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‘Obamamania’ on the Wane
The progressive crowd isn't happy and is gearing up to hold Obama’s feet to the fire.
Well, being a libertarian means never having rose-colored glasses on, so it’s a bit hard for me to identify with that. But I think the unmistakable subtext is that the left is gearing up to hold Obama’s feet to the fire.
Many signs point to growing discontent on the left towards Obama. I expect the controversy over Obama’s backpedaling over the gays in the military issue will heat up, and I’m also seeing signs of irritation like this:
UC Berkeley students joined the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) last week to launch a national campaign urging President-elect Barack Obama to enact the federal Dream Act, which would legalize federal financial aid and open a path of citizenship for undocumented immigrant college students across the nation, who are otherwise entrapped in complicated paperwork.
Etc. No word on what the By Any Means Necessary brigade will do if Obama doesn’t comply, but when groups like that don’t get their way, they are unlikely to remain silent. Similarly, another group is demanding that Obama close the former School of the Americas (much hated by the hard left, and renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation), but there’s no word on what they’ll do if the school continues.
There’s more and more disgruntlement over the absence of “progressives” in the Obama administration. Robert Kuttner complains that progressives are missing and that Obama had picked “the same centrist club” consisting of “a team of Rubinistas.”
The Nation’s Chris Hayes is far less circumspect. He sounds angry and scolding:
Not a single, solitary, actual dyed-in-the-wool progressive has, as far as I can tell, even been mentioned for a position in the new administration. Not one. Remember this is the movement that was right about Iraq, right about wage stagnation and inequality, right about financial deregulation, right about global warming and right about health care. And I don’t just mean in that in a sectarian way. I mean to say that the emerging establishment consensus on all of these issues came from the left.
Open Left’s Chris Bowers is at least as frustrated over the appointment of General Jim Jones to head the NSA, while progressives are being left out:
Why isn’t there a single member of Obama’s cabinet who will be advising him from the left? It seems to me as though there is a team of rivals, except for the left, which is left off the team entirely.
It is just so very frustrating. It seems like the only place progressives are making any gains is in the House. We are being entirely left out of Obama’s major appointments so far. I guess everyone gets to play in Obama’s administration, except progressives.
I’m finding it very tough to be frustrated by their frustration, and I agree with Glenn Reynolds’ assessment that Obama is “looking ever more hawkish and tax-cutting, so who knows — things may work out.”
But if Obama is seen as betraying the left, while that might help him with the right, is that really his goal? I don’t think he’s playing to the right, because none of the appointments the “progressives” complain about can honestly be called rightist, or even conservative. As the New York Times noted recently, “he has yet to name any Republicans to cabinet-level positions as pledged.”
Since then, however, Team Obama announced that the president-elect plans to keep the Bush administration’s Robert Gates as secretary of defense — a move certain to infuriate “progressives.” By a process which is almost mathematical, the more infuriated the latter become, the more they make Obama look like a centrist whether he is or not.
John Hawkins of Right Wing News takes issue with the view of Obama as a centrist, much less a rightist:
Obama is not a centrist and he’s not filling his cabinet up with them either. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and the overwhelming majority of staffers Obama is bringing on are hard core liberals. The Kos crowd may not always look at it like that, but the netroots think anyone who doesn’t want to prosecute Bush for war crimes or deliberately lose the war in Iraq is practically a Republican.
That reflects the split I’ve seen in Berkeley for years — between Marxist-style “progressives” and mainstream Democrat “liberals,” with the former seeing the latter as “right wing.” (In fairness, I guess they are to the right — of the far left.)
I think what is emerging on the right is not so much a view that Obama is a centrist so much as a sigh of relief that so far, he’s not acting like the radical Marxist some conservatives predicted he would. Despite the past utopian ruminations of Bill Ayers, there is no Five Year Plan to liquidate the American Kulak class. (Just to be on the safe side, though, the latter are stocking up on guns, which benefits the economy.)
Barack Obama is a highly skilled politician who weighs the consequences of every move. While he ran on the left, he is now showing clear signs of what we would call “playing to the center.” As to how much of that is real centrism and how much is the appearance of centrism caused by angry progressive outbursts, it’s too early to tell.
But there’s no question that the angry progressive outbursts are growing shriller and shriller. Even before the Gates announcement became news, The Nation’s William Greider sounded the alarm, in very strong terms:
Obama’s choices have begun to define him. His victory, it appears, was a triumph for the cautious center-right politics that has described the Democratic Party for several decades. Those of us who expected more were duped, not so much by Obama but by our own wishful thinking.
I’m enjoying this so much that I’m starting to engage in wishful thinking myself!
Is it possible that this is precisely what Team Obama wants? To lull the libertarian and conservative opposition into a false sense of security by adeptly pretending to play to the center? I’ve been so steeped in election-oriented thinking for so long now that it’s hard to analyze things any other way. But the election is over, isn’t it?
It’s a bit of a puzzle, but I’m hoping maybe he’s not playing to anyone, and that he really is at heart more of a centrist than a far left ideologue. Certainly, that’s what the American people would want him to be.
Of course, even if this is not from the heart, and he’s being a consummate politician and thinking ahead to 2012 (or the next congressional election), the practical result would still be the same.
As to the “progressive base,” I think Obama can take them for granted, especially right now. They have nowhere to go, and it’s not as if they’d ever vote Republican. Barack Obama can act like Humphrey Bogart in the Maltese Falcon who famously said (to Joel Cairo, after slapping him):
When you’re slapped, you’ll take it and like it.
This is not to say that I’m comparing Barack Obama to Humphrey Bogart, as it’s far too early for that.
However, at the risk of being engaged in wishful thinking, I’d enjoy seeing the Joel Cairos of the left get slapped a few more times.
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Eric Scheie blogs at Classical Values.
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63 Comments
1. ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane at Hillary Clinton On Best Political Blogs:[...] ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane The progressive crowd isn’t happy and are gearing up to hold Obama’s feet to the fire. [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:51 am 2. Typewriter King:I anticipate them making a show of breaking on campus the commemorative plates they bought up out of euphoria a short time ago.
I don’t see much room for ‘The Nation’ to be disappointed unless they were counting of Barrack lying throughout the general election. Of course, they’ve always smugly believed that the general electorate were the suckers. That’s nowhere clearer than on marriage, where the donk always holds the same view as the pub, but they act as if there’s a coded transmission telling them donks don’t really think that way.
How else can they so confidently assert that Bush or Palin were bigoted, while Kerry-Clinton-Obama-Biden were so super tolerant? At last, now that their guy won, they’ll have to cope with four years of realization that they were the ones being played.
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:15 am 3. poul:“Not a single, solitary, actual dyed-in-the-wool progressive has, as far as I can tell, even been mentioned for a position in the new administration. Not one.” – and for a good reason. every single one actual dyed-in-the-wool progressive is a complete and utter idiot. obama, with all his drawbacks, knows better than employ complete and utter idiots.
Dec 1, 2008 - 2:37 am 4. Peg C.:I’m with poul. I cannot read the word “progressive” without seeing “idiot.” From that perspective what these unrepentent leftists are saying is quite true. However, not being a total idiot doesn’t make Obama brilliant or center-right. He’s just incredibly calculating and cynical.
No one will be happy with the coming administration. Maybe that is by design.
Dec 1, 2008 - 3:41 am 5. Craig:“Remember this is the movement that was right about Iraq, right about wage stagnation and inequality, right about financial deregulation, right about global warming and right about health care.”
No I don’t remember. You haven’t been right about anything. When you do get it right…it will certainly be a change I can believe in.
Dec 1, 2008 - 4:33 am 6. misanthropicus:There is some grumbling, that’s true, and the “change we can believe in” man’s cabinet makes me laugh – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Donald Rumsfeld appearing as a special defense adviser in the White House.
The feminism, as we know it from Naomi Wolfe, is dead – after the odious spectacle of bashing Sarah Palin, now we see Larry Summers at the top, Erica Jong and her shrill harpies being completely silent (not that I have a bad opinion of Summers – contrary).
Also, apparently Richardson didn’t take his appointment lightly and his coteries has already opened fire on Obama – and if the Dems fear something, that is the loss of unity of the factions that keeps them in power. Triangulation, no matter how expedient can be, has long term costs, and Obama will learn this (and Iago, too – if I were him, I wouldn’t like to be in Washington amongst Clintonistas).
However, Obamamania will not go away (easily), and the chief cause that this mediaeval type of rapture will stay with us is the very nature of the Obamamaniacs – they are people who simply need an object of adoration, are very emotional, are generally people with problems, are not particularly strong on the analytical/ knowledge side (was the Zogby/ Ziegler report news for you?), etc., mental makeup which makes them project all their yearnings, grief and disponible affection on Obama, who anyway promised them that will solve their problems. And this social layer will stay with us, no matter what.
Dec 1, 2008 - 5:28 am 7. Ann:As far other factors…. I’ll mention only media, which, having completely renounced objectivity and integrity, will keep Obama completely unaccountable of all his false steps and will overhype even his tiniest feats.
But we’ll also have much fun… leaving aside the presidential eligibility scandal which cannot get but bigger, I trust the One’s hubris and incompetence for giving us some great moments.
Of course, what I meant to say was….if there weren’t so much at stake for the nation, this would be hilarious.
Dec 1, 2008 - 5:29 am 8. hp:ha ha ha ha ha!
they deserve every bit of what THEY elected! here’s hoping they additionally get a triple dosed taste of the illegal, unethical censorship they levied on those who oppositionally warned of obama’s agenda before them.
HA HA HA HA HA!
Dec 1, 2008 - 5:36 am 9. CNN: We barley know Him - Truckingboards Truck Drivers Forum:[...] December 1, 2008 – by Eric Scheie Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers The more time I spend in Berkeley, California (where I am on an extended visit), the more I find myself wondering about something. Is the left-wing phenomenon known as “Obamamania” on the wane? It might be too early to tell, but from what I’ve been reading and hearing, I see clear signs that it is. A number of leftist commentators have worked themselves into quite a lather over Barack Obama’s apparent “centrism” — especially his failure to appoint “progressives” (code language for far leftists). Things have come a long way since the San Francisco Chronicle’s Mark Morford mythologized Barack Obama as a “powerful luminosity, a unique high-vibration integrity” in a piece which noted approvingly that “spiritually advanced people” saw him as approaching Godhead — as a magical “Lightworker”: Many spiritually advanced people I know (not coweringly religious, mind you, but deeply spiritual) identify Obama as a Lightworker, that rare kind of attuned being who has the ability to lead us not merely to new foreign policies or health care plans or whatnot, but who can actually help usher in a new way of being on the planet, of relating and connecting and engaging with this bizarre earthly experiment. These kinds of people actually help us evolve. They are philosophers and peacemakers of a very high order, and they speak not just to reason or emotion, but to the soul. Whether Morford still seeks the beatification of St. Barack, I don’t know, but these days his paper seems more to be playing the role of devil’s advocate. A recent piece (headlined as “Obama Team Heavy On Centrists — Economic appointments make some Republicans happier than liberals” at the web site) grimly noted Republican praise, and liberal skepticism: While Republicans were praising Obama’ economic team (Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. said Obama demonstrated “strong and early leadership by his choices), liberal were more skeptical. Noting the heavy reliance on former Clinton administration officials, including Geithner and Summers, Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said both men “supported policies that got us here. They were big fans of financial deregulation, they didn’t take financial bubble seriously – back then it was the stock-market bubble, but they said asset bubbles were not a big deal. The hope is they’ve learned something, and that remains to be seen.” The Berkeley Daily Planet (”Party’s Over–Time to Get Back to Work“) wasted no time in taking Barack Obama directly to task. The first sentence (sounding eerily like a conservative Op Ed in the Washington Times) laments that “as the economic news goes daily from bad to worse, Obamamania continues unabated.” As the editorial reminds us, the fabled Kennedy of Camelot was a war hawk, and it might be time to take off the rose-colored glasses Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 5:58 am 10. R a Z o R:Most fuhrers are not leaders for the good of the
country and the people . Most fuhrers only want
what is best for themselves .
GOOGLE : yellow cake , Iraq , Canada , Bush
________________________________________________
We will miss George W. Bush and history will
prove him to be a great president .
Dec 1, 2008 - 5:59 am 11. katiejane:The unhappiness of the uber-left brings a little joy into me this holiday season.
Dec 1, 2008 - 6:14 am 12. Citizen70:Why in the world didn’t these folks support Dennis Kucinich or Ralph Nader? I was a Hillary Clinton supporter but switched to Ralph Nader once the lying Obamessiah stole the nomination. Also, why weren’t the specials on Jonestown shown during the Democratic primary? Some folks never learn………………..
Dec 1, 2008 - 6:17 am 13. Horatio:“Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.”
Dec 1, 2008 - 7:03 am 14. ew:The Nashville newspaper, the Tennessean, had a call yesterday for parents naming their newborns “Barak” or “Obama.” I think the very fact that would be considered is evidence that some members of the illuminati might have had their rose colored glasses clear up a little… but not all of them, and not all the way.
Dec 1, 2008 - 7:18 am 15. Gary Ogletree:Obama may be an idiot, but he’s not a complete idiot. Team Obama wants a second term and the far left is of little use in that quest. Gates and the Clintonistas offer the media the appearance of having responsible adults at the wheel. I suspect Obama’s real advisers (in contrast to the public faces) know Eric Holder will not survive his nomination in the Senate–what’s that really about? I see no reason for optimism. The stock market is waiting for a push that will send it looking for the real bottom. Team Obama is not likely to identify the Global Jihad as the source of terrorism. Israel will continue to be the scapegoat–only natural since the jihadis so love to quote the Torah before they go on their killing sprees. The Democrats will only increase their efforts to stifle the economy in their fight against global warming, while we move deeper into the cooling cycle. And the media will find ever more ways to glorify Dear Leader’s great wisdom, etc.
Dec 1, 2008 - 7:23 am 16. Thinking Person:I do think the Obama hangover will be harsh when the liberal left realizes that they were sold a bill of goods from an empty suit. Now that Obama is resurrecting the Clinton era in it’s heyday I’m sure they’ll grasp at that notion for all it’s worth until that too, is shown to be an abysmal decision. Oh, where will Obama turn to when he’s shown to be a Clinton puppet? Will the slobbering masses come to his rescue or will they turn on him? I do feel for the democrats though. I’m sure they have to be pretty nervous now knowing that the real “maverick” turned out to be Obama. He sure looked pretty liberal but he seems to have taken a very sharp right turn somewhere along the way. Bully for us though eh?
Dec 1, 2008 - 7:24 am 17. CJ:“Those of us who expected more were duped, not so much by Obama but by our own wishful thinking.”
No? Ya think??
Obama is the politician on whom white liberals have for years projected their hopes and wishes. He never had to actually DO anything to win their adoration. He just had to…be.
He gets caught being a member of racist church for two decades and what does he do for damage control? He lectures the rest of us about racism, and the left swoons. All they wanted was a 15-munute speech to make them forget his politically calculated, 20-year membership in Wright’s church, and he delivered. Wishful thinking indeed. It’s a bitch when the calculations of a calculating politician don’t go your way anymore.
Dec 1, 2008 - 7:42 am 18. Michael Rittenhouse:Wouldn’t it be a hoot if Obama “grew in office,” as so many conservatives do, but in the opposite direction?
I guess Anita Hill would show up to take him down.
Dec 1, 2008 - 8:02 am 19. Lynn:Obama is bright enough to understand that he became President because of his professed centrist positions. Had he campaigned as a MoveOn.org sycophant he would have carried only Vt, Ma and possibly IL
Dec 1, 2008 - 8:19 am 20. Cybergeezer:I’m still waiting for Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, and Al Sharpton to be appointed with managing ACORN and tasked with monitoring and enabling authority over housing and health care. There shall be hope and change that shall never again be duplicated. After Pelosi & Reid combine their version of hope and change with Obamas, our Constitution shall be rendered worthless.
Dec 1, 2008 - 8:21 am 21. 888:So true, #10. George Bush will be vindicated when Iraq becomes peaceful, stable and prosperous. Iraqis are intelligent, educated and hard-working people just like those in other previously “occupied”, later to be US-allied countries such as Japan, Germany and South Korea. The main difference with Iraq is that it is blessed with energy resources galore.
History will show that President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, Spain’s ex-PM Aznar, Japan’s ex-PM Koizumi, Portugal’s ex-PM Barroso and Australia’s ex-PM John Howard were all visionaries when they backed and pushed for the freedom, prosperity and democracy plan for Iraq in the volatile Middle East. And, the Bush Doctrine is more than pre-emptive strikes; it’s also about nation-building & reconstructing, spreading democracy and wiping out malaria and AIDS. His Africa (AFRICOM) and South America initiatives will be (are) far-reaching. His Patriot Act and Dept of Homeland Security will keep American safe and strong.
President Bush is one courageous leader with a humongous heart. When his critics pounded him day in day out, especially those from the hateful left, who constantly belittled him and even compared him to Hitler, I say to them, “At least, he walked the walk and talked the talk.” He didn’t push for Iraqi freedom, prosperity and democracy just for show — he really wanted those people to have what we in the US take for granted. When he established AFRICOM so that the Africans can learn to fend for themselves and give them a chance to realize their dreams, he did it out of the goodness of his heart — not because he wanted credit for helping those in less fortunate countries. We know this to be true because to this day, people don’t even know what he has been doing in Africa. But the Africans know… and that’s something that neither Obama nor Clinton can ever take away from Bush. His agreements with India and eastern European/former Soviet bloc countries will prove to be landmark deals with enormous implications and incredible possibilities for our future. Bush is no show off, like those who arrogantly brag about what they did in Chicago communities or as senators campaigning throughout their terms but haven’t actually accomplished anything worthwhile or that have lasting value. That’s the difference between them and the President who didn’t want to leave anyone behind.
I’ll truly miss this President.
Dec 1, 2008 - 8:26 am 22. Heather:the left is gearing up to hold Obama’s feet to the fire.
Perhaps. But there’s not very many of them relative to the millions who only wanted “not Bush” or “a black man” in the White House. No matter how much they howl, he’ll be able to disregard them pretty freely. Ignoring their demands might even work to his advantage: the 70% of Americans who don’t want open borders won’t be put off by illegal aliens and their enablers shouting anti-Obama slogans.
Dec 1, 2008 - 8:27 am 23. Saul Wall:While I am not a big fan of using lables like “Hitler” in political discussions it is kind of funny that Obama, like that other left-wing politician Adolf, came to power sounding nearly Marxist with a cadre of lower class Marxist nationalists only to purge them and turn the SA into the SS. Hitler knew that the policies the far left socialists were hoping for like nationalizing everything and confiscating all wealth and property would distroy his little project before it began.
And since I have been told for the past 9 years that Bush is Hitler I wonder if someone could remind me what year Hitler voluntarily stepped down from his post.
Dec 1, 2008 - 9:10 am 24. Saul Wall:Okay I should have read that a third time before posting. It sounds like Obama turned the SA into the SS – Obviously Hitler did that.
Obama replaced the Acorn and Black Panthers with the Clintons and company.
Dec 1, 2008 - 9:13 am 25. The Historian:THE CLOWNS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
As emphasized in this link, humans will never match the power of nature relative to influencing climate on planet earth:
http://greensrealworld.blogspot.com/2008/11/international-climate-clowns.html
Dec 1, 2008 - 9:23 am 26. Tex Taylor:I’ve said from the start, Obama not much different than Clinton (Bill) in his politics. The megalomaniac stands for nothing but his own gain, so he will be swayed by whatever the opinion polls say is popular. If that means moving from liberal to moderate, whatever it takes to get re-elected, that is the way he will go.
It’s a sure way to eventually manage the country to ruin, but it will assure continued political advantage.
Besides, the “progressives” and blacks will continue to cast their ballot for the Dim ticket, no matter how they whine about nothing changing. It’s all they know…
Dec 1, 2008 - 9:30 am 27. Rubicon:If Obama is center right, just what do these folks call a leftist? Obama may be trying to do something he did say he would do when on the campaign trail. He said he would govern for “ALL” of us, not just the far left or the far right. Gosh, maybe he’ll keep at least one of his promises & not go over the deep end at either end? Wouldn’t THAT be a real change for ALL of us?
Dec 1, 2008 - 10:25 am 28. momof3:That first paragraph from morford quoted above is, without reservation, the funniest thing I have ever read. Wow. We can’t believe in God, oh no that’s coweringly, but we can turn some random dude into a god for ourselves. That makes sooo much more sense.
Dec 1, 2008 - 10:26 am 29. It’s official, Hillary nominated for Sec. of State | The Repelican:[...] So much for HopenchangeTM, the left is getting pretty upset that Obama is picking Clintonistas, keeping on former Bush staff (Condi Rice may also be ambassador to the UN), and even picking Hillary Clinton herself. I guess the rhetoric didn’t make sense to Obama when he got a dose of reality. [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 10:35 am 30. Ian Thorpe:The Omamaniacs (UK Branch) have egg on their faces now. After all their ranting that Britain was “in love” with Obama.
Figures just released by Yahoo UK show the top search term so far in 2008 was Britney Spears followed by TV shows Big Brother and The X Factor. U.S. election came in seventh (and I wonder how many of those searches were looking for a link to for Sarah Palin Mooseburger Recipe
or Sarah Palinb Models Agent Provocateur Underwear.)
Poor ol’ Barry didn’t even make the list as an individual. and as for the British writer who said on HuffPost last week that “Britain is mad about Obama.” Mad? We’re effin’ furious. The moved a couple of episodes of petrolhead show Top Gear to accommodate Obama coverage.
Dec 1, 2008 - 11:48 am 31. Sicon:“It seems like the only place progressives are making any gains is in the House”
And look how well they’re doing there! As in, 9% Congressional approval rating, or maybe that’s crept up to a whopping 11-12% since July?
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:01 pm 32. tim maguire:If Obama’s a Lightworker, then he operates on a higher plane than us. It naturally follows that we are unfit to judge him and if we don’t agree with or understand his moves, the fault lies not within him, but within us.
Or by “Lightworker,” do they mean “thinks just like me and will do what I would do if only I had the balls.”
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:10 pm 33. FreedomLover:Well, I certainly hope that BO governs from the center, because I don’t want the chaos that a “progressive” (lol) administration would bring us. That said, I’m happy to see these folks suffer such disillusionment. Maybe they’ll grow up.
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:16 pm 34. Carolb:“He said he would govern for “ALL” of us, not just the far left or the far right.”
Is this unusual? I don’t think Bush governed from the far right, nor do I think Clinton governed from the far left. It’s not like governing from the center is anything new. But, I guess because Obama’s the first BLACK president, that everything he does will turn out to be brilliant and new, even if it’s been done before.
But, seriously, what president in recent history has only governed for one small segment of the population? I’m a middle class Democrat (black, too), but I never felt that Bush didn’t care about me or people like me…although, I admit he was a bit out of touch. Whatever decision a president makes, and that includes Obama, SOMEONE is going to be unhappy about it.
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:28 pm 35. Sarah Palin On Best Political Blogs » Blog Archive » Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane:[...] Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane The feminism, as we know it from Naomi Wolfe, is dead – after the odious spectacle of bashing Sarah Palin, now we see Larry Summers at the top, Erica Jong and her shrill harpies being completely silent (not that I have a bad opinion of … [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:46 pm 36. George Bush On Best Political Blogs » Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane:[...] Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane George Bush will be vindicated when Iraq becomes peaceful, stable and prosperous. Iraqis are intelligent, educated and hard-working people just like those in other previously “occupied”, later to be US-allied countries such as Japan, … [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 12:52 pm 37. Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane at Hillary Clinton On Best Political Blogs:[...] Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane So much for HopenchangeTM, the left is getting pretty upset that Obama is picking Clintonistas, keeping on former Bush staff (Condi Rice may also be ambassador to the UN), and even picking Hillary Clinton herself. … [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:06 pm 38. Войска ПВО:..this is certainly becoming one of the more intriguing phenomena of late, Obabma’s meandering back towards the center. It would be much more satisfying to see more overt manifestations of the huffing and puffing from the far left but I content myself in listening to the rantings of the commentators and listeners of various Pacifica Radio outlets. They have absolutely gone ballistic!
However, an interesting calculus is Hillary’s appointment to SOS. I mean, she must have thrown in the towel for POTUS. She’s 61 now and will be 69 in eight years, so I am wondering how she will run when she is arguably out of the zone for the office. (cf. arguments against McCain and substite “old, white broad”.) So, if she is planning a challenge in 2012, I am getting my ringside seat tickets now..
..it’s gonna be some battle!
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:15 pm 39. » Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane White House On Best Political Blogs: News And Info On White House:[...] Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane Posted in December 1st, 2008 by in Uncategorized Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane But there’s not very many of them relative to the millions who only wanted “not Bush” or “a [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:17 pm 40. malclave:I can only “hope” in “change” of the degree of Obamania. But I haven’t seen it yet. Heck, recently I’ve started seeing commercials (on a UHF station) of collector plates celebrating Obama’s election.
I would not be all that surprised to see a “news” article analyzing Obama’s historic morning today… never before has an African-American President-Elect had breakfast on December 1st.
Dec 1, 2008 - 1:54 pm 41. 888:29, it’s Susan Rice whom they’re saying Obama will nominate for UN Ambassador, not Condi Rice. The One owes Susan Rice for making him look like he knew foreign policy during the campaigns.
He got the job as some are saying because McCain wanted to be our “friend”, and Obama wanted to be president. If that meant saying anything and covering up all your dirty laundry to get elected, then his strategy worked. Now, he will do anything and everything to gain the Republicans’ and conservative Democrats’ allegiance. Keeping Gates in his administration is just the beginning. Of course, he has no choice, either, since Dr. Gates tops anyone that Obama could ever come up with for SECDEF.
Dec 1, 2008 - 2:16 pm 42. Войска ПВО:malclave writes:
” Heck, recently I’ve started seeing commercials (on a UHF station) of collector plates celebrating Obama’s election.
I would not be all that surprised to see a “news” article analyzing Obama’s historic morning today… never before has an African-American President-Elect had breakfast on December 1st.”
..Remember the Bicentennial and how much crap was unloaded on so-called collectors? I can’t think of one piece of that memorabilia that’s worth more than an unopened six-pack of Billy Beer.
This will go beyond tedious. The fact that a black — or, at least OTW or other than white — man has been elected is a good thing because NO MORE CAN IT BE SAID THAT THIS IS A RACIST SOCIETY. In other words race pimps should now officially get over it!
I think everyone will be thoroughly tired of the straight-from-the-fridge, reheated, overcooked Hosannas, and want to back to the economy and the threats that face this country.
Dec 1, 2008 - 2:38 pm 43. Rachel Peepers:During the election, people like Bill Oreilly constantly mused about the fact we don’t really know Barack Obama.
The politcal right felt they didn’t know the depths of liberal depravity he might lead us down.
Dem Democrats on the edgy left thought they knew the brown eyed handsome man like he was a kind of Messianic brother or father or, at any rate, a close relative.
Now as events evolve, it seems like only Barack knew Obama.
To lil’ old Rachel, he seems to be leaning politically toward a kind of realistic moderate Republicanism or some form of Democratization, depending how you’re leaning.
I said in moments of candid optimism during the campaign that, personally, not politically, I liked Barack a lot. Now I’m starting to think politically I like Barack. Maybe not so much as a lot, but at least I’m open to being pulled into his web of admirers.
Of course, my fav politically is still the present Gov. of the lone star state. But I think his cool haircut, and movie star good looks(I’m only 19) gets in the way of a truly objective evaluation. I’m a pro-life, pro pork barrel busting, entitlement purging, earmark denouncing, Iraq war winning, illegal immigrant catching, English language teaching, teacher testing kind of girl.
But ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane? For me, and many of my ilk, it might be just beginning.
Dec 1, 2008 - 2:49 pm 44. locke:Chavez is a rightist fellow-traveler for the Berkeley crowd. When I was a student at Cal, there was a sharp political division between profs who owned and those who rented. Knowing Berkeley rents and food prices well, radical politics is not a posture, it is their only way to put food on the table and a roof over the commune.
Dec 1, 2008 - 3:24 pm 45. M. Simon:Most Unfortunate
For the Progs.
Dec 1, 2008 - 3:28 pm 46. The Unknown Messiah Fad Fade « Cinie’s World:[...] Mark Morford’s infamous “Lightworker” article as the height of Obama foolishness, Pajamas Media says the phenomenon they call “Obamamania” is “on the wane.” While [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 3:34 pm 47. US Election On Best Political Blogs » Blog Archive » Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane:[...] Pajamas Media » ‘Obamamania’ on the Wane U.S. election came in seventh (and I wonder how many of those searches were looking for a link to for Sarah Palin Mooseburger Recipe or Sarah Palinb Models Agent Provocateur Underwear.) Poor ol’ Barry didn’t even make the list as an … [...]
Dec 1, 2008 - 3:37 pm 48. AnnieB:Lots of space under that bus
Dec 1, 2008 - 5:57 pm 49. ipw533:Not buying the “shift to the center” ploy at all.
I don’t like this man, not one bit. I do not want to have a beer or anything else with him. But that said, he has shown himself to be a clever and astute politician, a combination of brains and utter ruthlessness. He’s also now showing himself to be a pretty good sleight-of-hand magician.
Consider this: he’s tapped a bunch of dubiously centrist retreads for top slots, including his primary arch-foe. Now, who seriously thinks Hillary will do the heavy lifting at Foggy Bottom? The same folks who thought Rice had any real influence over the career pin-stripers?
Nope, misdirection and quick finger work. While we watch the Cabinet develop, the second and third tier officials will quietly be installed, and they will do the real work. By the time anyone figures out who the Hell those people are, we’ll have a bunch of Gordian Knots without an Alexander in sight.
Obama’s a Chicago machine pol who knows when the fix is in and how to engineer the fix. Where he’s vulnerable is his expendability. In Chicago, you get nowhere unless “someone sent you”. They can just as easily “unsend” you when you’re either no longer useful or a liability….
Dec 1, 2008 - 8:29 pm 50. AnninCA:The insane Obamamania was more than any real competitor could compete with in this election.
He who flies high, falls low.
Frankly, the economy is in the tank, and not much is working right. I suppose the philosophical approach would be to accept that this was a good year for fantasy.
Dec 1, 2008 - 11:15 pm 51. LOL:This is garbage. There are not throngs of progressives unhappy. This is something to give you loons something to talk about. Obama 2012! We are taking America Back. The first real president in generations. He will make the final call.
Dec 2, 2008 - 2:42 am 52. Craig:“We are taking America Back.”
Then God help us all.
Dec 2, 2008 - 4:48 am 53. always right:One question, ‘taking America back’
From What in 2012?
Manufactured crises (yes, crisis after crisis) of your own making?
Dec 2, 2008 - 9:33 am 54. mk:“This is garbage. There are not throngs of progressives unhappy. This is something to give you loons something to talk about. Obama 2012! We are taking America Back. The first real president in generations. He will make the final call.”
Come on, dude, back up your claim. obama ain’t even pres yet and you’re saying he’s the “first real President” in generations? What’s he done to prove that he’ll be that? What’s he done to prove that he’s capable?
And who was the last real President before him? Kennedy? Cuban Missle Crisis? FDR? WWII, the Holocaust, depression? Jimmy Carter? Iran hostages, making Arafat a “politician” instead of a pariah, etc? Bill Clinton? Terrorist attacks with no response, Internet bubble bursting, Infitada in Israel?
come on, dude, get on the trolley. Back up your words with you know, actual facts….
Dec 2, 2008 - 10:23 am 55. susan:mk, asking the obamatrons to explain their infatuation is like asking on the (now deceased) members of the “peoples temple” what they like in Jim Jones.
Dec 2, 2008 - 11:24 am 56. Ann:Keep in mind also that 85% of those responsible for his successful campaign haven’t looked at a newspaper or thought about the news since the day after the election. So I don’t see that they are truly “available” for some kind of kickback against BHO or “holding his feet to the fire”.
Dec 2, 2008 - 12:07 pm 57. DINO:Keep telling yourself that he won’t be liberal. If that’s what you need to believe to keep from blowing your heads off, fine.
However, the country took a left turn a month ago and things will never be tne same for conservatism or the republican party.
Dec 2, 2008 - 2:19 pm 58. In Search of the Big O — The New Clarion:[...] stand, he would have picked a new man just to make a statement of change. Some on the left are unhappy with Gates, but others think Obama is being a crafty machiavel by choosing right-wing warmongers to [...]
Dec 3, 2008 - 4:54 am 59. RW:All of this is vastly premature. To the ideologues, it is policy that matter. And right now we don’t know what Obama will do with his one party rule in the executive and both houses.
If he quickly advances ultra left wing abortion “rights” legislation, shuts down Guantanamo and brings the terrorist home for full protection, and in the first 90 days advances and signs off on the Shamnesty deal Harry Reid has tried to blast through the Senate without even discussion, then all of those who thought of Obama as a a pragmatic centrist looking for eight years will be eating egg.
Not sure which man will emerge but based on his vastly liberal voting record and defense of late term abortions, I don’t expect him to temper this early. In fact I would expect the complete opposite.
And if the Democrat dream of Shamnesty is realized, that means that 20 million or perhaps something closer to 30 million illegal aliens will change the political landscape forever. And of course their “family” will quickly escalate those figures to well over 60 million thus ensuring that America is headed to a full blown socialist state where “rights” mean housing, health care, schooling and Social Security benefits for grandma who has made her way up from Mexico City.
The Republic will be dead and the Democrat majority will remain in power for years to come arguing over who’s rights are next to approve.
Everyone then looking back on this premature chatter and mumbling centrist will look idiotic.
Dec 4, 2008 - 11:55 am 60. boring adult:The Republic will be dead.
Obamamania was like a drunken binge. It was immature and ill-advised, though it seemed like a good idea at the time. It sure was a lot of fun while it lasted. It seemed like a cool thing to do. It was so easy to get caught up in it because everyone else at the party was doing it. All the “cool” people were doing it.
Now the price to pay is a 4-year-long hangover.
Dec 4, 2008 - 1:12 pm 61. La Transición y la Obamanía religiosa « Sarah Palin en Español:[...] Scheie en Pajamas Media escribe un artículo titulado “La Obamanía menguante”: Varios comentaristas izquierdistas se han irritado bastante sobre el aparente [...]
Dec 5, 2008 - 4:45 pm 62. Jack:It doesn’t matter, as long as the Republicans are not in power. We just wanted to kick them out big time, mission accomplished. So the Obamamania is expected to die down as we go about the real work of fixing the colossal mess the Republicans left us.
Dec 7, 2008 - 8:30 am 63. deguello:The ‘colossal mess” was fabricated by democrats.The wall street camarilla of profiteering frauds were/are all democrats, aided and abetted by the two leading democratic clowns in the senate: finance Queen Barney Frank,and Castro lickspittle Christopher Dodd.All you libs did is to entrench the corruption further.However,Jack, don’t let reality interfere with your euphoria;it’s a rare democrat who can feel euphoric without the use of illicit drugs or alcohol.Have your little joke while it lasts!
Dec 9, 2008 - 10:20 am