At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Peter has already discussed Bret Stephens' brutal piece in the Journal today, in which he argues President Obama just isn't that smart. But I think that our own Bill McGurn has the column you need to read. In it, he points out how deep the similarities are between Obama and President Carter. It begins with this howler:
In a polarized nation, on the eve of another divisive contest for the White House, those seeking a unified America are not without hope. For amid the partisan bickering, there remains one principle on which all Americans are agreed: Any comparison to Jimmy Carter is always and everywhere a put-down.
I love that. Bill shows how Democrats have now started making the Carter comparisons, including Maureen Dowd, Eric Alternman and Zbigniew Brzezinski.
What I didn't know, and I'll chalk this up to my age, is that Carter himself used to be hailed as the "intelligent outsider who was going to clean up Washington and forever change American politics." McGurn goes through all the elite treatment of Carter and it's shocking how similar it was to Obama. Here was my favorite:
Then there's realist theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. During the 2008 campaign, Mr. Obama proved his intellectual chops when, in response to a question about Niebuhr from a New York Times columnist, he replied, "I love him. He's one of my favorite philosophers." The column went on to describe Mr. Obama's campaign as "an attempt to thread the Niebuhrian needle."
Alas, even here Jimmy Carter got there first. The frontispiece of his campaign biography "Why Not the Best" features one of his favorite quotations from Niebuhr: "The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world." Scotty Reston duly noted Mr. Carter's admiration for Niebuhr in a Times column written when the future President Obama was just 14 years old.
I can't be the only one who is laughing here. But isn't it fascinating that it's not just Obama's governing philosophy and style that conjures up memories of our favorite rabbit-attacked president but also the completely over-the-top praise each received from the media elites during their run for office?
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Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
The comparisons are apt in certain regards, but unjust to Carter. He gave us Paul Volcker at the Fed; and, after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, he began the military build-up that Reagan continued. I cannot think of anything good that Obama has done of comparable importance.
May '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Even hoping President Obama loses 2012 by a landslide, realizing Americans have taken the same stupid bet on such similar losers kind of hurts. Best case scenario, the nation backs away from the ledge only to elect Ezra Klein a generation hence?
I know, nothing new under the sun and all that, but still - depressing. Thanks a lot, Mollie!
Mar '11
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Even Walter Russell Mead fell for that Niebuhr nonsense with Obama. Sigh.
Dec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Seems to me that Mr Carter was a nuclear engineer from his time in the navy and, as such was considered very intelligent
Apr '11
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
I can hardly wait for the next President the Dems and the nomenclatura foist on us.
Jul '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
The Carter comparison has been made for quite some time now. I have a t-shirt with Obama's face that says "Welcome back, Carter!" from right after the election, and there were political cartoons comparing the Obama-McCain race to Carter-Ford months before the election. The only advantage Obama has over Carter is that Nature itself has not turned on him...yet.
Jan '11
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
To quote one of the great movie lines:
Apes don't read philosophy.
Yes, they do, Otto. They just don't understand it.
May '11
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Carter had (has!) the most seriously broken moral compass I have ever seen, but he was smart. He had actually done things in his life that demonstrated ability, before he became President. He ran a state and a business. He served in the military and was a nuclear engineer. President Obama - pardon me, President Chauncey Gardiner - has never done anything to demonstrate any intelligence or ability. His supposed "brilliance" was conferred on him by Oprah and her ilk, presumably with a tap of a sword on his shoulder. Too bad there isn't a book called "Being President For Dummies."
May '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Ha! It would be too funny. How would that happen with Obama? Instead of the killer swimming rabbit, my guess is that it would be a squirrel or chipmunk trying to climb up his leg while he is on the golf course.
Dec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Has anyone else considered the damage Carter has done as an ex-president and shuddered at the prospect of what Obama will do as one?
Jun '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
So what we are to learn here are: (1) beware any liberal politician who quotes Niebuhr (based on a sample of two) and (2) Neibuhr's heirs should sue Obama and Carter for sullying a decent man's reputation.
Jun '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
You forget. Obama may not be smart and he may not be experienced, but this is the man who is healing the planet and stopping the seas from rising. He's got Nature under control. Unless, of course, you live in the Red States in tornado alley--he allows Mother Nature to destroy the Republicans.
Dec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Someone had to do it.
Dec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
My attitude towards Obama has evolved. When the 08 campaign got started it was "I'd rather have him than Hillary". As the massive media spin began to pick up, it became "maybe Hillary wouldn't be so bad after all". After he took office, it moved on to "I would definitely have preferred Hillary". From there it went to "I blame this on Rush and Hannity and the gang - for all of their bloviating about how bad it would be under Obama, they failed to tell us just how bad it would be". I now think Carter would be doing a much better job. And I'm fearful for just how badly he will screw things up for our country before we can get him out of there.
And in response to The King Prawn's post in #13 - does anyone have a Holy Hand Grenade?
Edited on Aug 9, 2011 at 8:20amDec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Sorry, I have to disagree. The man is intelligent. He is just unimaginably destructively foolish. There is no wisdom on the Left because there is no God there. The very definition of hell, as we're witnessing.
Dec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Please people, that's nukular engineer. He was a nukular engineer. Just ask him.
Aug '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
He had to start the military build-up once the news got out that our fighter jets in Europe had to be chained to the ramp because they lacked engines and were in danger of blowing away. The 'Hollow Force' became exposed and to restore credibility, he had to start spending money.
When I attended Squadron Officer's School in 1995, I heard a tale attributed to John Warden (the architect of the Air Campaign in the first Gulf War). According to Warden a study was once accomplished to determine the effect of President Carter's demand for energy effeciency at the Pentagon (Carter had the Pentagon turn off all of the escalators) the result was a measurable drop in effeciency of about 25%. Warden used the tale to describe the complex systems theory he used to craft his air-centric strategy for Iraq.
Dec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
His navy bio leaves me less than impressed with his service as a "nuclear engineer." He was only in the nuclear program for about a year and never served on a sea going nuclear submarine. Even now that is not enough time to complete the training to be a junior officer assigned to a nuclear submarine. Also, being a nuke in the navy has the same connotation as being a "wonk" in Washington. There's some culture there that is hard put into 200 words, so wonk is as close to common vernacular as I can get.
Jul '11
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
Oh, King Prawn, it's a horrifying prospect. I alluded to it in my comment to Professor Rahe's excellent post last night. Obama's still very popular in much of the world, and his stature of being an ex-President will give him an unparalleled platform to cause mischief. Carter's traitorous (too strong? I'm not sure) actions in the past few years, most notably undercutting GWB's Iraq policy, provide only a taste of what difficulties Obama will instigate for his successors.
A worrisome scenario was offered by Western Chauvinist: "... if he has a bigger, more ego-inflating, position to look forward to... UN Secretary General. King of the World!!" But at least the UN is a remarkably inefficient organization, so the evil it inflicts upon the world is somewhat less than it could be. A bloviator like him in charge would only make a less effective body. So there is an upside!
Edited on Aug 9, 2011 at 9:36amDec '10
Re: At This Point In Obama's Presidency, We Just Wait For The Killer Rabbits
The King Prawn
His navy bio leaves me less than impressed with his service as a "nuclear engineer." He was only in the nuclear program for about a year and never served on a sea going nuclear submarine. Even now that is not enough time to complete the training to be a junior officer assigned to a nuclear submarine. Also, being a nuke in the navy has the same connotation as being a "wonk" in Washington. There's some culture there that is hard put into 200 words, so wonk is as close to common vernacular as I can get. · Aug 9 at 8:53am
Thanks for your sacrifice, KP. I hope your eyes stop stinging soon after reading Carter's navy bio. I had no idea.
So Carter is a nukular engineer the way a guy who pilots a locomotive is an engineer? I've gone all these years thinking he went through a rigorous four-year engineering program. That's what I get for taking the Left's words at face value.