

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Cool, Jaunty, Flippant, Arrogant and Stubbornly Wrong

The wrong tone at the wrong time. I found it painful to listen to Obama and watch the fools on the hill and the charade in front of him. I was tempted to say we deserve better than this, but then the collective decision was to pick this man at this time and that is proving to be very unfortunate.

I was listening for something hopeful, something different for this time, something that would have a chance at working. Instead, I watched a rehearsed, clipped and pasted attempt of an already failed presidency to save itself.

Obama is scaring people, the Democrats, his supporters and the tens of millions of Americans in deep, deep trouble. He is not strong enough, too inexperienced and has never been qualified lo lead. Obama has spent a year missing opportunities. Last night was no exception.


Obama's State of the Union: damaged but unrepentant

By Janet Daley World Last updated: January 28th, 2010 Telegraph

It was a difficult call: should he go for contrition or proud intransigence? Admit that he had misjudged the national mood, or refuse to give in to what he would characterise as Republican dirty tricks? In the end, Barack Obama veered more toward the latter than the former. The over-riding theme was summed up in one of the closing passages of this first State of the Union speech: “Americans don’t give up. I don’t give up.”

So officially at least, there was to be no backing down on healthcare reform – except that by now it had become health insurance reform. No more talk of a public option or of a genuinely nationalised healthcare programme: just legislation to curb the rights of health insurance providers to refuse cover to people with pre-existing conditions, etc. The great Obama revolution in health was now a matter of guaranteeing that people would be able to choose their healthcare plans “in a competitive market”.

As for those struggling middle class families which his administration has been accused of neglecting, they got a fair helping of reassurance that he felt their pain. But not a great deal that was new in concrete terms. From a British point of view what was most significant was that even this Left-of-centre president proudly boasted that he had cut the taxes of 95 per cent of working families and that he had not increased income tax by a penny. To loud applause he boasted of having cut 25 taxes which meant that “people had more to spend” which in turn helped businesses to retain jobs. And he was also absolutely clear that the way to create jobs was to cut business taxes. He would abolish captal gains tax on investment for small businesses which are the greatest generators of new jobs in the US as they are here. Yes, even the Left gets it in America: the way to promote growth is to reduce taxes.

His manner and tone were always going to be subject to lively scrutiny: had his nerve been broken? Would the “cool” Obama survive the catastrophic defeat in Massachusetts and the collapse of his approval ratings? Well, he was cool enough. Jaunty, even – which may prove to have been a misjudgement. He clearly wanted to look undaunted but he came across as almost flippant. A more sombre delivery might have seemed more in tune with the anger and frustration of voters who still see themselves as beset by crisis. I rather expect that many of them could have done without the high school valedictory peroration on the greatness of American ideals and how “our values are American values” rather than Democrat or Republican values, and that political opponents who just wanted to “say ‘no’ to everything” were underming those values, etc, etc.

Railing against the evils of partisan politics is the last refuge of the failing leader. It’s a bit desperate to be falling back on that tactic after only a year in office – especially when that year was spent with a firm lock on your congressional majority. If Obama is reduced to blaming Washington infighting for his inability to impress the nation after a year in which his party dominated government, what will the next three years be like?
Chris Tingle forgot Obama was black last night.


  1. Maybe next year we can Mirandize him and luxuriate in the sounds of silence.

  2. We've had more than 3 years of Democrat control of Congress, hope the Pubs start mentioning that more often.

  3. Source: Office of Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon


    The Ensuring the Collection of Critical Intelligence Act of 2010 (H.R. 4503) requires DOJ to consult with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense before Mirandizing or charging a foreign terrorist as a criminal.

    "The mishandling of the Christmas Day bomber underscores the need for better cooperation and communication among Department of Justice, Defense, and intelligence personnel," said Rep. McKeon. "I'm confident we would be in a position to gather valuable information about al-Qaeda's techniques and capabilities had FBI and DOJ agents been forced to communicate with our intelligence community prior to Mirandizing Abdulmutallab."

  4. One undeniable feature of the Fruit of Kaboom pantybomb:

    It is a Sure cure for constipation.

    Literally Blows the Crap Out of You.

  5. Obama's first State of the Union Address - washingtonpost.com





  7. Toyota recalling another million.

    Production lines shut down for Camry, Corolla, and others.

    For want of a pedal, a cable, and a throttle.

  8. Talk about feelings of Inadequacy!

    Doug V Lex Talionis!

  9. Andy McCarthy -

    Transformation into the Mythmaker in Chief

  10. 57. Salt Lick:

    I just watched the passage where Obama directly criticized the SCOTUS. A chill shot down my spine and my stomach clenched. I had forgotten the SCOTUS sat right down there in the middle of Congress at the SOTU speech. It was like watching a Communist show trial.


    58. Doug:
    Salt Lick...

    MSM focus is on

    "Did Alito Roll his eyes, or didn't he?"

  11. John Boehner gaurantees that KSM
    will not be tried in NYC.

  12. Obama is a man-caused disaster.

  13. It seems that many government bureaucrats (on all levels) don't understand fiduciary responsibility. To them, too many zeros in budget items means infinite.

    Obama talks a good game about "family belt tightening" and he even brought up PayGo. He claims that his proposals will reduce the deficit by $1 trillion.

    Let's see how often he uses his veto pen between now and November. He can't control the Dems in Congress, many of whom probably look at him and say "You served six months in the Senate. Who the hell do you think you are. We'll do our job and you do yours." Besides, some talking heads are saying that Obama needs to pick a fight with the Dems.

  14. Do you need a leg tingle this morning?

    Well there was one good laugh from last night. I added a video clip of Chris Matthews at the bottom of this post.

    Chris Tingle forgot Obama was black last night.

    One has to assume that Matthews went on about it because his normal state of conciousness is that he is obsessed with Obama's blackness.

    Chris Matthews is raising buffoonery to an art form.

  15. Down to the Banana Republics
    Down to the tropical sun
    Go the expatriated American
    Hopin' to find some fun

    Some of them go for the sailing
    Brought by the lure of the sea
    Tryin' to find what is ailing
    Living in the land of the free
    Some of them are running to lovers
    Leaving no forward address
    Some of them are running tons of ganja
    Some are running from the IRS

    Late at night you will find them
    In the cheap hotels and bars
    Hustling the senoritas
    While they dance beneath the stars
    Spending those renegade pesos
    on a bottle of rum and a lime
    Singin' give me some words I can dance to
    Or a melody that rhymes

    First you learn the native custom
    Soon a word of Spanish or two
    You know that you cannot trust them
    Cause they know they can't trust you

    Expatriated American feelin' so all alone
    Telling themselves the same lies
    that they told themselves back home

    Down to the Banana Republics
    Things aren't as warm as they seem
    None of the natives are buying
    any second hand American dreams

    Late at night you will find them
    In the cheap hotels and bars
    Hustling the senoritas
    while they dance beneath the stars
    Spending those renegade pesos
    On a bottle of rum and a lime
    Singing give me some words I can dance to
    Or a melody that rhymes

    Down to the Banana Republics
    Down to the tropical sun
    Go the expatriated Americans
    Hopin' to find some fun

  16. The problem with we Conservatives is that we hate puppies and rainbows and unicorns. Isn't PBO clean and well-spoken? Last night's Statism of the Union can be summed up by, "I am diminished, lack direction, hate the free market, but trust me."

  17. Whit,
    Spending Freeze will not take place until 2011 -
    Locking in unprecedented
    INCREASES in Spending.

  18. But these days, I feel like my country is a 747 piloted by a chimpanzee.

    Picture those little toy steering wheels that could be hung on the back of the front seat for the little man to pretend he is in the driver's seat.

    At Least The "Beep Beep" Horn is real.

  19. That's funny Doug. The Beep of the Union address.

  20. Never has as State of the Union been as long, said so little and left us as "America" sleeping in the wet spot...

    Obama is an empty suit.. The 50 or so Democrat buffoons hootin' and hollerin' reminded me of a MOVEON rally...

    In a way I am glad that our Marxist President decided to double down (hat tip Belmont Club) and stay his big government course, this will make November that much sweeter..

    Reminds me of Saddam Hussein and Bush, Bush kept begging him to pack up his troops and leave Kuwait so we wouldnt have to attack..

    In the end Saddam didnt leave and we attacked...

    The wave of anger towards the sitting elected officials in washington is growing, last week's election for Brown was a clear message to those smart enough to listen...

    Thank goodness Obama and company are ignoring it....

    November cannot come soon enough...

    Til then?

    Figure out which democrat congresspeople are at risk and send 20 bucks to their opponents..

    Good place to start? the 53 that signed the lift the Gaza siege petition, that supports Hamas...

    In my backyard? Mary Jo Kilroy http://kilroy.house.gov/

    I am organizing democrats, ex-dem's and independents for anyone but her....

  21. Basically, what happens during a recession is the politicians bleat, and blather, and throw some money around and give press conferences while the Real Economy slowly sorts things out.

    Amidst all the "sturm and drang" the economy removes workers from non-productive, declining industries, and transfers them to Growing, Needed Industries.

    The Greater the "Overshoot," the longer it will take, and the more pain it will bring. This one, for a variety of reasons, will be a "doozy."

  22. To start, the economy, already weakened by "overshoot" in a no longer productive direction, is pushed over the edge by an external factor (since WWII this has usually been energy costs.)

    As the economy Contracts energy costs fall, and don't start to rise again until the economy is solidly recovering. This time gasoline/diesel headed back up before the economy could get its legs solidly planted. This could, quite likely, cause a "double-dip."

    In fact, we Could see a decade of double-dip, triple-dip, quadruple-dip, infinitum. It Could be a "Depression."

  23. A recession is when a worker changes jobs to an industry requiring workers of "Similar" Skills.

    A "Depression" is when the worker has to Learn "NEW" SKILLS. This is what happened, to a minor extent, in the 30's. That time, however, the worker was usually fully qualified for the new job (farm to factory didn't require a jump in "work" skills, only in societal skills (you had to learn how to live in town, and "punch a clock," for example.)

    This time the worker is going to have to have Upgraded Work Skills. We don't need workers with "strong backs;" we need workers with "agile minds." A fifty year old man, or woman, who's been making a living picking up this part, and putting it over there, and tightening a bolt, is really, honest-to-goodness, going to have to learn how to operate a computer to do this 20 times faster, and more efficiently.

    A lot of 40 - 50 year olds are going to have a Lot of trouble with this transition. A lot of forty year olds are going to be scrambling to support their families on $10.00/hr jobs. If they can find them.

    This is how depressions are born.

  24. The Gold Standard in the Ethanol Business is Poet. They have 26 medium-sized (cookie cutter) ethanol plants scattered over 7 corn producing states. During the Floods of 08' the workers couldn't get into one of their Iowa refineries.

    The Plant Manager ran the refinery for 3 Days fro the laptop in his house.

    This is where we're going.

  25. That plant was built several years ago, and has about 35 employees. If the plant was built, today, how many employees do you suppose it would have?

  26. How about a Rufus analysis of all the jobs lost due to taxes and regulations?

    ...then one on immigration abuses and illegalities.

  27. ...not to mention welfare programs:

    "California has twice the population of New York, but FIVE TIMES as many people on welfare."

    - Meg Whitman, running for Governor of California.

  28. Blogger rufus said...

    "A recession is..."

    Well, tekniKaully, a recession is two negative quarters of GDP growth. A depression, according to one part of wiki, is

    "a decline in real GDP exceeding 10%, or 2) a recession lasting 2 or more years"

    Now GDP is measure in dollars isn't it, US dollars that is? It would be interesting to see in a "basket of currencies" form. Maybe "Real" GDP numbers are out there that measure GDP accounting for the monetary aspects of it.

    In any case, rufus, you were talking about unemployment and the unemployment numbers this time around look pretty bad.

  29. Last night's address was truly breath-taking. For the 1st time in my life I was proud to be an American.

    Just kidding.

  30. It was the second time for me:
    I was proud for the first time the same time Michelle was.
    ...we were deflowered simultaneously.

  31. Doug, those are all important. But, basically, they're the same old irritants we've always had. We can, to some extent, solve many of those by way of the ballot box.

    The truly scary part is that we might be running into a "Structural" problem. Something Much more Systemic.

    It's a really Big Deal if we have to Retrain 30 Million People. It's "Catastrophic" if we Can't Retrain those people.

  32. ...or a Rufus analysis of the bullshit surrounding the "free trade is always a good thing in the new global economy."

    Even when it means subsidizing slave labor or rewarding unfair currency evaluations and tariffs.

  33. No, Ash. The Real definition of a Recession is when your Brother-in-law loses his job.

    A Depression is when YOU lose YOUR Job. :)

  34. Seems like we should address all the traditional reasons for unemployment first, then we could get an accurate picture of what your Brave New World reasons actually consist of.

  35. It's a Supreme Schadenfreud Moment when Ash loses his job!

  36. We could all write our posts of condolences:

    "Dear Ash,
    So sorry to hear,
    can I buy your yacht at fire sale prices?

  37. Doug, those ARE the traditional reasons for unemployment.

    Synopsized: Your Work is No Longer Needed.

  38. What is a job doug? A means to get some cash to pay the bills?

    Having my own business I get more cash some days than others. Someday I may have to get a job but I hope not. I've made it with out a 'job' for over 20 years now but...one never knows.

  39. Lots of good deals on Yachts out there doug. Fire sale prices abound. Great prices for property in Up State New York as well...

    ...then there is operating expense when you've got 'stuff'. Yachts, just a hole in the water to dump cash into.

  40. What business is that, Ash?
    If it goes bankrupt do I get first dibs on the yacht?

  41. Is your business "depression proof?"

  42. Certainly not recession proof. Heck, when they talk about GDP shrinking a couple of percent my profits shrink by a whole lot more than 2%! 2%, sheesh, I wish I could mitigate drops to that.

    Go Bankrupt - naw, I don't see that in my future. Things could wind down enough where I don't earn enough to make it worthwhile since I've managed to get my Liabilities down to a level that won't bankrupt me. It would be conceivable to get a job that required substantial risk on the liability side but I'd try to separate out a vehicle (corporation) to hold that risk instead of me and that vehicle could go bankrupt but I don't see that scenario occurring anytime in the near future.

  43. chachapoya: Last night's address was truly breath-taking

    Yeah, every ten seconds the Dems would give him a standing O and he could stop talking long enough to take a breath.

  44. Obama is proposing an $8 BILLION dollar high speed rail study, probably staffed by his friends, money that won't lay a single track or buy a single train


    ...I think the Shuttles cost 6 Billion!

  46. Here's some free advice for BHO:

    Trains for Hauling Freight, Good.

    Trains for Hauling People, Bad.

  47. I prefer IOZ's all occasion, general purpose SOTU:

    A Spate of Unions

    That which wasn’t is becoming by
    best estimations something we’ll achieve
    within what I’m assured’s a reasonable time—
    as soon as now, if I can be believed.
    The past is past. The future is to come.
    Mistakes, if they were made, and let me say,
    I can conceive that they were made by some
    impatient staffer, unpaid junior aide,
    although of course I can’t with certainty
    identify what they might be, because,
    let me be clear, they were not made by me,
    To those who’d make us choose between what may
    and might never be done, I say, I say.

    We found a house.
    Within four commuting miles of the Damp Dungeon of Dread AND the Ministry of Darkness.

    It's all good, America.

    It's all good.

  48. There are the self-employed, employed, under-employed, unemployed and unemployable.

    Among the unemployable might be felons, addicts and the mentally "challenged". Despite the near impossibility of employment, these people form dysfunctional relationships and produce progeny, leading to multi-generational failure. Although there are exceptions, a drive through the poorer sections of any American city after 22:00 would validate the rule.

    When induced, the unemployable vote.

  49. "Although there are exceptions"

    I get what you're saying, Allen, but why on earth would you put mentally challenged in the same category as felons and addicts? It's beyond me.

  50. You should like this Sowellism, Ruf:

    Regarding unemployment remaining in single digits after the crash, and spiking with the passage of Smoot Hawley:

    "It wasn't the problem that caused unemployment, but the solution."

  51. MeLoDy,

    For the sake of clarification, the mentally challenged are those folk beyond the run-of-the-mill neuroses.

    In days of yore, they would have spent their lives institutionalized. Nowadays, they can be found living beneath overpasses.

    There is no evidence known to me to show that these poor people are capable of gainful employment.

    There is ample evidence proving they can be induced to vote. Republicans do not score highly with this demographic.

  52. With less enlightened parents and in a less enlightened time, that blind young man on the wheel chair, posted by Allen, could have easily been consigned to the ranks of the mentally challenged.

  53. Took a nice long drive out in the country. I needed that.

    That's right, Doug. But, the siren song of protectionism is especially sweet during serious downturns.

  54. I just finished the damnedest plate of ribs I've eaten in my entire life. Big, fat, juicey suckers. DAMNED fine.

    Stopped at a little restaurant in an itty bitty crossroads community out in the country. They must have slaughtered their own hog (or, their neighbor's,) because you couldn't buy ribs like that from any "packing house" in the Country. Unbeeelievable.

    I've been checking around. All the Technical Schools, and technical classes in the Community Colleges are Swamped. The daughter of a friend of my sweetie is going to a tech school to learn Medical Encoding. Just talked to a seventy year old woman (retired from Sharp after 26 yrs, hates Obama) who is enrolled in the local Community College next semester to study the same thing.

    Seems to be the "Hot" Field. All the guys are taking "Welding." I gotta wonder about that one.

  55. Matthews was gushing that for an hour, he forgot that Obama is black.

    I thought the President looked jaundiced.

  56. J. D. Salinger RIP

    "Do it for the Fat Lady."

    Franny, Zooey, Seymour, and Bessie will live on, thank God.

    So too, unfortunately, will that world class whiner, Holden. But what's to be done? Every child is sentenced by law to read 'im.

  57. "Obama is scaring people, the Democrats, his supporters and the tens of millions of Americans in deep, deep trouble."

    You weren't hanging out at Balloon Juice last night, were you?

    I demand - absolutely demand - a J. D. Salinger memorial post.

  58. Allen, don't confuse mentally challenged with mentally ill. There is a difference.

    The mentally ill, if guided in the right direction and have proper support don't end up living beneath overpasses. If they're there it's because they choose the path of destruction. They choose to self medicate and then end up abusing illegal drugs. Those are the ones that end up where you say. But don't put everyone in that category. A lot of mental disabilities start a young age and with proper care are very much capable of work.

  59. I demand - absolutely demand - a J. D. Salinger memorial post.

    I'd do it, but they don't want me anymore.

  60. Here are the average total global crude oil production numbers per day by year, versus average annual US spot crude oil prices:

    2002: 67.16 mbpd & $26

    2003: 69.43 mbpd & $31

    2004: 72.48 mbpd & $42

    2005: 73.72 mbpd & $57

    2006: 73.46 mbpd & $66

    2007: 73.00 mbpd & $72

    2008: 73.71 mbpd & $100

    Relative to the 2002 production level of 67.16 mbpd, in the following three period, 2003-2005 inclusive, the cumulative three year increase in production was 5,164 mb, versus a three year increase in oil prices of $31. So, for every dollar increase in oil prices, three year cumulative global crude oil production increased at 167 mb per dollar, again relative to the 2002 rate.

    But then we have the 2006-2008 data.

    Relative to the 2005 production rate of 73.72 mbpd, in the following three year period, 2006-2008 inclusive, the cumulative three year decline in production was 632 mb, versus a three increase in oil prices of $43. So, for every dollar increase in oil prices, three year cumulative global crude oil production fell at 15 mb per dollar, again relative to the 2005 rate.

    Jeffrey Brown (Westexas) at the Oil Drum.

  61. MeLoDy and Deuce,

    Perhaps I am unenlightened and confused.

    In the nicest possible way, in order to avoid any claim of insensitivity, I am trying to say that millions of Americans are misfits.

    Since I do not personally know the folk I see wondering about aimlessly, any diagnostic attempt would be foolish. Consequently, I have not made the attempt. If that offends, I will leave the job to you...Get back to me with your findings.

  62. Whit: Matthews was gushing that for an hour, he forgot that Obama is black.

    For an hour I forgot that Obama was a promise-breaker.

    End income tax for seniors making less than $50,000? Broken.

    End no-bid contracts above $25,000? Broken.

    Allow five days of public comment before signing bills? Broken.

    Give annual "State of the World" address about national security? Broken.

    Recognize the Armenian genocide by Turkey? Broken.

    Negotiate health care reform in public sessions televised on C-SPAN? Broken.

  63. Tomorrow, when I wake up, I'm going to explain why the deficit, next year, isn't going to be nearly as high as the Rush Limbaughs of the world are telling you it is,

    and why the Pubs had better get their "Thinking Caps" on, and quit parrotting back those numbers. Can you say, "Trap?"

  64. ...I will leave the job to you...Get back to me with your findings.

    Probably a wise decision, Allen.

  65. Mentally challenged is what use to be called mental retardation.

    Mentally ill is anywhere from a broad range of mood disorders to socially and emotionally disturbed, which is usually prompt by physical and sexual abuse as a child, to psychosis.

    I'm not saying the people you see aren't mentally ill but most probably are not.

  66. Experts See Another Global Dip Ahead

    "...they believe the upturn since late 2009 will fizzle out later this year."

    "Mr. Roubini advocated the return of the Glass-Steagal Act of 1932, which separated commercial banking from investment banking..."

  67. linearthinker said...

    "Probably a wise decision, Allen."

    Yep :)

  68. Anyone notice Obama said "lay a new foundation" for America?

    What's wrong with the the CONSTITUTION?

  69. I demand - absolutely demand - a J. D. Salinger memorial post.

    Okay, put one together and email it to us at elephant.bar@hotmail.com

    Give ups a heads-up in the thread and we will check the email.

    We aim to please.

    Congrats on the house, (I hope) That was awfully quick. Purchasing or renting?

  70. When I use to live in Jersey there was a homeless man. He was a veteran and his family did everything they could to get him the help he needed but he lives on the streets by choice. But I wouldn't have known that if it wasn't his hometown where his family lived and told the stories of him returning from war.

  71. The VA reckons that on any given night about 1/3 of the homeless are veterans.

  72. When you peel off the layers of signifying and symbolizing, of blathering and bamboozling, Obama lacks in the elemental qualities of manliness necessary to be President. Obama is like the onion in Peer Gynt. Take away the layers there's nothing at the core.

    You’ll peel past many layers about helping people, about caring, about giving and devotion of the Obama onion. Those pungent peels taste good to the poor, the grasping, the gullible, the craven, and the rich-so-rich that nothing dents their days. The layers remain the common malarkey of the con-man who hopes that by stimulating your greed for grub or good feelings now, he'll be able to hoover your bank account later. It's an old con and it works. That's why con-men are always with us; not because they are so smart, but because so many are so stupid. Con-artists (and Obama is a brilliant flim-flam flinger) not only know this, they depend upon it.

    Obama is very much a man with “a hand full of gimme and a mouth full of much obliged.” Just this morning, as he has for so many mornings, he wrote to me asking for five bucks. This after he squandered so many millions just last night with his noninfomercial for flaming narcissists of all five genders. It’s obvious the man and his minions can't handle money

    Vanderleun wrote that in October, 2008. It's worth reading the rest at the link.

  73. Allen: maybe the real point of agriculture was beer

    Men VS Beer: A beer NEVER leaves the toilet seat up

    Men VS Beer: A beer lasts longer than seven seconds

    Men VS Beer: A beer tastes good

    Men VS Beer: A beer would never make fun of your new outfit

    Men VS Beer: All you have to do to get over a Beer is take a leak

    Men VS Beer: You can put your old beers in one room & they won't fight

    Men Vs Beer: Beer doesn't get jealous when you grab another beer

    Men Vs Beer: Beer is never late

    Men Vs Beer: Beer isn't jealous if you grab another beer

    Men Vs Beer: You can share your beer with your friends

    Men vs. Beer: Beer never expects you to sleep in the wet spot.

    Men vs. Beer: Having a beer can't make you pregnant.

    Men vs. Beer: When beer goes flat, you can toss it out.

  74. "Today big government is back with a vengeance: not just as a brute fact, but as a vigorous ideology."

    ...from the Economist

    ......an ideology that demagogically would use "the poor" and "the children" to enslave

  75. Ms. T said...

    "A beer lasts longer than seven seconds"

    ...and you know this, how? :)

  76. T, is that you, I really can't tell through all these men but I'll a beer.

    Did Lilith die?

  77. See, I knew you were in there somewhere.

  78. Since JD Salinger and I went to the same college, I really should do a post on him.

  79. ...and this is the first I have heard about balloon juice. I am almost afraid to look.

  80. I'll work it tomorrow night. It will be freezing here. I'll do it with a fire and my last bottle of Parson's Flat.

  81. except, I don't think I have any wine left.