Obama’s ‘Absolutism’ is a Sign of his Naïveté

The Weekly Standard ^ | June 22, 2010 | Jim Prevor

[JimPrevor]

The Washington Examiner's Byron York asked an astute question after listening to President Obama’s speech on the Gulf oil spill: Who told Obama drilling is ‘absolutely safe’? York points out that engineers and scientists don’t speak in such absolute terms, and he can’t get anyone in the political chain to acknowledge saying that drilling oil is absolutely safe, and he even raises the possibility that the president was never actually told such a thing.

York gets right to the most troubling possibility by asking what it would say about the president’s judgment – no matter who said such a thing – that President Obama actually believed that drilling for oil 5,000 feet below sea level is, in fact, “absolutely safe.”

Yet President Obama has expressed such unrealistic expectations before. When he nominated his food safety team, President Obama explained his attitude toward food safety: “No parent should have to worry that their child is going to get sick from their lunch.” Once again, no scientist in the food arena would ever speak this way. There is always risk -- we can reduce it, we can limit it, but absolute certainty just doesn’t exist.

[JimPrevor]

One day, in some future Oval Office speech, we could very well be listening to the president, following a failure of in the air force, reporting to the American people that, yes, he did cancel the F-22 but did so only “under the assurance that it would be absolutely safe.”

President Obama is almost halfway through a four-year term: Yet the thought that we have an executive who gives credence to such things still bristles.

[Secret Agent Man]

I think Obama should never get on Air Force One again. Flying is not absolutely safe. Maybe not even leave the White House until, well, he loses in 2012. The big world out there isn’t absolutely safe.

I really dislike people trying to destroy America, and I really really dislike it that the current president is one of those people.

[Cyber Ninja]

[okie01]

President Obama is almost halfway through a four-year term: Yet the thought that we have an executive who gives credence to such things still bristles.

Obama's "absolutism" is clearly naive.

It is born of his absolute lack of experience. And a corresponding absolute faith in the efficacy of central planning.

The man has the intellectual depth of a college sophomore -- and the experience to match.

And he is the friggin' President of the most powerful nation on earth...not that he plans on keeping it that way...

[pieceofthepuzzle]

Obama is naive, and sophomoric. Add those to his ego, ideology, and oversimplified worldview and you have our current POTUS. That he is naive doesn't make him any less dangerous.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

“The man has the intellectual depth of a college sophomore — and the experience to match.”

Exactly. This is why having academics without real life experience in positions of power in government is not a good idea.

[preamble]

Obama didn’t ask the right question. If he did, he would have found
out that they (fed govt) didn’t have a contingency plan for a deep water oil leak. Thus he would have put into action right then, before his announcement
in the Spring about drilling.
This assumes 1) common sense and wisdom and 2) leadership and effectiveness. Not Obama-like.

The Obama drilling announcement I believe was just political cover
for the Maine Senators and Lindsay Graham for cap and tax to pass.
That is all. Obama doesn’t actually do anything I’m afraid. He doesn’t
analyze anything. SOmeone in his political team tells him he’s going
to give a Teleprompter speech today. Okay. Will that help me with
Cap and Trade? Yes.
Who knows who’s behind the curtain?

[okie01]

This is why having academics without real life experience in positions of power in government is not a good idea.

Obama isn't really an academic. He was a "lecturer", nothing more.

Just like he wasn't really a lawyer. He never tried a case.

He was, for a while, a State Senator. But he voted "present".

Then, he was a U.S. Senator. But, not really, because he started running for President as soon as he was elected to the Senate.

He did some community organizing they say. But never seemed to actually accomplish much.

There's a word for somebody with Obama's professional resume': dilettante.

[Newtoidaho]

Some people would call him naive, I believe it is more like being bone-stupid. And lazy. A lazier person than this clown would be hard to find.

[tpmintx]

Who knows who’s behind the curtain?

Who stands to benefit?

George Soros!

[dtrpscout]

I don’t think Obama shows any signs of actually being a trained attorney. A 2d semester Law 1 knows more about procedural and substantive law, legal method and reasoning than he does. And, the AG Holder isn’t much better.

[dtrpscout]

PS: Not to mention “ethics”.

[The_Media_never_lie]

York points out that engineers and scientists don’t speak in such absolute terms, and he can’t get anyone in the political chain to acknowledge saying that drilling oil is absolutely safe, and he even raises the possibility that the president was never actually told such a thing.

Maybe it was all the Economists whom Obama talked to that told him drilling was absolutely safe.

[The_Media_never_lie]

York points out that engineers and scientists don’t speak in such absolute terms, and he can’t get anyone in the political chain to acknowledge saying that drilling oil is absolutely safe, and he even raises the possibility that the president was never actually told such a thing.

Maybe it was all the Economists whom Obama talked to that told him drilling was absolutely safe.

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

These phrases are used by Obama as a standard part of his speaking. They imply certainty when there is none. They are usually used in parts of the speech one would not argue with because they aren’t the main point.