Obama the hypothetical president
David Harsanyi makes some excellent points here about one of Obama’s favorite methods: comparing what he’s done as president with what others might have done, or what might have happened without him.
The economy? May be bad, but just think how much worse it would have been without Obama the Great.
Obama Bin Laden? Wimpy Romney would never have killed him.
This particular approach was Obama’s m.o. from the start. Remember how much and how often we’d hear about the mess he inherited from his predecessor? It was the preparation for this “could be much worse” technique.
As with quite a few things Obama does, I think this is unprecedented in a president, left or right, Democrat or Republican. If any previous president in my lifetime has used this technique with any regularity (or even at all), I simply don’t recall it. There is an immaturity and a lack of the ability to take responsibility in Obama that is really quite astounding, and I think it’s sincere and goes down very deep (if it’s appropriate to use the word “deep” for something so shallow):
You’re right. He dwells among straw men.
Maybe he sees them as kindred spirits?
This sort of hypothetical allows voters to think the best of him if they don’t particularly care about facts. Sadly, it works on a lot of folks.
“The different path he saw for himself was to rise above the divisions of culture and society, politics and economics, and embrace something larger–embrace it all”
David Maraniss Vanity Fair excerpt from upcoming Barack Obama: The Story
Having risen above the divisions including, I take it, blame and responsibility, I assume by “all” Mr. Maraniss means he, Obama, has embraced himself. What could be larger, in his mind, than that.
PS
The Vanity Fair excerpt is interesting if for no other reason than it has uncovered yet another Obama disorder — compressed memory.
Deep down, he’s shallow.
It’s another reminder that he never worked for someone who was truly competent and demanded the same from him.
I tell my liberal family members that I really feel sorry for Obama. He had a pretty shitty family life (shunting him off to the Grandparents and private school notwithstanding), got all the benefits both positive and negative of affirmative action, and has been the political plaything of others all his life.
Leadership roles were given to him, but nothing was demanded from him. Pretty sad in my mind. When he leaves the white house, I hope he doesn’t follow Jimmy Carter’s path, but finds something more productive.
“I tell my liberal family members that I really feel sorry for Obama.”
I would feel sorry for him – were he simply a private citizen with no capacity to screw up my life. Why does he need to demonstrate his failure in such an office?
This seems to be another manifestation of the “jobs saved” idea. Unprovable and unlikely, but what else is going to run on – his actual record?
Deep calleth unto deep
from the creases of thy pants;
thy excreta billows over me.
Obama Psalms 42:7
Author: King David Brooks
Obama is a BS artiste.
Osama bin laden, btw. 🙂
It reminds me of kids, who when caught doing something bad might say, “It’s not like I was doing drugs, mom!”
See? It could have been much, much worse. It’s not so bad.
He’s ghastly, isn’t he.
I agree with alanstorm, BHO would be an object of pity if he wasn’t POTUS. Instead he is a dangerous man with a terrible agenda who has never, ever considered the unintended consequences of his words and deeds. Sometimes I am convinced he is a sociopathic boy inside the skin of a man. But then I’m not a psychologist so what do I know?
Ah, but what really matters to the electorate is that he is sexy. I read he is out polling Romney in the below 30 age group by over 20% points. Which is really good news because if he is re-elected they will have their entire lives to appreciate his fine work (which should be short because of Obamacare).
Can anyone think of a more appropriate metaphor for the gimme generation than BHO?
To borrow a line from Fat Albert, Obama is like school on Saturday: No class.
Reality against the lie
the lie against reality…
which ever serves is whichever is
You know, it has occurred to me that we have been unfair to Obama. I think he has delivered exactly what he promised during his campaign. I am sure you have heard the colloquialism “and change” used to mean “a trivial amount more.” Well, Obama promised — and delivered — little more than hope. Hope… and change.