Posted on 01/17/2010 8:26:04 AM PST by IbJensen
As I read Game Change , a recurring motif is how often Barack Obama would be bored or annoyed by either his Senatorial duties or the rigors of campaigning. He is not infrequently "fatigued" or "tired" or "peevish." If we had known of these qualities we might better have appreciated his readiness for the office.
He has been AWOL quite often on the issues of the day (his penchant for playing golf is a problem) as others toil away to do the heavy lifting (Reid, Pelosi). He was slow to respond to the Christmas Day terror attack, as well. They just weren't fun as say, trips down Broadway or to Copenhagen or some speeches before crowds.
Excerpt (page 108):
The schedule was killing him. The fatigue was all-consuming. The events piled up on top of one another, making his temples ache. He tried not to bitch and moan too much, except when it got out of hand-meaning almost every day.
He also grew exasperated that Hillary would continue her campaign as long as she did-how dare she? "Obama was frustrated. By the end of his winning streak, the thrill of victory had lost a modicum of its luster for him. He complained to his aides about the sameness of the succession of mega-rallies, about a certain staleness creeping in" (page 229). He complained that , "these people never die" (meaning the Clintons).
"His irritation was leavened by a grudging respect for Hillary's tenacity" (page 229). Irritation - how dare they not fall into line. When Hillary started winning contests, "Obama was having no fun at all. He was consumed by visions of doom"(page 248). The book is laced with this dichotomy: he was blissful and happy when the crowds were rapturous towards him (even that was subject to the laws of diminishing returns but was dejected and irritated when the slog continued, just as he found work as a Senator drudgery.
That is just one of many examples of his approach to the hard work of campaigning. No wonder he complains about the mess he has had to clean up
Another excerpt:
His team had , of course, done background research regarding Hillary Clinton. The public had "Clinton fatigue, that is was bubbling out there..the trick would be to incite it, subtly, by implication and inference. To revive the voters' worst memories of the Clinton years..to eviscerate her without damaging Obama's reputation as an exponent of clear politics. To go negative, in other words, without seeming nasty. We will do this, Obama said , but he was adamant that certain ethical boundaries not be breached".
(pages 119-120)
Well it is commendable that certain boundaries were established - unclear and unstated as they may have been. But it certainly did not extend to refusing to use the race card against Hillary Clinton and later McCain. The book reveals several examples of how Obama and his campaign played the race card (distorting Bill Clinton's words, referring to McCain supporters who may not vote for a man to be President who doesn't look like other presidents on dollar bills, working with black media to stoke the issue, using surrogates such as Jesse Jackson, Jr., to prolong the controversy-see page 198).
He also taunted Hillary Clinton with the story that her campaign had planted a question at a public appearance. "Obama was enjoying himself, too, at Hillary's expense. He and his advisers took no small pleasure in the planted question story..at town halls, Obama would slyly mock Clinton" by challenging the audience to ask him any question they want (page 160). Then, of course, there was his mocking comment after she was asked about her likeability "You're likeable enough Hillary." Afterwards, Hillary "marveled, yet again, at the insufferability of Obama's arrogance" (page 180).
He also was offended when John McCain called him out for hypocrisy. Obama had agreed to work with McCain and others on both sides of the aisle for a bipartisan initiative on ethics. Obama had attended a meeting with the bipartisan group but then backed away, neglecting to call McCain to inform him of his decision to instead side with a Democratic version of ethics legislation. McCain was offended at what he considered both a betrayal and rudeness and objected that Obama was just exploiting the issue for political gain. Obama retorted to his staff, "I'm not interested in being bitch-slapped by John McCain" (pages 324-325). This is just one example of Barack Obama's use of profanity revealed in the book - apparently the master of rhetoric and one of the great orators of our time is not reluctant to swear-including the "F-Word."
When the financial crisis hit before election day and both McCain and Obama flew to Washington to meet with President Bush and Congressional leaders to discuss what needed to be done, "Obama was annoyed at having to be there rather than preparing for the debate" (page 387). Obama being annoyed and irritated and peevish are not uncommon occurrences.
So much for a new kind of politics. No politics of joy here.
Running throughout the book is the pass that major media continually gave Barack Obama. All these instances of his conduct and revelations of his feeling bored, fatigued, irritated, annoyed were readily available real time in 2008. Instead the media fell into line and refused to report. Even now we see the same bias in play: why have none of these revelations about Barack Obama been covered by any of the many reviews of this best-selling book?
As people read this book - and it is compulsively readable - they should ask themselves the same question: why does Barack Obama always get a pass from the media -- always?
That's the weasel in the White House alright.
....emerging?....he wore all those and more before he campaigned.
Guy is into the office for the parties and nothing else.
After Bus/Clinton made remarks the other day. Zero trudged to the podium. He couldn’t even remember the net address of the Relief org they were pushing.
He shuffled through papers until he finally found it.
Talk about disinterested, lazy and downright embarassing this guy is as Pres.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find only things evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelogus
He shoved the Haiti thing to everyone else already.
He's like a mole...now you see him...now you don't.
exactly what I thought when I saw the title.
“Arrogant, bored, peeved, incompetent commie?” The one thing people are missing here is that he will turn over the running of the country to his Czars and go on with his golf games and vacations. So who knows what faces us in the future? He has to be shut down and the best way to do it is in 2010. If we can last that long.
He watched Clinton seem to sail through, but billyboy didn't really give a sh*t about anything as long as he had his drugs and got his nookie. Bush labored at it but he faced real problems, not teapot tempests like Obama has, and he was hounded relentlessly by domestic enemies including Obama himself. Reagan made it look easy, but Reagan was a man.
Obama is a chickensh*t who just can't cut the mustard.
Mr. Strickland: “You got a real attitude problem, Barry. You’re a slacker. You remind me of your father when he went here. He was a slacker, too.”
His Arrogancy. This man is not fit to be a leader of anything.
Hasn’t some woman who followed him as president of the Harvard Law Review pretty much said all of the same things? He was basically a figurehead who did no work. Of course ,she didn’t mention any of this until AFTER the election.
He keeps reminding me of Chance in the movie “Being There”. Obama is the proverbial empty suit.
Hey, give Hussein a break. After all, he signed on to RULE, not to govern!
Sounds like a one-termer to me.
Obama is the gift that keeps on giving that will set back the liberals of this country years. We had one term Carter who looks good compared to Obama. Clinton was smarter then Carter and Obama put together because he moved to the center when the 1994 election was over and Republicans took over.
He reminds me of a spoiled little brat who wants everything handed to them and work for nothing. All he wants to do is play at President.
In my opinion Obama will get worse not better after Pelosi is ousted and sent to the unemployment line in Nov 2010 along with Reid. He won’t be able to handle it and the amount of golf he plays will increase along with the number of days spent outside the White House. If he runs for a second term, I will be shocked.
Media was ‘had’ big time in their lust for the first black President who was a Democrat liberal. They ignored all the warning signs to push you were racist if you didn’t support Obama.
My prediction this Country is not going to try that experiment again. No more candidates that are not fully vetted with little to no experience. Obama has always been a quitter when the going gets tough, and he has to take a stand which is why he voted ‘present’ so much. If Obama could take the trappings of office with him, he would leave rather then have to work. Who is the shadow President? Emanuel, Axelrod, Jarrett, or ...? It is obvious that Obama is a spectator except when he gets mad.
Maybe the authors of this book know what they are talking about and it is not all spin and lies that has been alleged by some people.
Yes! And if the press investigated him as much as they did Sarah Palin they would have discovered that as well.
But then the MSM was in Obama’s pocket from the get go.
“As people read this book - and it is compulsively readable - they should ask themselves the same question: why does Barack Obama always get a pass from the media — always?”
(1) he’s “the One”
(2) he’s a dem
(3) he’s AA, and the msm wanted to be part of the story
(4) msm wanted to be part of history
(5) msm didn’t want to expose “the One” as the Empty Suit?.....
He & Michelle like the FREEBEES.
Chance of “Being There”....Yes, it’s been said many times.
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