Aug
31
By Israel
I have been asked for my views on the Obama administration so far, and as you can see from the title it’s not as l had hoped. I did see it a bit like a scene from Charlie Brown. Not the brilliant Frank Miller inspired piece from Timothy Lim and Jean Luc Pham or my all time favourite “She’s a good Skate, Charlie Brown” where Woodstock Whistles “O Mio Babbino Caro”, one of my favourite pieces of classical music.
No. the scene l am thinking of is the one synonymous with Charlie Brown. The one that everybody thinks of. Charlie Brown , Lucy and the football. This scene is so iconic that you don’t even have to link to it, you know what happens. Charlie Brown the eternal optimist yet again believes Lucy when she says she will allow him to kick that football, and yet again his hopes are dashed as she pulls it away for him to do a gigantic air kick and land painfully on his back.
Now why would l think that? The Obama administration has done a lot in it’s first term so far, in terms of trying to move the economy and trying to pass healthcare reform, but the frustrating thing to me and some others is the president’s slavish adherence to keep reaching out to republicans even though he keeps getting that football swiped away.
There have been other decisions too that have failed to keep me and others fully behind him:
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; the channeling of the Bush administration on DOMA; the failure to close Guantanamo; the support in keeping secret those involved in the Warrentless Wiretapping scandal; the continuation of the Rendition programme and worst of all the failure to prosecute those in the Bush White House involved in torture.
But nothing has seen his support from me and others begin to waiver as much as with healthcare reform.
There have been calls by some, notably Bill Maher for the current president to act more like the previous one, something that you see the linked piece’s author disagrees with and makes a pretty good point but the problem is this:
It only works when both sides are willing to come together.
Look at the Stimulus Bill. The Obama administration agreed to a lot of the demands of the republicans and watered down the bill to the extent that even economists like Paul Krugman began to doubt it’s effectiveness. But they did it anyway and what was the result? Not a single Republican vote in the House.
After that we had Bobby “Kenneth the Page” Jindal attempting to mock the bill and it’s inclusion of things like Volcano Monitoring before retreating into the netherworld again with egg on his face after Alaska’s Mt. Redoubt erupted and still remaining silent as $500,000 is used by Louisiana for the purposes of upgrading flood-monitoring technology. Of course this hasn’t stopped the shameless oppotunist from going around the state handing out big cheques for restart and work programmes using the money he spent time criticizing.
The worst thing is that Jindal isn’t the only Republican berating the president over the stimulus yet going back to their state to brag about all the work being done while conveniently forgetting where it came from and still we have seen from the administration so vilified by the right more examples of hope over expectation, expecially on healthcare.
Chuck Grassley is supposed to be the man who democrats are working with on healthcare reform, but what have we heard from him in the last few weeks?
Agreement with “Deathers” that the president is going to kill granny, refusal to name an amount that he would be happy to commit to for healthcare reform, and a statement that if he cannot get a bill passed without broader Republican support HE WOULD VOTE AGAINST IT EVEN THOUGH IT’S HIS BILL leading the Quad City Times to produce a scathing editorial demouncing him.
Grassley is important in this because he is supposed to be the man the Obama administration is negotiaing with but it just seems to me that the racist, mysoginistic, obese, half-deaf, thrice divorced, drug addict behind the curtain is the one who Grassley and other Republicans are listening to, hoping for a failure of the country.
There is Republican Healthcare Plan out there (thanks cabbie) but who can say the last time you heard about it? Yet still we have this outreach programme to people who have no qualms in sitting back as the president is called a Nazi or one of the main hosts on their media channel defames him by saying that he is a “racist” with a “deep seated hatred of white people”.
The Research 200 tracking poll for Daily Kos has the president at 55/40 fav/unfav, something that amazingly Republicans crow about, as if people are flocking to them. The Republican numbers (14/73 for Congressional Republicans, 14/64 John Boehner and 18/64 Mitch McConnell) makes me wonder why a group called “a bunch of Chicago Thugs” would waste time doing their best to bring them into the process of lawmaking when there has been no real sign of that so far.
My personal view is that more and more people are coming around to the Bill Maher point of view, demanding to know why the president is so intent on trying to reach out to people who have no intention of working with him and not slapping down the “blue dogs” his chief of staff helped bring to the Democratic side.
Will things improve for President Obama? Well, we know how much the Republicans fear healthcare reform, because just like the election of Obama and the financial downturn it is an indictment on their political worldview as well as a rejection of their core political and economic principles. It’s been stated that the vast majority of US citizens class themselves as conservatives but 77% of the country all see the value of the Public Option when it comes to healthcare, a message that has been lost so far with the astroturf rent-a-mobs screaming down reform advocates.
How will the president get the message through on any of his plans if he continues to try to work with the party of no and it’s media arm which this weekend grew to include The Washington Post and the disgusting decision by Fred Haitt to allow the piece torture to be printed in the once great paper?
The president has to do something and soon, because his bipartisan approach isn’t getting the results he wants. I’m afraid that by the end of September, AT THE LATEST, he will have to ditch the Republicans and go it alone, stepping on the necks of the “blue dogs” in the process to get it done or the progressive community who got him elected will do it for him. Not a popular viewpoint amongst those on the right but remember the reaction to the three Republicans who voted for the stimulus before you act in high dudgeon.
It’s customary to give a grade on what you think on a lot of these things, but l don’t really like that. All l hope is that the president, while remembering he is there for ALL the people in the US, thinks a bit more about the parts that got him to where he is now.
The others don’t want your help Mr President. Stop trying so hard and wasting your time doing stuff for them, they don’t seem to be worth it.
Comments
50 Responses to “It’s Your Presidency, Charlie Obama.”
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Israel
Nice piece, though some issues.
1. What evidence can you cite that Obama is cooperating with the Republican party? Leaving aside those liberal members of the GOP caucus (Snowe for example), what outreach has Obama done to conservatives. The GOP wanted tax cuts for business in the stimulus. There was none. The 3 GOP Senators involved in negotiations over health care have been cut out of any substantive deliberations by the liberal caucus and Cap and trade was a complete non-starter for the GOP. Obama has done nothing substantive towards bi-partisanship although he sometimes talks a good game. but that is his M.O. He says what people want to hear whilst doing the complete opposite.
1. No lobbyists in the White House – That lasted all of a day.
2. Criticising the lobbyist influence on healthcare – strikes a deal with Pharma.
Obama’s problem is that he doesn’t have the executive skills needed to manage a legislature. I’m afraid you’ve got to face the facts that he is too inexperienced to be President. Only two years as a Senator will do that too you.
As for your piece on WaPo, I can see why the truth is so disturbing for you. EIT’s work and kept America safe. Another liberal lie refuted.
Cabbie:
Have you read this piece by Andrew Sullivan linking to Glen Greenwald?
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/08/the-washington-posts-support-for-torture-ctd.html
Or this one linking to Ben Smith at Politico?
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/08/who-was-behind-the-wapo-torture-propaganda-piece.html
As Sullivan himself notes:
Or this one where he posts a comment from a dissenter on Ann Althouse’s blog:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/08/ksm-the-wapo-and-torture.html
The sad thing about the Wapo piece is just how dishonest it is coming out from a newspaper that was long respected for it’s Journalistic integrity.
The only reason for the pieces being written was for Cheney to be able to go on his party’s tv channel and, knowing the quality and depth of the questioning, spout whatever he wanted without fear of proper inspection leading up to this from Chris Wallace:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/08/chris-wallace-a-teenage-girl-interviewing-the-jonas-brothers.html
http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/chris-wallace-plays-we-havent-been-attacke
who should be under no illusion as to why he is held in contempt by real journalists and should stop getting annoyed when they say he is no real interviewer like his father.
Yes, l was disturbed by the Wapo piece but not for the reasons you thought. We both know my views on torture and the craven (thanks again OT, this is now one of my new favourite words) actions of it’s perpetrators and apologists in the media.
I give the last word to John Amato who really sums up Cheney’s dishonesty and Wallace’s disgusting ineptitude brilliantly:
Israel,
Where to start?…Well I don’t agree with a single thing you’ve said here…so why bother.
Israel
What you missed out in quoting Sullivan’s response to Ann Althouse, is that those comments were by KSM to The Red Cross. So KSM was clever enough to outfox the CIA all these years, but when those jolly nice Red Cross chappies come along, al of a sudden he’s the fount of all truth. You and Sullivan are incredibly naive if you just accept the word of a terrorist speaking to people who are inclined to believe and support him.
How many silly arguments are you going to quote?
That’s just dumb. He’s also free by not using Cheney’s method.
Simple question, didn’t the WTC bombing happen in 1993? Kind of rubbishes that argument doesn’t it?
Who’s the dishonest one here. I would suggest that it is Greenwald. After all, one of the people quoted in the WaPo story was John Helgerson who wrote the report that Greenwald and Sullivan are using to try to claim EIT didn’t work. Except the author of the report said it did work:
It’s nice when the lions of the liberal blogosphere make themselves look so stupid.
As for your Chris Wallace rubbish. Do you want me to find all the softball interviews Obama had to “endure” at the hands of the liberal media? What’s your point?
Cabbie:
Two points on your reply:
On John L. Helgerson’s report you seem to have highlighted the wrong part:
If they couldn’t confirm the quality of the information then how could it be said that what they had was correct?
But again, that wouldn’t fit your narrative.
As for your view of what KSM said it’s interesting that you are missing the fact that he didn’t “outfox” the CIA, he told them anything to try to get them to stop torturing him (183 waterboardings in one month and all you got were false leads?).
You also ignore what F.B.I. special agent Ali Soufan achieved without torturing Abu Zubaydah (namely getting him to give up KSM IN UNDER AN HOUR)
http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/fbi-special-agent-ali-soufan-who-interr
and the fact that when he was handed to the CIA they ended up on wild goose chases due to using torture:
http://inevitableconflict.blogspot.com/2009/03/torture-does-not-work.html
An American:
Fair enough!:-)
Cabbie:
In fact, i’m more annoyed about the fact that you haven’t said anything about my Charlie Brown links, either the Frank Miller inspired parody or my favourite episode.
I’m not happy.
Israel
I don’t get Charlie Brown. never have. Now if you’d gone with Calvin & Hobbes, then we’d be talking.
Israel,
I adore Charlie Brown…they still put them in our cartoon section and I never tire of them…so simplistic, but so true.
Israel,
I’ve always wondered why Charles Schultz always made Lucy so mean.
He must have had an older sister that had a nasty disposition…and he never let her forget it.
He must have enjoyed getting back at her week after week, year after year.
Making my point on bi-partizanship:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/08/gibbs-enzis-flipped-over-his-cards-and-walked-away-from-the-health-care-table.php?ref=fpa
An American:
My ultimate favourite is Calvin and Hobbs:
http://images1.fanpop.com/images/photos/1300000/Calvin-and-Hobbes-Dancing-calvin-and-hobbes-1395521-1623-1200.jpg
http://ipernova.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/calvin-hobbes-pictures.jpg
http://jmz.iki.fi/static/images/2007/04/ayb_calvin_and_hobbes.jpg
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o149/Akiddbk/CalvinAndHobbs.jpg
Just a simple tale of a boy and his stuffed tiger!!
I have all the main collections:
Calvin and Hobbs
Something Under The Bed Is Drooling
Yukon Ho!
Weirdos From Another Planet
The Revenge Of The Babysat
Scientific Progress Goes “Boink”
Attack Of The Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons
The Days Are Just Packed.
and
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat.
They are funny, ironic and at times very poignant.
This is a link to a choice of 25 of the best strips (not my choice but still great).
If you can read the baby raccoon story, which is at number one, without feeling anything you are a tougher person than me:
http://progressiveboink.com/archive/calvinhobbes.htm
Damn. I’m welling up again!!
An American…notice how Israel uses the word “progressive” in connection with a bold move forward needed by Obama at the end of September.
Yup; progressive = communist for sure!
You can’t negotiate with them so stomp on them!!
Cabbie:
Do you have a link to that thing you said about most americans being conservative?
If you could post it, it will save me a lot of grief.
Thanx.
O. Tony,
Ronnie gave me a hard time for my ‘progressive’ remark…funny too.
It was my husband that pointed out how often I was using it with my wildlife conservation spiel…it does work when you are dealing with liberals…that absolutely love that word. But, I use it less and less because it has become the far-left’s mantra.
Here is a terrific parody of Obama’s failing presidency…Enjoy.
http://comments.americanthinker.com/read/42323/407805/page-2.html
Posted by: George S Aug 31, 09:44 AM
Israel
http://www.gallup.com/poll/122333/political-ideology-conservative-label-prevails-south.aspx
Thanks for the Calvin & Hobbes. I loved it.
Cabbie:
Thanks for that!! Saved me looking embarrassed!!!
It seems to me from that link that there is a vast difference between those who consider themselves conservative and those who would vote republican. The continued influence of the extreme christianist is still doing damage (thankfully!!) and peopel are still keeping away. I can only hope that continues.
On the Calvin and Hobbs, l got into it when a saw a one line strip where Calvin had run to his father to get the shotgun to shoot his bike as it had crashed wit hhim on it. His father’s simple question of “Did you fall off?” led to a wild explanation.The final panal was his father with a placid face and just a simple statement “You fell off”.
This made me smile and as l was more than a bit of a comics collector at the time l decided to buy “Weirdos From Another Planet”. The rest, as they say is history.
I remember showing the baby raccoon story to a friend. He remarked how wonderful it was to make something so simple and beautiful in a comic strip. Something like that does make you think about things.
Someone said about this that the WSJ was trying to steal readers from The Onion:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/31/cheney-for-president-wall_n_273246.html
Good thing l wasn’t drinking anything. I would have needed a new keyboard!!!
Off to work, catch you later.
Israel
Agreed. Which I think my “managing change” suggestion is the right way to go. I think this is an interesting distinction between America and Europe. To what extent are a lot of those who considered themselves to be conservative actually are on policy support for example. I don’t know, but the fact that when asked, they consider themselves to be conservative as a default position is interesting. I suspect that if a similar question was asked in Europe, there would be a much higher number calling themselves liberal or progressive.
C. Cabbie and Israel,
I agree, the number of liberals and progressives should be higher…but they fib when asked. They are too embarrassed to admit that they are liberal… atleast, not to the whole world.
I think there is a small but significant element of difference in interpretation of the word Conservative.
In Europe a Conservative could generally be considered to be regarded as a sober-minded realist favouring a more or less balanced economy and a tolerably small level of government interference. not very interesting.
In the US, the word Conservative raises the spectre of a gang of half-crazed fanatics led by a rich fat guy delivering circular monologues on radio. Now these are the people to join!
Ronnie,
Here I was thinking you were bright and fair-minded…a little mean spirited sometimes, but I forgive you for that, because you can be witty…and then you write somthing like this…
I doubt very seriously that you have ever, even once listened to that rich fat guy’s monologue on radio.
Do you, in all reality believe that I am part of a gang of half-crazed fanatics?
Just curious…
Ronnie:
Unfortunately you’re not alone in associating Conservative with that sort of visual. Other residents in the U.K. tell me much the same thing.
Its unfortunate that the Conservative movement has lost its voice for the moment, being drowned out by the likes of Rush, Beck and these silly Tea Party antics.
Right now the GOP is being worked over by the extreme far right. Unfortunate because they lose the opportunities to speak to the middle about what they can accomplish and their alternatives.
I’m hopeful for a shift to a more thoughtful and reasonable tone before our next Presidential election.
An American.
Do you really want me to answer that
.
Don’t underestimate the extent to which Rush interests me from an academic point of view. You are too close to the battle to see the long term damage he’s actually doing to your cause, if your cause hopes to triumph through the electoral system.
Morgan,
I thought of shepple like you when I wrote that people who claimed to be conservative were too embarrassed to admit their were liberal.
When you first commented on C. Cabbie, you said you were a Republican…but absolutely nothing you’ve said since comes close to being a Republican. You are Republican in name only, a RINO…kind of like Olympia Snowe and Arlen Spector.
Come on…admit it. You are liberal to the core..you voted for Obama, you called him ‘My President’..gag… and you and America’s liberals deserve everything that is coming your way with your foolish votes.
Ronnie’s England is no more…it is a socialist state. Yet he wants Americans to stand quietly by…drinking our morning tea and just go along with the status quo…until we end up like the UK.
And Conservatives in England are the same as US Liberals…or haven’t you figured that out yet?
So…you stay there in England in your lovely home with its gardener and maid and complain to Brits over cocktails about those ‘horrid’ US Conservatives…
I’ll stay here in the trenchs and fight for my country so maybe you will have something to come back to in six years.
An American, I never had an England to begin with, that’s not where I come from. I visit from time to time as I would your particular version of America.
Ronnie,
You really are an enigma…are you Russian, Argentinia…what? A spy? What?
An American. Can it be the case that you have never heard of Scotland?
Ronnie:
I was lucky enough to be able to attend the Halkirk Highland Games by Thurso a while ago. Loved it..perfect weather, fabulous people..and hundreds of men in kilts wasn’t bad either.
More exploring is definitely needed when time permits.
Ronnie
Exactly. Much more fun. British conservatives are dull!
Ronnie,
I thought Scotland but didn’t put it down.
So…you are a Scot.
We visited your lovely country some years ago…being an artist, I was struck by the wonderful light source. You have some really fine Scottish watercolorists because of it. I’m only sorry we didn’t purchase a painting of those glorious Scottish hills with the heather and changing lights.
You Scots are a bloody lot too, with all the pits in front of your castles for all of your enemie’s loped-off heads. My uncle who was in WWII said the Scots were the toughest of the lot.
Now I understand you more.
Ronnie/An American
Re Scotland:
It’s just a shame they have to sponge off the English for their money
We’re thrawn, An American.
The Romans built a wall to keep us out of their silly wee empire, after they had sent two legions north never to be seen again.
You are right about the light, particularly during the long summer evenings (if the clouds actually clear). As the sun sets the hills constantly change colour and shape.
Ronnie,
Also, my daughter-in-law is of Scottish decent and spent several years there as a teenager. Her father is a Luthern minister.
I painted a painting of thistles, the fitting Scotland symbol, which we printed up as guest gifts at our son’s and her wedding celebration.
I’ll send you a copy if you would like one.
Morgan
Question. When the left marched in opposition to Iraq. When people tried to ‘arrest’ Karl Rove, when they organised boycotts and banned army recruiting stations from college campuses. Were those “silly antics” too? Or is it just silly to want accountability from your elected representatives?
You have to wonder, if we are such spongers, why the English cling to us like limpets.
We’re the brains of the outfit, the cannon-fodder, the bums-on-seats of the governing party, the oil (much of which remains unexploited). We dilute their perfidy.
Ronnie
I’ll grant you cannon fodder. Brains? If Gordon Brown is representative of that, I can see why you are so confused about leadership and intelligence. Anyway, who cares about the oil? We can just strike a deal with Libya for that. Anyone else in your prisons we can get released?
Don’t forget midges, bloody bagpipes and the biggest chip in the world on their shoulders
Ronnie,
The Scottish history is a really interesting one. You put up a mighty stuggle.
What did you think of the movie Braveheart…was it historically correct?
I thought it was a very good movie…bloody as hell. They drew and quartered the poor fellow at the end….Now that is torture unlike the Obama’s administrations concern about blowing cigar smoke into a terrorist’s face.
Spoken like a true Scotsman
Cabbie:
Yes…trying to “arrest” Karl Rove and banning the military from recruiting on college campuses is pretty silly in my opinion. I equate these silly Tea Party expeditions to Code Pink. Both, for the most part, bring all the intellectual force of a courgette to the debate.
Those “bloody bagpipes” were responsible for gathering troops strength and striking fear in the hearts of opposing troops in two World Wars.
I find them rather fabulous.
C. Cabbie,
Is Gordon Brown Scottish…if so, my condolences to Ronnie.
My son-in-law works for BP…so, they might very well end up in Scotland, if Obama takes over the oil companies like his buddy, Hugo Chavez.
This Lockerbie deal, if true, will be the end of Brown…and deservedly so.
An American, I travel a lot with work and everywhere I go the first thing I hear is ‘Braveheart’. The only part of the movie that is accurate is the torture at the end, the rest of it is mostly drivel. A film made as part of Mel Gibson’s crusade against England as far as I could see, if you include ‘The Patriot’.
Cabbie, Brown’s problems are, in order of importance, a strong presbyterian arrogance (if we think it’s right then by God it is right), a very deep shyness and a terribly narrow sense of tribalism. He has many issues and I do not think he is suited to leadership.
Morgan
They sound like cats being strangled! But your point is right. If I was fighting and a squadron of bagpipe playing jocks came over the hill, it would send a shiver down my back. Having said that, it might make me fight harder just to shut them up
An American.
‘Is Gordon Brown Scottish…’
You never fail to amaze me.
Brown is already finished, over the past two years he has become the lamest of lame ducks.
Ronnie,
Are you a psychologist too?
Because your assessment of Brown is exactly spot on…he is shy…which I find to be incredible in a politician… stubborn, look at that chin… and if a Scot, tribal…
I thought as much on Braveheart…we can’t believe what we see in movies and only partially what we read in history books…they keep being rewritten.
Cabbie.
They’d stop you hearing them pretty quickly.
But still seems to hang on making things worse by the day. I just cannot understand histhought processes. How on earth did he think that the Ghurka story was going to play well for him? Throw in helicopters in Afghanistan, the 10p tax row and now Libya, the man has no understanding of how stories play outside of Westminster. I’m amazed that there are still 20% of people who still support him.
Cabbie.
Brown is still there only because he can pick the election date and Labour have no-one else.
Cabbie:
They had a bagpipe competition taking place at Halkirk. It was interesting as can be. A few very pleasant gentleman helped me understand some of what the judges were looking for…though I’m still at much of a loss over what’s excellent, what’s poor…and I’m sure you would say its all poor
By the way, I’m enjoying the exchanges re U.K. politics. I arrived back in time for the expenses scandal. I found that entire situation intruiging. A much different system for compensation than ours in the States.