Memo to Obama’s Critics: He’s Not Callow Anymore

[babylonsister]

http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/obama-isnt-callow-anymore

August 9, 2014
Memo to Obama’s Critics: He’s Not Callow Anymore
By John Cassidy


Barack Obama’s critics on the right have been merrily bashing him for years. Lately, though, the President’s refusal to bow to Republican obstructionism has had a deleterious effect on the conservative psyche. Irritation with Obama has turned into slashing anger and contempt. From the threat of impeachment to the daily diatribes directed against the President on talk radio, there are many examples that could be cited. One that just caught my eye was an anti-Obama rant that Rich Lowry, the editor of the National Review, posted on Politico on Wednesday, taking as his starting point the President’s recent plea to Republicans: “Stop just hatin’ all the time.”

snip//

Obama’s critics often misrepresent his foreign policy, but the main focus of their animus is domestic policy. When the President realized that trying to coöperate with the Republican leadership was a self-defeating strategy, he had to make a choice. He could give up on domestic policy, embark on a lot of foreign trips, and hope that, eventually, the electorate would round on a do-nothing Congress. Alternatively, he could seek to enact some items on his legislative agenda by exploiting to the full the power and prerogatives of the executive branch.

Obama chose the second option and decided to press ahead, without Republican approval, with policy changes in areas such as background checks for gun buyers, the minimum wage, and the regulation of coal-fired power plants. To this end, he has issued a series of executive orders, which the Republicans duly criticized as outrageous power grabs. Now the White House is mulling another executive order that would change the treatment of undocumented aliens, and Republicans are portraying it as a general amnesty in the making. When Congress returns from its summer recess after Labor Day, there will be more overheated talk about Obama trampling on the Constitution. Even if the possibility of impeachment isn’t acted upon, it will, once again, be raised and hurled at Obama.

That’s not really surprising. Many Republicans and conservative commentators are mad as hell at the President. But it isn’t his inexperience and glibness that’s infuriating them. It’s the fact that he’s learned to play the Washington power game, and, perhaps, found a way to go around them.

[sheshe2]

1. KnR

So true, bsis, so true.

[FSogol]

2. K&R. n/t

[sarge43]

3. "Don't play chess with this man," Joe Biden. n/t

[IrishAyes]

48. That's my favorite Biden quote.

I thought he said not to EVER do that; but it could just be my own faulty memory at this hour. Missed my nap today too, so I'm not responsible for much of anything until tomorrow at least.

[jwirr]

4. Actually he has been playing this game with them all along but the Ameircan people have finally

smartened up and the rethugs have lost their momentum.

[mountain grammy]

5. K & R

[Cosmocat]

6. I have little tolerance for democrats who bash the man

He has taken an absolutely relentless and never ending amount of shit from republicans from day one, with a lazy and corrupted media gleefully helping to pile on.

I don't like that he is too cozy with big money. I got that sense from him before he was elected. I have some other minor beefs, but all in all, he has done pretty darn good job.

But, he has absolutely no one, NO ONE fighting FOR HIM. Democrats cower in the corner while republicans and media chew his ass off.

Not saying everyone has to be really happy about him, but he is one man vs 535 raging jackasses or shivering cowards ...

[RoverSuswade]

8. That's why I miss Ted Kennedy,

Barney Frank, and yes, even Anthony Wiener. They took no poop from republicans. We need about 100 more Alan Graysons and Elizabeth Warrens.

[Cosmocat]

28. Tru dat

Honestly ...

People want to take shots at BHO, but what has really been disturbing is how weak and limp democrats have been around him.

[TheKentuckian]

9. That is his fault too for standing down and in many ways turning on his own massive

ativist army in favor of a largely failed effort to play inside, transactional politics, wipe the asses of Wall Street at all costs, strike out against the largest remaining union and hobble public education, cover for powerful criminals, and be a lackey for the surveillance state and the MIC.

He wanted to pursue a wacky agenda of ideological "bipartisanship" and destroyed and infuriated his own support and exchanged them for a bunch of rudderless cheerleaders with no agenda or principles because that was easier than actually changing anything because he didn't want to, he is a Jayhawk conservative and a creature of the corporations and so here we are.

[elehhhhna]

16. I agree. Not callow anymore? SLOWEST STUDENT EVER. Theatre. It's all theatre.

[Cosmocat]

18. Horseshit

flat and unmitigated.

Sorry, he did not run on being a hard left guy. He crafted incredibly inspirational speeches that left people to put what they WANTED to believe on him (ie. he is a politician), but if you if you LISTENED to him while he was running, you would have known he was in line with big money and that was going to be status quo with "security."

And, that "wacky agenda of bipartisanship" was the man's SINGULAR campaign promise was to be the adult in the room.

He has honored this commitment and that is why people don't fight for him?

EITHER WAY, that some people didn't actually LISTEN to him and fell into projecting what they wanted to believe into his inspirational campaigning is NOT cause to leave the man to be eviscerated by the right/mainstream media when he has in fact done a lot of good.

I would love to have Bernie Sanders or Sherrod Brown in there, but that isn't who won the election.

But, you can't blame the man for not being what you WANTED him to be when he has been what is all along.

[BrotherIvan]

19. Serious Question

Did you vote for him because he was "in line with big money and that was going to be status quo with 'security'?"

Truly? Because if you did, then you may have been the only one.

[Cosmocat]

27. Not sure who you saw on the ballot - I saw Barrack Obama and John McCain ...

Choice was pretty clear ...

I did my usual job in the neighborhood getting yard signs out and helping to get the vote out.

I have stood up for the man, and I live in a fairly republican area and most of my friends and acquaintances are republicans who hate the shit out of him.

I had no delusions about him being some great firebreathing liberal. I knew he was in line with big money and wasn't going to roll back a lot of these "security" things.

But, I also knew he was a darn good person, would put pen to paper any quality legislation democrats would put on his desk and would mostly be a solid democrat.

[japple]

36. Thanks for pointing this out to those who have heaped on President Obama from before

his inauguration until 10:19 pm EST on August 11, 2014. Nothing he has done will suit them. Everything he has done will be inadequate. Because he is 10+ points in that direction or 15- in the other direction. With this lack of support from Democrats, I am surprised he even won re-election. I hope the party perfectionists will vote in 2014 mid-terms and again in 2016. I pity the fool who runs for office in 2016, and I continue to send up thanks for President Obama, for his vision for the future, his wisdom, optimism, and his willingness to continue to stay in office when everyone is kicking him from all sides.

And yes, the choice was clear as a bell. Obama v. McCain???

[Cosmocat]

37. Yeah

We are not in a good place ...

Republicans off the hook deranged.
Media having given up any pretense to being unbiased and gleefully advancing right wing bullshit.
Democratic Party with absolutely no fight, no cohesion, no message.

[randys1]

26. I have supported him, still do and have said exactly what you said from day one...

and someone above said give Obama credit for fighting relentless obstruction

YA THINK (not meant as disrespect to poster who said that)


I mean jesus fucking christ, no Obama is not the ultimate quasi socialist liberal I want but he is so god damn much better than the alternative ...

And John McCain, well, that son of a bitch needs to SHUT THE FUCK UP!

[Cosmocat]

31. +1

And John McCain, well, that son of a bitch needs to SHUT THE FUCK UP!

Did the Sunday talk shows have John Kerry plastered on them every week after he lost?

[Romulox]

39. LOL. "You should've known he was lying!" nt

[Skittles]

22. he should not have wasted so much time believing repukes could behave reasonably

anyone could see by the time he was elected how sickening that party had become

[Iliyah]

7. K & R

GOPers and Libertarians with total corporate media support, plus the far left day in day out pounding, bashing on and on and right now Pres O will like the energizing bunny - LOL

[riqster]

10. Kick and rec.

[doxydad]

11. LONG overdue on the part of the President.

He has bent over backwards and the obstructionists have shit all over his agenda. Glad to see that he's growing a nice fat pair!

[BumRushDaShow]

12. "he’s learned to play the Washington power game"

As a note, he would have never been elected to the Presidency if he didn't know how to "play the power game". The problem is that the typical paradigm of strategy used by the previous 43 white Presidents, could not be utilized by him in a literal sense as he is not seen as being "like them", and this forced him to generate a new playbook (that uses some of the old) that is obviously not apparent to the average pundit. The expectation that he would be boozing around D.C. belies the lack of awareness of the culture and the dearth of true cross-cultural acceptance.

This is why, over the past 6 years, self-important pundits continue to generate FAIL after FAIL by incorrectly "predicting" what he was going to do, when he was going to do it, and how.

[flamingdem]

14. +1

[1StrongBlackMan]

13. This is a great analysis of President Obama ...

that ALL of his critics, right and left, need to understand ... President Obama is all about what he believes is best for America, even if it costs him the short-term support of the left.

I say short-term, because the left never really supports anything anyone does for long.

[BrotherIvan]

20. The Left you have thrown under the bus

Fought for:

Worker's Rights
Civil Rights
Women's Rights
Anti-War
Social Safety Net
Economic Fairness
LGBT Rights

Do you truly believe that neoliberal/Third Way policies of the last forty years have been a success?

[1StrongBlackMan]

25. No ...

I do not believe that the economic policies of the past 40+ years have been successful; however, there have been successes.

The "left" that I speak of are the economics only/economics primacy left ... that advocate for the racial/gender/LGBT status quo, if only through neglect.

[BrotherIvan]

33. But anyone here who criticizes the administration for:

Worker's Rights
Civil Rights
Women's Rights
Anti-War
Social Safety Net
Economic Fairness
LGBT Rights

Is called a hater, racist, Paulite, fringe left, far left, firebagger, etc. There's lots of room on the left since the party has moved way past center to the right. Just stating that a neoliberal policy is not in line with traditional Democratic principles will get you labeled the above. I am truly shocked by the serious rent in the Democratic Party that this has caused. When criticizing Clinton for triangulation, I don't recall anyone labeled any of those things.

[1StrongBlackMan]

34. I haven't seen anyone here ...

criticize President Obama for most of those things, as he has consistently been on the positive side of these issues ... though maybe, not going as far as some would like.

I do not see the Party as having moved beyond the center and to the right.

[noiretextatique]

42. really?

I see a steady and consistent throwing under the bus of every constiuency by the third way in their relentless pursuit to be the mainstream party. Seriously...you don't see that? Our party used to support affirmative action, for example, until it was more politically expedient not to. Did America evolve? No. Did the party devolve? Yes. Taking one for the team took on a whole new meaning: to take one for the team that is not as horrible as the other team, and fuck you, to boot. And, we will triangulate to appease the other team...unlike them. Yep...hope and change we can talk embrace. We are assholes...but they are bigger assholes.

[1StrongBlackMan]

43. Funny ...

I haven't seen the 3rd Wayers toss anyone under the bus for supporting mainstream Democratic (social) policies, like Affirmative Action. I have, however, seen non-3rd Wayers toss folks under the bus for advocating policies like Affirmative Action, in their relentless pursuit to convince folks that "It's the economy!"

[noiretextatique]

44. nonsense...AA is all but dead

Thanks in part to third way triangulation. How on earth can you honestly blame liberals for the rightward shift of the party? Especially when the voters have NOT shifted? Dems are fucking cowardly fucks who keep speaking out of both sides of their mouths. Thank goodness the alternative is fucking insane. Which begs the question: does insane get more votes? Apparently yes...what else explains the rightward shift? Certainly not the will of the people.

[1StrongBlackMan]

45. Okay; but ...

could the death of Affirmative Action be explained by, not triangulation, so much as the rise in "individual freedoms" being presented as the/a primary Party value? Just to note ... those promoting individual freedom are not among the Party's supporters of Affirmative Action ... if they speak to it at all.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

15. Some of those racist bastards are outraged because he refuses to obey.

[GeorgeGist]

17. New, improved Obama

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Not Callow Anymore™

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[rhett o rick]

21. Why has it taken 6 years? During that time the Democrats have lost a lot of face.

In 2008 many if not most Americans were f'n ready for a major change, in fact they voted for change. Yet the President played patty-cake for 6 years. Appointing Conservative after conservative. We are still dealing with Arnie Duncan, Whealer, Clapper, and Brennan. The Republicans have cause him a lot of problems but these appointments are his own doing. And Penny Pritzker? Really?
I am going to say, thanks mr. President but it's too little too late. I hope the Democrat candidates in Nov. won't have to pay for your dalliance.

[Skittles]

23. agreed

I don't think we would have lost so much in the last elections if Obama had called it like it is from the start

[rhett o rick]

24. He played it very conservatively, apparently afraid to take the risk to be more outspoken for the

common people, but someday someone has to take that risk or we will continue to slide into the abyss of tyranny.

[1StrongBlackMan]

35. I disagree ...

I think that the American electorate is just now ... after 6 years ... willing to hear it. Had he started out calling it like it was, he would have been the only one out there.

[NYtoBush-Drop Dead]

46. You're part of the high tech

Lynching mob going after the President.

[rhett o rick]

47. That's a strange thing to say. I'm "high tech"? I have Windows 7 on a 5 year old lap top.

I get my internet at the library. And what does "going after the president mean." He's going first and I'm going "after"??

[Rex]

29. Sadly we have our own group here that acts just like the GOP.

Come election time, they are trying their best to divide the party.

[LeftyMom]

30. He's pretty busy impementing their foreign policy.

[uponit7771]

32. Obama can be worked with, even that is not good enough for some ... they'll be bashers to me

[Andy823]

38. K&R nt

[Romulox]

40. If you elected Barack Obama to cement in place the economic Status Quo, you're happy after 6 years.

[Andy823]

41. Really?

So nothing has changed?

What about these things: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/march_april_2012/features/obamas_top_50_accomplishments035755.php?page=all