I'll just add that I've always thought this would be the perfect song for the Obama campaign. No matter how many stunts Boehner & Co. want to pull, President Obama's message will be the same:
It feels so good
When you let go
Of all the drama in your life
Now you're free from all the pain
Free from all the games
Free from all the stress
So find your happiness
I don’t know
Only god knows where the story ends for me
But I know where the story begins
It’s up to us to choose
Whether we win or lose
And I choose to win
No more pain
No more game
No drama
No more in my life
I read the comments to Benen's piece, and most said things like, "this makes Obama look weak to the American public again," "Obama is like a parent who gives in whenver his kid tantrums."
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm a parent. I don't fight my daughter on everything; I pick my battles. I'm not trying to bend her to me will, I'm trying to raise a competent, caring human being. I'm not sure why Obama should have made a relatively minor decision about a date into a death match with Boehner. (And how would *that* have made him look?!)
As for looking weak before the American public, I have to ask, what the f*** is wrong with Americans if all they care about is optics? To me, someone who got Bin Laden, was right about Libya, enacted health care reform for the first time (2nd, if you count Medicare/Medicaid) in a century) and saved us from a depression can't possibly be weak. But again, if all Americans care about is optics, then they deserve what they get.
I've never commented on any political blog before but this silly kerfuffle is what drove me to take the plunge. It seems to me part of the reason why our side has a forty year loosing streak is we allow our opponents to get to us. Our focus this week should be the presidents plan to create jobs and the GOP's abject failure in this regard. Instead we're all in a tizzy over a contrived controversy concerning the date. What most Americans care about is what President Obama has to say not when he says it.This ought to be our main concern too.
ReplyDelete@Monala: "I pick my battles."
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the key. Why is there such a scream and shout over this? Do the moaners and groaners realize that we are GETTING A SPEECH ABOUT JOBS, something they have been yelling about?
Here's the President coming to address this to Congress, and there are hissyfits over moving the day. Very little attention seems to be paid to the speech.
Several commenters (on Benen's article) also compared Boehner to a bully and said, "You should always stand up to a bully."
ReplyDeleteHere's another analogy I thought of: Imagine Obama is the high school valedictorian, and he's sitting in the cafeteria planning his project for the science fair next week. If he wins the science fair, he wins a college scholarship. He needs the scholarship because his dad is unemployed and his parents can't afford to send him to college without it.
The school bully, Boehner, comes over to him and says, "You're in my seat. Move."
Obama has had run-ins with the bully before. He knows that if he says no, it will turn into a fight. But if he fights, they will both get suspended. If Obama gets suspended, he'll be disqualified from the science fair and lose his chance at the scholarship. But if he doesn't fight, some of his classmates might think he's weak.
He weighs these options: some people thinking he's weak but a chance to make some real accomplishments, vs. a fight that some people might think is cool but will result in bad consequences for everyone. What does he do?
If he's smart, he gets up and moves.
'Afternoon, Ms. Pants
ReplyDeleteFirstly, it's quite nice that here and even over at PM's, the comments are pretty reasonable (though, I notice that PM seems to still be doin' the big penis thing).
My take.
In addition to, in the scheme of things THIS is NOT a biggie, I also believe it was a tactic.
PBO and his folks and, hell, ALL of us KNOW that the Repubs are NOT gonna, up front, agree to much of anything that PBO would want to do. So, knowing that there was gonna be noise about the 7th date, I believe they really did want the 8th anyway. There may well be more people who are, now, gonna try to watch the Republican debate and PBO and everybody else gets to hear what they are going to say - and they STILL will not know what he is going to say.
That is, until RIGHT BEFORE a MUCH bigger audience that has for MONTHS been DYING to answer one of THE national questions.....ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???
And, Boehner and Co., yet again, look small and petty. PBO is NOT gonna stop them (and, here he helped them) from making themselves CLEARly to look like the arrogant, self-centered, politics first, fools that they are.
As all of us are pointing out, Ms. Pants, it's PLAINly there for all to see.
And, you have just been JAMMIN' as usual, good ma'am.
Anonymous - thanks so much for taking the plunge and commenting. It gives me lots of hope that perhaps there are plenty of other people out there like you.
ReplyDeleteMonala - you are SO right on in everything you've said here. Talk about wisdom!!
Marc - yes, its amazing how easily distracted these poutragers have become.
My friend Mr. Blackman - I agree that both the Republican debate and the President's speech just got ratcheted up in terms of the number of people who will pay attention.
After the speech, I'm thinking that all of this talk about dates will be forgotten. Because as usual, President Obama will hit it out of the park. And I can't wait to watch Rusty's face as he has to set there and figure out how to gauge the national reaction to when he decides to stand up and clap and when he has to sit on his hands. Its going to be priceless!!!!!!