What Obama Grasps, and Glenn Beck Doesn't

American Thinker ^ | 12/15/2011 | Peter Heck

[SeekAndFind]

Here's something I never thought I would type: Barack Obama gets it, and Glenn Beck doesn't seem to.

During his recent interview with 60 Minutes, Obama was asked by CBS reporter Steve Kroft how the president sized up the field of Republicans vying to be his opponent in 2012. Obama's answer was candid and refreshingly accurate: "It doesn't really matter who the nominee is gonna be," he said. "The core philosophy that they're expressing is the same. And the contrast in visions between where I want to take the country and what -- where they say they want to take the country is gonna be stark."

The president couldn't be more right in that assessment -- a reality that I think is lost on many of us who are political junkies. Those for whom the world of politics is either our livelihood or at least an obsessive hobby tend to view issues through a different lens and apply a level of detailed inspection to them that average citizens simply do not.

For instance, my wife and I watched the recent Republican presidential debate in Iowa together. She cares about her country and the direction it's going, but she's not the least bit interested in following the day-to-day drama of the presidential horse race. In fact, this was the first primary debate she has seen this year.

As the debate was unfolding, I noticed a remarkable difference in the way we perceived it. I was being hypercritical of certain responses or question-dodging, yet she was constantly saying things like "That was a good point," or "I like him," or "He knows his stuff." When the debate was over, her comment was, "This is going to be hard, isn't it?"

[C. Edmund Wright]

My fellow AT writer makes a good point.

[SeekAndFind]

Here’s what’s so frustrating about Glenn Beck ( as your fellow AT writer puts it ):

Beck’s underlying assumption that a President Gingrich (or Romney, to a slightly lesser degree) would be a replica of President Obama is mystifying. And his further suggestion that he would consider a third-party alternative to Gingrich is beyond irresponsible, given that it all but ensures a second term of the very man Beck has rightly castigated as leading our country into the abyss.

__________________________

My current frustration is this -— MANY PEOPLE (Even here in FR ) think like Glenn Beck.

[BelegStrongbow]

I’m wondering if the general negative response to the Republican candidates from people on the right is a growing disinclination to believe anything anyone in the political arena is saying if it appears to require that person to make any kind of sacrifice or attempt any hard work in implementing reform.

I’m thinking many (including myself) are coming to the conclusion that the power is what is being grasped and if the effort to do what was promised turns out to be tough, then the politico will simply give over and allow the nationalizing process to continue.

That is, are the candidates all really statists when it comes to actual performance, no matter how populist or constitutional they try to seem when marketing themselves?

[VanDeKoik]

“My current frustration is this -— MANY PEOPLE (Even here in FR ) think like Glenn Beck.”

They are only doing it because they have their own candidate in the race that is polling at around irrelevant, so they are trying to take down any guy at the top as a “progressive” hoping to shift poll numbers to their “only perfect conservative” candidate.

They dont care how it’s done, they just want it done now.

Obama doesn’t see any of them as a “liberal” “progressive” or “Marxist”, because he is ACTUALLY one of them.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

If Gingrich is the nominee, I’ll vote for him. But I am very uncomfortable with his own words which state that he considers himself “Wilsonian” and considers FDR the greatest president ever. Given the current size and power of government in this country, those two things could make Gingrich just as dangerous a man as Obama with regard to personal freedoms and liberty in general.

[skeeter]

Conservatives would be well-advised to make the case for their candidate in this primary and promote said candidate vigorously, while keeping in perspective what even the president himself understands: that all six of the individuals on the recent Republican debate stage represent a fundamental shift in philosophy from the current occupant of the White House.

There are many here who do not yet grasp this fact. They had better, and quickly.

[Oberon]

I think the average conservative voter would be more impressed by mainstream Republican candidates if the party had ever shown much inclination to deviate from Washington business-as-usual when it held power.

[aruanan]

What Obama Grasps, and Glenn Beck Doesn't

I think we know the answer to that.

[SoCal Pubbie]

“That is, are the candidates all really statists when it comes to actual performance...”

The answer to your question is yes, and in some cases, they don’t even try to market themselves any different.

[Still Thinking]

"It doesn't really matter who the nominee is gonna be," he said. "The core philosophy that they're expressing is the same. And the contrast in visions between where I want to take the country and what -- where they say they want to take the country is gonna be stark."

I'd say The Won's MOSTLY right here. There is a significantly greater difference between him and any of the candidates than between the candidates. But some of the candidates are still considerably more conservative (and more consistent) than others.

[griswold3]

There is a time coming when elections won’t matter because the ‘Progressives’ (both R and D) have reached the stage where their power and privileges will become consolidated by law in the now forming ‘command economy’ or as Marcy Kaptur called it ‘State controlled Capitalism’. They, then, become the Ruling Elite or nomenklaturia. They feel themselves as heroes because the dumb masses have become so incapable of self reliance, they will need someone to take care of them.
The election of Barack Obama was the beginning of the ‘Revolution in our time’. The ‘Progressives’ will do whatever it takes to reach their goals of Power. The next election will tell us if this country is finished. The voters will give us the verdict.

[steve8714]

Lighten up, Francis. We’re still over 10 months from the actual election, and at least one believes in the ascendancy of Congress.
People seem to pick up on Beck’s one-off remarks, and ignore the thing he repeats over and over again; do your own homework.
Personally I hope for late entries or a brokered convention.

[ShadowAce]

My current frustration is this -— MANY PEOPLE (Even here in FR ) think like Glenn Beck.

I can understand your frustration. Here is how I'm thinking:

My vote is a representation of who (and what) should be leading and representing our country. This is not a matter of "lesser evil", but a personal decision that reflects on me a a person--and as a Christian.

I believe that I will be held accountable for my decisions, and that includes my voting decisions. So I vote for the person that best represents what I believe in--as an American, and as a Christian (not necessarily in that order). The chance an individual has of actually winning the election is not really a consideration. Sure--it would be wonderful if he can win, but that is not why I vote for the candidate.

[Eva]

I am afraid that after being the most detested man on the political scene, Gingrich worked too hard on rehabilitating that image and trying to win over people on both sides of the aisle. I think his new wife played a part in that effort.

Gingrich is a smart man, yet he believes in anthropogenic global warming?

[sickoflibs]

RE :”While I was obsessing over the trivial differences in style or the substantive conflicts of specific policy between the candidates, my wife was looking at the big picture — each of those Republican candidates represented a marked departure from the Obama regime. And dare I say she is much more reflective of the hundreds of millions of eligible voters who will head to the polls next year?”

Of course they are representing themselves that way. This is a Republican primary. That doesn't mean that those differences will last through a general election or a actual administration. That is what some of us are trying to figure out: what will they really do once the primary fire is off their feet?

Once you put the wrong Republican in the POTUS office all the options are bad. It's not like we can just vote Democrat to fix it. And that person will get congressional Republicans to vote for things they never would if there was a Democrat POTUS.

[Designer]

"That is, are the candidates all really statists when it comes to actual performance, no matter how populist or constitutional they try to seem when marketing themselves?"

In a word: Yup.

All but one.

And you know who that is.

[BigBobber]

I think the average conservative voter would be more impressed by mainstream Republican candidates if the party had ever shown much inclination to deviate from Washington business-as-usual when it held power.

Yes this is a huge problem. I can't help noticing the Republican congress drifted toward big spending in the years after they teamed up with the Democrats to boot Gingrich out of the leadership. Coincidence?

[Rich21IE]

Crazy as it sounds, you might actually be correct. I’ve pondered upon that very point. Here’s an interesting example. Business owner on t.v. made the point that due to the slump, he had to lay off all his employees, (small machine shop that makes specialty pipe and supplies). He then offered to hire 20 of them back on contract but at a lower wage rate. They refused; their comment was, why come back to work for less when they can sit back and collect unemployment for 2 years? Who’s gonna vote against the tooth fairy that lets you collect unemployment for 2 years?