Obama Implants His Political Vision for America — But Will It Take?
In Obama's philosophy, his personal "community" promotes the common good at the expense of individual rights.
It occurred toward the end of the president’s speech to a joint session of Congress. President Obama was reaching the peroration of his address, the point most good public speakers seek to connect emotionally with their audience while pounding home their major themes one last time.
The president chose at this crucial point in his speech to impart his vision of the role of government in the United States:
That large-heartedness — that concern and regard for the plight of others — is not a partisan feeling. It’s not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character — our ability to stand in other people’s shoes; a recognition that we are all in this together, and when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand; a belief that in this country, hard work and responsibility should be rewarded by some measure of security and fair play; and an acknowledgment that sometimes government has to step in to help deliver on that promise. …
You see, our predecessors understood that government could not, and should not, solve every problem. They understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, the vulnerable can be exploited. And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter — that at that point we don’t merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves.
That was true then. It remains true today. I understand how difficult this health care debate has been. I know that many in this country are deeply skeptical that government is looking out for them. I understand that the politically safe move would be to kick the can further down the road — to defer reform one more year, or one more election, or one more term.
But that is not what the moment calls for. That’s not what we came here to do. We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. I still believe we can act even when it’s hard. (Applause.) I still believe — I still believe that we can act when it’s hard. I still believe we can replace acrimony with civility, and gridlock with progress. I still believe we can do great things, and that here and now we will meet history’s test.
Because that’s who we are. That is our calling. That is our character.
It is not often that a president opens his mind and allows us to see its inner workings, to view the philosophy that animates his actions and drives him to achieve a vision formed from personal experience and thoughtful contemplation.
I believe Barack Obama is indeed a thoughtful man. Not a scholar or intellectual, but someone who has an interest in living what the philosophers refer to as “an examined life.” Perhaps no modern president has spent as much time nor traveled so far in an effort to discover meaning and place as far as the threads of his life are concerned. This much was evident before he became president. Dreams from My Father was, if nothing else, a dissertation on one man’s journey of self-discovery and his drive for self-actualization.
What made that autobiography unique was not so much Obama’s age when he wrote it (33), but rather his almost melancholy realization that he really didn’t fit in anywhere and that he must create his own community in order to feel as if he belonged.
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Rick Moran is PJM Chicago editor; his own blog is Right Wing Nut House.
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59 Comments
1. rachel peepers:No, Rick, it won’t take because, for one thing, Barack, as a communist, believes the ends equals the means.
Something else that sours me on Barack; I think he lied when he swore to uphold the constitution.
Are you aware of the racist, Sonia Sotomayor, Barack nomninated for the supreme court? That didn’t sit well with me either.
Then there’s those friends of Barack who are domestic terrorists, which could have killed most any of our fathers or mothers? And the fact Barack breaks bread with them. Are you aware of the hate speech they use when they talk about Jews? It’s demeaning and quite nasty. They use to dish when Ayers, Rashid Khalido and Barack used to hash things out over dinner?
My final question. Are you aware that Barack sets a very low moral bar for himself? I’m talking about his lies about what he heard pewing for twenty years in the church of Rev. Wright.
Another reason I can’t be comfortable with a Barack Presidency is because I get the feeling he’s out to destroy the ideals upon which this country was founded.
Equal justice under the law sticks out. I’m talking about letting the voter intimidating Black Panthers off seemingly for no good reason.
The fact that we may disagree here at PJM matters not at all to me. I enjoy communicating with logical thinkers and good writers.
And respectfully wish you and yours only the best.
Rachel
Once upon a time, people thought Barack was a great orator from Chicago. I afraid he’s more like one of those bums from the neighborhood.
Sep 11, 2009 - 12:35 am 2. Anonymous:sorry for the last line. It was a mistake to leave it in. To work, it needs to be set up by a missive full of chicago and boxing references.
If I wrote this on a typewriter, I wouldn’t have happened. I apologize.
Sep 11, 2009 - 12:39 am 3. Delia:Will it take? PLEASE NO! Please HELL TO THE NO!
I’d rather take my chances with H1N1, a bag of ‘WOW!’ chips and a Burger Sling E. Coli burger than have B.O.’s crock-O-crap sammich $hoved down our ‘collective’ gullets.
No. I’m not dazzled by the ‘brilliant bone-head’ aka baffle-master in caca del toro.
Sep 11, 2009 - 1:44 am 4. huxley:In the past year and a half I’ve spent more time than I’d like to admit trying to understand Barack Obama. Rick Moran’s article is one of the least insightful pieces that I’ve read.
Anyone who takes Obama’s bare, pretentious list of his most influential authors (Shakespeare? Solzhehnitsyn? Doris Lessing? Primo Levi?) as an important clue to Obama is being played a fool. We need to know how those writers influenced Obama; otherwise, one falls victim to the oldest college sophomore game around to impress other would-be intellectuals.
Then a few paragraphs later, Moran concludes with a real howler:
In short, if a president could think our way out of the morass our modern politics has become, Obama was going to give it his best shot.
No, no, no. It’s true that Obama works very hard to convey that impression, but that’s all it is — an impression. Obama is not an intellectual. He has no intellectual accomplishments. Even though he edited Harvard Law Review, he contributed no articles which is highly unusual. Even though he worked as a law professor for several years, he published no articles.
True, he has written two books but they are essentially memoirs about the only subject in which Obama is an expert: himself.
During his campaign and his presidency Obama has contributed no new ideas — just more New Deal big government projects and Chicago-style cronyism.
Start to finish Rick Moran’s article is simply credulous, about as serious an intellectual enterprise as Barack Obama himself.
Sep 11, 2009 - 2:54 am 5. Fred Beloit:A quibble, Rick, if I may (its what I do). When trying to see into Obama’s mind, one naturally goes to his past and his writings. His past prior to his mid-years in Chicago is largely a mystery, a mystery he seems to want it to remain. As for his writings, how much was written by Ayers/Dorne we will probably never know. His speeches? How much has he written himself vs the young speech writer he (the government) employs?
No, not much to go on. Rather, let us look at his associates, his friends, his mentors, and his selections for government appointments. Yoikes! Also, we need to look at his current lifestyle. Like all successful or old money liberals, he has no problem burning up fuel and indulging his senses like a Roman Emperor, viz., the expensive night out in New York, the expensive vacation rental, the $100 a pound steaks, etc. Philosophies are easy. Moral codes are hard.
When we look at these things, he seems less like a philospher king and more like the same old hypocritical librulz we have come to know and love so much. I, Obama, will live in my mansion with all the lights on, the community may live in a decent hovel, I will insist it be decent, and read about me under the refrigerator light.
Sep 11, 2009 - 5:20 am 6. BackwardsBoy:Sorry, Rick, but Obama just doesn’t have any breadth or depth intellectually. By his own account, he sought to surround himself with radicals in college. After graduation, he again found himself in their company. According to the information I’ve been able to find, Obama never once chose to explore the writings of the Founding Fathers nor their philosophies.
Radical “thought” is radical due to the nature of the idealogy: it is in direct opposition to the better nature of mankind. Recall that Saul Alinsky dedicated his “Rules for Radicals” to the devil. Ayers’ tome “Prarie Fire” was dedicated to Sirhan Sirhan, among others, IIRC.
These are the people and ideas that Obama surrounds himself with, and his failures to solve our problems show it. Radicals only know how to destroy, to tear down, to shackle and oppress, often while using elegant prose and seemingly sound argument. But make no mistake, the benefit of one’s fellow man is not the goal of radialism.
Sep 11, 2009 - 5:22 am 7. BC:Have you guys ever thought about not name calling, throwing rocks and making up stuff? And also have you ever heard of the expression that starts, “If you’re not part of the solution…”?
Sep 11, 2009 - 5:57 am 8. Thomas_L.....:So not a communist but a cummunitist. I like reading his words. It’s so obvious he’s just making it all up. I’m pretty sure the founding fathers never thought in the “nuanced” way he describes. If I paint a pretty picture of a world that doesn’t, never did and can never exist, often enough, in a beguiling tone, some of the rubes are going to believe it could work.
Sep 11, 2009 - 5:57 am 9. Cybergeezer:Anniversary of 9/11. Maybe he should apologize to someone.
“Obama Implants His Political Vision for America — But Will It Take?”
Sep 11, 2009 - 6:06 am 10. scythe:I put more faith in my local palm reader!
Why are “tradition” and “progress” mutually exclusive?
Sep 11, 2009 - 6:17 am 11. Joe:Isn’t “community” another vague reference to “commiunism”?
Haven’t we had enough of this emotionally adolescent President governing our America as just another extension of his journey of “self discovery”?
How many more months of having to deal with his emotional disturbances????
No, it won’t take. For one thing, Obama is a communist and Americans, even the ones who voted for him will eventually understand that this is not what America stands for. Our country and our people are unique. We are independent, bred from tough stock, and we will never be beaten into compliance by some politician who happens to come along.
Sep 11, 2009 - 6:30 am 12. Sebastian Shaw:President Obama’s illusion for loving America will shatter as the cracks in his masque have already splintered; his anger, bitterness, & hatred for America’s values is most obvious when he has his SEIU thugs & ACORN zombies attack his constituents for community organizing against Obama’s Statists nightmares to turn America into some kind of Communist state. His masque will completely shatter soon & all that will be left is a real small insecure narcissist, a shadow being, looking to gain absolute control over everyone. Never mind, Obama is incompetent in his leadership. Americans have already sent Washington DC a clear message this Summer. Only the fools in DC will not listen. One of those fools is President Obama given his arrogance & his bloated ego for any victory on the Health Care Statist Fiat. He is a desperate man who is already weak. His overexposure will not help him attain any real victory to rescue his aimless administration for his power grabs.
Sep 11, 2009 - 6:55 am 13. venividivici:7. BC:
Have you guys ever thought about not name calling, throwing rocks and making up stuff? And also have you ever heard of the expression that starts, “If you’re not part of the solution…”?
Any “solution” that starts from the premise of involuntary collectivism overseen by a technocratic elite (which is about what the Left’s platform is these days) is no solution I want to be part of. I’ll gladly opt out of whatever illusory benefits you claim this “solution” will deliver, if you’ll let me opt out of the costs. I’ve never met a person on the Left that I would hire as my administrative assistant, never mind someone I’d hire to actually make substantive choices on my behalf. I’d rather consult a Magic 8-Ball than any Leftist I’ve ever encountered, and being from Massachusetts, I’ve encountered plenty.
Sep 11, 2009 - 7:35 am 14. Ed:Its funny and more than just a bit ironic that you all think you are smarter than Obama while at the same time calling him arrogant.
Sep 11, 2009 - 7:47 am 15. Thomas_L......:Ed – Whereas you get to bask in his glory and share his immense wisdom merely by agreeing with him. Sweet!
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:03 am 16. venividivici:Its funny and more than just a bit ironic that you all think you are smarter than Obama while at the same time calling him arrogant.
Let’s see his transcripts and standardized test scores, then. I know what mine say and I’ll put them up against Obama’s any day of the week. For personal reasons, I turned down the chance to study at Harvard for my Ph.D. back in the early 90’s, so I’m not exactly intimidated by his academic pedigree and, since I didn’t get my opportunities through affirmative action, I’m pretty sure I was more qualified anyway.
How’s that for “funny”?
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:04 am 17. Michael:I could hope for more civil discourse but don’t dare play the victim BC. We have been buried under vituperation blasted at conservatives with ever greater vigor through the Presidency’s of Reagan, Bush and Bush. Some of it has rubbed off I am afraid.
Deal with it.
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:05 am 18. Ed:I never said I agree with him on everything. Frankly I don’t, but I do respect his approach and his accomplishments. As for venividivici, why don’t you run against Obama for President? You seem like you got it goin’ on!
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:13 am 19. ETAB:The problem, Ed, is that Obama hasn’t provided any evidence of his intelligence or intellect. Nothing. Not only no records of his academic career, but he did nothing as ‘editor’ of the Harvard Law Review. No editing, no artices.
And nothing during his time in the Senate.
And he’s given us a great deal of evidence of his ignorance of history (eg, his Cairo speech), of political systems, of economic systems, of the American constitution.
And, he’s shown himself to be ‘unsmart’ in is constant denigration of our allies, his insults to them, and his lack of support for America.
So, based on and only on the evidence, many of us come to the conclusion that Obama is ahh, not particularly intelligent or smart.
He IS ’smart’ at one thing – manipulating people so that they will be under his sway. But that may be cute in a twoyear old, but it’s hardly ’smart’ behaviour in an adult.
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:41 am 20. Ed:I guess its true that beating Republicans in a resounding way in no way denotes intelligence. Holy sour grapes!
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:51 am 21. Calvin Ball:I must have missed that part of the Federalist Papers. Is that before or after the part about the 57 states?
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:54 am 22. Calvin Ball:Oh, Jezuz Frick on a pogo stick. Please.
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:56 am 23. Calvin Ball:Isn’t that the way all religious cults work?
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:00 am 24. billslayer:I think BO is emblematic of exactly the problem that conservatives/republicans/libertarians have when competing with libs/dems/socialists. We are at a disadvantage because we are (supposedly) against using the state as the solution to problems. Their job is simply easier. And BO is really the ultimate evolution of that ideology by simply marrying it with the morally imperetive rhetorical style of the black pulpit. He molds himself as the reincarnation of MLK…without any of the risk that MLK took.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:01 am 25. Morton Doodslag:Obama has mastered the art of speaking with forked tongue. He’s mastered it so well that people like Rick Moran apparently fall for it all. It is genuine and malign artfulness when a deceiver gets his victims to cling mainly to those deft portions designed to appease, while his victim ignores or denies the deceiver’s true, clear intent. Obama tosses in all this flowery verbiage not because he is in any way “conflicted”, certainly not because he’s examining his life or his thoughts or his guiding ideology, but because he knows full well that he can fool some of the people most of the time.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:03 am 26. venividivici:As for venividivici, why don’t you run against Obama for President? You seem like you got it goin’ on!
Because I have no desire to tell people what to do. Just leave me the hell alone, basically, and I’ll leave you alone.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:13 am 27. ETAB:You’re quite right, Ed, beating the Republicans doesn’t indicate anyhing about Obama’s intelligence.
After all, he himself didn’t run or devise the campaign, write his speeches, or do anything that required thought and analysis.
All he did, was perform, and as an emotional manipulator which I suspect is a trait he moved into as a teenager, he is highly skilled at such performing. But that’s has zilch to do with intelligence.
Obama has not shown in any of his appearances – and after all, we have nothing else to go on, for he has written nothing except, his two ghost-written autobiographies which are merely emotional meanderings. We have no evidence from him of any output requiring thought, and analysis.
His statements made when he is ‘off the cuff’ and released from his Teleprompter have been ignorant and shallow.
His willingness to insist that the Stimulus Bill, whch was a pork-bill, be passed and without reading, is not a sign of intelligence.
His constant reference to 46 million uninsured, which is false, is not a sign of intelligence.
His reference to the bill being ‘no cost’ is not a sign of intelligence.
His attempt to getit passed without reading or debate is not a sign of intelligence.
His insults to those who dissent is not a sign of intelligence
His closing of Guantanamo is not a sign of intelligence.
His constant blaming of others is not a sign of intelligence.
And so on- Obama has provided lots of evidence of an inability or unwillingness to gather data, examine it and analyze it. He has provided lots of evidence for his shallowness and ignorance of history and the world.
And no evidence of any intelligence..but a great deal of evidence of his skills at misinforming and manipulating people.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:14 am 28. Thomas_L......:Ed – Do they call you “special” back where you’re from? Your logic is so precise! First of all, I’m not so sure in how 53% is considered “resounding” anywhere but “more cowbell” land. Secondly, in your superior vision, how do you explain a total moron like GWB getting elected? Twice? Beating Republicans proves intelligence but beating Democrats proves stupidity?
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:21 am 29. venividivici:We are at a disadvantage because we are (supposedly) against using the state as the solution to problems.
The irony is that it is in the writings of the Founding Fathers exactly for which problems the state (at the Federal level) is the designated problem-solver, or at least, problem-mitigator. If the Left doesn’t like that list of problems and wants to expand it, there’s a simple solution: Amend the Constitution. Anything short of that can fairly be called “illegitimate” and, throughout history, “illegitimate” is the worst epithet than can be ascribed to a government or regime. It practically begs for a revolution against itself by acting in such a fashion.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:25 am 30. Calvin Ball:I’m probably going to be called a troofer and a racist for this, but there’s a serious question regarding whether or not Obama actually wrote DFMF:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/10/who_wrote_dreams_from_my_fathe_1.html
If I had to bet even money, I’d bet that he didn’t. Whether or not the real author is the one alleged in that article, is another story.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:26 am 31. Bill Baar:Rick, You’re from Chicago. You should know better. Obama’s the creature of Emil Jone’s ward organization. Part of the Machine whose motto is “Ubi Est Mea-Where’s Mine?”. Don’t all for this community and vision frame. That’s just stuff for the goo goos.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:34 am 32. goy:- If one were seeking to define Barack Obama’s political philosophy in one word, it would be “community.”
Oh PLEASE give it a frakking rest with these moranic attempts to wax profound on the “philosophy” of our naked emperor!
If one were seeking to define BHO’s political philosophy in one word – based on his words and deeds to date taken in sum – it would not be “community”, but “communism”.
Communities are comprised of individuals. Collectives are not. BHO’s “philosophy” is firmly rooted in the latter.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:39 am 33. AThinkingPerson:For the record, I just donated to Rep. Joe Wilson’s R-S.C.’s reelection fund. I LOVE a straight shooter and this guy is my hero!! Seeing the look on Nancy Pelosi’s face was worth every nickle I sent to his campaign. GO GET’EM JOE!! No more apologizing!
Anyone else feel a need to see MORE honesty coming out of our Congressional representatives?
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:53 am 34. David H:Obama is an excellent President for this day and age, he is teaching the American people to look out for their freedoms, this is a needed lesson I think.
Sep 11, 2009 - 9:55 am 35. Sebastian Shaw:President Obama’s Cult of Personality can cut both ways in the that it can easily consume his administration & destroy him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVn2eq9XjPY
“Shooting Sun” is about religious cults. And President Obama fits this description unfortunately. Listen to the lyrics carefully.
Sep 11, 2009 - 10:05 am 36. Calvin Ball:33. AThinkingPerson,
For every dumb troll comment on this thread, I’ll donate $10. That’s $30 so far, but I’m giving 34 the benefit of the doubt.
Sep 11, 2009 - 10:06 am 37. Professor Guvinoff:The elevation of a president philosophical sights might well be a good topic of study for tomorrow’s historians, but in the present, what a president wishes or yearns for is not as relevant as what he does (or fails to do) regarding the issues of his time.
We need a president for the defense and the promotion of our collective interest! This is not a philosophical question, it’s a practical matter. In order to serve, a president should have a fine grasp of the opportunities and the challenges of his time, for the nation, not for the vindication of a personal philosophical vision.
Each of us is entitled to a personal philosophical vision, but only one of us has custody of the national interests. What we need is a leader, not a preener, a man capable of consistent and well targeted advocacy, not some someone preaching just for the sake of harvesting the “Amens”.
The president’s philosophy is a red herring, just as relevant as the green jobs or any other colorful empty phrase.
Watch what he does and whose interests he serves, not what he says. Remember, nobody ever before raised more than a half-billion of campaign money. Why did we allow a candidate to be pulled by so many strings? Forget about philosophy for the moment. We can go back to it once we have restored liberty and prosperity.
Sep 11, 2009 - 10:30 am 38. David H:36. And you were correct to do so.
Sep 11, 2009 - 11:28 am 39. goy:@7. BC: – …ever heard of the expression that starts, “If you’re not part of the solution…”?
Yeah, there’s a corollary to that: If you’re arrogant, ignorant and narcissistic enough to proclaim that you have the ONLY solution, then you ARE the problem.
Sep 11, 2009 - 11:46 am 40. elinor stickney:Obama doesn’t even live his own”community” and I am not interested in doing so either. Perhaps he was willing to consort with those he organized when he was right out of college but I don’t think either he or Michelle could give up the private schools, designer clothes, and gourmet food now.
Sep 11, 2009 - 12:21 pm 41. WestWright:At least Rick Moran’s BO piece is slightly better than the last Jazz Shaw pos….so Rick maintains his 2nd worse writer on PJ creds.
Sep 11, 2009 - 12:28 pm 42. Calvin Ball:Horseshirt. It was absolutely bad faith on his part, and the part of the donkeys in congress, to Rham this things through in the middle of the night without reading it, and without even finishing it! There’s no hurry. Anyone claiming that there is is a liar.
Sep 11, 2009 - 12:51 pm 43. Calvin Ball:Enter the community organizer. In their world, the community organizer is the best of both universes. Communitarian, and yet entrepreneurial. There’s no conflict here, and he even believes that everyone can become a communitarian entrepreneur. That’s what the Bamajugen (remember, “as well financed as the DoD”, yadda, yadda?) comes in.
The ultimate narcissist. He wants everyone to become a lesser clone of him, just like that other Godwinian charismatic leader who I will leave unnamed.
Of course, that leaves the unanswered question: who will collect the garbage? I guess that’s what poor whites are for.
Sep 11, 2009 - 1:06 pm 44. Cybergeezer:Obama’s and his fellow Democrat criminals have gone way too far by trying to rename 9/11 with one of their labels without making any announcements to the American People; This is unconscionable, criminal, totally insensitive, and proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they are on a crusade to bring the United States to communism with whatever means they may use.
Sep 11, 2009 - 1:37 pm 45. Calvin Ball:WE HAVE TO GET RID OF THESE CRIMINALS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! The future of the United States depends on it.
44, cyberfart, a little less yell and a little more link might be a little more effective. Or are you one of those frothing, screaming, tea partiers the polls are all biotching about?
Sep 11, 2009 - 2:30 pm 46. billslayer:I miss George W Bush. He was a terrible president, but I’m actually missing his inability to articulate abstract concepts. He was no sales man, he was no orator.I think at this point the last thing we need is another damn great orator. We need someone blunt enough to say, “We are cutting spending, and yes, it’s going to hurt.”
Sep 11, 2009 - 3:51 pm 47. Peter Verkooijen:What a load of crap. Obama is a one-dimensional, doctrinaire marxist-leninist. For example, when he claims Alexander Solzhenitsyn influenced him, that is just cynical manipulation. His whole persona is a carefully constructed myth and his books were just instruments, NOT “a dissertation on one man’s journey of self-discovery and his drive for self-actualization”. Absolute BS!
Sep 11, 2009 - 5:00 pm 48. goy:This racist attack on BHO should answer Rick’s question well enough.
Sep 11, 2009 - 5:29 pm 49. Pee Wee Herman, Community Organizer:Which is much more ambitious that Clinton, whose vision for America was implants.
Sep 11, 2009 - 5:54 pm 50. rwisher:Well, I was going to go down the same line as Verkooijen, but he beat me to it.
You have to careful not to project what you think he might be thinking, and watch his actions. I repeat watch his actions and his associations. After a review, ask yourself who does he think he is holding his “examined life” up to?
Life and people are often not as complicated as we like to think they are. Obama is a very self centered man, not nearly as confident as he appears, a “smooth bully” would be a better description.
He is intelligent, but not worldly at all. If he were he would be far more humble or far more realistic when it comes to having others bend to his way of thinking. His arrogance borders on narcissism.
Further, his young life was in one direction, but after he made it to college and then to Chicago he changed directions and appeared to gain depth beyond his experience. This usually means somebody is “managing” him.
Other than that, a fine detailed well thought out article, just giving him waaay to much credit.
Sep 11, 2009 - 6:12 pm 51. Eric:Obama and most of the Democrat leadership are either socialists or outright Marxists. The American people, generally, are not. He will fail.
Sep 11, 2009 - 6:51 pm 52. Catherine:Rick, what absolute drivel!
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:08 pm 53. Calvin Ball:The weird thing about this piece is that Rick manages to come to a reasonable, and even interesting conclusion, despite a lot of meta-points that are nonsense. The meta-points become a distraction, and people don’t follow the piece to its conclusion. Rick’s pieces are frequently like that.
Rick, a word to the wise: drop the cutesy “Obama is brilliant” nonsense, which is at best tautological, and just get to the point. I don’t know what percentage of the readers actually followed you through all of that gobbledygook, but I’m going to guess not many. And it’s unnecessary. The conclusion stands on its own.
Every time you try to show us how oh-so-sensitive you are with that irrelevant patronage, all you do is distract readers. It’s not helping you.
Sep 11, 2009 - 8:44 pm 54. huxley:Nicely put, Calvin.
I have no idea what Rick Moran is up to here or PJM either. Whatever else Obama might be — and I would argue not much — he is a hard left ideologue with vast pretensions to being a brilliant intellect.
Rick — Review Obama’s passage in “The Audacity of Hope”: “I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.” Then reconsider your entire article.
Forget Obama’s favorite authors. I would be surprised if he read a whole book by any of them.
Sep 11, 2009 - 10:58 pm 55. Poor Citizen:Obama is still a relatively new president so its really tough to judge him right now. Both, his vision and his agenda is “yet” to play out on our country. Health care reform aside, most of the things he has addressed, specifically the ones he inherited(wars,prisoners,gitmo,economy,environment)he has tried to “begin” to try to fix. He was faced with some super big problems. Some things he has done, I applaud and some I dont, and he has made errors. He has many years to go, so for me, the jury is still out. Good article. Thanks.
Sep 12, 2009 - 1:36 am 56. Cybergeezer:19. ETAB:
Sep 12, 2009 - 7:17 am 57. Jonathan Nolan:Right you are; It’s like kids at recess seeing another kid with money and toys; “Oh, lets hang out with him; It’ll be fun!”
These children of Obama don’t realize there’s going to be payback.
Anyone have any information on any “friends” of Obama whom are NOT parasites of some kind? Any acquaintance of his takes on Obama’s attitude of “being owed”.
And he’s such a GOOD READER; But, where’s the READING COMPREHENSION?
Rick- gotta tell you man, not feeling it AT ALL. First off, please only speak for yourself, not “people” because it feels like you’re trying to put words in our mouth and thoughts in our head. I’m the guy who actually started the “magic negro” epithet that the NYT picked up on. I have NEVER seen Barry Soetoro as any kind of intellectual or orator. Teleprompter does not equal JFK.
Secondly, and more importantly, your writings seem to make you a bad fit for Pajamas Media. You aren’t conservative, you aren’t cautious in speech and you aren’t clear in your thoughts. I could read Bill Whittle or Andrew Klavan all day. I love Joe Hicks’ repartee. You- not so much. And it is the content that just kills you.
It is quite clear Dreams From is ghostwritten by a genuine supervillain, Bill Ayers aka The Weatherman. Obvious. That is the point to begin with. Ask the hard yet easy to pose question, if a man has no background, let alone the background of an author and a deep thinker, could it be that he is NOT an author or a deep thinker? If a man suppresses his past, is it because there’s something in there he’s PROUD of? Can people see the difference between the Mena drug cartel connections of Bill Clinton and the street dealer past of Barry Soetoro?
And this man is president. Not even just a corrupt politician for life in DC- the actual president.
Obama = President Pierce II and pray G d it doesn’t lead to civil war.
Sep 14, 2009 - 12:54 am 58. goy:I have to agree Jon (and have for quite some time).
I’m convinced that the Rick Moran who writes for PJM is a completely different person from the one writing for American Thinker using the same name.
Sep 15, 2009 - 8:11 am 59. white tiger:We know what a thing is by what it does.
Nov 23, 2009 - 6:41 pm