Posts Tagged Obama
Wanted: Leadership
Posted by Derek Walter in Current events, Election 2010, News, Politics on January 27, 2010
President Obama has had no trouble at mastering certain elements of the presidency. There are no issues with his intellect or speech-making skills. Obama has shown himself to be one of our most eloquent presidents and a consummate wordsmith. His dealings with foreign leaders have received fairly positive reviews from both sides of the aisle. Up until recently his most fervent opposition came from a group of wing nuts, calling themselves the Tea Party movement, who have a very confused concept of “no taxation without representation.”
But what most of the country is looking for is something we have not yet seen a lot of out of No. 44: leadership. Read the rest of this entry »
Get the Facts, Mr. President
Posted by Derek Walter in Politics, Popular culture on July 23, 2009
It was inexcusable for the President of the United States in one breath to acknowledge he had “not seen all the facts” then in another to accuse the Cambridge Police of “acting stupidly.” I hope this casual doublespeak is not becoming a hallmark of Obama’s presidency, as it was on full display at last night’s press conference.
So Obama wasn’t there, but he can conclude the police were stupid? Even given the police report indicating that Gates was angry, belligerent, and throwing out racial barbs and profanities? And what Obama and other opportunistic commentators like Michael Eric Dyson forget is that Gates was not wrongly arrested for breaking and entering. He was arrested for disorderly conduct. This tends to happen when you are pugnacious towards the police and refuse their instructions. Also calling them racist and insulting their mother doesn’t help. You would expect a Harvard professor to know better. Read the rest of this entry »
The new Republican religion
Posted by Derek Walter in Current events, Election 2010, News, Politics on April 29, 2009
Is being a Republican, or more specifically a conservative, really a way of life? Some seem to think so.
A group at Fresno Pacific University called the Sunbird Conservatives sent out a notice yesterday publicizing an inaugural (of course they used the grammatically incorrect term “first annual”) Conservatives Conference. The e-mail proclaimed, “Conservatism is not a policy but rather a way of life. It is a life based on principles and values that transcend time and political parties.” Read the rest of this entry »
Clueless at the top – GOP needs wake-up call
Posted by Derek Walter in Current events, News, Politics on April 24, 2009
After getting the latest GOP e-mail, I decided it was time to unsubscribe. It was loaded with recycled one-liners and leftover rhetoric from the presidential campaign. Here are some quoted examples:
- As a lawyer, Obama once sued the same financial institutions on behalf of radical groups like ACORN for failing to use leftist social engineering criteria for lending instead of an applicant’s ability to repay a loan.
- And now, anyone who dares speak out against or challenge Obama’s ultra-liberal agenda, such as the hundreds of thousands of patriots who attended last week’s Tea Parties, should expect to be labeled “unhealthy” by this Adminstration. Now, THAT is arrogance!
- You know that Barack Obama’s hubris and charisma conceal the inexperience and lack of wisdom that our country cannot afford in its president.
When you have a popular president and an economic crisis this same old junk just doesn’t work. Read the rest of this entry »
GOP Needs to Offer More than 'No'
Posted by Derek Walter in Politics on March 18, 2009
I told a television reporter earlier today that the Republicans have to do more than saying, “no.” In the current economic debate the Republicans are led by a grim-faced Sen. Mitch McConnell or Rep. John Boehner giving 300 reasons why the next Obama policy is a bad idea.
They may not be wrong – but they sure are losing the public relations battle. As New York Times columnist David Brooks writes in his latest column there is plenty the Republicans should be doing to offer alternatives. This economy is a crisis, and it demands leadership and ideas. Right now, the top of the GOP just isn’t doing that.
Now on to more important matters, like finishing up my NCAA bracket.
Steele and Limbaugh Doing Their Part to Ruin GOP
Posted by Derek Walter in Current events, Election 2010, Politics on March 7, 2009
This is the state of the nation’s two political parties: the Democrats are led by a young, dynamic, and popular president. The Republicans are locked in a power struggle between a rambling radio host and a maundering party chairman.
After trashing the McCain campaign, Rush Limbaugh is now actively cheering for Obama to fail and having a war of words with inept Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. The spat is all over the media with The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and others devoting coverage to the implosion that is now the Republican Party. When Rush isn’t busy hoping Obama will fail, Steele is promising to reach out to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings” with an “off the hook” campaign. At one point he even criticized Rush, arguing the Sacred Large Cow was merely an entertainer and not the true leader of the party.
Unfortunately, cowardice won over courage.
There are plenty of articulate voices that could be leading the dialogue. New York Times columnist David Brooks is a far better choice from the media than Limbaugh. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has also now felt the need to kowtow to the hard right. Instead, right now we have Steele pledging to win over “one-armed midgets.”
So thank you, Michael Steele, for ruining things for all Republicans ever. Anyone up for re-forming the Whig Party?
The Obama Surge
Posted by Derek Walter in Politics on February 18, 2009
Most voters heard the following paraphrase often repeated from from President Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign, “I will bring the troops home from Iraq.”
What they didn’t hear was that Obama repeatedly argued that the more important war was in Afghanistan. Read the rest of this entry »
If At First You Don't Succeed…
Posted by Derek Walter in Politics on January 22, 2009
It was do-over time at The White House when President Obama took the oath of office AGAIN today from Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. They gathered in the Map Room – site of President Clinton’s infamous televised mea culpa over the Lewinsky ordeal.
No word if the President said, “Thank you, Mr. Justice” after taking the re-oath.
Inauguration Observations
Posted by Derek Walter in Current events, Election 2008 on January 21, 2009
Some random thoughts and observations on today’s events…
- Charlie Gibson is in love with the word minutia – he used it no less than four times in the broadcast.
- Justice Antonin Scalia decided a Mandarin hat was warm and an excellent fashion choice.
- The ABC commentators were wondering what Al Gore was thinking. Probably something like, “I’ll see your two terms and raise you a Nobel peace prize!” Losing the presidency was one of the best things to happen to him.
- Who let George H.W. Bush wear a Maine-bred animal as his surrogate hairpiece? Seriously, he was less the former president than the nutty fan on the 10-yard-line.
- After Joe Biden takes the oath of office, he tells Justice John Paul Stevens, “Thank you, Mr. Justice.” Mr. Justice? How about Your Honor? Biden is going to need a full-time censor around him.
- Note to future presidents: memorize the Oath of Office in case the Chief Justice screws it up.
New whitehouse.gov
Posted by Derek Walter in News on January 20, 2009
The new White House site went live a little bit ago. It even features a blog with an RSS feed and a first post. Obama has pledged to make the government more tech friendly. That is some change I could get behind. But keep a watch on how some of the Windows 2000 machines in the White House hold up.
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