Moe Lane is exasperated by the latest version of the argument that Obama only looks wrong and naive and foolish to outsiders; that obviously, a man as smart as the president has some secret plan in the works that we can’t see.
Slate’s John Dickerson declares, “Obama’s spending plan is so timid, he must be working on a smarter plan we don’t know about.”
In Newsweek last summer, Michael Hirsh declared, “Since he first came from nowhere to outmaneuver Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential campaign, Barack Obama has been deemed brilliant at political chess. Like any grandmaster, Obama can think several moves ahead, and he knows when to concede a tactical setback.”
Shortly after Obama took office, when the nomination of Tom Daschle blew up in the president’s face, Bob Herbert of the New York Times declared, “Mr. Obama is like a championship chess player, always several moves ahead of friend and foe alike.”
Get it? He’s always ahead of you. Don’t even bother trying.
I’m fairly certain I recall Eugene Robinson making the same point during what looked like an early stumble by Obama. He only appeared to be flailing. He really was playing a bigger game; there is always a vast Obama plan in motion.
I suppose Obama works in mysterious ways.
Other than not being Hillary Clinton or George Bush -- the only reasons for which he won the Democrat nomination and the general election -- what has Obama ever done that makes anyone think that he is a political chess grand master rather than a novice checkers player?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHis budget move. Classic divide and conquer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhere exactly is the proof that Obama is so smart? His ivy league education? Let me see the grades that he refuses to make public(not that even that would matter much from an Ivy League school). Not to mention that he got into those schools during a period where affirmative action was all the rage (not saying he got preferential treatment, but it would not surprise me given the environment at the time). Nothing from his career in office, either in the senate or the white house, points to a great intellect. He is a doctrinaire leftist, with no evidence that he has thought deeply about the strengths or weaknesses of any of his policies beyond trying to advance his leftist ideology. He has posited some pretty ridiculous and naive economic and foreign policy ideas. He has gotten lucky in a few elections (crazy marital behavior by his senate opponent that mysteriously became public right before the election), and a weak republican presidential opponent in a very favorable environment for democrats. That only leaves outmanuevering Hillary, who had her own mistakes and baggage to overcome. In short (i know--too late for that), I am not convinced that our president is any smarter than the average leftist indoctrinated college graduate.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe strategy looks pretty simple to me, spend ever more money we don’t have while claiming to be fiscally prudent while doing so. Then, at the same time, claim that Republican attempts to spend slightly less of the money we don’t have is heartless and cruel.
This calculation is based on the belief that Americans always talk a good game on spending restraint, but always flinch when they hear some horror story of a federally funded crosswalk guard receiving only 60 PTO days instead of their rightly entitled 62 PTO days.
In the past Obama has been right in this calculation, but Chris Christie seems to have proven that this may no longer be the case. It will be an interesting 2 years.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHe has his followers and media acolytes fooled because he speaks like their college professors did. Lots of "uhs" and "umms" that come across as searching for a well thought out and intellectually deep answer. Whereas a simpleton like W who says "umm" is just a moron, this signifies a deeper level of thinking. He's the perfect president of this Idiocracy. We deserve him.
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