I am seeing and hearing all kinds of negative views of the coming Obama administration in the leftiness media.
“He’s appointed too many conservatives.”
“He’s going to run us into another war in Pakistan/Afghanistan that will be even worse than Iraq.”
“Who does he think he is, Abraham Lincoln/Jesus Christ/FDR/Moses the Second?”
His actions and the coverage that they have received have all been part of a master political plan, and it s Obama’s plan.
Bet on it.
He is the boss.
Bet on it.
“Do Not Tread On Me” might well be the subtext behind all of that Mr. Nice Guy front that he has been running.
Watch.
He has a strategic goal…the reformation of this system into a more efficient model, one that uses the talents of its citizens in a more effective way.
And he has tactics that he is using to do this.
One main tactic appears to be the idea that…within the confines of the possible, of course (Always within the confines of the possible. That seems to be Job One with him, and look where he’s gotten with it.)…within the confines of the possible and within the confines of civilized, societal, group action, he wants every man, woman and child in this country to be free to do their work to the very best of their abilities.
Human ecology, in a word.
Not a bad start.
More on his tactical approaches below. But understand this.
He is not some kind of pawn in a big game.
He is the The Boss.
Bet on it. Use your eyes, folks. This is no wimp, no dummy, no tool of the ruling class. LOOK, fer Chrissake!!! This is some kind of man.
Lasthorseman published a piece on My Left Wing titled TeeVee Is Trying To Sell Me Something which is a complaint regarding the coverage of the inauguration and by extension the media coverage of Obama himself over the last several months, and indeed that coverage has been way over the top.
But that’s all part of the plan.
The Obama plan.
Read on for more if you so desire.
Lasthorseman’s main complaint was about the TV coverage of the coming inauguration.
(S)he wrote:
Sorry but this suburban American finds lamestream TeeVee coverage of “this historic event” just as offensive a phrase as “in this post 911 world”. Fuck you Jesus Obama.
From TeeVee’s coverage one might thing we are about to install Jesus Obama tomorrow. One might deem that statement offensive. We have ended the massive failure of the Bush years yet upon reflection I am having a Nancy Pelosi moment on this Inauguration Eve.
Do I not hope? Do I not dream? Will Obama be better than Bush? Well that is a given yet key themes are coming out indicating said Nancy Pelosi let down of galactic proportions.
My response? As follows:
You’ve got the TV thing right.
And the business as usual thing right, too. How could it be otherwise? TV is controlled by the business-as-usual corporate system.
Obama?
We shall see.
I believe that he has manipulated that system on a genius level. It was the only way that he could win, and he did so. He won.
Now comes the hard part.
Strategically, his approach to getting things in balance and working here in the U.S. appears to be one of compromise and manipulation rather than tearing the structure down and then attempting to rebuild it. It appears to me that this is the only possible approach that can be taken to the problem that has any serious prospects of success.
Yes, he has appointed business-as-usual people to key positions in his administration, just as he ran a business-as-usual campaign, just as he took the business-as-usual route to the presidency.
The difference?
He did it better.
More efficiently.
By far.
And he kept his own calm and strong hand on the tiller.
He’s a hard guy, this Obama fella. Bet on it. Hard and smart. Argue with him and he will listen. Make sense and he will understand. But fuck with him? I don’t think so. The first cabinet member, congressperson or international power broker who tries to play backroom, backdoor power games with him will have their legs cut off at the knees so fast they’ll think that they were born short.
Watch.
It’s going to be an interesting next two years.
Watch.
FDR level interesting.
Bet on it.
Later…
AG
In a nation of media-hypnotized sheeple, how’s a shepherd s’pose to act?
Can’t turn off the media. People wouldn’t stand for it…imagine the withdrawal symptoms… and besides, how would they know what he is saying?
Can’t reform the media. Certainly not before he is firmly in power, and probably not even after he’s got a good grip on things. It’s too big, too powerful and has to strong a hold on the minds of too many people. Fuck with them and they will bring you down.
Bet on it.
Gotta use the media.
Obama’s a master of that act.
On the evidence.
So far.
May it continue.
Later…
AG
Clintons used the media too, Artie. He was the Big Dog. They gladhandled and aww-shucksed their way to the impossible.
Then the media used him. Clinton thought he was the Boss too, then he was told who was running the country, and the answer wasn’t Bill Clinton. Pretty much every Village puke that made their bones off of him is still there today, from the Broders to the Brokaws to the Bill-Os.
And the GOP used him too, used him so well it took until today to shed the last rotten vestige of Newtie and the Contract With America, so well we got stuck with a barely functional ex-drunk moron for eight friggin years. And they’re still waiting for their next shot out there in two years.
The GOP will team up with the New Village Idiots, who are awaiting the next scandal to run up the flag so they can be the next generation of “serious, sensible Washington insiders”, the David Gregorys and John Kings and David Brookses.
The last time we thought a Democrat was the Boss, we got 14 years of Republicrap hell and a Democratic Party brand so damaged, Bush stole the election twice and nobody gave a shit, and then he ran us into the ground.
I hope you’re dead on right, Artie. I hope Obama is soooooo good at this game that he buries the players in a way that makes them thank him for the opportunity to play against such a master.
Because if Obama’s not up to this, we all stand to lose what little we have left…and what’s left ain’t much at all.
The biggest difference between Obama and Clinton? And between Obama and JFK while we are at it?
He seems to have control of his dick.
He appears to possess impulse control of steel on any number of levels.
This is no small difference.
Watch.
AG
Michelle must know how to keep her man satisfied. I mean that as a sincere compliment.
Obama knows, KNOWS, he married up. Bill Clinton has always looked smug, getting away with it.
Check it: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/06/09/article-1025301-0026732400000578-164_468x654.jpg
And: http://www.judiciaryreport.com/images/obama-wedding-photo-1.jpg
I suspect he’s actually introverted, and will need to schedule regular time to decompress and replenish his introspection pools of energy.
Clinton has always seemed STARVED for attention.
How exactly did Obama marry UP?
watching him, he appears to believe that he married a woman better than himself. Contrast this with the stereotypical joke of men who complain about their wives and giggle over a chance to go to a strip club.
Or with McCain, who ditched his first wife, courting his current wife while still married to the last one.
It ain’t about satisfaction; it’s about addictive compulsion.
Like, people don’t become alcoholics because they can’t get drunk ..
I had a very good friend with this problem. When his wife divorced him, he cried on my shoulder. He loved his wife but had to have other women. He tried not to but couldn’t help himself. Aside from his compulsion he was a very nice guy, smart, handsome, socially graceful, and he would do anything to help a friend.
Something else about Clinton, and before I go on, I agree with the point AG is making. Clinton came in a minority president, and the thugs actually thought they were going to win the election, and believed it had been stolen from them. I can testify to the waling and tearing of hair I saw among young rethugs at the Novotel in Paris that hosted the 1992 election returns for ex-pats. I couldn’t believe it, and it was only years after that I realized they were serious, and not just drunk, which would have been hard to do as the drinks were pretty weak.
Clinton never ruled from a position of strength, though towards the end he had the overwhelming support of the public. His turning point was the Oklahoma City bombings. But the press was after him from the start. He tried to charm them. Difference: Obama will flatter them, but he is not going to charm — sharm is a sign of weakness. I agree. His opponents are going to have accidents, just like in the elections. They self-destruct. Funny thing about that. Who’d uv thunk it?
He appears to possess impulse control of steel on any number of levels.
This is no small difference.
This.
He looked more than half-bagged to me at many of those Press Conferences. And did you notice how he was always licking his lips when he didn’t seem stoned? He wanted a drink. Maybe we should be glad Cheney was in charge. Cheney is evil but not capricious.
Only 22 minutes
Weekly Standard Goldfarb -(McCain’s campaign blogger) already blaming Iraq on Obama.
So much for that dinner to honor McCain last night. As Colin Powell urged be careful of too much bipartisan kumbaya
Obama is the BOSS eh? Don’t believe your dreams.
even On left-leaning blogs why do I read headers like this?
On main page at TPM:
Rahm halts Regulations Pending Review (with photo of Rahm Emanuel with flag)
which links to main text as:
Obama halts all regulations pending review
White House chief of staff orders federal agencies to halt all regulations pending review
Rahm Emanuel is the boss…flexing his muscle in the media — overshadowing Obama-Biden. I can’t recall a CoS so in the lights.
Yer paranoid.
Emanuel may well be one evil son of a bitch.
But he is Obama’s evil son of a bitch.
He might try to go behind Obama’s back, but front him? Give him orders? “Convince” him the way Cheney convinced Butch?
I don’t see it.
Not ever.
AG
of operatives lined up, ready to move in all planned directions, at once. And now, they’re on the move, without needing micromanaging, because, well, that just isn’t Obama’s business style.
Yes, the first act will keep being word perfect. The text has been meticulously written over the past two months. It’s the second act, when the protagonists are forced to react to outside forces and backlash, which will engage the audience.