There’s no reason for anyone to be surprised by Obama
I still don’t know why anyone on either side would be at all surprised at Obama’s behavior.
After all, this is the man who said years ago, despite an extremely thin resume of actual accomplishment other than winning elections:
When David Plouffe, his campaign manager, first interviewed for a job with him in 2006, the senator gave him a warning: “I think I could probably do every job on the campaign better than the people I’ll hire to do it,” he said. “It’s hard to give up control when that’s all I’ve known.” Obama said nearly the same thing to Patrick Gaspard, whom he hired to be the campaign’s political director. “I think I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters,” Obama told him. “I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m gonna think I’m a better political director than my political director.”
That sort of hubris speaks ill of a person, and that would be true even if you support their general political stance. I like to think (and I do believe) that, even had I been a liberal Democrat in 2008, it would have set off warning bells for me about Obama. Such arrogance is pathological, and can lead to mistakes (or, if you are of an ancient Greek frame of mind, to nemesis).
Almost as disturbing was this, from Obama advisor and right-hand-woman Valerie Jarrett:
“I think Barack knew that he had God-given talents that were extraordinary. He knows exactly how smart he is. ”¦ He knows how perceptive he is. He knows what a good reader of people he is. And he knows that he has the ability ”” the extraordinary, uncanny ability ”” to take a thousand different perspectives, digest them and make sense out of them, and I think that he has never really been challenged intellectually. ”¦ So, what I sensed in him was not just a restless spirit but somebody with such extraordinary talents that had to be really taxed in order for him to be happy. ”¦ He’s been bored to death his whole life. He’s just too talented to do what ordinary people do.”
Come to think of it, perhaps that’s even worse than Obama’s own arrogance. That he chose to surround himself with worshipers (and I mean that almost literally) such as Jarrett, and/or by mediocrities who could never seriously challenge his own exalted image of himself, was bound to increase the hubris problem exponentially because there was no check on his megalomania. And again, I believe that should have been obvious to both Republicans and Democrats long before Obama became president.
Maybe the danger to Obama and the Democrats from the disaster called Obamacare will not end up manifesting. Maybe it will dissipate like all the others. But it has the biggest chance of backfiring on him, and if it does it will be because primarily because of his own arrogance and that of his confederates, coupled with their actual incompetence. The two states of being—knave and fool—are hardly mutually exclusive. And if Obama is a fool, it is fortunate for those of us who happen to disagree with his agenda.
But aside from all those personality problems, there were other, even clearer indications of Obama’s way of operating in the world, very early signs that way too many people on both sides ignored. Just a sampler follows; there are plenty more:
Obama got his political start by an act of cold-blooded opportunistic betrayal.
Obama got his political reputation in the Illinois Senate by appropriating the work of others.
Obama won his Senate race by getting operatives to push the unsealing of opponents’ divorce records to smear opponents and eliminate the field.
Obama cheated against Hillary Clinton in the caucuses to clinch the Democratic nomination, according to his fellow Democrats.
Obama got access to more money by breaking a major campaign promise and blaming it on the Republicans.
Obama minimized and lied about his obvious ties to the execrable Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers.
There’s much, much more, of course. But my point is that Obama’s methods were obvious from the very beginning of his political career. No one has any excuse for not seeing who or what he is in personal terms, and as a politician. I’m not even talking about his political position as a leftist (although that could be seen, as well). I’m talking about the fact that he’s one of the more unscrupulous and personally untrustworthy of American politicians, and that’s saying something.
Although I agree with your description of O, I disagree with your conclusion. How can people that are blissfully uninformed have been expected to know about him?
With well over two hundred cable channels to choose from, there are many people who never watch the news. And that doesn’t keep them from voting. If you meant the willfully blind as opposed to the others, I agree with you.
KLSmith:
I would certainly exclude people who vote without knowing anything about anything.
“I think I could probably do every job on the campaign better than the people I’ll hire to do it,”
“I think I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters,”
“I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors.”
“I’m gonna think I’m a better political director than my political director.”
Yeah, but he can’t write code.
We finally found something the boy wonder can’t do better than anyone else within a ten mile radius.
If Obama is so smart why did he tell a big lie thirty times on video?
Mr. Frank, 4:46 pm — “If Obama is so smart why did he tell a big lie thirty times on video?”
Intelligence and morality/ethics are mutually perpendicular; one need not be related to the other.
“I like to think (and I do believe) that, even had I been a liberal Democrat in 2008, it would have set off warning bells for me about Obama. Such arrogance is pathological, and can lead to mistakes (or, if you are of an ancient Greek frame of mind, to nemesis).”
Stop right there.
Sorry, that is incredible hubris in its own right and I mean that in a nice way.
One of these days Google Rene Girard. Democrats, as Democrats, are caught up in mimetic contagion. The main thing about it is exactly that you don’t see, you cannot see, it is impossible to see, when a group (and it is always a group) is in the throes of mimetic contagion that they literally or metaphorically slay and slaughter and they don’t think about it or in any sense get the idea it is wrong or they might be wrong.
There was then NO Democrat that could be reasoned with. None. Had you been one of them the same would have been true for you.
Our problem is a religious one. It is a problem of enlightenment. These people in their throes can only spend themselves out or be dashed against the rocks of reality to be released from their collective fever.
Decent p[people, in the meantime, have a duty to oppose the raging mob as much as possible and to simply tell them they are wrong. They will eventually come to their senses, and we can only hope they have not destroyed everything in the meantime.
Our nation has been betrayed, and Barry Soetoro is walking around with a bag of silver.
The ruin that this one man has exacted upon us is more that just the result of ignorant people voting for “clean and articulate” over substance and competency, rather his deceit in being elected and his malice in the performance of his duties.
If you read up on the symptoms of the extreme personality disorder known as narcissism you’ll see that Obama has them all. Another term often used interchangeably by psychologists for the sociopathic disorder of narcissism is ‘psychopath.’
Love is blind, no?
And what is it they love? Neo, as a former liberal (not to say Horowitzian leftist) you have insights that we down here in Dixie cannot hope to perceive. What in God’s name would lead any well-educated member of the upper middle class (of any race or creed) to fall for this guy? Are liberals now so radicalized that they can’t see past a man’s color? Has it in fact been nothing more than the “Magic _egro” phenomenon all along? Even now are they utterly unable to see past the color of skin to see the content of character? Why?
Of course, most of those questions are merely rhetorical.
Of course.
Making at surprise (which is merely a way of pretending surprise) is a convenient means of shifting blame away from themselves and onto Pres. ClownDisaster.
Abe Lincoln, at the tender age of 29 (and 175 years ago) knew already where the fault would lay.
I think you touched all the BHO bases neo. If/when Obamacare crashes and 90% of the dems up for re-election start pointing fingers at BHO; I think we’ll see a total, ugly melt down on BHO’s part. VJ better buy a very short leash. The extremely narcissistic go viral when they don’t get their way.
Mike:
You are generalizing way too much.
Let me be perfectly clear: I was a liberal Democrat, at least that’s the way I voted. And yet I saw many many things that most other Democrats didn’t agree with. For example, I saw that Reagan did many things right (I particularly liked his foreign policy). I never thought George W. Bush was the least bit stupid. And I could list many, many more, such as the fact that I never trusted Bill Cinton.
In retrospect, I never really toed the party line in many respects, but I nevertheless voted Democrat for a whole bunch of reasons I’ve described at great length in my “change” series.
I know other Democrats (a few, anyway) who also see things more clearly. For example, I know one who saw who Obama was early on and distrusted him immensely and did not vote for him even in 2008, and yet still identifies as a Democrat.
We’ve had this battle before, so I won’t belabor it.
carl in atlanta:
See this for an answer.
Neo I agree and there are not enough words to describe the despicable person that he is. In spite of it all, 42 % of Americans still trust and believe him. And that is down from 54% to his all time low.
I don’t give him credit for much, but I do believe he understands that about half of Americans are hopelessly stupid and self absorbed, an unable or unwilling to recognize a liar or a lie. Or maybe they think lying and ruining the lives of others to live out your delusions of grandeur is noble. Either way, he knows his audience.
As a post script, the fact that he gets away with it and is praised for it by people claiming to care for all of us, report the truth, etc, – is maybe more nauseating and disturbing to those of us who cling to the archaic notion that truth and humility and honor are traits we should value, when in fact the more morally corrupt this man shows himself to be, the more ardent his idiot defenders. It sucks your soul dry to think this is the kind of person who so many want as their president.
“It sucks your soul dry to think this is the kind of person who so many want as their president.”
southpaw,
Not if you refuse to allow them to demoralize you. When surrounded think positive… you are in a target rich environment.
Southpaw….
His numbers are under 40 now. They are lagged and still do not reflect the epic fail of Healthcare.gov.
Unlimited immigration is now dead — no one trusts the tyrant.
The old guard Democrats are starting to abandon him. This is behind closed doors — and is not yet known to the larger public.
========
As a certified Reactive-Dependent Gonnabee his destiny is to go up like a rocket and fall back like a stick.
0-care is a total flame out.
It can’t be redeemed.
Oregon hasn’t had a SINGLE patron able to sign up — and that liberal state was 100% on board for 0-care.
The physicians are rejecting it. The website has thin resources on the ground to even sell.
The sole signature element to proceed is the ramp in Medicaid.
The effect of the 0-care poll tax is still in the future.
I still can’t figure out where the money is to hand to pay off the proffered subsidies. Near as I can tell 0-care deputizes the insurance industry to act as a Quango — and levy taxes and rebates as they deem fit.
In sum, it’s un-Constitutional. Congress can’t delegate its taxing power.
Neo wrote “I’m talking about the fact that he’s one of the more unscrupulous and personally untrustworthy of American politicians.”
Statements like that do not deal with the fact that Obama was endorsed by Oprah.
Not only that but when in his life was he ever held accountable for anything? Can you imagine any other none entity pol getting away with a fraction of the stuff as dear leader? Something is very wrong with the US electorate. It’s like thinking like a 12 year old is the new wise and insightful. Justin Bieder has a better chance of being the next President than Hillary or anyone else.
At least he’ll be better than Obama.
That should be “non-entity” rather than “none entity”.
“At least he’ll be better than Obama.”
At random take any panhandling wino off the street of anywhere America and you will find someone more capable than Obama.
Bob from Virginia,
I don’t want to shatter your world, but Justin Bieber is Canadian and thus ineligible to run for the US presidency.
In other crazy moves, Barry’s crowd at the EPA is now rewriting the law such as to bring even ditch water under their purview — and the taxes and permits and dicta to match.
This ambit would make every business in thrall to Barry-vision.
For Barry, too much is never enough.
I swear he’s trying to bring on an economic collapse — of which he intends not to waste.
All of this is occurring at the same time our foreign relations are flaming out on a global scale, while the US Army goes untrained and the US Navy stays in port.
Clinton is realizing that Barry has no intention of letting Hillary into the White House. That’s his crib — forever.
The cookie jar lies broken on the kitchen floor. It’s going to take a big man to shoulder the blame — with a huge shove out the door from old guard Democrats — for he’s destroying their programs and their political base.
Medicare was a huge program for LBJ. Barry’s gutting it.
Military spending produces a LOT of cheddar for Congress. In September such contracts plunged 66% — as Barry put the pencil to his (perceived) enemies.
The problem is that those contracts are near and dear to a massive voting block in Congress. The DoD has spread the cheddar around just for that reason.
Major players are being burned and are starting to run scared.
Barry’s setting up the Democrats for a reverse 1932.
In the meantime, the MSM is going broke in a major way. Newsweak is merely the canary in the coal pits.
This is what happens when you’re on the bong every night.
“I swear he’s trying to bring on an economic collapse – of which he intends not to waste.”
I think this is entirely within the realm of possibilities. I believe (turtles all the way down) that he desires a crisis that allows him to proclaim a dictatorship. However, BHO is already proven to be unaware that there are unintended consequences to his penultimate hubris. I have skydived for 30+ years, I know the first 14,999 feet are the easy part if a chute doesn’t open… its that last foot that is the bitch.
southpaw, 9:49 pm — “I do believe he understands that about half of Americans are hopelessly stupid and self absorbed, and unable or unwilling to recognize a liar or a lie.”
It’s one of the secrets of his “success”.
[ gag ] . . . [ sputter ] . . . [ cough ]
One early indication of Obama’s cynicism was his K Street Project.
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/11487-obamas-k-street-project
Barry’s setting up the Democrats for a reverse 1932.
There’s no opposition organization to reverse anything. If anything, he’s setting it up for a future United States of Islamic America.
The Left’s power knows no bounds. Obama is merely their experimental prototype. They have many more dictators far worse than him, ready to Rule over the livestock.
This is true: he revealed who and what he is long ago. I was a Democrat in 2008, and was aghast that people would support this man. He has a long history of corruption in his home state of Illinois, and a long record of hanging with criminals who are in prison now: Tony Rezko, Rod Blago and there are more. Penny Pritzker bill Ayers, Jesse Jackson, Jr. And there are more. The excuse that media didn’t tell you is ludicrous. The Boston Globe and many others like John Kass and even Lynn Sweet in Chicago, did yeoman’s work trying to inform people! Do a Yahoo search for the Boston Globe article titled: Grim Proving Ground for Obama Housing Policy. Do a yahoo search on Tony Rezko and Obama’s deal on his Hyde Park Mansion! This President is so corrupt, he reeks. It annoys the HELL out of me that people are so stupid!
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/rezko-connection-obamas-achilles-heel/t/story?id=4111483&ref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dtony%2Brezko%26form%3DAPIPA1
Stupid people are more resistant to propaganda of the doublethink variety than smart people. The Left would have us think that “intelligence” is some kind of barometer for fitness to rule. No such thing.
Neo wrote:
“Bob from Virginia,
I don’t want to shatter your world, but Justin Bieber is Canadian and thus ineligible to run for the US presidency.”
There is nothing for me now.
Should we attribute O’s success to his unethically cribbing hypnotherapeutic techniques from an M.D. or to his charming mendacity? How much education does one need to be alarmed by his proposed “civilian national security force larger than the combined military”? Why would the smartest man in the room refuse the lunchtime debates with fellow faculty members at the U of C? If one is too enlightened to believe in God does one end up believing in Stalinist psychopaths?
Bob, I actually learned about hypnotic conversation methods from a difference source, but that made it much easier to believe Obama was using a form of it.
It works, after all.