The Shield Cracks
When the hermetic, perfect world created in 2008 came into being, the Lightbringer at its center was protected from the moment of his nomination in a kind of numinous cloud of cultural, media and elite opinion protection.
Jokes about Obama, well...they just weren't funny. “It’s hard to make fun of Obama in general because he’s a cool character," said Jimmy Kimmel. Noah Rothman called it "Obama’s prohibitive coolness."
Criticism of his policies and politics were obviously racist in nature...what other explanation could possibly obtain? Mockery of his pomposity, his flagrant sense of personal grandeur, his Administration-as-personality-cult was a product of Republican sour grapes (and, duh, racism).
Even the mild comedic hits on Obama in popular culture were anodyne, bloodless things and mostly along the themes of his coolness, his intellect, his perfection. He was the straight man to the GOP foil. He was the cool kid in the room full of conservative dorks. One famous incident of self-editing to protect the image of President Cool was a spiked SNL skit.
What strikes me about the New Yorker cover is that it not only clearly takes Obama down several pegs, but references the Eastwood moment of the RNC convention, which we were assured by our betters for several weeks was a disaster for the Romney campaign. Think about it: the New Yorker is mocking Barack Obama using an image from a gag from the Republican National Convention.
It's a singularity of irony, they just don't know it.
The cracks in the Acela Corridor's Barack Protection Protocol are showing because Obama's most compelling attribute was the belief that his intellectual prowess is unmatched by any President, perhaps any mortal. A cornerstone of their faith in him was always that Barack Obama's intellectual firepower could be deployed at will, and destroy Mitt Romney at a time and place of the President's choosing.
What they saw Wednesday night wasn't the demigod they've protected like so many cultural Myrmidons, but a stammering, detached, utterly outclassed man hoisted on the petard of his own laziness and incuriousity. The damage to their perception of him isn't enough to draw them to Romney, but in their post-modern, super-ironic world, the moment Obama showed weakness, he became a legitimate target.
The cover of the New Yorker -- one of the tentpoles of respectable liberalism and elite opinion -- is a signifier of the scope of Obama's failure this week.
As the dozens of snarky articles, brutal editorial cartoons, late night comedy shows taking new and unaccustomed shots at Obama (I'm not counting Chris Matthews and his epic rant) build up a certain cultural momentum, the sense that Obama's failings are suddenly funny is a deadly virus in the bloodstream of liberal opinion.
Barack Obama is a man of abundantly evident self-regard. The growing sound of mockery and derision must be painful to him, especially coming from the unexpected quarters of his erstwhile allies. Once the mockery starts, it's hard to stop. Ask Bill Clinton.
The clues of an Obama meltdown in high-, low- and even pop-culture tell me that the next debates for Obama aren't just consequential: they're existential.
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Comments:
Jun '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
1) Obama was NEVER as good as his hype, and he's demonstrated it quite a bit over the years.
2) "Town Hall" is next - seen as favoring Obama. This is a strange kind of racism. The browner man is closer to the street-community organizer wins Town Hall public setting. Obama FAILS WORSE in Town Hall than any other format! Just watch him flail around in "2016: Obama's America" trying to explain Obamacare savings. ROMNEY WAS A GARBAGE MAN FOR A DAY AS GOVERNOR. IN BOSTON. When in memory would Obama DARE expose himself to such "Risque Optique?"
3) MSM is claiming to lower bar for Obama for round two, while raising bar for Romney. THEY WISH. MSM simply does not believe that Obama sux as hard as he does. They will give lip service to Dubya like expectations, but will psychologically collapse when Hero fails.
4) MSM cannot believe that Romney is as good as he is. They have spent YEARS excoriating Mitt as an awkward Magic Undies Honkey. He will shock them again with his suppleness, deft balance and killer instinct.
Think Giants / Pats. Romney just has O's number. O can't guard him.
Feb '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Last Outpost on the Right: ...although Obama wants to be better prepared for debate #2 - I don't think they know how to prepare...
· 3 hours ago
I agree. The only substantive way Obama can counter Romney is to demonstrate that he (Obama) has a superior plan for the next four years. The last four years have given undecided voters precious little to convince them that that suddenly is the case. Obama was left with nothing else but to utter vague campaign-type platitudes in response to Romney's "We need to do steps A, B and C to turn this around." Attacking specifics with slogans is what made him look so weak and in over his head in the first debate and is the reason the left is so mad at him.
What else has he got?
Jul '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
shelby_forthright
DocJay
Until Univision, I don't think he's had to answer a tough random question in four years.
You're forgetting this one: Bret Baier put the wood to him in March of 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv7q_E84LB0 · 4 minutes ago
I indeed forgot that one. BB is a solid person and tried his best but Obama filibustered his way through that and dodged serious questions. At least Bret exposed how little Obama cared about the process. I'll be so happy when this man is done in office.
Jul '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
WOW That was the most finely written post I have ever read on Ricochet. I concur wholeheartedly.
Apr '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Rick Wilson:
Criticism of his policies and politics wereobviouslyracist in nature...what other explanation couldpossiblyobtain?
Lefties are offended that Romney would speak to the President this way. On lefty talk radio the things that I have heard are along the lines of:
The threat is that we'll see a "feistier Obama" next time. This is dangerous for Obama. Judging by his latest speeches he's likely to come across as a failed, incompetent President slinging mud at a smart, sensible, accomplished man. His base and probably his instincts are pushing him to be nastier since he has few accomplishments to run on. Bye-bye moderates and undecideds.
Aug '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
The Emperor is butt nekkid!
Apr '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Biden knows it, that's why he could comment authoritatively on the size of his stick.
Jan '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
I agree that the New Yorker cover is shocking - kind of like having a Sarah Palin editorial on in the NYT. But it is not possible to overstate how deeply held ideas, like Obama's perfection, are held by liberal true believers. Having worked in higher education, I have met liberal professors who were unabashed fans of Stalin - an extreme example of hanging on to failed leftist ideas, to be sure. It's wound up in the fiber of their being and one bad debate performance is not going to pry it loose.
Oct '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
One of the throng of stalwart liberals at work recommended a New Yorker article on child rearing a few months back, my daughter was only weeks old then. I scoffed at the suggestion, to his bewilderment. Should I reconsider given the latest cover? Nah.
On a related note, the gentleman in question thought Clint's empty chair skit was just plain awful and not the least bit funny. Wonder if he finally gets the joke?
May '10
Re: The Shield Cracks
In Obama terms & perception, these debates are just bumps in the road.
Aug '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
Dave Carter
You're not alone at all. But I wouldn't depend on Obama's rattle alone. Obama will likely be an angry customer next time, and Governor Romney would be well served to be at least as prepared next time as he was last Wednesday.
This strategy of being well prepared is one that all successful business people understand: He who is best prepared wins.
It was abundantly clear Wednesday night that Mitt is inside Obama's OODA loop. Watching Mitt's face, you could see that he was prepared for everything that Obama said and already had his prepared response ready long before Obama finished speaking. Mitt was well-prepared. I have no doubt that Mitt is STILL inside Teh Wan's head and will be as equally prepared next time as well.
Aug '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
I agree. This post nails it. I might just have to "borrow" it.
May '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Apparently, Obama believes he is running against the caricature of Mitt Romney made up by his campaign. I think he was shocked that the guy on stage with him was the actual Mitt Romney, as opposed to the fantasy that Obama calls the "real" Mitt Romney. After all, Romney's positions can't be what Romney says they are. Romney's "real" positions are the ones that appear in Obama's teleprompter. I think we all knew that Obama wants the world to see him only through the window of his teleprompter, but I was unaware until now that he only sees the world back through that same window.
Jan '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
I'd be interested to read about the debate preparation process from both camps. One would (or should) be pushed on one's own views, exposed to the other sides views - be willing to be 'dressed down', roughed up & mocked.
Considering that, what do you think those sessions looked like for Obama. Does anyone really think Kerry was able to do that, or did they just talk about what a joke those folks in the GOP are? They are so insulated/protected that they succumb very quickly when not in a protected environment.
Jul '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Kowaliczko Tom: I'd be interested to read about the debate preparation process from both camps. One would (or should) be pushed on one's own views, exposed to the other sides views - be willing to be 'dressed down', roughed up & mocked.
Considering that, what do you think those sessions looked like for Obama. Does anyone really think Kerry was able to do that, or did they just talk about what a joke those folks in the GOP are? They are so insulated/protected that they succumb very quickly when not in a protected environment. · 2 minutes ago
Either Kerry /Obama could not preparewell or did not prepare well. I'm inclined to think the combination were ill suited for serious battle.
Apr '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
Just as a single gaffe does not destroy a politician's reputation for intelligence but a series of them does , so a single bad debate performance will not destroy Obama, but a series of poor debate performances will.
Jun '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
However, a bad debate performance along with Obama's serial lies have gone a long way towards destroying his reputation.
Mar '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
If I might revise and extend your metaphor, Rick, I would say that this is more like a phalanx breaking ranks.
Obama is a weaker link in that phalanx that has been protected for some time by the people around him, but when pushed far enough at the center--at him--he couldn't stand the heat and was bowled over in the debate. As soon as that happened, the formation was broken--right now, there are elements of it that are trying to regroup and re-form, and others who are deliberating whether they should flee or not.
Oct '11
Re: The Shield Cracks
Self-selection is a hazard; even Ricochet devolves into an echo chamber sometimes. Our vulnerability is our unexamined tendency to evaluate the left according to our own standards.
Rick, you misinterpret the New Yorker cover. Its reference to the Eastwood embarrassment is clever, but the cover is in no way an attack on Obama. What we see here is the pack maneuvering to protect a wounded leader. Everywhere you look and listen the left is busy excusing Obama's performance, all with some variation on "He didn't show up."
You're right that the cover amounts to a crack in the wall, but it's not the beginning of some awakening or capitulation. They're doubling down.
Jan '12
Re: The Shield Cracks
Dave Carter
You're not alone at all. But I wouldn't depend on Obama's rattle alone. Obama will likely be an angry customer next time, and Governor Romney would be well served to be at least as prepared next time as he was last Wednesday. · 22 hours ago
It would not surprise me if President Obama doesn't interrupt Romney or try and 'referee' the exchange (it will hardly be a debate).
He will have heard from everyone in his camp that he needs to clip Romney's wings and that approach will appeal more to him than studying all the issues and being prepared to answer them well.
It will also feed his natural appetite for revenge, not just a desire to out-perform Romney.
The other big difference will be the format, and the attitude and aggressiveness of the moderator.