Patterico's Pontifications

11/7/2010

Bob Kerrey: Obama is so Incompetent He Needs Someone to Do His Job for Him

Filed under: General — Aaron Worthing @ 5:44 pm



[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; send your tips here.]

No, he doesn’t quite say that, but it’s really hard to draw any other conclusion when he suggests that we create a Chief Operating Officer for the administrative branch:

The COO’s duties would lie in execution of government policy, including ensuring that the government is well managed and that it addresses key national priorities as one entity and not as hundreds of separate agencies operating in silos.

In other words, Obama didn’t learn on the job like everyone had hoped, nor had running for president prepared him to be president.  Who knew?  So the Democrats are trying to figure out how to help the president limp toward 2012 without embarrassing himself too much.

But in the process they would in essence turn the President into an elected monarch, as the position operates today in modern England: as mainly a figurehead.  The solution isn’t to make the administrative branch even less accountable, but twofold 1) shrink the size of the Federal Government so that it is more manageable and 2) pick a president with administrative experience, next time.

[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]

53 Responses to “Bob Kerrey: Obama is so Incompetent He Needs Someone to Do His Job for Him”

  1. Sounds like a job for Joe Biden.

    Kevin M (298030)

  2. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Bush had a COO: Cheney, and used him as such. If anything (other than a warm bucket of spit), that is what the VP is for. What on earth was Obama thinking when he picked Biden?

    Kevin M (298030)

  3. I guess that explains why Senator McCain selected Governor Palin as his running mate; he wanted someone who’d actually run something before! 🙂 It’s not like Senator McCain had actually run anything.

    The snarky Dana (bd7e62)

  4. Kevin

    that is according to accounts that were never trustworthy, and often based on the silly assertion that bush was too stupid to run anything.

    Aaron Worthing (b8e056)

  5. At a minimum Kerrey acknowledges what most of us have repeatedly pointed out, that Obama needs people with private sector experience in his administration instead of just a bunch of geeky academics and lifelong public servants.

    daleyrocks (940075)

  6. Does anyone know that this is been a known problem at least since Truman complained about the Foreign Service obstructing his policy goals? Please, read Neustadt’s Presidential Power. According to Neustadt, the power of the president is the power to persuade. To get what he wants he has to bargain (equal parts threatening, promising, persuading) with Congress and the bureaucracy and he has to convince the American people. Obama’s failing isn’t one of administration, it’s persuasion. To paraphrase Mansfield, having a reputation as a clever speaker and being a clever speaker are too quite different things.

    Fritz (ac48cc)

  7. Shrink government. Shrink government. Shrink government, you say.
    Please, please, please, please, please, please do what Boehner, McConnell, Cantor et al. will not, will not, will not, will not do, though they pretend that’s what they’re doing…….
    All of you talk, talk, talk, talk, talk…..But, double-dee-dare-you, just please put in writing, specifically, with dollar signs alongside, just what it is exactly that you declare, unequivically, beyond a doubt, no touch back, that you want to cut, that you demand be cut, from the budget — meaning the one you now suddenly insist must be balanced.
    And then please insist that your representatives in this Republican government stand on and for just that. Period. Principle. No waffling.
    Like the Tea Party folks want.
    Just effing say it and stand for it.
    Uh, you say down with Obamacare….OK…..tell the voters you want to do away with law that says insurers can’t drop kids who get cancer, or cripples and gimps who should be Darwined to dust. Say on the record to voters that you do not want law that would keep medical insurance companies from using recission when someone who has paid premiums for decades suddenly gets cancer or whatever.
    Make your guys insist in writing and in words, on the record, that Medicare should end immediately and that Social Security should be handed over to an unregulated, unfettered Wall Street because Ayn Rand says the financiers will make all of us who are deserving rich, since they acting in their own self interest will be best for all of us.
    Make your guys in the House/Senate say straight up that’s what they believe and that’s what they want.
    And then let’s see what happens when pure principle, pure pure pure principle is put before the voters.

    Harrumph, you twinks.

    Larry Reilly (ae99e7)

  8. So, are we sorta talking about a ceremonial king and a prime minister here? Based on the last couple of years I think BO could handle the King part rather well.

    elissa (e642a8)

  9. Larry,

    I do hope your doc can give you something for that tic.

    ras (b7f440)

  10. My computer screen was just obscured by a field of straw. What happened?

    daleyrocks (940075)

  11. Mary Reilly seems upset. Maybe her football team lost.

    elissa (e642a8)

  12. As if Mr. Theresa Heinz – Kerry would know anything about balancing a checkbook; he once said something about the best way of making a lot of money was “to marry it,” or words to that effect. He could start by paying his boat taxes to his home state – or is that too much to ask?

    Dmac (ad2c6a)

  13. like a prime minister for remedial governing… this would be very innovative

    happyfeet (42fd61)

  14. Larry Larry Larry

    Stop stop stop repeating repeating repeating…

    Its annoying… annoying… annoying…

    Aaron Worthing (b8e056)

  15. One too many beers during the football game today, Larry?

    PatAZ (745e66)

  16. Jeez, but #7 was pretty weird. Drugs or psychosis?

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  17. You know, I don’t mean to be rude to a Medal of Honor winner. But Bob Kerrey is President of the New School in New York, and his own management style has not be draped in glory.

    So his opinion on how to run anything is a bit suspect. Unless he means that he is aware of what happens when you try to run an organization and don’t know what you are doing, while being arrogant about it.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  18. happyfeet,

    I very much enjoyed lunching at Miss Peaches yesterday thanks to your recommendation. No cake though because fresh peach cobbler had just come out of the oven and it was simply irresistible. I would go back.

    Dana (8ba2fb)

  19. After hearing the president’s “shellacking” comments, for several days now at our house we’ve been envisioning the serious strategy meeting Obama and his staff must have had in the West Wing late on Tuesday night as they were trying to figure out what word to use. We’ve been able to come up with a number of other nifty options for Obama, besides shellacking, most of which admittedly would not have been usable on TV, though. (His staff likely came up with many of the same R rated phrases and likely wisely kept it to themselves.)

    Bush, of course, used the rather charming “took a thumpin'” to describe his congressional losses in 2006.

    Then I started to wonder about the origins of the phrase “shellacking” and found this cool link. It’s complicated, but rather interesting and has little to do with varnish anymore.

    http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/2479/

    elissa (e642a8)

  20. Larry Reilly, your bizarre and incoherent ravings don’t improve with age.

    It is pretty hilarious to see you whining about “Wall Street” and associate it with the GOP when its the Democrats who’ve been captured by Wall Street. They are the ones that the Democrats are dumping money into the hands of.

    Dry out Larry.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  21. Dmac, I believe you are thinking of the wrong Kerry. This one is the one who was far more coherent than the one you are thinking of.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  22. All of these leftists demand that people state specific line items, as they want to be able to specifically demagogue the cuts. The idea that Dems would ever honestly participate in fiscal restraint has always been laughable.

    JD (c8c1d2)

  23. Joseph Robert “Bob” Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) was the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and a U.S. Senator from Nebraska (1989–2001). …Wiki
    And, he used to date Debra Winger.
    Plus, I think his current position has more to do with his fund-raising abilities than any type of organizational skill in academia.

    AD-RtR/OS! (f6c1ad)

  24. I think Larry is trying to say return the United States to a point where it can once again be the greatest nation on Earth.

    I think he’s saying that, perhaps, individuals can make decisions for themselves. I think he’s saying teaching someone to stand on his, or her, own two feet is admirable.

    He may be saying that government can’t always be the answer, just because sometimes it is the answer.

    No, wait a second, I know what he’s saying. He’s saying you are too stupid to understand why he is so smart.

    I will take his challenge:

    tell the voters you want to do away with law that says insurers can’t drop kids who get cancer, or cripples and gimps who should be Darwined to dust. Say on the record to voters that you do not want law that would keep medical insurance companies from using recission when someone who has paid premiums for decades suddenly gets cancer or whatever.
    Make your guys insist in writing and in words, on the record, that Medicare should end immediately and that Social Security should be handed over to an unregulated, unfettered Wall Street because Ayn Rand says the financiers will make all of us who are deserving rich, since they acting in their own self interest will be best for all of us.
    Make your guys in the House/Senate say straight up that’s what they believe and that’s what they want.
    And then let’s see what happens when pure principle, pure pure pure principle is put before the voters..

    I will say I disagree with everything you said. And, I will say that’s what I believe.

    I will hold my elected representative responsible if they do not say that Medicare and Social Security are ridiculous Ponzi schemes that will bankrupt the nation, as if the nation is not already bankrupt. I will say that they have to provide a real, concrete solution that stops the decimation of our nation.

    I will say the people of our nation have, until recently, taken care of their own.

    I will say that free enterprise and capitalism have done and incredible amount of good for for the health of not only our people, but the people of the world.

    I would say hat the billions you want to spend on a misguided, bloated sop to unions and the re-election of jet-setting millionaires who don’t give a crap about working people is a losing cause.

    Hey, if want this nation to be another England, another France, another Greece, another EU, good for you.

    I would rather not and passports are inexpensive.

    Ag80 (743fd1)

  25. Another Donkeycrat idea to help save their “messiah” from himself…

    Bob – if the job is too tough for Barry, then just find the balls to tell him to resign? I’d expect more from a former Naval Officer/SEAL/Medal of Honor awardee, but I guess when your a failure in the “real” world away from DC, the truth must really hurt.

    Infidel Mataween (4a9c06)

  26. Aaron–
    Different presidents use VP’s differently and both Clinton and Bush used theirs more than most. But you’re right, no president has actually given up that much power — it isn’t in the makeup of the types that seek the job.

    But Biden isn’t qualified to be anything except blowhard.

    Kevin M (298030)

  27. So sad nobody ever proposed to do Bush’s job for him maybe we wouldn’t be in that mess oh wait someone did it was Dick Cheney he was the actual president for eight years while Bush was playing with his pleasure zone the dumb bastard

    Rethugbuster (0692b1)

  28. Yes, all you stupid elitest rethuglicans should wake up to reality. I don’t care if liberals had majorities in both Houses of Congress. Republicans are the party of no and have made every effort to sabotage Obama’s policies. Not fair that Faux news, Beck and Limbaugh get away with attacking our wonderful President at every turn. They should be honest like the rest of the media strive to be.

    You people give Obama no credit for his modesty; that’s why he doesn’t release his academic record nor allow people from his past to say much about him. We know how much evil Conservatives have denigrated brilliant men such as Algore, sKerry and Carter. How many Republicans possess Nobel Peace Prizes, Emmys or Academy awards? Republican administrations tend to kiss Israeli butts and you even had cowboy W Bush refuse to meet with another great Peace Prize winner, the PLO’s Arafish, in the interest of peace between the Arabs and Joos.
    And you might also recognize Joe Biden for the suave urbane leadership he possesses; no empty-headed veep like Quayle or Darth Vader Cheney.
    There is no doubt that the current administration would not have played racist policies with Katrina disaster. Bush stymied progress and stood in the way of sterling efforts by the mayor of New Orleans backed up by a great La. governor.
    Please do not play revisionist history with the facts and know now that we will make every effort to show the American people how truly awful Rep. leaders are.Palin will never be POTUS nor any of your oreo conservative so-called blacks.
    ANY and ALL problems this nation has going forward are the responsibility of Bush or the current Republican House majority. Obama will go in history as likely our greatest President and also its most brilliant.

    Calypso Louie Farrakhan (798aba)

  29. Why are you so full of hate and the racisms, troll?

    JD (306f5d)

  30. Why are you always talking to them?

    timb (449046)

  31. rethug

    do you expect to be taken seriously with a name like that?

    Aaron Worthing (e7d72e)

  32. Oh, c’mon:

    “…You people give Obama no credit for his modesty; that’s why he doesn’t release his academic record nor allow people from his past to say much about him….”

    That is just plain funny. I don’t mean to be rude, but if it is modesty, it just about the first evidence of such an emotion from the man.

    How could you write that and not cringe? I mean, with the ocean no longer rising, now that he has “won,” and so forth. Besides, the election happened because he was not “clear enough” with the electorate. We just aren’t smart enough to see his brilliance.

    Trust me: if he was brilliant, people would be leaking his grades and papers. It has happened to many politicians. Even if POTUS is modest, his starry eyed admirers would have been more than happy to release material. After all, remember how we used to hear how “stupid” GWB was compared to Al Gore? Then the grades were released. Oops.

    And the SAT scores. Double oops.

    Anyway, thanks for the morning laugh.

    Eric Blair (dcced2)

  33. They sent the man who wanted to partition Iraq, who was Senator Obama’s advisor on questioning Petraeus
    on the surge to tell the Iraqi’s to get their act together; ‘we really dodged a bullet there’

    justin cord (82637e)

  34. Glad you got to go… I have much much penance to do before I can go back but I can’t wait

    happyfeet (42fd61)

  35. 32. What can I say? How can you not admire a man who went from nothing to the White House? How many of you Republicans can say Obama gave you a thrill up your leg like Obama did to that splendid journalist C. Matthews? Look how many of your most visible Republican opinion makers spoke very highly of Obama. Anyway you might note I used names like Algore, sKerry, Arafish and Jooos. I think most people remain clueless. My best friend seems to think the most important feature in choosing a POTUS is his charisma. In fact I saw through both Clinton and Obama from the get-go. Why do so many women have delusions about pols and fantasize about being in bed with them? Oh, best friend also thinks comedians would make great leaders- the likes of Stewart and Maher, ugh.

    Calypso Louie Farrakhan (798aba)

  36. Why do I talk to them? I like to point out their mendoucheity. I like to point and laugh. Whyis it that the creepy stalker thingie that is also full of hate and bile and anger thinks it is not a troll. They are not them. They are you.

    JD (85b089)

  37. “Obama is so Incompetent He Needs Someone to Do His Job for Him”–implied by Bob Kerrey

    Thanks for the newsflash, Bob. Next I suppose you’ll be telling me the Pope is Catholic.

    Dave Surls (5b4b9b)

  38. You know, Eric, I thought that incident was pretty innocent. It was a cute joke although it certainly does nothing to counter the narcissism charge.

    Mike K (568408)

  39. Obama bin Biden could do the right thing in January and resign, that would make the Speaker Of The House President. It is simply not possible to be even more incompetent than the current administration.

    cubanbob (409ac2)

  40. Dr. K., I tend to think that the song “Me, Glorious Me” is playing in his personal iPod.

    But I recognize that I might be unfair. That he is quite modest and self-effacing.

    Eric Blair (c8876d)

  41. You know, Eric, I thought that incident was pretty innocent. It was a cute joke although it certainly does nothing to counter the narcissism charge.

    Comment by Mike K — 11/8/2010 @ 8:35 am

    Hmm…you’re certainly right about the narcissism. And it’d speak volumes about his diplomacy skills if he could let people, you know–finish their sentences.

    Plus, maybe I’m taking what he said the wrong way but if I were Kenyan it’s possible I’d take a bit of offense at what he said. Kind of like his self-deprecating joke about his low bowling score: “It was like the Special Olympics or something.”

    no one you know (325a59)

  42. Dmac, I believe you are thinking of the wrong Kerry.

    Whoops – quite right. That makes me sad, I used to admire Bob Kerrey, he was the one who gave Clinton holy hell before he voted against his impeachment.

    Dmac (ad2c6a)

  43. Comment by cubanbob — 11/8/2010 @ 8:43 am

    Inconvenient Fact:
    Sloe-Joe Biden stands between the President and the Speaker in the line of succession.

    AD-RtR/OS! (266a7b)

  44. I just don’t know if Obama or Biden would be worse. They are remarkably similar people who come across completely differently. Very egocentric, pretty dense, and not the kind to concede their own power (though happy to concede the USA’s stature… saw Obama bowing again today… just to be obnoxious).

    If Obama doesn’t finish his term it will tear the cities apart. If he loses reelection, I expect a bit of rioting (and watch this be presented as an argument for your vote).

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  45. Kind of like his self-deprecating joke about his low bowling score: “It was like the Special Olympics or something.”

    Insightful, noyk. Obama thinks it’s amazing a black person accomplishes a lot in America because he doesn’t understand America. But more than this, he just thinks he’s the most interesting story, 24/7/365. I bet that’s a joy to be around.

    Dustin (b54cdc)

  46. Biden is clueless, but in an Al Bundy/Peter Griffith
    , or that Modern Family sort of way. Obama is a ‘different breed of cat’ altogether

    justin cord (82637e)

  47. If you guys quit the joking and think about this for a minute, it’s not a bad idea. The process of electing a president selects for certain qualities, and administrative ability isn’t one of them. I mean, that used to be the old-school Republican view of their role; they sold themselves to the public as agreeing with all the Democrats’ policies, but being more competent at implementing them. But now that Republicans have discovered they actually believe in something, they’ve started choosing leaders for their policies, not for their ability to run things, so they’re in the same basket as the Democrats. What Kerrey’s proposing is that the president do what he’s good at — set policy, and the COO take care of the mechanics of implementing that policy. I mean, companies have CEOs and COOs for a reason.

    Personally I’d like to split the president’s job in a different way; I’d like a prime Minister to run domestic policy, and have the president run foreign policy and defense. Sort of like how they do it in France. That way I could support Ron Paul for PM, without worrying that the Arabs will blow the country up five minutes after he turns it into a paradise…

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  48. Comment by Milhouse — 11/8/2010 @ 10:28 pm

    So, draft an Amendment that alters Article II, and bifurcates the jobs of Head of State, and Chief Executive Officer/Commander-in-Chief.

    AD-RtR/OS! (266a7b)

  49. #49, what Kerrey’s suggesting doesn’t need an amendment. Nothing in the constitution prevents the president from hiring a COO, who reports directly to him.

    Milhouse (ea66e3)

  50. When Palin was mayor of Wasilla, she hired a city manager. Seems like presidenting is a bit more complicated that mayoring Wasilla.

    imdw (c660ef)

  51. Kids will have CHIP.

    Poor people have Medicaid.

    Obamacare will still leave 41% of uninsured, uninsured. Not a solution.

    Harun (b3726e)

  52. Back in the late 70s, the news media was filled with stories about how the Presidency is too large of a job for one person. After the incompetent boob Jimmy Carter was replaced by Reagan, all of the stories went away. Well, now the stories are back again. Why? Because we have another incompetent moron running the show. After he gets tossed out on his rear end, they’ll disappear.

    jwpegler (26fded)


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