Obama: Damn, I’m Humble
Among all his many great traits is a great humility:
United States president Barack Obama says he and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd share several personality traits – one of which is humility.
. . . .
But O’Brien says Mr Obama spoke candidly about their relationship – which has in the past been described as a “meeting of minds”.
“He was quite expansive and quite genuine on what he saw as the commonality and connections between [he and Mr Rudd]. One of which was humility,” O’Brien said.
Via JWF, who reminds us of this classic image demonstrating Obama’s remarkable humility:
Cue the music:
Big Zero may be many things, but one thing he is not is humble. Classic narcissists are never humble.
Never.
GeneralMalaise (d23929) — 4/15/2010 @ 7:39 amI go out of my way to let everyone know how humble I am and how hard it is to be so very modest; given who I am. It takes such a great deal of restraint for me to remain so very humble. It’s truly humbling in and of itself for me to recognize my amazing humbleness; and for all those that appreciate my awesome humility. I stand in awe of me.
Corwin (ea9428) — 4/15/2010 @ 7:56 amObama is humble, a humbleness that is also historic and unprecedented. And he’s the smartest guy in any room he enters. And he speaks “Austrian” to boot.
Marco Giacomo (b2c9bc) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:00 amTo paraphrase Winston Churchill, Obama has a lot to be humble about.
nk (db4a41) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:06 amTo Obama, humility = self-loathing.
Patricia (fa8e06) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:08 amObama: “I’m not perfect. I thought I made a mistake once, but I was wrong.”
tmac (5559f7) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:09 amHumility–yes, that’s almost the first character trait I automatically think of when I hear Obama’s name mentioned. Almost.
elissa (ba7e6b) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:25 amThe guy cannot be parodied. Every attempt meets an example of his incredible self absorption.
Mike K (2cf494) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:41 amWhat I would give for a SNL skit where everyone ignors the Obama character; and perhaps hangs on every word Tina Fey utters.
Corwin (ea9428) — 4/15/2010 @ 9:03 amPerhaps “humble” doesn’t mean the same thing in Austrian as in English.
PatAZ (9d1bb3) — 4/15/2010 @ 9:07 amPerhaps, Pat, but you would think that “tone deaf” would be the same…
SPQR (26be8b) — 4/15/2010 @ 9:15 amI humbly present my contribution, Kiss Me Son of God
http://mrmotosdiary.blogspot.com/2009/10/kiss-me-son-of-god_06.html
patrick (a90b2d) — 4/15/2010 @ 10:01 amGreetings:
Back in the Bronx of the last ’60s, there was a guy in my high school who was, as we used to say then, “full of himself”. When he would be overwhelmed by his proclivity, we would hum this little ditty:
And I say to myself,
I’m wonderful, wonderful,
Oh, so wonderful am I.
(Apologies to Mr Mathis)
11B40 (773d4f) — 4/15/2010 @ 10:22 amIsn’t this the same guy who said to Harry Reid “I have a gift.”
Mr. Pink (653715) — 4/15/2010 @ 10:26 amHumility is being able to admit mistakes.
Chris Hooten (bc3301) — 4/15/2010 @ 10:39 ambush could not do this. Where was the outrage?
The man is a citizen of the world, and also the 57 states of the USA.
But look, he made $5.5 million last year, most of it in royalties from the sale of books to political rubes. If you can do that, you may be entitled to say “Dang I’m good“. That puts him right up there with a very successful TV pitchman for Vege Mat slicers and dicers.
But then again, you may be Obama, and your right to say that “I’m good” is in significant doubt.
Mike Myers (3c9845) — 4/15/2010 @ 11:15 amIn every outlet of the MSM, in case you were asleep.
AD - RtR/OS! (7055a4) — 4/15/2010 @ 11:16 amBut then, GW only increased the National Debt by $1.3Trillion in 8-years, not the one-year it took Obowman.
We should have more mistakes like that of GW.
Of course he’s humble! Anybody could help “perfect” our “democracy.” That was really a revealing quote. When he says democracy, he means screw you Republic, screw you Constitution. Good old-fashioned progressivism with a healthy dose of 70s Marxism. Goin’ back to the old school with Barack. Once our “democracy” is “perfected,” the state will wither away (“we’ll reduce the deficit”). This guy is channeling Marx in an American jargon. We have a Theodore Veblen as President. Wonderful huh?
skwiself (225630) — 4/15/2010 @ 11:21 amHumility. That’s a good thing right? Then I’ve got a ton of that.
Hoystory (a394a8) — 4/15/2010 @ 11:25 amI’m sure Big-O thinks he’s a million times more humble than you are.
Socratease (02c2d9) — 4/15/2010 @ 11:28 amDo unicorns pop out of Rudd’s butt too?
Vivian Louise (eeeb3a) — 4/15/2010 @ 11:34 am“Via JWF, who reminds us of this classic image demonstrating Obama’s remarkable humility:”
I’m really liking these images of Obama looking up like this. There’s so much read into them, that they become more about the people who find a message in the images, than the actual images.
imdw (c5488f) — 4/15/2010 @ 11:54 amNot according to the 60% of Rudd’s staff who have quit or whatever that kerfuffle is about.
skwiself (225630) — 4/15/2010 @ 12:01 pm[…] smile patronizingly, and in heartfelt tones, tells those who are still drinking the Obama Kool-aid he’s filled with HUMILITY — even when this escalating nightmare being foisted on America is all about him and Team […]
SHAME of Spend, Spend, Spend: Democrats Not Answering Questions about Our Taxes & Their Reckless Spending (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone (a66042) — 4/15/2010 @ 12:34 pmHe humbles himself in the reflection he sees in his mirror each morning. Reminds me of the classic joke about narcissists – “but enough about me – what do you think of me?”
Dmac (21311c) — 4/15/2010 @ 12:41 pmChris Hooten is as smart as Barcky is humble. Barcky is as humble as Intelliogy is honest.
JD (636015) — 4/15/2010 @ 1:25 pmBush admitted mistakes when he made them, Chris. Just because he disagreed with you on Iraq (and damn, he sure looks awesome now for saving that nation from Obama and Biden and Saddam), doesn’t mean he’s incapable of being humble.
I’m pretty amazed that people think Bush, famously self deprecating, is more conceited than Obama.
Hey, be a partisan if you want. If you like Obama’s policies, support him. But don’t pretend Bush was some monster. It’s stupid.
dustin (b54cdc) — 4/15/2010 @ 1:37 pmObambi’s too infatuated with tyrants to realize that Iraq is going to be the Middle East’s top dog not named Israel in fifteen or twenty years.
A lot of people, me included, are going to have a nice laugh when George Bush decides to end his self-imposed low profile. The man is going to get his.
skwiself (63b7ff) — 4/15/2010 @ 1:47 pmI also meant that in a totally good way for George Bush. He’s eventually going to get the respect he deserves, and all of us who stood behind him the whole time even if it was just on foreign policy are going to get our chuckle.
skwiself (63b7ff) — 4/15/2010 @ 1:49 pmEar Leader is an immodest person with much to be humble about. i could list his positive achievements on one hand with five fingers left over.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 4/15/2010 @ 1:54 pmWhen Obama gave himself a “good, solid B+” grade on his own performance, I knew he was too humble to say he really deserved an A.
Socratease (02c2d9) — 4/15/2010 @ 2:09 pmYes, it’s true, I do share much with that little man, Kevin Ru.. what’shisname, but with more panache and magnificence.
Yes, I am unprecedented!
Stay thirsty my friends…
BahRack (77ccd2) — 4/15/2010 @ 2:16 pmI can just imagine a brilliant GOP convention, introducing the new nominee, with a total surprise appearance of George W Bush.
He would point out all these aspects of his policy that worked. How he was right about Social Security needing some serious attention, mortgage fraud with fannie, the Surge being a great idea, Gitmo being challenging to replace, etc.
And on each of these matters, you will find serious problems with Obama’s statement. Outright flips, or condemning what works, or promising broken things are perfectly fine. Terrible vision and arrogant taking of credit for things he obstructed.
But of course, Bush didn’t really stand up for himself when he was in power, either. He’s been presidential in not criticizing Obama, and I think that has a lot of value. I will be very surprised if this daydream came true at all.
dustin (b54cdc) — 4/15/2010 @ 2:26 pmGreat music clip from Mac Davis, a good ol’ Lubbock boy who, despite the lyrics, reminds me a bit more of our last president than of our current one.
Beldar (d92600) — 4/15/2010 @ 3:00 pmUnfortunately, I don’t think Bush will ever say anything about his successor – primarily because his father never said one iota about Clinton’s continuous attacks on his policies and his character, despite the reality that he already beat him in the election.
Dmac (21311c) — 4/15/2010 @ 3:48 pmAlways certain, seldom right.
daleyrocks (1feed5) — 4/15/2010 @ 4:10 pmHe’s my idol, a living deity. When I look at him I think of the Austrian word Ausgezeichnet. He actually does show his modesty and humbleness by pretending he does not ad lib well. And of course that is the reason he is secretive about much of his past, such as school grades. I sure he doesn’t want people to know how brilliant he is with his mensa grade mind and summa cum laude grades. How many of you repubtards made $5 mil last year?
aoibhneas (6e9f23) — 4/15/2010 @ 4:25 pm‘Isn’t this the same guy who said to Harry Reid “I have a gift.” ‘
Same guy but what he really said to Reid just prior to the 2004 Democrat National Convention was “Can I get a lift?”
GeneralMalaise (d23929) — 4/15/2010 @ 4:28 pmKevin Rudd’s team started fleeing when this thing went viral…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0B23RgyhkI
GeneralMalaise (d23929) — 4/15/2010 @ 4:32 pmEar Leader thinks the “Tea Party” protesters should be saying “thank you” instead.
as i said there, “ya gotta admire gall” 😀
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 4/15/2010 @ 4:51 pmHumility is one of those traits that must be (in order to be valid) attributed to you by others, not yourself. Describing yourself as humble means that you’re the exact opposite — prideful.
Look at me, look at me, look at how humble I am!!!
Truly humble people don’t have to list humility as one of their traits — they probably don’t even realize that they’re humble.
Susan (de5daf) — 4/15/2010 @ 5:33 pmSarah Palin made $12 million. Does that mean she’s more than twice as smart as Barack Obama?
skwiself (63b7ff) — 4/15/2010 @ 5:54 pmVermin alert! Alarm sounded at 5:54PM…
GeneralMalaise (d23929) — 4/15/2010 @ 5:57 pma) comment 36 appears to be sarcasm.
b) people who act humble so that they look humble and impressive and awesome in spite of the amazingness they think they also look like (which underscores the humility) are slimy.
It’s pathetic to tell people you are humble. A lot of people do that as a joke because it’s just so absurd and ugly.
dustin (b54cdc) — 4/15/2010 @ 6:00 pmThe reality is that Obama’s claim about he and Rudd having the same point of view was probably even more stupid than the line about humility.
Rudd is quite a bit further right than Obama. Hard to say whether his comment was indicative of Obama’s ignorance of Kevin Rudd or just the general vapid nature of whatever comes out of Obama’s mouth.
SPQR (26be8b) — 4/15/2010 @ 6:19 pm#41 skwiself:
Rather a shame when a joke has to be explained, sort of like an own goal, if you will.
EW1(SG) (edc268) — 4/15/2010 @ 6:51 pm“Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.” –C.S. Lewis, “The Great Sin”
no one you know (4186cd) — 4/15/2010 @ 6:52 pm“Hard to say whether his comment was indicative of Obama’s ignorance of Kevin Rudd or just the general vapid nature of whatever comes out of Obama’s mouth.”
Don’t know about all of that, but does anyone know if Big Zero has a taste for whatever comes out of his ear, like Rudd does?
GeneralMalaise (d23929) — 4/15/2010 @ 6:53 pmI know what you mean, if you were more astute we wouldn’t be having this conversation!
There’s also the saying, “any joke you have to explain isn’t really funny.” But I stole that from an awful character’s awful internal dialogue in an awful book – so what’s that worth, right?
I actually just took what he said and went a step further with it in my mind, it was a complement and not a rebuke to #36. If we had been face to face instead of relying on text it would have gotten across. One of the problems with Web 2.0, really; conversations carried on textually as if they were being carried out verbally are just inferior to the real thing, unless you’re familiar with the other person.
skwiself (63b7ff) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:34 pmI believe you two are discussing the wrong subject. If you’d bought my book, you would be talking about me instead.
Your Humble and Obedient Servant,even if you are all racists,
Barrack Hussein Obama (fb8750) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:42 pmThe Won
I guess you’re admitting this: that joke didn’t need to be explained at all. So I guess you’re noting that your sarcastic extension of the joke was the one that needed the explanation. (by the way, I am just joking around here).
You’re totally right… sometimes language just doesn’t work right in text. It’s hard to not get in my own way as I try to be clear. I’m worst than most, anyway.
I do think it’s interesting to consider just how smart people assume Obama is because he’s very successful (in a certain sense). And also think Palin is extremely stupid (I guess because we’re told to think that by Tina Fey).
dustin (b54cdc) — 4/15/2010 @ 8:49 pmThe humble people I know don’t regard themselves as humble, and frankly don’t really waste much time thinking about it because they are too busy being focused outwardly on other people’s needs and not inwardly toward themselves.
They are people who put others before themselves, and when met with great success, don’t waste time patting themselves on the back (or waiting for others to)- they don’t need the strokes. Rather they tend to see it as just another stepping stone reached on the journey and quietly keep pressing on.
Taking credit or extolling their own qualities is not a part of their vocabulary and they would most decidedly cringe at being described that way by others let alone describe themselves that way. Humility doesn’t seek anything.
Contrast that to Mr. Obama, who evidences that he should perhaps take a moment to consider humility’s quiet unassuming presence:
Speaking at a Democratic fundraiser tonight, President Obama touted his administration’s tax cuts and said that the recent tea party rallies across the nation have “amused” him.
“You would think they should be saying thank you,” the president said to applause.
Dana (1e5ad4) — 4/15/2010 @ 10:41 pmwell, he got it half right: there is a “you” in the two word phrase the protesters are speaking to him….and the first word does in in “k”, but it only has four letters. 😀
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 4/15/2010 @ 10:58 pmPlease tell me this is another sarcastic joke that is just confusingly probable.
(checks the google)
/head explodes
Michelle Obama is so humble that she was never proud of her country until her husband was nominated. Barack is so humble that he accepted the nobel peace prize and wrote two memoirs before he actually did anything. Oh, and he tells you he’s humble.
You know who’s more humble that Obama? Joe Biden.
dustin (b54cdc) — 4/15/2010 @ 10:59 pmI think, unlike his two memoirs and his abundant and ceaseless speechifying, that Obama would be capable of writing this.
It cracks me up that the Nobel prize winning POTUS is only remembered as something of a bad student and that even his fans read his one and only paper available and see it only as a “muddled” mess.
Do you think he waits for the TOTUS to appear and then says, “I’m ready for my close up, Mr. Soros!” I’m kinda getting that whole Sunset Boulevard kind of vibe here.
Vivian Louise (643333) — 4/16/2010 @ 4:12 amI have to give Kevin Rudd credit. He was going to enact a policy very similar to the Cap & Trade bill. His electric utilities told him that, if he did pass such legislation, he could expect electricity rates to go up more than 25%. This was the first month he was PM. Nothing further was heard of his green initiative after.
Obama is not fazed by such information. It doesn’t slow him down a bit. I’m not sure if it is ignorance or ideology. Maybe he’s deaf. Has anyone thought of that ?
Mike K (2cf494) — 4/16/2010 @ 4:59 amThere’s just too many of us to say “thank you” directly to President Obama, but he could put up really big splashy pictures of himself at crossroads and in town squares, at airports, train stations, and bus stops, at the post office and at all government buildings, especially at IRS offices all over the country.
That cool picture of him with his chin sticking up would do nicely, it’s like he’s personally looking down his nose at us. Then we could all have a mandatory opportunity to get on our knees before his image and make an appropriate donation before we demonstrate the gratitude he wants and deserves. Local Democrat Party and SEIU officials could check names and note their accounts to make sure nobody gets left out.
Now, I know it’s not an original idea, tin pot dictators, communist tyrants, and third world despots have made laughing stocks of themselves doing the same thing, Saddam Hussein comes immediately to mind. But, this time it would be different because this is America and we get to elect our oppressors.
ropelight (041757) — 4/16/2010 @ 6:39 am“put up really big splashy pictures of himself at crossroads and in town squares, at airports, train stations, and bus stops, at the post office and at all government buildings, especially at IRS offices all over the country.
That cool picture of him with his chin sticking up would do nicely, it’s like he’s personally looking down his nose at us.”
Yes! I think that is an excellent idea. Which might explain why I have already started putting in place a framework, via additional funding of the National Endowment for the Arts, to share more of myself with you, the little people. And why we must dig a little deeper into the communal wealth in order to further fund the print and news media.
Indeed, unexpected is my beneficence. Even unto those who would unjustly criticize me. Reflect upon who receives the lions share of Bahrack’s largess. And so understand that there can be no just criticism of your humble WON.
Even so, fear not little people, there will be no lack of my presence in the public space. My image will be there to give you strength and my voice will urge you on towards an end of life counseling session. *note to self: review estate tax status*
So let it be written, so let it be done. For at least the next 200 days…
Your Unprecedented, yet humble Won, aka El Dimesso Duce
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