Roger L. Simon

June 9th, 2008 6:38 am

The Man Who Would Be King

I admit to having a BIG ego. Writers tend to have them. And now I’m running a media company. Humility is not my long suit. But my self-regard is nothing compared to politicians who want to be president. Their entitlement is off the charts. Even Frank Rich admitted they had to be maniacs. Is it their DNA? Is it nature or nuture? I mean who was Obama’s mother? What made him think he could lead the Western World with virtually no experience at the age of 46? It’s kind of astounding when you think about it. And he’s already talking about his second term. Maybe, to feel this kind of entitlement, you have to be an ideologue.

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9 Comments

1. David Thomson:

“Maybe, to feel this kind of entitlement, you have to be an ideologue.”

Barack “Barry” Obama has mastered the art of exploiting white guilt. And I do not say this lightly. My conclusion is based on a fair amount of studying Obama’s background. The very fact that he asked people to stop calling him Barry is very relevant. This single act opened a number of doors for him. Obama became more “authentic” among the guilt tripped white crowd. It allowed him, for instance, to obtain a $40,000 book advance. How many people really believe that a Barry Obama would have received such a large amount of money for being a first time author? No, only a Barack gets this sort of money.

I am also convinced that few Americans realize the dangerousness of Obama. They have been conditioned to perceive any charming “man of color” as another Sidney Poitier. This is why even a number of conservatives are more irritated towards John McCain than frightened of Obama.

Jun 9, 2008 - 11:58 am 2. Lem:

When Hillary said at her acceptance (as in the process of bereavement) speech “I’ve been humbled” was she referring to the adulation of her 18 million votes or to agony of loosing to fairy tale Barack Hussein Obama?

BTW – The Republican attack machine is already in full force. They’ve already managed to defile Obama’s Wikipedia by inserting Hussein as his middle name, trying to implicate him as a muslim.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obama

Those republicans, they will stop at nothing ;)

Jun 9, 2008 - 1:13 pm 3. David Thomson:

“They’ve already managed to defile Obama’s Wikipedia by inserting Hussein as his middle name, trying to implicate him as a muslim.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not know of even one center-right thinker who contends that Obama is a secret Islamic nutcase. As matter of fact, I constantly describe him as a Harvard University educated Yuppie pseudo-intellectual. Obama is a very secular man who takes religion with a huge grain of salt. He is the furthest thing from a Muslim nut case.

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:01 pm 4. srlucado:

I think it’s a combination of ego and charisma. Many people are egotistical enough to want to be president, or think they deserve to be–but they haven’t got enough charisma to get a Coke out of a machine even after paying their money.

Myself, I fail to see Obama’s charm; I think he’s a naive gasbag with nothing new to say. But plenty of other people are taken in.

And once you get surrounded by fawning sycophants, objectivity gets smothered in a hurry. This isn’t just true of politicians; I’ve personally known CEOs who were utterly convinced of their brilliance–even as they ran their companies into the ground (and nobody dared disagree, even as they watched it happen).

Scott

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:05 pm 5. vnjagvet:

Race relations sure have changed since my marriage more than 40 years ago.

Obama is the first candidate over that period who I would have been perfectly happy to have any one of my five daughters marry, but who will not get my vote for for President.

Jun 9, 2008 - 3:49 pm 6. Lem:

Obama is the first candidate… who I would have been perfectly happy to have any one of my five daughters marry, but who will not get my vote for for President.

That’s odd, The legacy of another democrat, Bill Clinton, is diametrically, 180 degrees in the opposite direction.

BTW – I was curious to see how far the vast right wing smear of Obama has gone and I was ‘dumbfounded’ to see the NYT has called Obama – Barack Hussein Obama 17 times. To the point that even the Public Editor had to get involved.

http://tinyurl.com/5bmmj5

The evil republicans have managed to infiltrate the New York Times?
Unbelievable ;) ;)

Jun 9, 2008 - 7:19 pm 7. Lem:

Sorry. HTML got away from me there

Jun 9, 2008 - 7:25 pm 8. Jimmy:

The Man Who Would Be King Lyrics

Another secret for ya
I’ve been told if you want to make it in this game
You got to have the luck
You got to have the look

To make what I quite like to make it through the night
My heart beats slow fast, I dont feel right
With a sleight of hand I might die
What about you over there?
Don’t you think I care?
Well I know you know I know you know I know
And to the man who would be king
I would say only one thing
And to the man who would be king
I will say only one thing
la la la-la-la-laa la la la-la-la-laa

I lived my dreams today
And I have lived it yesterday

And I’ll have lived it tomorrow
No don’t look at me that way
Well I heed the words you say…
But my heart has gone astray
I watched friendship slip away
But it wasn’t s’posed to be that way
I lived my dreams today I lived it yesterday
And I’ll be living yours tomorrow
Anything else to say?
I lived my dream today I lived it yesterday
And I’ll be living yours tomorrow
So don’t look at me that way!
What’s about you man, Nancy my dear
What’s about you man, Nancy my dear
What’s about you man, Nancy my dear

What will you do when she comes here?
Oh she’ll kill me
Oh, I don’t wanna kill me
And to the man who would be king
I would say only one thing
And to the man who would be king
I would say only one thing
la la la-la-la-laa la la la-la-la-laa
Perish the day when they heed what you say
They’ll take you away if they don’t like what you say
They don’t like what you say

So come what may but I’ll never stay

I’ll never stay

Jun 10, 2008 - 8:20 am 9. Jimmy:

Believe in Yourself

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were
meant to be there. To serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or
help figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be but when you lock eyes with them, you
know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.
And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible,
painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming
those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, will
power or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of
good luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer
stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small
tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere.
Safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you
experience can create who you are, and the bad experiences can be learned
from. In fact, they are probably the most poignant and important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because
they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious
to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they
love you, but because they are teaching you to love and to open your heart
and eyes to little things. Make every day count.

Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can,
for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let
yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high.

Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a
great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don’t believe in
yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create your own life and then go
out and live it.

“If you take your eyes off your goals, all you see are obstacles.”

Jun 10, 2008 - 9:42 am

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