Obama’s Political Tin Ear

Then: “There are times where you can afford to redecorate your house, and there are times where you need to focus on rebuilding the foundation," Obama said in early 2009.

When it comes to President Barack Obama’s political tin ear and inability to feel voters’ pain, truly it’s an embarrassment of riches.

The federal deficit, well in excess of $1 trillion, speaks volumes; but it lacks the immediacy of, say, last May’s Gulf Coast scenes of Obama, alone on the beach, limply picking up tar balls, as BP’s burst oil well was gushing and ruining lives; or the First Lady’s luxurious vacation in Spain this summer.

And now we have the very relatable Oval Office redecoration, costing tens of thousands of dollars, at a time when the federal budget is drowning in red ink and most Americans would be hard-pressed to replace carpets and sofas still having good wear left in them, let alone buy fancy wallpaper from the Hamptons.

And while the work was paid for by the White House Historical Association, it’s naïve to think the “quid” for the “quo” of an Oval Office makeover will cost taxpayers not a dime. But even positing utmost rectitude, the lack of frugality when America is approaching bankruptcy is incomprehensible.

Bill and Hillary Clinton already spent an estimated $337,000 in the 1990s to refurbish the Oval Office — along with the East Room, Blue Room, State Dining Room, Lincoln Bedroom, and Lincoln Sitting Room, with the assistance of Arkansas decorator Kaki Hockersmith.

This work, also paid for with private money, required counsel’s approval, given obvious conflict of interest concerns, and, in fact, as the New York Times noted back then, generated an angry letter from then Deputy Counsel Vince Foster to the White House Usher’s Office on what he believed was the unfair politicization of the cost, shortly before he was found dead at Fort Marcy.

But then redecorating the White House has generated controversy since the dawn of the republic — now more than ever given our nation’s extreme indebtedness.

And just what should our national priorities be? Since Obama is so inept at properly projecting them, it’s helpful to consider remarks by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), poised to be next speaker of the House, to the American Legion.

After noting our nation, particularly our troops, have paid dearly during nine years of war, Boehner reflected: “We have serious decisions to make regarding our path forward, and these decisions will be made in an environment in which we borrow 41 cents of every dollar we spend. This means we must focus on working together to identify our national security priorities and ensure our continued military and economic superiority.”

Quite simply, the test for spending, knowing it puts America more deeply in debt, making us correspondingly more vulnerable to our enemies, should be: Is this spending essential to national security? Fancy new Oval Office digs clearly don’t qualify.

As Obama himself said in February 2009, upon release of his first budget: “There are times where you can afford to redecorate your house, and there are times where you need to focus on rebuilding the foundation.”

If only they had stuck to Michelle’s organic garden, including beehives installed on the South Lawn, a White House first, to supply organic produce and honey. Instead, they’ve supplied rich material for comedians and bloggers (Arianna Huffington dubbed the first family’s redecorating efforts “The Audacity of Taupe” recently). Not to mention both Republican congressional candidates and Democrats in hyper-distancing mode.

Mary Claire Kendall's articles have appeared in the NY Daily News, New York Post, Washington Examiner, National Review Online, Human Events Online, the Daily Caller, Big Hollywood, On Patrol (USO magazine) and VFW Magazine, among many other publications. Visit her Website at www.maryclairecinema.com.

Barry doesn't have 'tin ear', he calculates what he does and leaves it to others to make excuses for he and his expensive sweetie, and his followers are always ready with an excuse. Just like Clinton before him, Barry has no respect whatsoever for the Oval Office. The difference is, Clinton didn't want you to know that, keeping it an inside joke what he used the office for.

Barry wants everyone to know he has no respect for anything to do with America and/or the Whitehouse. Turning it into a typical dimwit den says "screw you" clearly to all who are looking, especially adding quotes from socialists in his flawed little rug.

I think he has an ear to approximately 12 advisers. A couple actually occupy positions within the White House, but the bulk of them are people that you wouldn’t typically meet on the street or ever associate with. Seventy-five percent of us would have issues with the topics that they’d bring up in conversation.

These dozen are the only folks that matter. If you notice these open forums or public settings....he acts like he listens but never does...or he sharply lets the public members know that “America needs” something and just moves the topic to his already discussed points from the dozen advisers.

Obama has said he would rather be a really good one term president than a mediocre two term president.

Of course, you have to be liberal/radical to say that you think he’s done a really great job.

If he pushes America down the road to socialism, he may feel he’s done what he needs to do. He wants to “transform” America, as he’s said many times.

While most politicians want to be re-elected, he may feel that he can “take one for the team” in 2012, be defeated, but having put in place new laws and policies which will have transformed the country.

He might even be looking forward to his post-presidential years. When he sees the respect and awe accorded to former presidents such as Carter and Clinton, and the millions he and Michelle will make when he’s done being president, he may actually look forward to losing in 2012.

Carter is widely seen as a one-term failure, but he has never really gone away. Carter could be Obama’s role model in that regard.

Barry wants everyone to know he has no respect for anything to do with America and/or the Whitehouse.

It was all there to see during the elections.....

.....But people refused to see it.

The voters had a tin ear, not the other way around.

Barry hasn't changed a bit, he has always been singing the same bad tune.

".....But people refused to see it."

People were, for propaganda induced or their own childish reasons, willing to vote for him, whine about the alternatives and stay home, or just pretend that it didn't matter and a change was worth a try. Somehow, a huge percentage of the population ignored the fact that they were gambling with the nations' future and more selfishly, their children's' futures.

Gambling with really high stakes is usually associated with your basic degenerate gambler who is in real need of serious help. Maybe the fact that Barry is bound to make things worse when he punishes us all for tossing out his playmates in Congress will increase the pain enough to make people finally realize what they're really doing when they vote or ignore voting. I hope the gamblers are getting a sufficient dose of shock therapy because this is our last chance to turn around.

Regards

I hope the gamblers are getting a sufficient dose of shock therapy because this is our last chance to turn around.

I think enough are shocked to turn the POTUS around, but I don't think enough are shocked to turn things completely around.

With the legal time bombs and booby traps the RATS have been setting, we will need a very strong conservative legislative push to rid us of these bad laws.

The conservative legislation will have to wait until after 2012 unless we have VETO proof majorities who are strongly conservative. I don't see that happening.

The legal effects of conservative legislation will have a lag of a year or two after they are signed into law before they can be truly effective.

Honestly, I think our last chance was before Obama was elected. It's like stepping in quick sand. Your last chance is to avoid it altogether.

"Honestly, I think our last chance was before Obama was elected. It's like stepping in quick sand. Your last chance is to avoid it altogether."

Can't argue that, it's just that "I'm not an optimist but I play one on TV" as they say. We're going to pay an awful lot more for the gamblers among us taking this risk than most people realize. That's what you get when people are so out of touch with reality. I see us turning around eventually, it's mainly a matter of what methods it will take to do the turning that will determine the ultimate cost of having let this SOB take the helm.

Only a large majority of the people recognizing how much has to be dismantled both inside and outside of government in order to recover could make things happen quickly. As of now, how many are really ready to admit that the entire democrat fascist machine and all of it's tentacles is corrupt rather than blaming just a few? Until there are sufficient committed numbers to make change unstoppable, things will move very slowly, and the more slowly things move the more likely it becomes that nontraditional methods will be employed. JMHO, of course and I've been wrong before.

Regards

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