The President Who Never Ran Anything Beyond Words Across A Page
Peggy Noonan blogs in the WSJ about why Obama was so credulous -- so quick to believe everything would be rosy with vast healthcare changes -- when it is, as she writes, "a leader's job to be skeptical of grand schemes":
And this president wasn't. I think part of the reason he wasn't careful is because he sort of lives in words. That's been his whole professional life--books, speeches. Say something and it magically exists as something said, and if it's been said and publicized it must be real. He never had to push a lever, see the machine not respond, puzzle it out and fix it. It's all been pretty abstract for him, not concrete. He never had to stock a store, run a sale and see lots of people come but the expenses turn out to be larger than you'd expected and the profits smaller, and you have to figure out what went wrong and do better next time.People say Mr. Obama never had to run anything, but it may be more important that he never worked for the guy who had to run something, and things got fouled up along the way and he had to turn it around. He never had to meet a payroll, never knew that stress. He probably never had to buy insurance! And you know, his policies were probably gold-plated--at the law firm, through his wife's considerable hospital job, in the Illinois Legislature, in the U.S. Senate. Those guys know how to take care of themselves! Maybe he felt guilty. Maybe that's to his credit, knowing he was lucky. Too bad he didn't know what he didn't know, like how every part has to work for a complicated machine to work.
Here I will say something harsh, and it's connected to the thing about words but also images.
From what I have seen the administration is full of young people who've seen the movie but not read the book. They act bright, they know the reference, they're credentialed. But they've only seen the movie about, say, the Cuban missile crisis, and then they get into a foreign-policy question and they're seeing movies in their heads. They haven't read the histories, the texts, which carry more information, more texture, data and subtlety, and different points of view. They've only seen the movie--the Cubans had the missiles and Jack said "Not another war" and Bobby said "Pearl Harbor in reverse" and dreadful old Curtis LeMay chomped his cigar and said "We can fry a million of 'em by this afternoon, Mr. President." Grrr, grrr, good guys beat bad guys.
His problem right now, she notes, is that people think he's smart, sophisticated, in command, and aware of "pitfalls and complexities." And thus...to blame.
yup, it sure suck when you actually have to take responsibility for the job you were elected to do...
I hate it when that happens. :massive eyeroll:
so this boils down to him being smart and lying, or being stupid... I'm sure the spin will be astonishing, they're already acting like Obamacare actually is working.
SwissArmyD at December 4, 2013 8:18 AM
This idiot didn't write his own books. They differ too much from his own speech and from each other to be his alone.
Now, to dismantle the country some more, he's pushing for a minimum wage hike, completely unaware (there's a common thread) that this will devalue the dollar.
Lesson: the unit "one hour of work" CANNOT be changed. When the Federal government says that more dollars equal that hour of work, the dollar is devalued.
Radwaste at December 4, 2013 8:18 AM
I'm sure the spin will be astonishing,
I wouldn't even mind the administration spin if it wasn't so slavishly echoed among the media and Obama true believers. I think Virginia Postrel had it right: Obama's main strength was his glamour, and specifically the way he allowed everyone to project their own beliefs onto him. People seem very reluctant to let the dream die.
Astra at December 4, 2013 8:55 AM
Until he was given command of the North Africa invasion, Dwight D. Eisenhower was known as a very good organizer and staff officer, but not as a combat general.
He lacked combat experience, having spent World War I commanding a training unit.
He then spent the years between the wars working in staff positions for a succession of generals (including MacArthur, Pershing, and Marshall).
Eisenhower worked for the guys who had to get things done. He clashed with some of them and worked well with others.
As Noonan points out, Obama has never worked for the guy who had to get things done, who had to produce concrete results. And that colors the way he looks at the world; colors the way most of his advisors look at the world.
Sometimes you just can't talk your way out of failure to achieve actual results.
Conan the Grammarian at December 4, 2013 9:18 AM
All of this speaks to the utter vapidity of the American academy these days. The "intellectuals" are no more smarter than the average Joe; they're mal-educated, and their narcissism leads them to believe that the mumbo-jumbo they intone is actually serious thought. Kids playing house. You can get more cogent and relevant philosophy from the average plumber.
I'm seeing that the American academy will soon become a rump institution, like the British royal family, an institution of tax-supported foppery and light entertainment. Meanwhile, the people who already have enough work to do will have to rebuild American intellectualism on top of everything else that's on their plate. (And, I submit, a good bit of that is going to take place in forums such as the present company.)
Cousin Dave at December 4, 2013 9:50 AM
I lived in Norway for three years. The entire culture is pays lip service to ideals that almost nobody follows.
Since signing the Kyoto Protocol, Norway's emissions have skyrocketed. The government says it makes up for it by forcing other countries to control their emissions.
See, the Norwegians don't want to sacrifice their own standard of living.
My half-brother is a Dutchman. He tells me that all of Europe is infected with the notion that morality consists of forcing others to do the things you don't want to do yourself.
Some pigs are more equal than others, so they get to exempt themselves from the lifestyle they impose on others.
Thomas Wictor at December 4, 2013 9:54 AM
This is what you get when you give trophies for just showing up. Or more specifically for being the first black something, because everyone assumes it's much harder. Except with our Affirmative action society, it's often much easier.
So true competition, actual work, facing foes, he probably never had them.
He was labled the great uniter before ever meeting someone he disagreed with. They now spin it's because the GOP is racist and evil, but that couldn't explain Europe who initially worshiped him, not liking him now.
Joe J at December 4, 2013 10:05 AM
SwissArmyD: "they're already acting like Obamacare actually is working."
Yep, Obamacare IS working, it is those greedy insurance comanies that were selling "sub-par" policies that were wrong. Yep, Obamacare is working, it is the fault of too many people trying to log on at the same time that is the cause of the website not being able to handle to demand. Yep, Obamacare is working because THE ONE has told us so.
So, yep, the spin keeps spinning and we are all fucked!
P.S. I wonder how Joe-the-plumber is doing these days?
Charles at December 4, 2013 10:05 AM
He tells me that all of Europe is infected with the notion that morality consists of forcing others to do the things you don't want to do yourself.
Excellent definition
Stinky the Clown at December 4, 2013 10:43 AM
Noonan is late to the party. Also, she took money from Enron, and as an excuse claimed not to have done anything to earn it. Also, she's not as attractive as when she was younger.
Shirky -
Greenfield -
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at December 4, 2013 12:05 PM
A few years ago, I attended a lecture by Gene Kranz (played by Ed Harris in Apollo 13). He gave a fascinating blow-by-blow account of the Apollo 13 mission, comparing the reality to the film. And he told us he never once said "failure is not an option," but liked the line in the movie.
BTW, your shirky link isn't working.
Conan the Grammarian at December 4, 2013 12:19 PM
Yonder.
Yeah, and I've been wondering if Krantz was still young and alert enough to see what's going on and feel shame for using that line... It had little to do with the work of his life.
(It turned up in an episode of Mad Men, too, one set in 1961. Hollywood is lunatic.)
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at December 4, 2013 12:51 PM
"Failure is not an option" is like "There are no second acts in American lives." It sounds stoic and weary and masculine and wizened, and after three seconds you realize it doesn't make a fucking lick of sense.
America is ALL about second chances. If you were born to a family that wasn't royalty, you still have a chance. If you're dyslexic and shitty in school, you still might grow up and be a great success. You can be adopted and still grow up to be the President of the United States (Ford)... Or become chief of the biggest company in the world (Jobs), even if you've been fired from the company you created and had a few companies fail.
The only people too smart to be taken in by these stupid sayings are working in the private sector.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at December 4, 2013 1:14 PM
Also, she's not as attractive as when she was younger.
You, on the other hand, are no doubt a staggeringly gorgeous example of flawless man-flesh, right?
When I read your posts, I see you as the young Rod Taylor. Somehow your words evoke the same rare combination of crushing physical power and intellect.
How about sending a photo of yourself to Amy so she can post it here for all of us to see how attractive you are?
Thomas Wictor at December 4, 2013 4:57 PM
> You, on the other hand, are no doubt a
> staggeringly gorgeous example of flawless man-
> flesh, right?
You're not the first to notice!
This is stylish West Los Angeles, after all, where standards of allure can be punishingly high. And let's be blunt— I'm no spring chicken.
But even today, as I move through daily chores in casual (but tasteful) sportswear, passersby will evince a gentle shiver of astonishment at the grace of my bearing.
They know they'll probably never see me again... But you can see it in their eyes: They feel they've found a new, and stalwart, friend.
And they have, Wikky.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at December 4, 2013 9:15 PM
Also, Noonan really is a dorkasaures sometimes.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at December 4, 2013 9:16 PM
I keep remembering she voted for the guy, so I've got her pegged as a slow learner. It's unfair, but so was the choice between this loser and McCain.
MarkD at December 5, 2013 5:28 AM
Also, Noonan really is a dorkasaures sometimes.
True, dat.
Astra at December 5, 2013 8:21 AM
✔ MarkD at December 5, 2013 5:28 AM
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at December 5, 2013 11:04 AM
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