John Hinderaker spared me the effort of tracking down a comment the president made at his press conference yesterday that I caught yesterday while working out:
QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President. Do you think Rush Limbaugh’s apology to the Georgetown Law student was sufficient and heartfelt? Do you agree with the decision of the growing number of sponsors that have decided to drop his show and stop supporting his show? And has there been a double standard on this issue? Liberal commentators have made similarly provocative or distasteful statements and there hasn’t been such an outrage.
OBAMA: You know I’m not going to comment on what sponsors decide to do. I’m not going to comment on either the economics or the politics of it. I don’t know what’s in Rush Limbaugh’s heart, so I’m not going to comment on the sincerity of his apology. What I can comment on is the fact that all decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in the public discourse. And the reason I called Ms. Flute is because I thought about Malia and Sasha and one of the things I want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about. Even ones I may not agree with them on. I want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and thoughtful way. And I don’t want them attacked or called horrible names because they’re being good citizens.
Does that mean he doesn’t think Sarah Palin is a good citizen? “Note,” Hinderaker concludes, “that Obama simply ignored the question whether ‘there been a double standard on this issue [since] liberal commentators have made similarly provocative or distasteful statements and there hasn’t been such an outrage.’ No one followed up on that point, so it was par for the course.”
By the president’s standards, then Bill Maher regularly offers remarks that have no place in public discourse.
Obama wasn’t calling himself a good citizen. And he wouldn’t refer to any national politician as a good citizen. If he has done so, please provide the links.
That was the biggest joke of a press conference. I did not find it to be a display of presidential leadership.
If anyone has a link to a commentator who was impressed—share it.
Cinesnatch, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??
Obama thinks Warren Buffet is a good citizen.
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/AP110215157246-620×438.jpg
Because politicians never ignore and avoid questions at press conferences.
I note the title of Hinderaker’s piece:
“OBAMA DODGES THE BIG QUESTIONS”
I didn’t watch the presser. Only caught a tiny bit on CNN while doing lunch. Of everything discussed…. That’s the “BIG QUESTION”? Why was there even a press conference? ? What is the national crisis???….
This was all about politics. And from the little I saw, he looked a lot more comfortable than I’ve seen him in front of the press in a long time. Must be taking lessons from Bill Clinton or something. After three years, I wonder if he’s finally getting the hang of using the bully pulpit effectively. He’s in full campaign mode now, and if there is one thing, maybe the only thing he really excels at, that’s campaigning! Now that the economy is showing some signs of life, he looks like he want to keep his cushy job. Republicans are in trouble.
Cine******:
These are the ground rules Obama has laid down for being good citizens:
1) Decent folks agree that calling a person a “slut” and/or “prosititue” does not have any place in the public discourse.
2) Therefore, anyone who calls a person a “slut” and/or “prostitute” is not a decent person.
3) Obama wants his daughters to be allowed to speak their mind(s) (sic) in a civil and thoughtful way.
4) Obama doesn’t want them attacked or called horrible names for being good citizens by speaking their minds in a civil and thoughtful way.
Now, Cine******, you are correct that Obama did not claim to be a decent person himself or a good citizen. Nor did he claim that any politician is a decent person or a good citizen.
Furthermore, we do not know if being a decent person is limited to not using the words “slut” and “prostitute” or if there are other requirements for being a decent person that are, as yet, unrevealed by Obama.
Nor do we know the rules for being “civil and thoughtful” beyond avoiding calling people “sluts and prostitutes.”
The fact is, Cine********, the whole comment by Obama is garbled, meaningless, psychobabble which sounds profound but does not begin to express a shred of a thought.
Obama waxed eloquent at the Gabby Giffords shooting jubilee as he went on and on about “civility” by offering solipsisms that magnified and glorified his egoistic self-absorption.
Small minds my find rapture in the glitter of Obama’s narcissistic bombast.
The man has dragged his daughters out to be the show puppets for what he can not say for himself.
Shall we know start a list of “good citizen” and “decent person” things Obama has personally distorted or failed at in his civil relativity and decent person relativity world? Let’s start with: “I won.”
if a woman does not want derogatory things said about her, she might not want to stand up in front of the nation and demand to be paid for having sex.
By the president’s standards, then Bill Maher regularly offers remarks that have no place in public discourse.
Bill Maher Tweet. . .
✔
@billmaher
Hate to defend #RushLimbaugh but he apologized, liberals looking bad not accepting. Also hate intimidation by sponsor pullout
Again, Obama speaks with forked tongue when he portends protection of some, while attacking, TAXING and calling “rich people” horrible names because they’re being good citizens. Obama’s targeting a rich person and zealously over-taxing them…just because they’re rich, is no different than if he stalked then raped a prostitute…just because she’s a prostitute.
Almost all politicians speak with forked tongues. For most of our country’s history, that has worked to get elected most of the time.
I have been reading and rereading of the many sponsors that have dropped Limbaugh. Who are these sponsors? I would like to know if I am doing busineess with any of them and I would stop immediately.
@rusty: I say, good for Bill Maher. Whatever else the man is (and no I don’t like him), at least he isn’t throwing stones, from inside his glass house there.
@John R: The saga of Carbonite is interesting. Limbaugh was a major spokeperson for them. They cut their nose off to spite their face, when they dropped him. Their stock was tanking these last 6 months and now, in the last week, it has tanked even more.
Exactly. Obama is like a college sophomore: A narcissistic fool who plays a wise man on TV, to an audience of like souls.
John R,
The list of sponsors who have dropped Limbaugh are mainly sponsors in local markets who schedule buys for the Limbaugh broadcast time. The Sleep Comfort people and Carbonite were sponsors that bought Limbaugh’s voice on a nation-wide basis. I think that Pro-Flowers and Sheri’s Berries also dropped him, but I am not certain.
I doubt that there is any damage done to Limbaugh whatsoever. Understand that Hannity and Rush are very close. The major conservative talk shows could cancel the advertisers, as well. Sheri’s Berries and Pro Flowers would be severely damaged without the personalized testimonials that Hannity and Limbaugh give them.
This tempest in a teapot is going to blow itself out in a very short time.
Voice of reason. Would love to see more of this on GP. Please. SF can’t be the only one.