I Won, Rushbo
President Barack Obama, who was going to reign in peace, harmony and lollipops as a self-described post-partisan President, today made two statement which left no doubt where his real mindset is.
Politico had the most linked to story today because of this one paragraph.
President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.
I WON.
Sound familiar? It should.
This is but one schoolyard taunt removed away from the phrase which gave all his opponents a collective spasm, George Bush's "I'm the decider". And let's not forget his famous words after he was re-elected in 2004:
But Mr. Obama wasn't done. He had brought a quiver full of spitballs to the meeting with the Repugs.
Aww, Jeez.
Someone needs to tell this Obama guy to get a grip.
What flew on the campaign trail, looks decidedly unleaderlike as President. He had spent most of his time battling the windmills of Fox News at the time, whining that if it weren't for Hannity and Fox News in general, he would be at least 2 or 3 points up in the polls.
I dismissed it as punchy rhetoric then, but now, I'm starting to sense a pattern.
Realise that we're not talking about Governor Palin here, who had the whole range of both the Left and Right journalistic world to battle against -- and largely, due to John McCain's ridiculous non-defense of her (and where was Todd, by the way?) she had to do it on her own.
This touchy attitude is coming from a sitting President of the United States, who must be used to hearing criticism as a politician, but is championed by many more people, especially now that he was elected. So what gives?
In 8 years, President Bush -- the world's most reviled man -- never once mentioned an ideological or journalistic foe public. Just once, actually. But it was a hot mic and he was speaking in confidence to his Vice-President about a New York Times reporter being an A-hole.
But that's it. Think about it. 8 years of the most trenchant, personal abuse towards him from every news organ, right down the line, and we never heard a peep about who he considered to be his adversaries in the press. Whilst in less than 3 days, we have a gloating, manchild President intent on making sure everyone knows he's writing down who's been naughty or nice.
So long as Barack Obama behaves presidentially, and controls some of the embarrassing behaviour of his Vice-President, he'll get more than a measure of respect from many quarters.
You hear?
That's precious capital, Mr. President. Don't spend it all at once.
IN THE COMMENTS: Knox nails it.
Obama reminds me of...a military man, actually. It is said that career officers have a tendency to confuse dissent with mutiny. Any pushback is considered outrageous, or at the very least, out of place.
My grandfather, who ended up as a Colonel in the Second World War, said the generals who had the most difficulty with criticism were often the ones who were winging it, and didn't like to be reminded of it by having "discussion" about their plans.
And doesn't that sound like Barack Obama, with his nebulous plans all located sometime in the future.
Politico had the most linked to story today because of this one paragraph.
President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.
I WON.
Sound familiar? It should.
This is but one schoolyard taunt removed away from the phrase which gave all his opponents a collective spasm, George Bush's "I'm the decider". And let's not forget his famous words after he was re-elected in 2004:
"I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it."
But Mr. Obama wasn't done. He had brought a quiver full of spitballs to the meeting with the Repugs.
"You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done," he told top GOP leaders, whom he had invited to the White House to discuss his nearly $1 trillion stimulus package."
Aww, Jeez.
Someone needs to tell this Obama guy to get a grip.
What flew on the campaign trail, looks decidedly unleaderlike as President. He had spent most of his time battling the windmills of Fox News at the time, whining that if it weren't for Hannity and Fox News in general, he would be at least 2 or 3 points up in the polls.
I dismissed it as punchy rhetoric then, but now, I'm starting to sense a pattern.
Realise that we're not talking about Governor Palin here, who had the whole range of both the Left and Right journalistic world to battle against -- and largely, due to John McCain's ridiculous non-defense of her (and where was Todd, by the way?) she had to do it on her own.
This touchy attitude is coming from a sitting President of the United States, who must be used to hearing criticism as a politician, but is championed by many more people, especially now that he was elected. So what gives?
In 8 years, President Bush -- the world's most reviled man -- never once mentioned an ideological or journalistic foe public. Just once, actually. But it was a hot mic and he was speaking in confidence to his Vice-President about a New York Times reporter being an A-hole.
But that's it. Think about it. 8 years of the most trenchant, personal abuse towards him from every news organ, right down the line, and we never heard a peep about who he considered to be his adversaries in the press. Whilst in less than 3 days, we have a gloating, manchild President intent on making sure everyone knows he's writing down who's been naughty or nice.
So long as Barack Obama behaves presidentially, and controls some of the embarrassing behaviour of his Vice-President, he'll get more than a measure of respect from many quarters.
You hear?
That's precious capital, Mr. President. Don't spend it all at once.
IN THE COMMENTS: Knox nails it.
Not only does he seem sort of defensive and, yes, thin-skinned as a person, but he has the additional handicap of having received no real criticism from the media. He likely believes at this point that anyone who gives him resistance is unreasonable or a far-right extremist, whose opinions can be discarded. That's a dangerous combination.
I hope it doesn't work out that way, but there are several incidents now of him being overly touchy and easily riled, simply when asked an inconvenient question. "Manchild" sounds about right. I just try not to think of it in the same sentence as "Commander-in-Chief".
Obama reminds me of...a military man, actually. It is said that career officers have a tendency to confuse dissent with mutiny. Any pushback is considered outrageous, or at the very least, out of place.
My grandfather, who ended up as a Colonel in the Second World War, said the generals who had the most difficulty with criticism were often the ones who were winging it, and didn't like to be reminded of it by having "discussion" about their plans.
And doesn't that sound like Barack Obama, with his nebulous plans all located sometime in the future.
Labels: Journalism, The Presidency, Unglaublichen Arroganz
posted by vbspurs at
1/24/2009 12:45:00 am
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6 comments
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