Obama Speaks Out
[Guest post by DRJ]
Former Vice President Dick Cheney slammed President Obama for dithering about Afghanistan and not doing what it takes to win. Meanwhile, President Obama is using his time to focus on fundraisers while attacking Republicans and Fox News. For instance, here’s Obama on Fox News:
“I think what our advisers have simply said is that we are going to take media as it comes,” Obama told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. “And if media is operating basically as a talk radio format then that’s one thing, and if it’s operating as a news outlet that’s another but it’s not something I’m losing sleep over.”
And here’s Obama at Tuesday night’s NY fundraiser discussing Democrats who think for themselves and Republicans who don’t:
It looks like Obama’s bipartisan campaign rhetoric has gone under the bus.
— DRJ
In other words, the Democrats need to “do what they’re told.”
What an arrogant asshole.
Kevin Murphy (805c5b) — 10/22/2009 @ 1:28 pmObama talks about “unifying” Democrats, but the electoral strategy of the Democrat Party makes that virtually impossible. When Democrats succeed, it is usually because they stitch together disparate elements of a coalition — socially conservative blue-collar union workers with university faculty, militant gays with homophobic ethnic militants, socially liberal millionaires with welfare recipients — and they accomplish this by appealing to each group separately and hope that they can make it all work out into a comprehensive agenda. When Obama says Dems are “thinking for yourselves,” what he really means is that there are irreconcilable differences between two or more members of the coalition.
Let me anticipate some of the retorts from our lefty commenters by acknowledging that the GOP has similar fissures in their coalition. I would put to you, though, that the sheer number of interest groups in the Democrats’ coalition dwarfs that of the Republicans’. This is why Obama’s party more likely to get tripped up when trying to unify to pass legislation.
JVW (d1215a) — 10/22/2009 @ 1:33 pmHe’s very little. A teacup president.
happyfeet (71f55e) — 10/22/2009 @ 1:37 pmI am very excited to see the campaign ads that juxtapose video clips of him on the trail in 2008 talking about ‘politics as usual’ and the clips that are coming out lately that show him to be a petulant, spoiled child.
Patrick in Des Moines (3913e7) — 10/22/2009 @ 1:44 pmPatrick is dead on. The campaign ad doesn’t need any narration; just juxtapose “then” and “now.”
b (df882e) — 10/22/2009 @ 1:59 pmSee Dick talk. See Obama smirk. See the Dem party spontaneously assplode.
Dmac (5ddc52) — 10/22/2009 @ 2:09 pmThe Republicans have to fix their problems to take advantage of this situation. I sure hope they do so. The Scuzzyfava episode is not reassuring (I know the spelling of her name, by the way).
Mike K (addb13) — 10/22/2009 @ 2:18 pmWhat bugs me the most about this is that it is almost Clinton-esque in the petpetual campaign mode, while most certainly not leading or governing.
JD (7036fb) — 10/22/2009 @ 2:19 pmLima Oscar Lima
Look how it panders to its base by attributing traits of its opponents to them. They so wish to be like us that they eagerly allow themselves to be deluded by its deceptive rhetoric.
Pity them.
Ted (b3ef41) — 10/22/2009 @ 2:50 pmJVW, the Republicans may have fewer groups but we have large groups that won’t co-operate much. Libertarians like me have big issues with folks who are solely motivated by social issues. And vice versa. And the big business types have little agreement with either one. And then there are the centrists who’d be Democrats if the Democrats weren’t so effing far Left.
In the past we’ve had candidates (e.g. Reagan) who could tie us together by force of personality, but mostly we squabble as bad as the Dems. Personally, I don’t think we’ve seen our 2012 candidate yet. Liz Cheney might be the VP, though.
Kevin Murphy (805c5b) — 10/22/2009 @ 3:27 pmPost-partisan post-racial hooha.
Barcky take a stronger stance against Fox than he does against Iran, the Taliban, and Hamas.
JD (07f478) — 10/22/2009 @ 3:29 pmHi, I am amazed that he has chosen to take on fox news like he has. So if he equates asking tough questions and not buying the spin and mis information that they put out, then I say every news org. should act like “talk Radio” So far I have not seen CNN report that the administration was so brazen as to try to exclude Fox news from the pool of reporters that were allowed to interview Mr. Feinberg today! I must say bravo to the other networks for saying if all 5 arent allowed then none of us are coming. Good work to all.
Mark (1b7836) — 10/22/2009 @ 4:22 pmThis is unbelievable arrogance and attempted control of the media! If G.W. Bush tried this garbage on say, MSNBC or some other, it would lead EVERY nightly news program and there would alredy be calls for his resignation and or impeachment. Unreal. How does our Pres. think he can or should exclude a news organisation just cause they disagree with him? In light of the fact that a Pew research poll determined that Fox was the most balanced coverage of the presidential campaign, it seems what he really wants is not tough minded reporting, but a cheering section! Ludacris!
Whenever my boys had smirks on their face like the President does on the screen shot, I’d tell them they’d better wipe it off immediately or I would do it for them.
Dana (863a65) — 10/22/2009 @ 4:57 pmYou know, I’m pretty sure the audio cuts out before the President’s last sentence. I have provided an updated transcript below with the missing sentence restored:
There’s something remarkable about this passage. The “y’all” that are thinking for themselves was not a group of Senators or Congressmen or Governors, they were ordinary Democrats. Therefore the “other side” with whom he’s contrasting them are ordinary rank-and-file Republicans. The President has just attacked not just his political opponents in government, but the entire cadre of Americans who oppose him. Did George W. Bush ever say anything half as offensive about ordinary rank-and-file Democrats as this “post-partisan”, “healing” President just did about ordinary Republicans?
Voice of Reason (9c39e0) — 10/22/2009 @ 5:02 pmMeanwhile, the Pakistani’s want to know why Obama is dithering around. Which is amusing given how Obama was criticizing Pakistan during the campaign.
Well, now that I think about it, it is not amusing.
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/22/2009 @ 6:36 pmI forgot to also mention that Vice President Cheney’s speech called BS on the Obama administration’s lies. The Obama admin has been trying to blame the Bush administration for Afghanistan – Powerline discusses how Cheney called them on that dishonesty.
Is there nothing that Obama will not lie to us about?
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/22/2009 @ 6:43 pm#16 SPQR:
Nope.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 10/22/2009 @ 7:13 pmMy conclusion too.
SPQR (26be8b) — 10/22/2009 @ 7:23 pm