Did he say that?

[WuDrWu]

Did the President of the United States of America really say......


"The Republicans can come along for the ride but they gotta sit in the back............."




Seriously Mr. President? To say nothing of you using "gotta" and trying to sound like you are "down with the brothas on da street", are you really going to be the first black President and use that analogy?


This guy, this man who in the words of more than one "pundit" is "off the charts smart, the smartest President of all time, sure sounds like an idiot to me.

[Maggie]

This is getting tiresome. He is a babbling about driving a car again? It is out of the ditch? I suppose the fact that Republicans get to ride in the car is “progress” of sorts, even if it is in the backseat. Do the Republicans get to drink their slurpees while in the car, or is that not allowed? And if they can’t take their slurpees with them, who is going to make sure they are properly disposed of? You can’t simply leave the slurpees on the side of the road. Can you?

Seriously, the President needs a new speechwriter. I would humbly suggest, as my one hiring criteria, that he seeks someone who doesn’t hang out to all hours of the night playing shirtless beer-pong at some bar.

[WuDrWu]

How about this one?


“If Latinos sit out the election instead of saying, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us,’ if they don’t see that kind of upsurge in voting in this election, then I think it’s gonna be harder and that’s why I think it’s so important that people focus on voting on November 2.”


Referring specifically to Republicans such as Senator John McCain, who formerly supported an overhual but now are stressing border security and supporting strict immigration laws like Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration measure, Mr. Obama said, “Those aren’t the kinds of folks who represent our core American values.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/in-appeal-to-hispanics-obama-promises-to-push-immigration-reform/

Ok, I don't represent core American values, fine, can someone tell me what core American values are these days?

I guess if core American values are waging class warfare, demonizing freedom, total fiscal irresponsibility, weakening American presence throughout the world, the unfettered ability to abort children supported and paid for by the American people/government and redistributing wealth, then I most certainly don't represent core American values.


And apparently I am an enemy, not someone with a different opinion, but an enemy....the President of the United States, not just of New York, Oregon, California etc...the blue states, but all of America has called me an enemy and "let's be clear" he called many of you enemies as well.

I don't think I would use the would tiresome, Maggie, although it is accurate. Disgraceful comes to mind.

I realize I am not a fan of the President, and I have said this before, but I expect him to be Presidential and this does not sound Presidential to me.

[Maggie]

I don't think I would use the would tiresome, Maggie, although it is accurate. Disgraceful comes to mind.

I realize I am not a fan of the President, and I have said this before, but I expect him to be Presidential and this does not sound Presidential to me.

I agree. Before, I was specifically referring to, and mocking, the hugely ineffective pushing-cars-out-of-ditches-sipping-slurpees-line. Dear speechwriters: You tried the line, it clearly doesn’t work, cut it out! You are making your boss look like a one note petty moron.

As for this enemies stuff: So the “Great Uniter” is race baiting again? No, this is not Presidential. He hasn’t been acting Presidential for a while – and I think it is hurting his party in this election. And as someone who wants the GOP to do well this November, I say keep doing it Mr. President; but as a citizen I want to have a little coming to Jesus with him.

But in any event, let me get this straight: The president accused the GOP of politicizing immigration reform, as a way to get out the liberal Latino vote, while making a political speech? I guess, maybe, the President and other liberals/progressives view the GOP and conservatives as enemies. What's surprising is that a Harvard graduate seems immune to the simple concept of irony.

His chief problem is this: President Obama’s arrogance got the better of him (hubris); he knew better than everyone and will now pay the price (nemesis). This is in large part a manifestation of the President’s own self-regard, a distorted sense of his own ability to mold events, and a conviction that garden-variety leftism is an appealing package = blinding "wisdom".

But it is worse than simply picking the wrong agenda items, a failure to communicate (the Democrats/White House still don’t seem to understand how idiotic this sounds) or refusing to temper his own ego. Obama’s ideological rigidity and policy preferences ran headlong into Americans’ skepticism about big government and their sense of moral outrage. The Tea Party is a movement grounded in the belief in limited government. But it was also born out of a sense that we have lost track of fundamental values - thrift, discipline, and humility, for starters - and as a result are seeing irresponsible spending, massive debt, and liberal statism.

Obama did not listen to the health-care town-hall attendees or to the voters of New Jersey, Virginia, or Massachusetts. Why should he? He didn’t pay attention to more sober-minded aides, polls, or his own nervous congressional allies. His absolute certainty in his own vision combined with his lack of understanding of the American polity and substantive policy (from economics to the Middle East). As his poll ratings and party’s electoral prospects continue to dive, he reacts with annoyance at the rubes in America who fail to appreciate his brilliance.

Exit question: Will such a President actually reverse course after an election? I have my doubts.

[WuDrWu]

This probably belongs elsewhere, but all this "polling" and election talk got me thinking about the electoral map and the likelihood of re-election for President Obama.

I will preface my comments by stating that all of this demands the Republicans put forth a viable candidate, something I do not believe is anywhere near a lock right now.


If the Republican candidate can hold the McCain states, and that looks promising, and can flip Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin (almost a mortal lock) Virginia, North Carolina and Florida (certainly doable) then it's an electoral tie and the winner would probably come from the following states, West Virginia (red), Nevada and Colorado (both blue last election). That isn't to say no other states are in play, but there would have to be a lot of movement in an unforeseen direction to make that happen.

And for kicks, in an electoral tie, I believe the vote goes to the incoming congress, where each of the 50 states gets one vote between their congressional delegation. Ties are not broken, they just keep at it and the VP could take over if needed from the Senate if the tie could not be broken. However, a quick count of states leads one to think that the Republican candidate would have a substantial edge should it come down to this vote.

[Maggie]

I know you know this but it is way too early to be talking about 2012. As we have witnessed over the past two years, the political landscape can change dramatically. The vacillation back and forth between the two parties is unlike anything I can remember. And don’t forget, the American public, generally speaking, is not enamored with the GOP….so as some pundits have pointed out the GOP will be on probation. But it is important the GOP tempers some expectations. Paul Ryan was interviewed by The American Spectator recently, about the limits of the strategy to defund ObamaCare and it is instructive:

Paul Ryan Sees Limits to Strategy of Defunding ObamaCare

Ryan says:

Obviously, I’m in favor of anything we can do to stop it, to halt it, but the problem we have is, he has to sign those bills. I get this question every single day, ‘If you take back Congress, you have the power of the purse, just defund the thing.’ Well, yeah, technically speaking, we can put riders in appropriations bills that say, ‘No such funds can go to HHS to do x, y, or z in implementing ObamaCare.’ He’s gotta sign those things. And he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who would sign those things. And so that means we go to a continuing resolution or something like that. So I see a lot of stalemate -- not over just whether we defund ObamaCare and cap and trade and FinReg or whatever -- because he’s not going to agree to our spending levels anyway. We’re going to cut spending way below where he would go. So I don’t see him signing our spending bills, which are the bills you’d have to pass into law to defund ObamaCare.

There is no more committed budget cutter on Capitol Hill than Ryan, which is why his words are worth taking into account for conservatives who, once Republicans retake the House (as I fully expect they will), insist that the GOP repair much of the damage President Obama has done. It won’t be easy - and conservatives should internalize that fact sooner rather than later. There are certain governing and political realities that cannot be wished away. Repealing ObamaCare is impossible so long as Obama sits in the Oval Office - and even defunding the Act is going to prove to be exceedingly difficult. Those in the conservative movement who set that up as the standard of success are setting themselves and their closest political allies up for failure.

An alternative conservative governing agenda to Obama should commit to repealing ObamaCare; that is an entirely reasonable demand to make. But insisting that this commitment be legislated into law within months of the GOP’s retaking control of the House is simply fanciful. So long as Obama is president, the best that conservatives may hope for between now and 2012 is to stop the leftward lurch that has occurred during the past 21 months. That would itself be a significant achievement. Cauterizing the wound of a bleeding patient counts for something.

Beyond that, next spring Ryan, as chairman of the House Budget Committee, will lay out an alternative to what Obama and Democrats have proposed. My guess is that it will be quite bold and ambitious. Still, what happens in 2011 needs to be seen as setting the stage for 2012. Ryan refers to this period as a “shadow boxing match” to the real fight -“2012,” Ryan says, “is the fight for the soul of America.”

The November 2 election will hopefully bring to Washington a large number of lawmakers who care more about the conservative cause than they do about a political career, who are skilled at tactics and strategy, and who are serious about reversing the trajectory of things. But the wise ones among them will also understand that the 2010 election results will probably set the stage for an intense, protracted, and at times frustrating struggle. Things rarely happen in politics as neatly, cleanly, and quickly as we like; this is in part the results of our Madisonian form of government.

So conservatives need to show some measure of maturity, sobriety, and patience. They cannot demand that everything be done all at once. They should not confuse lack of results (repealing or defunding ObamaCare) with lack of will.

[Maggie]

And now I have to get some actual work done.