The Scaredy President
Reminiscent of the Sherrod affair, when the White House came off like Glenn Beck's reactionary poodle, Obama is waffling again. How bad is it? Well, he's lost Maureen Dowd. From her NYT column:
Maybe, for Barack Obama, it depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is.When the president skittered back from his grandiose declaration at an iftar celebration at the White House Friday that Muslims enjoy freedom of religion in America and have the right to build a mosque and community center in Lower Manhattan, he offered a Clintonesque parsing.
"I was not commenting, and I will not comment, on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there," he said the morning after he commented on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there. "I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about."
Let me be perfectly clear, Mr. Perfectly Unclear President: You cannot take such a stand on a matter of first principle and then take it back the next morning when, lo and behold, Harry Reid goes craven and the Republicans attack. What is so frightening about Fox News?
Dowd, later in the piece, even compared him unfavorably to George Bush. (There was an error in that, but Roger Kimball corrects it here.)
CNN chimed in. Ed Hornick writes:
"The danger here is an incoherent presidency," said David Morey, vice chairman of the Core Strategy Group, who provided communications advice to Obama's 2008 campaign. "Simpler is better, and rising above these issues and leading by controlling the dialogue is what the presidency is all about. So I think that's the job they have to do more effectively as they have in the past [in the campaign]."..."There is no question they are having messaging problems at the White House," Morey said. "They've lost control of the dialogue, and they've gotten pulled down by the extremes on the left and right. They've just not had a coherent set of themes."
...While many poked fun at former President George W. Bush for mispronouncing words and stumbling through sentences, observers note that he rarely had to backtrack on his answers because he employed a simple and direct messaging approach.
To me, the President comes off as weak.
I would think that the distinction between what people have a right to do, and what is the right thing to do, would be an important issue to you. It is absolutely true that our government cannot prevent any religion from building a place of worship anywhere they want, as long as they follow the same rules as, say, a Starbucks. It is also true that it is insensitive, or "unwise", to build a mosque there. Both things can be true. The right to build it is something our government must acknowledge, the wisdom of building it is not something our government should comment on.
Josh at August 19, 2010 5:24 AM
Weak. Imbecilic. Arrogant. Diffident. We can come up with lots of words for him. My personal favorite is asshat.
momof4 at August 19, 2010 5:37 AM
Josh:
The point is that the president did not (initially) make the distinction between what is legal and what is right. He first attempted to back the construction of the mosque as a "Fist Amendment" issue and only when he found out that he was being so severely criticized did he pretend that he meant that it was "legal but not wise". As I have seen in some places (http://ace.mu.nu/ or wizbangblog?) saying that something is legal is a confession not an explanation. That it, framing the argument in that way admits that it is the wrong thing to do.
Had the president made this argument to begin with he would have shown that he understood the situation. It would also have made sure to point out that the supporters of the mosque were arguing from the wrong perspective. Instead he actually harmed the case for the mosque by getting caught himself.
Sabba Hillel at August 19, 2010 6:20 AM
Barack Obama only understands what the screenwriter and the director tell him. He's like Anna Nicole Smith - he's lost without someone feeding him his lines.
He's not scared, just stupid.
brian at August 19, 2010 6:41 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2010/08/19/the_scaredy_pre.html#comment-1744342">comment from JoshI would think that the distinction between what people have a right to do, and what is the right thing to do, would be an important issue to you.
Well, obviously. I already blogged on this -- that there's what's Constitutional and what's decent. Best to not come in anew here and read a single blog item and jump to conclusions.
Now, back to the waffler. It's like the Sherrod affair. The lady from The White House who called Sherrod was just in a panic -- made her pull over to be fired on the phone instead of waiting until she hit her destination because...she was going be mentioned on Glenn Beck. Sorry, but why is Glenn Beck directing policy? I wasn't aware we'd elected him president.
Amy Alkon at August 19, 2010 6:51 AM
>>Barack Obama only understands what the screenwriter and the director tell him. He's like Anna Nicole Smith - he's lost without someone feeding him his lines.
Brian,
Your opinion on this one has no connection to reality.
Here is just one example of the latter. When he answered questions from the floor at the House Republican Retreat in Baltimore (in January).
Transcript: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/obama-speeches/speech/173/
Jody Tresidder at August 19, 2010 6:54 AM
Obama reminds me very much of a girl I knew my freshman year of college. Her entire high school career she had given half-answers and then the teachers filled in the rest. This was a tactic that had worked very well for her but now that she was in college, she didn't know what to do when the professors kept staring at her, waiting for the other half of her answer.
Obama has made a political career out of doing nothing and saying nothing unless it was in reaction to what someone else said. Then he campaigned brilliantly. I don't think he *knows* how to take a stand. He knows how to say and do nothing, he knows how to react, he knows how to campaign, but he doesn't know how to Make A Statement.
Now, my fellow student figured out what was going on halfway through her sophomore year. So far Obama is proving to have a little less pattern recognition.
Elle at August 19, 2010 7:18 AM
His mistake was entering into the discussion, because it is a no-win situation from any stance he would take.
Eric at August 19, 2010 7:25 AM
Jody - you keep going back to that, but it's nothing but theater. He didn't actually SAY anything that he hasn't said before.
Again - scripted answers. Try watching him when he's got no script and no teleprompter. It's horrible.
The man is rubbish, and I cannot wait until 2012 when we can finally take out the trash.
brian at August 19, 2010 7:36 AM
>>Jody - you keep going back to that, but it's nothing but theater. He didn't actually SAY anything that he hasn't said before.
Fair point, brian.
(Just your first six words, I mean!)
>>His mistake was entering into the discussion, because it is a no-win situation from any stance he would take.
At this stage, I totally agree, Eric.
Jody Tresidder at August 19, 2010 8:09 AM
All that hope, wasted on someone who looks to Glenn Beck to see what he should do. At least Bush made his stupid decisions and then let Beck react to him.
I am tragically reminded of Queen Victoria, who said Lord So-and-So "is very like a cushion; one can always tell from his opinions who has been sitting there last."
Oh well, Obama is certainly far from perfect, but on the other hand, another four years of the previous administration's pigs-at-the-trough policies would have turned us into Haiti.
Steve H at August 19, 2010 9:35 AM
Uh, Clue Package for Steve -
The deficit quadrupled in Obama's first year as he made payoff after payoff to his union buddies.
We'd have been better off with 4 more years of Bush's profligacy than we are with Obama.
You are worried that Bush would have turned us into Haiti, but Obama's going for East Germany!
brian at August 19, 2010 9:45 AM
Obama has never taken a stand or risked his political capital on anything.
Every "stand" he has taken has been a partisan Democrat stand in which he was siding with a significant or a powerful section of his party. He's never stood alone, buffeted by political criticism from both sides of the aisle.
In every job or position he's had, he's always been able to stand back, gauge which way the political winds are blowing, and use those winds to cushion his stated position with plenty of political cover.
Nationally, no one paid much attention to what the brand new junior senator from Illinois said. So, if he stuck his foot in his mouth or waffled on a position, he could hide behind a certain amount of anonymity.
But people pay attention to what a president says (especially the US president). When Reagan was overheard joking about bombing the Soviet Union, the world had a collective uh-oh moment.
A president who says one thing and then backtracks comes across as weak. A senator who does so comes across as a politician.
Obama is woefully inexperienced in executive-level positions and, so, makes stupid rookie mistakes. These mistakes have consequences; some large, some small.
A CEO who joked about laying off employees or rushed to judgement on an issue would be perceived as out-of-his-depth and would probably be replaced by the board quickly.
The problem with Obama is that, in his arrogance, he refuses to acknowledge this inexperience. He's trying to overcome his lack of experience by appearing decisive.
Conan the Grammarian at August 19, 2010 10:15 AM
Oh noes, el prez has lost the MoDo! She doesn't think men are even necessary anywho.
Sio at August 19, 2010 11:23 AM
"I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That's what our country is about."
Mr. President, people aren't debating the legality of the issue. They're debating the civility of the issue.
Do you not know the difference or are you just pretending not to see it?
lsomber at August 19, 2010 11:47 AM
The funniest thing about this whole issue is that it will probably be taken care of by the New York Firefighters- they can hold up the building plans indefinitely.
Eric at August 19, 2010 12:11 PM
To me, the President comes off as weak.
You need to get in line behind Putin, Hu Jintao, Kim Jong Il, Imadinnerjacket, the Castro Brother, Hugo Chavez and every other tin pot dictator on the planet. They got in line first.
I R A Darth Aggie at August 19, 2010 12:14 PM
Eric: "The funniest thing about this whole issue is that it will probably be taken care of by the New York Firefighters- they can hold up the building plans indefinitely."
That's what my dad keeps saying. As a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker, I asked him how he felt. He laughed and said "They can discuss it all they like. Construction is a blue-collar job and they're not going to find any construction workers willing to work on this job. So no matter what happens no one's actually going to *build* this thing."
cornerdemon at August 19, 2010 12:22 PM
Meanwhiles, this is more of the stupid shit that keeps pissing off everybody:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20100818/D9HM55S00.html
Eric at August 19, 2010 12:33 PM
I am not a fan of televison, but I thought obama was really disgusting when in one of his disgusting speech on the telly, he tried to give some stupid advice that watching telly is bad, blah, blah.....Stupid and backward and ineffective......
WLIL at August 19, 2010 4:47 PM
Again - scripted answers. Try watching him when he's got no script and no teleprompter. It's horrible.
So very true.
The thing with Bush -- you could tell the things that he wasn't interested by how he would fumble his words. If he wasn't interested his grammar and vernacular would be bad. If he was interested he came off looking fairly polished. The thing that was good was that he either stood by his decision; or held off on stating a position until he had a basic grasp on the realities of the subject.
Chairman MaObama shoots off his mouth and asks questions later. Which leads to the back tracks and looking weak.
Jim P. at August 19, 2010 8:22 PM
"If he was interested he came off looking fairly polished."
I never thought of Bush as polished, and I voted for him (if there had been ANY democrat worth there salt running against him either time I guarantee it wouldn't have taken much to persuade my vote to for the alternative), but here is the thing with Bush -- I never at any time questioned his sincerity or loyalty to this country. That doesn't mean that the impact of his mistakes weren't great - he made a quite a few in my estimation - but they weren't flagrant.
Obama gives me the impression he uses the office to market himself as a celebrity, for all the *cool shit* - and really can't be bothered by any of the important or profound decisions that need to be made. He seems annoyed by the responsibilities and obligations this office demands.
I don't like Obama because I think he is the quintessential boy-king (with a reoccurring case of infant terrible). He has zero political chutzpah. He is petty, grandiose, rude, and unqualified. The only reason he got elected was because of the color of his skin and because he wasn't Bush. He has no political capital either - making him unable to negotiate effectively from the middle. He owes too many favors to too many leftists.
But Bush WAS genuinely endearing at times, take for instance this White House Correspondence Dinner (5:05 is my favorite part):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm6Uibdw5OI&feature=related
In contrast, Obama, during his first WHCD poked fun of everyone else except himself. And this ever so charming, silver-tonged, intelligent man, failed to pull off ONE joke at either dinner that warranted anything but a consolation chuckle.
The man is completely out of touch with reality - which is the scariest part of all.
Feebie at August 19, 2010 10:35 PM
I think it's ok to compromise with people of other opinions, indeed, it is necessary. Having said that, you should have a firm foundation upon which you stand, that you can come from. Obama seems neither left nor right, but confused.
Frankly, I think Obama should have stayed out of the mosque thing altogether. It's not a federal issue. It's not even a state issue. It's a municipal issue, and up to the people of NYC. I sure as hell don't like the idea of federal employees getting involved with local laws.
NicoleK at August 20, 2010 5:40 AM
Nicole - Obama HAD to get involved, because he's a malignant narcissist.
He's also as dumb as dirt. Which is why he's surrounded himself with idiots - to make himself look better by comparison.
brian at August 20, 2010 6:11 AM
I never at any time questioned his sincerity or loyalty to this country. That doesn't mean that the impact of his mistakes weren't great - he made a quite a few in my estimation - but they weren't flagrant.
Maybe polished wasn't the right word -- but at least he had the courage of his convictions.
Obama backed away from his statement the next morning.
But it sounds like even if they try to build it, no one will come. The 911 Hard Hat Pledge is building with the various unions' rank and file saying they will not work for building the mosque. Right now the union's leadership is keeping mum on their decision. What I was hearing that the in states that aren't right to work -- the union shows up at the site that uses scabs and has a 50 foot inflatable rat that they keep up during the whole construction time. I think that will put a new perspective on it.
Jim P. at August 20, 2010 7:52 PM
cornerdemon
I am from northern Jersey and was thinking exactly the same thing. I can't believe they would find a union worker to sign on to this job.
Richard Cook at August 21, 2010 8:20 AM
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