Rob Long · May 15, 2012 at 6:12pm

Once people start laughing at you, it's awfully hard to come back.

In an act of hubris that's stunning even for our most ego-maniacal president, it seems that he's inserted himself into the short biographies of other presidents in the White House website.  From Commentary:

The Heritage Foundation’s Rory Cooper tweeted that Obama had casually dropped his own name into Ronald Reagan’s official biography onwww.whitehouse.gov, claiming credit for taking up the mantle of Reagan’s tax reform advocacy with his “Buffett Rule” gimmick. My first thought was, he must be joking. But he wasn’t—it turns out Obama has added bullet points bragging about his own accomplishments to the biographical sketches of every single U.S. president since Calvin Coolidge (except, for some reason, Gerald Ford). Here are a few examples:

  • On Feb. 22, 1924 Calvin Coolidge became the first president to make a public radio address to the American people. President Coolidge later helped create the Federal Radio Commission, which has now evolved to become the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). President Obama became the first president to hold virtual gatherings and town halls using TwitterFacebookGoogle+LinkedIn, etc.
  • In a 1946 letter to the National Urban League, President Truman wrote that the government has “an obligation to see that the civil rights of every citizen are fully and equally protected.” He ended racial segregation in civil service and the armed forces in 1948. Today the Obama administration continues to strive toward upholding the civil rights of its citizens, repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, allowing people of all sexual orientations to serve openly in our armed forces.
  • President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare signed (sic) into law in 1965—providing millions of elderly healthcare stability. President Obama’s historic health care reform law, the Affordable Care Actstrengthens Medicare, offers eligible seniors a range of preventive services with no cost-sharing, and provides discounts on drugs when in the coverage gap known as the “donut hole.”
  • In a June 28, 1985 speech Reagan called for a fairer tax code, one where a multi-millionaire did not have a lower tax rate than his secretary. Today, President Obama is calling for the same with the Buffett Rule.

Hilarious.  And now the subject of a fast-growing Twitter hashtag -- #obamainhistory -- that's worth following.

President Obama is now, officially, a joke.

Comments:


Edward Smith
Joined
May '12
Edward Smith

JCOTFC!  Can we vote this joker out this afternoon?  I'll take the "red eye" and help him move out tomorrow in the AM!

tabula rasa
Joined
Jun '10
tabula rasa

I understand why some get a Jim Jones vibe from this.  As for me, this has a distinctly Orwellian tone, with the Ministry of Truth in charge of the updates.

This guy makes the hubristic among us appear humble.

Edited on May 15, 2012 at 7:15pm
Mel Foil
Joined
Jun '10
etoiledunord

Obama still has a few political  idols that he can look up to:

Kim Jong-il's greatest 'achievements'

From his earliest days, Kim Jong-il was destined to be a genius, with the records showing that he had learned to walk at just 3 weeks and was talking at 8 weeks. [...] Moving on to higher education, he found time to write 1,500 books during his three years at Kim Il-sung University, from where he graduated in 1964, and penned six full operas in two years – "all of which are better than any in the history of music," his biography gushes. Turning his hand to major architectural feats, he designed the Tower of the Juche Idea, a 170-metre-tall monolith on the east bank of the Taedong River in Pyongyang that is topped by a glowing red flame. [...] According to his biography, he first picked up a golf club in 1994, at North Korea's only golf course, and shot a 38-under par round that included no fewer than 11 holes in one. Satisfied with his performance, he immediately declared his retirement from the sport.


Joined
May '10
Paul Stinchfield

Appearing soon in the National Gallery of Art:

ObamaJesusMatthewsOlberman
Keith Preston
Joined
May '10
Keith Preston

Don't forget this scintillating piece of campaign humility...

Everyone should have seen this coming.  Reminds me of The Man Who Would be King

tabula rasa
Joined
Jun '10
tabula rasa

The tweet feed is awesome.  This is my favorite:

Andrew Stiles ‏ @AndrewStilesWFB

Ronald Reagan went to Berlin and said "tear down this wall!" Barack Obama went on The View and talked about the Kardashians.#ObamaInHistory

Another excellent one:

Brad Thor ‏ @BradThor

Lincoln freed the slaves, #Obama freed everyone else from any semblance of personal responsibility. #ObamainHistory

I try to avoid quoting Marx, but I think he stole this one from someone else:  "History repeats itself: first as tragedy, then as farce."  I think the White House has officially moved us into the "farce" stage.

Edited on May 15, 2012 at 7:24pm
Mark Belling Fan
Joined
Sep '10
Mark Belling Fan
  • And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. And in the year 2008, Barack Obama declared, "this is the moment when the rise of our oceans began to slow."
The King Prawn
Joined
Dec '10
The King Prawn
dasho

Beck was selling these at one point.

Jeff Karr
Joined
Feb '11
Jeff Karr

The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Michael Beschloss and Hugh Sidey. Copyright 2009 by the White House Historical Association.

The WHHA is a  "charitable nonprofit institution whose purpose is to enhance the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the White House."

Do you think the WH asked permission to embellish the copyrighted material? If permission was granted, does the blatantly political nature of the new material compromise WHHA's charitable, non-profit status?

Just askin'

Diane Ellis

I love this one:

Cuffé ‏ @CuffyMeh

In 1803, Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase for $233 million in today's dollars, which Obama spent while you read this. #ObamaInHistory

Fricosis Guy
Joined
Jun '11
Fricosis Guy
Jeff Karr:The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov are from “The Presidents of the United States of America,” by Michael Beschloss and Hugh Sidey.

Then President Barack Obama corrected these biographies, which neglected to anticipate the achievements of our Dear Leader in moving this country FORWARD.

Percival
Joined
Mar '11
Percival

In 1832, President Andrew Jackson faced down South Carolina in the Nullification Crisis, preventing a state from flouting Federal law.  President Obama is currently facing down Arizona, preventing a state from enforcing Federal law.

Bluenoser
Joined
Dec '11
Bluenoser

In 1949 George Orwell published 1984, the 2008 election of President Obama represented the largest single step towards turning fiction into fact #ObamaInHistory

Mel Foil
Joined
Jun '10
etoiledunord

The King Prawn

Beck was selling these at one point.

I think you have Beck confused with someone else. As far as I can tell, Beck's merchandise only refers to Beck himself, or logos and themes from his various companies--nobody else.

DrewInWisconsin
Joined
Aug '11
DrewInWisconsin

Mockery moves at Internet-speed!

http://obamainhistory.com/

dittoheadadt
Joined
Oct '10
dittoheadadt
6826_1238487679815_1157955172_737487_1305506_n

'nuff said.

Fredösphere
Joined
May '10
Fredösphere

dittoheadadt

'nuff said. · 1 minute ago

Oh . . . my . . . goodness!

tabula rasa
Joined
Jun '10
tabula rasa

dittoheadadt

'nuff said. · 16 minutes ago

I didn't realize he could paint too!  Awesomest president in the galaxy.

Pseudodionysius
Joined
Sep '10
Pseudodionysius
Percival: I'm only surprised Obama hasn't hijacked the Sermon on the Mount yet. · 3 hours ago

Greek columns and a teleprompter are the only delays.

Songwriter
Joined
Aug '10
Songwriter
Percival: I'm only surprised Obama hasn't hijacked the Sermon on the Mount yet. · 2 hours ago

You mean something like this, perhaps:

Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the nanny state, provided by Obama.

Blessed are those who mourn, for Obama shall comfort them.

Blessed are the meek, for they do not question the word of Obama.

Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, right next to Obama at Reverend Wright's church.

Blessed are the merciful to the liberal Left, because right now Obama could use a little mercy.

Blessed are the pure in liberal ideology.

Blessed are the Peacemakers, and Predator drone missiles, which are showered from the skies by Obama.

Blessed are the liberals who are persecuted by Fox News for Obama's sake.  Theirs is the kingdom right here and right now.


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