Roundup of the latest Obama musings
It must be bad when Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift finally gets fed up with Obama—or rather, with his advisers. Ah, if only Stalin knew!
Obama’s not like Carter, he’s like Truman! A more far-fetched presidential comparison can hardly be imagined.
Obama’s foreign policy: hard to be coherent about something so incoherent. Furthermore:
Certainly, no major problem has fallen to solution just because Obama made a speech about it. Indeed, there is scant evidence that the change in tone the President did manage to bring about has sprouted any positive concrete policy consequences at all. Polls have shown that while the President is on balance more popular abroad than his predecessor, his policies really are not””not in the Middle East, not in Europe, not in Asia.
Ya think?
Jackson Diehl is of similar mind:
Still, this administration is notable for its lack of grand strategy – or strategists. Its top foreign-policy makers are a former senator, a Washington lawyer and a former Senate staffer. There is no Henry Kissinger, no Zbigniew Brzezinski, no Condoleezza Rice; no foreign policy scholar.
Instead there is Obama, who likes to believe that he knows as much or more about policy than any of his aides…
Sad thing is, Obama may be correct about that.
>>Sad thing is, Obama may be correct about that.
Well, he said as much himself:
“”I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. 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.”
A truly smart person does not fear surrounding himself/herself with even smarter people; the opportunity for learning being so wonderful.
The quote LS used above is the mark of a very insecure person, in way over his head and probably actually knowing it but not daring to acknowledge it for fear of appearing the pathetic fraud he really is.
–
I want to throw up at that Huffington Post article.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s some decent bloggers there from time to time. And not everyone there kisses the O’s butt, like at say, KOS. But even so, the first article and the comments just made me want to hurl. So many syncophants giving a man who has shown no guts a total pass and blaming it all on the mean ol’ bluedogs and the Republican minority. A man with NO GUTs, Truman? Hell, Reagan, both Bushes..even JIMMY FREAKIN CARTER seems to have more courage than Obama.
Once again, I can respect a man or woman who fights for what they believe in, even if I disagree with what it is, much better than someone like Obama who claims to be for and against all sorts of things but never makes push come to shove to try to get any of them. So you either conclude he stands for nothing really, or you can conclude he lacks guts. Or both.
”while the President is on balance more popular abroad than his predecessor, his policies really are not””
What is this phenomenon that has apparently overtaken the whole world? Are there really popular plumbers that suck at plumbing? Are there really popular hairstylist that suck at styling hair?
Poor daft Eleanor. Such a large, empty cranial cavity.
Obama and Truman alike? As Harry would have said, (after years of nagging from Bess), “Horse Manure!”.
Who cares about popularity abroad? Their opinion counts for bupkis.
Morover, as long as we’re discussing polls, at roughly the same point in his Administration Bush was vastly more popular than the Messiah.
History of approval ratings on Bush’s side for re-election:
The Messiah, meanwhile, is banging in around 47%.
Truman compared with ∅bama? One basis for comparison is that ∅bama will certainly be running against the Republican House of Representatives in two years time, as Truman ran against the “do-nothing Congress” in 1948. According to some ∅bama supporters, the Pubs were the reason why The Won didn’t get a super-awesome program passed the last two years. And this when the Demos had a super-majority in the Senate and a majority in the House.
When it comes to foreign policy, Henry Wallace would be a hawk by comparison to ∅bama. And we all know what Truman thought of the Vice President he inherited.
I doubt that Truman, even though he didn’t have a college degree, thought that they spoke Austrian in Austria. Maybe they spoke Missourahese in Missouri.
Truman saw no need to preface what he spoke by “let me make this perfectly clear,” as all knew HST spoke his mind in as clear and concise a manner as possible. Without the assistance of the TOTUS.
Error: Truman didn’t inherit Henry Wallace as VP. Rather, he replaced Henry Wallace as VP.
Prof. Barry Rubin at http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/ covers the topic of the cluelessness of Obama’s advisers in an essay about General Jones today. He points out the silliness of the General’s view on the Israel Palestinian situation.
And Jones was considered one of his more realistic and worldly of Obama’s advisers.
That should be “one of the more realistic””
The popularity abroad is based on press coverage that consists mainly of translated WH press releases with a few additions from the NYT. Lady Gaga is also very popular here.
George Kennan explains in the Long Telegram that basically they are so focused on the aquisition of total power, that everything else is assumed to follow (cargo cult believes that no skill is involved it just happens, which is why they HATE empiricism – other than falsifying it to prove their point (which for them is proved even if they cheat as its the image that counts)).
A more colloquial way of putting it, is that they are like the dog that chases cars… they are experts at chasing cars, but dont know what to do with one once they get it…
which is why they then realize that gaining more power is a way to keep doing what they do best, which is chase cars..
Instead there is Obama, who likes to believe that he knows as much or more about policy than any of his aides…
does that sound like an Austrian or a Georgian?
Still, this administration is notable for its lack of grand strategy….
Jackson Diehl is wrong.
The administration’s “grand strategy” is that “solving” the Israel-Palestine issue is the Gordian knot for all the problems facing the world. It is the cornerstone for world peace. It is the key to the kingdom. (Remember the “domino effect”?….)
And if Israel doesn’t want to play, well, she should face the consequences.
Meaning, that if Israel has to be sacrificed, so be it.
Obama has been trying to tell Israel what to do. He’s been so trying to help them in spite of themselves.
He’s been so trying to help all of us in spite of ourselves.
After all, Obama knows what’s best for Israel, what’s best for the world, and above all, what’s best for America.
Just ask him. (Or Samantha Power or Stephen Walt or John Mearsheimer or Rashi Khalidi or Roberrt Malley or Marc Lynch….)
Should be “Rashid Khalidi”.