A few words in praise of the President of the United States

[WilliamPitt]

Folks here are well aware by now that I am not one to go ZOMG OBAMA IS SO OSSUM very often. I voted for him twice, but never once fooled myself into thinking the panacea for all that ails us had been elected, and I have considered it my sworn duty as a citizen to kick him in the ass when circumstances warrant it.

That being said, President Obama has taken a hail of shit for his hands-off approach to Congress over the last five years. He needs to glad-hand, he needs to press the flesh, he needs to work the room, lather rinse repeat.

Fuck that. I see the method of the man in this latest eruption more clearly than ever. To say he should be more like Lyndon Johnson, who was famous for his ability to work members of Congress, is to have a catastrophically Derpy understanding of history, in that you dare to compare the Congress members of Johnson's day to the goddam meth-addled barn swallows we endure now. No and no and no.

Mr. Obama's bargaining tactics during this crisis, in short:

Oct. 1: No. Fuck you.

Oct. 3: No. Fuck you.

Oct. 6: No. Fuck you.

Oct. 10: No. Fuck you.

Oct. 12: No. Fuck you.

Oct. 14: No. Fuck you.

Oct. 16: Please proceed.

Never interfere with a perfectly good train wreck.

Kudos, Mr. President. I'll be all over your ass tomorrow, but for tonight, I am glowing with pride over those two votes I gave you. Very well done, sir.

[mcar]

1. Well said

I presume the President's words were more, erm, circumspect, but I'm guessing you capture his meaning here.

Oh and "meth-addled barn swallows?" I am so stealing that. Is there a tip of the hat smilie?

[beerandjesus]

63. Hahaha! I was planning on stealing the bit about

a "catastrophically Derpy understanding of history"!

[libdem4life]

2. Hear, hear.

[scheming daemons]

3. The fight is not over, Will

Being "all over his ass tomorrow" will accomplish nothing.

we won this fight because Democrats were united and Republicans were divided.

we need to stay united.

[Cha]

9. thanks scheming.. We need to Win Back the House. 2014!

And, thanks to the teabaggerKlan's 16 days of Screwing our Country and its People.. and Self immolation.. and President Obama's Righteous "Fuck yous" we may have a chance.

The fucking silver lining.

[Left Coast2020]

17. And An approiate Message to ALL the GOP A-Holes.....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2820846

[Cha]

19. Oh man.. I love that song.. you should make it an OP right fucking

NOW!

[Skittles]

4. check out how united we have been over this extortion attempt

CERTAIN FOLK NEED TO TAKE NOTICE; yes INDEED

[pa28]

5. He finally stood by a hard line and good things followed.

Tomorrow is another day but I'd say congratulations are in order.

[chimpymustgo]

72. BINGO. And a tip of the hat to PBO.

[monmouth3]

6. "goddam meth-addled barn swallows we endure now" was the winner for me. Kudos is correct..n/t

[mopinko]

30. +++++

[Ishoutandscream2]

33. God, that was brilliant

Still laughing my ass off.

[stopwastingmymoney]

39. Agreed. nt

[Kennah]

52. Every goddam meth-addled barn swallow has his day.

I thought I was gonna piss myself over that. Much thanks.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. The President is not the only one who has done very well.

You are another.

Very well done, my dear WilliamPitt.

I concur, completely.

[tblue]

51. Yep. You said it.

Go Will!!!

[pscot]

8. I'm glad he held firm

but I can't help wondering what might have been if he'd shown some of this toughness 5 years ago.

[1StrongBlackMan]

43. If he had shown some of this toughness ...

5 years ago, he wouldn't have garnered anywhere near the support of the American public, as he has today.

It took 5 years, 6 down to the wire deals, a sequester and the current fiasco to swing the electorate to see that the modern gop has no interest in governing. And, even now, a full 35% of the electorate remains unconvinced.

[Kennah]

53. If Hillary has to win with only 65% of the vote, I can live with that.

[Auntie Bush]

10. Sometimes I disagree with you...but not tonight!

Please proceed sir!

[octoberlib]

11. Kick & rec!

[Jester Messiah]

12. He hung tough. Good on him.

[OhioChick]

13. Well said and agreed n/t

[ellennelle]

14. fie!!

you have insulted barn swallows!!

[WilliamPitt]

15. Only the meth-addled ones.

[kentuck]

16. He got tired of having sand kicked in his face..

I suppose. But, he stood tall on this one.

[Bucky]

71. My favorite Ted Cruz picture

[heaven05]

18. the teathugs have been chastened

not sent packing. All there will be in that snake pit called our leadership example, for the next two years, is obstruction, which the teapukes have honed to a fine art masking their hate of a black man leading the country who lives in the white house. I am sickened by the confederate flags waving in front of the WH. How dare they.

[ProSense]

20. My Offer is This: Nothing

My Offer is This: Nothing

Josh Marshall

Many Republicans knew this was going to be a disaster going in. But just as many totally misread Obama. Just days before the shutdown numerous high profile Republicans insisted there was no way Obama wouldn't negotiate. But probably the key driver of this drama has been President Obama's refusal to negotiate over raising the debt ceiling.

Yes, there's been some back and forth here at the end, but as begging like this suggests, it's mainly been to sort of out terms of surrender. But that refusal has defined the entire standoff.

That forced first Republicans and then House Republicans and finally the rump caucus of 50 to 80 House fire-breathers to stand alone with outrageous demands. By not engaging they destroyed themselves.

<...>

It's far different, in many ways goes to the right-wing fever-dream fantasy Obama. But this classic scene does capture some of it.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/my-offer-is-this-nothing

Oh, and fuck the teabaggers!

Remember, kick 'em while they're down.

[nolabear]

21. "Please proceed." It's the perfect way of dealing with the GOP. They'll do it all for you.

Yep, WP, we did good to elect that man.

[DinahMoeHum]

37. It's called "hoisting them on their own petard".

[New Orleans Strong]

22. Kudos to you WilliamPitt

I have loved reading your posts for a long time. This one here is now one of my favorites. Keep fighting the good fight Sir -

[meti57b]

23. LOL!!!! "Never interfere with a perfectly good train wreck."

[awoke_in_2003]

25. I can't remember the exact quote...

but it is something like "never get in the way of an enemy about to do a stupid thing"

[skamaria]

75. Napoleon i believe.

[NastyRiffraff]

26. Good on ya, Will

I don't always agree with you but you're spot on here.

And well done, Mr. President. More like this.

[dchill]

27. "meth-addled barn swallows"...

Do you have that copyrighted? If not, you should.

[WilliamPitt]

28. I will by the morning.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

32. Not to worry...

"coke befuddled white-throated needle tails" is still available.

www.cokebefuddledwhitethroatedneedletails.com

[Crewleader]

29. Well said William!

[Snake Plissken]

31. The baggers condensed an entire year's worth of FAIL into a two week stretch

This amazing accomplishment could not have been possible without the hard work and dedication to the American people by President Obama.

[Moostache]

34. Bringing new meaning to the term "Like a boss.."!

I am thinking of the famous scene in Goodfellas where Henry Hill explains how a Mafia boss handles collections for his "protection"...

Fuck you. Pay me.

Time to collect Mr. President...time to collect!!!

[munster69]

35. He always seems like the only adult in the room

which is easy when republicans are in the room.

[ladym55]

36. Meth-addled barn swallows??

Very accurate description!!

(I must admit that reading it almost caused me to spit my beverage on my keyboard ...)

[hue]

38. This f'd up gov. shutdown debacle did much to divide & expose the RW'ers for who they are/ aren't.

And it did much to reveal President Obama's fortitude, character and leadership.

[calimary]

40. It certainly was clear who were the adults in the room, wasn't it? Especially the President.

Abundantly clear who was the cool, calm, and collected father figure. Patiently standing by while the infants and toddlers throw their hissy fits and their teething rings and tear at their bibs and wet their pants and run themselves straight down into the nursery room rug. And then he acts. Gently but firmly.

[Politicub]

41. Woo woo!!

[2naSalit]

42. I can't argue with that

Thanks for saying it so well.

[CreekDog]

44. Agreed.

badass. nice job.

[lonestarnot]

45. Ugh and no.

Tee fucking heee!

[1StrongBlackMan]

46. Please ...

Fuck that. I see the method of the man in this latest eruption more clearly than ever. To say he should be more like Lyndon Johnson, who was famous for his ability to work members of Congress, is to have a catastrophically Derpy understanding of history, in that you dare to compare the Congress members of Johnson's day to the goddam meth-addled barn swallows we endure now.

Please say that again!

[Hekate]

55. +1

[1StrongBlackMan]

61. Truth is ...

the modern gop is not the only ones that pine, romantically, for the good ole days that exists only in their minds and celebratory novels.

[Guilded Lilly]

69. Quote of the Day!! N/T

[grahamhgreen]

47. Finally. Now he simply needs to tell them what to do next, IMHO:)

[2banon]

48. "meth-addled barn swallows"

Kickin' & Stealin'

[BillyRibs]

49. Their has always been somthing a bit unsavory about

Kicking folks while their down. They expect it, Never give the opponent anything. Treat this day as; "another day in the life." Being "subtle" is better in many ways. IOW You Know you have won the Intelligence contest, Your Opponent Knows it also. "If your goals are close make your Opponent believe they are far away. If your goals are far away make you opponent believe they are close.-Sun Tzu

It's me maybe as My Karma won't let me Kick anyone when they are down. Cause that shit always kicks me back. This kind of thing works best for me.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

50. 3 words crack me up when I see them because they

Remind me of the Midwest faux intellectualism I grew up with in Missouri.

Panacea, copasetic, and guesstimate.

Not a dig on what you wrote. It was just a trigger.

[yuiyoshida]

54. But...but...but.. We ALL knew his secret identy!

[juajen]

56. Gotta hand it to you. No one can coin a phrase as well as you.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

57. Superbly said. K&R.

[dreamnightwind]

58. I'll chime in too

K & R. Too rare that I praise Obama, so now that I'm feeling it I should say so. Well done. Good luck in the next battle, right around the corner.

[tweeternik]

59. Great job Mr. President!!

[DFW]

60. The Republicans tried Maxwell Smart's line and Obama called them on it

Would you believe I have an brigade of armed Teabaggers outside, ready to tear you limb from limb if you say no?

No, I wouldn't.

OK, would you believe I have Louie Gohmert, Ted Cruz and Rick Perry holding canisters of poison gas to throw if you hold firm?

No, I wouldn't believe that either.

Well, would you believe I have my tanning machine ready to give you skin cancer if you give me nothing at all?

I'm sorry, Mr. Speaker, I'm not buying any of it.

And why should he have? This is who he was up against:

[LisaLynne]

62. catastrophically Derpy

that's my favorite phrase.

[Orsino]

64. I believe that's a significant oversimplification.

I can't believe that in all those hours of White House non-negotiation negotiations, that the president didn't float many offers (sorry, non-negotiated scenarios). In public, though, he framed the issue correctly, and did not waver. Now that two artificial crises are over (until next time), "fuck you" does seem a fair description of the deal (sorry, completely non-negotiated surrender).

Yes, he sure as fuck negotiated the hell out of things, and for that I am grateful. Very well done, Mr. President!

I wish to see more of this Chief Executive that I voted for. There are agendas that might be pursued beyond bomb disposal.

[frog64]

65. right on

Spot on post. I have a neighbor who does not like Obama, who says that he should have intervened like LBJ would have done. I tell him that the country has changed, that Congress in no way resembles that of 1964. We have a bunch of ignorant tea baggers who have the GOP by the short hair, who are religious zealots whose view of the world is radically different from that of the mainstream. We are still in a hellava mess. It will take more cold, strong, disciplined tactics to keep the herd in check. I hope O takes off the table his offer to change the COLA for SS. He has offered it twice, but he can say, not again. Raise the damn cap on earnings.

[Jakes Progress]

66. Yep. Did good here.

[MichaelKelley]

67. This is obvious

It is obvious for anyone that they want to see everything in their favor and if bad time comes in between definitely they will scold and same person will praise as well.

[ancianita]

68. Fuck, yeah! Good one!

[Bucky]

70. It is unprecedented for a president's party to gain House seats in a 6th year election

The Republicans seemed determined to destroy all sorts of precedents, traditions, and commonly held standards of responsible behavior. They're doing everything they can to help us take back the House. We should show them our gratitude.

[indepat]

73. Agree, agree, but it is a god-damned shame 'effin' McConnell had to be paid a $2 billion

ransom and only God knows how many more sweeteners/ransoms are tucked away in the final bill and in side agreements.

[KoKo]

74. Backing down on Bombing Syria allowing Weapons Inspections to move forward

and holding firm during the Shut Down.

I'll give him those two. Those are positive signs that his second term may be more pro-active than the first. .

His Statement to the People this morning said that reforms to Social Security and Medicare are on the table and he repeated (as he often does) that there are "extremes in both parties." Coming off what we all just went through Ted Cruz and the Tea Party Terrorists I think he should have held back on comparing the Left in the Dem Party with the Right of the Repug Party. If he thinks that the House Progressive Caucus and Code Pink can compare with Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and the Heritage Foundation Action Committee then I think that is insulting. I hope he will rethink making those comparisons as he often does in his speeches since he was elected.

But...I'll give him praise for pulling back on Syria Bombing and Holding Firm during the Shut Down. 's

[JDPriestly]

76. The speech this morning was great EXCEPT, hearing between the lines, I strongly suspect

that Obama and Boehner have agreed to negotiate their grand bargain so as to cut Social Security recipients down as far as they can on the excuse that they have to "save" Social Security and Medicare for future generations and so that our kids and grandkids will have a chance.

Nonsense.

If there is a crisis in Social Security and Medicare funding it is because the government has transmutated the extra money that we put into the Trust Fund into regular tax revenue. That's another way of saying that the government borrowed from our Trust Fund and doesn't want to pay it back.

If that happens, then Obama is giving in in fact and has agreed to steal from seniors to pay for Bush's war debts and tax cuts.

Our government owes seniors for the money we paid in during our working lives PLUS INTEREST which was incredibly high during the Reagan, Bush I and Clinton administrations when most of that money was accruing.

As a senior who relies on Social Security and Medicare to pay my daily bills, I am very pessimistic.

I don't think that the grand bargain will really result in restoring our government's full faith and credit. I just think that Obama and the Republicans will default on the weakest in our society -- seniors, especially those who are the most feeble and helpless.

Sorry to mess up people's days. But I have a lot of training in hearing and reading between the lines, and that is my analysis of his speech. Although other than that, great speech.

[11 Bravo]

77. K&R for "meth-addled barn swallows" alone. Brilliant!

[Fatbob]

78. Pride

I voted for Obama because he voted NO to the war in Iraq. It was hard to take a stand and not believe the gang's lies. Obama's ability to think for himself and not just go along with the crowd is ossum!

[caseymoz]

79. Me too! K&R

[DianaForRussFeingold]

80. K&R I'm also very proud of President Obama!

Thank you!

Lyrics:
Well I won't back down, no I won't back down
You could stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won't back down

Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around
And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down
Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

Chorus:
Hey baby, there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down

Well I know what's right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin' me around
But I'll stand my ground and I won't back down

Hey baby there ain't no easy way out
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won't back down
No, I won't back down