The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Presidential administrations aren't brought low by the actions of their enemies. Usually, it's the people inside.
They leak and spin and talk out of school. They try to get their story out first. They'll call a friendly media toady and speak on deep background: "No, no. I told the president...." and the piece will read something like, "Sources close to the president say that it was Chief of Staff About To Be Fired who made the call...." Or: "Close presidential associates say that the White House knows it has a big problem...."
We've all read these pieces. Every administration experiences it, eventually.
Here's the first one I've spotted for the Obama crowd. It's about -- what else? -- the political stupidity of wading into the Ground Zero Mosque business. From Politico:
The president’s decision — made with the support of senior advisers Valerie Jarrett and David Axelrod, his two closest friends in the West Wing — reflected Obama’s forcefulness on issues closest to his heart, a willingness to jettison calculation when core beliefs are in play.
Right, okay. You can skip over the sloppy French kiss the reporter gives to his beloved president. He's too good for us. Got it. Moving on.
The point is, it's Axelrod and Jarrett who are fingered for this blunder. And whoever "helped" the reporter with his piece knew it was a blunder, delivering this nugget of office gossip:
For several days leading up to the Ramadan speech, Obama and his inner circle had been discussing how or whether to publicly address the issue, which seemed to be dying down in the New York tabloids.
Someone was arguing that the story had run its course. Someone was arguing that injecting Presidential prestige into the discussion was a loser idea. Who was that someone? Well, who do you think?
Prior to the decision, Emanuel and Obama’s communications staff vividly — and presciently — predicted that Obama would be handing Republicans a weapon to batter Democrats as weak-kneed on terrorism three months before the midterms, according to several people familiar with the situation.
More to come. This is going to be fun.
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Comments :
Jul '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
The White House was simply following standard Democrat practice. The Democrats can only win office by building a coalition of grievance and ethnic groups. Some, such as blacks or feminists are quite large. Others, like gays and Jews are relatively small. But each is important in a 50/50 electorate.
With the mid-terms looming large, Obama's crew perceived an opportunity to rally the Muslim vote. In places like Michigan and parts of Virginia, that might yield dividends in 2010...and on into 2012.
The theory is that the 70% of ignorant bigots who are all steamed up over the GZM will soon forget; but the Muslim voters' fidelity will endure.
Pretty standard community-organizing stuff.
May '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
The Adiministration is turing, rapidly and predictably, into a Christopher Buckley novel. I hope Mr. Buckley is taking notice.
Jun '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
It seems, the one with the most insensitive tin ear is Valerie Jarrett, closely followed by her boss. For her, America is just one big suburb of Chicago, and somehow she assumes that the rules of Chicago's Democrat machine apply as far away as Washington DC. Apparently, she doesn't know that when you're in the White House, you can completely ignore Chicagoans like Farrakhan. In fact, politically, it's better to offend Farrakhan than to listen to him. Maybe she thinks she'll be back in Chicago soon.
Jun '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
E.D. "Maybe she thinks she'll be back in Chicago soon."
I have nothing against Chicagoans, but better them than us.
Jul '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Only our Mr. Long could come up with this header. Orderly Disembarkation, indeed! To be followed soon by some hypovehicularization, no doubt.
Only I'm not completely sure about the rats. Do weasels leave sinking ships? 'Cause that's mostly what I seem to see in the WH.
May '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Oh, I'm sure he's been paying attention. He bet his entire professional reputation on the competence of Barack Obama and his Team of Highly-Educated Non-Rabble. Shame he won't be able to write a political column for a few years without drawing the ridicule of uncouth dimwits like me.
May '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Valerie Jarret is the Harriet Miers of the Obama administration, which is an insult to Harriet Miers. The Peter Principle should've kicked in long ago.
Hypovehicularization, Patrick? The wheels on the bus go thump, thump, thump.
Jul '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Kennedy Smith: Valerie Jarret is the Harriet Miers of the Obama administration, which is an insult to Harriet Miers. The Peter Principle should've kicked in long ago.
Hypovehicularization, Patrick? The wheels on the bus go thump, thump, thump. · Aug 22 at 5:29pm
Harriet Miers, while she was an idiot, was not a slumlord.
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Growing up in a working-class Chicago neighborhood, I clearly remember the local precinct boss slipping my father a few bucks to be sure he made it to the polling place and made the "correct" choice. Usually, though, his choice was to pocket the dough and skip the voting, reasoning that he would be counted in any case. Funny how smart your parents seem as you get older.
Jul '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
My father would have given him a poke in the snoot. But that's in California, where we still had the whole rugged individualist thing going on. And lumberjacks weren't unionized.
May '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Good Lord, Kenneth, I think "idiot" is a harsh judgement. Sure, her articles were somewhat vacuous and neutral, but that may have been political posturing. I don't think she should've been a Supreme, but then most of them shouldn't be. Any more than Biden (or Jarret) should've been a senator, much less veep.
And at least she wrote articles, unlike the Prez.
Edited on Aug 22, 2010 at 11:24pmJun '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
"You can skip over the sloppy French kiss the reporter gives to his beloved president."
>Ack< >Ack< >Barf<
Long, you owe me a new keyboard.
May '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Rob,
I can't believe your bigoted and racist attitude towards rats. At least rats feature in cute movies and have a cousin who has been a cartoon character and theme park king for decades. I find nothing loveable about those leaving the SS Hope & Change.
Rats have had nothing in common with these folks since the end of the Black Plague some centuries ago.
Jun '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Steve MacDonald: Rob,
I can't believe your bigoted and racist attitude towards rats. At least rats feature in cute movies and have a cousin who has been a cartoon character and theme park king for decades. I find nothing loveable about those leaving the SS Hope & Change.
Rats have had nothing in common with these folks since the end of the Black Plague some centuries ago. · Aug 23 at 7:21am
...I think I would have gone with "Bubonic Plague"
Jul '10
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Kennedy Smith: Good Lord, Kenneth, I think "idiot" is a harsh judgement. Sure, her articles were somewhat vacuous and neutral, but that may have been political posturing. I don't think she should've been a Supreme, but then most of them shouldn't be. Any more than Biden (or Jarret) should've been a senator, much less veep.
And at least she wrote articles, unlike the Prez. · Aug 22 at 11:23pm
Edited on Aug 22 at 11:24 pm
Fair enough. Replace "idiot" with "non-entity".
Re: The Rats Begin their Orderly Disembarkation
Economists would have predicted this. It's the rational choice. Your dad was clearly not just from Chicago, but from the Chicago School.