President Obama and Common Sense

Townhall.com ^ | February 6, 2010 | Bill O'Reilly

[Kaslin]

A few months ago, I wrote an article for Parade magazine about what President Obama could teach America's kids. Basically, the piece told children that despite having no father present and a rather loopy mom, the president was able to prosper and achieve the most powerful position in the world. If young Barry Obama could overcome his chaotic upbringing (which included a stint in Indonesia), most American kids in difficult circumstances can do the same.

There is no question that Obama is a brilliant man. After graduating from Harvard Law, he worked his way up the political ladder quickly, using Chicago's South Side as a launching pad. That's tough turf, so Obama had to combine book smarts with guile, which he did.

And so it is simply stunning to see how poorly Obama is faring in the common sense zone as president. The best example of his failure to anticipate trouble is how he's handling Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

I remember sitting there with some friends in New York City last November when Attorney General Eric Holder announced that old Khalid would be leaving Guantanamo Bay and heading for the Big Apple to be tried by civilians instead of by a military tribunal. We looked at one another incredulously. Is Obama joking? Doesn't he know how raw emotions still are in the city? And then the expense estimates began rolling in -- it would take hundreds of millions of dollars to try Mohammed and four other al-Qaida thugs.

Then I was reminded that Congress had passed a law specifically allowing captured overseas terrorists to be judged by the military. Since a military trial would cost about $39.95 a day (participants are already on the federal payroll), why on earth would anyone OK an incredibly expensive dog and pony show for these murderers?

Remember, Mohammed already admitted to planning 9/11 and gave up his confederates in the effort, most of whom, upon capture, confirmed that he was Mr. Big. Also, Mohammed says he personally slit the throat of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. He has admitted doing this. So why are we wasting time?

Holder says it's because we want the world to see the U.S. justice system on display. Again, why? The people who hate us are not going to change their minds because a jury condemns the terrorists to death instead of military officers. Do Holder and the president not get that?

Polls show that most Americans realize the Mohammed decision is stupid. Now big-time Democrats like Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer have publicly told the president to wise up. And he has. Last Friday, the White House announced it was looking at other venues. Swell.

But why was this deal allowed to get out of control? That is very troubling. If Obama is so smart, why did he not realize the absurdity of the situation?

At this point, I simply don't know.

[ripley]

It’s amazing that Mr. Obama is a brilliant man,
Mr. Biden is a brilliant man, Democrats in congress are
divinely brilliant creatures, all leftists are absolutely intellectual, but all the people in flyover country are doltish, gun-loving, stupid, ignorant, Christian boobs and Sarah Palin is a dumb broad.

One hopes that leftists, this November, will get to stick their double-standard, adolescent, psychotic punkery where the sun doesn’t shine. (Liberal scu&bags all)

IMHO

[Just A Nobody]

BOR’s remarks about Obama’s “brilliance” reveal nothing as much as how stupid BOR is.
BOR is really willfully ignorant.

Needed repeating!

Why ANYONE watches or pays any attention, at all, to this moron is beyond me. If FReepers would stop watching his program his ratings would be in the crapper where they belong.

[PeaRidge]

Obama is brilliant, but manifested in ways that most mistake as stupidity because they fail to recognize his real agenda.

If you are attempting to cause public loss of trust simultaneously in all three of the government branches and the voting system itself, then the brilliance of the disestablishment of our fundamental government structure is seen by most of the trusting public as a series of mistakes and ill designed leadership actions rather than being seen for what they are....extremely audacious and intentional destructive actions under the guise of whatever he thinks the masses will believe are altruistic efforts at normal governance.

[NCjim]

There is no question that Obama is a brilliant man.

Wrong.

[Palmetto Patriot]

Holder says it's because we want the world to see the U.S. justice system on display. Again, why?

It's the Agenda, stupid!

[niteowl77]

"There is no question that Obama is a brilliant man."

Whenever I hear "there is no question that..." preceding what can only be someone's opinion, I immediately question it. In this particular case, it has been a very useful meme for Obama: an insidious propaganda tool, rather than a harmless non-sequitur.

O'Reilly is what he is, and I don't expect much from him, but when Republicans and/or conservatives play this particular "brilliant" card, I want to either vomit or kick their ass.

Mr. niteowl77

[Mobties]

“I don’t think BOR pays enough attention to what Beck has to say.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I'm not the best one to judge BOR because I can't stomach his cocksure smugness long enough to really get into the show. When I do tune in, it seems the guests whose opinions I value ( e.g. Karl Rove, Dick Morris) are gritting their teeth while BOR lurches off on a nonsensical tangent. Then again, they get paid to sit there and endure his nonsense on stilts. I don't.

[TalBlack]

Bill, Obama is a visible sign of the INSTUTIONALIZED lying (versus formerly merely personal)of our degraded Culture.

WHY you believe he accomplished anything is another.

Obozo is a clown nobody who, 50 years ago, would be exactly nowhere based upon his own expended effort. Anyone claiming that he was “brilliant” would have been, naturally, asked for proof. Of course his records would have been right out there in the first place. What ACTUAL PROOF went into forming YOUR opinion, Bill? (Remember, you used the word “brilliant”.)

[hennie pennie]

>>>> "Excuse me? Have you ever seen one Law Review paper written by this man? Have you seen anything other than his two books, written by others who can write? One of his professors said Barack was a lousy writer.....his syntax, grammar are saved by the Teleprompters...otherwise his choice of words reflect who he really is........." <<<<

I can't listen to him anymore; although the Left like to brag that he is a genius and so articulate, frankly to my ears, the only time he doesn't stammer is when he is reading the TOTUS.

And I can't listen to him reading anymore.

It's way too depressing.

ALL I can see in my mind's eye is Stanley Anne Dunham dragging her son out of bed at 4 a.m. to make him read aloud English language books -- and I believe that she was more concerned about his stammering than about his ability to speak English.

UHH uhn uh uh UhH unh unh uHH

I believe that "english lessons" or "my mother taught me english" was some weirded out regimen imposed by Stanley Ann each morning at 4 am due to her embarressment & fear about a likely childhood SPEECH IMPEDIMENT.

I can't listen, it all just reminds me of a nasty punitive parent, I don't buy what he or Billy Ayers wrote in the phoney autobiographies.

[Kaslin]

If you noticed at the end of the column BOR questions 0bama’s so-called brilliance. My question is, why did it take him so long to realize that 0bama is not as brilliant and smart as he thinks he is

[sergeantdave]

“There is no question that Obama is a brilliant man. “

Perhaps someone can draw up a list of all the “brilliant” things obuma has done. I’ll go into Rip Van Winkle mode waiting.

[Pollster1]

Well perhaps Bill, 0bama is not as brilliant and smart as you think he is

I've met several brilliant men, nationally recognized authorities who will go down in history for their genius. Every one of them proved their genius to me personally, in the course of routine discussion, without trying to show off, just by being their natural curious selves. I wonder if those who admire Obama for his dazzling intellect could point out a single example in which Obama demonstrates anything better than a slightly above average intelligence. There are two explanations for Obama rising to power so quickly, and only one of them involves intelligence on Obama's part.

[John-Irish]

This piece should come with a barf alert. Brilliant man? This guy’s so inarticulate he needs a tele-promter and he even screws that up. If he’s so ‘’brilliant’’ why won’t he release his college transcripts?

[MortMan]

(Channeling Karnak) Two things never seen in the same room. (/channeling Karnak)

[Big Horn]

I know house cleaners and truck drivers much more brilliant than Obama. Harvard or not.

[philman_36]

There is no question that Obama is a brilliant man. After graduating from Harvard Law, he worked his way up the political ladder quickly, using Chicago's South Side as a launching pad. That's tough turf, so Obama had to combine book smarts with guile, which he did.
Poor Bill, you're such a tool! You need to have guile on as your word of the day...
guile...deceitful cunning
(kind of like this statement of yours)

[b4its2late]

We don’t know how smart he is. No one has ever seen a transcript.

[John-Irish]

BOR’s a tool. He really likes Obama.

[John-Irish]

“He doesn’t learn’’. Does too! Obama say’s he campaigned in ‘’57 states’’. See? Betch’ ya didn’t know we had 57 states, huh? See how smart Obama is?:-)

[libertylover]

Dear Bill O’Reilly,

Why did President Obama want the trial in NY?

Because he knows a civilian trial would take years, expose classified methods used by the CIA and the FBI against terrorist and have these methods grossly distorted by a willing New York Times, and with the help of ACORN, generate huge anti-US and anti-Bush protests. In short he wants to turn the trial into a three year hate-fest against George W. Bush, Republicans, and capitalism in America.