Wednesday, July 16, 2008

ARROGANCE AND STUPIDITY: WHY OBAMA WOULD BE THE THIRD BUSH TERM, NOT McCAIN.

Arrogance and stupidity are interesting characteristics. Like nitro and glycerin each by itself, kept separate is relatively harmless. The same is true of arrogance and stupidity. These characteristics in people can’t do much harm as long as they are kept separate. If someone is arrogant but has ability, people will put up with them and things can be accomplished. If they are stupid but humble people will help them and things can be accomplished. But if someone is both arrogant and stupid, when you combine that in a person in a position of power, it's like mixing nitro and glycerin. Both elements become unstable and it explodes resulting in catastrophic damage.

This is what we've seen unfold for the last 8 years with George W. Bush. And we are still dealing with the damage. And so will the next President.

In Barack Obama the same characteristics that caused so much damage during the Bush years are readily apparent. And just to be clear, when I use the term stupidity, I’m making a distinction between being smart and being educated. No one questions that Obama is well educated. He went to Harvard. No one questions that Bush is well educated. He went to Yale. The Bush administration, like all administrations is populated with nothing but well educated people. Well educated people who made some of the dumbest and most catastrophic decisions of any administration in American History.

Obama's arrogance has been on display for quite some time. After he lost the biggest states in the country by landslide margins on Super Tuesday he declared that essentially it didn't matter because he said he could win those states in a general election. It never occurred to him that the voters of those states, in overwhelming numbers made it clear they didn't want him to win those states in November they wanted Hillary Clinton, which is why they voted for her in landslide numbers. It seems that when Obama talked about rejecting the politics of the past he was including something called elections.

His arrogance was also on display in a statement he made which, while not having the tragic ramifications as Bush's most famous misstatement, ranks right up there in arrogance and stupidity with"Mission Accomplished" . It was back in February when he said "I'm confident I can get all her( Clinton) voters but it’s not clear that she can get any of mine". The reality is, Clinton voters on a state by state basis varying from 30%-80%, are saying they will never vote for him and 30% saying they will stay home if Obama was the nominee. This is the candidate Nancy Pelosi says has the judgment of the President. Which is how you get a 9% job approval rating.

More arrogance and stupidity were on display when he unveiled his fake presidential seal.And that was supposed to do what exactly? Make people think he is presidential? Make him look presidential? Was he assuming people are so gullible they see Presidential greatness in something that looked like it was made by a store that makes bowling trophies? Based on his successes in the primaries maybe he thought it would extend beyond his own supporters. He obviously thought wrong.

But in one simple trite trivial act, that ridiculous seal reveals the workings of a trite mind that thinks small thoughts not big ones, a mind consumed with his own personal ambition and more interested in trappings and his own success, than real ideas. A mind that doesn't think big but tries to fool big, which is why he talks about hope and change but has never been able to say hope or change for what. He doesn't say because he doesn't know. And, as his day in and day reneging on promises and pledges, reversing positions, and double dealing show, he doesnt care.

What he knows is when he thinks something sounds good and assumes that will be enough and that people will swallow it. And many did. But those number are declining fast as people start to wake up and realize it is they've been drinking.

Bush's arrogance came in the form of thinking he knew better than anyone else even when the facts contradicted him. He followed his own judgments which resulted in making catastrophic mistakes and then refusing to admit them. This led to more catastrophic mistakes. And all the while he had a subservient press letting him get away with it refusing to criticize or to see the emperor had no clothes.

Obama has much the same problem as Bush. His arrogance and that of his supporters makes it impossible for him or them to see his own flaws or to want to endure the embarrassment of admitting them. The stupidity of his statements and positions are never questioned by people who dont want to admit they've been had and never saw it coming when so many other people did. Obama also has a mindless and subservient press, the so called cynical, adversarial political press writing for newspapers that cover garden shows with a more critical eye than they did covering Obama. And let's not forget the fiasco involving his own children, when, sounding like an approriately protective father he vowed never to bring in children into the limelight. That event can speak for itself. And so can his explanations following it.

The more you listen to Obama the more you realize that Obama and his supporters believe an Obama Presidency is all about him. That's why people talk about Obama supporters drinking the Kool-Aid. What Obama and his supporters dont understand and maybe never will, is that being President is all about everybody but him.

It takes a lot of arrogance to tell people you are going to run a presidential campaign using public funds and then as soon as it matters, reverse your decision. It takes a lot of arrogance to tell people you’re going to filibuster the FISA bill if it contains retroactive immunity and then when you don’t need those people anymore not only reneg on the filibuster but vote for the bill in hopes that the telecom companies will remember in the form of big contributions. It also takes a lot of stupidity to think people wont notice. Or that they wont care.

It takes stupidity to make public pronouncements over such volatile issues as Jerusalem because you want votes from a Jewish audience only to have to retract them 24 hours later when the Palestinians go ballistic and then arrogantly and stupidly try to suggest that it wasn't you, people just misunderstood what you meant by an undivided Jerusalem. The explanation was just as stupid, claiming that he meant a Jerusalem with no barbed wire. Given the fact that Jerusalem hasn’t seen barbed wire since 1948, the next thing he'll tell us is that he's already delivered on his promise.

What just might save the Democrats are their own rules and an open honest convention since neither Obama nor Clinton won enough pledged delegates to secure the nomination. Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi have been trying to sell the dog and pony show that Obama is the nominee for a month and it’s not working especially among Clinton voters and donors. And it's wearing thin on some Obama supporters and Congressional Democrats too.

Democratic rules say there is no nominee and Clinton is still a candidate. Suspending her campaign is not the same as ending her candidacy. She has not released any of her delegates. And no declaration by super delegates like those coerced by Dean and Pelosi after the last primary, count for anything until they are cast at the convention where, according to party procedures and rules, they can cast their votes for any candidate whose name is nomination.

As long as Clinton's name is formally placed in nomination which is her right as a candidate, super delegates will have that choice.

But Dean, Pelosi, Donna Brazile and Obama himself are trying to do what they can to try and prevent Clinton from putting her name in nomination though its getting to the point where its going to be close to impossible to do without causing a wholesale rebellion in the Democratic Party which would not only sink Obama but the Democratic majority in Congress as well. Which shows that when it comes to arrogance and stupidity, you'll fnd enough at the DNC right now to fill a Bush Administration.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

First!
Spot on as always - Almost marking my calendar every 3 days to check in on Tom In Paine.
Bush III meme for Obama fits. Your clarity on Obama is brilliant. But then we did have a dress rehearsal with Bush 43.
We have to wean our party and the MSM of the Koolaid. Is there time to come down? Took us 8 yrs. to totally abandon 44. We have 5 weeks!

Anonymous said...

great stuff as usual marc!

just read something on Mugabe:
Even before the runoff, Mugabe declared that he would disregard the results if his ZANU-PF party lost. Or as he put it: “We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X” on some paper ballot.

reminds me of Obama's statements after his landslide losses...

wake up america!

a. hillary
b. mccain

america first!

Anonymous said...

great article - how can we get an op-ed like this in the national newspapers? we need to spread the word to people who don't have or use computers - many think Hillary is no longer a candidate and feel Obama is their only choice -

Anonymous said...

Excellent Article!
I support the Denver Group.
Up with democracy! Let's not allow the manipulation of our democratic process.Put public pressure on the
MSM and SD's, write letters re: the
"unfettered roll call vote", with-
out preconditions. People need to
vote their conscience. Without intimidation.
This could be an opportunity for
REAL party unity. The future of
our country is at stake.

Anonymous said...

Hi Marc, Great article. I'm sure you've noticed the Orwellian language that Obama is using, again, much like the Bush Administration. Trying to paint a picture that people can project hope onto and then behaving in a totally different way. Hopefully the next 5 weeks will be long enough to get the kool-aid out of the systems of those who will make a difference at the convention. Thanks for all you do.

Anonymous said...

tic, tic, tic...
the arrogance+stupidity mixology is a disaster waiting to explode in the faces of all Americans. And the clock's tickin'.
All of your powerful op/eds need to be on the streets where they can be read by the growing number of Dems who are now regretting their first sips and Koolaid addiction.
Marc,thanks again for your word skill & The Denver Group, and keep in comin'.
-PUMA, Hill4me
http://blog.pumapac.org/

Anonymous said...

Excellent article, Marc. Especially the closing paragraph. Here's hoping they are not stupid enough to actually want to incite open revolt at a televised Convention!

DaddysDarlin said...

Kudos, on a well thought out and well written story.
We can only hope that some BO supporters will find this story and actually "think" about it's contents.
Thanks again for your insights into the BO camp, the DNC, Nancy, Howard, and Donna.
Thanks for speaking for me and 18 million others who support Hillary all the way to the White House!!!

One Love

Anonymous said...

Marc as per usual, a superb, well articulated peice. This is an example of why main stream news media is dying. This far and away eclipses their work.

Anonymous said...

A shameless appeal for money for BHO from Time Magazine.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1822819,00.html

I guess they are clueless as to what's going on with the 18 million plus disenfranchised voters.

Anonymous said...

Dead on...and I think you should send this in to the Washington Post and have it served to ALL the Super Delegates, as well as and especially, Pelosi, Dean, and Reid.

Would you mind if I use some of this artiicle and send it to the delegates that I've been emailing and calling?

Marc Rubin said...

"Would you mind if I use some of this artiicle and send it to the delegates that I've been emailing and calling?"

Permission granted.

Anonymous said...

Marc.
I just wrote you under anonymous (i don't understand all this identity stuff) but I would like to use some of what you wrote to get the point across as well as you did.
Please let me know if o.k.

Anonymous said...

Thanks..Marc

Anonymous said...

"Marc.
I just wrote you under anonymous (i don't understand all this identity stuff) but I would like to use some of what you wrote to get the point across as well as you did.
Please let me know if o.k."

Use whatever you like Beth. Whatever it takes to wake them up.

Anonymous said...

Great post as usual Mark. You are always right on the money. I know that the world will be watching to see what these freaking idiots will do at the Convention and if they do keep Hillary off the ballot there will be an even bigger ground swell of her supporters bolting for McCain. Serves them right if they are that stupid.

democraticjack said...

"overwhelming numbers made it clear they didn't want him to win those states in November they wanted Hillary Clinton"


This is so insightful and well thought out. I applaud you.

There is a third element in that Obama actually believes his own trumped up press releases. Again, just like Bush and just as dangerous for America.

CKAinRedStateUSA said...

Not sure I agree that if Obama is elected that'd be a third George-W.-Bush term. Perhaps with respect to arrogance, yes; but, overall, no.

To me, it still appears such ludicrous and dangerous event would lead to Jimmy Carter's second, mixed with the worst of George McGovern, Michael Dukakis and others of their stripe.

But I do agree about the intersection of arrogance and stupidity in Barack Obama and his campaign.

Thing is, as many of us have heard or know, ignorance--of which there's abundance in Obama and his camp--can be cured. But stupidity? No.

Thanks, again, for the post.

Anonymous said...

Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
******

For those who believe Marc's message needs sharing...


You can still contact superdelegates through supderdelegate sites from the primary. They indicate they're keeping them available...because people are still using them. (But they haven't updated status.)

You can find superdelegate sites... and some background on how to use....at

http://giveemhell.org/superdelegates.htm
*****

And TO FIND contact info for DNC, MOVE ON, PELOSI, AND DEAN, go half-way down web page

http://giveemhell.org
******

Again, Marc...truly brilliant! AND wise!

Two powerful combinations. Dare we hope they can win the day over
"arrogance and stupidity"

Mark In Irvine said...

And you contend that McCain is less like Bush? Say why.

Anonymous said...

Excellent!

Anonymous said...

Excellent article.

2008 just might be another Bull Moose Run

Anonymous said...

Marc, you are an unbelievably astute and gifted writer. You don't mince words! Yet every point is grounded in intelligent thought and keen observation.

When you said that a President is supposed to be for everybody else, I was startled by the truth of that description. I realized that I saw that Presidential quality in Hillary but was never able to articulate it. Thanks.

wafflesmakesaspeech said...

Apparently the trolls mark their calendars as well. Don't you just love it when people like mark in irvine want you to do their homework for them and then assume that you can't do it because you won't do it?

The troll has a blog subtitled "On the lookout for hypocrisy." I suggest he search "surge" on the freshly scrubbed Obama website. Or FISA. Or campaign finance reform. Or handguns. Or....you get the picture.

Oh, mark in irvine, if you don't understand the last paragraph, it's called "irony". You know, like the New Yorker cover.

Unknown said...

A pledge to sign

http://together4us.com/

Mark In Irvine said...

ho ho ho - troll = somebody who disagrees with me

It is just hilarious how many Repubs seem to be falling all over themselves (and each other) trying to run away from any association with GWB. Very telling. Now THAT's ironic!!

Speaking of irony - check out David Horsey's take on ironic magazine covers:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/dayart/20080715/cartoon20080715.gif

Anonymous said...

check out the new McCain web ad over at www.race42008.com

“The Obama Iraq Documentary: Whatever the Politics Demand”

It's well done and shows BHO's schizophrenic positions on Iraq.

As we are seeing - BHO is nothing special, just a typical, opportunistic Chicago-style politician.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Stupidity as in Mark in Irvine assuming anyone that disagrees with Obama is a Republican. That's giving the repubs too much credit. True Democrats find Obama and his hypocrisy the most offensive.

Anonymous said...

I love your articles. I want Hillary's name on the ballot and a roll call, but without her supporters among the SD fighting for her, it would just be a show. Pelosi will still be threatening elected SD behind the curtain you can be sure. I fear the second worst result, that Clinton is really amiable to be VP. That would be tragic.

Mark In Irvine said...

I'm pissed at BHO for voting for the FISA amendments, and I voted for HRC in my California primary, but I'd rather have BHO than JMcBush. There: I said it.

Anonymous said...

re: gerard nedich's comment about Mugabe- I agree. I see some major similarities between Obama & Mugabe, hence, Obamugabe!

Marc, can you give a speech in support of HRC at the convention?

Anonymous said...

Marc,

This is another great post and so true.

I work at a university and I have encountered many people I would call "educated idiots." They may be well educated but they do not use common sense. As a matter of fact it is the same university that provides Obama spokesman Bill Burton with his day job.

Mar

Anonymous said...

Mark in Irvine//
Your assuming Obama doesn't "refine" his policies after his elected.

Mark In Irvine said...

Anonymous said: "Mark in Irvine// Your assuming Obama doesn't "refine" his policies after his elected. July 18, 2008 9:17 PM"

This is a chance we ALL take with whomever is elected.