Obama’s Problem with the Unexpected
I had printed out Michael Barone’s latest Examiner column, Dodge facts, skip details, govern Chicago-style, to read at the gym, but got caught up in the book I was reading that I neglected it until just before bed Monday night.
Would it that I had read it earlier because he articulates a thesis similar to one I had put forward in my primary post of the day on Monday, only Barone expresses himself far better than I did. In my post reflecting on the President’s “tone deaf” visit to the ice cream parlor while Tehran burns, I contended that
Watching Obama’s presidency unfold, it seems hs agility on offense is related to the same skill which makes him such an effective speaker with a teleprompter. He’s great when he follows a predetermined plan.
Having studied the President far more closely, Barone, in a similar vein, offers
Obama likes to execute long-range strategies but suffers from cognitive dissonance when new facts render them inappropriate. His 2008 campaign was a largely flawless execution of a smart strategy, but he was flummoxed momentarily when the Russians invaded Georgia and when John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. On domestic policy, he has been executing his long-range strategy of vastly expanding government, but may be encountering problems as voters show unease at huge increases on spending.
As with anything by Barone, it goes without saying that one should just read the whole thing.
Simply put, Obama is not good at handling the unexpected. It’s why, I believe, he could learn a thing or two from Captain Sullenberger.
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Yeesh. Who was it, the other day, who said that we were naive?
Comment by ThatGayConservative — June 23, 2009 @ 4:08 am - June 23, 2009
Much worse, I fear he is a cold-calculating man, who has an agenda and desire to totally redue this Country into another France/Germany.
As I said to a friend the other night, the country I pledge allegiance to every morning, I am starting to see disappear.
I truly believe he has an agenda, and if these other distractions don’t fit in, he will blow them off.
This man’s close friends and confidents were the likes of William Ayers, Rev Wright, to name a few. These guys hate our way of life and want to see it dismantled and redone.
We really need to work at tipping the scale away from his edge during the next elections in 2010.
Comment by Libertygal — June 23, 2009 @ 8:19 am - June 23, 2009
“he was flummoxed momentarily when the Russians invaded Georgia and when John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate”
Another example of the right making things up because its the story they wish was true instead of reality.
Keep pushing it! Maybe some people will believe you!
And that is all that matters to the disingenuous right.
Comment by gillie — June 23, 2009 @ 8:55 am - June 23, 2009
Seems Dear Leader’s situation is lose-lose. He has been quiet about the situation in Iran because his endgame was to negotiate with the Mullahs. Now, when he goes to meet with Ahmadinejihad, he’ll be shaking the bloody hand of a tyrant who murdered dozens and brutalized thousands.
Not that this will matter much; democrats like tyrants. Remember Madeleine Dimwit toasting Kim Jong-Il, Al Gore toasting the Butchers of Beijing, and Dear Leader himself greeting Hugo Chavez with a broad grin and a warm handshake. But it will be something sweet we can beat him up on.
Comment by V the K — June 23, 2009 @ 9:05 am - June 23, 2009
gillie, you mean this was the statement of an informed person?
“I strongly condemn the outbreak of violence in Georgia, and urge an immediate end to armed conflict. Now is the time for Georgia and Russia to show restraint, and to avoid an escalation to full scale war. Georgia’s territorial integrity must be respected. All sides should enter into direct talks on behalf of stability in Georgia, and the United States, the United Nations Security Council, and the international community should fully support a peaceful resolution to this crisis.”
No word on that Russia invaded, both parties are at fault, please stop fighting.
This is a statement showing an understanding of the situation:
“[T]he news reports indicate that Russian military forces crossed an internationally recognized border into the sovereign territory of Georgia. Russia should immediately and unconditionally cease its military operations and withdraw all forces from sovereign Georgian territory. What is most critical now is to avoid further confrontation between Russian and Georgian military forces. The consequences of Euro-Atlantic stability and security are grave.”
Source: Here
At least he’s consistant on statements that mean nothing.
Comment by The Livewire — June 23, 2009 @ 10:03 am - June 23, 2009
Obama could learn a lot from Sarah Palin who jumped into a difficult situation, made mistakes, kept on going, and continues to take on difficult issues without a teleprompter.
Comment by Ashpenaz — June 23, 2009 @ 10:19 am - June 23, 2009
Despite violence, Obama’s invitation to the Butchers of Tehran to attend 4th of July BBQ remains open. Wonder if he’ll be serving wegyu steak.
Comment by V the K — June 23, 2009 @ 11:01 am - June 23, 2009
I think that Barone’s comment about Obama governing “Chicago Style” is also significant. I don’t think that The Won, and his advisors, grasp the difference between a city and the whole country.
A city can live with corruption and inefficiency as long as the larger polity of which is a part is willing to subsidize the costs associated with those practices — a lot of cities rely on “state aid” and “federal aid” to get by. That means that there’s a realitvely large pie from which the crooks can get their “take.”
When you’re running the whole country, there’s no larger polity to hit up for subsidies, and you can really ruin the whole game.
What they’re doing, intentionally or not, is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. While I can accept that some of the players may be evil enough to do that intentionally, I think that most are merely motivated by greed, and really don’t understand that they could destroy the very system that they need.
Comment by Ralph — June 23, 2009 @ 12:17 pm - June 23, 2009
So it is 1:05 pm est and I’m watching our young Presidents “news conference”. He seems so testy. He just cut off the questions from Chuck Todd of MSNBC about Iran. I’m not sure Obama realizes the problems with the Iranian elections, being from Chicago afterall. He embarassed Jake Tapper from ABC. He is tired of taking Iran questions and questions about his weakness. The state run media today seems aggitated about how Obama has befuddled them in the past. They are showing a little energy (except of course Helen Thomas). Obamas pleading for a new health care system seems convuluted. He is threatening private health care providers. He just took a question about his smoking…..and now he’s really peeed off. Man this guys is thinned skinned. I don’t know why. Most of these reporters and their questions are pre planned, the reporters pre chosen. Only those called on get their questions answered.
Has it occured to Obama that none, NONE of the problems and challenges he says he’s working on are getting fixed? Is that why he is so testy, even with his friends from the state run media? He wanted to work on one problem at a time. Nationalize the auto industry, gut the energy industry, raise taxes on the productive, nationalize the health care industry. These other issues like innocents slaughtered in Iran, Pirates, tax cheats, nuclear detonations in N Korea, bumbling Vice Presidents, 10% unemployment, are so inconvienient.
Oh Oh, new news, Obama off teleprompter now says unemployment will go well over 10% and be a difficult year. The market is now falling…… He attacks the reporter for throwing Obamas past words about a peak of 8% unemployment being incorrect.
After 45 minutes Obama now has sweat on his upper lip.
Oh oh, a latino reporter asks a question about 25% unemployment in the latino community by years end. Obama says he’s for training latinos on social skills that will make them more employable. NICE. Wow he rudely cut her off from asking a followup question. Without a teleprompter it seems Obama has no one in the back telling him to relax and not be so mean.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — June 23, 2009 @ 1:25 pm - June 23, 2009
Once a bully, always a bully.
Comment by GayPatriot — June 23, 2009 @ 1:49 pm - June 23, 2009
The Washington Times reports that President Obama is taking credit for the revolts.
Now will Chad call that crass partisanship?
Though Erik’s comment seems to dovetail.
Comment by The Livewire — June 23, 2009 @ 1:53 pm - June 23, 2009
oh, it’s going to be a LONG, LONG decade for the repugnant republicans.
Comment by buckeyenutlover — June 23, 2009 @ 2:15 pm - June 23, 2009
#12 – Is that the only thought you can come up with, BNL? Or is that simply the only talking point that HuffPo or DK allows you to say on a daily basis?
Grow up.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — June 23, 2009 @ 2:24 pm - June 23, 2009
#12 – Is that the only thought you can come up with, BNL?
I’m guessing yes. It illustrates a certain way some have that it’s not about issues, not about what is best for the country, certainly not about what’s right or wrong… but just about cheering on your team and hating the other team. That’s where almost on the lefties who comment on this blog are coming from.
Comment by V the K — June 23, 2009 @ 2:30 pm - June 23, 2009
The Complexity of It All…
reality can be sobering Mr. President . . . After skating through the first several months, President Obama has suddenly come face-to-face with the reality that the world outside is a violent and fluid place. Mr. President, the puppet-national press ma…
Trackback by NebraskaPatriot — June 23, 2009 @ 2:48 pm - June 23, 2009
bnl’s just upset that John Kaisch has pulled within margin of error of Ted Strickland.
Comment by The Livewire — June 23, 2009 @ 2:49 pm - June 23, 2009
Those of us who weren’t fainting before the messiah caught it. Those who’s heads were swimming from the surprise of an “articulate and clean” black guy don’t live in reality in the first place. As his poll numbers plummet, it would seem more and more are starting to believe it.
And an extremely short one for liberals as people are reminded on a daily basis why you don’t vote for liberals. Especially one who nobody knows anything about.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — June 23, 2009 @ 2:49 pm - June 23, 2009
So, if it’s not an already staged ahead of time thing, he is totally clueless, lost and paralized with fear?
No! Get out of here! The duece you say! This is as shocking as being told the sun rises in the east and sets in the west!
Comment by Racer — June 23, 2009 @ 3:14 pm - June 23, 2009
Erik, absurd beyond belief. Wow, as if the entire world hasn’t seen the events of the last 10 days and Pres. quivering tower of jello’s non response. He has to be dragged kicking to jump on the condeming the regime for the violence bandwagon.
It was not missed by the entire world that the only ones he beat to that punch were communist countries. Talk about humiliating himself on a grand scale.
Comment by Racer — June 23, 2009 @ 3:22 pm - June 23, 2009
Those who’s heads were swimming from the surprise of an “articulate and clean” black guy don’t live in reality in the first place.
I think you nailed it with that statement.
For conservatives, skin color doesn’t make any difference. Condi Rice, Clarence Thomas, Thomas Sowell, Ward Connerly — all of these folks are intelligent and well-spoken.
But when you consider that Maxine Waters, Cynthia McKinney, Al Sharpton, and William Jefferson are the norm in the Obama Party, you can understand why Joey Biden and other plantation liberals would be wetting themselves over someone like Obama, who only blames whitey in every second sentence.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — June 23, 2009 @ 4:13 pm - June 23, 2009
One more thing; the meme among the lowercase clan the past few days has been that Obama wasn’t doing anything other than going out for ice cream because if we did, the Iranians would “blame America”.
Turns out they were doing it anyway.
In short, if Obama had any qualifications or intelligence other than that ascribed to him by plantation liberals based upon his skin color, he might have realized that the mullahs were going to blame the “Great Satan” regardless of whether we acted or not — and that it was thus a rotten excuse for inaction.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — June 23, 2009 @ 4:17 pm - June 23, 2009
Neither Chairman Obama or the liberals can honestly condemn what’s going on in Iran. That was the sort of election they like and the brute thuggery against civillians they wish they could get away with (and the Black Panthers did).
Algore’s probably wondering how we can get some ruling Mullahs.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — June 23, 2009 @ 4:42 pm - June 23, 2009
#12 funny BNT it seemed like Obamateleprompters press conference today was really really L O N G for him. He got so aggitated with a few non softball questions from the once loving state press. He got so aggitated that someone would imply he was a naive weakling President. And not one journalist asked about the ice cream palor trip or the golfing outing while innocents were dying. No one asked him about the tyrants putting images of him golfing while they were clubbing students. Ask our young President to man up! He promised us during the campaign that he “knew how to solve these problems”, Liar.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — June 23, 2009 @ 4:45 pm - June 23, 2009
It would seem that just a few in the press are starting to realize that giving him a hummer is not worth doing when the situation is getting very serious.
There are still not many and i don’t expect there to be many more until they come to the realization that they will lose their money and freedoms along with the rest of us-bigtime. They seem more than ok covering and fawning when it doesn’t affect them but as soon as it does, they rethink that one. Did they think they would be exempt because they service the fraud on their knees? no doubt the owners do but not the peons. The peons in the MSM are starting to slowly get that. But being so stupid, they will be slow on the uptake.
Reality is crashing through, no matter how much they try to ignore it
Comment by Johnny Mac — June 23, 2009 @ 4:52 pm - June 23, 2009
Isn’t it a little odd that a governor who takes some personal time gets more press scrutiny than a president who fires inspectors general?
Comment by V the K — June 23, 2009 @ 10:53 pm - June 23, 2009
looks like the governor had a reason for his personal leave….
Comment by rusty — June 24, 2009 @ 3:41 pm - June 24, 2009
I’m not that upset about this-given the choice. I notice Republican politicians get caught in sex scandals while Democrats get caught in corruption.
At least Sandford dipping his wick doesn’t cost the tax payers millions like the corrupt Democrats do. I certainly don’t approve but it’s a he** of alot better than the cost of the Rangel’s, Dodd’s, Frank’s, Pelosi’s and Obama’s in politics
Comment by Racer — June 24, 2009 @ 4:03 pm - June 24, 2009
So economic genius Warren Buffet today says the Obama economy is “in a shambles, and no recovery in sight”. Obama said things were improving…..lies.
How much money has Obama spent? How much in debt has he sent our children and grand children? I think it’s $50,000 per child.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31526130
Wonder if the Obamaphiles are having second thoughts yet about the 5 million vote margin they gave Obamatelepropmter over McCain.
Comment by Gene in Pennsylvania — June 24, 2009 @ 4:53 pm - June 24, 2009