Is Barack Obama on the Precipice of Becoming Jimmy Carter?
By SusanUnPC on February 4, 2009 at 9:31 PM in Barack Obama, Bush/Cheney, Chicago politics, Current Affairs, Democratic Party, Health Care, Iraq, Jimmy Carter, Judd Gregg, Larry Johnson, Media Bias, Media Handling of Story, Nancy Pelosi, Obama, Obama Administration, Obama's Cabinet, Obama's Media Censorship, Obamatopia Mirage, Obamedia, Race Card, Rahm Emanuel, Tom Daschle, stimulus tax package
We are only sixteen days into the age of the new messiah and his angel wings are in danger of falling off.
Consider, for example, that The One promised a new way of doing business in Washington but is responsible for managing the vetting of prospective nominees that green-lights not one but three tax cheats. Instead of showing them the door and finding someone smart enough to know that, if they make more than $200,000, they ought to hire an accountant, Barack signs off on their nominations. (Maybe it is okay to not pay taxes and hold public office in Chicago).
It is only when the press gets wind of the facts that Barack and his team realize they have a problem. Sorry, this is not a “new way of doing business in Washington.” It is the same damn thing.
Barack and his team are acting like every other politician who has taken up residence in the White House–they initially decided to look the other way and excuse the inexcusable. While I credit Barack for admitting his mistake, it is a mistake he should not have made. Unfortunately, it appears that this is not an isolated event.
Victor Davis Hanson, in his typically understated fashion, offers up a list of warning signs and lays part of the blame laser-focused on the lap of the media for abetting the disastrous choice of the American people, so desperate for a “savior” from the Republican disaster, that they bet it all on a naive political neophyte:
Some of us have been warning that it was not healthy for the U.S. media to have deified rather than questioned Obama, especially given that they tore apart Bush, ridiculed Palin, and caricatured Hillary. And now we can see the results of their two years of advocacy rather than scrutiny.
The proof is so obvious:
No matter his protestations that he alone made the decision, it’s clear that former Senator Tom Daschle was summarily dumped, and Steve Clemons hints that Rahm Emanuel had a hand in it (”Many of Daschle’s camp are quite furious with Obama’s chief of staff.”) Clemons also argues that, in typical Democrats’ fashion, they gave up the fight long before they needed to.
General Anthony Zinni, who was already preparing for his departure to Iraq as its new ambassador, is left hanging by the White House. The puzzled general finally called up Gen. Jones, Obama’s National Security Advisor, and “was told that Christopher Hill, the outgoing assistant secretary of State for East Asia, was getting the job.” [SEE ALSO: Laura Rozen's "General Zinni gets undiplomatic treatment from Obama team" and related Memeorandum-listed stories.]
Gen. Zinni said no explanation was given. “That kind of bothered me,” he said. “I was told that I had it.”
What the hell? And now we have more distressing news coming out on Obama’s nominee to head Commerce, Sen. Judd Gregg.
The arch-conservative New Hampshire senator, as I wrote yesterday about a report in CQ Politics, “voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995.”
Now we find out, via Time’s Mark Halperin, that Gregg had “ties to the disgraced lobbyist” Jack Abramoff. The White House is sloughing off the problem, even though Halperin points out that “a former legislative aide [of Gregg] is allegedly ‘Staffer F’ cited in a guilty plea last week by a former Abramoff deputy.”
The left hand is clearly not in touch with the right hand.
How did General Jones know that General Zinni was not the choice for Ambassador to Iraq, yet no one in the White House disabused Gen. Zinni of his justified assumption that he had the job?
How did no one in the White House and the very large vetting staff not clear Daschle’s tax problems and his relationships to for-profit health care companies?
How did no one in the White House not know that Gregg had voted to demolish the agency that he’s now been picked to oversee? Or that he has ties to Jack Abramoff?
Larry Johnson made a great point last night in his story, for which he took some heat, “Let’s Give Barack Credit“:
Did you catch Barack telling CNN’s Anderson Cooper, “I screwed up.” Damn, is that refreshing. After eight years of George Bush never admitting to any mistakes (even though they were numerous and glaring) it does appear that President Obama may be serious about this change thing.
However, the sole thing that matters after you admit you made a mistake is if you change your OWN behavior and that of your staff.
It’s disturbing to read Steve Clemons’ report about (1) the ease with which Democrats concede defeat and (2) the behavior of Rahm Emanuel, the man on whom Obama must most depend:
Obama seems to be replicating the pattern — conceding defeat on Tom Daschle, one of the people most responsible for actually creating the Obama political machine — and on the very same day yielding a senior cabinet position at the Department of Commerce not to a leading business official or Democratic Congressman or Governor — but rather giving it to Judd Gregg who voted 14 years ago to abolish the Commerce Department.
People will be parsing for some time Tom Daschle’s missteps with his taxes, and why he wasn’t vetted more by the Obama team, and whether Rahm Emanuel was part of the game knifing Daschle from behind, and what the political upper crust in Washington sees as “normal” when they leave office — but mostly, this was about the opposing team taking down one of Obama’s most important chess pieces.
This was all about Obama, about humbling him, about dividing progressives over whether to support or oppose Daschle.
What we see are two interesting things. First, we see that the divisions between the political franchises inside the Obama camp are fraught with tension and anger now. Many of Daschle’s camp are quite furious with Obama’s chief of staff.
Yes, Obama has been humbled. Perhaps. If he’s learned.
But the news about the “tension and anger” within the Obama camp is disturbing. For that to be cured, a strong and experienced leader is needed, and is Obama up to the job?
And if he isn’t, is his staff? Hell, his press office can’t even get out their daily press briefing videos and transcripts. You try to get one promptly, and you’ll see what I mean. (Meanwhile, over at State, Hillary’s press staff, like clockwork, posts the daily press briefing video and the transcript with lightning speed.) Victor Davis Hanson declares Robert Gibbs a “nightmare”:
Gibbs as press secretary is a Scott McClellan nightmare that won’t go away, given his long McClellan-like relationship with Obama (McClellan should have been fired on day hour one on the job). Blaming Fox News for Obama’s calamities is McClellan to the core and doesn’t work. He already reminds me of Reverend Wright’s undoing at the National Press Club—and he will get worse.
And the Columbia Journalism Review’s blog, Campaign Desk is as skeptical about Obama’s press office as I am:
Who’s Undercutting Obama?
For the moment, at least, it’s his press office[...]
While it is too early to judge just how this will work out, the early signs are troubling. And interviews with a dozen Washington reporters indicate that the Obama press operation tends to embrace friendly questions, while treating skeptical questions as not worth their time or, worse, as coming from an enemy. [...]
Questions about whether Shapiro [a White House press office staffer] knows the difference between off-the-record, background, deep background, and on-the-record did not get asked, because Shapiro made it clear he had no interest in answering anything about how the Obama press secretary’s office is operating and what its tone will be. He said questions should be submitted in writing by e-mail to nshapiro@who.eop.gov. I sent Shapiro an e-mail outlining the contours of what would be covered in an interview, but have not received a response as of this writing, the following day.
Shapiro did say that there are press office numbers to call beside 202-456-2580, which has been the main White House press office number for decades. “You should have used one of them,” he said.
And those numbers are? Shapiro said these numbers would be made public soon. (Thoughts of the illogic made famous by Kafka, Catch-22, and Lewis Carroll’s King of Hearts come to mind here.) But there is more to this than just the answering, or not answering, of telephones and questions. [...]
The Obama administration is also editing briefing transcripts. So far it posts only snippets of some White House briefings at whitehouse.gov. Shapiro promised that would be corrected soon.
Politicians make choices and have to live with them. How they deal with journalists—especially whether they are candid and direct about dealing in facts—sets a tone that will influence the administration’s ability to communicate its messages, especially those Obama messages that run counter to deeply ingrained cultural myths about the economy, taxes, and the role of government. … [Read all -- it's worth it.]
Victor Davis Hanson has a litany of Obama’s failures.
One which struck me was Obama’s utter naivete in expecting the Republicans, over a series of luncheons, cocktail parties and Superbowl chips and dips, to warm to him — to find him inescapably charming and the answer to their prayers too. But these grizzled GOP veterans know far too much about D.C., about legislation, and about how to manipulate the malleable Democrats to ever be “touched” by the Obamatopia that sadly overcame millions of dreamy-headed Americans.
Obama seems to be the kind of guy who loves the campaign, the chase, the hunt, and the all-glorious win. But he is most definitely NOT the kind of guy who likes the day-to-day tough drudgery and decision-making.
Like many of his adoring fans at Daily Kos, he wants what he wants when he wants it. The hard work part of governing — the grinding job of building longterm alliances and forging sensible compromises and the long hours involved in accomplishing all of that, just do not appeal to these people. They want to snap their fingers, and have what they want.
I have never seen in Obama the capacity for that kind of work. I still do not.
I think that that is one reason that Obama made the disastrous decision to let Nancy Pelosi and David Obey control the writing of the stimulus packaging bill. That bill should have been closely overseen and scrutinized in the White House, and have received the most cold-hearted “due diligence” possible.
But Obama and team did not want to do that hard work. They thought they could pass off the job to Nancy and crew, a truly frightening decision given Nancy’s penchant for pet far-left projects that drew immediate criticisms from so many that the Republicans voted a unanimous NAY and even 11 Democrats in conservative districts also had to vote NAY in order to keep their seats.
Now, we have a mess of a stimulus plan that is so bad that Obama is not likely, at present, to even bring in the few Republicans he needs for the bill to pass the Senate. Even reliable types like Olympia Snow are rejecting the bill in its present form. She has directly asked Obama to remove the unnecessary and pork-driven parts of the bill; he’s said he did, but he has not. And she knows it.
And, while they fiddle, and Obama doesn’t do the hard work necessary, the American people — and the world’s people — are left with a worsening recession and increasing joblessness and worsening opportunities for small-, medium-, and large-sized businesses of all types.
You’ll have to read Victor David Hansen’s article in full, but here’s the closing:
This is quite serious. I can’t recall a similarly disastrous start in a half-century (far worse than Bill Clinton’s initial slips). Obama immediately must lower the hope-and-change rhetoric, ignore Reid/Pelosi, drop the therapy, and accept the tragic view that the world abroad is not misunderstood but quite dangerous. And he must listen on foreign policy to his National Security Advisor, Billary, and the Secretary of Defense. If he doesn’t quit the messianic style and perpetual campaign mode, and begin humbly governing, then he will devolve into Carterism—angry that the once-fawning press betrayed him while we the people, due to our American malaise, are to blame.
Have we anointed a messiah who sinks the minute he’s put out on the water? Have we hired a weatherman who can’t tell which way the wind is blowing? Have we chosen an orator who can only parrot the words of hired scribes, but lacks the depth of experience to understand the peril that lies before us? When I look at Barack I fear I am seeing a younger, but equally feckless clone of Jimmy Carter.
Perhaps this explains why he ended up in an elementary school. The naive, joyous laughter of schoolchildren provided a welcomed escape from the burdens of poor decision making.
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By Sarah Palin (Release date: November 17. 2009)
Victor Davis Hanson is dumber than a bag of rocks. I wouldn’t put stock in any opinion he has to offer. Remember that “VDH” is Bush’s favorite historian.
I repeat: Victor Davis Hanson is George W. Bush’s favorite historian.
Hey George Lindsey, Wally needs you back at the station to man the pumps. See you Goober.
Why is everything with you either an Andy Griffith or Green Acres reference?
Because you trolls, Hank, are old-hat and corny–just like those shows.
You’re also Francis, the Talking Mule Troll and Little Debbie, the Snack-Queen Troll.
Did I leave any out, obamabot extraordinaire?
Those are your pet names for me? A little weird, Ferd…
LOL…Francis, the talking mule, still laugh when I read that.
Dear Ferd “the Troll Slayer” Berfle,
Give em Hell and skin em alive.
Sincerely,
Winston
George, part of the reference above is to David Cay Johnson of the Columbia Journalistic School. Is he also “dumber than a bag of rocks”?
Amazing piece, Susan. Not only is this worse than I imagined but worse than I could possibly imagine.
We have an unwilling, unqualified trainee at the helm who only wanted the prestige and authority but not the responsibility of steering the ship of state.
And today he went on a quick trip on Air Force One to Williamsburg, VA, for some useless meeting (according to Politico). No time like the present to waste aviation fuel and precious time.
That meeting was with the House Democratic Caucus.
http://www.politico.com/politico44/
Not so “useless”, if he wants to get legislation passed.
Would that be because his charm doesn’t work via tele-conferencing?
Taking Air Force I to Williamsburg Va is not useless? I don’t care if he was meeting with God, that was a huge green grass goober.
Comment by George | 2009-02-04 21:58:57
And today he went on a quick trip on Air Force One to Williamsburg, VA, for some useless meeting (according to Politico). No time like the present to waste aviation fuel and precious time.
That meeting was with the House Democratic Caucus.
——————————–
Yes,but why would the Democratic Caucus have to go some miles down the road to have a meeting, and why would BO have to take the big bird to go talk to them.?
That’s where the caucus was having its retreat. It’s also a whole lot easier for Obama to go to them than for the entire Democratic caucus to go to him. You know, there’s a lot more of them in the last few years.
BOBO needed 747 to travel to somewhere in VA?
Funny that they are criticizing the TWERP bailout babies for holding meetings … what, their taxpayer paid offices aren’t big enough? PLEASE … no wonder Daschle is a crook. On the job training.
Have you ever gotten caught in the traffic from the D.C. area heading to Williamsburg? Do you think a president should waste hours stuck in traffic?
ADMINISTRATOR: GEORGE, you are spamming this thread. You’ve been placed on moderation.
Marine One wasn’t available?
Just think, BOBO could have stuck his head out of the sun roof and taken all that hope and change to his adoring public.
Well done and very insightful.
Terrific as usual Susan but can we finally lay the “Billary” tag to rest. I’m quite happy with just Hillary.
You nail it here SusanUnPC!
That is because he was never long enough and steady enough in any position rolling his sleeves and working, focused on the job at hand. His mind was always in how to use the position as a springboard to the next. No way of forging any serious, thoughtful deep alliances. As a community organizer he was thinking probably already about being Potus. As a State Senator how to jump to the National stage. Nothing wrong so far except that once a US Senator he couldn’t care less about it really other than as a headquarter to start
preparing his presidential run. So when was he going to invest the time and interest in policy and understanding Congress? If he had been a US Senator for a sensible amount of time he wouldn’t have needed Emanuel in the first place.
One more thing about Emanuel…for all his shortcomings I feel better for HRC with him as chief of staff than not.
Excellent post SusanUnPC !!
Do you think that now that Obama has been elected the sheen will wear off and he will get…
post-partisan depression?
I like that one, Hillary!
Brilliant HOB! I’m stealing that one LOL.
Me too! LOLOLOLOLOL……
I recognized true Art when I see it. You could auction this one at Sotheby’s and retire.
If you’re comparing Obama’s election to the birth of a baby, then it should be described as a breach birth. BUTT FIRST!!!!
He doesn’t experience comprehension and completion of his jobs. He hops from one to the other. We did tell them he was inexperienced and unqualified, I believe.
We knew that, didn’t we, when he called not a single meeting of his sub-committee that dealt with, among other places, Afghanistan. He was too busy campaigning to do the actual work he was hired to do.
I believe you forgot to include INCOMPETENCE on that list of stinky’s great abilities.
Your comments reflect almost exactly what I would have written.
Every time I argued with friends and family during the primary, I mentioned his lack of real work history. They didn’t care: they needed hope and change.
The one thing I would add is that I also argued using the Carter analogy, saying his candidacy seemed to be heading the way of Carter’s. (The only difference for me is that I like Carter as a person.) I said I wanted someone in with Washington experience. Nope: they wanted hope and change.
Being able to say “I told you so” when the time is right is little consolation for me. The issues we are facing require someone who knows how to work and get things done. Of course, to me, that description fit Hillary, not our current leader of the free world.
I just don’t know why so many people in our country don’t think experience and a history of accomplishments are not important any more.
I remember that too. We tried and tried to find a single time when he really worked a 40-hour work week. It was mostly jobs where he could schmooze on the phone or over hours-long lunches and meetings over dinner at friends’ homes…. friends like Rashid Khalidi, of course. You know, that’s another one of his problems. He doesn’t have hardly a single friend from Chicago who he’d dare show in the light of day in Washington, D.C. Whereas every other president can bring a boatload of longtime friends who know the president well and can be of real assistance to him. Aside from the very few who can be on display, like Valerie Jarrett, most of his buddies were Emil Jones, Bill Ayers, Rev. Meeks, Jeremiah Wright, Rob Blagojevich, and on and on. Not the kind of company you show off to the guests at a White House dinner.
This is an excellent article, Susan.
And your quote that Andy repeats above, about Pres. Obama being allergic to the day to day slog of governing — this brings to mind Gov. Ed Rendell’s comments during the primary in support of Hillary — this was in response to people talking about Obama’s speeches — Rendell pointed out quite accurately that the rael task of governing has nothing to do with talk — but the day to day grind you mention above.
Pity more people did not listen. I mean, what do they THINK being President is about?
Great piece. Well-written and engaging. The best political book I have read, and am reading right now, is Bernard Goldberg’s “A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (and Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media.” Interestingly enough, Media Matters launched an offensive against the book on Jan. 27, even though in the book Goldberg explains why the media chose Obama over Hillary. It’s really well done, in my humble opinion. I recommend it highly.
Thank you for the tip on that book. Goldberg has irritated me many times in the past, but he has such an obvious case to make here. Doubtless, in the future, when people have sobered up, there will be many more books that investigate the media’s roles in BOTH the presidencies of George Bush and Barack Obama.
I remember vividly that first debate in 2004 against John Kerry. Bush’s performance was so pathetic that I thought he was done. Finished. But the media spun it so much that it could barely concede he hadn’t done well.
I do blame the American public too, for not scrutinizing these candidates more but, frankly, too many Americans are far too busy to spend the hours that we do investigating them, and making the ties that are not immediately obvious (i.e., fit in a 10-second soundbite).
I was once one of those parents — working 16-18 hours a day, caring for a child. And I was lucky if I listened to an hour’s worth of CNN or PBS or NPR a day. I just didn’t have the time and the stamina to put into studying these candidates. And it was interesting how much the media could fool me.
I vividly recall the pre-war propaganda put out by Bush Sr’s administration. As I worked at my job at home, I listened to the testimony of that young woman who said she’d witnessed Iraqi soldiers toss babies out of incubators and leave them to die. Everyone — the Senators who were listening and the TV hosts who were commenting — believed her! Who could not?!!?! Her story was incomparably compelling. Then I had a client come over, and he told me that her story was all a lie and that her father was Kuwait’s ambassador to the U.S. I was very suspicious of his version. After all, CNN had told me it was so! So had ALL of the senators who heard her! Then, of course, months later, it came out that my suspicious client was the ONLY person in my life who had had the true story, and I was embarrassed. But, I excuse myself because I simply didn’t have the time or the means to delve into all of that — that was 1991, of course, and while I had some access to the Internet, it was incredibly primitive. And I only got two newspapers daily, and they didn’t tell the story either.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that for busy parents and hard-working people, it is very difficult to discern the real from the fake.
We worked here at this blog, day and night, to try to get the truth out about Obama. And so did many other fine bloggers. But our stories rarely, if ever, made their way onto television, radio, or newspapers.
I remember the Kuwaiti humicrib story very well & still tell gullibles.
At the time I took the number of the cribs ( little life supports for babies) & compared the ratio of cribs per 100,000 population.
The Kuwaitis must have had the sickest most premature babies on earth. The ratio was 4-5 times higher than an advanced first world ratio.
In other words it was full bullshit.
Emotion overrules numerical sensibility.
Being busy is no excuse either -for anyone who has had a baby in a modern hospital should have seen the usual 3-4 cribs in any major city hospital. This particular Kuwaiti hospital allegedly had 27.
Not meaning to be mean -but everyone fell for the WMD story ,then the Jessica rescued from the clutches of evil Iraqui doctors.
The title of this thread reinforces what I have been saying all night
Obama equals weakness in the minds of the terrorists.
They may act like they want change but behind our backs they are waiting to srike.
SM you don’t even HAVE to say it. THEY are saying it. Very scary times my friends.
Anybody remember in one of the primary debates this prescient answer to Tim Russert’s question:
Russert said: “You said each of you have strengths and weaknesses. I want to ask each of you quickly, your greatest strength, your greatest weakness.”
Obama responded:
OBAMA: “My greatest strength, I think, is the ability to bring people together from different perspectives to get them to recognize what they have in common and to move people in a different direction. And as I indicated before, my greatest weakness, I think, is when it comes to — I’ll give you a very good example. I ask my staff never to hand me paper until two seconds before I need it because I will lose it. You know, the — you know –
[laughter]
– and my desk and my office doesn’t look good. I’ve got to have somebody around me who is keeping track of that stuff.
And that’s not trivial; I need to have good people in place who can make sure that systems run. That’s what I’ve always done, and that’s why we run not only a good campaign, but a good U.S. Senate office.”
He told us what it would be like and how he world run the Oval office. Some of us knew. But a majority of voters were hood-winker, bamboozeled, and got the old Chicago style razzel-dazzle.
And now here is the country in her greatest time of need being run by someone who by his own admission who cannot even keep tack of important papers.
MEchille told us this too at the beginning of the primary. Disorganized. As well as snorey and stinky.
Don’t forget, “pathetic”, Annie.
I didn’t watch MEchille on The View but it was replayed again and again. His followers seemed to think her comment was “cute”. Gag.
Great one, Seattle Moss. I’m using it for an open thread.
All too true Susan, you and Larry along with a handful of others saw this coming and ran around with our hair on fire - all to no avail.
I’ve been quiet about this, waiting, hoping I was wrong… but it looks bad with worse yet to come.
What really angers me about all this is that now I, you - we have to pay the price for other peoples bad decisions.
I propose a new constitutional amendment: we the people get six months to declare a Mulligan and start the whole thing over.
Michael Savage tonight said that we all need to get IMPEACH OBAMA NOW bumper stickers to start the snowball rolling fast. I agree.
I bought a “Don’t Blame Me I Voted For McCain” bumper sticker on November 5.
If he doesn’t quit the messianic style and perpetual campaign mode, and begin humbly governing, then he will devolve into Carterism—angry that the once-fawning press betrayed him while we the people, due to our American malaise, are to blame.
Have we anointed a messiah who sinks the minute he’s put out on the water? Have we hired a weatherman who can’t tell which way the wind is blowing? Have we chosen an orator who can only parrot the words of hired scribes, but lacks the depth of experience to understand the peril that lies before us?
______________________
All of the above, and most of us who are watching see little chance that he will ever morph into the man that he needs to be to get the job done. He cannot abide criticism, but he does like to eliminate the competition, win, when in office, vote “present” on hard issues, and get someone else to do the lifting. Not the right stuff!
Being able to concentrate and work hard are habits that people acquire by experience. We now don’t have time for him to acquire that experience. I agree. He can’t morph into that kind of leader because, despite popular perception, he is not a superhero.
And he doesn’t like work as much as he likes glory. That is a BIG problem and has been since he came on the scene — he is good at the glad handing and campaigning — the day to day bores and imprisons him — he does not like it — how the hell is he supposed to do it?
He had to get out of the White House — his office — after two weeks to spend time in a children’s classroom … doesn’t he have children of his own he could spend some time with when he isn’t working for us?
Victor Davis Hanson is a right-wing lunatic. I have a problem taking his analysis as gospel as he has a definite wing-nut agenda. People like Hanson are totally bankrupt of ideas of their own, so find it much easier to throw stones from the cheap seats.
That being said, the appointments of Dashcle and others have been a vetting disaster. And President Obama should be embarrassed. And he hasn’t explained his stimulus plan well at all (yet) to the public.
EVERY PREZ HAS EARLY STUMBLES. The key will be how he responds to them. That’s why I will wait for the first 100 days and take more of a wide view before I label him Jimmy Carter or Millard Fillmore.
Johnny, he has a plenty of time, lots of paid staff and it is not like this economic situation just fell on us today. HRC had her plans crafted two years ago and when something new came up she was all over it with a plan. BO is lazy, admit it.
No one told him that there’s homework to do when you get to the WH. You can’t delegate someone else to read the material and figure it out for you.
And then hand you the paper right when you need it to read to the teleprompter.
Thank you.
Quit being all reasonable and $hit.
Hillary wouldn’t have made any of these bonehead mistakes. Been there, done that.
Yeah, Hillary never had any problems with her staff, especially not Mark Penn.
Hey, Johnny, maybe instead of partying every night he could stay home and actually read the so called Stimulus Bill. It would have been nice to have a genuine President who rolled up his sleeves, took on that Bill and made some intelligent choices. But we didn’t get a genuine President. We got a joke.
Well put!! All painful but excellent questions….
Jimmy Carter’s Administration got off to a better start.
Jimmy was naive and very much the fool but he got elected because people thought he was honest. Ain’t nobody making claims like that about YouKnowWho. They just don’t care.
Have we anointed a messiah who sinks the minute he’s put out on the water? Have we hired a weatherman who can’t tell which way the wind is blowing? Have we chosen an orator who can only parrot the words of hired scribes, but lacks the depth of experience to understand the peril that lies before us? When I look at Barack I fear I am seeing a younger, but equally feckless clone of Jimmy Carter.
Yes, yes, and yes. But a quibble with the last sentence: at least Carter had the benefit of actual service as a Navy officer and a gubernatorial stint in which he actually gubernated (heh). Obama doesn’t even have that much going for him. He’s got nothing but two published works of fiction (one of which has dubious authorship), and a South Side mansion bought the Chicago Way.
More great work, Susan - thanks!
Carter had leadership experience and he was vetted by one of the toughest employers — Admiral Rickover. If Carter didn’t have what it took to be in command of a nuclear sub — well he wouldn’t have been aboard a sub!
Wasn’t Carter also the Governor of Georgia — so he also had executive experience. Before that he was in the Georgia Senate.
So Carter had a heck of a lot more experience then this useless farce 0 zero, we had forced on us.
0bambam — he really has no clue where to go from here. He denigrated both Clintons — and held up Ray-gun as an ideal — which means that 0bambam is unable to choose a mentor. But this has been his problem all along — he hangs with a vile and corrupt crowd.
I’m doubtful that he will be able to learn — The Confluence posted a photo of 0bambam at the grade school — he was bored out of his skull — he had the look of a Narcissist (if he isn’t the center of attention — he has no interest.) He is bush 3.
Our Nation is in deep doodoo.
Stop scaring the crap out of me, NWR.
Kat5,
“in which he actually gubernated (heh)”
We’re a high class operation here and pride ourselves on spelling. Since Carter was from Georgia, I’m pretty sure that he “goobernated.”
One which struck me was Obama’s utter naivete in expecting the Republicans, over a series of luncheons, cocktail parties and Superbowl chips and dips, to warm to him — to find him inescapably charming and the answer to their prayers too. But these grizzled GOP veterans know far too much about D.C., about legislation, and about how to manipulate the malleable Democrats to ever be “touched” by the Obamatopia that sadly overcame millions of dreamy-headed Americans.
EXACTLY!
Remember how people always pushed Obama’s so called quality to listen to both sides and then bring people together to find common ground. That might work when doing community organizing but good luck with that in the halls of congress! You see it is easy to mould and bend people who feel less superior to you in education, income, status, and “polish”. But it is a different story to command a room of equals or at least with people with egos just as big as yours.
How does that saying go..”Each senator looks in the mirror every morning and sees a president.”
Obama is going to have to lead from front and not muddle around in the middle waiting for a consensus to form. But that might just be too much work for a charming, cool, easy going guy like Bush…I mean Obama.
I take a different view. Obama is already speaking with the voice of a determined American President. I believe the comments he made about the economic recovery plan as he signed the SCHIP bill today suggest something about what we’re going to see in the days ahead. So did the reaction in the room.
“In the past two days, I have heard criticisms of this plan that, frankly, echo the very same failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis in the first place. I reject these theories, and, by the way, so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change.”
He’s got a quick left jab and a hard right. This guy is no Jimmy Carter.
Gosh, “cynic” is a bit of a misnomer for you, isn’t it? You’re downright starry-eyed.
Is this rather nondescript passage you cite what you call “a quick left jab and a hard right”? I guess we all see what we want to see.
Three weeks ago, according to Rasmussen, 45 percent of voters thought the stimulus package was a good idea. Last week, the stimulus package approval rating fell to 42 percent.
On Wednesday, the firm released a new poll, showing support for the trillion-plus package has now dipped to just 37 percent.
What Americans want is for the pork to be taken out. As it stands now, only 12% of that “stimulus” package is would fall under the category of job creators.
In 2004 Bush try to scare Americans by talking terrorism. Today, Obozo is trying to scare Americans by painting pictures of gloom and doom–shit, just listen to his language. If he’s really serious about it, then cut all that crap out of the package. $45 million to the Endowment for the Arts? How many jobs will that generate? Millions for STD programs? What? How many jobs will that generate? Amtrak? That same company that hasn’t produced a profit in 40 years. And the list goes on.
GWB: Saddam is going to drop a nuclear bomb on America. WMD, WMD, WMD, hurry, hurry, hurry.
BHO: Sign on the dotted line, or it’s catastrophe, catastrophe, catastrophe…the end is near…worldwide depression if we don’t spend, spend, spend.
Hey, Barry. That wolf has already howled.
Sorry Cynic and Obama, the vote is over.
NOW the vote is all about what Obama can produce.
So far:
FOUR appointees that can’t seem to pay taxes
THREE that have to give up because of the embarrassment of being caught.
ONE oinker of a economic plan that only the most delusional dems support.
ONE lingering problem with what the feds really know about the pay to play game from Chicago.
ONE birth certificate problem that hasn’t been completely covered up or squelched.
ONE new appointee that worked with the porn industry.
Yeah, Obama’s a contender alright.
For the first MacDaddy President award.
Do you think the alternative Republican proposals make sense?
A permanent, across-the-board 5% cut in all tax rates, effective with 2008? A permanent reduction in capital gains taxes? Outright revocation–rather than adjustment and modification–of the alternative minimum tax?
I read that stuff as the same agenda they pushed during the Bush years, and figure we’d see predictably similar results: The rich getting richer, and national debt again rocketing toward the stratosphere, with no end in sight. And that seems to be the only stuff they’re pitching.
Democratic proposals may be imperfect, but they’re at least showing someearnestness about making changes and taking action. They’re proposing some things that argueably could produce positive results.
If republicans don’t like the democratic package, they should focus on specific things that need to be changed about it–not try to kill it dead lock-stock-and-barrel, while simultaneously working to destroy all confidence in the guy who’s going to lead the country for the next 4 years. Doing that is just damned irresponsible. Confidence is getting hard to come by. Destroy all confidence in Barack Obama and see what happens to the stock market in particular, and the economy in general. If bringing him down returned republicans to power, they might be returning to govern a country in ruins. Assuming they didn’t all get tarred and feathered.
Personally, I’m about ready to start blaming people who just aren’t trying to help.
Naive conjecture becomes you, Cynic.
Too bad it’s just as empty as Obama’s suit.
cynic, please! pelosi’s bill is pure crax! a reduction in captial gains is an excellent idea to get people back into the market along with the $15000 tax credit for housing.
the junk pelosi spit out is beyond my ability to even talk about on here. she is disgusting, stupid and an insult to any good politican.
LOL stodgie said it best. Pelosi is a bigger threat and danger to America than even Obama. For the life of me I can’t understand who keeps voting for her. What an idiot.
The same could be said of the Democrats who, when in the minority, used the same sorts of tactics, for better or worse. But that was OK. I would surmise that righteous political indignation traces its source to whatever pet ox is being gored at any particular moment in time.
I have to tell you that you aren’t so much a cynic as a nay-sayer.
cynic, can you tell me why the SCHIP was not posted on the WH website for citizen reading and comments–as he promised? I don’t consider this emergency legislation that had to be signed right away. He’s not ready.
I love Victor Davis Hanson! He’s a classicist, a very good writer, and quite centrist.
Compared to the Dimocrat Lefties he could be a centrist. In reality he’s right of center. He did, however, hit the nail on the head with what most of us have been thinking, feeling, dreading.
If by “centrist”, you mean far right-wing neoconservative, sure.
Far left projects? There’s really nothing but measures that had already been agreed upon but not funded in here. Obama has no central overarching, transformative idea in the so-called stimulus. It’s the Christmas tree without the tree. That’s the problem. He should have had a high-speed rail plan in there, or something that would transform the economy and provide long term growth. By the way, I don’t buy that Obey and Pelosi wrote it all themselves. From what I hear, they are furious that BO is foisting this on them. They say he told them what he wanted, and here it is, minus a few totally unproductive tax cuts.
I can buy that. He’s got a lot of people to pay off. Wonder who’s getting the frisbee court? field? in Southern Ca. Now that it’s out, hopefully no one. There are some truly insulting projects in that document.
SusanUnPC,
Thanks for the great post–I think. It is always hard to read the same depressing thoughts I’ve been thinking, though stated much better.
Another Carter trait: Obama leads by nagging. He tells all of us that we’ve been greedy. I wasn’t greedy! But he’s so conflict-avoidant he can’t name names.
Yep. At least when Jimmy nagged us about economizing on energy, he put on a sweater as an example. Obama just cranks up the thermostat.
The Roman Empire comparison
http://savagepolitics.com/its-the-economy-stupid
Great article, Susan!
Trying to predict what we’ll see next, do you think there’s a possibility Obama will step down? (We all need some kind of dream!) There’s nothing in his character that indicates he has mettle to really pull this gig together.
He may crack. Now it’s out that Panetta has conflict of interest problems with money for speaking engagements. Where’s the bus?
I’ll go with Rove on Hannity tonight. He hit it out of the park. Obama’s winging it.
Great post, Susan. I’ve always feared that Obama would end up being Carter on steroids. Sadly, it looks like he’ll prove my gut reaction correct.
And I couldn’t agree more with Hanson’s charge against the media types. They hyped Obama’s candidacy to a level that made no sense. They’re just as complicit as the man’s inner circle who were hell-bent on selling the American public an image, the all-things-to-all-people spiel.
And now we’re stuck with him.
BTW, I’ve been immensely impressed with the State Department’s press briefings–they’re sharp and on point. I don’t know who the man is who’s running them but he’s very good. What a huge difference when you compare Gibbs stumbling around every afternoon. Maybe they should take a few pointers [of course, they won't].
Anyway, you covered a lot of things I suspect many of us are thinking and feeling right now. Thanks!
Steroids??? Quaaludes.
Peggy Sue, we are NOT stuck with him. We can all take actions to end this nightmare. He’s not there for long, trust me.
I thought the fall from messiah grace would take Obama at least two months. We’re looking at TWO WEEKS!
Rasmussen reports that 37% of Americans approve of the Obama/Pelosi oinker of an economic plan.
The SS Obama is taking on water.
They hyped him up TOO much. That may inevitably be his downfall.
Obama sure has a full plate as of late, he’s looking shakey.
I sure hope the Rezko stuff doesn’t heat up, too, that would be just the coup de grace, especially for someone who has only been in office for two weeks…
Sometimes I wonder if the plan all along wasn’t to put the “historic first Black President” in office and see how he did, see if racism really did end and if things didn’t go well, they pull out the OMG! He isn’t natural born or he is eyeball deep in Operation Board Games as a fall back in case they needed him out!
I can’t imagine that was the case. When Obama fails, which he will, this is going to be a race disaster. The sad news is, unlike Michael Steele, Obama isn’t really “black” like his supporters. It’s sad. I know all of us here truly embrace the first African American President. If this was a good person and the “right” man, I would be thrilled. Everything I fought and marched for in the 60’s would have come true. Sadly, I have to say we aren’t there yet. Because Obama was chosen for the wrong reasons.
Excellent piece Susan. I think the answer to your headline question is definitely yes, and possibly worse. I wonder why he has such a penchant for tax cheats.
Perhaps Obama is trying to shore up the government coffers. It may be a brilliant ploy for Obama to select all of the Democrat politicians across the country for cabinet positions. When they all pay their back taxes in order to qualify for the positions, the deficit could be erased.
Susan
great piece.
Wow great article. I vacillate between thinking that Obama is some Manchurian Candidate plant, or he is just one dumb dumb Jimmy Carter mess. I think that maybe it’s the Carter Syndrome Obama is suffering from. Has anyone seen the latest approval rating? I think it’s around 58%. WTG Dims. You screwed yourselves and America.
I don’t know, Susan. Every time some new revelation comes out, I see shades of Clinton. Of course, I could easily see Pres. Obama acting like Carter: whining, hiding behind barriers, refusing to deal with people, micro-managing. The problems themselves however seem more like the problems in the first few months of the Clinton administration.
I was thinking about that, too, and I came to the conclusion the difference is in the intellectual abilities of the two men, Clinton qualified to be President, Clinton a leader, able to whether the attacks while still green.
We’re seeing a lot of smoke around Obama, a lot of mirrors, people projecting what they wish was there instead of seeing what is — he’s the same old Obama, there has been no dramatic growth in capabilty, his actions in IL still hanging over his head.
Clinton also rolled up his sleeves (for real and not just for photo-ops) and worked hard but your comment reminded me of another difference between Bill Clinton and Obama. I think it was one of BC’s State of the Union speeches (?? not sure exactly which speech) but whoever was in charge of the teleprompter, put in the wrong speech. Line after line scrolled by and it wasn’t the speech that was supposed to be in the teleprompter and yet, nevertheless BC gave the right speech — the one he’d planned to give anyway. I just don’t think Obama could do that. No way.
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Great article (& topic), Susan. Thanks for posting it. The entire situation is quite tragic if not dangerous (I’m hoping it doesn’t get to “dangerous”, but, ‘here we are’) and needs to be addressed, again and again.
The Republicans remind me of Sister Aloysius (movie “Doubt”) when asked by the priest: “Where is your compassion?”, she responds: “Nowhere you can get at it.” Obama dismissed Hillary’s comments about the Republicans as old partisan rhetoric. Now he is experiencing the Republicans’ knife twisting. Schadenfreude.
The Republicans are trying to save this country from the biggest joke of a “Stimulus (PORK FAT) Bill” that is nothing but payoffs for promises Obama made, ever. They are trying to save this country from a massive depression that we will never crawl out of. You can thank them later.
Are you serious? How can you say that after Bush and a republican majority for more than a decade? Clinton left a surplus, where’d it go? Let’s get real here. And while I’m at it, why did republicans support Odramaqueen in the primary? Remember Obama’s commercial to republicans to vote democrat for a day? He even bragged how you republicans were crossing party lines to support him. Bush and Iraq are tab that will cost future generations for decades.
I’m not sure about the attack Strawberry. But I’m not a Republican. Yet. I am just glad they are voting against that nonsense “Stimulus Bill.”
The one Obama hasn’t bothered to read yet. Why are you so angry? Do you really think we should accept this Bill and, if so, why? No one I know, on the left or right supports it. In fact less that 37% of the country supports it. Did you read it? I pay taxes and I really don’t want my money going to that Bill, sorry.
I don’t know which Republicans you were talking to Strawberry, but most of those that voted Dem, voted for Hillary. Some of that was just to sew chaos, but others were hoping that if we did get a Democrat for President, we’d get one that had a clue. I don’t agree with her on much of anything policy-wise, but I trust her to know what she’s doing, why she’s doing it, and how to go about it. These are traits I’ve never seen in President Obama, and don’t look for.
I don’t know which Republicans you were talking to Strawberry, but most of those that voted Dem, voted for Hillary. Some of that was just to sow chaos, but others were hoping that if we did get a Democrat for President, we’d get one that had a clue. I don’t agree with her on much of anything policy-wise, but I trust her to know what she’s doing, why she’s doing it, and how to go about it. These are traits I’ve never seen in President Obama, and don’t look for.
Strawberry. The Clinton hating repubs did cross over in the dem primaries and voted for the Fraud in large enough numbers to deny Clinton the victory. I finally figured it out when I saw the results of the WI democratic and republican primaries. Even though Hillary later won many of the large state primaries, repub votes made her margin of victory smaller than it should have been if they had voted in their own primaries. Instead of winning them by margins of victory in the mid to high fifties, she would have won them in the mid to high sixties and Obama would not have won even with the causau fraud. Their hatred for the Clintons overruled their senses. Many stayed at home in the GE and did not vote for John McCain for the same reason.
what could we really expect from a person who lives by the teleprompter…nonstop
a person who ‘lifts’ the best ideas of others and suddenly claims they are his…
this is so predicable, although many of us thought it might take a little longer than two weeks to surface
I actually thought it would take more like a year or so for the world to realize that America got taken in a ridiculous scheme. I myself can’t believe it’s been two weeks and people are catching on. One can only hope that this misery will end sooner than later.
Right on, Susan…
I supported Hillary during the primaries and then McCain after she endorsed Obama. I remember first defending Hillary to friends and family members in the tank for Obama. Their argument was that Hillary couldn’t win because she had “too much baggage”. When I questioned them on what “too much baggage” meant, I many times received a non-response like “she can’t win the G. E. because of too much baggage”. One friend finally alluded to Bill Clinton and said she didn’t want to live through “Bill and Hillary” again in the White House. She never clarified what she meant by that. I can only assume it was Bill’s infidelity. Apparently Bill’s philandering was Hillary’s moral problem.
Obama, in contrast, was seen as a moral upstanding candidate with no skeletons in his closet or anyone close to him. Of course, one had to turn a blind eye to Rev. Wright and the Obamas’church, Bill Ayers, Khalidi, Rezko, and the corrupt Chicago political machine that Obama was a part of. Besides Obama seemed so credible when he preached “hope and change”. The mantra was “give him a chance” as if he was running for “class president” rather than president of the United States.
I do blame the MSM for being major contributors in giving us this clueless, impostor for president. However, I also know some very intelligent but “non-thinking” people helped to put Obama into office. The truth is that we live in a society that is glutted with information but unfortunately many of us do not know how to put that information together in a way that is meaningful for ourselves or anyone else.
However I do have cause for hope despite the seeming gloom and doom coming from many quarters around us. It seems to me that more and more ordinary citizens like myself realize that we cannot sit back and let Washington run itself or City Hall for that matter. Our government and our country functions the best, when each and every citizen realizes it is their duty and responsibility to pay attention to what their government is doing and to hold our elected officials accountable to “we the people.”
It is where I seek hope.
This is off topic but I think Norm Coleman may keep his seat thanks to the latest court ruling. Does anyone have details into this?
News reports are saying that the Judges are looking at the rejected absentee ballots — their intention seems to be to count EVERY VOTE.
I agree with the judges — we voters deserve to have our vote taken seriously.
The judges are acting — well like Judges.
I don’t like either candidate — so I’m not biased in favor of either.
I am biased in favor of counting ALL the ballots.
The problem is that in the Democrat leaning counties, there are more ballots than voters.
DOH!
That kind of suggests Republicans were trying to stuff the ballot against the winner then.
The judges have accepted the result, they have counted all the votes (SCOTUS - learn from this) and are now asking to find out if 2000 rejected ballots are properly rejected. Seems fine.
I just reviewed the latest and what I found was that a pro-Franken news story was complaining that at two to three minutes per rejected ballot, it would take months to do.
Well, Pelosi is trying to find jobs for 500,000,000 people.
Perhaps there are a couple of them who could maybe give those ballots a quick look over.
With two people, one to ask and one to explain
4800 ballots at 3 min/ ballot= 14,400 minutes
14,400 minutes= 240 hrs @ 40 hrs/wk = 6 wks
or 12 people do it in one week or, Uh-oh!!!
60 people do it in ONE DAY!
Volunteers from Minnesota? anyone?
As usual, the aroma of Rat…
Given the peril of the moment, if you want the President to fail you basically want the country to fail.
If the republicans want to kill the stimulus package proposal, they sure as hell better roll out some credible alternative.
So far they haven’t. All they’ve rolled out is something the previous administration might have put together. It’s a slight repackaging of the same thinking that got us in the mess we’re in.
I am sure, cynic, that you have read all 647 pages of the so called Stimulus Package? And, if so, you are better than Obama who has never read it. No one with a brain is supporting that nonsense. And you can stop making it partisan. It’s about being American. Try it sometime. If you read that Bill you would puke. So maybe stop being blinded by partisan hate and get a grip. That Bill is crap and will ruin us.
PS I’m still a registered Democrap.
Have you read a synopsis of the alternative Republican proposal?
If not, you’re probably like 99% of the people here who bash away at the Democratic package.
They’re so busy smashing up the Democratic life boat that they haven’t checked the Republican life boat for holes.
BTW, I went to war in an American uniform and served my country for another 25 years after. We’re all Americans here.
Does anyone else smell the stench of rotten kool-aid?
I had no idea that kool-aid doesn’t have a long shelf life — but those who are addicted don’t seem to know when they’ve bought a rotten batch.
Snarky put-downs don’t actually constitute meaningful rebuttal. Nobody has addressed the points I’ve brought up.
What are the republicans offering as an alternative? How does that differ past policy that’s already crashed and burned?
Why won’t they engage with democrats constructively to help reconfigure the stimulus proposals more to their own liking, instead of trying to kill a real but unperfected effort to get something done?
Why do you come here to spread untruths? The latest package by Linsey Graham and others addressing a number of needed spending priorities, a house buying incentives, and tax cuts targeted to middle and low income people all for around 500b seems a better bill and I am not a repub. I am an AA Hillary supporter. Please do your homework.
Uhhh…so what you are saying is…that we should support some piece of crap that will destroy us because you hate Republicans? I asked if you read all 647 pages of the “stimulus bill.” I have. And no way does any human being, black, white, republican, democrat, support that mess. You people need to stop the GOP hate. Really, it’s getting old. And it’s why we have someone as repugnant and destructive as that idiot Obama in our White House. Because the GOP haters couldn’t vote for the right guy. You go read the entire 647 pages and get back to me. If you still say you want it passed you need help.
Excellent writing Susan.
Yes, I believe the kool aid has passed the expiration date. Great observation.
The Republicans have provided some positive alternatives. Blaming this mess on Republicans is short sighted. I wish people would stop with the “blame game”. This is about our country and we damn well better reject this porkulus bill that keeps getting larger by the minute and come up with something plain and sensible.
McCain was on Greta last night and remarked that we need tax cuts for workers and tax cuts for buisness. I have heard several Republicans say this over the last week. The Dimocrats aren’t listening. Consequently, this pork bill will most likely die in the Senate as it should.
Hey Susan,
Great rant. Where are the Michelle whitey tapes you promised?
Where’s the birth certificate, the transcripts, the passports, the draft registration, etc?
Two sides of the coin, bot.
We can play all day.
hill08, i suggest you take a hike. the american people are in no mood to listen to your crap.
Yes. But not to worry. Because Palin is on the cusp of becoming Reagan:
http://syd4.blogspot.com/2009/02/its-her-party-shell-do-what-she-wants.html
Not that I was ever a Ray-gun fan.
Just that…. well, I wasn’t much of a Carter fan either.
Can we have Hillary now? Our REAL president?
[...] exactly authored the controversial stimulus package. First, this: In my story last night, “Is Barack Obama on the Precipice of Becoming Jimmy Carter?,” Bert wrote a great comment that is self-explanatory. Here you go: Anybody remember in one [...]
Susan - you are a master craftwomen!
The article is superb. Simply Superb.
Wow, great post.
“General Anthony Zinni, who was already preparing for his departure to Iraq as its new ambassador, is left hanging by the White House. The puzzled general finally called up Gen. Jones, Obama’s National Security Advisor, and “was told that Christopher Hill, the outgoing assistant secretary of State for East Asia, was getting the job.” [SEE ALSO: Laura Rozen's "General Zinni gets undiplomatic treatment from Obama team" and related Memeorandum-listed stories.]
Gen. Zinni said no explanation was given. “That kind of bothered me,” he said. “I was told that I had it.”
What the hell? And now we have more distressing news coming out on Obama’s nominee to head Commerce, Sen. Judd Gregg.
The arch-conservative New Hampshire senator, as I wrote yesterday about a report in CQ Politics, “voted in favor of abolishing the agency as a member of the Budget Committee and on the Senate floor in 1995.”
Now we find out, via Time’s Mark Halperin, that Gregg had “ties to the disgraced lobbyist” Jack Abramoff. The White House is sloughing off the problem, even though Halperin points out that “a former legislative aide [of Gregg] is allegedly ‘Staffer F’ cited in a guilty plea last week by a former Abramoff deputy.””
…that’s pretty disgusting, isn’t it?
And, for the Obama FINALLY admission of SCREWING UP, AGAIN, he only admitted it after another one had to resign. The day before he was PROUDLY “standing by” Daschle and was sure he was the “best” for the job.
He only admitted this because the stench of his decisions and people to lead have been pretty bad.
Did you all notice, they only discuss the “bad ones” Obama has chosen when they resign, not the bad ones that made it through confirmation. Geithner was skating on thin ice and shouldn’t have been confirmed, but because he was, his name magically doesn’t appearn on the list of BAD choices or people with tax problems. Isn’t that curious.
BRAVO SUSAN,
Your ending paragraphs say it all, don’t they.
And the last one, about school, is spot on. He know’s he’s loved by his little girls, so he was hoping to reach like ones for similar response.
[...] Everyone has been e-mailing me about this video. Senator Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) takes President Obama out to the woodshed, and accuses the president of being “AWOL on leadership,” a point I was making in my story last night, “Is Barack Obama on the Precipice of Becoming Jimmy Carter?“: [...]
“Obama seems to be the kind of guy who loves the campaign, the chase, the hunt, and the all-glorious win. But he is most definitely NOT the kind of guy who likes the day-to-day tough drudgery and decision-making.”
This is a surprise? That’s the very definition of community organizer in the first place. Consummate politician, no administrative experience.
Obama sitting pretty in school while the economy and his nominies go up in smoke remind me of Bush sitting pretty in school while New York went up in smoke
Thank you Susan for a great article.
Since the beginning of this Presidency, I have been trying really hard to be open-minded, partly because I didn’t want people to think I was a petty loser, but mostly because I was so thrilled that the old administration was finally over, that open-minded optimism was truly my only choice.
Every day, though, Obama’s performance on the job has basically been what I expected and feared. As you said, he is not the kind of guy who has the temperment for the behind-the-scenes hard work, nor does he have the experience for it.
The only thing I can say is, thank goodness HRC is Sec. of State, just in case one of those 3 AM calls come in!
[...] — not one of them — knew this before they all got the “genius” idea of nominating Judd Gregg to be Secretary of Commerce, a plan that is wrong on so many levels I don’t know where to [...]