Today's Clueless Right

I've seen similar commentary to this elsewhere on the Right regarding Obama's Special Olympic's flap. Unfortunately, it pretty much convinces me that a lot of blog commentary on the Right today is relatively useless. And there are two reasons for that in this particular case.

Let’s face facts, here. There isn’t a soul in the world that imagines Obama was “making fun of retards,” or somehow putting down the people involved in the Special Olympics. You know as well as I do that Obama was saying HE was acting “challenged.” You’ve done it too, most likely. Comparing a stupid or unskilled action of your own to the Special Olympics is just a joke, people. Don’t make more of it than it is.

Ignore this business, folks. It is a distraction that takes away from focus on the AIG bonus mess that is far, far more to our advantage.

To start with, it isn't about the humor. Huston's correct when he says maybe you or I might make such a joke. And, frankly, I don't see much wrong with that, as I'm not easily offended. But what was it Bush tried to do most when taking office post-Clinton? Do you even remember?

He tried to bring a little dignity back to the office, that's what. Because he respected the office. Guess what? Obama doesn't. Just as he doesn't really respect a lot of things that once warranted some respect in this Republic. It just amazes me to see so many allegedly informed Right-siders scream about how the Left wants to undermine American institutions, yet faced with a perfect example of it they can't even understand it's going on.

Of course the "free thinkers" will say, "hey, lighten up - it's just a joke. Isn't it nice to have a President just like us?"

No actually, it's not. Because it's a false sense of populism that doesn't exist. It's the same lack of adherence to principle and tradition that gives you a president who wants to sit around in shirt sleeves with the thermostat at 75 while telling you to turn yours down to 68 - and if you happen to put on a suit and tie to go to work on Wall Street everyday to earn a living, you might actually be committing some type of crime. Which brings me to my second point.

If you read enough to understand what these bonuses were about, you'd know that they were both earned and deserved. They aren't going to the people who caused this mess. They are going to the people we need to dig us out. But, hey, it's a hot issue, right?

Screw principle! Why bother with something like that when you have a good talking point right in front of your eyes? Day'um, that'll show 'em.

Unfortunately, even if you win the daily sound byte battle in that kind of fight, when you turn around and look, you don't have a principle to fall back upon because you sold it out.

If you really believe that attacking capitalists who made legal contracts and expect to have them honored is the path to your next big victory - you either aren't a big fan of capitalism, or you're silly and it's causing you to fight for the wrong damned side.

And this below. Clue WT - the Left has been kicking the Right's ass in this country for two decades or more, how do you think we even got to where we are? And you don't want to fight like them, assuming you even could? And given that you don't seem to even understand the significance of an institution like the American Presidency and why it should demand a higher standard, and that you're down for attacking Capitalism because you think it helps your cause - I honestly don't believe you have a clue what meaningless is.

Obama made a silly, meaningless quip. Let’s not make more of it than it is because that is how the left acts, folks. They make a mountain of of a mole’s hill. We should act like the adults we are and not do that here.

Comments

[Sally]

Black people don't really do too much bowling do they? He should have said something like that, "we black folk, we don't know what to do with a bowling ball coz it doesn't bounce and we can't throw it." Now that would have been funny. I mean, if he wants to make fun of himself that's the way I think he should go. Bring some crude racial stereotype into the mix. As his AG said, we don't talk enough about race in this country. It could have been a teachable moment. Everyone would have laughed and then he could have said, you think that's funny? You think I'm funny? What's so funny about that? Am I a funny guy to you? Like Joe Pesci in Goodfellas and everyone would have stopped laughing and gotten uncomfortable because they would realize that they were laughing at Black people who have been historically disadvantaged by not having bowling alleys where they grew up or enough money to go learn how to bowl and it's not really cool to laugh at Black people as if they were too stupid to know what to do with a bowling ball and then Obama could have said, Hey, I'm just messin' with ya...and everyone would know that he knew what had just happened but he's such a cool guy and didn't want people to feel bad about themselves so he was letting everyone off the hook.

That's the way I would have gone with it.

[James]

I agree with you. The left and its publicists in the press may yet deflect growing anger over the recession and later inflation onto Republicans.

[Philip McDaniel]

Obama should be called out on the comment. It was crass, and definitely not something you would expect the President of the United States of America to say…then again, you would not expect the President to be on a talk show either. You would expect the President to be hard at work solving the current economic problem along with his expert advisors. On the other hand, maybe he should take up bowling instead.

[w3bgrrl]

There are only two conclusions that can be drawn from Obama's behavior: he's an idiot or he's intentionally doing demeaning the office of the President and the image of the United States of America.

The teleprompter makes me hopeful he's just an idiot, but events on the world stage make me more and more curious if he's not intentionally trying to help our enemies bring us down a few notches.

Because even an idiot can surround himself with smart people, or so I was told by the left when Bush was president. Presumably these smart people would inform Obama that going on Leno and making fun of disabled people is beneath the dignity of the leader of the free world.

So which is it, Obama? Are ya dumb or trying screw us over?

[beachrat]

I think you're sort of right in general, but specifically wrong about who is getting the bonuses. It is by and large those who made this mess. I agree the bonuses themselves are a "bloody shirt" we shouldn't be focused on, but the larger point is who is driving the processes and based on what (disputable) assumptions. Simon Johnson has a good piece well worth reading here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/opinion/20johnson.html

[Plumb Bob]

beachrat, it wasn't the AIG execs who created the crisis, it was largely the government, with some help from greedy land speculators. AIG simply sold insurance based on the value of the mortgages. If the government had not forced banks to make bad loans, no crisis. If the government had not demanded mark-to-market accounting, no crisis. If the government had not backed sub-prime loans to the tune of $1 trillion, no crisis. If the Fed had not blown air into the mortgage bubble by artificially dropping the prime rate, no crisis. And most on point, if the government hadn't thrown $173 billion at AIG to prevent the company from a well-deserved bankruptcy, there would certainly have been no bonuses.

The bonus flap is a deliberately manufactured outrage. I suspect that Treasury quietly insisted on the bonus provision in the bailout law specifically so they could manufacture outrage down the road. Whether that's true or not, the outrage itself is opportunistic -- and at its core, it's Marxism On Parade.

[John]

For a second there I thought you were going to castigate all the rightbloggers ganging up on Obama for the bowling gaffe. Then I realized you were actually criticizing those rightbloggers who don't want to make a big deal about it.

This is why the right wing is dying.

[Philip McDaniel]

We're dying laughing, John. The joke's really on you.

[beachrat]

Plumb Bob, AIG "simply" sold uncollateralized insurance, i.e. they made huge bets using IOUs. Actually they weren't even at the table, but were making astronomical side bets they would never ever be able to pay off. So I guess it depends what you think the meaning of "caused" is.

The larger point is that the bonuses, like the 100x greater counterparty payments, are indeed going to the people who made those bets, which yes exploited the system's opportunities, but no are not fixing anything. The assumption is that this is so complicated that we have no choice but to reward people (more) who were already betting on other people's assets with other people's money. That's not only wrong in this case and historically, it also fails to address the larger problem of realigning incentives both politically and in the markets.

[D. Aristophanes]

Contracts can be re-negotiated, Dan. I haven't heard you say that people who advocate re-negotiating union contracts are 'not big fans of capitalism'.

[mark l.]

future contracts can be renegotiated.
contracts thay have been completed cannot.
imagine administering a 5% tax on all 2007 returns.

"It is a distraction that takes away from focus on the AIG bonus mess that is far, far more to our advantage."

aig is actually a distraction for printing up a trillion dollars.
every country that hold US treasuries, believing they have a valuable "limited" resource, is now in the position of realizing that their resource is only as valuable as the amount of money in circulation.

[joeb]

Seems to me that the fact that he would make a joke like that shows a lack of sensitivity. Otherwise he would not have apologized for making that insensitive reference to the Special Olympics. I would say these kinds of foot in mouth disease will increase as he goes along. I do think it is important. Words do matter. I would say that was really tactless of Obama. And I know tactless. It takes one to know one.
But he is black so he will get a pass. And that pass by the MSM will continue no matter what he does for the next four(or 8) years.
The citizens are up in arms with their pitchforks to get AIG and Congress but you dont hear a peep of criticism of the Messiah. And if you do he will say he "takes full responsibility" and the MSM will say oh OK give him a pass on whatever it is.

[anne]

Obama is a punk. From punks you get punk behaviour. Like many punks, he's not very smart and relies on punk behaviour to get what he wants. We're stuck with him for at least the next 48 months - plan your lives for really bad government for a long time.

[jaime]

"plan your lives for really bad government for a long time."

George W. Who?

[Raoul Ortega]

George W. Who?

He's gone. Retired. Your side won. Get used to it.

[Greg Toombs]

Two other points:

As head of his party, and with no other balancing evidence to the contrary, Obama is the Chief of the PC Police. (Also see Imus, Don)

Second, Obama has repeatedly shown a very thin skin when given the opportunity to be insulted by a very marginal racial 'code words' or symbols (e.g. cartoons.)

It's reasonable to give him hell.

[Dan Collins]

I'm 100% with Dan on this. Obama's been in office for 60 days, and I'm tired of him being a supercilious douchebag. I'm not sure whether I'm more disgusted or embarrassed.

[OCBill]

From Senator John Cornyn and the NRSC:

"Two Words. Unimaginable greed. Those two words are what we've seen over the past few days as we learn more about the $165 million in bonuses offered to AIG executives. Help me get that money back."

[Dave]

hey , I have one for you, A N... walks in a bar, oh, excuse me, WhiteHouse, that was just a thoughtless joke.