he probably would but for the fact that, unlike the aforementioned "acts of God", this one has the potential to be a real ankle-biter.
After all, there is plenty of evidence of causality here: mix contempt for your immigration laws, toss in a little obstruction with their enforcement, add a dollop of unconstitutional executive action, and voila, you've got an immigration crisis on your hands at the southern border — you know, the one the president's mandarins, past and present, have repeatedly declared more secure than ever.