Misinterpreting a Man’s Strength is Our Weakness, Not His
Guest Blogger: Joan Ruaiz
Photo by Extreme Liberal
“The strength of a man isn’t in the weight he can lift.
It’s in the burdens he can carry…“
During a job interview, a question frequently posed to the job-seeker is, “What are your weaknesses?” That question is not asked in order to reveal weaknesses per se, but rather as a way for the interviewer to assess the strengths of the applicant based on the revelations the answer offers. The right response is never, “I have none,” since we all do.
For the past few months, I have read and heard that our President is weak and doesn’t stand up, and has a habit of caving. This claim, in fact, has been a topic of political conversation for some time. I have reflexively rejected this judgement, but I hadn’t fully analyzed why until now.
I do ask myself how ironic it is that the strongest black man on the world stage today would be described as a weak man by his critics. But rather than denouncing the name-callers simply out of hand, I’m compelled to examine the meaning of this pronouncement and its intent. Are those critics correct in their assessment? What is weakness and what is strength? And who has it, and who doesn’t? What’s the measurement to arrive at such an adjective, one that is either a mean-spirited put-down or is the unfortunate truth? How do we judge?
In a society where George Bush was seen by many as forceful, strong and resolute for refusing to negotiate with his foes, and for treating his domestic opposition without respect or due conscience, I can understand why seeing the opposite behavior from the next President could be interpreted as mild, weak and caving. However, does that really make it true, or have we been conditioned to make such analysis without a full understanding of the seriousness of our indictment? What is true is that Mr. Bush and President Obama, although both have borne the title of President, are each as different from the other as night is to day.
George Bush grew up in privilege, while Barack Obama didn’t. George Bush was the product of a solid, long-lasting marital union; Barack Obama was not. One had a successful father to emulate; the other, a father who was vaguely distant. One grew up deeply rooted, with a feeling that he belonged, while the other continually adapted to situations of constant change. The fortunate son had everything that money could buy, and the less fortunate had to make do with being as resourceful as he could be. One could hail a cab just like that, while the other might just be made to wait. One man woke up each morning fully aware that the world was his oyster; the other went to sleep knowing that the world would not be surprised if he failed at life. These are some of the reasons that make these two men different, but they still don’t answer why one would be described as strong, while the other one would be called weak.
“Now Is The Time” To Pass Health Care – President Obama
I’m not counting this President out yet, and you’d be a fool to bet against him.
FOX News and Firedoglake – Together Again!
On Friday, as any political junkie knows, President Obama and 140 Republicans from their caucus came together to have a discussion about a wide range of issues. The result of the meeting has spread around the internet and revealed the extreme biases that exist in our media. I found it curious that FOX News and Firedoglake, the brain child of Jane Hamsher, found common ground by trying to ignore that it ever really happened. FOX News reaction was predictable and in my mind so was FDL’s. I went over to FDL (even though I hate giving them clicks) and found they basically ignored the whole event on Friday. All the other progressive blogs were ablaze with clips, commentary, analysis and a lot of glee. It was a reminder to many of them of the skills of our president at framing issues, pushing pack against Republican talking points and a reaffirmation that we elected the best person for the job, Barack Obama. Once FDL did put up a post on the event, it reeked of their bitterness towards the president. They truly are following through with their idea during the election that if they can’t have Hillary Clinton, they don’t want anyone. From their first post mentioning the event entitled “It’s Called Debate, Not Hero Worship.” (I’m not linking to them because I don’t want them to get any more clicks, that’s what they want.)
To be sure, Obama and the WH staff deserve high praise for his performance yesterday, and they are rightfully getting it. I personally think it’s one of the best moves they’ve made. But let’s not respond to this event with the kind of undisguised and embarrassing hero-worship that was on display last night on MSNBC.
Although it may be true that Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow and Kieth Olbermann were a bit excited about the event and praised the president’s skills in this setting, but to portray it as hero worship harkens back to the election. Remember when the Hillary folks used that line over and over again because candidate Obama was soooooo popular and was able to get people fired up about his candidacy. Jealousy, bitterness anyone. The next post that FDL posted about the event was titled “Obama Debating Dummies Is Easy; How About Debating the Grownups on the Real Issues?” No snarkiness there, huh? Here is a chunk from that post…
Debates with deluded dummies in the hope of convincing them is not just pointless; it is a distraction from the more important discussions we need to be having.
It is mindless to debate phony Republican talking points about government health takeovers, with people who not only lied about death panels but cannot even acknowledge that every universal coverage/care system in the advanced world relies on extensive government structure, funding and price/quality regulation.
So it’s mindless to go on national television and take on these Republican talking points? Really? It’s mindless to confront the republican lies with well reasoned, factual information? Mindless? This post reveals the real motives of the folks at the Firedoglake, to damage the president as much as they can to prove that Hillary really should have been president, the votes of the people be damned. This post finishes up with even more drivel, pure shit…
The President has run away from real debates on these and a dozen other national issues. His refusal to engage genuine, credible critics while playing instead on the dummies’ anti-intellectual turf is what is crippling his credibility and sabotaging his ability to govern and actually solve these hard problems.
Dismissing the dummies should be the media’s job. If the President wants to have a debate on the real issues facing America, how about confronting the grown ups, and not just the 12-year olds?
So by taking on the opposition (Republican Party), you know, the ones with votes in the house and senate, he is “crippling his credibility and sabotaging his ability to govern”? By presenting his case to the American people and sharply shooting down the Republican talking points, he’s crippling his credibility? Wow, talk about spin. So he would have been better off debating the idiots at Firedoglake (not all are idiots I must say)? And then the final sentence reveals how naive these bitter people are by retreating to their fantasy world “Dismissing the dummies should be the media’s job”….how’s that working out for you. The media hasn’t done it’s job for many years, it’s a reality we all have to live in and as progressives, we must find ways to get our message out to the masses without relying on the media to do it. This forum was an awesome way to do it, I hope it happens more but I am doubtful that the Republicans will put themselves in that position again.
President Obama, A Great Leader!
In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama showed the country why he is absolutely the best person to lead this country in this time in our history. He was eloquent, forceful, realistic, honest, forward looking and inspirational. Only those people who watched through their veils of hate can say otherwise. There were many highlights for me and below are some excerpts that were particularly good.
He showed compassion.
But the devastation remains. One in ten Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder.
This recession has also compounded the burdens that America’s families have been dealing with for decades – the burden of working harder and longer for less; of being unable to save enough to retire or help kids with college.
So I know the anxieties that are out there right now. They’re not new. These struggles are the reason I ran for President. These struggles are what I’ve witnessed for years in places like Elkhart, Indiana and Galesburg, Illinois. I hear about them in the letters that I read each night. The toughest to read are those written by children – asking why they have to move from their home, or when their mom or dad will be able to go back to work.
He was inspirational.
You know what else they share? They share a stubborn resilience in the face of adversity. After one of the most difficult years in our history, they remain busy building cars and teaching kids; starting businesses and going back to school. They’re coaching little league and helping their neighbors. As one woman wrote me, “We are strained but hopeful, struggling but encouraged.”
It is because of this spirit – this great decency and great strength – that I have never been more hopeful about America’s future than I am tonight. Despite our hardships, our union is strong. We do not give up. We do not quit. We do not allow fear or division to break our spirit. In this new decade, it’s time the American people get a government that matches their decency; that embodies their strength.
He gave concrete proposals.
So tonight, I’m proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. I am also proposing a new small business tax credit – one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages. While we’re at it, let’s also eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment; and provide a tax incentive for all businesses, large and small, to invest in new plants and equipment…
…The House has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps. As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the same. People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay…
He was forceful.
You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China’s not waiting to revamp its economy. Germany’s not waiting. India’s not waiting. These nations aren’t standing still. These nations aren’t playing for second place. They’re putting more emphasis on math and science. They’re rebuilding their infrastructure. They are making serious investments in clean energy because they want those jobs.
Well I do not accept second-place for the United States of America. As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it’s time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth.
He was honest and admitted his own failures.
Our approach would preserve the right of Americans who have insurance to keep their doctor and their plan. It would reduce costs and premiums for millions of families and businesses. And according to the Congressional Budget Office – the independent organization that both parties have cited as the official scorekeeper for Congress – our approach would bring down the deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next two decades.
Still, this is a complex issue, and the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became. I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people. And I know that with all the lobbying and horse-trading, this process left most Americans wondering what’s in it for them.
He gave us context and historical perspective.
So let me start the discussion of government spending by setting the record straight. At the beginning of the last decade, America had a budget surplus of over $200 billion. By the time I took office, we had a one year deficit of over $1 trillion and projected deficits of $8 trillion over the next decade. Most of this was the result of not paying for two wars, two tax cuts, and an expensive prescription drug program. On top of that, the effects of the recession put a $3 trillion hole in our budget. That was before I walked in the door.
Now if we had taken office in ordinary times, I would have liked nothing more than to start bringing down the deficit. But we took office amid a crisis, and our efforts to prevent a second Depression have added another $1 trillion to our national debt.
I am absolutely convinced that was the right thing to do. But families across the country are tightening their belts and making tough decisions. The federal government should do the same. So tonight, I’m proposing specific steps to pay for the $1 trillion that it took to rescue the economy last year.
He was inspirational and had a call to action.
Our administration has had some political setbacks this year, and some of them were deserved. But I wake up every day knowing that they are nothing compared to the setbacks that families all across this country have faced this year. And what keeps me going – what keeps me fighting – is that despite all these setbacks, that spirit of determination and optimism – that fundamental decency that has always been at the core of the American people – lives on.
It lives on in the struggling small business owner who wrote to me of his company, “None of us,” he said, “…are willing to consider, even slightly, that we might fail.”
It lives on in the woman who said that even though she and her neighbors have felt the pain of recession, “We are strong. We are resilient. We are American.”
It lives on in the 8-year old boy in Louisiana, who just sent me his allowance and asked if I would give it to the people of Haiti. And it lives on in all the Americans who’ve dropped everything to go some place they’ve never been and pull people they’ve never known from rubble, prompting chants of “U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A!” when another life was saved.
The spirit that has sustained this nation for more than two centuries lives on in you, its people.
We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment – to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.
Thank you. God Bless You. And God Bless the United States of America.
President Obama Rocks!
I’ve been accused of being an all sorts of things because I support President Obama, but in an interview with Diane Sawyer he reminded me why I support him so much. Look at this exchange with Sawyer, the whole transcript is here.
SAWYER: Ever in the middle of all that’s coming did you think maybe one term is enough?
OBAMA: You know, I — I would say that when I — the one thing I’m clear about is that I’d rather be a really good one-term president than a mediocre two-term president. And I — and I believe that.
You know, there’s a tendency in Washington to think that our job description of elected officials is to get re-elected. That’s not our job description. Our job description is to solve problems and to help people. And, you know, that’s not just the view of elected officials themselves. That’s also the filter through which the media reads things. And the reason I can say this with confidence is I’ve gone through this before. I went through this through the campaign.
When your poll numbers drop, you’re an idiot. When your poll numbers are high, you’re a genius. If my poll numbers are low, then I’m cool and cerebral and cold and detached. If my poll numbers are high, well, he’s calm and reasoned.
So that’s — that’s the filter through which a lot of this stuff is interpreted. But…
SAWYER: Do you think there’s a lot of bed wetting, as David Plouffe said?
OBAMA: I do think that people are always thinking in the cable news cycle, and whatever appears that given day is how people view the world. That is not how I look at things. You know, I went to Iowa — I went to Ohio last week on Friday. And I went to a company that the family had owned for years — third generation. They make machine tools.
And you go and you talk to the workers there and you talk to the owners and then you go to the diner and you’re meeting with people and talk to them. You know, they are not interested in whether Democrats are scoring points on Republicans or vice versa. What they’re interested in is, you know, I can’t get a loan from my bank right now. I’m trying to save for my kid’s college education. You know, I’m worried that my 401(k), although it’s bounced back a little bit, still doesn’t leave me enough for retirement.
Those are the things that people talk to me about. And so that’s what I spend a lot of my time thinking about.
As you may have noticed if you’ve read any of my previous posts, I think the media is lazy, stupid, reactionary, sensational, style over substance, process over policies…..every thing is filtered through polls, the horse race or the latest outrage. Any politician can get on cable by being outraged about something, whether they are sincere or not, whether they need a boost in the polls or not, whether they are lying or not. The media eats that shit up and then craps it back out for us wrapped in a poll. Arghhh, don’t get me started……oh wait, I started it myself. Oops. :)
Links That Rock!
Here are a few links to some stories that caught my eye recently.
- Abusers take note, you have to go to sleep sometime, don’t you? White Noise Insanity
- An awesome rude take on President Obama’s speech on the Christmas burnt nuts attack! The Rude Pundit
- A take down of the “Republic Party” on the presidents use of words, they just lie! Media Matters
- More reality on terrorism with graphs and everything. Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog
Linkage To Some Good Stuff!
Check out these links if you are looking for some good stuff to read.
Kay over at White Noise Insanity has a great piece on Bristol Palin, the entrepreneur. Click here!
Bob Cesca has a great post about our president making some change. Click here!
Ezra Klein at his new Washington Post digs has a piece on the inside Washington media. Click here!
Finally, here is a great Youtube video from Bill Maher’s show featuring the one and only Sarah Silverman. Click here!
Liberal Backlash, NOT!
Here is a link to an article that analyzes the Gallup daily tracking poll and although there has been a slight dip in his numbers among his base, it is very minor and considering the blistering attacks he’s gone through, he seems to be teflon coated. Check out this groovy graph from Gallup.
He certainly has some work to do before the 2010 and 2012 elections, but coming off such a bloody fight on health care, I think he’s still doing pretty well, especially with his base. So stop listening to those bill-killers when they try to say he’s in big trouble with his base. Like I typed in a previous post, they are exaggerating that anger and trying to project it on others.
Arianna Huffington Returns To Her Republican Roots
I used to be a very loyal Huffington Post reader, it was my home page on all 3 of my computers. I loved how they bashed Bush and Co. I only go over there now to check how the progress is going on them switching to being a conservative blog. I was eating dinner and I pulled out my iPhone, (yes, I’m one of them) and I pulled up my HuffPost app and this screaming headline said “Dems’ Only Hope for 2010: Make The Race About The Other Guy.”
I started reading it, of course, and came across this in the first paragraph…
Voters are shifting to the right; white antipathy to the President has intensified; the popular consensus backing Obama and his agenda has collapsed in less than a year…
Really? Go look at this post at Public Policy Polling that says just the opposite, his numbers remain strong, regardless of people not liking what the senate passed on health care reform. And of course, congress always polls low and even within the article on HP, they say republicans numbers are also slipping, but they wouldn’t let some facts get in the way of their agenda to portray President Obama and the democratic party negatively. Read more »
Lies About Obama Ripped Apart
Bob Cesca’s Awesome Blog has another great post up defending Obama against unfair attacks. Enjoy!
Change Has Come!
In an effort to counter the “Republic party” and faux-progressive assault on our president as a failure, here is a partial list of some of the accomplishments he has either started or has implemented. Many of them happened in the first 100 days, but many more have slipped under the radar of the MSM over the entire 11 months of his presidency. I know many bomb throwers will deny that many of them really happened, I guess that’s the political environment we now find ourselves in, just deny it or lie about it. Feel free to add to this list in the comments. Many thanks to bacalove at Daily Kos.
- Reversed Bush ban on federal funding of stem cell research.
- The 787 billion dollar stimulus package provides hundreds of billions
of tax cuts and helps fund state programs already in place - the stimulus package helps repair a decayed infrastructure
- The education secretary has five billion of Discretionary spending to improve education
- is much more science friendly with the energy secretary being a scientist
- reversed Bush global gag rule on doctors and provided funding for international family planning groups
…there is a lot more after the break Read more »
Linkage!
Here are some links to some great posts floating around in cyberspace.
Off to a party……like it’s 2010.
The Hamsher Maze!
Having been pissed off so much by Jane Hamsher and her thugs at FireDogLake, I went to Google and typed in her name. Woe, in about 5 minutes I learned an awful lot about her that now makes other things clearer to me. She was one of the producers of Oliver Stone’s film “Natural Born Killers” and even wrote a book about her experience on that film. It was financed by Time Warner, hmmmm, is that a corporation? I thought Jane was against those big corporations, but apparently not when they are paying her. Now that was a movie I would never go see, I hate violence in all forms and I think Hollywood has been sensationalizing it and making it cool by presenting it in a hip, fast paced way that appeals to impressionable “yutes.” Check out this link that talks about how the film was directly related to at leat 8 murders.
My fishing around on Google also turned up another link, here it is, that talks about other lovely things she’s done over the years, including the race-baiting photo of Clinton with Joe Lieberman during the primaries in Connecticut. Now I am no fan of Lieberman’s by any means, but this event does show the type of person she truly is. Hmmmmm, I’ll have to click a few more links on google and let you know what else I find about this person who seems to be showing up on my Teevee way too much.
Share This Blog
-
Kurt Vonnegut Moment
Own An Important Part Of American History!
Damn It’s Hot!
Only If You Have A Few Extra Bucks!
YES!
Join A Union – Rebuild The Middle Class
Photos by Extreme Liberal
