Posted on 02/28/2009 7:59:37 AM PST by kellynla
Truth be told, Barack Obama may be the most charismatic and articulate public speaker in America today. Give him carefully-crafted prose, well-wrapped applause lines, a teleprompter and an audience and he will bring ‘em to their feet, fired up, ready to charge the barricades. It is a gift and he uses it well.
That’s what he did in his first speech to a joint session of Congress and in presenting his budget. On Tuesday evening I listened in my car so I wasn’t distracted by Speaker Nancy Pelosi jumping up every few seconds like a schoolgirl with ants in her pants. Nor could I see “Joe” -- our Vice-President -- semi-somnolently staring out into the crowd. On Thursday, I again listened, then read his words after presenting the federal budget. That’s why I conclude that, truth be told, too often, he isn’t telling the truth.
Maybe it’s not his fault. Perhaps 27-year-old Jon Favreau, his eloquent speech-writer, just doesn’t know the facts or recognize “where have I heard those words before?” Here are a few examples of this week’s words that just don’t match what’s right:
“We have known for decades that our survival depends on finding new sources of energy. Yet we import more oil today than ever before.” The first sentence is spot on. The second sentence simply isn’t true. Since 2005, U.S. oil imports have steadily declined from a high of 5 billion barrels per year.
In defending hasty passage of the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act” he says, “a failure to act would have worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth for years.” But supposedly impartial economic analysis by the Congressional Budget Office predicts that the legislation is likely to have a negative effect on long-term productivity and economic growth.
“The ability to get a loan is how you finance the purchase of everything from a home to a car to a college education; how stores stock their shelves, farms buy equipment, and businesses make payroll.” For six decades, I’ve been doing it all wrong. In my family and business, our ability to do all these things has been based on what we could afford -- not how much we could borrow. Because we have been frugal, we are now going to be punished with higher taxes so that what we have earned can be given to others who refuse to save for what they want.
“So I ask this Congress to join me in doing whatever proves necessary.” Those unfamiliar with history may not recall that this is exactly what Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler asked their legislatures to do in creating National Socialism. In the midst of rising unemployment and economic crisis, both men asked for, and got, legislation to do what was “necessary,” and promised new private sector jobs would be generated by government-funded programs, new tax laws and novel “lending rules.” It worked. Private companies did hire workers to build rail systems, highways and autobahns, invigorated auto industries, and in Germany, the most technologically advanced aircraft in the world. The rest is history we all know.
“In the midst of civil war, we laid railroad tracks from one coast to another that spurred commerce and industry.” Not true. Our transcontinental railroad, arguably the greatest engineering feat of the 19th century, began in 1830 and was not completed until 1869 – as a private sector venture. The federal government’s role was limited to “eminent domain” land seizures, authorizing the import of immigrant laborers, guaranteeing private bank loans and approving the actions of administrators in federal Territories.
“I believe the nation that invented the automobile cannot walk away from it.” Great line, but wrong. The first “automobile” (a French word) was invented by Frenchman Nicolas Cugnot in 1769. In 1862, French inventor de Rochas built an internal-combustion engine powered car. Karl Benz, a German, was issued the first patent for a “self-powered car” in 1886. Henry Ford was first to mass-produce automobiles -- starting in 1913 and he did it without any U.S. government money.
Mr. Obama says his budget “makes the largest investment ever in preventive care,” to “keep our people healthy and our costs under control.” Polio, once deemed to be the #1 health threat in the U.S., was all but eliminated by Jonas Salk -- by conducting research at the University of Pittsburg, beginning in 1947 -- funded by private charity – not government.
“This budget supports an historic investment in education.” But according to the UNESCO Global Education Digest, even before this “investment,” the United States had the world’s highest, per-capita spending on education – with just 4 percent of the world’s children – and 28 percent of global education expenditures. Clearly, lack of money isn’t the problem.
Mr. Obama says in his budget “we’re not paying for Cold-War era weapons systems we don’t use.” But if we don’t buy Ballistic-Missile Defense, upgraded nuclear weapons, submarines, the F-22, the F-35, the V-22, aircraft carriers and replace equipment worn out in eight years of war, how do we deter our adversaries – or even fight back when we’re attacked?
Truth be told, this isn’t an “Economic Recovery Budget.” It is a Lyndon Johnson plan: in the midst of “crisis,” a controversial war and an economic slow down we’re being told that we need a massive expansion of the federal government, higher taxes, heavier debt for our children and defense cuts that are tantamount to unilateral disarmament.
Response: Maybe he does not know the truth.
He has just learned to lie convincingly!
Any intellect that could be ascribed to this clown is completely a media creation.
I hope this doesn’t happen, but the phrase “Misery Index” may soon return to our vernacular.
Of course, Obambi’s response will be, “S**t happens”.
As I heard someone note last night, “Obama is lying like a MUSLEM...”
He is lying DIRECTLY to the American people, saying one thing to the cameras and then immediately doing another.
AND THE MAJOR MEDIA (other than FOX), has yet to call him on it!!
You’ll notice that the NIGHTLY DEATH COUNT is gone from the evening news shows now. American Soldier deaths NO LONGER MATTER now that a Democrat is in charge.
Good One. I like that. I knew there was a way to come up with something like that. Thanks. I think I will pass it on to my friends. It would make a great bumper sticker.
How can we tell that Obama’s lying? His lips are moving!!!!!
This is such nonsense. He's an average reader of teleprompters who starts and stops in 4-5 word bursts in an annoying fashion. His content is non-stop transparent lies and analogies based on false history lessons. He's a blatantly arrogant salesman, and a lousy public speaker.
Good public speakers inspire, educate, tell the truth, and speak mostly from memory...in long flowing sentences with proper rising cadences. I'd give Obama a 4 for public speaking.
If that's true, the standard for "charisma" has been lowered to limbo level.
Of course, Clinton was said to be charismatic, too. Yet, I never detected what they were talking about -- unless "charisma" was a synonym for "exceptionally good liar".
In Obama's case, maybe "charisma" means "demagogue"...
” I’d give Obama a 4 for public speaking. “
I’d agree on the rating, but change public speaking to reading.
Watch him, that’s all he’s doing, and his side to side head movements show he’s skilled at switching to give the apprearance of actually looking a somebody.
I’ve yet to see him stand there, and give a complete answer while looking directly into the camera
“I’m not sure if he’s power hungry like Hitler or if he is purposely trying to destroy this country.”
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How can you rule out, “all of the above”?
Unfortunately, by the time this clown is up for reelection the country is gonna be such a hellofa mess that it'll take at least a decade or more to begin repaying the national debt and turn this whole mess around. At least when FDR left office, we had a growing, working Middle Class capable of bringing the economy around and paying off the national debt... a luxury that we don't have now and will not have in four years if ever again...who says “Communism is dead!”
“Of course, Clinton was said to be charismatic, too. Yet, I never detected what they were talking about — unless “charisma” was a synonym for “exceptionally good liar”.
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I never understood Clinton’s appeal either and yet I would rank Clinton far above Obama. I am astounded to learn that someone exists who could seem to me far more detestable than Clinton but is apparently even more gifted at passing off pure BS as great oratory. In the words of Alan Keyes,”What has happened to America?”
Critical thinking is a lost art.
We have William Ayers and the public school system to thank for that.
Odd you should draw the same comparison between Clinton and Obama. A couple of days ago, I found myself thinking , "Actually, Clinton wasn't so bad".
By the same token, I found myself comparing John McCain to Bob Dole. And Bob Dole never looked so good...
Truth be told, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
pabianice wrote:
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I'm guessing that it's harder for NBC to ignore these since their guy, Santelli, made some very public comments that pushed the protests along.
There was more coverage on the Internet, even on traditional Party Propaganda Ministry print publishers. For the most part, they tried to make these grass roots protests look like they were organized by the "evil Republican leadership."
It's difficult for them to understand that people think for themselves, and that sometimes protests really do spring from the grass roots. They probably get this idea from looking at their own left wing "protests" which are always well organized, with groups bussed in to enlarge the crowd.
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