Obama Has a Mean Streak and He Turned It on Romney This Week

Daily Beast ^ | 5/27/12 | Grove

[pabianice]

The president, for all his cool, has a mean streak—just ask Hillary Clinton—and this week he turned it on Mitt Romney, writes Lloyd Grove.

Never mind “cow pie of distortion”—President Obama’s earthy attack on Mitt Romney that dominated the headlines Thursday night from his barn-burner at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Obama

President Obama speaks at a campaign event at the Iowa state fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday (Nati Harnik / AP Photo)

The psychological heart of Obama’s campaign speech was “prairie fire of debt,” the phrase that set up his scatological punch line.

“I know Gov. Romney came to Des Moines last week,” the shirt-sleeved, sweating Obama told a crowd of fervent supporters. “Warned about a ‘prairie fire of debt.’ That’s what he said. ‘Prairie fire.’ But he left out some facts. You know, his speech was more like a cow pie of distortion.”

Taken at face value, the president was simply quoting his Republican opponent to buttress his argument that Romney’s economic proposals were nothing but a throwback to George W. Bush’s disastrous policies that produced financial meltdown and a near-depression.

But there was something darker and sharper lurking just below the surface, in Obama’s facial expressions, body language, and mocking tone of voice: Not to put too fine a point on it, but the president has a mean streak.

[gitmo]

Wait until obammacare is struck down as unconstitutional! obamma will blow a gasket!

Oh, get real. The Supreme Court has never before thrown out a law passed by both houses of Congress.

< /sarc>

[rogue yam]

The funny thing about having a mean streak is that you better have a thick skin. This guy doesn’t.

So true. No one invites more contempt that the guy who dishes it out but can't take it.

[scott7278]

He’s been tanning this week, I see...