Barack Obama Is In Way Over His Head [Reader Post]

Loading

In 2004 Obama said “I am a believer in knowing what you’re doing when you apply for a job” and ruled out running for President in 2008, saying “if I were to seriously consider running on a national ticket I would essentially have to start now.”

Then he added:

“Now there’s some people who might be comfortable doing that, but I’m not one of those people.”

And yet he did just that.

Senators do not often become Presidents. Senators are coddled. They get to strut and primp but really aren’t responsible for much. Governors and Presidents are executives and have to make decisions and have to be responsible for them.

Obama has had no executive experience. He has never been responsible for much of anything during his entire life. Now Barack Obama is way over his head. And it’s getting noticed:

Presidents are hostage to events, goes the old political axiom. But that’s a half-truth. Presidencies rise and fall far more by their response to great events than to the event itself.

And by a lack of response.

This issue comes down to presidential leadership. The British Petroleum crisis clearly placed Obama’s presidency in crisis a couple weeks back. Yet the status quo endured. The media pile on ensued. Impressions solidified. This is what happens when the president does not meet the moment.

History tells us how it happens. Perceptions contrast with promises. The measure of the president appears smaller than the problems before him. Presidencies, subtly and at similar junctures, turn south for a long winter.

“The good presidents are able to basically survive these kinds of events, rarely are they able control of them. They find strong political and strategic responses,” said Princeton political historian Julian Zelizer. “The bad presidents make the crisis seem greater than the presidency.”

This turning point is often gradual. Not made by one event. And like all crossroads, clearest in the rear view mirror. But when the perception goes from good to bad on great events, the entire presidency goes bad.

Obama is used to voting “present.” He is accustomed to waiting out events and seeking shelter in the popular outcome. People are mistaking Obama’s not giving a damn for being aloof, cool and detached.

The president’s emotive distance from the tragedy too great. The aloofness too constant. The expressions of anger and empathy too contrived. The crisis too far along.

FDR most famously took command of like times. His response to the crisis won the public — and historic gains in the midterm elections — despite the Great Depression languishing on. It was not the solution but the response. In Roosevelt, as Zelizer put it, “Americans saw someone from the White House doing as much as anyone could see possible. That’s in contrast to the current administration on the oil spill and, many would say, on jobs.”

Obama’s effort to highlight his command has only underlined his failures. This week he told NBC that he talks to his experts “so I know whose ass to kick.” It was like hearing Spock swear.

Obama “went street” to show his anger- and he had to be pushed into that by Spike Lee. The problem is, it’s not real. When you have to tell people how much you care or how angry you are, you don’t and you’re not.

His arrogance, his naivete, his Mea Culpa Americana has not served him well. George Bush had far better success at the UN than Obama.

“It is ironic that Bush had a far better record at the U.N. than Obama, as there was a unanimous UNSC vote under Bush, and Obama has lost it,” said Elliott Abrams, a deputy national security adviser under Bush. He said the reason is not that the Iranians’ behavior has improved, because “the clock keeps ticking, and Iran gets closer and closer to a bomb.” The reason, Abrams said, “is simply that American weakness has created a vacuum, and other states are trying to step into it.”

Bolton argues that the administration’s willingness to operate within the U.N. system left it at a negotiating disadvantage. “Everyone believes the Obama administration is joined at the hip to the council, which is a position of negotiating weakness,” he said. “Weakness produces today’s result.”

The Gulf tragedy has has really shined a light on the rookie. Obama knew how bad the oil spill was likely to be right from the beginning, yet he continued to fundraise and “party like it’s 1999.” Senators can do that- they have staffs to worry about details. Presidents have to show leadership. After 9-11, George Bush stood on the pile of debris and led the nation. After the Deepwater Horizon sank, Obama teed it up and said…….nothing.

Obama blasted Bush’s response to Katrina as “unconscionable incompetence.” Bush flew over the Gulf two days after Katrina and Obama hammered him for it. Obama took eight days to even say anything and 13 days before he made his first visit. Obama has unwittingly vindicated Bush.

He is indeed flailing- internationally, domestically and economically.

Being President isn’t just golf, Wagyu beef and Paul McCartney. Surprise.

Obama has had the skids greased for him his entire career. With each event it seems as though he’s waiting for the guy with grease gun to show up again.

Lefties love to make a big deal of how intelligent and cerebral Obama is. Perhaps. Perhaps all of these events are simply boring to Obama and interfere with his vision of “fundamentally transforming” America into a collectivist utopia.

But as William Buckely said:

I’d rather entrust the government of the United States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory than to the faculty of Harvard University.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
26 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

But…but….but……He was sent by God to heal the earth and unite all!!!!

🙄

After reading this I took a trip down memory lane via a great piece written by Wordsmith Oct 08

The “Distraction” of Senator Obama’s History and Cardboard Cutout List of “Accomplishments”

Copied and pasted from another blog, just because I thought it was a very perceptive comment:

” Ben:

Anyone who still respects Obama is looking at Obama in Community Activist Mode, in which problems are solved by generating complaints loud enough to cause other people to solve the problem.

In this light, Lee’s advice makes perfect sense. No success yet? You haven’t complained loud enough. Yell louder, LOUDER! So they’ll hear you all the way at the top!

Then the rich/smart/capable adults will fix the problem for you.

It has not yet dawned on them that Obama is at the top.”

A key to understanding or gaining insight into an individual, has always been to look at those he or she surrounds themselves with.

When assessing the strength of a corporation for the long term, I have always looked at those the CEO has hired closest to his or her office. The stronger these people are, the more confident they are, the stronger the CEO is, and therefore the odds of long term success are greatly improved. In the venture capital game, it’s always about management, management, and management, I don’t care if you have invented God’s answer to mankind, if you’re an egoistic idiot who needs the comfort of adulating sycophants, your company will fail miserably.

America has elected a President who has surrounded himself with grovellers who take every opportunity to invoke his name, . . . “Mr. Obama has said that . . .” – like the genius representing him at the UN. They hope their incompetence will be overlooked if they lick hard enough, . . . because they know EXACTLY who they’re working for – an insecure, narcissistic, out of his depth CEO, who’s now afraid of serious confrontation with the media and will rely permanently on the protection of the teleprompter.

/Channels Forrest Gump…

“Presidentin is HARD!”

@suek–

This definitely summarizes the MO of the victicrat bunch. But it was obvious a lot sooner, when he first got to the White House. I think the whole Chicago bunch is very similar to the typical despot who got to the top by yelling and bribing and then used that spot to “rule” (Valery Jarrett), i.e. party hearty on the public dime. Remember when she was saying they were going to “speak truth to power”? Sad, but we can see better now how “community organizing” is an evolutionary dead end as far as producing leaders. It presumes a static social background and now we are more aware that the social ambiance is very dependent on our environmental opportunities.

If you ever get the chance to watch the documentary about Jim Jones, you will be amazed at some of the similarities in their makeup. Outside of the sex angle, Jim Jones reminded me of Mr. Obama. Community organizer, great speaker, messiah-like, crazy followers.

Obama’s problem is that he was told to address the “gulf” problem, and addressed his “golf” problem…

Historically, the first “drive-by” Presidency?

Star Trek’s 😉 Mr Spook =s OB = Jimmy Carter =s failure. Intellect is the barbwire of the mind and intellect is OB’s defense from unpleasant feelings. Ergo its better to blame, shame, and divert than take command of the job of Prez and lead instead of diverting responsibility. JMO

jensad

I blame the voters, none of whom ought to have voted an untried, unknown, unaccomplished man into the highest office. They claimed to love his gigantic brain and classy coolness, when in fact it was just his looks and his smooth talk and outlandish promises. And a big part of his looks was his skin color, which made them giddy because they got to exercise their sanctimony and imagine themselves telling their granchildren how they voted for the First Black President, just like Nancy Pelosi dreaming she was at Selma when she was really just crossing the street through a peaceful crowd.
Too many people only learn by bitter experience. I hope it’s gotten bitter enough that a large part of the electorate feels properly chastened, but we shouldn’t miss an opportunity to point out the stupidity of voting for vapid one-word slogans like “hope” and “change”. Unless enough people are disgusted enough to vote an immediate end to this accelerating disaster, it has only just begun.

“…but we shouldn’t miss an opportunity to point out the stupidity of voting for vapid one-word slogans like “hope” and “change”.”

Admittedly three-word slogans like “Drill Baby Drill” and “Change You Deserve” are far more substantive. (“Change You Deserve” also happened to be a registered trademark slogan for Effexor XR, a prescription medication used in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. I have no clue if it’s been found to be effective in the treatment of “Obama Derangement Syndrome,” which seems to be occurring with far greater frequency on the right than on the left these days.

In over his head…………

I’m happily plagued with ODS.

It feels so good, Greg. Really, it does.

I think I’ll do as long as it feels good.

Which hopefully when the pinhead is an offshore, ex-failed-President.

The prescription for ODS is NOOBAMA XR.

There must be 2 Gregs on here because the posts are such a contradiction from one thread to the next?

The commentary above describes a narcissist and that is what Obama is. All dissimulation… nothing exists below the surface, a totally empty vessel.