Posted on 04/25/2012 6:41:47 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Obama Attacks Rush Limbaugh, Grover Norquist "I think Jon Stewart's brilliant." Daniel Halper April 25, 2012 9:08 AM
President Barack Obama sat down with Rolling Stone for an hour long interview, which the editors there are billing the "most substantive interview the president has granted in over a year." The president used the opportunity to single out two conservative Americans for attack.
The president was asked, "Is there any way to break through that obstructionism by Republicans?"
He responded by attacking conservatives Rush Limbaugh and Grover Norquist:
My hope is that if the American people send a message to them that's consistent with the fact that Congress is polling at 13 percent right now, and they suffer some losses in this next election, that there's going to be some self-reflection going on – that it might break the fever. They might say to themselves, "You know what, we've lost our way here. We need to refocus on trying to get things done for the American people."
Frankly, I know that there are good, decent Republicans on Capitol Hill who, in a different environment, would welcome the capacity to work with me. But right now, in an atmosphere in which folks like Rush Limbaugh and Grover Norquist are defining what it means to be a true conservative, they are lying low. My hope is that after this next election, they'll feel a little more liberated to go out and say, "Let's redirect the Republican Party back to those traditions in which a Dwight Eisenhower can build an interstate highway system."
Interestingly, the questions posed to the president directly before this one were, "What's your relationship with the GOP leadership at this point? A little frosty?"
Obama responded by saying that relations are "not frosty" and that it "isn't personal." He went on to give backhanded praise to Republican speaker of the House John Boehner, saying he's not "a bad person" and that he's "patriotic," but that he's too "ideologically rigid."
Obama did offer lavish praise, however, for a couple liberal pundits--Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, the New York Times's Paul Krugman, and Daily Beast blogger Andrew Sullivan. "I don't watch a lot of TV news," said Obama. "I don't watch cable at all. I like The Daily Show, so sometimes if I'm home late at night, I'll catch snippets of that. I think Jon Stewart's brilliant. It's amazing to me the degree to which he's able to cut through a bunch of the nonsense – for young people in particular, where I think he ends up having more credibility than a lot of more conventional news programs do."
The president said he reads every single New York Times columnist, and that liberal economist and columnist Paul Krugman "[is] obviously one of the smartest economic reporters out there."
Obama went on to say that he does "read some of the conservative columnists, just to get a sense of where those arguments are going," but he didn't single out any conservative commentators for praise.
He added, "There are a handful of blogs, Andrew Sullivan's on the Daily Beast being an example, that combine thoughtful analysis with a sampling of lots of essays that are out there. The New Yorker and The Atlantic still do terrific work. Every once in a while, I sneak in a novel or a nonfiction book."
The president was also asked to reflect on his own presidency. "Like every other job, you have good days and bad days," Obama told Rolling Stone. "Like every other job, if you're willing to be self-critical and you're putting your all into it, you get better at it over time. I think I'm a better president now than when I first came into office. I think that my team is more efficient and can see around corners better than we could when we first came into office. As several people have pointed out to me who have been in previous administrations, this is a hard job, period. It's a really hard job when you're in the middle of the worst financial crisis in your lifetime, and two wars at the same time, and major challenges involving terrorism and climate change."
He concluded: "My hair is grayer, and obviously you get dinged up and bruised in this job. But my confidence in the American people is stronger than it was when I came into office, and my determination to do right by them and make sure that every morning, I wake up trying to figure out, 'How do I improve their prospects?' That determination burns brighter than it did back in 2008."
Every time Obama even mentions Limbaugh in a negative light, he loses a bit of credibility.
Gonna get my picture on the cover.
Gonna buy five copies for my mother.
Gonna see my smilin’ face
on the cover of the Rolling Stone.
Such a small small man.
A man child as Rush puts it.
I'm almost convinced with this GOPe and republican party right now that can NOT happen. First there HAS to be a MAJOR battle in this party to remove power from these rino prix!
Unless that happens, forget about it!
“Jimmy Carter - Now available in Black!”
Among the nation’s Muslim Brotherhood enablers, according to Gen. Boykin, is Americans for Tax Reform founder, Grover Norquist, who he said brought Suheil Khan — the son of a radical cleric — under his wing and frequently liaised with other Muslim groups here in the U.S., even to the exclusion of attending conservative events. It is is only now, the general pointed out, that Congress is starting to recognize Norquist’s “checkered background.”
Getting desperate?
13% big bleeping deal.
Even I, have a poor view of the Republican Congress, but NOT because they’re “right wing” but because it’s full of the RINO “lay low” types Obama describes. Cry babies unwilling to do anything to fight for America
On the other hand, if the speaker were Allen West and there were 100+ like him, the polling would be a lot higher.
This spoiled child needs to be banned from the White house. November 2012, I see you from my front porch!
At the very least, we should go back to pre-911 spending and do it immediately.
Don’t underestimate the power of someone who can write very large checks and doesn’t care about whether the accounts balance.
GOD he is such a piece of shit.
I am not getting my hopes yet, we have reached tipping point. Although people would be better off with jobs. They are not going to want to give up their food stamps, SS, unemployment etc. And then the entire thing will collapse after everything is totally depleted.
Which of course is the plan.
I am at this point going to try to hope for the best, but expect the worse.
I actually wouldn't even know this guy, or the Koch brothers if it wasn't for democrats whining about them..
Doesn’t a sitting “president” have anything better to campaign on? Does he spend all his time reading blogs on his blackberry and listening to talk radio?
And Romney is going to beat him? Let's say Romney wins the election, do you know WTF we get? Romneycare, forced Healthcare!!!
It's not about getting rid of Obama, it's about changing the nature of what we have to beat Obama, and I can assure you it isn't going to to be with Romney or any other rino DH!
The game changer is if the SC hands a victory to Obama, then it is all over!
Is Rush running for President now?
Nope. Not regularly
But I do remember the last one calling one a “major league asshole”
kinda wished he said it more regularly
“It’s a sad state of affairs when the President of the United States only regularly follows news and media sources that agree with him”
That pretty much encompasses all of them....
Yep, confirmation bias is high and he’s projecting. He’s the one that is ideologically rigid. Climate change, give me a break. The global temperature trend has been flat for 14 years and it looks like the trend will be lower over this decade, -PDO, -AMO (cooling oceans), and low solar (weak cycle 24/25.)
-Frank
‘How do I improve their prospects?’
Leave office, I won’t provide the other options
he can figure it out himself.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.