Message: I Don't Care
Towards the end of last week's Ricochet podcast, we discussed the listlessness of President Obama's recent speeches, which have been uninventive and soporific in equal measure. After hearing the president's remarks at various spots throughout North Carolina, however, boring is starting to look pretty good by comparison.
The president is in the Tar Heel State on the newest installment of his bus tour, aimed at showing that the president empathizes with everyday Americans and shares the economic populism of the "Occupy Wall Street" movement. With that in mind, it's curious that the president has been trotting out the following lines:
"Now, as you may have noticed, I came here on a plane. It’s a pretty nice plane."
"There are some pretty good golf courses down here."
"I must admit I'm traveling not in the usual RV. The bus we got parked outside is -- Secret Service did a full going over, so it's decked out pretty good."
"I was watching the football game last night, and they had some ad that didn’t really make much sense."
Look, I don't begrudge the president the perks associated with his job, but this is ludicrous. Can anyone imagine Bill Clinton -- the paragon of populism on demand -- heading to Appalachia in the midst of an economic malaise to boast about his plane, his custom bus, and his golf game? And all this while the First Lady stands accused of running up multi-million dollar vacation tabs at taxpayer expense? The president would do well to stick to the script; at least until he figures out that empathy requires going a little easier on the use of the first-person singular.
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Comments :
Re: Message: I Don't Care
The Obama couple conduct themselves in the manner of the nouveaux riches -- lots of tasteless display and arrogance galore. If the Republicans had any moxie, they would go after this big time.
Dec '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
The sad fact is that he really, in his heart of hearts, believes he deserves all the perks of the position. Washington had to be talked into the job, I fear what it may take to talk Obama out of it even after he's been voted out of it.
Mar '11
Re: Message: I Don't Care
They need to get him a new teleprompter - one with empathy ;-)
Apr '11
Re: Message: I Don't Care
If we promise him the Harvard presidency or head of the U.N. would he just go away.
I would gladly help him get a PGA card so he could go on tour and fail there.
We wouldn't be harmed as a nation so badly only the game of golf would suffer.
Mar '11
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Gee, I dunno... I'm having a hard time squaring your perceptions with this reality.
Dec '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
I bet she had herself submerged in a vat of Purell® after that photo op.
Jun '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Darn it all, I've been to Target 3 times in the past 4 days, and nobody's taken MY picture!
The King Prawn
I bet she had herself submerged in a vat of Purell® after that photo op. · Oct 18 at 12:17pm
Aug '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
He was touted as a brilliant politician, but in fact he is tin-eared. In music, we call it "tone deaf."
Aug '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Don't you figure that is nothing more than a staged photo-op?
Aug '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
We "normal" people find it hard to believe either option: (1) he is so obtuse in his narcissism, that he actually imagines people want to hear anything he wants to share about his wonderful life (yet who hasn't known people who truly were not capable of talking about anything but themselves); or (2) in some perverse way, this is part of a plan to destroy (I know it sounds crazy but if you think about the past two years and the wrecking they have achieved, there is much of it that we would have deemed insane before it actually happened - think passing an economy-assailing bill against the will of at least 70% of the people).
My liberal brother is visiting and I notice in discourse with him a pointed absence of the name Obama; I should raise it but haven't the stamina. I guess I just assume he is disappointed and really am not into I told you so but, dammit, I did!
Dec '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Obama's behavior reminds me of the bath scene in the beginning of Coming to America.
May '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Songwriter
Don't you figure that is nothing more than a staged photo-op? · Oct 18 at 1:12pm
Obviously they didn't realize that Target management is anti-union and conservative (even though the company was originally founded by Dayton-Hudson and the Daytons were liberals)
Jan '11
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Everything about Obama says that he doesn't care. He can't be bothered to stay in Washington and work with anyone. He doesn't bother to pretend about civility (Remember Tucson's lecture? Yeah. Me neither.) He doesn't listen to his military about troop levels. He doesn't listen to his own lawyers about gun programs that went bad. He doesn't listen to the women who say he pays no attention to them.
Work together? Kidding me, right?
The "party of compassion" is lately nothing more than the party that wants government to just take care of all those pesky poor people. Throw as much money as we have at them, but please don't get us involved.
The conceit of saying that government is "expert" is that gives you an excuse for not getting involved. The more you don't want to get private citizens involved (the word is ... charity), the more you promote government as social experts. Let Washington take care of them.
As the Mel Brooks character said, the peasants are revolting.
That has two meanings.
Edited on Oct 18, 2011 at 4:09pmJul '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
A new book out says you can blame it all on father-hunger.
Mar '11
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Songwriter
Don't you figure that is nothing more than a staged photo-op? · Oct 18 at 1:12pm
Photo-op? C'mon... where do you think the DiGiorno's she cooks up for dinner come from?
Aug '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Casey
Songwriter
Don't you figure that is nothing more than a staged photo-op? · Oct 18 at 1:12pm
Photo-op? C'mon... where do you think the DiGiorno's she cooks up for dinner come from? · Oct 19 at 5:54am
More important - Where does she buy hubby's smokes?
May '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Surely the President has already his doctor check for an obvious case of Auris Stannum, which explains why both of them are completely unable to discern the public mood.
Mar '11
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Songwriter
Casey
Songwriter
Don't you figure that is nothing more than a staged photo-op? · Oct 18 at 1:12pm
Photo-op? C'mon... where do you think the DiGiorno's she cooks up for dinner come from? · Oct 19 at 5:54am
More important - Where does she buy hubby's smokes? · Oct 19 at 7:59am
Probably South Carolina... I hear their cigarette tax is pretty low... and as you know, every penny counts in these tough economic times.
Aug '10
Re: Message: I Don't Care
Casey
Songwriter
Casey
Songwriter
Don't you figure that is nothing more than a staged photo-op? · Oct 18 at 1:12pm
Photo-op? C'mon... where do you think the DiGiorno's she cooks up for dinner come from? · Oct 19 at 5:54am
More important - Where does she buy hubby's smokes? · Oct 19 at 7:59am
Probably South Carolina... I hear their cigarette tax is pretty low... and as you know, every penny counts in these tough economic times. · Oct 19 at 9:32am
Ha. Makes sense to me.