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What Obama Grasps, and Glenn Beck Doesn't
American Thinker ^ | 12/15/2011 | Peter Heck

Posted on 12/15/2011 7:34:36 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Here's something I never thought I would type: Barack Obama gets it, and Glenn Beck doesn't seem to.

During his recent interview with 60 Minutes, Obama was asked by CBS reporter Steve Kroft how the president sized up the field of Republicans vying to be his opponent in 2012. Obama's answer was candid and refreshingly accurate: "It doesn't really matter who the nominee is gonna be," he said. "The core philosophy that they're expressing is the same. And the contrast in visions between where I want to take the country and what -- where they say they want to take the country is gonna be stark."

The president couldn't be more right in that assessment -- a reality that I think is lost on many of us who are political junkies. Those for whom the world of politics is either our livelihood or at least an obsessive hobby tend to view issues through a different lens and apply a level of detailed inspection to them that average citizens simply do not.

For instance, my wife and I watched the recent Republican presidential debate in Iowa together. She cares about her country and the direction it's going, but she's not the least bit interested in following the day-to-day drama of the presidential horse race. In fact, this was the first primary debate she has seen this year.

As the debate was unfolding, I noticed a remarkable difference in the way we perceived it. I was being hypercritical of certain responses or question-dodging, yet she was constantly saying things like "That was a good point," or "I like him," or "He knows his stuff." When the debate was over, her comment was, "This is going to be hard, isn't it?"

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: beck; glennbeck; obama
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To: douginthearmy

That is not an intellectually honest answer. It is a cop out, voting “present” on an issue that has been determined a proven fraud.

Gingrich’s statement on global warming is even more disturbing than I thought. I know that Gingrich as the intellectual capacity to understand a purposeful fraud when he see it, but he doesn’t have the capacity to admit that he made an error in judgement.


41 posted on 12/15/2011 11:29:53 AM PST by Eva
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To: skeeter

Nonsense the Republican party elites are more interested in going along to get along. I am energized by Newt Gingrinch’s attitude towards the MSM but have questions/serious doubts with regard to his attitude that govt. as God progressivism.


42 posted on 12/15/2011 11:42:18 AM PST by Nebr FAL owner (.308 reach out & thump someone .50 cal.Browning Machine gun reach out & crush someone)
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To: griswold3

Sadly I must agree with you . Both parties are more interested in getting power for the sake of having power . The term for state controlled capitalism is Fascism & we are on the fast track to becoming Mussolini’s Italy .


43 posted on 12/15/2011 11:46:25 AM PST by Nebr FAL owner (.308 reach out & thump someone .50 cal.Browning Machine gun reach out & crush someone)
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To: Eva
an issue that has been determined a proven fraud

The National Academy of Sciences disagrees with you and Newt pointing that out is not a copout. If you don't like Newt that's fine, I was just pointing out that he doesn't believe in global warming as you asserted. If you find his position too nuanced, I am not going to defend him against you. As my tagline indicates, I am still undecided. I do believe his position is intellectually honest and not a copout.

44 posted on 12/15/2011 12:21:31 PM PST by douginthearmy (Still undecided.)
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To: BelegStrongbow

I have been listening to Cabuto interviewing persons as to tonight’s debate in Sioux City. There is one pounding question or obscurity in my mind as to all the talk. That is, what do these people wanting to be POTUSA believe the USA’s position in the world should be in order to reset/maintain the exceptional society of people envisioned by the Founders? I hear a lot of mechanics type talk about the nuts-n-bolts of government such as taxes, immigration, foreign trade and this is very appropriate. However, I don’t recall any of the candidates to date explaining what and why these have meaning to the Founder’s belief for an exceptional Nation in a world of other nations. I want to make a decision for a person who understands that the USA contrary to Obama and his enablers still has the opportunity, means, and spirit to be the shining beacon of civilization with all it’s complexities today. I do think Trump has come closer to presenting the situation but I am looking for others. Perhaps West is one such person.


45 posted on 12/15/2011 2:30:07 PM PST by noinfringers2
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To: BelegStrongbow

I have been listening to Cabuto interviewing persons as to tonight’s debate in Sioux City. There is one pounding question or obscurity in my mind as to all the talk. That is, what do these people wanting to be POTUSA believe the USA’s position in the world should be in order to reset/maintain the exceptional society of people envisioned by the Founders? I hear a lot of mechanics type talk about the nuts-n-bolts of government such as taxes, immigration, foreign trade and this is very appropriate. However, I don’t recall any of the candidates to date explaining what and why these have meaning to the Founder’s belief for an exceptional Nation in a world of other nations. I want to make a decision for a person who understands that the USA contrary to Obama and his enablers still has the opportunity, means, and spirit to be the shining beacon of civilization with all it’s complexities today. I do think Trump has come closer to presenting the situation but I am looking for others. Perhaps West is one such person.


46 posted on 12/15/2011 2:30:40 PM PST by noinfringers2
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To: Eva
No offense to you or your brother, but from what I remember from my IQ tests, there's little content that had to do with looking at a bunch of controversial data (eg climate stats) and drawing an unemotional conclusion from those stats. Similarly with looking at social problems and developing sensible plans to mitigate them.

I don't think any FR posters would make the case that the bulk of the members of the Obama camp are IQ challenged, and their own claims are that they have tested much higher than at least the GWB team, if not 90% of America. They do, however as a group seem to have less common sense than any group heretofore.

And again, speaking from my personal experience, the folks I've dealt with who were identified as such or professed to possess significantly higher than normal IQ, without exception made day to day decisions and held opinions which seemed at odds with a high IQ.

If your brother is better capable, your entire family is fortunate.

Others have not seemed so.

The ones I personally know are not so fortunate, and in the case of the the brainiacs in the Ob camp, we are all worse off for it.

47 posted on 12/15/2011 3:45:21 PM PST by CanuckYank
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To: CanuckYank

The IQ test is a test of rational thinking ability. That’s deductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is what you use to conclude that phony data is not proof of any scientific theory.


48 posted on 12/15/2011 4:23:29 PM PST by Eva
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To: Eva
One last attempt then I concede to to you:

“Deductive reasoning (which is what you use to conclude that phony data is not proof of any scientific theory)” will ONLY allow one to make that conclusion if the high than IQ is balanced with/offset by an appropriate level of common sense and/or “unemotionalness”, which by my admittedly anecdotal experiences is NOT guaranteed.

To be specific, high IQ acquaintances of mine subscribe to such drivel as global warming; giving some people other people's money; political correctness; amnesty for illegals; conservatives are all evil, cold hearted villains and the US should ask other nations why they are mad at us and change our behavior to accommodate them.

49 posted on 12/15/2011 5:16:48 PM PST by CanuckYank
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To: CanuckYank

What you fail to realize is that a lot of very smart people are “end justifies the means” communists for whom communism holds the promise of control and power. Global warming is nothing but political scheme to gain control of people in rural areas around the world.


50 posted on 12/15/2011 6:23:49 PM PST by Eva
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To: SeekAndFind

If more people thought like Beck, we wouldn’t be getting ready to eat the cr@p sandwich that the Republican elite are fixing to serve up for you.


51 posted on 12/15/2011 6:25:15 PM PST by itsahoot (Throw them all out! Especially the Frugal Socialists who call themselves Republicans.)
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To: Eva

You get gold stars for THAT particular posting regarding the last statement.

Relative to kool-aid consumption, I suspect there are BOTH ends of the IQ spectrum represented in the GW proponents. ALL are WRONG and MANY are motivated by thirst for CONTROL over others.


52 posted on 12/19/2011 8:52:39 AM PST by CanuckYank
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