Monday, January 16, 2012
Mandatory Reading
Can this Andrew Sullivan essay on Obama's 1st term be mandatory reading? Too bad Obama wasn't the monster the Right claims, because then maybe he would make everyone actually read it. But, lot's of people aren't interested in things like, oh, facts and so won't be persuaded. But we will be!
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Thanks for posting this, John! I struggled to narrow down my choices to one favorite line but I think it's this: "And it is this Republican intransigence—from the 2009 declaration by Rush Limbaugh that he wants Obama “to fail” to the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s admission that his primary objective is denying Obama a second term—that has been truly responsible for the deadlock. And the only way out of that deadlock is an electoral rout of the GOP, since the language of victory and defeat seems to be the only thing it understands." Amen. I hope this gets the readership it deserves!
i had the same problem, dave. so many great nuggets in there!
couple thoughts: first, i like the insight about how obama, in pretty much every instance, is taking the long view, eschewing ideology, and not looking for a quick win so he can take credit for something. i can forgive lefties and independents for not seeing this nuance. we have all been well trained by the MSM. however, there are some great talking points in here for the campaign that i hope they jump on, including:
--According to Romney, Obama is a mortal threat to “the soul” of America and an empty suit who couldn’t run a business, let alone a country. Leave aside the internal incoherence—how could such an incompetent be a threat to anyone? (ha ha, just for kicks.)
--Yes, it crosses the Rubicon of universal access to private health care. But since federal law mandates that hospitals accept all emergency-room cases requiring treatment anyway, we already obey that socialist principle—but in the most inefficient way possible. Making 44 million current free-riders pay into the system is not fiscally reckless; it is fiscally prudent. It is, dare I say it, conservative. (not that i love the word free-riders, but i think this will resonate with independents)
--Politifact recently noted that of 508 specific promises, a third had been fulfilled and only two have not had some action taken on them. To have done all this while simultaneously battling an economic hurricane makes Obama about as honest a follow-through artist as anyone can expect from a politician. (simple: this guy makes promises and keeps them).
great article. thanks for posting, john.
Pretty sure this a.m. as I crawled in rush hour traffic I was talking outloud to myself about campaign ads that could be spun of f from the type of info in this piece. Hopefully nearby drivers thought I had bluetooth.
But, yeah, it is chock full of very compelling facts -- for that subset of the electorate who still like those stubborn things. Lets hope Soros or Colbert or whoever can get the right ads made.
This is such a shameless period. Jesus: Reagon is lionized by so many, yet Obama demonized? How fucked up is that? sorry for the cussing Ilsa.
Thanks for posting this, JJ. I've definitely been guilty of panicking over Obama's long-game process, but his record does speak for itself. I'm going to go ahead and bookmark this article to reread whenever I start to doubt him again.
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