Patterico's Pontifications

4/3/2010

Had a Bad Day?

Filed under: Obama,Politics — DRJ @ 2:19 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

It could have been worse. You could have been at the North Carolina health care speech given by Barack “The Great Elaborator” Obama:

“Even by President Obama’s loquacious standards, an answer he gave here on health care Friday was a doozy.

Toward the end of a question-and-answer session with workers at an advanced battery technology manufacturer, a woman named Doris stood to ask the president whether it was a “wise decision to add more taxes to us with the health care” package.

“We are overtaxed as it is,” Doris said bluntly.”

Here’s how the Washington Post reporter summarized part of Obama’s answer:

“He then spent the next 17 minutes and 12 seconds lulling the crowd into a daze. His discursive answer — more than 2,500 words long — wandered from topic to topic, including commentary on the deficit, pay-as-you-go rules passed by Congress, Congressional Budget Office reports on Medicare waste, COBRA coverage, the Recovery Act and Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (he referred to this last item by its inside-the-Beltway name, “F-Map”).
***
Halfway through, an audience member on the riser yawned.”

Still, Doris and the yawners were lucky — at least their harangue was free (sort of). These 150 Boston Democrats paid $30,400 each for just 23 minutes of Obama talk at two separate events:

“Despite a long day, the president was chipper in both places, convivial, joking over….

…Joe Biden’s recent effing remark talking education and still celebrating the healthcare legislation, despite its apparent new political damage to his party. Obama also made fun of such polls, saying he’s got them in the White House too but doesn’t follow them, like every other president who has people who follow them for him.

Obama spoke for about 23 minutes, which works out to about $1,322 per minute per couple. He did some reminiscing about the primary campaign and called this year’s election outlook “hard.”

For a lot less money donors could have heard Biden admit to another recent party fundraiser near Baltimore that, well, yes, as a matter of fact, Democrats in Congress will take a hit come November’s midterm elections. Joe did predict the party would maintain its congressional majorities in both houses.

And, as per the agreed upon talking points for the next several weeks, Biden blamed the souring political climate for Democrats not on the unpopularity of the healthcare bill but on Obama’s big success in 2008, electing members, he said, “in districts where Democrats have no business having congressmen.”

So, if you’re one of those, Joe sends his %&*)#@ regards.”

Andrew Malcolm said that last part, not Biden. But it sounds like something Biden might say.

— DRJ

5 Responses to “Had a Bad Day?”

  1. it is curious why woman find him attractive since it seems he does not really listen but merely pauses now and again as he expounds and expands. he may be a good speaker but he is no communicator.

    clyde (516c47)

  2. My grandfather used to say that a person could be “stupid, smart and too smart. And too smart and stupid are the same”. That expression fits Obama like a glove.

    cubanbob (409ac2)

  3. Well you have to give the poor man a break, I mean who could possibly have foreseen a question like that? Obama was just caught by surprise and had to think about something he’d never considered before, that there might be such a thing as too much taxes.

    max (383bf5)

  4. I doubt Doris will be welcome at future Obama rallies.

    DRJ (daa62a)

  5. He’s our Mocker In Chief.

    Alta Bob (e8af2b)


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