Apparently, Dana Milbank likes it when the president is kind of a dick. Even though he, like Mark Halperin, thinks the president was engaging in “class warfare” by going after tax breaks for private jets, he still found the president’s performance in yesterday’s press conference “refreshing.” He thought it was refreshing, in part, because the president asserted that American is “the greatest nation on Earth.” I guess it doesn’t take much to impress Mr. Milbank.
He was also impressed by the president’s dismissive attitude about questions related to Libya and gay marriage. I think that Milbank would be most impressed if Obama openly insulted and mocked the press.
As for the merits of anything the president had to say, Milbank is completely silent. All that matters is that the president wasn’t “passive.”
If it’s class warfare why do things keep getting better for them?
They’re winning.
God save the Republic from the likes of Dana Milbank.
It’s like getting your second surgical opinion from a drama critic, or having your IRS audit handled by the guy who covers your local NBA team.
not very different from some on the left. Not what you said/accomplished but how you said/did it and you must do it like a REAL MAN!! ROAR!!
I do think Obama in particular and Democrats in general made a mistake in the way they handled this. Obama started out right, saying simply he wanted a clean bill, and avoiding negotiations over something that should be straightforward. By engaging Republicans in negotiation, he legitimized their tactic of holding the world economy hostage. Now that talks have broken down, it’s not because Republicans were practicing extortion, but because of a disagreement over tax incentives for the rich. That may be a popular argument, but that’s never what the argument should have been, at least in regards to the debt ceiling. It’s possible there were Republicans who didn’t favor increasing taxes in any way, but may still have been persuaded extortion is not a legitimate way to pursue political ends. By negotiating, ironically, things are now more divided on partisan lines than perhaps they otherwise would have been.
Put me down as supporting the idea of the President openly mocking the press.
That would be awesome.