It amazes me that the Right so readily gives ground because I think it doesn't always understand the proper fight. If a Republican president went on Leno last night, bad joke, or not, you should at least be able to imagine the headlines we'd be reading today. President fiddles while Rome burns, yadda, yadda.
Two month into his presidency during an economic collapse, no real staff at Treasury, and the cough cough leader of the Free World is picking the Final Four and sitting down to rap with Jay. And his spokesperson is incapable of answering a simple damn question.
But it's cool. Because Obama is and, Lord knows, Meghan McCain thinks the Right needs to be cool, too.
Whatever. Hopefully there will be an adult or two left to turn out the lights when they put some of the best aspects of this great experiment to bed. Our last best shot may be 2010 folks. I'm not crazy, or suggesting that America will just go away. But if you want it to resemble what it has and should, as opposed to the nonsense too many kids read about in school textbooks today, you had better get ready to fight politically in the year and a half directly ahead.
Breitbart's on to something with his West Coast culture war stuff and this early into the current administration, for various reasons, people are already concerned enough to start taking to the streets. So, I am not suggesting the battle is lost. Just that it is going to have to be seriously engaged.
Hopefully there will be enough others that agree.
This is part of the classic tug of war between the roles as head of state and head of government. In our form of government we combined both roles in one office. As head of state he is supposed to maintain the pomp and circumstance and the symbol of being above all the rest. As head of government he needs to get down and govern and roll up his sleeves.
Obama likes the ceremony and the adulation as head of state. The seal fiasco and his address in Germany before being president is an example. But it is like he performs the role as Hollywood movies shows with out really understanding the duties. The Gordon Brown gift and protocol disaster is a good example of this cluelessness
It appears that the tasks of governing are beyond his capabilities as this time. Not surprising since he never ran anything or had a real job. He continually thinks talk is a substitute for action. So he flees to the roles he knows best. The campaigner, the celebrity.
So he makes the mistakes that grate. Goes on to Leno, screams about AIG bonus while ignoring the entire cost of the bailout. The AIG bonuses are chump change and just a method to pay those liquidating that division. The outrageous hypocrisy is clear. Obama does have a tin ear, which is what staff is for, His inability to perform spontaneously and dependence on the teleprompter is part of this problem.
He demonstrated clearly the conservatives cry that he was and is an empty suit. It is a real shame that the rest of the country was beguiled by the glamour.
Posted by: RAH | Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 08:58 AM