A short YouTube Video -- "The UnCola Prez"
Posted on 06/18/2010 11:11:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
President Obama’s speech last night from the Oval Office was the most impotent statement offered to the American people from the White House since Jimmy Carter. What’s more, it failed the basic test of quality for any presidential remarks — to a degree that I’m surprised it ever made it through the clearance process — by containing a rather ridiculous contradiction of tone.
Here’s an easy example. On the one hand, when it comes to using skimmers and other methods to clean up oil, released about 50 miles from the coastline and even now getting into the Louisiana marshes, Obama throws in the towel:
“But we have to recognize that despite our best efforts, oil has already caused damage to our coastline and its wildlife. And sadly, no matter how effective our response is, there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done.”
On the other, when it comes to a vague series of legislative solutions tied to reducing energy usage, he will not accept failure:
“But the one approach I will not accept is inaction. The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet.”
Speechwriters are supposed to catch problems this obvious before text is ever loaded into a teleprompter — but perhaps, like Obama himself, they are so tired of talking about the issues in the Gulf of Mexico that they’re just mailing it in, hoping for the chance to get back to the kind of sweeping societal-changing programs they so adore. Obama’s rhetoric has always been able to inspire — but his writing staff apparently can’t handle offering inspiration and solutions in the same speech.
Solutions are what the American people want, and they won’t accept anything less. Obvious attempts to control the narrative are insufficient in situations like this one, especially when they’re so clumsy. If this really is a war, like Obama claims, they don’t want “we did our best” — they want “we win, they lose.”
This all serves as an easy example of why Senators make terrible Presidents. Executive experience demands a fundamentally different mindset than the constant impotence Obama brings to the job. Instead of action and responsible decision-making, Obama naturally turns to Congressional-staff crafted legislative solutions, commissions and committee-hearings — exactly the kind of approaches designed to insulate elected politicians from the ramifications of a vote or a decision. It’s the difference between a leader and a follower, between someone confident enough to make a decision and live with the consequences, and someone who wants to cover their ass, between an executive who says: “I decided” and a legislator who says: “They recommended.”
What’s worse is that in this circumstance, so many of the necessary solutions are so obvious. Accepting Obama’s war analogies on their face, what are we doing to win the battle on the ground? And what is he doing to eliminate problems so people who know how can get things cleaned up — and I’m not talking about academic debates about legislation, or statements, or interviews, I’m talking about solutions.
Consider three problems they’re having in the Gulf right now.
Problem 1: Not enough skimmers are out in the Gulf. Well, there aren’t enough available. So is Thad Allen ordering more skimmers? No, because they could take weeks to get there. Well, why didn’t you order them weeks ago — and regardless, why aren’t you ordering them now, because you’ll be having this conversation again in a month if you don’t?
Problem 2: Regulations and other requirements are preventing useful responders and vehicles from being sent to the gulf, because they have to be elsewhere. So why aren’t you temporarily relaxing regulations and repurposing more responders and material from other locations to deal with this spill? Well, there could be a spill somewhere else. Of course there could — and if there is one, you can move them back! But if this is a war, if this is 9/11, why aren’t you sending everything you’ve got?
Problem 3: Only so many air assets can be in the air at the same time to tell the skimmers where to go. Fine — but what about sending a bunch of boats out as non-skimmers to spot the oil and say, get over here and start cleanup? This is basic stuff, people — the so-called experts from the federal government come down, and it’s like they’ve never run disaster response before. Put enough resources in place, take command of the situation, and get this done right.
It’s called taking matters into your own hands. Governor Jindal illustrated the opposite approach to decisionmaking to the president yesterday, giving up on waiting for days for permission from Washington or action from BP to order a barrier wall to be built offshore. Cleaning up the Gulf doesn’t start with legislation or commissions or committee hearings — it starts with making decisions and being willing to live with the results. Drop the sandbags, send BP a bill, and if they don’t pay for it, we’ll get it out of them in court.
Some people might not like everything you do, and not every decision you make will work. But if you don’t decide, if you can’t decide, then you don’t deserve to be in that chair.
This oil spill is kicking Obama’s ass. And what’s worse, he knows it. Even MSNBC realizes it. Maybe if he just bows a little lower, it’ll stop? It works at the United Nations.
I have to admit, I didn't think his numbers would tank so far so soon. I'm not ready to be hopeful about 2012 yet, but am at least cautiously optimistic (i.e. optimistic but don't want the killing blow of depression that follows an outcome I don't want) about 2010.
I like the analysis in this article, but I still think some people are missing the point--Obama's plan to gut the nation is being performed brilliantly, not with incompetence.
I've never bought this. It's been what some people want to hear, aka pandering; that's not the same as being inspirational.
His stupid Greek platform in Colorado should have been a clue. The American people are easily duped with pie.
I personally know of NO ONE that did that. Do you?
No, but there obviously were millions who did, else how are we in this dire situation? President Bush won in 1988 and he was as much a RINO as Senator McCain. Say what you will of Senator McCain, he at least served his country in uniform, was commander of a large squadron and had the smarts to pluck Governor Palin out of relative obscurity. What had then Senator Obama ever accomplished besides two election wins and agitating on behalf of ACORN and unions?
Someone on another thread had a great saying that’d make a fantastic bumper sticker: “It Takes A Spillage”
Well, don’t worry. Lots of FReepers proclaim Obama was better than McCain because Reagan was going to reincarnate and McCain was to much of a Rino. Good Luck with all that.
We lost that election because...
...we put forth a loser of a candidate; only Palin kept it from being a complete rout.
...the MSM waged the biggest propaganda campaign in the history of the planet, literally.
...the Democrats and the MSM created a fictitious economic crisis, blamed it on Republicans. (Then the fictitious crisis became real and put the global economy into a tailspin.)
This time IMHO it had little to do with staying home or third-party candidates.
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who has spent time observing Liberals. It is a very common feature for Liberals to entertain conflicting ideas, just as it is common for these conflicts to manifest itself in any number of ways, including speechwriting...
“...Obama brings to the job. Instead of action and responsible decision-making, Obama naturally turns to Congressional-staff crafted legislative solutions, commissions and committee-hearings — exactly the kind of approaches designed to insulate elected politicians from the ramifications of a vote or a decision. It’s the difference between a leader and a follower, between someone confident enough to make a decision and live with the consequences, and someone who wants to cover their ass, between an executive who says: “I decided” and a legislator who says: “They recommended.” “
Good point.
Q: Why did the gentleman wear a tuxedo to his vasectomy?
A: "If I'm gonna be impotent, I'm gonna look impotant.."
You pretty much nailed it.
Obama the Omnimpotent
...and Obama is our Spillage Idiot.
Turnout in 2008 was not lower than normal. There was no meaningful third party vote in the 2008 presidential election. The 53% of the people who cast votes for Obama made a conscious choice to vote for him.
McCain was a poor candidate and many conservatives held their nose to vote for McCain as they believed him the lesser of two evils. I’ve seen no analysis demonstrating enough conservatives stayed home to shift the election to Obama. More likely, many white voters made a conscious choice to vote for the first African American president joining the overwhelming majority of blacks who voted for race instead of policy. This is the consequence of 40 years of racial and ethnic identity politics and years of political correctness indoctrination.
Dr. King’s dream of a color blind society seems more distant today than it did when he made his “I Have a Dream” speech in the 1960’s. Like Dr. King I dream of a day when we judge people by their character, not the color of their skin. Unfortunately we are becoming more polarized on racial lines, not less. It appear I, like Dr. King will not live to see a world in which racial identity is meaningless.
<< No, but there obviously were millions who did, else how are we in this dire situation? >>
Actually, more people came out to vote in 2008 than any other election in history, so what the heck are you talking about?
We’re in this dire situation because the country was tired of Bush and because John McCain sucked ass as a candidate. I’m sure White Guilt came into play, as well, but nevertheless, the issue isn’t how we got INTO this situation; the issue is how we get OUT of it.
The November elections will be the first step. After that, we can begin to focus on 2012.
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