By George Neumayr on 11.4.10 @ 6:09AM
At his post-defeat press conference, Barack Obama worked hard to project an air of somber reflection, even as his remarks revealed that he had learned nothing from the defeat.
Amidst the practiced pauses and detached narration of the crash came a litany of excuses, evasions, and arrogant denials. He more or less cast himself as the victim of a "bad economy," as if two years of sending anti-business signals to employers had nothing to do with the high jobless rate. He made sure to note that other presidents had gotten similarly clocked after two years. And he essentially blamed the American people for a lack of perception and patience.
But since he couldn't say that directly, he had to couch his self-justification in the form of patronizing blather about how he could have "accomplished" more, made better "progress," and "communicated" more effectively with the American people. He tried to make some sort of phony distinction between his "policy decisions" and his "policy outcomes," implying that the people objected to the latter but not to the former. Never mind that the exit polls demonstrated that they repudiated both.
Obama couldn't bring himself to admit the obvious, that his liberalism leaves the American people unafraid of alternatives, so instead we got the usual self-serving nonsense about how the American people like the content of liberalism but just resist it in times of distress when Democrats fall down at salesmanship and implementation. In one answer, he even had the audacity to suggest that the American people were too dumb to realize that his bailout-style socialism was only temporary and not a permanent policy. Where could they have possibly gotten that idea?
Obama was in effect saying at the press conference what Joe Biden said on the campaign trail (that liberalism is hard "to explain," but somehow wonderful to behold over time in its results) and what Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid said after the passage of the health care bill (that a patient people will learn to love all the goodies contained within it if they just wait a decade or so).
Obama received praise after the press conference for his "pensive" demeanor, but what's stunning about him is his utter lack of reflection. He either has no capacity for critical thinking or what little he once possessed has dissipated in ideological reliance upon mindless cliché and sophistry. In any case, it is scary. At the end of the day, he is nothing more than a shallow pol with little interest in or knowledge of governing. He backed into the White House through effortless luck (he ran against one of the worst Republican presidential candidates ever), and apparently assumed that running the White House would be just as easy.
His shallowness also makes him obtuse, even from a rawly political and self-interested standpoint. He suffered one of the worst defeats in decades because of his environmental, socialist, and Brave New World dilettantism, yet spent much of the press conference talking about "electric cars," gays in the military, and 26-year-olds who, thanks to his largesse, will get to stay on the health care plans of their "parents." (while largely unemployed).
Obama's metaphorical "car in the ditch" is apparently an electric car which, if it ever gets out, will drive America into a glorious future by picking up 26-year-olds and depositing them at job interviews for work made possible through the "Stimulus" package.
Obama admitted that he lives in a "bubble," but that too was the fault of others. He presented himself as the passive victim of his own presidency. Near the end of the press conference, he allowed himself a particularly absurd and maudlin moment, complaining that because of the presidency's inherently insular character no one can see the depth of his concern for the people. He said that "no one is filming him reading those letters" from them which leave him so anguished and inspired. Perhaps he needs his own reality show.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
Comment: Booger| 11.4.10 @ 6:10AM
From the desk of Greatest Ex-President Ever Jimmy Carter:
Dear President Obama,
Well, this is a fine mess those Republicans cooked up for you the other night, now isn't it? Look, don't worry. You can beat this thing. You just have to know what to do and how to do it. You need advice from somebody who's been there. You need the Greatest Ex-President on your team, and I'm here to help.
You know what the problem with this country really is? I'll give you a hint: It's not you. You have done all the right things. I know you know it in your heart. This recession is Bush's fault. Make sure you don't forget it, and make sure nobody else forgets it. They'll want to hang it around your neck. Well don't let 'em do it. You've done more than anyone could ask or expect. So what if inflation starts to get a little high? Believe me, I know all about high inflation rates. It's not that big of a deal. People learn to adjust.
This whole thing about unemployment? Hey, no big deal. It'll come around sooner or later. Just keep pumping the money into the federal spending programs, and sooner or later the jobs are bound to come down the pike. Look, I've been there, I know what I'm talking about. If you let the Republicans get all over you about spending you'll never get anything done. Just ignore them and do what needs to be done to save the country.
Look, I know all about problems in the Middle East too. Problems with Iran? No big deal. If worse comes to worse you can send a couple of commando squads in to sort things out. Those guys are so good you don't even have to worry about having back up for them or an exit strategy. Just send 'em in and watch the fireworks. Israel? Look, everybody is sick of them, not just you. Freeze 'em out. It's not like they've got anybody else to go to anyway. Look, I've been here, I've seen this. Take it from me, Iran is no big deal. Don't worry about it.
The Russians are headed back to Afghanistan? No kidding? Hey, guess what, I've handled that too! Just shut off any wheat sales to them and skip the Olympics. Believe me, it'll be problem solved in no time. There is no need to stress about any of this, you have it totally under control.
Seriously, inflation, unemployment, budget deficits, Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, none of these are a real problem. I've handled all of these just fine in the past. Basically you can ignore them and they'll take care of themselves. Just whatever you do, don't let the Republican try to make you responsible for any of it. That's all they ever want to do, make some Democratic President they don't like responsible for other people's problems. My advice? Just ignore them and they'll go away. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about here.
Really, there are only two problems you need to worry about. The first one is malaise. This country is suffering from a terrible case of malaise right now. What can you do about it? Make the people see that their pain is their own fault. Make them understand that their malaise comes from having too high of expectations for what their lives ought to be. Make them realize that if they can just learn to lower their expectations for themselves, their children, their grand-children and their nation then with acceptance comes peace. Make them accept lowered expectations for themselves and this country and the malaise will vanish in no time. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.
The second problem? Killer rabbits. They're out there. Lurking. Waiting. Nobody can stop 'em. Not the Secret Service, FBI, CIA, NSA or any of 'em. They just don't understand. They don't even really seem to believe. Killer rabbits are out there, and they're looking for fine Democratic Presidents like you and me. Watch out for 'em. Big, vicious, swamp-rabbits with beady red eyes and giant, gnashing teeth. I keep seeing 'em coming for me. Sometimes the pills help me make it through the night. Sometimes they don't.
At any rate, look on the bright side. At least you don't have a freak of a brother running around embarrassing you with his very own brand of "Buddy Beer". Nothing like a freak brother to really give you ulcers. Although didn't I hear something about some guy in Kenya marrying a teenage girl? Oh well, can't win 'em all. Just do your best, accept fate and watch out for malaise and killer rabbits. The rest will take care of itself.
Your Friend and Supporter,
Greatest Ex-President Ever Jimmy Carter
http://beautifulletters-bls.blogspot.com/
Source: American Spectator
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