Charles Krauthamer was certainly underwhelmed by the Inaugural Speech:
Fascinating speech. It was so rhetorically flat, so lacking in rhythm and cadence, one almost has to believe he did it on purpose. Best not to dazzle on Opening Day. Otherwise, they’ll expect magic all the time.
. . .
The language lacked lyricism. The content had neither arc nor theme: no narrative trajectory like Lincoln’s second inaugural; no central idea, as was (to take a lesser example) universal freedom in Bush’s second inaugural.This is odd because Obama is so clearly capable of more. But he decisively left behind the candidate who made audiences swoon and the impressionable faint. And that left the million-plus on the Mall, while unshakably euphoric about the moment, let down and puzzled by the speech. He’d given them nothing to cheer or chant, nothing to sing. Candidate Obama had promised the moon. In soaring cadences, he described a world laid waste by Bush, a world that President Obama would redeem — bringing boundless hope and universal health, receding oceans and a healing planet.
But now that Obama was president, the redeemer was withholding, the tone newly sober, even dour. The world was still in Bushian ruin, marked by “fear . . . conflict . . . discord . . . petty grievances and false promises . . . recriminations and worn-out dogmas.” But no more the prospect of magical restoration. In a stunning exercise in lowered expectations, Obama offered not quite blood, sweat and tears, but responsibility, work, sacrifice and service.
Krauthammer is mesmerized by the mediocrity, convinced there is a brilliant scheme or some emotional “withholding” going on. Because a speech so disappointing could have been crafted as such only deliberately, right?
This strikes me as the mellower flip side to how liberals reacted to Karl Rove. Every development in the world, every misstep by President Bush and every odd occurrence was somehow connected by the evil brain of Rove, a sinister and devious mind with superhuman powers. Now conservatives are falling into a similar pattern. It is all a magnificent plot engineered by the greatest politician of our day. A flat speech? Well, it’s part of the Obama Plan. Letting the House concoct a partisan mess of a “stimulus bill”? Part of the Obama Plan. Sending up a fellow with tax-evasion problems on the day he talks about ethics and transparency? Part of the Obama Plan.
Maybe there is an easier explanation: he doesn’t know what he wants to do or how exactly to do it. When you yourself don’t know where you are heading, it’s hard to communicate your direction to others.
You talk a lot of process, you call continuity “change,” and you wait for everyone to exhaust themselves. That’s what candidate Obama did. It’s harder to pull off as President, when you actually have to do things and make choices.
Ronald Reagan reminded us in his farewell address from the White House in January 1989:
And in all of that time I won a nickname, “The Great Communicator.” But I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: It was the content. I wasn’t a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn’t spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation–from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in principles that have guided us for two centuries.
I suspect that when President Obama figures out the content of his own agenda – what he actually wants to do and how he’s going to get it done –his speeches will improve. Until then, he’s just marking time.
Jennifer,all well and good that these folks are “falling off the Obama bankwagon.” But I’ll feel much better about our country when the public begins to follow.
The scales of ‘Bushatred’ drop; at last, eyes wide!
Someone remind me please. When exactly did a Bush press secretary attack individual reporters by name for criticising the President?
Obama is too busy enjoying his lush private jet, white house gym, his personal chef flown in from Chicago, excellent champagne and booze at his Wednesday night parties and courtside seats at NBA games to get involved with the disappearance of my retirement savings in the the crash of the stock market.
#4, I think you’re right.
I’m not going to pretend this is an argument representing a well thought out position. It’s just a feeling I always got from Obama. They say politics is show-business for ugly people. I always got the impression that Obama just wanted to be a celebrity. Just think of all of the trouble Oprah could have saved us if she just gave him his own show. He would have bowed out of the race in favor of a slot in between Oprah and Dr. Phil, and we would have actual grown-ups in charge.
Pual Zisserson is absolutely right. The NBC poll from last night has nothing but bad news for Republicans. Barry is down slightly. He’ll go down more. The Dems loose at least 10 seats in the House in 2010, possibly 20 and not inconceivably 30. So what? We were in huge trouble before the election and would have been in McCain had won. We’re in much worse trouble now and The One keeps digging. Nothing but VERY large and VERY PRO GOWTH Republican majorities can get us out of it and these are nowhere on the horizon.
@4&5
You guys are wrong to the extent that Barry has no other ojectives than the trappings of luxury and celebrity. He is radical who wants to create “equality” and “social justice” and is perfectly willing to crush the products of the work of 10 of millions of people to do it. The quality of life enjoyed by these millions may diminish dramatically and that of the “oppressed” not improve that much but they will be “more equal” and will get free – for them – albeit rationed, delayed and low quality health care. For accomplishing these worthwile goals The One thinks the lavish life style he enjoys now and will no doubt continue to consume in the future is more than well deserved.
Yes, scales are falling from MSM eyes like leaves in a New England autumn. But let’s not forget who paved the way for this hip-hop president: eight years of grinning Texas buffoonery and ineptitude. And what is the GOP doing to regain lost ground? It has put an evident incompetent in as RNO chairman and allowed the leadership vacuum to be filled by a Daddy Warbucks caricature who smokes cigars and drives around in a $450,000 sports car.
New WSJ poll:
Obama approval rating 60%
47% have “very positive” feelings toward Obama, better than his previous record of 45% in December
7% have “very positive” feelings toward the Republican Party, tying a record low.
67% say Obama’s actions as president make them feel more hopeful
A record 43% now say it is “very likely” Obama will bring real change in America’s direction
By 51% to 40% Americans say Government should do more to solve problems and meet the needs of people.
By two to one, people say Republicans in Congress are opposing Obama’s policies to gain political advantage rather than for reasons of principle
By 48% to 20%, Americans believe that the Democratic Party would do a better job than the GOP of getting us out of recession.
76% of Americans say we still have a ways to go to hit botton in this downturn
Only 19% of Americans say they would spend any extra money they received
From the Journal article:
“The poll found a sharp jump in the proportion of Americans who say the nation is “generally headed in the right direction” since Mr. Obama’s January inauguration, a period when economic indicators and financial markets have suggested the opposite. The survey shows that 41% of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction, up dramatically from 26% in mid-January, before Mr. Obama took office, and up from 12% before the election.
“The number who say the country is on the “wrong track” is still higher at 44%, but given the economic conditions, pollsters expected it to be much higher.”
And
“The poll had bad news for the Republican opposition. By a margin of more than 2-1, Americans trust the Democratic Party over the Republicans to get the country out of the recession. Views of the GOP are near an all-time low. And more than half of all adults say that Republicans in Congress have opposed Mr. Obama’s proposals more to gain political advantage, compared with 30% who say Republicans have done so because they are standing up for their principles.”
Yes, the WSJ poll does illustrate the comprehensive ignorance, susceptibility to propoganda, delusion and a quite absurd belief in Obama that would make the most supersticious followers of Medicne Man and Shamann look like rigarous practitioners of the scentific method. While Obama’s policies will open the eyes of many in time the likelyhood that it will open enough eyes is, as I say above, slim.
Rather sad when a banjo comes unstrung.
Obama has 100% approval rating from the people I polled at Starbucks this morming.
Imagine how popular Obama will be when the economy starts rebounding. We’ll need a new bill for his face — maybe we can bump Andrew Jackson from the 20.
Earth to Jennifer: Maureen Dowd is a columnist. Her job is to gripe about those in power. Even if she were in the tank for Obama, she’d take the opportunity to let fly with a few arrows, just to maintain the illusion of objectivity. The thing is, as one of them, you think what these people is important. As the previously mentioned poll shows, the people couldn’t care less what the pundits say.
Whaddya mean, I structure my life around Maureen Dowd’s opinions.
Lets not overdue it. The market ain’t coming back with anything resembling these policies. Even if they do figure out something on the banks and the Dow get back to 9000-9500 or so in time for the election. The overall recovery will be very slow, Barry’s ratings down and Dem losses inevitable. Still the scale of political reversal needed to change this is not likely to be in the offing and enough opportunity will be destroyes and brain dead, parasitical zombies like Matt created to destroy this country once and for all.
Your retirement money is not coming back. Even the down goes up 8000 points. Obambi will seize it to fund his bloated social engineering.
He using a fuzzy math to deceive his followers to trumpet his agenda. He needs his useful idiots now more than ever.
Isn’t it funny how Jennifer Rubin’s take on Obama’s “loss of goodwill” is completely refuted by reality? Rupert Murdoch owns the WSJ, which is a very conservative paper, and still, the WSJ poll shows Jennifer Rubin’s assertions are 180 degrees from reality.
If this Jennifer Rubin “analysis” is bass ackwards, and this seems to be an open and shut case, what else is she perfectly wrong about? She clearly has no inkling of what is going on in the minds of Americans. How is it possible to be so disconnected from reality. Does she only know conservatives and not realize that they are a tiny portion of the population on the fringe of the political spectrum? Does she live in a political Sims world that is demographically like Appalachia? I’m at a loss.
Dowd is the exception. The rest of the Agitprop Media is still marveling at Michelle O’s incredibly buff arms.
Myna,
I hope you are mistaken about the future of the stock market, but you raise an interesting point about retirement money. Why do you suppose so many investors are sitting still for a halving of the value of their retirement accounts?
@Inagua 20
People are clueless, they have a positive view about Obama that is constantly reinforced and they want to believe things will be better.
Over time they will get angry and enough people will blame Obama for it to significantly damage his and the Democrats political fortunes. By that time colossal damage will have been done and whether there will be a sufficient number of voters to vote in a filibuster-proof, pro-growth senate and the very conservative President needed to reverse it is very much in doubt.
When they didn’t get what they wanted they threw tantrums for eight years. When they do get what they want they sulk. These people are never going to be happy.
Hitler was one of the first to understand a power of propaganda. Or was it Lenin?
in 2004-05, when economy was booming, MSM managed to convince the public that country was in recession and we were moving in wrong direction. We got Democratic congress because of that, and really started to move in wrong direction. And now when thanks to Obama and other Democratic clowns we are not moving, but flying in wrong direction, MSM managed to convince the public that because our teleprompter reader-in-chief has such an attractive smile ( would be nice if he opened his mouth only to smile and to sip his wine), the gutter he is taking us is a right direction.
Amazing.
Unfortunately most people only learn from their mistakes, so it looks like this country has embarked on a profound educational experience.
Enough already with the polls 45 days into this presidency. I will grant the predictive power of polls in the summer of 2010 if they still look like they currently do. By then President Obama’s policies will be set and the blame Bush mantra will have faded. President Obama will own the economy and the people will judge accordingly. We will then see if Seth Halpern is correct. I hope so for we desperately need a brake on this insanity.
Gord @ 25
To a significant extent but will it be enough to change the political landscape enough to reverse this disaster. The Dow might be at 8100 in October of 2010. Obama’s approval rating may be 43. The Dems may loose 25 seats. So what? This will not be nearly enough.
When the newly crowned emperor goes out walking in his fine new clothes most folks are too far back in the crowd to see, and only hear the oohs and aahs from the front row. But a few voices are beginning to be heard, and it is harder and harder to conceal the fact that this primping prince is stark naked. As the facts propagate back through the crowd, the cheering will stop with most surprising suddenness.
“But, here, the goodwill is being lost for no good reason — out of laziness or lack of courage to take on the old bulls in Congress. Obama is not getting anything in return and he’s losing friends and emboldening opponents.”
I think this point is misguided. It isn’t laziness or lack of courage at all. Obama is getting what he wanted. It may be too much, too soon and may backfire. But he’s not a dupe here. He’s the leader. The goal is Socialism.
Retirees sitting out because basically the “experts” tells them to. Your retirement lost 10-20 years of its value. If you invested 1000USD in SP500 in 1997 your money will be 936USD now that does not include the fee for your financial adviser. Unless you are willing to sit out for the next 20-40 years and start all over again.
But tax hikes are coming by the time Obama are done with your money. Then he is there to rescue you but it all defends for the progressive point of view how variable you are to the society.
This is all about control. Humans never learn.
valuable.
As usual, J-Rub sees what she wants to see – and nothing more.
1 – Maureen Dowd was NEVER a friend of Obama, McCain or anyone – she writes whatever she feels at that particular moment – here’s what she said on jan. 6, 2008 : “They want a different looking glass. So they rolled the dice and, as The Chicago Tribune’s Mike Tackett put it, “voted for a smile.”
And here she is on July 16 of that same year: “If Obama keeps being stingy with his quips and smiles, and if the dominant perception of him is that you can’t make jokes about him, it might infect his campaign with an airless quality. His humorlessness could spark humor.”
And here she was just three days ago:
“Speaking of the Enterprise, Mr. Obama has a bit of Mr. Spock in him (and not just the funny ears). He has a Vulcan-like logic and detachment. Any mere mortal who had to tell liberals that our obligations in Iraq and Afghanistan are far from over and tell Republicans that he has a $3.6 trillion budget would probably have tears running down his face. ”
I wonder what she’ll say tomorrow? I do know, howver, that anyway she can twist anyone’s words, J-Rub – Zionista deluxe, defeatist on par with Rush and the Republicans, will look for a way to kick our president…
“But, here, the goodwill is being lost for no good reason — out of laziness or lack of courage to take on the old bulls in Congress.”
What nonsense – here we have a president telling the investor class – the guys fooled by Bernie maddoff – the guys who completely missed the mortgage and banking crises – the same folks who thought pets.com was the next big thing – here we have a president facing them down – even as they trash the market in what very well may be Obama’s undoing – and J-Rub – who never saw a bed she wouldn’t hide under if a Muslim was walking down the street, calling this president – who could’ve EASILY played it safe and bent over for Rush like Michael Steel or Eric Cantor – a coward – for letting Democrats and Republicans in congress bring home bacon to their ailing states.
he may be wrong. he may be a socialist. And he may be a Muslim…
But lazy? And a coward?
J-Rub – you should only have HALF the cajones this president displays…
it might make you half a woman…
When Barack Obama met with TV anchors at a White House lunch last week, he assured them he likes being president. “And it turns out I’m very good at it,” he added. The era of humility is over.
I can’t stop feeling like he is a schol boy.
Damn it people. It doesn’t matter if the guy’s policies make any sense. Or if they will destroy the economy. Or if they cannot be rationally defended. Or if they are not what Obama promised to get elected. Because the WSJ called 1,007 people (102 with cell phones) and gosh darn it, they like him.
Mutt and KarlTroll,
I guess investors didn’t bother to read the bogus polls you cited.
I happen to believe that Obama knows exactly what he is doing. His history shows future intent. That is unless he has had a political conversion experience which I sincerely doubt! During the campaign everyone was warned about his radical associations, views and his propensity for voting present in order be able to fool more people most of the time. Rahm E. has been quoted as saying that (and I paraphrase) it is a shame to waste a good crisis. What he means by this is that this administration fully intends to take advantage of the crises within the populace (me and you) in order to force his Sozialist agenda down our throats. He’s following his good buddy, Sol Alinsky’s playbook down to every jot and tittle. The next step is to silence all critics. He is attempting that as we speak. OK, so who is surprised that Obama is moving forward with his agenda to destroy our nation and re-make it in the USSR mold? The press maybe?… Can you think of anybody more blind than these people? They are presiding over a downward spiral as they propagandize in favor of their own demise. If the treacherous lead the ignorant will they not both fall into the ditch? ! I just hate that they intend to take us all with them. that is why we must fight against them with all our might. Yes, I join Rush Limbaugh in hoping that this radical president fails in his attempts to lead us into bondage and into his very own branded version of the culture of death.