May 20 2009
What do we really know about President Obama?
President Obama has been in office for four months, so it is time to evaluate what we really know about him from his actions.
People who voted for him thought they knew him. Either they were reading his books, and liked the man they saw there, or wanted a change from Bush, so they voted for the man they thought was the farthest from Bush. Did the voters get what they wanted? The jury is still out, but here is what we know:
He talks with big words. Ever listen to one of his press conferences? He uses phrases like “cap and trade” and “ruthless pragmatism” to describe his positions or plans. The truth is, the vast majority of people don’t understand what these phrases mean. He is aloof and composed in his press conferences. He speaks a language that encourages you to trust him, without ever telling you what he is doing. Cap and trade can mean a lot of different things to different people, depending on their world view. Where does President Obama stand? No idea. His speeches are filled with big words and phrases that don’t say a whole lot. But this is the type of speaker that he has always been. Never committing to anything, other than general principles.
He is ruthless. He even describes his economic position as “ruthless pragmatism.” When he seeks something, he gets what he wants. If you are a helpful advisor, you can stick around. If you are not helpful, or smack of scandal (except tax scandals, those he likes), you are shown the door irregardless of loyalty issues.
He has elevated listening to a high moral position. Listening is a good skill, but it isn’t the high moral ground. The high moral ground involves making decisions based on principles, not listening to debates and all sides. He wants to be a mediator, and so he listens. But what else does he do? He lets the parties battle it out, but claims to be a mediator because he listens to both sides. That’s not a mediator. That’s a spectator. Presidents cannot be spectators in domestic politics, they have to be participants.
He is also over-confidant. The word from the inside is that he revels in personally directing the futures of GM and Chrystler. Presidents are not CEOs of companies while they are in office, but this President sees himself as able to juggle not only his daily duties, but the CEO responsibilities of GM and Chrystler.
It is unlikely that the President can stand alone on the issues of foriegn relations (where he has no experience) and other issues. While he might be able to try and make the future decisions of GM and Chrystler, he cannot stand alone on other areas. His self-acknowledged brilliance makes him over-confident and unwilling to give up the position of leader and performer to anyone else. People at the White House either play no role (think Jim Jones) or play a different role from what they are supposed to play (think Larry Summers). This means President Obama is being the director of the play, as well as the star actor. No one can do that for long without making mistakes.
Here’s the really interesting thing we’ve seen about the President: he’s almost cruel and is self-congratulatory. At the White House Correspondent’s Dinner his jokes about others bordered on cruel, rather than funny. However, his jokes about himself were all about how much people like him, or want to be him. That really is a telling moment. Let’s hope his overconfidence doesn’t doom America to bad decisions.
Holy shit-I have never read an article with more contradictions than that one. You chastise him for NOT taking action; only mediating. Then you chastise him for making difficult decisions regarding the auto industry. You say he has never committed to anything except issues that appeal to his general principles (horseshit) and then you condemn him for making decisions by calling him over confident. Decisions that really have nothing to do with his principles. I can see where you would be thrown off by his ability to think on his feet by using such “big words” like “ruthless pragmatism” (????) after listening to Bush fumble like a Jr. High kid asking a girl to a dance. By the way; I also read the Newsweek article that you obviously derived all this material from and there was much more to it than what you have decided to share. I have taken issue with many of his decisions but only a fool expects our leaders to continually see things the way we would like. That being said; I also applaud his courage in making some very difficult decisions. I think it is a wise man who listens to all sides of a situation and then makes his decision. It was at the advice of the ground commanders that our focus has shifted from Iraq to Afghanistan. Conversely; during the Bush administration, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld made the major decisions-none of whom had ANY military experience. They went so far as to ignore the warnings of a 4-Star General (retired-Powell) and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Yes, the jury is still out but I, for one, am somewhat impressed with what I have seen to date considering the cluster fuck he adopted.
He’s arrogant, believes himself to be a Savior, and has loyalty to only one cause–himself. His over-confidence will be his undoing…never let the criticism of someone who voted for him and cannot admit they’re wrong blind your vision of what is coming. Obama believes in the polls and is therefore puffed up by them, but the truth about polls is actually more transparent than Obama’s administration.
http://gyroscope2000.today.com
It wasn’t taken from the Newsweek article, but from a class discussion I had.
Alos, my complaint is that he made the decisions about the auto companies. Who is he to make those decisions? We elect a President, not a CEO or a king. He has no reason to be making decisions for the auto company.
He uses obscure and complicated terms in his news conferences so that he can make people think he knows what he is doing. At least Bush showed some emotion, and although he did fumble, so does President Obama. The difference is that people forgive President Obama is “Ohs and uhms” and his various pauses and stutters, because he is President Obama. Not because they are any better or worse than President Bush’s struggles with press conferences.
Presdient Obama believes the government should be involved everywhere. He believes that the rights of the masses trump the rights of the individual. He believes in wealth redistribution. These are principles which would be abhorrent to the founding fathers if they were here today.