There as been an avalanche of commentary, much of it very good, comparing former Vice-President’s Dick Cheney’s AEI speech on the moral conduct of the war on terror and the President’s speech on the same subject. My fellow PJM columnist Victor Davis Hanson recently noticed some cracks in the impressive Obama facade. With yesterday’s performance, I’d say those cracks had become gaping fissures. Not everyone will agree, of course, but I hope that even Obama’s partisan acolytes will agree that there is something unseemly about the President whining about the supposed sins of his predecessors even as he scrambles to continue as much of their policies as he can without totally alienating his left-leaning base. Cheney spoke with quiet dignity yesterday. Many people noted the damage done by his hand grenade tossed under the skirts of The New York Times — why Oh why did they publish details of the secret Terrorist Surveillance Program on their front page? (and why were they not prosecuted for it?) — but the real burden of the former Vice-President’s remark was this: for 7 years, the Bush administration kept America safe from a repeat of 9/11. The Obama administration has specialized in exhibitions of moral outrage over the actions of America’s intelligence agencies and armed forces. But what if the changes they contemplate make America less safe? What if our terrorist enemies, sensing weakness, smelling fear, are emboldened to attack us again? What will Obama say then? Will that too be the fault of the Bush administration, whose moral antennae were not so sensitively calibrated as Barack Obama’s, Nancy Pelosi’s, and Harry Reid’s? No, the President should stop whining and start going about his business like a man, not a Harvard lawyer.
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8 Comments
1. Gaffe Prices:He should also stop whining because he is going to lose on this one.
May 22, 2009 - 4:27 pm 2. lefroy:Scary and contemptible in equal measure: the President’s repeated platitude, in the context of waterboarding, that (I paraphrase) the most important way to keep the US safe is not to abandon its “core values”.
How do you make sense of this infantile remark? Of course, on one level it’s true: what’s to disagree with? If disemboweling children was US policy, the country could expect trouble. But on every other level it’s a vapid and foolish observation. If it means anything at all, it means: the most effective way of keeping America safe is to forbid waterboarding and similar practices. Now, that’s self-evidently so mendacious as to be downright mischievous – coming from the chief executive on such an important topic. As if a terrorists would respectfully back off if “enhanced interrogation techniques” are abandonned! Yet Obama said it.
And it’s a classic example of Obama’s tendency to utter bullying platitudes to shut down debate.
May 22, 2009 - 9:14 pm 3. Mrs. Jackson:“Will that too be the fault of the Bush administration, whose moral antennae were not so sensitively calibrated as Barack Obama’s, Nancy Pelosi’s, and Harry Reid’s?”
Surely you jest Mr. Kimball. And in such an amusing fashion. Thank you. To think that Barack Obama possesses a moral antennae, in the classic sense, is quite funny. After O’s next 100 days in office, it may just be, as teenagers are wont to say, a real laugh riot. Given Pelosi’s and Reid’s latest run-ins with the truth, oh gosh, if only Auberon Waugh were alive to keep us all entertained by demonstrating how much gravitas our leading Dems have.
“No, the President should stop whining and start going about his business like a man, not a Harvard lawyer.”
Do you recall in the ‘92 election cycle First Lady Barbara Bush gave a major interview for television. She was asked what she thought of the Democrat VP candidate and Harvard man, Al Gore. She responded,
“I love it when he whines.”
The interviewer could not hide his shock. With President Barack Obama, neither should America.
By the by, Dennis Miller has a very good joke going. If Obama were to close Club Gitmo, he thinks the Republicans should advertise in Obama’s former voting district a new residential opportunity just made available for folks -thanks to American taxpayers. Never mention it’s Club Gitmo in the adverts. Just list all the perks like warm tropical climate, safe neighborhood with zero crime and no drug issues, excellent cooking with 3 balanced meals a day -desserts included, great medical care (2 medical personnel per resident), free television and cable, great Persian carpets – though on the small side, freedom to practice religion, sound education, access to all the free legal advice you need, etc.
Then in a later advert, announce to the American people how many of Obama’s former constituents if given the opportunity want to reside in Club Gitmo, rather than continue on in the tortuous conditions Obama believes is perfectly acceptable for them to reside in now.
No, the President should stop whining and start going about his business like a man, not a Harvard lawyer.”
May 23, 2009 - 6:37 am 4. David Thomson:“…business like a man, not a Harvard lawyer.”
Barack Obama is a shallow and poorly read man. The fact that he graduated from Harvard merely means that he is able to pass the typical state board exam. It means nothing else than that. Too many Harvard graduate seem to be intellectually mediocre. Their shallowness is supposed to be ignored because they are typically politically correct. Please note, for instance, how many Harvard people like Barney Frank pressured lending institutions to provide mortgages to minorities possessing poor credit histories. This is not even slightly rational. Only a fool would think so. Frank obviously thinks he deserves a pass because of his concern for black people and other alleged victims of the white capitalist system. Graduating from Harvard apparently allows him to say something stupid and get away with it.
I am also not thrilled by our adversarial justice system. Nonetheless, perhaps this is the best we can do in a less than perfect world. It may very well be necessary for lawyers to squeeze the truth, take things out of context, and generally mislead jurors on behalf of their client. This manner of behaving, however, turns tragic when the same approach to truth is employed outside the courtroom. It destroys any chance of promoting a viable intellectual culture.
May 24, 2009 - 7:48 am 5. Polemicscat:I think Obama’s critics give him more credit than he deserves. (1) He is not really interested in doing the right thing –or anything except staying in charge; (2) He is really just as dumb and inexperienced as his gaffes during the campaign indicated.
May 24, 2009 - 8:57 pm 6. macko:Oh but he speaks so well and he is “harvard educated”
All during his campaign he never made a point in a speech or was challenged for it. He feels that he is above that. The chosen one. after all you don’t challenge gods unless you are one. hell, he gets pissed when reporters insist on an answer. It’s time for the American people to insist on answers.
May 25, 2009 - 5:43 am 7. Steynian 358 « Free Canuckistan!:[...] “A spoke in the news cycle: slow down and join a freedom brigade near you”; Why the President should stop whining …. [...]
May 28, 2009 - 9:39 am 8. Opinionator:I predict that if another terror attack happens on our shores Obama will be blamed and we will be treated to an immediate liberal exculpatory examination of the ways in which his policy paralleled those of Bush and so shouldn’t be held to account.
No, I’m not prescient, just practiced in the diabolical arts of politics. Success in politics consists of never saying no, and always being positioned to be arguably on both sides of any issue.
May 28, 2009 - 11:36 am