Surely, if President Obama had been scripted this afternoon he wouldn’t have let loose with such a self-revelatory rant at the end of his presser. To this point, the hallmark of Obama has been his bloodlessness and lack of emotion, in almost any circumstance. North Korea could nuke Seoul and he’d come out and coolly pronounce it a regrettable event that proves we need to ratify New START. We’ve learned today that what really gets under his skin and makes him boil is criticism, and especially criticism from progressives. Only a man of the left could care so much about attacks from the left wing. Only a president who is extremely thin-skinned would let criticism bother him so much that he’d — relative to his usual affect — erupt in anger in public about it. Only someone who desperately hates the position he’s in now, having to try to accommodate political realities in a center-right country and kiss his former messiahship goodbye, would show such peevishness. We got a good look behind the curtain for a moment this afternoon, and it wasn’t pretty.
The best part of the whole rant was when he essentially called his own base "sanctimonious." Pretty sure avoiding that is in Chapter One of "The Compleat Idiot's Guide to Electoral Politics."
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"We got a good look behind the curtain for a moment this afternoon, and it wasn’t pretty."
No it wasn't, Rich. It was very unpresidential, and is not the kind of public discourse you which to dip in when you are trying to move towards the center. Either publically move towards the center with a smile on your face, like Clinton did, or don't do it at all.
Today was just a disaster, full of assaults on the "sanctimonious" and "hostage takers." Or, in otherwords, all of Washington.
Let me ask you this: Can you imagine Clinton having one of these angry pressers in 95 or 96?
I remember those years well, and even while he might have been planning to unravel Newt behind the scenes, up front it was hugs and kisses for all sides.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIs this thing on? Have we returned from the past?
Anyway, didn't Clinton have a tirade sometime where he pounded on the podium and just kept shouting "NO! NO! NO! NO!" in reference to the Republicans?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThe two Davids (during the press conference meltdown)...
Frum was lurching towards his fainting couch.
Brooks was peeking behind the podium to see how Obama's pant crease was holding up under all the stress.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Only a man of the left could .... Only a president who .... Only someone who ..."
Only one explanation. I guess Obama, unlike the other 6 billion or so people on the planet, is utterly lacking in complexity.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIt's a beautiful thing. I love that Obama said he will advocate expiration of these cuts after the two year extension. Just in time for election 2012.
Whoever winds up as the Republican nominee, he or she needs to practice in the mirror saying, "Mr. President, it's not your money..."
Practice it over and over...
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWhence the antipathy towards bomb throwers? Bill and Bernadette back in Hyde Park will surely not be happy with that characterization.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWe've been getting looks behind the curtain for a long time now...
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Voters clinging to religion, guns, and xenophobia"
"The policeman [Gates-gate] acted stupidly"
as well as the gratuitous flipping off of Hillary after he won the nomination and McCain after winning the election. Like I've said elsewhere, what else should we expect from a hard-left ideologue being forced to pretend to move to the center because the American people have rejected his socialist agenda?
It is very sad to see a man whose self-approval rating is so often above 100% lose a fight for the first time in his life, at this age. Most of us got bloody noses and lips early on, had other failures as we matured and learned, for better or worse how to cope with the intrusion of reality on the reality we would prefer to live in.
Obama, Junior appears to have missed this maturing period. Richard Epstein, who worked at Chicago Law with Junior, said he was "very good at intellectual poker", appearing intelligent and adroit but avoiding showing anything he didn't have to about what he really knew or was thinking. This is a way to avoid losing an argument, as is voting "present".
Now Junior is cornered, and talking, his only stock in trade, the only thing he has ever done, isn't working. People are not in swoon, and Pelosi is about to lose her gavel, Junior one of his prime acolytes. Who will do the work, carry the ball, while Junior golfs and talks? The START Treaty is a head-fake to divert attention from the real risks, such as the Norks.
Junior is going to be a very unhappy Messiah for quite a while. I suspect it won't end after he is dethroned in 2013, because he is a peevish man and will hold a grudge against those who thwarted his vision. Soros might not even find him useful anymore. Who needs another talker if no one will listen?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBut BHO has a "First Class Temperment."
I think someone owes us an apology. Who could that be?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse“it's not the politics of the moment, but about what’s possible right now.”
Yes, definitely get him a teleprompter. He can't string a pair of clauses together by himself without contradiction.
He doesn't know what he's doing, and apparently he won't countenance an advisor willing to whisper in his ear "you are but a man".
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Since when does Obama not cotton to bomb throwers?" Asks Bernadine Dohrn and Bill Ayers.
"Since when does Obama not negotiate with hostage-takers?" Asks the president of Iran, who took our embassy workers hostage.
Who brushed Obama's skin today with a goose feather? HE DID! This man cares more about the opinion of others than a 13 year old school girl. If he did not have children of school age, one might conclude he just hit puberty yesterday - especially given the stark change in tone of voice in just 24 hours.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseHow's all that hopey-changey-triangulatey stuff working out for ya, Mr Lowry?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseExactly my thoughts Rich. Thinnest skin of any president in my lifetime, maybe ever.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI agree. And stop calling me "Shirley".
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNo matter what the man does, the extreme far right of this comment peanut gallery (which is always vastly far to the right of the magazine's editors and writers) will find a way to spin it.
Even when you get what you want, it's not enough - he didn't look 'presidential' enough while doing it. If he doesn't show any emotion, he's professorial and can't relate to everyday supposedy 'angry 'americans. If he shows emotion, he's unpresidential.
It's not enough merely to compromise, he must also kiss the ass of the Republican obstructionists while thumbing his nose at his own party.
I'm not the biggest fan of the man, but I'd be as irritated as he is by the current state of partisan politics in Washington. Both parties have had their shot at cleaning things up and setting things on the right path and have failed miserably. And they will disagree on everything just for effect.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseTold you so.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseLike most spoiled children who don't get their way, 0bama throws a fit. The adults won, and 0bama got sent to his room. His girls' nannies are working overtime.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"Only someone who desperately hates the position he’s in now..."
Which position, Rich?
Having run out of political ammunition--and friends?
Or being President--a position obviously far beneath his gifts and calling?
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"His appeal is less loud, more profound, less distinct, more stirring—and sooner forgotten"
~Joseph Conrad~
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse"The Ni**er of the Narcissus"