Posted on 09/09/2013 3:38:02 PM PDT by sopwith
Home » Opinion » Columns September 02. 2013 7:35PM Thomas Sowell: Obama is a truly great phony
Many years ago, I was a member of a committee that was recommending to whom grant money should be awarded. Since I knew one of the applicants, I asked if this meant that I should recuse myself from voting on his application.
"No," the chairman said. "I know him too — and he is one of the truly great phonies of our time."
The man was indeed a very talented phony. He could convince almost anybody of almost anything — provided that they were not already knowledgeable about the subject.
He had once spoken to me very authoritatively about Marxian economics, apparently unaware that I was one of the few people who had read all three volumes of Marx's "Capital," and had published articles on Marxian economics in scholarly journals.
What our glib talker was saying might have seemed impressive to someone who had never read "Capital," as most people have not. But it was complete nonsense to me.
Incidentally, he did not get the grant he applied for.
This episode came back to me recently, as I read an incisive column by Charles Krauthammer, citing some of the many gaffes in public statements by the President of the United States.
One presidential gaffe in particular gives the flavor, and suggests the reason, for many others. It involved the Falkland Islands.
Argentina has recently been demanding that Britain return the Falkland Islands, which have been occupied by Britons for nearly two centuries. In 1982, Argentina seized these islands by force, only to have British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher take the islands back by force.
With Argentina today beset by domestic problems, demanding the return of the Falklands is once again a way for Argentina's government to distract the Argentine public's attention from the country's economic and other woes.
Because the Argentines call these islands "the Malvinas," rather than "the Falklands," Barack Obama decided to use the Argentine term. But he referred to them as "the Maldives."
It so happens that the Maldives are thousands of miles away from the Malvinas. The former are in the Indian Ocean, while the latter are in the South Atlantic.
Nor is this the only gross misstatement that President Obama has gotten away with, thanks to the mainstream media, which sees no evil, hears no evil and speaks no evil when it comes to Obama.
The presidential gaffe that struck me when I heard it was Barack Obama's reference to a military corps as a military "corpse." He is obviously a man who is used to sounding off about things he has paid little or no attention to in the past. His mispronunciation of a common military term was especially revealing to someone who was once in the Marine Corps, not Marine "corpse."
Like other truly talented phonies, Barack Obama concentrates his skills on the effect of his words on other people — most of whom do not have the time to become knowledgeable about the things he is talking about. Whether what he says bears any relationship to the facts is politically irrelevant.
A talented con man, or a slick politician, does not waste his time trying to convince knowledgeable skeptics. His job is to keep the true believers believing. He is not going to convince the others anyway.
Back during Barack Obama's first year in office, he kept repeating, with great apparent earnestness, that there were "shovel-ready" projects that would quickly provide many much-needed jobs, if only his spending plans were approved by Congress.
He seemed very convincing — if you didn't know how long it can take for any construction project to get started, after going through a bureaucratic maze of environmental impact studies, zoning commission rulings and other procedures that can delay even the smallest and simplest project for years.
Only about a year or so after his big spending programs were approved by Congress, Barack Obama himself laughed at how slowly everything was going on his supposedly "shovel-ready" projects.
One wonders how he will laugh when all his golden promises about Obamacare turn out to be false and a medical disaster. Or when his foreign policy fiascoes in the Middle East are climaxed by a nuclear Iran.
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. His website is www.tsowell.com.
After 5 years of lies and scams, he’s writing this now?
Obama’s recent gaffe about farmers eating their ‘corn seed’ resonated in farm and ranch country. Of course, we don’t vote for metrosexuals anyway so it made little impact on our perception of him.
Syria and Obama: Part II
Syria and Obama
Serious About Syria?
A Truly Great Phony
Libya and Lies
Phony in Chief
Obama Versus Obama: Part IV
Obama Versus Obama: Part III
Obama Versus Obama: Part II
Obama Versus Obama
The Fallacy of Redistribution
God and Jerusalem
’Bait and Switch’ Taxes
Obama’s Dreams
”Issues” or America?
Big Lies in Politics
Obama’s Rhetoric
Socialist or Fascist?
The Real ‘War on Women’
A Cynical Process: Part II
Political Word Games
’Super Tuesday’
The ‘Progressive’ Legacy
Will Republicans Blow It?
Reverse Racism Back to the Future?
Ideals Versus Realities
Obama’s ‘Balanced’ Approach
Debt-Ceiling Chicken
Seductive Beliefs: Part II
Seductive Beliefs
Searches Show A Contempt For Americans
Like Freedom, Gold Cramps The Pols’ Style
America in Decline
Thomas Sowell’s Pessimism
Dismantling America (Title error)
Democrats Bite Democrats: Part II
A Consequence Of Polarization: Dems Vs. Dems
Race Card Fraud
Signs of the Times
Is U.S. Now On Slippery Slope To Tyranny?
Spill Response Not About Oil, But Snake Oil
Race and Politics
Dismantling of America
Talking Points Versus Reality On Health Bill
Great Scott!
Jobs or Snow Jobs?
Deepest Bow Is Reserved For World Opinion
Dismantling America: Part II
Dismantling America
The Brainy Bunch
Listening to a Liar: Part II
Listening to a Liar
Whose Medical Decisions?: Part IV
Disaster in the Making?
A Post-Racial President?
Magician Politics
GOPers in the Wilderness
Talking Points
“Empathy“ Versus Law: IV
“Empathy“ Versus Law: III
“Empathy“ Versus Law: II
“Empathy” Versus Law
Survival Optional
Rookie Errors Mar Obama’s Efforts So Far
The Rush to Wait
What Are They Buying?
Political Speeches
“Jolting” the Economy
Ego and Mouth
A Perfect Storm
Taxing Times
Obama and the Law
Obama and “The Left”
Polls and Pols
Believers in Obama
Negative Advertising
The Real Obama: Part IV
The Real Obama: Part III
The Real Obama: Part II
The Real Obama
Do Facts Matter?
Idols of Crowds
Changes in Politics
Whose “Special Interests”?
The Galbraith Effect
…As Well As Several Other Issues
Are Facts Obsolete?
Conservatives for Obama?
Cocky Ignorance
Obama and McCain
Irrelevant Apologies
Success Built on Work Ethic
An Old Newness
A Living Lie
Obama’s Speech
Race and Politics
Non-Judgmental Nonsense
I stand corrected.
I didn’t post that to jab you Nachum.
I like to post that list once in a while for everyone to see how Dr. Sowell came out in the very beginning against Obama and hasn’t let up.
Still, I am glad you posted that list. :)
The late Lawrence Eagleberger ststed on Greta’s show when asked what he thought of oboma “ he’s a fraud and a charleton”. I never forgot that interview.
OOps stated
Even Tiabbi know Zero's a phony.
I liked Eagleberger, he wasn’t shy about telling everyone exactly what he thought and he was sure right about Obummer.
Bttt.
I’ve been calling him The Impostor-In-Chief ever since he scammed his way into office.
Sowell? I'm not 100%, but I'm 99% he's BEEN writing it, for the last five years!
bttt
Tom’s a bit late to the party.
You’re absolutely right , thanks for linking his website.
Obama doesn’t care how much he screws up the world. He’s moving to Mars when his term is up.
Then he’ll blow up the earth with p38 space modulator.
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