November 17, 2013

When the Obama "Magic" Died
— Ace

Faoud Ajami's piece is terrific.

Forgive the personal reference, but from the very beginning of Mr. Obama's astonishing rise, I felt that I was witnessing something old and familiar. My advantage owed nothing to any mastery of American political history. I was guided by my immersion in the political history of the Arab world and of a life studying Third World societies.

In 2008, seeing the Obama crowds in Portland, Denver and St. Louis spurred memories of the spectacles that had attended the rise and fall of Arab political pretenders. I had lived through the era of the Egyptian leader Gamal Abdul Nasser. He had emerged from a military cabal to become a demigod, immune to judgment. His followers clung to him even as he led the Arabs to a catastrophic military defeat in the Six Day War of 1967. He issued a kind of apology for his performance. But his reign was never about policies and performance. It was about political magic.

In trying to grapple with, and write about, the Obama phenomenon, I found guidance in a book of breathtaking erudition, "Crowds and Power" (1962) by the Nobel laureate Elias Canetti. Born in Bulgaria in 1905 and educated in Vienna and Britain, Canetti was unmatched in his understanding of the passions, and the delusions, of crowds. The crowd is a "mysterious and universal phenomenon," he writes. It forms where there was nothing before. There comes a moment when "all who belong to the crowd get rid of their difference and feel equal." Density gives the illusion of equality, a blessed moment when "no one is greater or better than another."

The whole thing is worth reading. I interrupt it here just to note that the next paragraph doesn't really follow from the last; I've cut out the middle half. But he concludes:


Valerie Jarrett, the president's most trusted, probably most powerful, aide, once said in admiration that Mr. Obama has been bored his whole life. The implication was that he is above things, a man alone, and anointed. Perhaps this moment—a presidency coming apart, the incompetent social engineering of an entire health-care system—will now claim Mr. Obama's attention.

Posted by: Ace at 10:03 AM | Comments (220)
Post contains 370 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Yo!

Posted by: RightOne40 at November 17, 2013 10:05 AM (/yOZJ)

2 When the Obama "Magic" Died


Clearly, this is a Tea Party threat on The President's life.

Posted by: Martin 'bang-bang boom-boom AK47' Bashir at November 17, 2013 10:05 AM (XIrbA)

3 Who needs magic when you have intrisic corruption and fraud. You think Hugo Chavez 'won' all his elections with popular appeal? Once Chavez gained power running on Populist Lies, he rigged the system to secure his position. Eric Holder's #1 job from the beginning was to keep Obama in office.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:11 AM (KWqEG)

4 Great article. We knew this from the beginning. Not sure if it's possible for the nation to be undeceived, with a fawning press. But maybe Obamacare will be such a disaster that the press cannot protect him.

Posted by: Caliban at November 17, 2013 10:11 AM (2ArJQ)

5 ...maybe forever.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:11 AM (KWqEG)

6 I've always liked Ajami, he's one of the rare reasons to watch CNN frankly and that piece was pretty much straight up Ajami.

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 10:12 AM (GaqMa)

7 And by the way, the "crowd power" thing is an expression of the religious spirit. Obama was not just a politician; he was "sort of like God." The people are looking for a messiah.

Posted by: Caliban at November 17, 2013 10:14 AM (2ArJQ)

8 I see Amazon's new show Alpha House is a viciously left-wing "comedy" that calls all Repubs crazy and evil. It's insane that that even a glorified Wal-mart like Amazon funds anti-conservative propaganda. Not just selling it, but funding it. Is it really that much to ask that my electronics store or office supply store not create propaganda against me?

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 17, 2013 10:14 AM (ZPrif)

9 I wrote a paper in grad school about "Charisma and Myth-Making in Egypt under Nasser and Sadat"


Adjami and I are of the Same Mind--and the comparison is easy to make

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:15 AM (omBWL)

10

Never knew that Three Card Monte was considered "magic"?  'Cause that's all this schuckster's administration has been, from the very beginning.

 

 

"Magic of crowds"....... , no.  I think Roundup of Rubes would be more fitting.

 

 

 

Jim

Sunk New Dawn

Galveston, TX

Posted by: Jim at November 17, 2013 10:15 AM (vvk2F)

11 Individuals and crowds behave as they do based on the reinforcing consequence of their behavior. To support Obama resulted in tremendous social reinforcement. Later, more fungible, material reinforcements may emerge as your leader promises (and sometimes delivers) a variety of benefit and rewards for loyalty and support. There's no psychology here, just operant conditioning.

Posted by: doobydoobydo at November 17, 2013 10:16 AM (Zr9JC)

12 Individuals and crowds behave as they do based on the reinforcing consequence of their behavior. To support Obama resulted in tremendous social reinforcement. Later, more fungible, material reinforcements may emerge as your leader promises (and sometimes delivers) a variety of benefit and rewards for loyalty and support. There's no psychology here, just operant conditioning.

Posted by: doobydoobydo at November 17, 2013 10:16 AM (Zr9JC)

13 Individuals and crowds behave as they do based on the reinforcing consequence of their behavior. To support Obama resulted in tremendous social reinforcement. Later, more fungible, material reinforcements may emerge as your leader promises (and sometimes delivers) a variety of benefit and rewards for loyalty and support. There's no psychology here, just operant conditioning.

Posted by: doobydoobydo at November 17, 2013 10:16 AM (Zr9JC)

14 Individuals and crowds behave as they do based on the reinforcing consequence of their behavior. To support Obama resulted in tremendous social reinforcement. Later, more fungible, material reinforcements may emerge as your leader promises (and sometimes delivers) a variety of benefit and rewards for loyalty and support. There's no psychology here, just operant conditioning.

Posted by: doobydoobydo at November 17, 2013 10:16 AM (Zr9JC)

15 Many 3rd World dictatorships have essentially the same dynamic as Chavez, Nasser, Saddam H, Morales, Peron / Kirchner, etc, etc


Idols, with feet of clay and egos the size of Brazil

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (omBWL)

16 Many 3rd World dictatorships have essentially the same dynamic as Chavez, Nasser, Saddam H, Morales, Peron / Kirchner, etc, etc


Idols, with feet of clay and egos the size of Brazil

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (omBWL)

17 Many 3rd World dictatorships have essentially the same dynamic as Chavez, Nasser, Saddam H, Morales, Peron / Kirchner, etc, etc


Idols, with feet of clay and egos the size of Brazil

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (omBWL)

18 Many 3rd World dictatorships have essentially the same dynamic as Chavez, Nasser, Saddam H, Morales, Peron / Kirchner, etc, etc


Idols, with feet of clay and egos the size of Brazil

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (omBWL)

19 The 'magic died' really?  So who cut off his choom supply?  Was it ValJar in the Lincoln bedroom?  Or Michelle in the bedroom?

Flatbush, I well know about Alpha House and just shook my head.  I tried to write screenplays for them sans anything edgy political and so far, no interests from Amazon about giving me any of their money.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (M5zr6)

20 The 'magic died' really?  So who cut off his choom supply?  Was it ValJar in the Lincoln bedroom?  Or Michelle in the bedroom?

Flatbush, I well know about Alpha House and just shook my head.  I tried to write screenplays for them sans anything edgy political and so far, no interests from Amazon about giving me any of their money.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (M5zr6)

21 The 'magic died' really?  So who cut off his choom supply?  Was it ValJar in the Lincoln bedroom?  Or Michelle in the bedroom?

Flatbush, I well know about Alpha House and just shook my head.  I tried to write screenplays for them sans anything edgy political and so far, no interests from Amazon about giving me any of their money.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (M5zr6)

22 The 'magic died' really?  So who cut off his choom supply?  Was it ValJar in the Lincoln bedroom?  Or Michelle in the bedroom?

Flatbush, I well know about Alpha House and just shook my head.  I tried to write screenplays for them sans anything edgy political and so far, no interests from Amazon about giving me any of their money.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 17, 2013 10:17 AM (M5zr6)

23 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (ZPrif)

24 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (ZPrif)

25 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (ZPrif)

26 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country.

Posted by: Flatbush Joe at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (ZPrif)

27 Ajami is quite matter-of-fact about the comparison between Obama and third-world dictators.

But we have been spoiled in this country for 237 years. Obama is our first president with more than a hint of the authoritarian.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (oJ5Fd)

28 Ajami is quite matter-of-fact about the comparison between Obama and third-world dictators.

But we have been spoiled in this country for 237 years. Obama is our first president with more than a hint of the authoritarian.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (oJ5Fd)

29 Ajami is quite matter-of-fact about the comparison between Obama and third-world dictators.

But we have been spoiled in this country for 237 years. Obama is our first president with more than a hint of the authoritarian.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (oJ5Fd)

30 Ajami is quite matter-of-fact about the comparison between Obama and third-world dictators.

But we have been spoiled in this country for 237 years. Obama is our first president with more than a hint of the authoritarian.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:18 AM (oJ5Fd)

31 Mr. Obama has been bored his whole life well shit, take up a fucking sport there champ don't destroy our economy to get your thrills

Posted by: navycopjoe at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (oi+Yq)

32 Mr. Obama has been bored his whole life well shit, take up a fucking sport there champ don't destroy our economy to get your thrills

Posted by: navycopjoe at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (oi+Yq)

33 Mr. Obama has been bored his whole life well shit, take up a fucking sport there champ don't destroy our economy to get your thrills

Posted by: navycopjoe at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (oi+Yq)

34 Mr. Obama has been bored his whole life well shit, take up a fucking sport there champ don't destroy our economy to get your thrills

Posted by: navycopjoe at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (oi+Yq)

35 when you have no G-d you manufacture one looks like this one had feet of clay . For those that tweet see my nic. Sheila

Posted by: Fourth Horseman at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (KuZ6A)

36 when you have no G-d you manufacture one looks like this one had feet of clay . For those that tweet see my nic. Sheila

Posted by: Fourth Horseman at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (KuZ6A)

37 when you have no G-d you manufacture one looks like this one had feet of clay . For those that tweet see my nic. Sheila

Posted by: Fourth Horseman at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (KuZ6A)

38 when you have no G-d you manufacture one looks like this one had feet of clay . For those that tweet see my nic. Sheila

Posted by: Fourth Horseman at November 17, 2013 10:19 AM (KuZ6A)

39 Vj on Obama Bored most of his life.. Personally I wish he would just keep to himself with these ideas and assumptions on the American traditions and culture.

Posted by: 7 Days in May at November 17, 2013 10:20 AM (j6DTo)

40 Vj on Obama Bored most of his life.. Personally I wish he would just keep to himself with these ideas and assumptions on the American traditions and culture.

Posted by: 7 Days in May at November 17, 2013 10:20 AM (j6DTo)

41 Vj on Obama Bored most of his life.. Personally I wish he would just keep to himself with these ideas and assumptions on the American traditions and culture.

Posted by: 7 Days in May at November 17, 2013 10:20 AM (j6DTo)

42 Vj on Obama Bored most of his life.. Personally I wish he would just keep to himself with these ideas and assumptions on the American traditions and culture.

Posted by: 7 Days in May at November 17, 2013 10:20 AM (j6DTo)

43 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:18 PM (oJ5Fd) Heh, that's like what that Vatican person a while back says "We've been blessed, 500 years without a wicked pope." I did like Ajami's comparisons though to charismatic dictators, I think they're fairly accurate.

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 10:21 AM (GaqMa)

44 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:18 PM (oJ5Fd) Heh, that's like what that Vatican person a while back says "We've been blessed, 500 years without a wicked pope." I did like Ajami's comparisons though to charismatic dictators, I think they're fairly accurate.

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 10:21 AM (GaqMa)

45 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:18 PM (oJ5Fd) Heh, that's like what that Vatican person a while back says "We've been blessed, 500 years without a wicked pope." I did like Ajami's comparisons though to charismatic dictators, I think they're fairly accurate.

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 10:21 AM (GaqMa)

46 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:18 PM (oJ5Fd) Heh, that's like what that Vatican person a while back says "We've been blessed, 500 years without a wicked pope." I did like Ajami's comparisons though to charismatic dictators, I think they're fairly accurate.

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 10:21 AM (GaqMa)

47 It is a great piece. I took exception, though, to where he decribes Obama as "He was stylish with two young children,.."

Didn't Ajami ever see the picture of Obama wearing "mom" jeans  and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle helmet riding on a girl bike with a bell?..or any of the pics of him wearing pleated Dockers?

Ace left off the coda of the first excerpt which really brings the point home :

 " But the crowd also has a presentiment of its own disintegration, a time when those who belong to the crowd "creep back under their private burdens."



Posted by: Albie Damned at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (Yhu4q)

48 It is a great piece. I took exception, though, to where he decribes Obama as "He was stylish with two young children,.."

Didn't Ajami ever see the picture of Obama wearing "mom" jeans  and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle helmet riding on a girl bike with a bell?..or any of the pics of him wearing pleated Dockers?

Ace left off the coda of the first excerpt which really brings the point home :

 " But the crowd also has a presentiment of its own disintegration, a time when those who belong to the crowd "creep back under their private burdens."



Posted by: Albie Damned at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (Yhu4q)

49 It is a great piece. I took exception, though, to where he decribes Obama as "He was stylish with two young children,.."

Didn't Ajami ever see the picture of Obama wearing "mom" jeans  and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle helmet riding on a girl bike with a bell?..or any of the pics of him wearing pleated Dockers?

Ace left off the coda of the first excerpt which really brings the point home :

 " But the crowd also has a presentiment of its own disintegration, a time when those who belong to the crowd "creep back under their private burdens."



Posted by: Albie Damned at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (Yhu4q)

50 It is a great piece. I took exception, though, to where he decribes Obama as "He was stylish with two young children,.."

Didn't Ajami ever see the picture of Obama wearing "mom" jeans  and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle helmet riding on a girl bike with a bell?..or any of the pics of him wearing pleated Dockers?

Ace left off the coda of the first excerpt which really brings the point home :

 " But the crowd also has a presentiment of its own disintegration, a time when those who belong to the crowd "creep back under their private burdens."



Posted by: Albie Damned at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (Yhu4q)

51 Thanks to Left's extremely devious Political Correctness campaign, the USA no longer 'stands' for anything. And when you stand for nothing...

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (KWqEG)

52 Thanks to Left's extremely devious Political Correctness campaign, the USA no longer 'stands' for anything. And when you stand for nothing...

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (KWqEG)

53 Thanks to Left's extremely devious Political Correctness campaign, the USA no longer 'stands' for anything. And when you stand for nothing...

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (KWqEG)

54 Thanks to Left's extremely devious Political Correctness campaign, the USA no longer 'stands' for anything. And when you stand for nothing...

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:23 AM (KWqEG)

55

We have nothing to fear with Barack Obama in the White House.

Posted by: John McCain at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (Pr6hk)

56

We have nothing to fear with Barack Obama in the White House.

Posted by: John McCain at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (Pr6hk)

57

We have nothing to fear with Barack Obama in the White House.

Posted by: John McCain at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (Pr6hk)

58

We have nothing to fear with Barack Obama in the White House.

Posted by: John McCain at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (Pr6hk)

59 "Valerie Jarrett, the president's most trusted, probably most powerful, aide, once said...." "We needed a emotionally damaged and needy sociopath who craved attention and adulation so we found this guy who would do anything to please us. To feel as if he himself was an insider and would respond appropriately when we dressed him down and reminded him of his place."

Posted by: Things A truthful Jarrett Would Say at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (MhA4j)

60 "Valerie Jarrett, the president's most trusted, probably most powerful, aide, once said...." "We needed a emotionally damaged and needy sociopath who craved attention and adulation so we found this guy who would do anything to please us. To feel as if he himself was an insider and would respond appropriately when we dressed him down and reminded him of his place."

Posted by: Things A truthful Jarrett Would Say at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (MhA4j)

61 "Valerie Jarrett, the president's most trusted, probably most powerful, aide, once said...." "We needed a emotionally damaged and needy sociopath who craved attention and adulation so we found this guy who would do anything to please us. To feel as if he himself was an insider and would respond appropriately when we dressed him down and reminded him of his place."

Posted by: Things A truthful Jarrett Would Say at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (MhA4j)

62 "Valerie Jarrett, the president's most trusted, probably most powerful, aide, once said...." "We needed a emotionally damaged and needy sociopath who craved attention and adulation so we found this guy who would do anything to please us. To feel as if he himself was an insider and would respond appropriately when we dressed him down and reminded him of his place."

Posted by: Things A truthful Jarrett Would Say at November 17, 2013 10:25 AM (MhA4j)

63 I would say 'Benghazi', but Brian Terry just tapped me on the shoulder.

Posted by: Ambassador Stevens at November 17, 2013 10:26 AM (Pr6hk)

64 I would say 'Benghazi', but Brian Terry just tapped me on the shoulder.

Posted by: Ambassador Stevens at November 17, 2013 10:26 AM (Pr6hk)

65 I would say 'Benghazi', but Brian Terry just tapped me on the shoulder.

Posted by: Ambassador Stevens at November 17, 2013 10:26 AM (Pr6hk)

66 I would say 'Benghazi', but Brian Terry just tapped me on the shoulder.

Posted by: Ambassador Stevens at November 17, 2013 10:26 AM (Pr6hk)

67 P.J. O'Rourke had a great phrase

"...made of baked wind and monkey doodle."

Fits Duh!1 and his supporters to a "T."

Posted by: backhoe at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (ULH4o)

68 P.J. O'Rourke had a great phrase

"...made of baked wind and monkey doodle."

Fits Duh!1 and his supporters to a "T."

Posted by: backhoe at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (ULH4o)

69 P.J. O'Rourke had a great phrase

"...made of baked wind and monkey doodle."

Fits Duh!1 and his supporters to a "T."

Posted by: backhoe at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (ULH4o)

70 P.J. O'Rourke had a great phrase

"...made of baked wind and monkey doodle."

Fits Duh!1 and his supporters to a "T."

Posted by: backhoe at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (ULH4o)

71

The magic was from the very beginning a fraud and a lie, up to and including everything Obama.

"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time" - A. Lincoln

Posted by: the amazing cult of kool aid at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (eQZZW)

72

The magic was from the very beginning a fraud and a lie, up to and including everything Obama.

"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time" - A. Lincoln

Posted by: the amazing cult of kool aid at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (eQZZW)

73

The magic was from the very beginning a fraud and a lie, up to and including everything Obama.

"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time" - A. Lincoln

Posted by: the amazing cult of kool aid at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (eQZZW)

74

The magic was from the very beginning a fraud and a lie, up to and including everything Obama.

"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time" - A. Lincoln

Posted by: the amazing cult of kool aid at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (eQZZW)

75 Ajami noted The Problem:  Nasser survived getting schwacked by the Israelis; Castro survived decades of stagnation and decay; Chavez survived a decade or so of Pure Chaos ( including the Great TeePee Shortage )


ya hope that as a 1st World society we can cleanse ourselves of Obama


ya hope

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (omBWL)

76 Ajami noted The Problem:  Nasser survived getting schwacked by the Israelis; Castro survived decades of stagnation and decay; Chavez survived a decade or so of Pure Chaos ( including the Great TeePee Shortage )


ya hope that as a 1st World society we can cleanse ourselves of Obama


ya hope

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (omBWL)

77 Ajami noted The Problem:  Nasser survived getting schwacked by the Israelis; Castro survived decades of stagnation and decay; Chavez survived a decade or so of Pure Chaos ( including the Great TeePee Shortage )


ya hope that as a 1st World society we can cleanse ourselves of Obama


ya hope

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (omBWL)

78 Ajami noted The Problem:  Nasser survived getting schwacked by the Israelis; Castro survived decades of stagnation and decay; Chavez survived a decade or so of Pure Chaos ( including the Great TeePee Shortage )


ya hope that as a 1st World society we can cleanse ourselves of Obama


ya hope

Posted by: stuff Sun Tzu said but didn't write down at November 17, 2013 10:27 AM (omBWL)

79 "During his first campaign, Mr. Obama had paid tribute to Ronald Reagan as a "transformational" president and hinted that he aspired to a presidency of that kind. But the Reagan presidency was about America, and never about Ronald Reagan. Reagan was never a scold or a narcissist. He stood in awe of America, and of its capacity for renewal."


Reagan considered himself a steward momentarily entrusted with America's greatness.  Obama considers America a rather embarrassing prop in the Epic Legend of Barack Obama.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (VAjxK)

80 "During his first campaign, Mr. Obama had paid tribute to Ronald Reagan as a "transformational" president and hinted that he aspired to a presidency of that kind. But the Reagan presidency was about America, and never about Ronald Reagan. Reagan was never a scold or a narcissist. He stood in awe of America, and of its capacity for renewal."


Reagan considered himself a steward momentarily entrusted with America's greatness.  Obama considers America a rather embarrassing prop in the Epic Legend of Barack Obama.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (VAjxK)

81 "During his first campaign, Mr. Obama had paid tribute to Ronald Reagan as a "transformational" president and hinted that he aspired to a presidency of that kind. But the Reagan presidency was about America, and never about Ronald Reagan. Reagan was never a scold or a narcissist. He stood in awe of America, and of its capacity for renewal."


Reagan considered himself a steward momentarily entrusted with America's greatness.  Obama considers America a rather embarrassing prop in the Epic Legend of Barack Obama.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (VAjxK)

82 "During his first campaign, Mr. Obama had paid tribute to Ronald Reagan as a "transformational" president and hinted that he aspired to a presidency of that kind. But the Reagan presidency was about America, and never about Ronald Reagan. Reagan was never a scold or a narcissist. He stood in awe of America, and of its capacity for renewal."


Reagan considered himself a steward momentarily entrusted with America's greatness.  Obama considers America a rather embarrassing prop in the Epic Legend of Barack Obama.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (VAjxK)

83 Another word for crowd ... Is flock Flocking animals: we r devolving

Posted by: BlackOrchid at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (EZNxq)

84 Another word for crowd ... Is flock Flocking animals: we r devolving

Posted by: BlackOrchid at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (EZNxq)

85 Another word for crowd ... Is flock Flocking animals: we r devolving

Posted by: BlackOrchid at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (EZNxq)

86 Another word for crowd ... Is flock Flocking animals: we r devolving

Posted by: BlackOrchid at November 17, 2013 10:28 AM (EZNxq)

87 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country


Yep. There seem to be few 20-somethings who can coherently explain the difference between a president, a king, and a dad.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (VAjxK)

88 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country


Yep. There seem to be few 20-somethings who can coherently explain the difference between a president, a king, and a dad.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (VAjxK)

89 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country


Yep. There seem to be few 20-somethings who can coherently explain the difference between a president, a king, and a dad.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (VAjxK)

90 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country


Yep. There seem to be few 20-somethings who can coherently explain the difference between a president, a king, and a dad.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (VAjxK)

91 I don't think bored, autistic strikes closer I think.

Posted by: Kafiroon at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (U0DWi)

92 I don't think bored, autistic strikes closer I think.

Posted by: Kafiroon at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (U0DWi)

93 I don't think bored, autistic strikes closer I think.

Posted by: Kafiroon at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (U0DWi)

94 I don't think bored, autistic strikes closer I think.

Posted by: Kafiroon at November 17, 2013 10:30 AM (U0DWi)

95 Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 02:28 PM (VAjxK)

What you said sounds so fucking outlandish, and just plain ridiculous.

This is America! We are the world's greatest successful experiment in self-governance. We would never tolerate such a man.

Except that we are tolerating him, and allowing him to destroy us.

How did we let that happen?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:31 AM (oJ5Fd)

96 Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 02:28 PM (VAjxK)

What you said sounds so fucking outlandish, and just plain ridiculous.

This is America! We are the world's greatest successful experiment in self-governance. We would never tolerate such a man.

Except that we are tolerating him, and allowing him to destroy us.

How did we let that happen?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:31 AM (oJ5Fd)

97 Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 02:28 PM (VAjxK)

What you said sounds so fucking outlandish, and just plain ridiculous.

This is America! We are the world's greatest successful experiment in self-governance. We would never tolerate such a man.

Except that we are tolerating him, and allowing him to destroy us.

How did we let that happen?

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:31 AM (oJ5Fd)

98 It's so bizarre, it's funny, really. obama is a magician who can't do a single magic trick. Remember, obama is the 'smartest president ever' who does not possess A Single mark of intelligence, aptitude, skillset, or talent. This highly intelligent cosmopolitan cant even speak a second language! obama is truly a unique savant -- a genius at being regarded a genius.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:31 AM (KWqEG)

99 It's so bizarre, it's funny, really. obama is a magician who can't do a single magic trick. Remember, obama is the 'smartest president ever' who does not possess A Single mark of intelligence, aptitude, skillset, or talent. This highly intelligent cosmopolitan cant even speak a second language! obama is truly a unique savant -- a genius at being regarded a genius.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:31 AM (KWqEG)

100 It's so bizarre, it's funny, really. obama is a magician who can't do a single magic trick. Remember, obama is the 'smartest president ever' who does not possess A Single mark of intelligence, aptitude, skillset, or talent. This highly intelligent cosmopolitan cant even speak a second language! obama is truly a unique savant -- a genius at being regarded a genius.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:31 AM (KWqEG)

101 Community Organizing is nothing more than the science behind lynch mobs.

Posted by: gastorgrab at November 17, 2013 10:33 AM (FX38i)

102 This is America! We are the world's greatest successful experiment in self-governance. We would never tolerate such a man.

Except that we are tolerating him, and allowing him to destroy us.

How did we let that happen?


Second century Romans probably asked themselves the same thing.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 10:34 AM (VAjxK)

103

"a presidency coming apart, "

 

 

Coming apart? He will still get a salary, nay, make tens of millions of dollars. He is set for life, just as he has been since the day he was born.

He could care less what the state of this union is in.

Posted by: Cicero Kid at November 17, 2013 10:34 AM (DHQv9)

104 Reminds me of something Louis L’Amour wrote in Comstock Lode: “Because a man plays a king superbly well does not mean that he would make a good king.” and “Folks can’t seem to realize that it isn’t a smooth talker we need in there but a steady man, a man with judgement. Any medicine-show man can spout words, if they are written for him. It takes no genius to sound well. To act right and at the right time is something else again.”

Posted by: Stephen Price Blair at November 17, 2013 10:34 AM (CeNUw)

105 Let us not forget that people were protesting the man's actions within 90 days of taking office.  If the media had semi-reported the Tea Party then, the administration would have been still-born.

Posted by: phreshone at November 17, 2013 10:35 AM (Pr6hk)

106 Huffypo has a an article-12 reasons why Obama is the bestest, most superest, coolest President ever and the kool aid drinkers are still lapping it up.. Link at "Hot Air"

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 17, 2013 10:35 AM (23Kgq)

107 ObamaCare is getting that nice  Hindenburg-like glow about it.

Posted by: Count de Monet at November 17, 2013 10:35 AM (BAS5M)

108 But we have been spoiled in this country for 237 years. Obama is our first president with more than a hint of the authoritarian. We certainly never had a president so readily able to rule by decree. America never should have let the president get so powerful.

Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at November 17, 2013 10:35 AM (uhAkr)

109 Hitler, Castro and Mao went the single payer route for healthcareÂ…. Look how great their countries have done. We can do it!!!! /s

Posted by: HealthCare.gov at November 17, 2013 10:35 AM (UJ91I)

110
30 Americans are getting dumber, which is why America is behaving like a backwards country


Yep. There seem to be few 20-somethings who can coherently explain the difference between a president, a king, and a dad.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 02:30 PM (VAjxK)



It's called public education by 'education majors'


Posted by: phreshone at November 17, 2013 10:36 AM (Pr6hk)

111
Bob Woodward said on Fox News Sunday.  "ObamaCare isn't Watergate or Lewinsky."

So Woodward believes it's not a scandal, but simply an accounting error?

Sure, it's not a scandal because a liberal sits in the Oral Orifice, but if this was Bush' baby, it would be gargantuan.

Bob Woodward, still sucking liberal cock after all these years!

Posted by: Doctor Fish at November 17, 2013 10:36 AM (pJF+c)

112 obama is the vituoso who sells out all his concerts. The critics simply love him. Posters of obama all over the place -- his following is unprecedentes. But all this virtuoso, obama, does is walk out on the stage and... bow.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:36 AM (KWqEG)

113 40 ObamaCare is getting that nice Hindenburg-like glow about it. That's why I jumped out before it hit the ground.

Posted by: Passenger on the Hindenburg at November 17, 2013 10:36 AM (UJ91I)

114 "But we have been spoiled in this country for 237 years. Obama is our first president with more than a hint of the authoritarian."

You are forgetting Wilson.

From Day 1 I've said this administration is a rerun of the 8 years of Woodrow Wilson.

Posted by: Dave in Fla at November 17, 2013 10:37 AM (LxcRK)

115

Ajami's analysis (destruction) of the preposterous and disastrous Cairo speech was among his best works.  I've had occasion to use parts of it (even though I already had the reaction he had, his formulations were better), gently, in hinting to some typically clueless acquaintances that it was in fact possible to fuck up foreign policy much worse than it has to be (since foreigners are involved, it's always going to be somewhat effed up).

 

Something about the Cairo Catastrophe - it was the quintessence of the mediocrity and stupidity and arrogance of the Beltway "elites" who have had such a huge role since the Clinton days.  Cultural ignorance and insensitivity (!!!), a bizarre phenomenon I call hubristic self-loathing, and ignorance.

 

Not material to the case and no surprise for someone as intellectually intense as Ajami, but he can be quite the prick in person.  One of my office-mates squired him around one of our war zones a few years back and the guy nearly got stranded at a remote border crossing because he wouldn't accept our instructions re visas etc. 

Posted by: non-purist at November 17, 2013 10:37 AM (afQnV)

116 I see Amazon's new show Alpha House is a viciously left-wing "comedy" that calls all Repubs crazy and evil. I kind of figured, since (a) moonbat John Goodman and (b) their promos are just Goodman in a suit and something with an American flag. If you aren't going to tell us about it, we probably won't like it. Several things here: First, it's the willing -- no eager -- epistemic closure that the Left craves. Especially now. Now they'll eagerly grab onto any fictional scenario that tells you the lies you want to hear. Second, Amazon doesn't really care that it's left-wing propaganda. What they want is "buzz", the kind of buzz House of Cards got. And nothing brings buzz like bashing the Right. You get "controversy" in which the offended are portrayed as Philistines and the company can stand up to self-righteous scolds. I wonder if they even knew (or cared) about the political content. They were probably tokd that they could have something like House of Cards, except a comedy! Third, I am just exhausted with all of this "entertainment" about the Court of Versailles. House of Cards, White House Down, Olympus Has Fallen... Not to mention the blatantly ham-fisted political stuff: 5th Estate, Elysium... It's all very Shakespearean and reflects a feeling that one is not in a republic but is governed by a nobility. A benevolent one, of course, that only cares about us and loves us like children, one that has earned its elevated status -- but a nobility nonetheless. The Obama magic is a self-induced illusion. You know he doesn't think you're pretty, even though he says so. You know he just wants to take what he can from you and leave you by the side of the road. You know you'll never hear from him again. But you don't care, because, now, you want to hear the lies. You want stories to be told, fairy tales that tell you that it's happily ever after. There are no compromises, no choices, no harsh realities. You were right all along about how the world works. And you want the world to shut up so that you can enjoy your waffle.

Posted by: AmishDude at November 17, 2013 10:37 AM (xSegX)

117 We're at the point when you had better applaud this virtuoso, or you'll be labeled a hater and a racist.

Posted by: soothsayer at November 17, 2013 10:38 AM (KWqEG)

118 No Sir, I still love and support my Black President. He will always be loved be those punished by Bush and Reagan.

Posted by: Chrissy Liebowitz at November 17, 2013 10:38 AM (EUKai)

119 We were outnumbered is how this happened . When Johnson kicked off his war on poverty in my small community they knew that eventually they would enable the have nots to take over the haves.The resentment engendered towards the working by the non working assured an eventual takeover by a community organizer who knows how to divide and conquer. Spit!

Posted by: Fourth Horseman at November 17, 2013 10:38 AM (KuZ6A)

120 When the Obama "Magic" Died heh

Posted by: Don McLean at November 17, 2013 10:38 AM (mETGQ)

121 20 It is a great piece. I took exception, though, to where he decribes Obama as "He was stylish with two young children,.." Didn't Ajami ever see the picture of Obama wearing "mom" jeans and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle helmet riding on a girl bike with a bell?..or any of the pics of him wearing pleated Dockers? "Stylish"...a strange word...as if his children are accessories. I still find it astounding how many vacations he takes where his wife and children don't go with him.

Posted by: AmishDude at November 17, 2013 10:39 AM (xSegX)

122 Let's face it. We're a celebrity obsessed culture. How else can you explain the Kardashian's success? It's not a new phenomenon. It's just reached a ridiculous level. Unfortunately, people associate charisma and charm for intelligence and competence.

Posted by: boned to the bone at November 17, 2013 10:39 AM (Ph479)

123  "Stylish"...a strange word...as if his children are accessories.

For him, they are...or maybe tools.  You don't think he married that lovely pleasant daughter of a Chicago ward heeler because it was true love, do you?

Gotta have a family for a backdrop.  See also Clinton, Chelsea and Weiner, Jordan.

Posted by: HeatherRadish™, drinking beer at November 17, 2013 10:43 AM (hO8IJ)

124 Man, I just unloaded another huge Obamacare. Must have drunk too much last night...

Posted by: OG Celtic-American at November 17, 2013 10:45 AM (vHRtU)

125 This line of thinking also gives generous cover to those "tricked" Obama voters and conveniently absolves them of any complicity in the current state of affairs. I've already heard this floated by a lib family member. It's not about their political ideology, it's about what a fraud Obama turned out to be; but I called bullshit on that. Can't wait for Thanksgiving!

Posted by: the Butcher at November 17, 2013 10:45 AM (iyHrO)

126

Bob Woodward, still sucking liberal cock after all these years!

==================

He needs access. And he's at the end of his career. Just think of all the like-minded twits need access for the next couple of decades.

Posted by: boned to the bone at November 17, 2013 10:45 AM (Ph479)

127 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:31 PM (oJ5Fd) How are we tolerating him? Simple, to quote Alasdair MacIntyre: "If my account of our moral condition is correct [one characterized by moral incoherence and unsettlable moral disputes in the modern world], we ought to conclude that for some time now we too have reached that turning point. ... This time however the barbarians are not waiting beyond the frontiers; they have already been governing us for quite some time. And it is our lack of consciousness of this that constitutes part of our predicament. We are waiting not for a Godot, but for another—doubtless very different—St. Benedict.” And scene.

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 10:46 AM (GaqMa)

128 Remember, obama is the 'smartest president ever' who does not possess A Single mark of intelligence, aptitude, skillset, or talent. This highly intelligent cosmopolitan cant even speak a second language! obama is truly a unique savant -- a genius at being regarded a genius. I like this, soothsayer. Pithy. Barack Obama is a political Paris Hilton. But at least Paris' family had made something of themselves, even if she is an empty shell.

Posted by: AmishDude at November 17, 2013 10:47 AM (xSegX)

129 Let's face it. We're a celebrity obsessed culture. How else can you explain the Kardashian's success? It's not a new phenomenon. It's just reached a ridiculous level. Unfortunately, people associate charisma and charm for intelligence and competence. Posted by: boned to the bone at November 17, 2013 02:39 PM (Ph479) **** I sure would like to figure out a way to get a megafuckton of government money to do research on the Kardashian's fame. Beside big tits and ass what exactly is Kim famous for?

Posted by: YIKES! at November 17, 2013 10:47 AM (mETGQ)

130 "I was guided by my immersion in the political history of the Arab world and of a life studying Third World societies."

I don't like Ajami very much, but in this, he and I are absolutely on the same page. What I've seen from the beginning in the rise of Obama is the Third Worldization of American politics. (And what's depressing is that I do not expect that trend to magically stop and reverse when Obama is out of office.)

"In 2008, seeing the Obama crowds in Portland, Denver and St. Louis spurred memories of the spectacles that had attended the rise and fall of Arab political pretenders."

What they caused me to think of instead were the early years of Robert Mugabe.

I wrote a couple of comments setting forth the quite strong and explicit parallels between the two men on various lefty Web sites and SF Bay Area newspaper sites, and was instantly banhammered every single time for having dared to advance such an odious comparison. How ***DARE*** anyone liken The Lightworker to some African dictator?

My pointing out that Mugabe was a dictator who had originally been democratically elected as a reformer fell on deaf ears.

Five years later, I wouldn't take back a word of that original analysis. He's another Mugabe. Held back only by America having had powerful inherent checks and balances against rogue chief executives, constitutional and cultural, which Rhodesia/Zimbabwe lacked.

Frightening to think of what the next Obama type (and there will be another, count on it) will manage to do once America's core institutions and culture have undergone a few more years of dry rot.

Posted by: torquewrench at November 17, 2013 10:47 AM (gqT4g)

131 The day the magic died.
And I was singing bye, bye, anti-American guy.
Can't drive my Chevy to the levy 'cause the gas is too high.
And those good, old boys were drinking Kool Aid and rye.
The day the magic died.

Posted by: WalrusRex at November 17, 2013 10:47 AM (PjgvN)

132 He's bored with everything because he is a stupid,stupid man.

Posted by: steevy at November 17, 2013 10:48 AM (zqvg6)

133 Narcissists and children: http://www.lightshouse.org/the-narcissistic-parent.html#axzz2kvyWdnGh Of course we don't know if this is how Obama treats his children but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 17, 2013 10:48 AM (23Kgq)

134 Tears for a clown.

Posted by: dfbaskwill at November 17, 2013 10:48 AM (ndlFj)

135 The irony is that the first black president is a wholly owned slave who was created out of whole cloth specifically to play a role.

Posted by: OG Celtic-American at November 17, 2013 10:49 AM (vHRtU)

136 he thinks that the hispanics voted for obama because of immigration reform, not out of similar racial solidarity.

Posted by: oejay44cday at November 17, 2013 10:49 AM (Raxbk)

137 The slut bit me!

Posted by: Daniel Dravot at November 17, 2013 10:49 AM (5rdqb)

138 I'd forgotten about Yes, We Can!  That's one slogan not looking too good these days.

Posted by: WalrusRex at November 17, 2013 10:49 AM (PjgvN)

139 They taxed us to death, people have to work harder and harder to maintain the status quo. One income could support a family and people had the time to be engaged, now each family supports theirs and one or two others.

Posted by: madamex at November 17, 2013 10:50 AM (islXR)

140 Beside big tits and ass what exactly is Kim famous for?

Posted by: YIKES! at November 17, 2013 02:47 PM (mETGQ)

Fucking on camera, then posting it on the internet.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:50 AM (oJ5Fd)

141

Beside big tits and ass what exactly is Kim famous for?

===========

I think she made a sex tape. So many have done so that it's hard to keep track.

Posted by: boned to the bone at November 17, 2013 10:50 AM (Ph479)

142 "I still find it astounding how many vacations he takes where his wife and children don't go with him."

You wouldn't find it astounding if you were in my shoes for a day.

Posted by: Reggie Love at November 17, 2013 10:51 AM (gqT4g)

143

When the music's over
Turn out the lights
Turn out the lights
Turn out the lights

Posted by: Jim Morrison at November 17, 2013 10:51 AM (Pr6hk)

144 73 I think her mother actually made sure it got publicized.Some mom.

Posted by: steevy at November 17, 2013 10:51 AM (zqvg6)

145 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:50 PM (oJ5Fd) Let's not forget suing to have it removed only to back down when the royalties were offered. She's a porn star, that's pretty much it, no different than Jenna Jameson or Bree Olson, she just did a better job of avoiding the title "Porn Star"

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 10:52 AM (GaqMa)

146 I read that in the WSJ yesterday. Sometime the WSJ is a disappointment because they are for comprehensive immigration reform. And they give Rove a column per week, and Noonan was for TFG and I canÂ’t forgive that. Other times they are outstanding. This is one example of it. For the best editorials, InvestorsÂ’ Business Daily canÂ’t be beat. They called him a socialist of Marxist in the summer of 2008.

Posted by: CarolT at November 17, 2013 10:52 AM (z4WKX)

147 Would you want to take Mooch with you on vacation?Anywhere??

Posted by: steevy at November 17, 2013 10:52 AM (zqvg6)

148 68 The irony is that the first black president is a wholly owned slave who was created out of whole cloth specifically to play a role. How DARE you use the word slave?!

Posted by: Martin Bashir at November 17, 2013 10:52 AM (uhAkr)

149 I sure would like to figure out a way to get a megafuckton of government money to do research on the Kardashian's fame. Beside big tits and ass what exactly is Kim famous for? Posted by: YIKES! at November 17, 2013 02:47 PM (mETGQ) I think it's the "hidden princess" scenario. I think a lot of young women like to imagine themselves in Kim's shoes. She's surrounded by celebrity, glitz and glamour. Her problems aren't realistic by normal human standards and...here's the kicker...she screws up a lot, so it makes people feel better about themselves.

Posted by: AmishDude at November 17, 2013 10:52 AM (xSegX)

150 Re: the PuffHo article--(ZOMG, Bammyz duh bestest preezy....Evah!!!111!1!1)

Yeesh.  After quickly skimming, I filed it under "slobbering sycophants" and closed the window, to prevent forceful ejection of my stomach's contents.


Posted by: JeanQueenie at November 17, 2013 10:54 AM (82lr7)

151 Not a drop of slave blood in this grievance monger.

Posted by: Booker T. Washington at November 17, 2013 10:54 AM (Pr6hk)

152
As I posted earlier, Obama will "community organize" himself out of this mess:

Obama is gonna blame it on the big, bad insurance companies. And most Americans will swallow his big lie.

Obama will say:

I told those insurance companies to reissue those policies but they won't. It's not my fault that some insurance companies are more concerned about their bottom line than providing policies for people in dire need of health care."

Then it will be the insurance companies' fault.

Oh -- and you can shove all of that legality stuff right up your pooper for a couple of reasons:

1) Most people believe Obama has the authority to change his law as he sees fit.

2) Most people who understand he lacks that authority wish Obama had the authority to personally change things as he sees fit. So most people aren't the least bit disturbed by Obama's illegal meddling with the law.

3) The majority of people fall into neither categories 1 or 2. They neither know nor care about Obama's legal authority. They just want things fixed. If Obama says doing his Plan X will fix things and the insurance companies say they can't do it, the insurance companies will become the bad guys.

So just like with the bailouts, Barry will be the only one between the people with torches and pitchforks and the insurance companies.

After the blame is laid squarely on the insurance companies by Obama the people are gonna rally to Obama's side. And ditto for the GOP led House. It'll take zero effort for Barry to make the American public hate them even more than they do now (something like a 94% disapproval rating). Look for something like another OWS soon, but aimed at insurance companies.

Obama will "community organize" himself right out of this mess.

Posted by: Ed Anger at November 17, 2013 10:54 AM (tOkJB)

153 Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 02:46 PM (GaqMa)

The Tytler Cycle.

http://tinyurl.com/ku6qkbj

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:55 AM (oJ5Fd)

154 >>Beside big tits and ass what exactly is Kim famous for?
.....
Fucking on camera, then posting it on the internet.<<

Didn't she get pissed on in that flick?

Posted by: Albie Damned at November 17, 2013 10:56 AM (Yhu4q)

155 "... it was in fact possible to fuck up foreign policy much worse than it has to be (since foreigners are involved, it's always going to be somewhat effed up)."

Goddamn, you've hit the nail on the head.

I propose to adopt that as a policy initiative for my own Presidential bid. Simplifying the conduct of foreign policy by cutting those greasy obstreperous foreigners out of the loop. They've been the trouble all along.

Posted by: torquewrench at November 17, 2013 10:56 AM (gqT4g)

156 My takeaway slice from the piece. " . . . the price of access in the Obama court is quiescence before the leader's will." Want to fire up your hatred of TFG a few notches? Go to YouTube and find that footage shot of his meeting with Republicans in the run-up to the ObamaCare vote, and watch him as he scolds Eric Cantor. Is it OK to hate your president? Hate? Do you think he hates? Hates anybody? Any thing? Watch the video again. Does he hate Cantor? You bet he does. There has been no president like this guy in my lifetime, and I hope I'll never see another. The damage he has done with his polarizing politics, his failures, and his "landmark" legislation, may never be undone.

Posted by: the littl shyning man at November 17, 2013 10:56 AM (tmFlQ)

157 Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 02:52 PM (GaqMa)

Eh.

Most porn stars have nice bodies.

Kardashian has a monstrous ass and no other shape.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 10:56 AM (oJ5Fd)

158

>>"Perhaps this moment—a presidency coming apart, the incompetent social engineering of an entire health-care system—will now claim Mr. Obama's attention."

 

 

This, the last line of his piece, reveals that even he doesn't really understand Obama.

Posted by: rrpjr at November 17, 2013 10:58 AM (+EzG3)

159 Let's ot kid ourselves though. He may be a lame duck of sorts now, but he is mighty willing to issue executive orders, stack courts, and regulate the hell out of what's left of our economy.
 
The faux marble columns may have fallen and the curtain parted on Mr. Wizard, but he still is going to do a lot of damage over the next 3 years. Don't forget all his willing accomplices in the Senate either.

Posted by: GnuBreed at November 17, 2013 11:01 AM (wNF3N)

160 The damage he has done with his polarizing politics, his failures, and his "landmark" legislation, may never be undone. I have to say for this reason I don't understand Goldberg's schadenboner. I see this as a big mess that *we* will need to fix while Soetero and his idiots continue to act like retards.

Posted by: Martin Bashir at November 17, 2013 11:01 AM (uhAkr)

161 Dave in Fla, re authoritarian leanings: "You are forgetting Wilson. "From Day 1 I've said this administration is a rerun of the 8 years of Woodrow Wilson." Another academic type, if we accept the lecturer ~ professor approximation. There's discussion over whether a candidate for president should be a governor (or generals, or someone else with executive experience) first. There are examples and counterexamples - but I'd be willing to say, No more damn college professors for president! (Full disclosure: I am one - so I know the breed.)

Posted by: JPS at November 17, 2013 11:02 AM (9ziuC)

162 Off, scat-fetishist sock!

Posted by: Bevel Lemelisk at November 17, 2013 11:02 AM (uhAkr)

163
My housekeeper said Kim Kardashian has a black girl butt!

Thank you Birdie Mae!

Posted by: Doctor Fish at November 17, 2013 11:02 AM (pJF+c)

164 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5JFeaJ5A4g

Posted by: OG Celtic-American at November 17, 2013 11:03 AM (vHRtU)

165 Fucking on camera, then posting it on the internet. Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:50 PM (oJ5Fd) ******* Just like Pair Hilton and her meat torpedo episode she was already famous. So I still don't get it. btw I don't find Pairs Hilton attractive at all. She stands like had two half pints of Value-Rite then got knocked upside the head with a cast iron frying pan.

Posted by: YIKES! at November 17, 2013 11:04 AM (mETGQ)

166 Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 02:56 PM (oJ5Fd) Rule 34 I suppose.

Posted by: tsrblke PhD(c) (No really!) at November 17, 2013 11:05 AM (GaqMa)

167
Eagles 24 - Injuns 0

Posted by: Doctor Fish at November 17, 2013 11:06 AM (pJF+c)

168 Watching the Obama presidency unravel is like watching the end of "The Man Who Would Be King"; except for the dignity with which Sean Connery accepted his fate.

Posted by: Raul Johnson at November 17, 2013 11:08 AM (5rdqb)

169 This, the last line of his piece, reveals that even he doesn't really understand Obama. I don't think I'm giving Ajami the benefit of the doubt when I say that I think that was written as sarcasm.

Posted by: AmishDude at November 17, 2013 11:09 AM (xSegX)

170 Too lazy to read the comments, but in case no one else has said it, "The Magic Negro™ has no clothes."

Posted by: Jane D'oh at November 17, 2013 11:12 AM (lVPtV)

171 "Perhaps this moment—a presidency coming apart, the incompetent social engineering of an entire health-care system—will now claim Mr. Obama's attention." 10-15 minutes max....how long does it take to place blame?

Posted by: BignJames at November 17, 2013 11:12 AM (HtUkt)

172 "I think it's the 'hidden princess' scenario. I think a lot of young women like to imagine themselves in Kim's shoes"

I suspect you're quite correct.

I would never succeed in the entertainment industry, because I have absolutely no way to imagine what goes on in the heads of a mass audience.

Whereas I have a friend who worked for years in Hollyweird, thankfully retired now, and he has the ability I lack, to know what the lumpenproles will like, and pay for.

Show me the rushes for some dumb, trite movie and I'd say, "What a disaster. Who would ever go see this? It's boring shite."

Show him the same thing and he'll confidently predict a quarter billion box office take, and be completely correct about that.

One of his favorite theses about how lumpenprole audiences think has to do with transference fantasies. Average people can't imagine themselves, for instance, doing things like winning Nobel prizes in the hard sciences. They know you have to be smart to do those sorts of things, and quietly on the inside, they know that they're not very smart.

But you don't have to be smart to be in the movies. So they CAN easily imagine themselves having become glamorous movie stars if only the dice had rolled a little bit differently.

Hollyweird figured this out very early on, with carefully put together backstories about how particular starlets had been "discovered" working as hat check girls and behind drugstore counters. Letting millions of young women think that they too might one day be thus elevated to glory.

Now starlets get discovered by artfully leaked professionally made "amateur" sex tapes, and instead of movies they make "reality" TV shows, but the general principle remains unaltered.

Posted by: torquewrench at November 17, 2013 11:12 AM (gqT4g)

173 Yes, that might very well happen, Ed, but Obama lied. He's on record 26 times at least saying you can keep your plan, and when a fix is in for the bailouts of insurance companies if not enough people sign up well he COULD go with evil insurance companies, but that would be enabling them. An additional thing is that people basically liked their plans and when they investigate they find out the new plans cost more and care garbage. More lies from Obama. We can sit hear and moan about as-and I can do that as well as anybody else and do ;^) but it doesn't actually help anything. One can contact their reps, threaten the DEMs with lose of election, put the lies on Facebook, put post it notes at the Supermarket. PRAY (if you're a praying person) or do nothing and say "OH, well, Obama is going to win again.'

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 17, 2013 11:13 AM (23Kgq)

174 He's on record 26 times at least saying you can keep your plan,

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 17, 2013 03:13 PM (23Kgq)



36 times, actually.

Posted by: Jane D'oh at November 17, 2013 11:14 AM (lVPtV)

175 101 Watching the Obama presidency unravel is like watching the end of "The Man Who Would Be King"; except for the dignity with which Sean Connery accepted his fate. Posted by: Raul Johnson

It reminds me of when I was a kid. I took the picture tube out of a discarded TV, hauled it to beach in front of our house, and stood off a ways and shot it....


Implosion....

Posted by: backhoe at November 17, 2013 11:15 AM (ULH4o)

176 36 Time???


Barry's life is one gigantic pile of lies.

Posted by: Reggie Love at November 17, 2013 11:16 AM (Pr6hk)

177 And when people find out that they're 55 year old men paying for maternity insurance we'll yelling about-the EVIL insurance companies may not cut it. Too many variables this time. Because many people are smart enough to figure out that we didn't need to destroy private insurance of everyone in order to insure people who didn't have insurance.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 17, 2013 11:16 AM (23Kgq)

178 So when will some sniveling leftie come out with a song about the day the magic died? Bye bye Obamacare pie......

Posted by: Misanthropic humanitarian, now with 50% more sensitivity at November 17, 2013 11:16 AM (HVff2)

179 Oh, another parallel, the ubiquitous pictures and posters of Teh Won that could be found at all his rallies. Looks just like any third world crowd (especially the Arabs).

Posted by: GnuBreed at November 17, 2013 11:16 AM (wNF3N)

180
Sadly, I misspoke, but that's all behind me now and we're moving forward with the most transformational ass reaming ever conceived.  If you like your healthcare, you can keep your healthcare, with a few modifications mandated by me and my Brown Shirt Army.

Posted by: Barack Milhous Obama at November 17, 2013 11:16 AM (pJF+c)

181 In my experience, boredom more often comes from a lack of curiosity. Intelligent people will find ways to challenge themselves. I run across a lot of clever people who are slack and bored.

Posted by: venus velvet at November 17, 2013 11:18 AM (g94P/)

182 In discussing this, let's not forget the enablers who put Obama in power.  From day one they pushed him as a Mesiah, the Magic Negro, who wuld come in and cure all of America's evils.  The clean and articulate savior of the nation.



They knew he had massive problems but their wish for a Magic Negro over-road every other concern because he was their child, a socialist of the new breed.



I hope they like their shit sandwich, and I dearly wish the all the assholes in the MFM would be the first to lose their health insurance and none of them were able to get new coverage.

Posted by: Vic at November 17, 2013 11:18 AM (FTQyq)

183

We've created millions of tenants for my slums.


Posted by: Valerie 'Dr. Evil' Jarrett at November 17, 2013 11:19 AM (Pr6hk)

184

Death by Obamacide...... (Thanks Jane D'oh).  The country truly is dead.  We have reached critical mass stupid.  There is no recovery from it.

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at November 17, 2013 11:20 AM (jucos)

185 I am never going to forget who enabled this tinpot community organizer to disgrace the Presidency of the United States.


Here's a hint: second, we hang all the lawyers...

Posted by: Ray Van Dune at November 17, 2013 11:21 AM (qIFL7)

186 NYT headline understatement:In Fracas on Health Coverage, Some Democrats Feel Exposedhttp://tinyurl.com/kn5bvax

You arrogant ass. You've killed us!

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at November 17, 2013 11:25 AM (VAjxK)

187 Valerie Jarrett, the president's most trusted, probably most powerful, aide, once said in admiration that Mr. Obama has been bored his whole life. _________________________ Shows you how stupid these people are that they actually think being "bored" all the time is a sign of a great intellect. The great minds are never bored, because there is so much yet to be discovered -- about how the universe works, about how the world works, about how the human body works, etc. Barry is so frequently bored because is he lazy. Remember when the BP leak happened, and was the headline news for weeks? Obama's Nobel-prize-winning "genius" energy secretary put together a lengthy power point presentation for him, to try and explain the physics of the problem. After two screens, Barry jumped up and said "I'm done, Steve" and left the room. He didn't want to study and learn about the problem; that was too much like work. His fellow editors on the Harvard Law Review said the same thing about Obama -- he's lazy. His "work" on the review primarily consisted of delegating the hard work to others -- usually over the phone from his couch at home. He never published a scholarly article of his own because writing one was too much work. He didn't meet his first book contract deadline because writing a book was too much work. (He hadn't yet met Bill Ayers, who would soon write most of his first book for him). It's been the same story his whole life. He's incredibly lazy, yet he's had all sorts of unearned and undeserved honors thrown at him (Ivy league admissions, law school teaching job, Nobel Peace Prize, U.S. presidency, etc.) -- not because he's so damn smart, but because he's moderately smart and . . . (most importantly) black.

Posted by: Trivial Pursuer at November 17, 2013 11:26 AM (/sohm)

188 117 Death by Obamacide...... (Thanks Jane D'oh). The country truly is dead. We have reached critical mass stupid. There is no recovery from it.

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at November 17, 2013 03:20 PM (jucos)




I'm not the 'ette who came up with Obamacide.  Wish I could take credit!

Posted by: Jane D'oh at November 17, 2013 11:26 AM (lVPtV)

189 "I dearly wish the all the assholes in the MFM would be the first to lose their health insurance and none of them were able to get new coverage. "

Posted by: Vic at November 17, 2013 03:18 PM (FTQyq)

These are not well-capitalized and successful companies.

You might very well get your wish.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo at November 17, 2013 11:27 AM (oJ5Fd)

190 If only for a laugh at the stupidity of the fawning Obama acoltyes. Why Obama is the bestest President ever. "He eschews pomp", a true man of the people made me laugh out loud: http://tinyurl.com/ktf8mmg

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at November 17, 2013 11:28 AM (23Kgq)

191 If people understood what is going on with their insurance premiums (now a tax) and economics. They would see this is a progressive insurance scheme just like our tax system. Problem is the top 10% cant be forced to cover 80% of the costs in insurance like they do in taxes. So in this progressive scheme the middle class are the rich that need to cover that 80% of the total.

Posted by: The Hickster at November 17, 2013 11:30 AM (MVBSu)

192

torquewrench, my comment about furriners was meant to be sarcastic.  Though also a jab at the naieve (incl. many here ) who seem to think foreign policy and national security are simple mechanical operations and not inherently messy, risky, and unreliable crap shoots half the time.

 

The US can have about the most sensible policy conceivable in a given situation, yet fail to achieve its objectives.  But that doesn't mean there is no damage to having idiots like Obozo and the herds of clueless Beltway lightweights in charge.  In that case, the odds of success are reduced to a minimum, and there are other kinds of damage (moral, as in Honduras or the Iranian uprising a few years ago).

 

 

Posted by: non-purist at November 17, 2013 11:31 AM (afQnV)

193 As long as there are pregnant women who travel across the country with a willingness to stand behind Barry while giving a speech and faint upon command, the magic will never die, wingnuts.

Posted by: Fritz at November 17, 2013 11:31 AM (TKFmG)

194 120  He didn't want to study and learn about the problem; that was too much like work.

Posted by: Trivial Pursuer at November 17, 2013 03:26 PM (/sohm)

Remember what a struggle it was for him to prep for the debates during the last election?

Posted by: venus velvet at November 17, 2013 11:34 AM (g94P/)

195 Work is for sucka crackas

Posted by: Barry Soetoro at November 17, 2013 11:38 AM (Pr6hk)

196

He didn't meet his first book contract deadline because writing a book was too much work. (He hadn't yet met Bill Ayers, who would soon write most of his first book for him).

 

He's probably lucky he didn't finish his first book.  It probably would have included chapters on the struggles of being a foreign student on college campus.

Posted by: buzzion at November 17, 2013 11:38 AM (LI48c)

197 Affirmative Action has consequences.  This plus the therapeutic, everyone gets a trophy culture we live in produced what we are seeing with this administration.  They all STILL feel pretty damn good about themselves even though 95% of the country is really suffering. 

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at November 17, 2013 11:39 AM (jucos)

198 120  not because he's so damn smart, but because he's moderately smart and . . . (most importantly) black.

Posted by: Trivial Pursuer at November 17, 2013 03:26 PM (/sohm)


FTFY


He is dumber than a post

Posted by: Vic at November 17, 2013 11:44 AM (FTQyq)

199 "He's incredibly lazy, yet he's had all sorts of unearned and undeserved honors thrown at him (Ivy league admissions, law school teaching job, Nobel Peace Prize, U.S. presidency, etc.) -- not because he's so damn smart, but because he's moderately smart and . . . (most importantly) black."

Ahem.

Trouser creases.

Posted by: David Brooks at November 17, 2013 11:45 AM (gqT4g)

200 #33 "This highly intelligent cosmopolitan cant even speak a second language!" And without a teleprompter, he can barely speak a first language.

Posted by: BubbaLou at November 17, 2013 11:47 AM (/cUUk)

201 I've read that the staff at the University also could not stand him because he was lazy and aloof.  They said that he was the least qualified person they have ever seen there.  Having more than a passing familiarity with AA hires in higher education and the private sector I am not surprised.  The AA types will always "fail up" and will create problems for all involved if their performance is questioned or if they feel in any way slighted.  Not a winning recipe for the country.

Posted by: Truck Monkey, Gruntled New Business Owner at November 17, 2013 11:49 AM (jucos)

202 "torquewrench, my comment about furriners was meant to be sarcastic."

Parsed as such.

"Though also a jab at the naieve (incl. many here ) who seem to think foreign policy and national security are simple mechanical operations and not inherently messy, risky, and unreliable crap shoots half the time."

I would aver that at least some of the natsec equation really is a simple mechanical operation. Spend enough money to have a military that's capable enough that no one will want to mess with you, at least not in a directly confrontational stance with a set-piece battle.

That doesn't keep you out of all situations, but out of many of them.

Unfortunately the US is now sufficiently broke that this model is no longer affordable. No-mo money for both guns and butter. Hard choices coming down the pike.

Ensuring natsec with a much smaller much less costly military will not be a simple mechanical operation any longer, and IS going to require artful cleverness, and unfortunately, our institutional models are not set up to produce senior leaders possessing those attributes.

Posted by: torquewrench at November 17, 2013 11:51 AM (gqT4g)

203 I'd like to know where they sell big but clothes? You can't buy that crap off the rack, can you? Maybe, there is a Big Butt Store for Women?

Posted by: Comrade Jesse, not welcoming our socialist overlords at November 17, 2013 11:52 AM (kkbgQ)

204 That Kim Kardashian is a celebrity is not surprising--and it is because she has big tits and ass, basically. What is surprising is how long her celebrity-hood has lasted.  Twenty or thirty years ago she would have been a flavor of the month, been on a couple of shows, made a movie cameo, then it would be over after a year or two. She would then have married a rich dude, maybe had kids and then make her living selling real estate or something. Warhol's 15 minutes is going on 15 years  now....

Posted by: JoeyBagels at November 17, 2013 11:59 AM (wsTp9)

205 >>Shows you how stupid these people are that they actually think being "bored" all the time is a sign of a great intellect.<<

Think back to the schooling he got from Paul Ryan during the BarryCare summit back in 2010. He had that glazed-over look in his eyes like not a fucking thing was computing.

He didn't respond to Ryan, because he couldn't.

It's like he's a high-functioning retard or something


Posted by: Albie Damned at November 17, 2013 11:59 AM (Yhu4q)

206 Yes we can was TFG's slogan & Together we can was Deval Patrick's slogan. They are both dirty Chicago politicians & both full of bull. I'm still waiting for 1,000 extra police on the streets of Boston.

Posted by: Carol T at November 17, 2013 12:00 PM (z4WKX)

207 The idea that some intellectuals have that being bored is somehow a sign of a great intellect is closely related to the idea that a writer who is a drug addict or alcoholic is a brilliant, but tortured artist.

Posted by: JoeyBagels at November 17, 2013 12:05 PM (wsTp9)

208 134 I've read that the staff at the University also could not stand him because he was lazy and aloof. They said that he was the least qualified person they have ever seen there. _________________________ Yep, I've read that too, and as I recall, at least one of the U/C law professors let himself be named in the article, which is unusual (most are too afraid of the repercussions). Law school teaching jobs are highly competitive. It's very unusual for anybody to be hired unless they have published well-received scholarly articles or books on legal topics. This is especially true at the more elite law schools, like the University of Chicago. Yet, Barry, despite never having published a single scholarly legal work was hired, and even offered to be put on the tenure track (which he declined, because it would have required him to publish scholarly articles, and that was too much work!).

Posted by: Trivial Pursuer at November 17, 2013 12:08 PM (/sohm)

209 Another putative intellectual who in reality is a complete dumbass is our friend David Brooks.

I stumbled across the video of a debate he had with Milton Friedman when he was fresh out of school. Granted, he was young, but, my gawd, the stupidity of his assumptions and declarations is embarrassing

Enjoy http://tinyurl.com/pgoxolq

Posted by: Albie Damned at November 17, 2013 12:12 PM (Yhu4q)

210 Remember, obama is the 'smartest president ever' who does not possess A Single mark of intelligence, aptitude, skillset, or talent. This highly intelligent cosmopolitan cant even speak a second language! So true. I'd actually have more respect for him if he's read Das Kapital in the original German.

Posted by: toby928© at November 17, 2013 01:22 PM (QupBk)

211 We will be bombarded with calls that IbsmaCare won't work without immigration, to be followed by ObamaCare needs "cap & trade", to be followed by ObamaCare needs absolute obedience ... yards yada ...

Posted by: Islamic Rage Boy at November 17, 2013 01:53 PM (e8kgV)

212 12 Reasons Why Obama Is One of the Best Presidents Ever He is for peace. Let us never forget that Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 -one of the greatest accomplishments any man or woman could hope to achieve in a lifetime. The award reads, "The Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons." During his presidency, Obama successfully ended the war in Iraq and is close to finally putting an end to the conflict in Afghanistan and bring our troops home for good. Speaking of Afghanistan, remember public enemy number one, the King of Terror? It was under Obama's order that Osama Bin Laden was annihilated and put out of the warmongering business for good.

Posted by: Islamic Rage Boy at November 17, 2013 01:58 PM (e8kgV)

213 The Barakhenatening  is nigh.

Posted by: garrett at November 17, 2013 02:07 PM (z+r2p)

214 I've always said Governing by Charisma is so Third World.

Posted by: Dr. Varno at November 17, 2013 02:36 PM (V4CBV)

215 Jarrett is correct: Obama is often bored. The typical affective state of the frustrated narcissist is boredom. If it's not about him, he is bored. If he faces threats to his delusions of greatness, he will vacillate between rage and boredom. To the narcissist, reality is boring.

Posted by: Kenneth at November 17, 2013 05:31 PM (1oLBv)

216 Article reminds me of this book which opens with Obama being an idol http://tinyurl.com/myokm74

Posted by: Thea at November 17, 2013 05:33 PM (gDTcZ)

217

"Bob Woodward said on Fox News Sunday. "ObamaCare isn't Watergate or Lewinsky.""

Woodward is right.  The events at the core of the Nixon and Clinton scandals had zero effect on most of America.  Obamacare is buttfucking millions of people, hard.

 

Posted by: FOAF at November 18, 2013 12:14 AM (rZ7kp)

218 140 Joey Or as Stephen King put it- garbage collector or writer, we all look the same when we're puking in the gutter.

Posted by: Sal at November 18, 2013 04:39 AM (lrTwr)

219 The buttfucking hasn't begun! Wait until all employment insurance disappears.

Posted by: burt at November 18, 2013 12:40 PM (1+kJ5)

220 he's bored because he's never had a serious job and frankly is to lazy to do one of those anyway ... and the wookie sucks in bed and he can't step out on her ...

Posted by: JeffC at November 18, 2013 04:30 PM (84L5/)

Hide Comments | Add Comment | Refresh | Top

Comments are disabled. Post is locked.
191kb generated in CPU 0.0585, elapsed 0.2896 seconds.
64 queries taking 0.2424 seconds, 348 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.

Support





Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Contact

Change the At to "@" and the DOT to "."




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Search Thingy



Archives

Monthly Traffic

  • Pages: 154825
  • Files: 1757
  • Bytes: 4.8G
  • CPU Time: 150:06
  • Queries: 4457859

Content

  • Posts: 22824
  • Comments: 5930392

Feeds


RSS 2.0 Atom 1.0