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Why Karl Rove keeps calling Obama 'arrogant' [he meant uppity]
Capital Times ^ | 4/13/2009 | John Nichols

Posted on 04/14/2009 3:59:35 PM PDT by SJackson

Former White House political czar Karl Rove has a history of referring to Barack Obama as "arrogant."

As the race between the Democratic senator from Illinois and Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain geared up last year, Rove went out of his way to attach the scarlet A for arrogance to Obama.

The man who managed George Bush into the White House -- with an assist from partisan Republicans on the Supreme Court -- said on Fox News last July: "I will say yes, I do think Barack Obama is arrogant."

ABC News reported that he had told a Republican gathering on Capitol Hill that the Democrat was "coolly arrogant."

"Even if you never met him, you know this guy," Rove reportedly told the congressional Republicans. "He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette, that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone."

Rove's cynical "assessment" of Obama, and the word he uses to describe the man who swept the Republicans out of power, has not changed since Obama assumed the presidency.

Commenting on Fox News -- the network that describes Obama as the president "Europe anointed" -- after the latest White House press conference, Rove told Bill O'Reilly: "I've always said that I think he's sort of an arrogant guy (who says) things that are simply not true."

No challenge came from O'Reilly, who was more interested in recalling his interviewing style when he hosted Obama last year: "I was like a cougar ... I was right there."

Obama's defenders still got upset.

After the O'Reilly/Rove session Tuesday night, Democratic National Committee communications director Brad Woodhouse griped, "If Karl Rove wants to call someone arrogant, perhaps he and Dick Cheney should look in the mirror. It was, after all, the administration he worked for and helped lead that left America entangled in two wars, tarnished our reputation abroad, squandered a budget surplus, and drove the American economy into the deepest economic crises since the Great Depression by insisting on their arrogant, 'our way or the highway' ideological approach to domestic and foreign policies. Arrogance was a staple of the Bush/Cheney/Rove approach to politics and policy -- eschewing accountability, blaming others and failing to level with the American people."

True enough.

But Rove, who never says anything casually, will keep inserting the word "arrogant" into any discussion about Obama -- not because the president is, in fact, arrogant, but because it is a word that the master of media manipulation knows is loaded.

The definition of arrogant generally goes something like this: "Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance." The arrogant individual, dictionaries tell us, display "a feeling or assumption of one's superiority toward others."

As Rove well understands, the suggestion that the president is presumptuously arrogant -- as the word "uppity" is defined -- is a disempowering reference. It suggests that Obama is out of place in the White House, that the president perceives himself as important when he is not, and that, most damagingly, Obama presumes he is superior to the great mass of Americans.

What Rove is practicing is a sly variation on class politics:

Obama, who is trying to use the power of government to aid dislocated workers and families threatened with foreclosure, who is holding more press conferences and doing more interviews than Bush, who is answering questions e-mailed to the White House by citizens, is an "arrogant" elitist. He's the guy at the cocktail party making fun of the rest of us.

Bush, who used the power of government to remove restrictions on bankers and speculators and in so doing fostered a scorching recession, who avoided the tough questions, who distanced himself from the media and citizens, is a homey man of the people. He's the guy out fixing a fence on his ranchette, er, sorry, ranch.

Of course, it is a false construct.

But, as the man they called "Bush's brain" well understands, lies repeated frequently enough become potent political tools.

Karl Rove, who has no intention of remaining long on the sidelines of the political power game, is determined to damage Barack Obama by defining him as a leader who is out of touch with the people.

The word "arrogant" is essential to this endeavor, as is the platform that Fox and other news outlets lend to his partisan manipulations.


TOPICS: Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: arrogance; arrogant; arrogantindeed; bho44; divisive2; first100days; johnnichols; karlrove; npd; rove; uppity; veryarrogant
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To: SJackson
“Bush, who used the power of government to remove restrictions on bankers and speculators and in so doing fostered a scorching recession, who avoided the tough questions, who distanced himself from the media and citizens, is a homey man of the people. He's the guy out fixing a fence on his ranchette, er, sorry, ranch.”

Where has this guy been? What a screaming lie.

It was Bush on over 10 occasions tried to regulate the mortgage catastrophe. And Bwarney and Cwis stonewalled them.

21 posted on 04/14/2009 4:31:52 PM PDT by golfisnr1 (Democrats are like roaches - hard to get rid of.)
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To: SJackson
Oh, no...that scumbag Obama isn't arrogant or anything.


22 posted on 04/14/2009 4:32:31 PM PDT by Lancey Howard (America is dead. Every man for himself.)
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To: jessduntno; Salamander; All
"He’s the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette,

More like a drag queen, coke spoon and a doobie.
23 posted on 04/14/2009 4:36:17 PM PDT by shibumi (" ..... then we will fight in the shade.")
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To: browardchad
"Obama comes from the tradition that thinks you can get your way on social justice and economic issues without affecting productivity very much—and that's simply living in a dream world," he says. Obama and his economics team "are very smart, but the problem is these high-IQ guys always think they can square the circle; they always believe they can beat the system with a cleverer system, and they always fail."

Ah, the curse of the central planner. "We'll just be smarter and do thing better and everything will work out just great!"

Such foolishness is not only unbecoming but incredibly dangerous for the rest of us when the fool holds such power. Sounds like he's Woodrow Wilson incarnate. We're in seriously deep doodoo unless we cut him off at the pass in 2010.

24 posted on 04/14/2009 4:36:30 PM PDT by Swing_Thought (Become a free market capitalist. Accept no substitutes.)
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To: SJackson

“He’s the guy with the beautiful date........” Huh??? Doesn’t account for the wife........


25 posted on 04/14/2009 4:36:52 PM PDT by phoenix07
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To: SJackson

As we recall the well-known and regarded political science professor and commentator pointed out back during the presidential primaries that the One was “arrogant.”


26 posted on 04/14/2009 4:37:52 PM PDT by AmericanVictory (Should we be more like them or they more like we used to be?)
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To: SJackson

Because he is. It doesn’t mean he acts above his station as a black man. It means he acts above his station as a member of the human race.


27 posted on 04/14/2009 4:38:01 PM PDT by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: SJackson

Funny how the election is over, Bush and Rove are out, Palin lost and they still can’t stop being terrified of them. I love that the lib filth keep looking over their shoulders. They KNOW, the pit bull will eventually catch them.


28 posted on 04/14/2009 4:38:45 PM PDT by sappy
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To: SJackson
Dear president obama:

If the adjective fits, wear it!

Main Entry: arrogant
Part of Speech: adjective

Definition:
having exaggerated self-opinion

Synonyms:
aloof, assuming, audacious, autocratic, biggety, bossy, bragging, cavalier, cheeky, cocky, cold-shoulder*, conceited, contemptuous, cool*, disdainful, domineering, egotistic, haughty, high and mighty*, high-handed, imperious, insolent, know-it-all*, lordly, on an ego trip, overbearing, peremptory, pompous, presumptuous, pretentious, proud, puffed up, scornful, self-important, smarty, smug, sniffy, snippy*, snooty*, snotty*, stuck up, supercilious, superior, swaggering, uppity*, vain, wise guy*

Antonyms: humble, meek, servile, unconceited

Thanks to dictionary.com!

29 posted on 04/14/2009 4:42:29 PM PDT by mombonn (God is looking for spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.)
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To: SJackson

Versus all the slanderous things that the DemoPerverts call Governor Palin, when they really mean “uppity”...


30 posted on 04/14/2009 4:47:18 PM PDT by DGHoodini (God's gonna getcha!)
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To: Vaquero

Yep, it has nothing to do with color. He is arrogant and he has nothing to be arrogant about. He’s a loser.


31 posted on 04/14/2009 4:56:41 PM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: SJackson
The “journalist” who wrote this crap in defense of Obama, was unquestionably influenced by the Obama DNA all over his chin.

He has a record of wild eyed Leftist hate mongering....
He blames Bush for the crimes of the Democrat controlled Congress and the Democrat driven Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac redistribution of taxpayer dollars to the Black Congressional Caucus's constituency...

Clearly, he is at best a self delusional liar, Leftist and Obama “organ grinder”.....

32 posted on 04/14/2009 5:07:45 PM PDT by river rat (Semper Fi - You may turn the other cheek, but I prefer to look into my enemy's vacant dead eyes.)
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To: PhilDragoo; potlatch; holdonnow; ntnychik; MeekOneGOP


33 posted on 04/14/2009 5:10:03 PM PDT by devolve ( - - - - - - - - - - - - - It is just another Pansy Scheme! - - -)
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To: devolve

Always very impressive graphics devolve!


34 posted on 04/14/2009 5:19:44 PM PDT by potlatch (A burden shared gets lighter)
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To: PhilDragoo; devolve

Lol, his chin can’t get any higher - and the dems don’t note that???


35 posted on 04/14/2009 5:21:42 PM PDT by potlatch (A burden shared gets lighter)
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To: SJackson

Anyone who has watched Obama speak knows he is arrogant the way he throws his head back and looks down at everyone there is nothing else to call it.


36 posted on 04/14/2009 5:33:01 PM PDT by chris_bdba
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To: potlatch

.

Thanks potlatch -

The returning combat Vets in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families and friends must be thrilled that Neo-Nancy Hussein Junior is labeling them all as the next Tim McVeighs


37 posted on 04/14/2009 5:52:35 PM PDT by devolve ( - - - - - - - - - - - - - It is just another Pansy Scheme! - - -)
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To: devolve

[Neo-Nancy Hussein Junior]
Who are you referring to? I just had to print out a bunch of stuff and had printer problems.


38 posted on 04/14/2009 6:09:10 PM PDT by potlatch (A burden shared gets lighter)
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To: potlatch

.

The One

He is a Neo-Nancy.....


39 posted on 04/14/2009 6:17:00 PM PDT by devolve ( - - - - - - - - - - - - - It is just another Pansy Scheme! - - -)
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To: devolve

I can’t keep up with all these strange names anymore.


40 posted on 04/14/2009 6:19:32 PM PDT by potlatch (A burden shared gets lighter)
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