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Obama Offends - And Doesn't Seem To Know It
Townhall.com ^ | September 6, 2009 | Austin Hill

Posted on 09/06/2009 4:18:18 AM PDT by Kaslin

It’s one thing to be offensive.

It’s yet another thing to be offensive, and to be clueless about it.

And President Barack Obama seems to be landing in the “another thing” category these days.

It has been quite well established that August was a bad month for the President, himself, as well as for his legislative agenda. Today he clearly needs to do some repair work with the American people, so as to prevent further free-fall of his approval ratings, and perhaps more importantly, to prevent further decline in the level of “trust” with which Americans view him.

So what has the President chosen to do, in an attempt to regain our trust? Well, for one, he’ll be delivering a primetime, televised address next week, to Congress, and to the nation, about his nationalized healthcare plans.

Perhaps he’ll be able to use this speech to reset the national debate over the subject. But he runs the risk of reminding many Americans why they began to distrust him in the first place – it was, after all, President Obama himself who spent several years before becoming President, traveling the country and lecturing about his vision for a “single payer,” government-run health insurance system. And now we’ve watched as President Obama, realizing just how wildly unpopular his ideas are, has changed his position on the “single payer” approach, all within the last few weeks.

In many ways he seems surprised that some Americans are uncomfortable with his shift on this all-important issue, or perhaps by the fact that anybody would question him. No matter, the President may be able to use the speech to persuade Americans to think differently about him, and his agenda for healthcare. Then again, he might make matters worse.

But notice what else the President has sought to do, as a matter of regaining people’s trust. On Tuesday, the day before his address on nationalized healthcare, he is scheduled to do a televised address to students in American schools, the goal being to inspire kids to stay in school and to do well.

That sounds like a simple enough, worthwhile message for any U.S. President to articulate to American kids. Yet in what may have been a straightforward, well-intentioned effort to communicate an important message, The President has touched-off yet another trust-reducing controversy, and, again, seems caught off-guard by the uproar. How could this possibly be?

Perhaps most troubling about the President’s upcoming address to school kids is the accompanying curriculum provided by the U.S. Department of Education. While participation in the President’s efforts is purely voluntary and left to the discretion of individual schools, school administrators, and teachers, the emphasis of the curriculum is rightly troubling to many, including myself.

For example, it is suggested that students in grades 7-12 should, before the President’s speech, write their responses to the following questions: “Why does President Obama want to speak with us today?;” “How will he inspire us?:” and “How will he challenge us?”

That line of questioning may seem harmless to some. But notice that President Obama, himself - - not education, not the idea of becoming a learned person, but Barack Obama - - is the central theme of the questioning. And it presupposes that President Obama is, necessarily, inspiring to all who hear him. The United States didn't automatically assign the title "inspiring" to any of our recent Presidents within their first 8 months of service - Bill Clinton wasn't so fortunate, Ronald Reagan wasn't, and neither Bush 41 or 43 were either.

After the President’s speech, Jr. High and High School students are encouraged to contemplate “What inspired you about President Obama’s speech?,” and “what lines or phrases from the President’s speech resonate with you?” Again, the line of questioning is not so much about the importance of education, as it is all about Barack.

The Obama Administration seems infatuated with the man, the person, the persona of Barack Obama. The central idea of the Obama Administration seems to be Barack Obama himself. And this obsession with one human individual is highly offensive to many of us.

Those of us who know, respect, and care about the unique history of this country, understand what makes America unique. In no small part, we are distinct within the broader context of world history, because there are no kings or queens in the United States; our President is one of us, chosen by us, and entrusted with authority for a limited period of time. We pledge allegiance to “our flag,” and we are united by a set of important principles, but we do not bow to any one individual or “leader.”

The Obama Administration can dismiss the school speech backlash as an attack from “the right wing” (White House Domestic Policy official Heather Higginbottom did this last week). But the more that the Obama Administration continues to obsess over Obama, and the more they seek to belittle Americans who dare to question this obsession, the worse matters become for the entire country.

In the end, the President is left appearing as though he understands very little about the country he serves.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
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Here you got it, Austin Hill says what we all have known for a long time
1 posted on 09/06/2009 4:18:18 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

The whole democrat leader ship offends the hell out of me.


2 posted on 09/06/2009 4:28:45 AM PDT by TLEIBY308 (Keep yer powder dry and watch yer top Knot.)
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To: Kaslin
In the end, the President is left appearing as though he understands very little about the country he serves
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your Obama can do for you - ask what you can do for your Obama.
3 posted on 09/06/2009 4:29:59 AM PDT by hflynn (The One is really the Number Two)
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To: Kaslin

” but we do not bow to any one individual or “leader.” “

A point lost on most, if not all, denizens of Washington, DC.....


4 posted on 09/06/2009 4:31:54 AM PDT by Uncle Ike (Rope is cheap, and there are lots of trees...)
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To: hflynn
I doubt there is any speech Obama can give to turn things around. People are on to him like the snake oil salesman he is. Another speech about the wonders of his elixir will no help.

His next step is to throw Pelosi and Reid under the bus on this to try to save his own face.

5 posted on 09/06/2009 4:38:19 AM PDT by CharacterCounts (November 4, 2008 - the day America drank the Kool-Aid)
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To: Kaslin
Well, that's the way it is when it's all about you...
6 posted on 09/06/2009 4:40:00 AM PDT by THX 1138 ("Harry, I have a gift.")
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To: Kaslin

This king has no clothes.

Marxist punk.


7 posted on 09/06/2009 4:43:38 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (google; operation garden spot and REX84)
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To: Kaslin

That’s because he doesn’t know America!

Regardless of where you think he was born, we know how and where he was raised. And he shares few of the values that most Americans hold dear.


8 posted on 09/06/2009 4:44:14 AM PDT by Scanian
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To: CharacterCounts

If so, that could be a bad thing as these two, Pelosi and reid are about as bad as I’ve seen.


9 posted on 09/06/2009 4:45:49 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (google; operation garden spot and REX84)
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To: Joe Boucher

The king also has no birth certificate.


10 posted on 09/06/2009 4:47:30 AM PDT by thethirddegree
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To: Kaslin
Well, for one, he’ll be delivering a primetime, televised address next week, to Congress, and to the nation, about his nationalized healthcare plans.

It seems the man has been doing nothing but giving speeches, here and abroad, and vacationing with very little governing sprinkled in between. That probably explains why his business card reads, 'Have Teleprompter - Will Travel'.

11 posted on 09/06/2009 4:49:06 AM PDT by varon (Allegiance to the constitution, always. Allegiance to a political party, never.)
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To: Kaslin

About 18 months ago there was a fascinating piece (memory fails where I read it) about the marketing of Obama by Axelrod. Basically- it all came down to selling and hyping the brand, Obama. It’s hard to think of a greater con job perpetrated on the country...but it was nonetheless brilliant and effective.


12 posted on 09/06/2009 4:49:19 AM PDT by SE Mom (Proud mom of an Iraq war combat vet)
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To: Kaslin

I didn’t trust him the first time I saw him and I’ll never trust him in the future.


13 posted on 09/06/2009 4:50:42 AM PDT by SWAMPSNIPER (THE SECOND AMENDMENT, A MATTER OF FACT, NOT A MATTER OF OPINION)
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To: Scanian

Exactly. Culturally, he is not American.


14 posted on 09/06/2009 4:50:53 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Play the Race Card -- lose the game.)
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To: Kaslin
nar·cis·sism (när'sĭ-sĭz'əm)
n.

1. Excessive love or admiration of oneself. See Synonyms at conceit.
2. A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem.
3. Erotic pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of one's own body or self, especially as a fixation on or a regression to an infantile stage of development.
4. The attribute of the human psyche charactized by admiration of oneself but within normal limits.

[After Narcissus.]
nar'cis·sist n., nar'cis·sis'tic adj., nar'cis·sis'ti·cal·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

15 posted on 09/06/2009 4:53:09 AM PDT by rarestia (Confutatis maledictis, voca me cum benedictis)
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To: CharacterCounts

I can’t quite decide.

Is Obama So Self Centered that he just doesn’t know how the American people feel? We have been trying to communicate.

Or is he so arrogant that he doesn’t care and that is why he keeps up the demonization of anyone that expresses a difference of opinion?

Surely any Rational person would have realized by now that calling the American People Terrorists would not be an effective strategy to Sway them to your point of view.

Seems sort of Counter Productive to me.


16 posted on 09/06/2009 4:53:16 AM PDT by SwedeBoy2
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To: Kaslin
In the end, the President is left appearing as though he understands very little about the country he serves.

Important observation, but not a surprise. I have visited an Islamic country, but it was never my home and I never identified with the country or its people. How could I understand that country? obama is in a shockingly parallel situation.

17 posted on 09/06/2009 4:53:31 AM PDT by TurtleUp (I believe that America is good and that human life is good, so I'm a conservative.)
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To: Kaslin

He’s got the Algore Syndrome. The more he talks the more people despise him.


18 posted on 09/06/2009 4:56:31 AM PDT by Northern Yankee (Freedom Needs A Soldier)
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To: Kaslin; Victoria Delsoul; SkyDancer; kassie; Miss Marple; Molly Pitcher; Jemian
Those of us who know, respect, and care about the unique history of this country, understand what makes America unique. In no small part, we are distinct within the broader context of world history, because there are no kings or queens in the United States; our President is one of us, chosen by us, and entrusted with authority for a limited period of time. We pledge allegiance to “our flag,” and we are united by a set of important principles, but we do not bow to any one individual or “leader.”

Bingo!

19 posted on 09/06/2009 5:00:58 AM PDT by Northern Yankee (Freedom Needs A Soldier)
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To: Uncle Ike
” but we do not bow to any one individual or “leader.” “

But our leader bows to the keeper of the holy places in Mecca.

20 posted on 09/06/2009 5:01:20 AM PDT by arthurus ("If you don't believe in shooting abortionists, don't shoot an abortionist." -Ann C.)
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