Obama: My Biggest Mistake Was Not 'Telling a Story' (Updated)

weeklystandard.com ^ | 7/12/12 | MICHAEL WARREN

[ColdOne]

"When I think about what we've done well and what we haven't done well," the president said, "the mistake of my first term - couple of years - was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that's important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times."

Mr. Obama acknowledged the dissonance between others' perception of his strength as an expert orator, and his own.

"It's funny - when I ran, everybody said, well he can give a good speech but can he actually manage the job?" he said. "And in my first two years, I think the notion was, 'Well, he's been juggling and managing a lot of stuff, but where's the story that tells us where he's going?' And I think that was a legitimate criticism."

[Leo Carpathian]

.....aaaand LIE,LIE, Lie, lieeeee.....

[Leo Carpathian]

.....aaaand LIE,LIE, Lie, lieeeee.....

[rlmorel]

Gaaah. I swear, if I ever hear anyone even intimate that they would harm a hair on his head, I would likely cuff him to a pipe and call the Secret Service.

[hal ogen]

I believe from others perspective “his biggest mistake” was being born. What a destructive loser.

[Popman]

"When I think about what we've done well and what we haven't done well," the president said, "the mistake of my first term - couple of years - was thinking that this job was just about getting the policy right. And that's important. But the nature of this office is also to tell a story to the American people that gives them a sense of unity and purpose and optimism, especially during tough times."

Hey, Obama you freaking dumb-ass, the word you are looking for is "LEADERSHIP" not telling a freaking story....

Damn , this guy is really clueless...

[philman_36]

...where's the story that tells us where he's going?' And I think that was a legitimate criticism.
We all know where the story is going when it starts out "Once upon a time..."

[rlmorel]

"... but where's the story that tells us where he's going?"

We don't need a stinking story to tell us where he is going. We all KNOW that.

[elkfersupper]

Notice the royal "we".

What he didn't do well is find something useful to do.

In the career he has chosen, he is not only clueless, but useless.

[the invisib1e hand]

All he does is tell stories!

about himself.

[coldbluesteel]

I have an amount of respect for Martin Luther King that is an order of magnitude higher than any amount of respect that I would ever have for Obama.

However, if I find myself in a city I have never been in before, and I see a street sign that reads “MLK BLVD” or something similar, I know I am in the wrong part of town and get the Hell out of there. I am just saying.

[Right Wing Assault]

His best “story” is hard to beat. “Dreams from My Father.”

So many lies in there it’s hard to keep track.

He’s always telling “stories.”

I knew some black kids who would say, “You tellin a story!” if they didn’t believe you.

[SES1066]

He has a story, he just doesn’t like the probable outcome. He wants 4 more years, I want no more years.

[6SJ7]

However, if I find myself in a city I have never been in before, and I see a street sign that reads “MLK BLVD” or something similar, I know I am in the wrong part of town and get the Hell out of there. I am just saying.

MLK Blvd: you are in a bad part of town
Malcolm X Blvd: you are in a really bad part of town

[chiller]

""""For the rest of my life, regardless of what happens to that jackass, I am going to have to be subjected to seeing his Marxist moniker on things.""""

Technically correct, but rest assured that his name will be removed before too many years.

[Hotlanta Mike]

Update: Mitt Romney responds in an official statement:

President Obama believes that millions of Americans have lost their homes, their jobs and their livelihood because he failed to tell a good story. Being president is not about telling stories. Being president is about leading, and President Obama has failed to lead. No wonder Americans are losing faith in his presidency.

[jmacusa]

This punk ass is seriously mentally ill, I'm not kidding, I'm deadly serious. The jaw-dropping absurdity of the things he comes out with with such casual aplomb are staggering. I'm telling you the guy is nuts!

[ModelBreaker]

“Well, Hillary, I was just out jogging and this bucket of water on my sweats is just sweat and . . . I did not have sex with . . . “

Oops. Wrong president. Wrong story.

[depressed in 06]

'Well, he's been juggling and managing a lot of stuff, but where's the story that tells us where he's going?'

Commieland.