Coping With Obama-Induced Irritation Syndrome (OIIS): A Guide for the Perplexed
Dear Belladonna Rogers,
I didn’t vote for Obama and wasn’t happy when he won. Still, I’m a loyal American and want to see the country to do well even if it means he’s re-elected. But the country isn’t doing well and I find that almost everywhere I go, even among people who agree with his politics, I sense a wave of anger rising up at the president. I’m normally a pretty even-tempered guy and I don’t get emotional about politics or whoever is president, but even I’m feeling irritation when I see him on TV. What is it about this president that’s so exasperating? And how can I deal with my rising level of annoyance with him?
Irritated in Cleveland
Dear Irritated,
“Folks,” as the president likes to refer to Americans outside the Beltway, are getting fed up with him. You ask what it is about President Obama that causes even a normally even-tempered man like you to become incensed. Short answer: his withering condescension.
By way of introduction, a few words on the importance of presidential character in general. If you’re a politician, you don’t want voters’ assessments of your policies to be based on their negative reactions to your personality. The counter-example to Obama is Reagan: people thought he was a sunny, decent, fair, good-natured guy. That was a political advantage, especially with independents and centrists: they were predisposed to give his views a fair hearing (even though they didn’t always agree with his positions) just because they liked him.
One of the great lines in the classic 1978 movie Animal House is uttered by Dean Vernon Wormer, when he says to fraternity pledge Kent “Flounder” Dorfman, “Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
Similarly, I’d say that condescending, disdainful, and contemptuous is no way to go through a presidency. Nothing is better guaranteed to alienate your fellow citizens than being addressed as if you’re the only serious adult while they’re not merely in kindergarten, but are among the dimmer five-year-olds in the class.
With Obama, we hear the derision in his mocking tone. We also intuit his nonverbal signals of contempt.
Poker players are well-acquainted with “the tell” — the tiniest of changes in behavior, from a slightly deeper inhalation of breath to a nano-second-lasting twitch that reveals a clue about the cards another player has or signals an upcoming bet in the game. Every player has a different tell, and some tells are genuine while others are purposeful and intended to deceive — an under-the-breath curse word uttered to suggest a bad hand when a the player actually has a terrific hand.
Similar to poker tells are what the psychologist Paul Ekman calls “microexpressions,” which, as the term suggests, are fleeting facial expressions that last from less than a second to a few seconds at most, and reveal the real emotions a person may be trying to conceal, or may unconsciously feel. A teenager’s eyeroll when being chastised would be a microexpression, conveying to the parent or teacher that the experience is way annoying while attempting to seem respectful and cooperative (the sooner to get it over with). If the parent or teacher looks away for a nanosecond, he or she will miss the microexpression — it is that fleeting. Another Ekman-coined term is “leaking,” meaning the unintended expression of an emotion that has inadvertently “leaked” out.
With Obama, the tell or microexpression is invariably a kind of smile, which has “leaked” out. It isn’t a friendly smile; it’s a sneer, a smirk and it’s visible in the videos in this column. When you see him break into a smile as he’s about to answer a question, that’s invariably the tell that he’s about to lob a contemptuous and condescending taunt at the questioner.
Only last week, on July 25, Obama could be seen on TV lecturing us as follows: “Now, what makes today’s stalemate so dangerous is that it has been tied to something known as the debt ceiling — a term that most people outside of Washington have probably never heard of before.” As William Kristol, editor-in-chief of The Weekly Standard, commented,
Consider the condescension implicit in the president’s statement — “a term that most people outside of Washington have probably never heard of before.” These “people outside of Washington” are not little children being lectured on an obscure subject by a worldly adult. These people outside Washington are … citizens. Judging by the polls, most of us have opinions about whether, and under what conditions, the debt ceiling should be raised. We don’t seem to be as ignorant as Obama thinks we are of the term or concept of a debt ceiling. But the president assumes we’ve never bothered our pretty little heads about such a thing…It would be nice to have a president who spoke candidly to his fellow citizens as adults.
Similarly, Commentary’s John Steele Gordon wrote, of the same speech, “Was last night’s speech by President Obama…the moment when American popular opinion froze into an enduring, and negative image of this president? It was classic Obama: elitist, condescending, impolitic, self-obsessed, and dishonest.”
Thanks to the wonders of online video, one can see Obama’s mockery of the kinds of people he doesn’t respect, and hear the derision dripping in his voice when, for example, he referred during the campaign to plumbers. (I wonder how he felt about plumbers five years ago in Chicago when his toilet was blocked and the Drano and the snake he bought didn’t do the trick):
Condescension is an attitude whose implicit message is: “I am superior to you.” It’s gratuitously insulting, it’s anti-democratic and it’s wrong. As few people in public life have demonstrated more vividly than Obama, just because you’re highly-credentialed doesn’t mean you’re either smart or well-educated. And even if someone is bright, that isn’t the only important quality in a president.
The most important qualification for a president isn’t a Harvard degree but rather (a) competence at dealing with other people and working well with others; (b) emotional intelligence, a concept pioneered by psychology writer Daniel Goleman, meaning the ability to read other people’s emotions and being able to behave in a way that takes those feelings into consideration;(c) good judgment; and (d) character.
Character has been described as “how you behave when no one is looking,” and involves basic human decency, empathy, dependability, and the courage to understand what “the right thing” is, and then to do it. Presidents who had it include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Harry S Truman, and George H.W. Bush.
The character essential to be an effective president is hardly expressed by dismissing and denying the intelligence of “the public” — you know, Obama’s idea of losers who’re trying to get through life without an Ivy League degree. Another way he expresses his condescension is by holding himself up as the only unflappable, self-controlled adult in the room, who’s been tasked with the tiresome duty of dealing with the volatile, immature folks “out there.” In August, 2009, John Knefel found himself irritated by Obama’s condescension in describing his liberal critics as “a little excited,” as if passion and fervor were negative qualities in an advocate:
During an interview with a Philadelphia-based radio show, Obama, once again, mocked and infantilized his critics on the left. Responding to a question by the show’s host, Michael Smerconish, about recent comments made by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about jettisoning the “public option” from the final health care bill, Obama responded, “The press got excited and some folks on the left got a little excited…” What a fantastically dismissive thing to say about health care reform advocates who feel discouraged and betrayed by the administration’s willingness to consider a bill that doesn’t include a public option. They are “excitable” — you know, like children are. Their anger, and the backlash that Obama is facing from liberals, stems from a purely reactionary mindset, apparently. Yes, why on Earth would the announcement that the health care bill might no longer contain any teeth at all cause the left to cry foul? If they were more serious and thoughtful, they wouldn’t be so excitable.
Obama seems to me to have trouble with his own aggression, and his disdainful notion of humor may be one way of expressing it without appearing (to himself, anyway) to be angry. He thinks that appearing cool is his strong suit. When he’s pissed off, he turns to contempt or sarcasm rather than overt anger. He assumes that his true feelings of hostility are concealed by his verbal jabs, when in reality, they’re revealed for all to see.
This is a constant undercurrent in Obama’s response to criticism: to denigrate his detractors by dismissive adjectives and verbs that suggest he’s the only rational one in the room.
This impostor in the White House makes me want to fulfill a lottery winnings fantasy that requires a wall of televisions and a hod of bricks. And again, another thanks to all those suburban SUV soccer moms who, fueled by white guilt and some sexual repressed dreams, made this narcissistic moron POTUS.
(many thanks for that Reagan clip BTW)
Actually, the biggest voting gap between Republicans and Democrats is NOT a gender gap or a socioeconomic gap, it’s the “marriage gap.” Single people trend Democrat; married people with children trend Republican.
The Whitehouse won’t be Obama’s CRIB anymore, come Nov. 2012! The annoyance factor of this Usurper in Chief is intolerable. Time to slap this petulant puerile President. And he AIN’T gonna walk out of the Whitehouse with his solid gold rap chain PAYOFF from the King of Saudi Arabia. We saw it on TV. Demand it. Show NO TRUST for this low life scum.
Ooh, please don’t toss in the hip-hop references when referring to BO. He’s even less hip-hop than white bread, and far less gangsta than Barney Fife. That man is more uncomfortable in his own skin than John Merrick… On a positive note, we only have 18 months or so more to have to listen to him
18 months……..that doesn’t leave him much time to accomplish all the crap he wants to accomplish. Watch for things to move even faster than ever before. It’s hard to keep up as it is…..now it will be even harder!
Let’s just hope we have an election in 2012; who knows-maybe we have an ‘unexpected’ and manufactured terrorist attack or some other ‘never let a crisis go to waste situation.
Oh, you mean like total economic collapse? Surely you jest.
Another thing that worries me: The fault line 30 miles off the coast of Oregon/Washington. It’s due for a major quake; the resultant tsunami could be as big as the one that got Japan.
For those of us who found his pretentiousness grating in 2008, we are not gratified that he has revealed himself to be exactly what we found him to be. What is most disturbing is the guilelessness of the other half who found his arrogance and insecurity appealing, voting for him with fervent enthusiasm.
Behold the power of the MSM…
To simply say “no he’s not!” and have THAT be the narrative that we,
with all the truth, facts and ammunition in the world
could not get a fair hearing on.
Exactly. Due to the fact that too many people refuse to think for themselves, the MSM will continue to have this power to manipulate public opinion, often in a way that is not in the public’s interest. I am not at all convinced that the MSM will not be able to swing another Obama victory in 2012.
I can’t watch the president, his arrogance and condescension angers me. At his first press conference, I believe Jake Tapper asked him a question, Obama scowled and said, as I recall. “Because we want to know what we’re doing first.” Then, he snarled angrily at the audacity of Tapper even questioning him, turned on his heels and stormed out. It was another year until the next press conference.
The speeches, they are the hardest. If you want to know who Obama is, watch any speech, but turn off the sound. Watch his expressions and mannerisms. He has contempt for anyone who isn’t him.
I do like the dog.
grab your remote and change channels. thats exactly what I do every time the great IMPOSTER comes on,
I thought I was the only one. I always make sure I know where the remote is and that the “last viewed” channel is non-news and non-political so that I can escape quickly and don’t risk a double exposure. And for the record, I am not the least bit racially prejudiced. It’s the arrogance , the dishonesty, the incompetence and the fact that he will always react to everything based on a chip-on-the-shoulder, his belief in big government and his feeling that if you have succeeded in the private sector, you have cheated.
He gives a lot of speeches during my lunch break. I’ve taken to skipping lunch on those days, because his smug lying voice on the break room TV (perpetually tuned to CNN) makes me so queasy I can’t choke the food down anyway.
I can’t watch this charlatan speak either. Every sentence is another lie until Obama himself looks like another damn liar. I hate liars. Even if the Republicans nominate a yellow dog, I will vote for the dad gum dog. I am also sure that if it still looks bleak for Obama in February or March, a new third party candidate will appear out of nowhere(like Ross Perot) and the press won’t stop gushing until they save Obama’s bacon.
Dear Irritated in Cleveland:
I live about two hours away from you and I share your view of this clown, er, politician. I stopped watching his speeches years ago and wait for the transcript. Since he long ago “graduated” from truth to narrative, I check in to see what tale he is spinning.
What can you do to treat OIIS? Work for a rival campaign. Don’t drive too closely to cars that already have their 2012 O campaign stickers all over the bumper and trunk areas. Avoid contact with the irritant. Take a break from MSM. Cling to your guns and religion. Go to a TEA Party rally. Most importantly, vote in November 2012.
The recovery begins for us all in 2013.
It does, indeed.
My worry is that the American voter who has too short a memory or worry-quotient-threshold, and who will with some sort of knee jerk reaction, re-elect this Pretender based upon the apparent simple majority of liberals in this country. [...or....should that be phrased, "...a majority of simple minded liberals?"]. I think this is a big looming problem – because those not willing to think beyond Obama’s Pinoccio Nose are his actual constituency. They are an apparent majority. I want to be wrong about this.
It is there with the States’ late evening tallies that we must most anxiously watch as the trends emerge within the Electoral College itself, and it will become vital in this next election. I predict an anxious night.
Of course the pro’s know all about this; but all of the rest of us must remain aware of a “herd mentality” reaction.
What still amazes me about Obama is that he acts as if the election of 2010 never happened. He must still be thinking, “Who are these “Tea Party” people and why should I even listen to them?” Literally millions of people around the country gave the Democrats their worst thumping since the 1930s, and Obama treats them like angry little children. He doesn’t even address their concerns, let alone their demands. He is treating them like brain-damaged idiots who, if he just makes another 1,200 speeches are bound to see it his way and agree with his piont-of-view. Well, buddy, 2012 is coming and I hope you have a nice house waiting for you back in Chicago. You’re going to need it, son, because these “brain-damaged idtiots” are about to throw you out of office.
It is because liberals believe deep down inside that regular citizens are too stupid to do the right thing. He views 2010 not as a message from a wise citizenry but as a bunch of children who don’t understand what’s good for them.
but “regular citizens” are the ones who gave us Obama. So it’s a conundrum: on one hand we keep saying that American citizens are not dumb, or naive, or uneducated, etc. On the other hand, we have the results of 2008 elections.
Remember “you can fool some of the people all of the time, or all of the people some of the time”? That’s 2008 in a nutshell. Doesn’t make them “dumb, naive or uneducated,” just manipulable by skillful lies – which is pretty much part of the human condition.
No, I’m not gonna let my fellow Americans off that easily. They knew his record on abortion — which was the worst of any politician in the United States: worse than Hillary Clinton, worse than Barbara Boxer; condoning even INFANTICIDE of born-alive babies — and yet they voted for him anyway. Common sense would tell you that a man who could condone leaving born babies to die in a dirty-linen closet was one mean, nasty, cold-hearted son-of-a-bitch. And they voted for him anyway.
“Mainstream” pundits and other snobs like to scoff at people who care about “social issues.” And they like to scoff at people who think a candidate’s CHARACTER is important. But if people had bothered to look at those very clear signals with respect to Obama, they never would have dreamed of voting for him. In a sense, we are now, 3 years later, seeing unprecedented economic and foreign-policy disasters happening to America because too many millions of Americans were apathetic about abortion. Had they given a damn about the smallest and most vulnerable among us, they would have been appalled at candidate Obama’s record in that area — too appalled to ever elect such a monster.
The interesting thing aboout Obama is that he is a pseudo-executive. He let Congessional Democrats write Obama care, He produced no budget he was absent from most of the negotiations on the debt ceiling. Except for a general hard left tilt, he is clueless
Been busy most of the day and missed Belladonna’s excellent piece. Wanted to comment to Organization Man. I work at a larger so-called “Top 50″ American University, and Obama reminds me of many college administrators I have seen over the years. They “posture democracy,” giving lip-service to people’s opinions by establishing committees and “working groups.” And invariably, they ignore and/or manipulate the results of this spade work. They descend at the end with a grand plan, pronouncing their decision as the will of the people. Few college administrators lead … under the appearance of democracy, they dictate. They don’t know how to lead; they know how to render judgments. The cagey ones vary this slightly and let their underlings do the dirtier work and take the flak, and once again they pronounce the judgment. I’m being way too wordy about this all. It’s really phony to the core … and quite transparent to anyone with common sense.
The icing on the academic’s cake IS the sneer. The administrator with enough power to exercise the degrading sneer that puts people in their place. It usually has the feeling of the classroom reprimand: “You obviously haven’t read the assignment.” “If you’d done the reading, you’d know …” and so forth. With the sneer, everyone is against you … without it you are a member of the fraternity … the in-crowd.
It is snobbery plain and simple. Nothing more. Our president is a snob. And truthfully he as no academic chops to support his arrogance. None.
I was a truly minor minor academic, but given my name you could Google me, find two or three – appalling – things I did when I was much younger. With Obama, one finds nothing. (Even his wife has a ver average under-graduate thesis we can read.) Barry is a blank slate … so blank in fact that he probably would have a tough time getting even a minor professorship at a community college in Nebraska (apologies to Nebraska).
So what we have is the academic sneer, nothing more or less. He has no credential, no serious thought, no history of developed thinking and writing. As my daughter loves to say, he is a “cool-kid” on the playground, someone who holds himself just right, says all the right things and surrounds himself with admirers.
Thinking people grow out of this adulation – quickly. People with common sense never fall for it for long. Barry’s biggest fear has to be of people with plain old common sense and good judgment. They wouldn’t hire him to sell tickets at a movie theater … much less run the county.
You nailed it, frankns. Most of the people I know who still sport Obama bumper stickers on their cars are either in academia or would like to be — i.e., people whose whole identity is tied up in thinking they’re smarter and more sophisticated than everybody else.
O-bomb-a-nation.
18 months is almost too long to countenance … how many more smirks and sneers can he get in until then? I sure hope the 2012 elections wipe that smirk off his face (though he’ll still be a multi-millionaire, even while he chastises “rich” people).
The Obamessiah’s in a class by himself: clueless and classless.
This has been evident for a long time, but most press are too intimidated to say anything critical. Abolish FCC at first opportunity. We need a free press.
I believe you give ‘most reports’ too much credit. They are in the tank for The One. After all, they made him…
This TOTUS is playing Sim (sin) City with the USA…..our way of life and pride in our country is NO game.
I still wait for someone to dig up all his college transcripts, etc.
Wait until the wrath of his anger goes in high gear..the whole debt ceiling debate & vote has him seething.
I can only pray that our fellow Americans who voted this evilness into
Office will wake up and see what evil this man has done to our country and
will do to finish off the USA…
NOBAMA 2012
God Bless America.
I’ve read acres of stuff on PJM and this is just about the best so far. NAILS THE TRUTH, up-front and readable.
Bravo!! Carry on.
He’s a typical LIberal, no different than any of the others. They believe that they are smarter than everyone else. They believe that citizens are too stupid to make the right decisions on their own.
Just go back and re-read Animal Farm by George Orwell. (It was required reading when I was in high school. I’ll bet it’s banned now)
It amazes me that Obama supposedly grew up poor (or if speaking to a primary black audience “Po’”) yet has no idea that most working class types with 10 kids buy used cars.
Where are you going to find a used hybrid that can haul 12 people?
Not to mention the larger hybrid vehicles get maybe 15% better millage than a normal one. Saving 15% on gas wont help much when gas has gone up 50%.
Is there even a company making a hybrid van?
I’ve always wondered about his supposed “poor” upbringing myself…
Who the heck can do YOU know in Kansas that can “move to Hawaii”.
It seems his mom was a looses cannon, a wild teenager chasing Mandingo Meat all over the world.
But his GRANDPARENTS must have been pretty well off to subsidize all that nonsesense from their daughter….
AND afford to move to Hawaii.
Not known to be a cheap place to live.
Maybe thats where his “entitlement” mentality comes from….
He saw first hand how a wild-n-free liberal “thinker” can sponge off mom and dad,
up to and including dumping off her kid to the “bill payers, child rearers, house providers” ,
while she kept running off to exotic places to “find herself”…
and he just thinks thats how the world works.
Apparently, “Barry Obama” went to Punahou School in Honolulu, one of the state’s top private schools:
… with his dark complexion and mini-Afro, he was one of the few blacks at the privileged Hawaiian school overlooking the Pacific.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/06/AR2007020600075.html
It doesn’t appear that he had a “poor” upbringing.
There are so many “myths” about O-bomb-a-nation’s life that don’t quite pass the smell test.
Yeah, poor me….
I never had enough money as a young person to have:
1) A Cocaine problem
2) Communist leanings
Only the Elite can truly afford such habits at these, it seems
Today’s show brought to you by the letter I, the number one and the word, supercilious. Thanks for coming out.
There is nothing to fear but fear itself. – FDR/Gertrude Lawrence
You can be whatever you want to be. – Van Jones/Peter Pan
The check’s in the mail. – Timmy Geithner/Al Yankovic
Everybody’s heard about the Word. — Nan Pelosi/The Trashmen
I’ll be there before the next teardrop falls. – Barack O’Bama/Fred Flintstone
And the truth is, because Obama has such rage toward and hatred for himself, let alone others, that he would be this way, anyone who defends him without separating his ideas from him as a person is bound to hate themselves. I have personally talked to several people who are bound and determined to defend Obama and they are angry as hell. That’s because they have to take a big bite of self-hatred, like a spoonful of nasty-tasting medicine, in order to abide the way he treats people. And they, after all, are one of those people.
His behavior is sufficiently bad that I found myself laughing at his interpersonal incompetence as demonstrated in some of the video clips in the article. But, the truth is, it is terribly tragic given that he is the President and the honor we give the office and the person in it places us in a terrible bind.
Watching the clip of Reagan I was reminded of the Republican ‘debate’ in Des Moines moderated by the unforgettable Carolyn Washburn. Fred Thompson was the only candidate on the dais that objected to Ms Washburn’s techniques. There does come a point where one side abandons scruples and uses their opponents willingness to compromise as a sign of weakness. Mr Obama represents a postmodern Marxist school of tactics promulgated by Saul Alinsky. These are not character flaws as much as the external appearance of a philosophical viewpoint. This is the face of the radical wing of the Democrat party. The philosophy has transcended personality and narcissism, rather than being a character flaw, now is put to work for the party, by any means necessary. What Thompson and Reagan were demonstrating is virtue or virility in a Greek sense.
The tell you missed is the dropped “g,” as in “workin’” and “listenin’” and “hollerin’.” Every. Single. Time.
Very astute observation. First thing that I noticed when he speaks before a crowd of underlings. “Talkin” like the “common” man. Not too many people get this.
Bingo! Absolutely. Thanks, Cheryl.
His “tuh” instead of “to” – but not always (reference the “guns” video).
This article indeed nails it. I can’t watch or listen to Obama without my blood boiling, and the channel gets changed the minute I hear his voice. I’m sure he doesn’t care, and I frankly don’t care if he *does* care, but I can’t begin to convey my total lack of respect for him as a person. To know the damage he is doing not only to the country, but to the office of the Presidency makes me livid and sad at the same time. His presence has cheapened the office in ways far beyond his tenure, in ways that will still be affecting us for the worse in years to come.
I did not vote for him either. However I have yet to see any other person come forward that I would be happy to vote for. Sorry but the Tea Party is way too far right for me, I need to see some heart, some intelligence, and lots of smart in someone before I will vote for them. Every candidate I have seen so far is lacking one of those attributes.
Clearly, we did NOT arrive at this point overnight. It will take years to undo the damage of the past 50-60 years. Let us move forward one step(Nov 2012)at a time keeping up the “good fight” by re-taking the Senate and White House. IMHO the “One” has absolutely NOT earned a re-election priviledge. NOT this incumbent!
I think your parakeet (should you have one) would be a better voting choice than Obama. If not, find a homeless kitten and vote for him/her.
lizzz,
Have you taken a look at Thad McCotter?
An outstanding and precisely accurate description of our self-indulgent Emperor sans clothes.
Our nation, and particularly, our Founders, had great disdain for monarchs and titles of nobility. It’s a trait the continues to this day owing largely to the ability of anyone, regardless of station, background, nationality, sex, etc., to rise to the pinnacles of achievement and prosperity. It is a path oft-repeated in the history of our country, quite literally, a melting pot and which is indeed, a shining beacon of hope throughout the world.
There are some, however, who believe–wrongly–such opportunities and possibilities are the province of, and only of, simple luck, greed, racism, favoritism, oppression, imperialism, ad infinitum. They are the misinformed, the ill-educated, the unseeing amongst us, who harbor resentment, jealousy and rage and who feel entitled to bask in these so-called “ill-gotten” gains but without the attendant cost, effort and undertaking so typical of genuine American success stories. Obama is just such a person and he blithely revels in the luxuries, opportunities and largess available to our nation’s chief executive but who does so without the corresponding sincerity, diligence, dedication and commitment we likewise demand from our President.
Instead, he is and behaves much like Marie Antoinette, who famously uttered: “Let them eat cake”, so brazen is his contempt for both the American populace but also, the daily requirements his position demands. How can and why should he be bothered with niggling details such as preparing budget proposals, helping to craft legislation or being an integral aspect of critical policy development, negotiation and approval? The answer is that in his view, such is the work of underlings, subordinates, the less-educated, and the less-enlightened. There are far more important needs to attend to like vacations, golf outings, fundraisers and repeated lecturing of the little people than to busy himself with such mundane matters as leading a nation.
In many respects, he was, is and always has been America’s reincarnation of Nero, the Emperor who fiddled while Rome burned and who, despite the prevailing political decorum of the day, fancied himself a thespian–a profession then viewed as a supremely low calling–but who appeared on stage repeatedly, in turn, causing widespread disrespect and revulsion amongst Rome’s peoples. This was in addition to his being a sociopath and sadist, a craven despot who brought utter ruin to his city/state but who nevertheless, pursued his every whim and fancy regardless of cost, be it political, societal, fiscal or all three.
Such is the man in OUR Oval Office, a man who despite a questionable, secretive background, coupled with increasingly suspect intelligence, believes himself nevertheless entitled to swim deeply in the trappings of American success and the office but who, ultimately, cannot and will not deign to lower himself to do the work we expect and demand from our President.
He is an utter fraud.
This was the best comment yet. ***** It is better than the main article. I too truly suspect his intelligence. If he is so smart why does he hide his academic transcripts? Perhaps he was the product of affirmative action, quotas or a Harvard legacy. If so this would thoroughly trash the MSM fiction that he is brilliant. A professor was on the Imanus show, asserting that Obama had the highest IQ of any President. So Imus asks the guest what was Obama’s IQ. Answer: “I don’t know.” Amazing isn’t it?
The contempt that oozes from Obama toward anyone who dares to question leftism is not unique to him. Not by a long shot.
It’s not Obama personally. The condescension and smugness of the left–noted by commentators decades ago–comes from their certainty that leftism is not only desirable but inevitable. And hence anyone who dares to disagree is either stupid, ignorant, or evil, for standing in the way of history’s inevitable tides. Obama is just one of many on the left who believes that.
This belief in “iron laws of history” was, of course, absorbed from the true Marxists.
And with that belief, the left always regarded the administrations from Reagan through Clinton as a kind of aberration, a temporary speed bump along the way to socialism. Now they are truly freaking out at the prospect that America will never go socialist as they had dreamed.
Indeed most Americans are not like Mr. Obama and his friends, and the world rejoices. Imagine if America was full of such shallow, selfish, irresponsible, arrogant and self-important maroons. If that was the case, we would, as Margaret Thatcher said, have run out of other people’s money long, long ago.
Imagine, if you can, a world in which most Americans had always been like Mr. Obama and his pals in the SEIU, ACORN, the DOJ, EPA, etc. WWII would have had a very different outcome, for America would have folded in the early 1800s. Who would have done the work of building this nation? Who would have born any burden and fought any foe to ensure the survival of liberty? With no productive class to belittle and bleed dry, an Obamite America would have been a short-lived, failed experiment in narcissism.
Of course, there are those who suspect that’s precisely what Mr. Obama and his friends have in store for us today–and they would be right, despite their general lack of Ivy League degrees.
Bella, you pegged our Muslim President pretty good but didn’t mention the fact that he is a Puppet full of hate for our great country. A traitor with a plan to destroy us ignorant American Whitey’s !!
And a troll drops in to give us his imitation of those teabagging meanies.
I’m not so sure.
A couple months ago, before it sunk in that Obama had indeed been born in Hawaii, and before Bin Laudin had been killed, the most common comment on Pajamas Media was that the President was a traitor, “hates America”, or the clever version “it only looks like Obama is a traitor, but he’s actually just the dumbest man in history and his incompetence is mistaken for treason”…
All of three of those and variations like “he’s a Muslim who wants a caliphate” or “he’s a socialist whose policies are designed to end capitalism through the collapse of the US” were also surprisingly popular.
It’s getting harder to say he was working for Bin Laudin though, so the loonies say a lot less.
All along I’ve known the reasons why I don’t like Barack Obama, but it’s a relief to see them outlined here and know that I’m not the only one who noticed what a nasty character he can be.
I’ve long gone past the time of being able to listen to him, or watch him on television … I can’t even stand to see pictures of him, any more.
I react exactly the same way.
Minor addition, Bella. People who are truly superior tend to be respectful and nice. Obama’s problem — never mind that he managed to campaign his way into Harvard law school based on something other than his academic credentials (why he hides so much) — is that he actually is without talent, experience or credentials, or reason to feel superior. He is posturing to be in that club, a wanna-be con-man, and that posturing is what managed in the first place to open doors and gain him boost from the snobbish in certain sectors. It also bears noting that when he is not pretending disdain for those “folks”, he is actually addressing himself to those sectors of the public that elected him rah-rah, and who in fact likely do not know what a “debt ceiling” is. (Recall the 2009 Howard Stern video in which he had Obama supporters interviewed, asking them how they like his policies and choice of vice presidential candidate — using McCain’s polities and Sarah Palin.) Obama now may be intoxicated with his own inexplicable success and even believe his own myths, or fancy himself as someone who can afford to be condescending, but the reality is that he’s a mediocre nobody and a sociopath. He should not inadvertently be elevated into more than he is by critiques that assume he’s feeling real condescension, rather than imitating.
When I think about why I don’t like the president, it is the same reason I never liked ‘Seinfeld.’ I always thought the charactors were to self-involved and downright mean people. I think of Obama that way too.
The arrogance and condescension appear to come from his being a full-blown narcissist. Have you ever seen him display an ounce of humility on any subject?
No.
The first time I heard Obama utter the two phrases “let me be perfectly clear” and “make no mistake”, with his index finger raised, it infuriated me to such an extent that I could never listen or watch him again. Such an arrogant expression of total disdain for his “audience”.
Richard S.,
Agreed! See, too, comment #50, below.
Oh my gosh, EXACTLY! I am SO glad I’m not the only one!
And speaking of that long skinny finger, what about all the times he’s used it to not-so-subtly give the finger to people he doesn’t like — Hillary, John McCain, Paul Ryan? UGH.
“Another way he expresses his condescension is by holding himself up as the only unflappable, self-controlled adult in the room….”
When in fact his behavior, especially recently, has been precisely that of a bratty, sullen, pissy child. His performance during the debt-ceiling debate pretty much amounts to a spoiled teenager stomping off to his room and slamming the door.
I have never believed that Mr. Obama is either a great speaker or an effective “communicator.” Mr. Obama is certainly a master of the windy phrase but windy phrases are ultimately just wind. Mr. Obama’s numerous “calls to action” remind me of Hotspur’s riposte to Owen Glendower in Act III of “Henry IV – Part I.”
Glendower: “I can call spirits from the vasty deep.”
Hotspur: “Why, so can I, or so can any man; But will they come when you do call for them?”
(I’ll leave Hotspur’s next line about “Tell the truth and shame the devil” to another day.)
A sure sign of condescension is when a politician (particularly one who has spent his entire adolescent and adult life in hermetically sealed academic institutions) refers to us rubes out there as “folks.” The only people who should refer to others as “folks” are persons entertaining in Branson, Missouri. (“How All You Folks Doing?)Whenever some politico uses this term (both on the left and right) I suddenly feel like I should be in that crowd of “hicks” that Broderick Crawford really let have it in “All the King’s Men.” (The good version.)
One of the things I liked about guys like Steve Forbes and Donald Trump (when they consider political office) is that they pretty much tell you up front – “Yeah I’m rich – What are you going to do about it?” There aren’t any of those incompetently sheepish attempts to ingratiate themselves with “the folks” since they are smart enough to realize that they have nothing in common with said folks. Mr. Obama doesn’t either but he is convinced that the magic sound of his own voice makes him A Man Of The People and he doesn’t have anyone around him to tell him to pull back a little.
Quite right…
When The Donald said “I have a great relationship with The Blacks”.
who DIDNT expect him to speak that way?
And was anyone really offended?
He is who he is, no surprizes
I agree with what has been posted and wish there were some way to guarantee that he will see it, including the original article. Maybe on an endless tape being read to him…24/7
Read your article this am, this pm when what we, the real people call a “smart ass” when at the end of his look what I did speech today, he stated, “cut, cap and what was that other thing”, he again did his “smart ass” thing!
I tend to think of Obama as a lying idiot. To me, that helps explain a lot of what he says and does.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20078789-503544.html
for micro expressions check out this short clip of the Scott Pelley interview w/Obama wrt the Soc Sec checks going out. Immediately after Pelley asks the question Obama looks real happy he gets to threaten everyone…look closely at 28 to 30 seconds into the clip.
This is not someone who is upset, sad, worried about the situation. He is clearly comfortable on this turf…you can see it in his eyes. Threatening people is perhaps pleasing to him.
Well, he is from Chicago. What else did you expect? He reminds me of a smug, condescending putz, like Bill Ayers, he’s going to save you from yourself.
As of late I honestly expect to see him finish his speeches with this:
“…But I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night…”
Most thinking Americans agree whole heartily to the article. The line in the article, “Thanks to the wonders of online video,” is so true. We have so much video of his lies it is no wonder he has earned the name “liar-in-chief”. The film confirms his falsehoods in addition to the condescension and NOT one CONgress member will confront the fraudulent occupier of the Oval office.
Frankly, a great percentage of our Republic citizens are aghast at how it can be he can run again without even being vetted the first time. Still an unknown, forged birth documents, false SS#, and if the storyline is true of being fathered by Barrack senior that confirms he is NOT natural born. Where is action to investigate this carnival barker (his words one time remember)putative president.
My folks noticed this back in the primaries – they were Hillary backers – yet they still voted for him, because it was just too far to vote for McCain after he picked Palin.
I don’t talk politics much with them (I’m a Republican), so I don’t know how they feel right now. But I’d like to think they have a bit of indigestion. Talk about voting against your own interest!
I’m definitely a sufferer and I have been since long before this fraud was elected. Well over 3 years ago it was obvious to all but the most obtuse exactly what this man was. His unguarded moments were particularly revealing, as were the bits of his history that escaped the cloaking device of the cheerleading media.
Excellent advice to change the channel or better yet turn off the TV. Obamination has infected virtually every channel, every topic, every industry (sports definitely is off-limits). Count me among the ones hanging on ’til election day 2012. And I hope a whole lot of Obama voters are suffering the tortures of the damned about now.
I’ve postulated for a while that Barack Obama could possibly have been a “reverse” Manchurian Candidate planted by the right to ultimately destroy the socialist left-wing. Whether true or not, he’s doing a damned fine job. (Here Barack, let me replace that worn out shovel with one that has even more bite to dig your hole even deeper…You’re welcome!)
Amen, Belladonna.
I haven’t been able to listen to him. Period.
Dear Belladona: I have done exactly as you have advised since Jan. 2009; yet, I am still irritated. Do you have any other suggestions for a small-time citizen activist who still wants to opine on current events?
Mutnodjmet: I often learn from readers, and Leigh B. the seventh commenter, above made these excellent suggestions:
7. LeighB
Dear Irritated in Cleveland:
I live about two hours away from you and I share your view of this clown, er, politician. I stopped watching his speeches years ago and wait for the transcript. Since he long ago “graduated” from truth to narrative, I check in to see what tale he is spinning.
What can you do to treat OIIS? Work for a rival campaign. Don’t drive too closely to cars that already have their 2012 O campaign stickers all over the bumper and trunk areas. Avoid contact with the irritant. Take a break from MSM. Cling to your guns and religion. Go to a TEA Party rally. Most importantly, vote in November 2012.
The recovery begins for us all in 2013.
From Belladonna Rogers:
I would add this: try to find an 18-month project that you’ve always wanted to accomplish, from learning a new language to reading all the books of an admired author, to walking five miles a day, volunteering at your local hospital, recording for the blind, helping a an aged neighbor more than usual or whatever else might take your mind off the problem. Try to do it, whatever “it” is.
Use the remaining (if we’re lucky) final 18 months of the Obama Era to do something that you believe is important to your life, your family, your neighborhood and/or your community. And most of all, as LeighB says, “avoid the irritant”!
As my beloved grandmother used to say, “Switch your thoughts” to something (like an endeavor) or someone you love. Don’t dwell on you-know-who. Stress is the root of many ills, and that’s why I urge you to devote yourself to something that reduces stress and makes you feel glad about about the part of the world over which you have some degree of control: your own life.
Try to think of him as an 18-month bad weather pattern. It, too, will pass.
Thank you, Leigh, for this advice.
Very, very, VERY wise.
And one more thing! You describe yourself as “a small-time citizen activist who still wants to opine on current events.”
Well, join the Pajamas Media forums, including the one here on my weekly columns. They will put you in touch with a global and national community of people who, like you, enjoy the act of opining on current events. That’s what we do here, 24/7.
So, welcome, Mutnodjmet, and opine away to your heart’s content.
Be still my heart! I don’t think I’ve ever had such a wonderful “shout out”, thank you.
Mutnodjmet, please join us here on a regular basis. I thought I would go crazy early in BHO’s presidency when all I saw or read was how wonderful Obama was. Then I discovered PJM. And went to a TEA Party rally. I started to believe there are a whole lot more Americans (esp. here in flyover country) who are closer to my beliefs than his. The value of hard work. Earning what you have, however little or much.
To continue oversharing a bit more, I’m dying a little faster than most of you and that gives me no special insight or right to drone on but it has clarified things for me. To appreciate things that are lasting. To love my country and my family more. I am looking forward to being on the campaign trail soon, volunteering for someone to defeat the current president. If we want a different future we are going to have to fight for it. This will probably be the last presidential election in my lifetime and Obama is going to have to work hard to earn a victory in my state. Bring it on.
It wouldn’t be humanly possible for me to have a greater amount of contempt for this…individual…than I do. I have to keep a very close curb on my tongue when it comes to discussing him for fear I might use language that, while accurate, is generally considered too coarse for polite society. I never watch any of his speeches and can barely bring myself to read them.
I too hope the Obama voters of 2008 are suffering the tortures of the damned. Were it up to me, given their phenomenally egregious error at that point, none of them would ever be allowed to even see the inside of a voting booth again, much less actually vote.
Obama hates this country as it was before his election and wants it changed to something totally different. Failing that, he would rather see it destroyed. Never forget that.
My anger is towards the MSM and the hacks that continue to carry water for the Democrats. If the press just reported 10% fact, the Liberal agenda would be dead.
I have no respect for the MSM. I can’t think of a worse profession.
For me, Obama’s ‘tell’ was when he (more than once) gave his rivals (Hillary, McCain) the finger during a speech, in a sly, covert way. This really demonstrates his true personality leaking through. Not the snobbish, arrogant man, but the sly, resentful, hostile and underhanded little boy… And note his smile after he does it – again, this is the real personality coming through. And no, this is not typical of ‘liberals’ – it is typical of narcissists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pdKwBkDowU&playnext=1&list=PLFE61DCEF3D55AC7F
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnEhmbKazdw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n31VwNbTIVI&playnext=1&list=PL1EE54B9A5342F08D
The politicians should have contempt for voters and the slackers, that is whom keeps sending the politicians back to office. Conservative voters suffer from a similar blind spot as liberal voters. No matter how many countries are wrecked by socialism/communism those voters think “this time it will work.” Conservative voters get mad when the GOP stbs them in the back but the next time the GOP can stop something heinous from happening conservative voters hold their breath and hope the GOP will stand firm. It is past time to have contempt for the people in this country. Conservative argue with liberals using facts even while they tell other conservatives liberals are driven by emotion.
Liberals want to take over the world and conservatives want to be left alone. Americans would do anything to save America except turn off the TV or read a book.
There’s another form of Obama’s condescension that wasn’t mentioned: his presumption that most “folks” are intolerant/racist.
Go back to the “bitter clingers” video. At the end he lectures that they “fear those who don’t look like them”. See? They cling to their guns and religion because their lily-white world is changing.
Resistance to illegal immigration , in Obama’s mind, represents opposition to immigration itself…keep out “the others”!
And then there’s my favorite example. This was during the Ground Zero mosque controversy. Everyone wondered why he would suddenly wade into that debate when a) it wasn’t a federal issue and b) he had nothing new to offer. Remember, he was talking to a roomful of Imams celebrating a Muslim holy day. I knew his motivation the instant I saw the condescension that dripped from his remarks. He saw mosque opponents as Islamaphobes (those “folks” the media repeatedly tells us are right on the verge of assaulting Muslims simply because of their religion). In the president’s mind, Americans were about to deny basic constitutional rights to Muslims simply for being Muslim. He had to scold us and lecture us on the First Amendment, despite the fact that no one was questioning Muslims’ right to free speech. In front of those Imams, he had to elevate himself above “ordinary folks”. He was stoking Muslim resentment, a dangerous thing. But he didn’t care. He was the enlightened, worldly one. Opponents were ignorant, intolerant, biased and emotional. This is a man who simply can’t pass up an opportunity to elevate himself above everyone else.
There are endless other examples of Obama’s presumption that anyone who thinks differently from him is emotionally motivated by racism and fear of those who don’t look like them. He’s not alone among Dems in this regard. He just does it “better” than the others.
Another really clear Obama “tell” I noticed that you didn’t mention. Whenever Obama says “lets be completely clear and honest about this” it is a sure sign he is about to spout some really obfuscatory, lying, self serving, spin. Basically, the more he publically states that something he is about to say is clear and truthful, the more it is not. When he is NOT emphasising the truthfulness of his statements, is when he is most likely telling it straight.
Bingo! Yes. Richard S., who commented at #32, above, mentioned his own reaction to hearing that phrase; I agree with you that it is, in fact, a “tell.” Here’s what Richard S. wrote, and boy, is he right about that index finger. It does speak volumes— volumes no one wants to read:
32. Richard S.
The first time I heard Obama utter the two phrases “let me be perfectly clear” and “make no mistake”, with his index finger raised, it infuriated me to such an extent that I could never listen or watch him again. Such an arrogant expression of total disdain for his “audience”.
That’s not unique to Obama. Liars of all kinds do the same thing.
There’s a wonderful book, Never Be Lied To Again, by David J. Lieberman, that shows you how to “read” people. It’s amazing to go through that book and just check off one behavior after another that Obama does. In Eric Holder’s recent “testimony” before Darrell Issa’s committee about the Gunwalker scandal, you could see a different set of “tells” than Obama’s most common ones — but they were “tells” nevertheless. Different people reveal their untruthfulness in different ways — but they all reveal it one way or another. And you can learn to spot it.
I have always been shocked at Obama’s habit of turning up his nose as he turns his head to look at a distant horizon after he thinks he’s made a point. Hasn’t anyone ever told him how obnoxious this is? I know this must filter into the unconscious minds of his supporters.
Of course, it plays well to some crowds–the crowds who gave him his power, like those who gave such rapt attention to Mussolini. When I blogged about this, his supporters actually claimed it was from reading the teleprompter through bifocals, notwithstanding that he never wears glasses during his speeches.
His body language is a dead-end street, as is his political career.
When I ask one of my businessmen friends(Obamas’ Folks) in Brooksville, fl. what he thought of the Presidents July 25th speach he responded “I would rather watch a Dog take a crap( he used a more common word)than to listen to Obama say anything–He always talks down to others” He is right at least the dog has some relief.
I remember when Michael Bloomberg — no humble person himself — went golfing with Obama, and later told someone that Obama was the most arrogant man he’d ever met. (Think about it — that was coming from Michael Bloomberg!)
Oh Obama is bright as a light bulb all right. The problem is, light bulbs are full of hot air; or nowadays, poison (mercury).
More Riotous Times in Obamaland
A great, new product, “delicious little mints” called “Disappointmints” and depicting President Barack Hussein Obama in a classic pose and the caption, “This Is Change?” is on the market. Priced originally at $3.00, the capitalist pigs selling the confection jacked up the price to $5.00 and delayed delivery until September when demand for “Disappointmints” far exceeded the on-hand supply.
I won’t furnish the details on the on-line dealer since they say in their sales pitch, “Hey, we’ve been as big a fan of Barack Obama as anyone,” even if they add, ”But with each compromise for the sake of unity, ‘Yes we can’ looks more like ‘No he can’t.’ “
In point of fact, the president definitely can. The issue is more precisely, What has Obama done and therein lies the aptness of Disappointmints.
Among a multitude of other domestic and international failed initiatives, he has managed to effect a virtual state of siege in various American communities where blacks have run amok.
Two recent incidents are only the latest illustrative examples of how well Obama’s post-racial civility is going.
Following riots and pandemonium earlier this year in and around his adopted town of Chicago, in Peoria, Ilinois, in Bessemer, Alabama, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, (see “Riotous Times in America,” http://bit.ly/l5QQr0), and in Des Moines, Iowa, (See “They Eyes Don’t Always Have It,” http://bit.ly/riDuRM), new eruptions broke out this past week in Philadelphia and again in Milwaukee.
A public transportation bus became the site of an insane shooting scene in Philadelphia after a male passenger chastised a mother for spanking her 2 year old for acting up on the bus. The passenger threatened to turn her in for abusing her child. The woman forestalled that notification by immediately grabbing her cell phone and making a call.
She disembarked at her stop with the assistance of her brother who cleared the way for two men who then loosed a fusillade of 14 bullets from an assault rifle and a handgun into the bus.
Watch the mayhem and the actions of the black mother and the black gunmen on a surveillance video: http://bit.ly/mZpAbf
Some people may have forgotten that Philly was the scene of the 2008Election Day white voter intimidation by the New Black Panther Party, one of whom said at the time that this is what you get with a black man in charge. That implications of that threat have become very clear and were accented by Obama’s Attorney General refusal to prosecute the Panthers and subsequent indications the DoJ wouldn’t pursue cases unless the aggrieved parties were minorities.
You may have forgotten all that but the new Philly gunman evidently didn’t nor could the residents of Milwaukee have forgotten what happened there last Friday since it was a virtual re-play of the Mayfair Mall mayhem in January with the qualification that this time the marauders were more violently focused at the Wisconsin State Fair. . .
(Read more at http://www.genelalor.com/blog1/?p=5191)
Been away from the keyboard for a full day and missed much of the discussion. Drat! A quick point that may already have been touched on.
Obama’s record speaks for itself: there is none. He has no record of academic achievement, and yet he is lauded almost universally. This makes the whole problem of being “anti-obama” in a bright blue work-place even more odd. It’s revealed truth, you know … the man is brilliant.
Yet Churchill had been airing his views – and brilliance – in public for decades before he finally returned to government before the War. His personal history of thought was miles long and deep. With him there WAS something to talk about. With Obama, it’s all literally hot air and posturing. Any light-weight academic has a better publication track-record. The president could barely get a job at a community college.
This makes me wonder if it isn’t time to be more vocal, and actually LESS quiet in the workplace. Maybe it’s time to start saying that the emperor has no clothes … carefully I suppose. After all wasn’t it Thomas Moore who said “silence betokens consent”? Do we really want to remain quiet?
Obama’s contempt is not just for individuals of conservative stripe. He is contemptuous of our country. When I first saw him bow to the Emperor, son of the worst war criminal of all inWWII–I vomited. I also watched him genuflect to the Kind of Saudi. Another puke. This guy apparently does not like the United States of America. And then putting mustard on a hamburger. Give me a break. This guy is not an American. Please please make a law that politicians and political aspirants not be allowed to read speeches written for them by others. Please.
oops–Emperor of Japan, that is.
You folks need to settle down. I get that your comments may be good therapy to help vent your perceived frustrations. And that’s ok. Perfectly well & good. If that works for you until BO is out of office, then fine. In the meantime, use the time constructively, to perhaps learn how to think for yourselves, discover yourself, be a person, & instead of acting like mindless zombies & knee jerk neanderthal republican morons.