can he walk and chew gum?
By American Girl in Italy on March 11, 2009 at 5:00 PM in Barack Obama, Current Affairs, Daily Show, Hillary Clinton, John McCain
“It was September 2008 when then-Sen. Barack Obama, making light of Sen. John McCain’s suspension of his campaign to deal with the economic crisis, said that, as his campaign put it, a president should be able to “walk and chew gum at the same time” But with the now-president taking on issue after issue after issue, some critics and members of the media are wondering if this president thinks he can walk and chew gum and ride a bike and juggle and read a magazine and play with his daughters and take a nap at the same time.” ~Tapper
Obama does indeed have a lot on his plate. According to the White House, Mr Obama and his staff have been “overwhelmed” by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest. Obama is so concerned with domestic issues, that he had little time for foreign matters. (so, does that mean he can’t walk, and chew gum at the same time?)
“Sources close to the White House say Mr Obama and his staff have been “overwhelmed” by the economic meltdown and have voiced concerns that the new president is not getting enough rest.”
“Allies of Mr Obama say his weary appearance in the Oval Office with Mr Brown illustrates the strain he is now under, and the president’s surprise at the sheer volume of business that crosses his desk.”
“The one real serious flaw I see in Barack Obama is that he thinks he can manage all this,” the well-known figure told a Washington official, who spoke to this newspaper. “He’s underestimating the flood of things that will hit his desk.” A Democratic strategist, who is friends with several senior White House aides, revealed that the president has regularly appeared worn out and drawn during evening work sessions with senior staff in the West Wing and has been forced to make decisions more quickly than he is comfortable.”
“People say he looks tired more often than they’re used to,” the strategist said. “He’s still calm, but there have been flashes of irritation when he thinks he’s being pushed to make a decision sooner than he wants to make it. He looks like he needs a cigarette.”
Hillary, after Obama complained how tough their abc news debate had been, tried to warn him (and the voters) about the pressures of the job.
“Having been inside the White House, I know the pressures inside the White House, I know how hard it is every single day,” Clinton said. “When the going gets tough you can’t run away. Being asked tough questions in a debate is nothing like the pressures you face inside the White House.”
Heck, even George Bush said, “…that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s experience as first lady has prepared her to handle the “pressure” of a presidential race and the White House.” “No question, there is no question that Sen. Clinton understands pressure better than any of the candidates, you know, in the race,” the president said at an interview with ABC News
“When the going gets tough you can’t run away. And it’s going to be tough going to deal with these hard problems; getting out of Iraq in the right way, turning the economy around, getting universal health care, ending our dependence on foreign oil. The special interests are going to be a lot tougher than 90 minutes of questions from two journalists and we need a president who is going to be up there fighting everyday for the American people and not complain about how much pressure there is, and how hard the questions are.”
I think we all remember how Obama responded to Hillary.
Perhaps he should have spent a little more time thinking about what she said, and about all the pressures of the White House, instead of acting so flippant and juvenile?
This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone though. Obama was already showing his fatigue back in May 2007. It wasn’t much later that reports were surfacing that Obama was bored.
“There are going to be times when I get tired,” he told the crowd. “There are going to be times when I get weary. There are going to be times when I make mistakes.” The admission on Tuesday night was refreshingly honest. But it has fuelled fears among Obama supporters that the man hailed as a new John F Kennedy might not have the stamina needed to survive a campaign of unprecedented intensity.
Aides to Mrs Clinton believe that they might have identified Mr Obama’s Achilles heel and that he will make more serious mistakes as the pressure builds. “Hillary has enormous self-discipline,” said a Democratic official who supports the New York senator.
“She has been through nasty, gruelling national campaigns with Bill and she has a laser-like focus. It’s all very well being the candidate of hope and a fresh face but you have to be able to perform day in, day out and deliver – not just during the campaign but in the White House. Obama has never had a really tough election race in his life. He’s cruised into the Senate and it’s becoming apparent he might not have what it takes for the big time. Let’s face it, running at age 45 was always going to be a risk.”
Perhaps Obama can get some suggestions from McCain, about how to maintain a grueling schedule, and not be over come by exhaustion?
One suggestion might be to cut out all the late night (taxpayer funded) partying.
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Fabulous post, AGII.
And how interesting to read the George Bush quote above — whatever else, I appreciate that he gave Hillary credit for her grit and preparedness. I was not aware that he said that. Amazing that George Bush of all people was willing to give her more credit than Obama ever would throughout the campaign.
Then after the election he goes and appoints her SoS, proving that every diminishing, denigrating thing he said about her and her record was a lie — either that or he would have to admit he had very poor judgment. Can’t have it both ways.
Yes, Hillary did try to warn him (and us) and I believe she sincerely meant it well — and of course, the warning advantaged her because she does have incredible stamina and focus. She made him look tired during the campaign — he was lost at sea trying to keep up with her. It is so unfortunate that he did not have the foresight to realize what would be expected of him in this grueling job — or what the American people would require.
Truly, not to be disparaging, but I think there is a fundamental difference in their natures. Hillary really enjoys rolling up her sleeves and digging in. She got stronger as the campaign wore on whereas he (as some journalists were actually honest enough to note) was limping toward the finish line. Whatever his other flaws, he may not possess the stamina — or love of the process that she does. And, of course, both are crucial to getting the job done.
Ed Rendell likewise tried to warn him that the real business of day to day governing has absolutely nothing to do with speeches.
Lots of people tried to warn this crew that “campaigning was not equal to governing.” But they didn’t listen. In fact, they screamed at any and all remarks that weren’t absolutely reverential.
As far as I can tell campaign-mode is still in force.
I’ve seen Hillary Clinton look worn out in numerous photo-ops. I’ve never once heard her complain or whine about it, or make excuses that a blooper was due to being “overwhelmed.” Even if it’s true, a POTUS would be well-advised not to say it to the public. Doesn’t inspire confidence.
So, right now I’m underwhelmed. And greatly concerned about this administration’s competence.
Excuse me, not true. Remember the Bosnia lie fiasco? Both Hillary and Bill repeatedly said ‘that’s what happens when you are tired.’ Bill also said that every mistake he made while president was when he became tired and overwhelmed. It happens to the best of us.
my first point of the post is that Obama criticized McCain, saying that you have to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. And he, apparently, can’t.
Everyone gets tired. But Obama mocks others and after 45 days in office, is too tired to perform.
the second point is that Obama has been throwing lavish parties every week, which leave him, apparently, too tired to do his job.
me thinks our new CIC will get bored with the job long before his 4 years are up, especially when the adulation wears off (which it is doing rapidly). if he’s tired now, maybe he should stop partying and playing with his new toys and stay home and do some real work. something he is not familiar with.
Well, if he had ever held a real job, he would have discovered that work is hard, often boring, and usually makes you tired. And he is a relatively young man– if you can’t burn the candle at both ends at his age, then you are going to be a thudding tater tot at 55.
During the campaign, they managed a crises by replacing it with another that the media could use. We can see that they are still trying to do the same thing now that he is president. Problem is, they still have to face up to the problem they were distracting the people from. He thinks he is God who speaks and everything is. “Houston . . . . we have a huge problem.”
Well stated.
Both the Obamas have been given an easy ride till now, and have never really earned their degrees or their jobs.
Obama never legislated. He only campaigned. He’s a great listener, and has the talent to make his audience feel he is in agreement with them…trouble is, he can turn around and make the next audience feel his opinion is exactly opposite to that he expressed with the first audience. But being president is all about making decisions, and not about making more contradictory campaign promises.
Obama didn’t have to work his way through school, and didn’t even have to have fabulous grades to be admitted or to graduate. Ditto for Michelle Obama. Obama connived his way into the Senate: he didn’t make it there on his legislative record or his positions on issues. Obama needed to take at least two holidays in the last six months of campaigning, and he was still visibly worn out from it.
Even as President, he’s already take time off, and looks ready for an extended vacation.
Hold onto your hats, because he’ll probably more than match the vacation-taking records of Reagan & Dubya.
And his very own “Cheney in Charge” figure will probably immerge as the real power behind the man, because Obama simply doen’t know enough or understand enough, and will need to lean on someone.
No offense, but where do you get you facts?
Both the Obamas have been given an easy ride till now, and have never really earned their degrees or their jobs.
Really? Obama graduated from Columbia and Harvard Law magna cum laude http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/973560/Barack-Obama
Michelle graduated from Princeton and Harvard Law cum laude http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/221458,CST-NWS-mich21.article
Obama never legislated. He was in the IL legislature for 8 years and the US s
Senate for 2 1/2 (before he began campaigning in earnest)
Obama didn’t have to work his way through school, and didn’t even have to have fabulous grades to be admitted or to graduate. Ditto for Michelle Obama. See above. Both graduated from top universities with honors. But I suppose given your assumptions their profs gave them excellent grades because of white guilt, right?
Obama needed to take at least two holidays in the last six months of campaigning, and he was still visibly worn out from it. Wow, two whole weeks of vacation over a grueling two year marathon campaign. Yeah, what a lazy bum!
LDW, I have no problem with you criticizing BO or MO. Frankly I think his presidency is off to shaky start. But please spare me the tired campaign memes that have been disproven long ago to all but the most misinformed or ignorant.
One more thing. My brother graduated from Harvard cum laude in the 90s. His cum laude distinction was published in his Harvard yearbook, the alumni book, and the graduation program. Don’t you think if Obama was lying about going to Harvard or graduating magna cum laude, one of the thousands of witnesses to this event, Obama’s graduation, (fellow students, parents, faculty, administrators) would have come forward and called bulls***?
But please spare me the tired campaign memes that have been disproven long ago to all but the most misinformed or ignorant.
Can you direct me please to the place where the rampant caucus fraud has been disproven? It is you, sir, who are misinformed if you believe this was a legitimate nomination process.
You know that 30% of Amereicans who actually have read and understand the Constitution? We voted for Hillary. It was the ignorant masses who voted for Obama, I don’t care what kind of degrees they have. They cannot understand the Constitution, or the Democratic nominating process, and approve of the Obama campaign’s theft of the nomination. Pure and simple.
There’s no accounting for grade inflation, even if what you say is true, which I doubt. That One is completely out of his league. Hell, he isn’t even a Bush-leaguer, with all the connotations that adjectival phrase has.
Try again troll but do it over at DK.
Go to the latest MSNBC live poll to give Obama a grade for his work so far.
A whopping 59%+ have given him an F!
That appears to lead into the sentiment that people just aren’t that fooled by him anymore. Too tired? Who cares? Too inexperienced and narcissistic is more like it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093
Have you all gone to http://www.whatobamameanstome.com? Apparently it was started to show the outpouring of love that Americans have for Obama. They were planning on giving all the messages of “hope” to the President as a gift. Unfortunately, it looks like he means socialism, marxism, and generational theft to a whole lot of people.
Nice site Heather
This is an unscientific, totally meaningless poll, since those with the strongest negative opinions are far more likely to cast a vote in the first place. The latest Rasmussen polls paint a different picture.
these polls, during the primary, were ALWAYS heavily in favor of obama.
Zig-Zag has selective memory. He was crowing about these sorts of polls all during the summer and fall of last year. Funny how his tune changes even though the song is the same.
That’s cause he had his legions of botheads storming every online poll out there. Maybe this one is truly reflective of what people think of him. I don’t buy the notion that if you think he’s doing well, you won’t vote. I think you’d be very apt to vote in that case.
The only thing meaningless is your continued rants on this blog, which are both officious and boring. Why don’t you try panhandling, half-wit, as you’d probably earn more than that $0.05 That One is paying you to waste our time.
In addition, polls don’t paint pictures, bot, although the results of a poll might.
“polls don’t paint pictures”
Jan Matejko does.
hehe jk!
LOL
I was under the impression that meaningless rants were de rigueur around here, since they would seem to represent about 90% of any given thread’s comments content.
I’m sure you know something about valid poll-taking methodology. This one ought to be labeled “Poll results are meaningless. For entertainment purposes only”.
they usually always say *not scientific*.
they point some of us are trying to make is that these polls were BOMBARDED with Obots in the primary. He never ever ever lost an MSNBC poll. Now, he is. And I don’t think there are a bunch of underwear wearing, cheeto eating people scamming the poll. People are pissed. And there are numerous polls out there reflecting that.
AGII — the cheetos thing always gets to me. roflol.
I haven’t been around for a couple of days, but I see you are still using the same Daily Telegraph right wing daily article on Obama to quote’sources close to the White House’ – that Obama is tired? He sure doesn’t look tired to me.
The JayZ thing is a little old, ya know? He was brushing off her attacks – ONLY the Hillary worshippers (and they make the Obamabots look like wimps)saw what they wanted to see. Same with the bird flipping –
This is such a non-story. I do not understand why, when you have so many issues out there that you think Obama is so wrong on, you don’t write about those – all his mis-handling of the economy, what would you do to fix things? Instead it is always the petty and personal attacks comparing Obama to Hillary that just make you look petty and vindictive, and, frankly, not very smart.
And I am not being rude – I’m saying it like I see it and really questionning your motive? Guess you are just on an Obama-hate roll and its hard to stop?
So is everyone else, ELLEN.
Drown your obot dreams in this site, Ellen:
http://www.whatobamameanstome.com
(the site was set up as a warm fuzzy for That One. Honest.)
Seems between the msnbc poll giving Obama an F and the above site, you’re now in the minority.
Right. These two are THE scientific polls that the world consults to get accurate information. NOT
well, Sybil (janice, ellen, corinne, colleen) – it was so nice here the last couple of days.
(btw – I never thought he was flipping her off.) And yes, he was brushing off her criticism. That is what he was doing. How am I misinterpreting that? He was acting like a juvenile, imitating a JayZ song, and brushing off her comments that the job was hard, and her toughness from the debate the night before.
If it is such a NON STORY, then why the heck are you commenting, and why the heck did you even read it? If you see my name on a post, just WALK ON BY! Ignore it. I don’t want to offend your precisous Obama loving eyes.
You just can’t drop YOUR hate, and yes, hon, you are being rude. You constantly leave me rude comments. And you attack my personal life.
I really question your motives.
Get over it – I CONSTANTLY attack your personal life?? one comment about hats?
I had no hate to drop – you really cannot take anyone disagreeing with you, that’s obvious! and I’m sorry if I misinterpreted your comment, I thought you were accusing Obama of ‘dusting Hillary’ off, which he was not. we agree-he was dusting off her comments. a little stupid maybe but hardly over-the-top insulting! So what if he imitates a JayZ song – is there something wrong with that?
I am commenting on it just like everyone else here. You just don’t like it because I am calling you out – so please don’t say you LOVE disagreements because your comments say something quite different. And I have no ‘motive’ other than to question your comments which are so often based on skeptical sources and your own hate of Obama and his wife.
You are confusing ‘rude’ with ‘disagreeing’ and please don’t call me ‘hon’ – now that’s really RUDE!
You make a lot of assumptions, troll. AGII doesn’t hate That One any more than the rest of us. You confuse hate, which is your thing, with an understanding that your adored one is incompetent, unqualified, dangerous, and a liar. He is the worst man for the highest office at the worst possible time. And you are a sophomoric half-wit. Try peddling your patently false crap somewhere else–like HuffnPuffPo.
But you do admit to at least one personal attack, is that correct, Ellen?
You’d also have to ask one of her many alter-egos, which number as many as That One has.
read it again, please.
me: “You constantly leave me rude comments. And you attack my personal life.”
you: “Get over it – I CONSTANTLY attack your personal life?? one comment about hats?”
See the difference? What I *write* vs. what you *read*.
And yes, it really fucking bothers me that you go to my personal blog, and then use my personal hobby, and stories about my nieces and nephew to then ATTACK me because you don’t like it that I criticize the POTUS.
And no, you are not commenting here like everyone else. You go personal, and attack me, not the story. You comment like other koolaid worshipping bots. There are other people who disagree, but do so in a rationale way.
reply to Ellen..
to quote you:
“but I see you are still using the same Daily Telegraph right wing daily article on Obama to quote’sources close to the White House’ ”
Queenie replies..funny how the Telegraph was one of the top sources for we dems about the Bush admin..I know i used it very often…as did many many many many dem blogs and internet web sites…as a source to post what evil bush was doing..and now that it is exposing Obama and you come on here calling it a “right wing daily”
so which is it ?? you can’t have it both ways..wven though you are here trying your damnest..
it doesn’t pass the smell test ……..not one bit.
and your propaganda for the chosen one doesn’t work with me!
try this one on ………….
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/...
Cold warrior Henry Kissinger woos Russia for Barack Obama
Henry Kissinger, the pioneer of Cold War detente during the Nixon era, has made a return to frontline politics after President Barack Obama reportedly sent him to Moscow to win backing from Vladimir Putin’s government for a nuclear disarmament initiative.
By Adrian Blomfield, Moscow Correspondent
Last Updated: 2:14AM GMT 06 Feb 2009
Despite his pariah status with many Left-wingers in Mr Obama’s Democratic Party, the president forged relations with Mr Kissinger during his campaign.
The compliment was returned when the 85-year-old veteran of the Nixon and Ford administrations said last month that the young president was in a position to create a “new world order” by shifting US foreign policy away from the hostile stance of the Bush administration.
He publicly supported Mr Obama’s notion of unconditional talks with Iran, though not at the presidential level.
Further demonstrating his willingness to work with his opponents on foreign policy issues, Mr Obama turned to two veteran Republicans steeped in Cold War experience to press home his plans.
Shortly after Mr Kissinger’s trip, Richard Lugar, a Republican senator from Indiana who has worked on nuclear disarmament issues for 30 years, also visited Moscow. George Schultz, another former secretary of state, has also played a vital role.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ahhhh..it was even on my local Fla news..
and then understand this one ..
http://www.answers.com/topic/timothy-f-geithner
Timothy Geithner
Career
After completing his studies, Geithner worked for Kissinger and Associates in Washington, D.C., for three years and then joined the International Affairs division of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1988. He was deputy assistant secretary for international monetary and financial policy (1995–1996), senior deputy assistant secretary for international affairs (1996-1997), assistant secretary for international affairs (1997–1998).<
He was Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs (1998–2001) under Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers. Summers was his mentor, but other sources call him a Rubin protégé.
Treasury Secretary designee Geithner meets Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus November 25, 2008
In 2002 he left the Treasury to join the Council on Foreign Relations as a Senior Fellow in the International Economics department. At the International Monetary Fund he was director of the Policy Development and Review Department (2001-2003).
so who and what are right wing?????????
oh yeah..your chosen one who allies himself with one of the worst criminals in our recent history in our government!
The very man I fought along with my co-workers families and families of 9/11 victims to have removed from the 9/11 commission of whom Bush tapped to head that commission..because the fucker was the worst criminal in our government ..long before bush!
oh and since you seem to have little knowledge of what came before your chosen one..the Daily Telegraph had some of the best reporting on the Dr.Kelly death in Britian.
Some of the chosen ones little bots need a little history lesson it seems!
If you had more than a couple of brain cells to rub together, you’d take a hike, zippy. But since you are certifiably loopy, you’ll just continue to prattle on, not understanding the self-evident truth that no one here will ever come around to agreeing with the voices populating your tiny, demented brain. It’s your head and your voices so you’ll just have to live with them on your own.
Doesn’t it concern you that a president of two months who is forty seven years old, is tired and overwhelmed? FDR was a paraplegic and president during WW11, and I have read nothing to suggest he ever complained about being tired. I didn’t vote for Reagan, but he was seventy yrs when he was elected and he looked very vigorous until the end of his second term. Why is he tired? He needs to buckle down and get serious or we will be destroyed by a new international crisis or attack on our soil. He also needs to stop trying to push through programs which might work in normal times, but will be a disaster right now. Act in haste, repent at leisure. And, Ziggy, you need to stick with the topic.
Forgot to add this Ziggy. Sorry, people are waking up and the numbers are going down.
The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows that 37% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-one percent (31%) now Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +6, his lowest rating to date
The poll is not totally meaningless – it shows there are a lot of pissed off people who don’t like what Obama is doing.
The point is: + MSNBC is the mouthpiece for the Obamanation.
Nice try, though, Ziggy. It just won’t work.
Ziggy, “just stardust”? Hey, what stupid pet trick will BO do next?
Maybe “Capitalism will be different” now, declares TurboMan Geithner”…
Marxist socialapitalismism.
A fraud is a fraud….. Obama is weak, not well informed, doesn’t understand what it takes to govern, undisciplined, and lazy.
Thank God Hillary is keeping the light burning at the State Dept. The WH is a joke.
Yep–he’s a shiftless slacker with delusions of grandeur. Small wonder he always uses a teleprompter–too lazy to actually practice and that’s lazy.
We’ll see how well Obama can multitask when the biggest crisis of his presidency–or of any recent presidency–arrives. That will be the moment when the central government of Mexico suddenly collapes and total chaos starts spilling over into southern California and the American southwest, along with a wave of fleeing refugees.
On the news last night there were already applications being made by Mexicans for refugee status because their lives are being threatened.
I agree cynic. Mexico is going to be a huge international crisis on our doorstep. They have open rebellions in the south for several years before the problems in the north developed into open violence.
If we annex Mexico, do we get some of our industrial base back? Wouldn’t it be such a shame that some of those American companies that relocated outside the US will have to pay taxes to America again.
I suppose it’s organized chaos, but it has already started spilling into the US. Where is Gov Nepolitano? I hear– in denial.
They are working to stop the flow of illegal guns from this country into Mexico. Mexico sends the illegal drugs, we send the illegal weapons.
Maybe when Obama has to deal with actual warfare spilling across our southern border there won’t be so much applause when someone says they hope he fails.
You need to get back on that unicorn you rode in here on and ride out the way you came in.
He has failed, out of the gate. It’s just people get crap for pointing it out.
.
Anyone else sense the wheels on the Obama bus are dangerously close to falling off?
I get up everyday and thank Hillary and Bill for not giving up on America.
I guess that the wheels did not hold up very well to the damage from the number of people thrown under them.
LMAO. The bus has hit high center, apparently.
True leadership requires one to be decisive.
Vacilitating back and forth is exhausting, mentally and physically.
Hillary Clinton had the ability to analyze each issue, and state exactly where she stood.
Senator John McCain would not be whining, or lost in the office, after the ordeal he experienced in his life.
Suck it up BO! You asked for it…you got it!
It takes a great deal more energy to constantly vacillate on, and micro-analyze every single issue that confronts him. Remember the Saddleback debate? McCain gave short, crisp, and precise answers, and gave them with the full commitment of his core beliefs. Obama was all over the map and so convoluted, it wore me out trying to follow his anfractuous synaptic pathways. He has never displayed to me that he has greater than average intelligence, but so many of his faithful have gushed about his brilliance that now he has to be constantly on guard to keep his mediocre mind from being exposed, and dissapointing his worshippers. Put simply, he’s wearing himself out trying to keep up a false pretense. Do I hear violins?
my strings are broke!
Must be time for a vacation in Hawaii, no?
Go vacation all you want Odrama. We are better off without you and your lunacy!
Barack Obama is the most incompetent, idiotic, self centered, ego maniac, ever.
This is sooner than I’d anticipated doing so, but…
Here is your worst President evah, award, Mr. Obama, and as an added bonus, we are awarding you a golden ass award, too. The biggest ass evah!
I DESPISE OBAMA! HE MAY BE TIRED, BUT NO MATTER HOW TIRED HE IS, IT WILL NEVER BE MORE THAN HOW TIRED OF HIM I AM!!!!!!!
I am hoping he will realize he is too tired to run for a second term and have suggested a candle-lighting room for this intention.
http://helpmejoseph.typepad.com/puma_for_life/2009/03/being-president-is-a-hard-job.html
Great article, AGI! Shoot, it’s hard work destroying a country!
Obama’s “got a lot on his plate” but he’s not doing anything particularly well. TARP I (for which he was quick to take credit, having ‘laid out the main principles for it’ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/21/paulson-resisting-democra_n_128035.html note also how Pelosi said “We will not simply hand over a $700 billion blank check to Wall Street.” which is exactly what they did–no oversight whatsoever!) is not working; talk is of a TARP II is beginning.
The stimulus apparently is not working (oh what a surprise–not) because there is talk of a stimulus 2.
His budget more than doubles the national debt and adds more debt than all previous presidents combined (starting with Washington). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123629969453946717.html
He will quadruple the deficit this year. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-02-26-deficit_N.htm?csp=34
The drop in the Dow is the “fastest for a new president in nearly a century”. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/06/study-dow-decline-marks-fastest-new-president-nearly-century/
There are still 17 open positions in the Treasury department and Little Timmy can’t even keep up with Congress’ requests for hearings on the various problems.
Two huge things he easily COULD do–promote nixing the mark to market rule and bringing back the uptick rule–that would have immediate and positive effects on the stock market he has no plans to do.
Guys–um, let’s be realistic, here. This is NOT because he is tired.
octomom and bo have a lot in common.
they have both bit off more then they can chew…
The difference being that unlike obama octomom actually created something (someone?).
How hard can it be to blow through billions of other people’s money?
I’ll take a crack at it!
Call me cynical, but I think its a diversionary tactic. Better than waving a piece of tin-foil to distract us (as if we were squirrels) but distract us, he does.
There are so many contradictions and under-reported stories (dissent within the Dem party over the stimulus package, for one) that before you know it, a new policy is unveiled, taking the focus off the last one.
I guess he just thinks that if he throws all the balls up in the air at once, its really tough to keep our eye on just one of them.
Screw him. I’m over him
Now, You Own It, Mr. President
Obama’s policies have made the recession worse
David Harsanyi | March 11, 2009
Full column at:
http://reason.com/news/show/132178.html
How long are we going to have to listen to Obumble whine about how hard the job is and how tired he is.
Maybe some of the uninformed who voted for him could volunteer to take turns fanning him or bringing him a lemonade to ease his troubles.
Or maybe, he could petition Congress for special dispensation to step down and let Hillary take over.
Having Obumble stear the ship is like having Joseph Hazelwood at the helm of the Exxon Valdez.
steer the ship, sorry.
All of this type of discussion is just endless spin. Obama admitted that he would, in a grueling campaign, make mistakes. Is that “honesty” or “weakness”? (Before you answer, consider that Hillary Clinton acknowledged “mistakes” numerous times during the campaign, including the Bosnia story — which Bill Clinton himself attributed to tiredness after a long day of campaigning.)
One thing’s for sure. Some said Obama didn’t have the stamina to make it through a grueling election campaign. He did. Some said he wasn’t tough enough, while others said he was too tough or too “Chicago.” All I know is that he prevailed over all the doubters and naysayers, won a landslide victory against McCain, and has the respect of his chief rivals whom he beat for the Democratic nomination. Before you criticize his “stamina,” his intellectual capacity, his toughness, his adaptability, his ability to multitask, etc., etc., think back on what he’s already accomplished both in getting to office and in the legislation passed so far…..
You are preaching in a land of nattering nabobs of negativity, friend, infested with those united mainly by their hostility toward opposing views.
Like you he just copies what others have said. Bamboozeled or hoodwinked anyone lately?
Having spent so much time in this right-wing echo chamber, I doubt if you’d know an original thought if it jumped up and bit you on the bum. Even though that location is no doubt the closest to your brain…
I’m not the one that’s quoting your hero Spiro Agnew! You’re a fraud and an intelectual joke!
Hey Ziggy and faux Kurt V:
“WHO IS JOHN GALT?”
The main character in Atlas Shrugged, a novel by Ayn Rand, wherein she sublimates her fascination with the fascist superman ideal by recasting it in the form of rugged individualism. The novel found renewed popularity among college-age proto-neocons during the early Reagan years, and is again popular as confused conservatives try to relocate their philosophical roots.
It might be argued that many of the characters personifying individualism in the book are in fact narcisists, since they believe that they are personally responsible for all of the world’s good and productive activities to such an extent that the world will stop turning if they cease to participate in its activities.
Well Ziggy, let’s see…
You plagiarized the first partial sentence straight from Wikipedia and tried to fake the rest.
Either you’ve never read the book or never read it with any real comprehension, let alone been able to synthesize the intent and information into your life.
So, I’ll give you partial credit to make it an F. At least you tried.
Take heart. Obama got an F today, also. From America.
I’d certainly be very interested in seeing the passages I plagiarized. No doubt stating “George Washington was the first president of the United States” would also constitute plagiarism.
I read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged around 1975. (The only thing duller than than wading a thousand or so pages of The Fountainhead would probably be sitting through the movie, although the experience is at least mercifully briefer.) I also read The Virtue of Selfishness, just to make sure I was getting what the author was saying.
Even as a kid in my early 20s I realized that the selfish pursuit of my own wants and needs was not something to base my life on, and that holding altruistic behavior out as a virtue was not just a scam to turn people into patsies.
Ziggy, you’re a horse’s ass for writing a complete and disgusting lie about “Atlas Shrugged”. John Gault is the ANTITHESIS of fascism. You never read the book, you have no clue about the main theme, and your whole post is a stinking pile of shit! You have now completely lost what little credibility you may have had, and unless you admit to being incredibly stupid, nobody should believe another thing you write.
I did read it, and formed my own opinions about the message, the messenger, and their literary merit. Opinions are not lies.
Basically–in my view–Rand’s Objectivism is nothing but Secular Humanism with self given primacy over society. She disregards the fact that some people find fulfillment in service, and flatly denies that altruism can be an honest and pure virtue. I find this a very self-serving proposition that can be used as justification for all sorts of deplorable behavior.
I also reject her atheism, the same as I reject the atheism common among secular humanists.
You would get an “F” if that was a book report. And saying that John Gault is a fascist goes beyond opinion, especially when posted with verbiage that implies that it is a cold fact. Rand correctly wrote over and over that Socialism, Communism, Dictatorship, and FASCISM, are all forms of Stateism, all four are on the same end of socio/political scale where freedom and self determination are on the opposite end. Rand hated Fascism, and would never have made her hero a fascist.
It may have been wiser for you to admit that you never read any Rand, then to claim you have read her work and then display a complete ignorance of her main points. Rand states many times that people should have no restrictions in their persuit of happiness, so long as their activities don’t interfere with someone elses POH. If giving to charities, working for the Peace Corps, or building with Habitat for Humanity, are the things that truly make you happy, then go for it! Rand would celebrate your POH. Rand’s primary position regarding altruism is that if it is FORCED, THEN it is wrong.
I think your preconceived notions, pejudices, and problems with Atheism, have acted like a shield that protects you from an onslaught of reason and an understanding of individual liberty.
Your general attitude here and on other posts, is that of a child that whines that his parents are starving him because they don’t fill him up with candy. You’re typical of an Obama supporter that wants society to provide all needs and individual POH is an impediment to that goal.
I didn’t suggest that John Galt was a fascist. I said Ayn Rand had a fascination with the fascist superman ideal.
No doubt you’ve taken in a novel running well over a thousand pages with an equal level of attentiveness.
Pardon me, but it grows exceedingly wearisome when every contrary opinion expressed here is met with a personal attack rather than with a reasoned, countering argument.
Well, Zippy, when you come here with a balanced argument and not just more quasar-like spinning from the 7th circle of hell known as Obamabotland, we’ll cut YOU some slack.
In case you weren’t aware, being the patented moron that you are, this isn’t a pro-That One website. There are plenty of site devoted to the adoration of the Empty Suit (TM) that would love to have your input.
Ziggy, you are absolutely hysterical!!!!! Don’t you know the Age of Obama will one day also be called the Age of Personal Attack vs. Reason? The people who think for you have perfected personal-attack-as-substitute-for-merit and elevated it to an art form. They (and you) are the pot calling the kettle black.
Oops, was that racist???
Only if you called him a shovel, as it were.
Few here seem to realize that they’ve taken so much Obama Antidote that they’ve gone delusional. Their world revolves more around Barack Obama than it does for those who are actually supportive of him.
Oh my god, Ziggy’s response below just added the rotting cherry on the steaming and stinking pile He unloaded as his opinion!
That’s as funny as Obama trying to ride a bicycle or bowl.
If conservatives want to hold out as an American ideal the philosophy of someone who consistently expressed distain for charity and altruism while openly advocating atheism, I suppose that’s their own business. But they shouldn’t be suprised when other Americans reject that choice.
I’ll find my own models for free thinking and individuality elsewhere.
Don’t let the screen door hit you on the way out.
That audio/visual loop in your head, more than likely caused by your other personalities, should be looked into, Zippy.
sublimates…
(chemistry) a change directly from the solid to the gaseous state without becoming liquid
Obots do that? Just wow!
Is that what they do? Hell, I thought they were just putrefying.
Ziggy playin his violin.
You’re a nattering numbskull of nihilism, nincompoop.
I love when they bust out the SPIRO AGNEW. Now that’s fresh.
You forgot, he’s a plagiarist just like your name.
That was hardly a landslide.
Thank you. I am so sick of that lie being repeated over and over again. It was very close and McCain would have won had hard-core conservatives not stayed home.
Funny I thought he took more vacations than anyone else during the campaign. As for how tired he is after working less than 2 months, (with a couple week end trips) maybe he should cut down on the parties. His only accomplishment was cheating and having the DNC and MSM help him pull his con job. Anyone that paid any attention to his record is not surprised by how overwhelmed he is, just surprised it only took 40 some days to admit it. As for the other things you wrote I really hope you don’t believe that..if so it is just sad
Kurt: You’re slipping. Indeed, your comments read more like histrionics or hyperbole than tight, well-written fiction.
What he didn’t say, Kurt, is that his mistakes didn’t matter because the media wouldn’t report or make excuses for him. I’d also like to point out if he had to face what Hillary did everyday, he wouldn’t have lasted. He took two vacations and didn’t even bother to campaign in some states. And, I think the references to Chicago had more to do with dishonesty and not stamina. He either deliberately insulted the British PM and, by extension, the people or out of ignorance then his office says he is “tired and overwhelmed” by the amount of work on his desk. During the primary, he was a guest on Ellen Degenerous show. She asked him what he was going to do on day one and he said he would put his feet up on the desk in the Oval Office and say, “Wow, this is cool”. Must have been a big surprise when he put his feet there and found out there was a pile of problems under them. Oh, and he won by less than 7% against a seventy two year old man who represented a party not in good favor with the voters. And the legislation he has signed might include the death knell for our economy. You are living in the past glories of the campaign and so is he and if he doesn’t get a grip soon, we will be in real trouble if there is another crisis.
great response. thank you.
No, its Hillary that did not campaign in the caucus states…remember, she said very clearly, ‘they don’t count.’ Seriously, both campaigned tirelessly across the country, there is no doubt about that. so let’s cut this ridiculous he vs she. He is the President, she is NOT and she will not be for at least the next four years. His Office NEVER said he was tired and overwhelmed. that quote came from right-wing dailies and blogs and was quoting some unnamed ’sources close to the White House’.
Funny how you could say nothing positive about the MSM during the primaries and pres campaign. Now that the MSM is voicing some negatives towards Obama (which, by the way, they did plenty of before, but you wouldn’t have it)the MSM is okay??
Who are you trying to convince, Ellen? Yourself?
You are assuming alot for the next three years and ten months. Be clear about that.
Who knows how much Blago and Rezko have given the feds? Who knows if the economy tanks completely how many dems and reps will turn against That One and put impeachment on the table or, at least censure?
Who knows if Pelosi will win in 2010? Who knows what congress will look like in Dec of 2010?
And perhaps more importantly, who knows what the MSM will finally report? Hopey Feel Good about President
UrkelObama isn’t working so well…Rezko and Patrick Fitzgerald are far more interesting than another teleprompter speech.Geez how come we did not get to see the big signing of this new bill just like all the others is there something wrong with it that it had to be done behind closed doors???
He did it in private, SJ. No reporters, no photographers and no pens to hand out. I wonder why?
His teleprompter pen was broken and he had to remember how to write all by himself.
I think what BO wanted was to be the first black prez so he’ll be in all the history books.
Now that he’s accomplished that goal he thinks the rest is beneath him.
Okey well he did that. Now can he come up with some medical reason he regrets but he must step down?
tiredness is looking good…he can go off on the world tour with Michael and dance the time away~~ He likes to party on down..
This is all bull. 0bama doesn`t know anything about economics or finance or foreign policy. He`s in way over his head. ALL 0bama knows how to do is lie, and he`s very good at it. All he has ever done is won easy campaigns with the propaganda media cheerleading for him. Hillary had it right. She`s tough. Even George W. thought Hillary was the most qualified. I`ve heard him say it.
0bama is America`s first Affirmative Action president, that`s all. Too bad, there are plenty of black men and women more qualified than him. I do feel for the Afro Americans. They waited a long time and they deserved better. The progressives hoodwinked them. They didn`t deserve it.
I’m an AA female Hillary supporter and he didn’t hookwink me. Unlike many white Americans, I knew he was a liar, a cheater and a con man almost from day one. I truly wish Hillary was the POTUS. Obama makes me ill to even look at him after the race-baiting stunt he played on the Clintons during the SC primary. He lied to blacks who did not know the facts about the Clintons. Blacks got angry and turned on the Clintons. Due to the lies that were perpetuated with the media’s help, others like Kennedy and Kery used this issue to desert the Clintons and endorse Obama. In the process I asked myself why didn’t Jessie Jackson, John Lewis, Clyburn, etc defend the Clintons against the lies? The answer is because they loved the idea of a so-called black president more than they loved the country. At that point in time we needed the best person to guide the country out of this mess. That person was Hillary!
that’s why you’re a *wisewoman!* :OD
The South Carolina debate also did it for me when he essentially said that the test for a black man [Bill Clinton] was whether he could dance “like a brother”. What a poseur Obama-he is like Bush in that he just wanted the title not the work that goes with it!
Always like what you have to share
Wisewoman, well said as always. Thank you.
Obama may soon come to the realization that governing this country is not like the Harvard Law Review meeting. That is a leisurely activity that one can mentally masturbate to one’s heart content.
The world is not going to slow down for Obama “to feel” comfortable in making a decision. That is probably the most unfortunate thing for Obama and the world.
JRD
I agree–reading from 3 teleprompters and preparing every last nuanced gesture and word so that his minions will not notice that he has no idea what he’s doing is hard work and bound to take its toll. Essentially he’s living a double life and his whole physical appearance shows it. He probably had to sign the pork bill in private because he was lighting up faster than he could smoke them.
Wonderful post AGIL!! He has to work for a change no passing the buck here and voting present…
Wonder whats on the party scene tonight it’s Wednesday right?
Well, for dinner it’s probably more of that hoof he keeps inserting into his mouth.
Ghost Hunters on Wednesday night does more good than Barky O’s parties.
German? Hungry? Try some tasty Obama Fingers.
LMAO! Gotta hand it to the Germans on this one.
By the size of those Obama Fingers, they were apparently modeled after another appendage.
I have been waiting to exhale for months and months…
Now I can safely start my tirade of….
here goes…
I knew it..I knew it..I knew it..I knew it..I knew it..
I knew it..I knew it..I knew it..I knew it..I knew it..
and also..
I told you so…I told you so…I told you so…
I told you so…I told you so…I told you so…
This is just too much fun..except for the fact that our country and its people are in really bad shape…
and suffering badly…maybe next time..if it sounds too good to be true..it probably is…
nothing beats an informed vote!
I still wonder if there isn’t something physically wrong with him. I think back to an interview I heard with Sanjay Gupta on CNN. Dr. Gupta was among the physicians who examined the volumes of medical records submitted by John McCain, and I remember him commenting he thought it odd that Obama had submitted just one PARAGRAPH from a doctor stating that he is in good health. Of course no one in the MSM seemed inclined to press for more records from Obama, that was a outcry they extended to only Hillary and John McCain, but it followed the pattern of not insisting on any of his past records, including those from the colleges he attended and those from 8 years in the Illinois Senate. Media malpractice at its finest.
Yes, 287 words to be exact, covering 21 years of care.
I am grateful to say I am in excellent health, but even my medical records would require more than 287 words to summarize accurately.
Has anyone thought of suing the MSM for fraud, neglect, incompetence, etc.
OBAMA LESSON OF THE WEEK/MONTH/TERM:
“Wanting some and Getting some are two very different things.”
Think he got it figured out yet?
He had his Office of the President-Elect – complete with with the pretty sign.
He had a Transition Team – best evah!
He wanted to begin right after he ‘won’ the election.
I bet he had a To Do list – Call my friends in the Middle East; Do a media appearance in the Middle East; Put through a huge pork bill, Trash the economy even more; Have party every Wednesday.
Now he’s done. The fat lady sang. The guy has no idea what he’s supposed to do. Profits and Earnings Ratios anyone?
So sad, time and time again we are reminded what could have been had Hillary been President.
Sometimes I wish Hillary did not help him at all during the elections. It seems people expected her to like as if it was her responsibility to unite the democratic party. She was the one who faced more misogony from her own party. Obama faced racism but that was from the republicans!!
I also wish she did not accept the SOS position, she could have taken him on in 2012, now she will have to be loyal. What a pity we could have learned from 8 years of Bush, but no!!!!! we did not.
So many suppossed progressive could not stand to have a women president.
Where did Obama face racism from the Republicans? Name one instance!
Not being able to prioritize is a common problem with people who don’t know what they are doing or have ADD. It is a character trait and not a national policy. It also comes from a lack of real understanding of not only the issues and their underlying causes, but also of any vision for solving them. BO only has hope; he doesn’t have awareness, wisdom and experience.
Just another point he shares with GW. This guy is going through the same Brownian Motion and on-the-job-training as GW went through. And he is handling it as ineptly….
BO has always been about spin–now he is about spinning our wheels during difficult times….
Well said!