As the Nation’s Pulse Races, Obama Can’t Seem to Find His

NY Times ^ | 12/29/2009 | Maureen Dowd

[Saije]

I was walking through a deserted downtown on Christmas Eve with a friend, past the lonely, gray Treasury Building, past the snowy White House with no president inside.

“I hope the terrorists don’t think this is a good time to attack,” I said, looking protectively at the White House, which always looks smaller and more vulnerable and beautiful than you expect, no matter how often you see it up close.

I thought our guard might be down because of the holiday; now I realize our guard is down every day.

One thrilling thing about moving from W. to Barack Obama was that Obama seemed like an avatar of modernity.

W., Dick Cheney and Rummy kept ceaselessly dragging us back into the past. America seemed to have lost her ingenuity, her quickness, her man-on-the-moon bravura, her Bugs Bunny panache.

Were we clever and inventive enough to protect ourselves from the new breed of Flintstones-hardy yet Facebook-savvy terrorists?

W.’s favorite word was “resolute,” but despite gazillions spent and Cheney’s bluster, our efforts to shield ourselves seemed flaccid.

President Obama’s favorite word is “unprecedented,” as Carol Lee of Politico pointed out. Yet he often seems mired in the past as well, letting his hallmark legislation get loaded up with old-school bribes and pork; surrounding himself with Clintonites; continuing the Bushies’ penchant for secrecy and expansive executive privilege; doubling down in Afghanistan while acting as though he’s getting out; and failing to capitalize on snazzy new technology while agencies thumb through printouts and continue their old turf battles.

Even before a Nigerian with Al Qaeda links tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines jet headed to Detroit, travelers could see we had made no progress toward a technologically wondrous Philip K. Dick universe.

[eyedigress]

You said everything that the Country is aware of. The 2012 reference will change to 2010 given that hundreds of smart people will see this post. Obama is all about himself and will change nothing.

[Night Hides Not]

Rules!!!!

[353FMG]

>>We now have a family who cares more about going on vacation than leading<<

.
Wouldn’t you take as many vacations as you can when it is all paid for by the public?

[9YearLurker]

Okay, so her mind is made up about Bush and Cheney.

But it sounds like her mother seated her next to brother Kevin at Christmas dinner and he actually got through to her some about Obama.

[Wissa]

In my own words, help the cause but trust God.

When I was young,my dad told me about a neighbor farmer. That farmer bought a whole bunch of pigs, but didn't have enough money to buy feed for them. That farmer said "God will provide."

Didn't take long before that farmer went broke.

My parents were very religious, but they always taught us not to expect God to fix problems that you should be dealing with on your own.

[Night Hides Not]

I have no choice but to be optimistic in thinking the GOP will see the light and get back to it's roots lost long ago.

Not damn likely when you consider that guys like Boehner and Hoekstra are in leadership positions.

Pete Hoekstra, really helping the cause when he sends out a fundraising letter a few days after the latest terrorist attack.

"Keep America Strong! Send me $250!" Sheesh!

[bigbob]

Pretty incredible - coming from Mo Dowd and printed in the NYT. We had a record-setting storm last week but I hadn’t heard that Hell had frozen over too!

[spodefly]

Obama, if you have lost Dowd, you have lost America!!!

:)

[JohnQ1]

Now there’s a hope: if the polls go to three hundred seven million to one against him, we may be able to limit the damage our POTUS can do in four years. Don’t just hope, though. Some bright folk say the nation will be destroyed before Hussein finishes one term. I’m not as bright as they, but I’m afraid the nation may be mostly rubble already. At least pray and stockpile ammunition.

[Smokeyblue]

“letting his hallmark legislation get loaded up with old-school bribes and pork;”

Letting? Letting? Did she say letting? Good lord, he’s not letting he’s instigating, organizing, and orchestrating.

My word this woman is dumb. “Pay to play” mean anything to this moron? Poor Obambi, he such a good boy it’s those other bad influences. Nothing about his history raises a red flag with her? The Chicago way? Who sent you?

It all means nothing to her. The red flags are flapping furiously but she’s too slow to comprehend the obvious.

[4buttons]

Moreen Dudd.

[Semperfiwife]

Let me see...four grand a NIGHT accomodations, chef along for the ride, children with their Prada backpacks and designers duds, Mom in her $600 shoes... had just settled in Hawaii for a loooong winters nap...When out on the mainland there arose a Yemen bomber...I had to be interrupted from my golf...To see what was the matter..I took three days to even face it...my golf game was more important...till Rahm mentioned I might want to address it...I see no reason, Janet has already aborted it...the first claim of victory...the system WAS working...Oh drat...I have to say it...BOMBS away, it wasn’t working...but the system is working now for the PantyBomber...he will have his Miranda...and his prayer blanket available...at any US jail..thanks to his brother O...

[Rocky]

Maureen is so... so... well, so dowdy. What can I say?

[Red6]

Under W. we funded/resourced, politically backed, and through executive orders as well as policy did all possible to ensure our safety at home and victory abroad. That simple. Under 0 we get silence after Iranian long range missile tests. We get muted responses to terrorist attacks at ft Hood, on airplanes........... When did 0 visit Iraq, Afghanistan? How often is he in a military hospital or at the departure of troops deploying? Do you think our intel community knowing they will be prosecuted by our own DoJ regards terrorist interrogations will be as proactive as in the past? If something goes wrong in Iraq or Afghanistan, do you expect the 0 to take the political black eye or do you think he'll sacrifice his commanders in the blink of an eye?

The 0 is a national security nightmare. W. isn't at fault for how some doofus at an airport interprets the rules, but the 0 is personally at fault for not even wanting to use the word “terrorist,” banning the use of the “GWOT” by his administration, personally standing behind the closure of GITMO....etc. Personally pushing for the cuts in missile defense, FCS, and F22......etc.

[Rummyfan]

W., Dick Cheney and Rummy kept ceaselessly dragging us back into the past. America seemed to have lost her ingenuity, her quickness, her man-on-the-moon bravura, her Bugs Bunny panache. Were we clever and inventive enough to protect ourselves from the new breed of Flintstones-hardy yet Facebook-savvy terrorists? W.’s favorite word was “resolute,” but despite gazillions spent and Cheney’s bluster, our efforts to shield ourselves seemed flaccid.

Okay, MoDo is officially off her rocker. Those flaccid efforts of the Bush Administration led to how many terrorist attacks on U.S. soil after 9/11? And how many have we had in the last three months?

[Rummyfan]

References to flaccid and Philip K. Dick in the same column. Maureen’s Freudian slip is showing.

[fightinJAG]

It all means nothing to her. The red flags are flapping furiously but she’s too slow to comprehend the obvious.

Apart from the merits of MoDo's points on how Obambi is doing his job, you point out the major irony in this piece.

Talking about failure to connect the dots --- no one is failing to connect the dots that are Barack Obama, his past, his associations, and his dogma more than people like MoDo.

[ricks_place]

Citing the attempt of the Nigerian’s father to warn U.S. authorities six months ago, the president intoned: “It now appears that weeks ago this information was passed to a component of our intelligence community but was not effectively distributed so as to get the suspect’s name on a no-fly list.”

MoDo digs her nails into Obama's back as he hides his incompetence by calling six months ago, weeks ago. -lol

[backhoe]

There are many reasons I dubbed the nineteen-nineties "The Decade of Fraud(s)," from the Clintons to the making Freon into a Devil Gas-- but Maureen is among that pantheon of cons, too.

Lauded by like-minded reviewers for her writing, I've always found her to be bitchy, arch, and condescending-- much like reading a teenager's diary.