Posted on 02/15/2009 5:02:29 AM PST by Kaslin
Much has been written in recent weeks concerning the Obama Administration’s early struggles and stumbles, particularly in matters such as properly vetting prospective cabinet nominees, differentiating between campaigning and governing, and staying on message during a rambling press conference. Some commentators have tried to downplay or dismiss these difficulties, while others have chalked them up as the inevitable errors of an amateur who has been pushed too far, too fast. What many of the pundits tend to overlook in their analyses of President Obama’s first weeks is that these early misadventures illustrate the petulance and arrogance that stand as the defining elements of the man’s essential character.
The examples of President Obama’s overweening sense of pride, hubris and superiority are, in fact, legion. Certainly a man who writes his autobiography twice by the age of forty-three, who makes no secret of his intention to be the President of the United States while he is a neighborhood agitator in Chicago, and, later, as an Illinois state senator is not a model of modesty, humility and self-effacement. Moreover, his short tenure in the U.S. Senate was marked by continued exaggerations of his experience and the supposed jurisprudential acumen he demonstrated as a lecturer at the University of Chicago School of Law.
In 2006 Senator Obama voted against confirming John Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court based on differing “legal opinions” concerning affirmative action and abortion. Then-Senator Obama used his former position as a law school lecturer to issue a mild rebuke to Roberts for his insufficient respect for fictitious constitutional guarantees. Similarly, Senator Obama invoked his experience when helping his party create a scandal over the Bush Administration’s firing of eight U.S. Attorneys. Obama solemnly declared, “I was a constitutional law professor, which means, unlike the President, I actually respect the constitution.” In actuality, Barack Obama taught courses on racism, voting rights, and social policy. During his twelve years at the law school Obama never published a single work of legal scholarship. (Although he did find the time to engage in five electoral races) Still, this meager record of accomplishment did not stop the Senator from claiming that he was something of a constitutional expert as opposed to the presumably unlettered President Bush.
During the 2008 campaign examples of Obama’s arrogance and petulance abounded. His infamous slap at small town Americans who bitterly clung to their guns and religion received wide play and surprised many observers who had grown used to the tightly scripted candidate on the campaign trail. In this same forum Obama also boasted that he understood the world better than Hillary Clinton and John McCain and that he needed no foreign policy expertise on the bottom half of his ticket.
Late night television comedians reaped a bounty of material last year when the Obama campaign introduced a logo similar to the Presidential Seal for their candidate. The logo displayed a bald eagle clutching an olive branch, which is identical to the Presidential Seal, but the logo had a large “O” covering the eagle’s body rather than a shield. Above the eagle written in Latin were the words “Vero Possumus” which translates roughly to “Yes We Can” the more-or-less official chant at Obama rallies. This seal was quickly retired after drawing much unfavorable comment, yet it says a lot about the healthy ego of the candidate.
Also during the 2008 campaign many of the reporters who covered candidate Obama noted his inflated rhetoric regarding himself. In February of last year he responded to Senator Clinton’s charge that he was more talk than action by responding, “It’s true I give a good speech. What can I say? There’s nothing wrong with that.” He later said about himself, “I have become a symbol of America returning to her best traditions.” Shortly after nearly a quarter million Germans chanted his name at the Berlin rally Obama, the proud citizen of the world, claimed without the slightest cringe of embarrassment, “…this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” Such examples of Obama’s overheated rhetoric strike many as colossal arrogance but we must remember that this is the candidate who assured the world that “We are the change we have been waiting for!”
The voters responded favorably to the Obama appeal, despite the arrogance, petulance and thin-skinned nature of the candidate, himself, by electing him to the Presidency in a near landslide. Now that he is the President we see further evidence of Obama’s arrogance. He has apparently declared war against Rush Limbaugh, and certainly the verbal potshots are the first salvoes of the campaign to reinstate the “Fairness Doctrine” and silence conservative talk radio. The President refused to discuss his stimulus plan in any substantive manner with GOP House Whip Eric Cantor, responding to Cantor’s reasoned arguments by stating icily “I won.” Vatican officials criticized Obama for the high-handed manner in which he overturned the ban on state funding for family planning groups that perform abortions overseas.
The new President has allowed this sense of entitlement to slip from official duties into personal matters as well. The Democrats vociferously criticized the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate for her excessive spending on clothing and cosmetics last October but President and Mrs. Obama have hired a hugely expensive designer to redecorate the White House at a cost estimated to run over $ 100,000. The Obama inaugural gala also proved to be the costliest event of its type in history. Of course, what is another $ 40,000,000 or so when the nation is facing trillion dollar deficits each year for the next couple of decades? Finally, when reporters mentioned that the White House seemed warm to the point of stuffiness in late January, senior adviser David Axelrod said that Obama was a native Hawaiian who likes his house warm, and added that one could grow orchids in the warmth of the family quarters. He must have forgotten that Obama lectured Americans last spring that it was no longer permissible to drive SUV’s, eat as much as we want, and keep our thermostats set at seventy-two degrees the year round. When you have been elected to the Presidency and lived in taxpayer subsidized housing you can forget about practicing what you preached to the public eight months earlier.
These aforementioned incidents and quotes offer an illustration of Barack Obama’s worldview. Like most liberals Obama claims to be receptive to all points of view, but he really tolerates no opinion but his own. He cavalierly dismisses those who disagree with him as “bitter and frustrated” and he does not hold himself and his entourage to the standards he easily imposes on everyone else. Barack Obama gave the world many previews of his stunning arrogance long before November 4, 2008. We have seen since then that these examples were not anomalies. The central element of Barack Obama’s character is a stunning, almost breathtaking arrogance. The American people will see much more of this in the coming years.
Great tagline. I hope Republicans/Conservatives start realizing just who Obama is. He is not your normal politician. Until you know your enemy, you cannot defeat him. His weakness is his narcissim. His strength lies with his codependents who are the Dem’s, the media, and the obambots in general who feed his quest for power.
Sadly, I don't see an alternative to the scenarios presented by you and johnthebaptistmoore, no matter how actively FReepers engage to stop the Marxist freight train.
Obama's sole qualification, experience as a community organizer, appears to be serving him very well in achieving his goals to "fundamentally transform" this society.
“I should just become apolitical for the rest of my life and to the best of abilities. Truly being apolitical can help one to survive in a world that’s really fully against one’s own political views.”
* * * *
that may be an option for some, but I don’t think I can just turn off all thoughts about what is happening in the world, and to our country.
I am hearing more and more of those anecdotal stories.
Election lawsuits are already piling up. A new federal mandate requires that all voters be allowed to cast a provisional ballot if their names don't appear on registration lists. Liberal groups are suing to have such ballots counted even if they are cast in precincts where the voter doesn't live. If the number of provisional ballots exceeds the margin of victory in the Senate race, you can bet lawyers will argue that "every vote must count," regardless of eligibility. Candidates may have to hope their vote totals are beyond the "margin of litigation."
The issue of photo ID has become symbolic of the clash of values on election standards. Supporters say it is bizarre that most states don't require a photo ID to vote, at a time when one is needed to buy an airline ticket, rent a video or cash a check. A Rasmussen Research poll found 82% of Americans believed voters should show photo ID, including 70% of Obama voters. But liberal groups insist that even laws that allow voters to use a paycheck or utility bill as ID discriminate against minority voters and could lead to "profiling."
But when voters are disfranchised by the counting of improperly cast ballots or outright fraud, their civil rights are violated just as surely as if they were prevented from voting. The integrity of the ballot box is just as important to the credibility of elections as access to it.
By John Fund
New York Post | Monday, October 06, 2008
More than just scarey! I agree
Unfortunately, this is much more serious than that. This is a cult and I used to think that only stupid dopes could get hooked into cults until I read a book by cult expert Rick Ross who used to be the head recruiter and trainer of recruiters for the Moonies IIRC.
I read this book a long time ago and it's put away in storage right now so I might get some of this wrong, but the basics are right and it explains why we all know someone (or more) who is very intelligent but yet was taken in by this sham—maybe even some in our own families.
In Ross’s case he talks about how it's all broken down into a science. They divide people into four types: thinkers, doers, and IIRC believers and dreamers. (Think neurolinguistic programming to the point of hypnosis or inducing a trance state of consciousness via TV which has been addressed in at least one thread here on FR.)
Once identified, recruiters proceed on very different approaches for each type right down to the type of language used. I believe each type has been addressed, some directly in present obama's TV appearances and others via media personalities.
When people are vulnerable and/or “looking for something”, even very smart people can be sucked in. Obviously there is a fair percentage of present obama supporters who will NEVER question him or be influenced by facts or reality in general. They just want somebody to take of them so they have no responsibilities and still get stuff. We'll NEVER get them and frankly I don't want them.
One thing we've got going for ourselves is that SO FAR at least we don't have people isolated from their families, chanting several times a day (Muslims do it 5 times) to drown out external and INTERNAL voices, or being physically manipulated by inadequate diets or lack of rest.
OTOH that could be coming via the cult's attacks on our economy. I have very carefully avoided arguing about present obama with my family because they don't want to hear it and do some variation of plugging their ears and singing “lalalalalalala” until you stop.
Trust me, on normal issues they are all VERY rational and VERY bright, but on this they have been hypnotized, brain washed, fooled by merchandising—pick the word you want—and I believe they will have to see it for themselves and they will see it easier without a direct attack on the cult or cult leader.
I'm counting on the sheer weight of present obama's BS, obviously corrupt picks for cabinet, and continual gaffes plus factually accurate jokes by comedians on TV like the Daily Show cracking the shell and letting a fact or two penetrate into those perfectly fine minds. (Don't watch it myself, but there have been a couple threads talking about Jon Stewart and a couple other popular media people actually making such cracks.)Once they open their minds to ANY critical fact(s), the rest will begin to POUR in IMO.
As long as the cult leaders cannot isolate and physically manipulate their victims, we will get them back one by one or a few at a time as reality leaks in. The question is whether it will be in time...
“We can always hope for a Herod moment.”
I like your thinking! Thanks!
My wife works for FEMA and was hoping to get sent to Oklahoma or Arkansas because of the ice storm and I believe they had a tornado in Oklahoma that killed 15 people. I told her not to hold her breath as that POS president could care less what happens to those people. President Bush would have flown down to see what was going on. The Zero instead flew off to do some more campaigning.
Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Proverbs 16:18 (NAS version)
Should become the current President’s official Bible Passage.
Isn't it ironic how so many people took great delight in flaming any FReeper who posted in support of the various attempts to get this into court?
There's a lesson here. It's probably important to the Constitution, especially when it says something with great specificity and in very clear language.
Whatever ill befalls our nation from having Obama get elected will be the direct result of the dereliction of duty of the various people all along the way who failed to force Obama to prove he was eligible for the position.
How on Earth did we get to the point where a candidate is not required to qualify for an office?
Oh my... if that's the case he really is delusional.
Yes, but just be thankful we didn't elect (choose one or more) (a) Romney (b) Thompson (c) Hunter (d) Rudy (e) Huckabee (f) Paul (g) McCain (h) other
Let's not forget all those people around here who said if their candidate wasn't the nominee they would either vote for the Democrat or just sit out the election.
It was always something with them, abortion, borders, too liberal, not conservative enough, soft on crime, religion, gun control, and so on and on.
I guess we taught all those who couldn't bring themselves to vote for the perceived lesser of two evils a lesson!
I know there are those who disagree, even now, but there's not a name on that list that wouldn't be better than what we're in for now.
It's easy to steal these elections.... Al Franken is trying to get them through, as we type...
We now have a replacement for Matthew Lesko. He is The One.
He sure as hell doesn’t look like the leader of the The United States of America. That’s one eerie picture.
Wow I thought I was the only one having that feeling. I have no doubt that Chicago will be attacked. Talk about karma, the very morons that helped us get our nation to this point will be victims of the very thing.
"What many of the pundits tend to overlook in their analyses of President Obama’s first weeks is that these early misadventures illustrate the petulance and arrogance that stand as the defining elements of the man’s essential character. The examples of President Obama’s overweening sense of pride, hubris and superiority are, in fact, legion. "
What, a month in office and no miracles yet?
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