Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
The clearest evidence yet that Obama is beatable in next year's presidential contest: A joke at the president's expense has appeared in Silicon Valley's flagship paper.
San Jose Mercury News columnist Mike Cassidy commenting on the president's town hall meeting with moderator and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg yesterday:
What a scene it was over there at Facebook. The most famous man in the free world on a high stool, sitting center stage. A guy who counts hundreds of millions among his subjects, a guy whose operation has helped topple governments, a guy who seems to be everywhere all at once, a guy who never sleeps. And sitting next to him, Barack Obama.
OK. Kidding. Kidding.
I hope that last graf is enough to stave off Cassidy's expulsion from the Church of Hope and Change.
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Jan '11
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
Yeah, but Obama's only one half of the equation. We also need a viable alternative.
Maybe we should accept the "hangover" from the excitement of Obama. The media went berserk promoting him, and touted him as most exciting guy in ages. And when it turned out that he couldn't pilot a dinghy, the media reported on how exciting he still was.
Pawlenty isn't all that exciting. Daniels isn't all that exciting.
Maybe exciting isn't all that great a thing.
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
You're right, KC. I try on candidates the way some people try on clothing. Right now I'm admiring the look of Paul Ryan 2012. Check out the NRO profile of the Wisconsin representative and fiscal rock star and let me know what you think.
Trump is riding high right now primarily because he is taking it to Obama head on. Ryan is doing the same thing from a position of substance and conservative principle. You won't find the president attacking Mr. Trump by name--no danger from that quarter, except to Republicans--but he is after Paul Ryan in a big way.
Edited on Apr 21, 2011 at 9:11amDec '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
This relates to the bandwagon thread. As we know from the fable of the Emperor's New Clothes, there's a reverse bandwagon effect: when people see others jumping off the bandwagon, they tend to pile off en masse.
It has to do with hurt pride. People jump on a bandwagon because the social validation makes them feel smart and wise for joining the cause behind the hero. When the hero is revealed to have feet of clay, the same people feel betrayed for having been made to look foolish. Sometimes they develop an intense resentment, even hatred, for their erstwhile hero.
Jun '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
George Savage
You won't find the president attacking Mr. Trump by name--no danger from that quarter, except to Republicans--but he is after Paul Ryan in a big way. · Apr 21 at 9:05am
I was listening to the lefty puppet network ESPN today, which is always a good place to find subversive leftist messages. One of the commentators took a shot at Trump as a terrible businessman.... Pretty ambitious to call someone with a net worth of 2.7 billion a hack at business... I guess Trump can't match Zuckerberg's 13 plus billion net worth though.
Apparently you have to break that 10 billion mark for lefties to consider you someone worth listening to at center stage on a high stool rather than just a hack.
Jul '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
Unfortunately, "exciting" is necessary is a society that clutches American Idols and Dances with Stars to its bosom. That's why Trump is enjoying his present boomlet. He's hot. And it seems he's got the goods on Obama's murky past. Maybe it won't unelect him, but it might be enough to keep him from a second term. Let's face it, simple decency, morals, a good mind and other such commendable qualities don't come in the right packaging. That's why Mitch Daniels, worthy as he is, doesn't have a prayer, and I wonder about T-Paw. Plenty of steak, but where's the sizzle?
Aug '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
Isn't that because, at the end of the day, American's don't much care where the president came from or even if he is a liar ? This seemingly facile effacement of Obama feels like some inside joke within Silicon Valley. Knowing the news cycle is about 3-4 weeks, can't these wiseacre writers make these jokes as long as it's out of that window ?
You're spot on as to him ignoring Trump, he knows better than anyone about the weakness of the birther argument. Maybe he'll define our choices by his attacks.
May '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
He's more than one half of the equation. I mean, we can't run Sharron Angle, but the incumbent is always more than one half of the equation. Vulnerable incumbent + plausible opponent = regime change.
And looking past the numbers (which are very bad for dear Hopey), Jon Stewart's mocking him regularly, and people are laughing. Not hesitantly or nervously. It's OK to ridicule him, even on "spending in the tax code".
President Punch-line is not a good sign for him.
Jan '11
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
If you're referring to the Christian Schneider piece, I just read it, so this is a quick reaction. In short ... Ryan has great potential. In that piece, it mentions how well Ryan thinks on his feet. And from the interviews he does on Greta van Susteren's show, that seems normal for him. He doesn't need a teleprompter.
Of course, when discussing a political candidate, the first question is a vague guess about whether he can actually win. There are a lot of people who could make great presidents, but how many of them could get through the primaries and the election? Like I say, I'm a political junkie, but I'm not a political pro. I'd like to hear what the pros think about his chances before getting more excited.
But the basics are there for Ryan. I think he'd make a good president.
Jan '11
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
Dec '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
Reminds me of Tim Russert and the Clintons.
Oct '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
Have you seen his interview with O'Reilly and his speech at CPAC 2011? He's a good speaker. he's capable of uniting the RINOs and Tea Partiers. and if he gets Bachmann and Palin to endorse him, he will beat Obama.
May '10
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
The surest way of determining who thinks Obama will win or not is through a prediction market where people speculate on the results of the 2012 election with their money. No one on Ricochet desires to see Obama win again, but who would bet $1000 or $5000 (or more) against him?
Edited on Apr 21, 2011 at 12:27pmMar '11
Re: Obama is Vulnerable in 2012
Just google "preference cascade." There has been a lot of stuff written about it, and it definitely has been a factor in all the regime-change going on in the Middle East.
One word in the joke put me in mind of my favorite line from the 1992 version of The Last of the Mohicans:
British Officer: You call yourself a patriot, and loyal subject to the Crown?
Hawkeye : I do not call myself subject to much at all.