Obama’s Health Care Comedy Tour
George Carlin once said, “I believe you can joke about anything. It just depends how you construct the joke, what the exaggeration is. Every joke needs one exaggeration; every joke needs one thing out of proportion.”
That’s really the key to humor. The exaggeration.
On March 25, President Obama began his American Health Care Comedy Tour in Iowa City, Iowa. In his speech, he spoke about the fears vocalized by those opposed to health care reform:
There’s been plenty of fear-mongering, plenty of overheated rhetoric. You turn on the news, you’ll see the same folks are still shouting about there’s going to be an end of the world because this bill passed. (Laughter.) I’m not exaggerating. Leaders of the Republican Party, they called the passage of this bill “Armageddon.” (Laughter.) Armageddon. “End of freedom as we know it.”
So after I signed the bill, I looked around to see if there any — (laughter) — asteroids falling or — (applause) — some cracks opening up in the Earth. (Laughter.) It turned out it was a nice day. (Laughter.) Birds were chirping. Folks were strolling down the Mall. People still have their doctors.
The crowd of Obama myrmidons found this to be hilarious. Obama nailed Carlin’s rule. While Rep. John Boehner did refer to the passage of the health care bill as “Armageddon,” clearly he wasn’t referring to the total destruction of the Earth. No one was saying that. That’s the exaggeration. He took the concerns of those against the Democrats’ “reform” and blew them way out of proportion.
WELL I WOULD OF LOVED TO ATTENDING ONE OF BARAK HUSSIEN OBAMAS’ LITTLE COMEDY SHOW’S FOR MY-SELF BUT I AM STILL HAVEING TO STAY AT MY GRAND-MAS’ HOUSE TO PROTECT HER JUST IN CASE OBAMA IS USING THE COMEDY TOUR AS A DESTRACTION BEFORE HE SENDS OUT THE DEATH PANEL’S. WELL WE NEED TO BE READY FOR THEM.
You utter complete Moron “Ab!!!!!!! Normal Guy”
I’m betting I speak for many here, Guy:
I have no idea what you just said. When you shout like that I stop paying attention.
Oh hell to the no! There is no ‘neutralizing’ in TYRANNY.
Suck it, 0bama! I’m clingin’ to my guns and my religion, you freaky deaky bowin’ beyotch!
There is plenty of video of Obama and his gang saying things that are ridiculous. The GOP would be wise to keep them fresh in the public’s memory now and until election day. The more they are made to appear riduculous the more ridiculous things they will say and the more ridiculous they will become.
Put a compilation on You Tube and let it rip. Then post link to the video everywhere you can!
In “My Life In Court”, lawyer Louis Nizer recounted watching Charlie Chaplin testify in a lawsuit over his movie “The Great Dictator.” Nizer watched Chaplin, a great stage and screen comedian, try to sway the jury with his impressive array of expressive gestures, with his famous toothy grin. Yet, Nizer said that the jury didn’t respond at all to Chaplin’s performance and Chaplin knew it. They knew he was performing, not testifying, and he could feel their unresponsiveness.
Obama, like every powerful man and certainly every President, rarely meets anybody who disagrees with him. He doesn’t look right into the eyes of a skeptical jury, as Chaplin did. He is far from stupid, so he must realize that every one of his staff has a strong incentive not only to kiss his ass but to do so better than the rest of his staff. He also has a leader’s responsibility to keep their morale up, to encourage them in their jobs and assure them that the team will win. So, it is impossible to tell how sincerely he believes that the health care bill won’t lead to economic disaster for the country along with political disaster for his administration and the political party he leads. What’s obvious is that his ridicule of critics of the health care bill infuriates them instead of winning them over.
And exaggeration and ridicule is exactly what you’re doing here. And your cousins who can only type with caps, use misspelled words and curse are buying it.
The left these days always resorts to fallacious arguments — along with ridicule, we have the repeated ad hominem of claiming that all opposition is based on racism.
There is a very good reason why they do this — it’s because they have nothing else.
There are two ideas the left cherishes: Socialism (in some shape, form or fashion) and Pacifism. The trouble for the left is that the events of the 20th century thoroughly refuted both notions.
Socialism did not bring prosperity to the masses as its advocates claimed it would — rather, in places where it was practiced fully and consistently, it brought mass death by starvation to the masses. See, for instance, the histories of the U.S.S.R., communist China, North Korea, Cuba, etc.
Likewise, pacifism did not bring about world peace as was promised by its advocates — instead, it invited the horrific aggressions of two world wars and one “cold war” which saw the deaths of millions of innocents and the enslavement of still millions more under communism.
With their two beloved ideas so thoroughly discredited and debunked, the left can no longer debate the issues on the facts — “facts”, in fact, are precisely what the left must now avoid at all costs. Hence, the constant resort to the fallacies of ad hominem and straw-man ridicule.
Every time the Democrats use these fallacious “arguments”, we on the right must point out that such “arguments” only prove one thing: That the left is intellectually bankrupt and has nothing else to offer.
“Obama’s greatest strength, his ability to communicate, can be used against him.”
I hardly call taking 17 minutes to not answer a question an ability to communicate. His greatest strength is that he is a great bulls***er which, yes, can be used against him. Why is it that reporters and those who attend these ‘town hall’ type meetings are afraid to call him out on all of this crap he dishes out? We and the media need to get smarter and get over our fundamental aversion of ridiculing others and start learning how to use Alinsky tactics ourselves.
You need to realize that the MSM is complicit in this takeover of America – to wit – they agree with what Obama is doing.
American progressives have had a dream for 100 years – now that those dreams are coming to fruition don’t look for them to relinquish the reins of power easily. Want your country back? Be prepared to fight for it – not just with money and political campaigns – it may take more than that. With a 100 year old dream within their grasp they aren’t about to lay down and let us ‘put things right’ without a fight. SEIU and others will prevent this if they can.
They want this badly.
How badly do you want your country back?
A stunning consideration: why is it that reporters and others are so unwilling or unable to call obama and friends out for all the treasonous activity and talk they perpetrate on a daily basis? Why is that when they gingerly mention obama’s policies in action, they characterize them as possible errors that “may” have injurious results for the nation? Whatever happened to “plain-talk”? Why are the majority of paid journalists, commentators, reporters and bloggers so ensnared by political correctness that they cannot say out loud that obama and his myrmidons, are not, nor have ever been unaware of the damage they are wreaking upon this nation? It would certainly not be exaggerating to tell the truth!!!
Don’t forget to fact check!
http://congress.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/03/20/boehner-its-armageddon-health-care-bill-will-ruin-our-country/
I think the ridicule from us can start with mocking anybody who thinks that this piece o’ poo won’t result in massive tax increases for everyone. Or that it won’t result in rationing of care. People who assert oterwise need to be laughed off of the stage.
Is Obama actually a good communicater though ? He has a strong voice and is articulate.He has a natural talent for hamming it up in front of the cameras.
However, I would have to say that GWB, the non-orator,was a far better communicator.
With Obama I am left with this sense of how someone can talk so often, so long, and yet say nothing. The audience is always left with unresolved questions. In fact he doesn’t answer questions. He just gives keep the faith pep talks.
If Obama was such a great communicater there would have been no need for him to go on tour and he wouldn’t have to resort to ridicule.
The fact the he considers over half the US population worthy of ridicule and an enemy is telling though.
“And President Obama, with all that vast nuclear expertise he acquired as a community organizer, a part-time senator, and a candidate for president, has accomplished nothing to date with Iran or North Korea,” she said. (Palin)
Now that is ridicule that sticks to the ribs just like the Deathpanels, and her newest, Goregate. Oh, and how about that “poor man’s teleprompter”. Everyone is flashing their palm thanks to her.
You live in a very insulated and isolated world where reality never penetrates the thick veil of ideology. The first exaggeration that you mention is a statement that Republican leaders referred to the PASSAGE of health care reform as Armageddon. Here is a link to Michael Steele being asked by Shepard Smith if he agrees with John Boehner’s statement that passage of this bill is equivalent to Armageddon. Steele replies that he agrees.
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/03/steele-yes-health-care-reform-is-armageddon.php
You assert that “no one” made this claim, which is obviously false and you can click the link for hard evidence that it is false (evidence from Faux News, no less. So it should be persuasive to you).
You then go on to equate “republican leaders” with everyone who opposed health care reform and suggest that when Obama said “republican leaders” he was apparently talking about you and your enlightened commenters here. I would suggest to you that when Obama said, correctly, that “republican leaders” (referring to Boehner and Steeele) said this that he was referring to Boehner and Steele and not to other paranoid individuals who might see themselves as “republican leaders.”
So how do you work out your logic here?
Boehner and Steele are not “republican leaders”?
Boehner and Steele are equivalent to “no one”?
(This is a fairly common conservative rhetorical device. Remember when the 180,000 gallons of oil spilled by Katrina became “not a drop”?)
Obama was responsible for correcting those 2 gentleman and asking them to refer to implementation rather than passage as “Armageddon”?
I would suggest that if Boehner & Steele referred to passage as “Armageddon”, they’d be responsible for that choice of words. By accurately quoting them, you suggest that Obama is now responsible for their choice of words. Is that how logic works in your world?
So can Obama then go on to point out that implementation is a long way off to critics who level an entirely different claim, that nothing has changed yet, and still be logically consistent? Of course he can because he wasn’t the one who labeled passage as “Armageddon.”
By pretending no one said this, creating false equivalences, and intellectual dishonesty you turn a statement of fact (see video) about republican fear-mongering into Obama’s “exaggeration”. The remainder of your screed is similarly factually challenged and logically flawed but, I understand that your goal was not to be factually accurate nor was it to create a coherent, logical argument. You have ignored reality and created a seriously flawed argument in the service of your ideology and in that regard other fawning comments would suggest you accomplished your goal.
America would be a much better place however, if people didn’t lie to support their ideology, whatever that ideology may be.
That’s your whole argument that you ramble on and on and on about: Someone did say “Armageddon?” Whoppty-freakin-do! You ignore the whole point of the article – Obama, unlike any other president – has incredible disdain for more than half of the people he is supposed to represent. He treats Americans like the enemy. Whether you agree with his policies or not, that is absolutely unacceptable. It shows his true colors as a tyrant-wannabe.
If you didn’t “live in a very insulated and isolated world where reality never penetrates the thick veil of ideology,” you would understand what is happening to this country because of Obama/Pelosi/Reid.
Get your head out of your ass and get a clue – or get out of the way while we clean up your messes.
Yes, both Boehner and Steel did make those comments.
Nevertheless, it is below the dignity of the US presidency to respond with ridicule which only furthers tensions and the perception that Obama goes out of his way to alienate/isolate a huge segment of the American population.
He never really attempts to redress the concerns of this large (majority) population or to assuage the fears of the many implications hidden within this bill.
Instead he has opted to make light of these men who represent the sentiments of millions of people,to make a comedian of himself at their expense- about a very serious and life-altering adjustment that promises to be quite painful in many regards and may fail utterly in the end.
His requirement is that everyone must wait( in most cases for a number of years) while placing their faith in him(a not altogether accomplished person for such an onerous role).
Armageddon -the Bibical Armageddon ? Perhaps not, but I can foresee the potential for a whole lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth -the government, no government,has ever been that well-oiled without exacting some bit of real suffering on the part of the people.
So, you will win putting the fine point on it contest but still lose the battle.
Yuk it up, Barry. Tell your little smart-a$$ed jokes to your audience of tittering sycophants.
The punchline comes in November.
First thing this morning I got a Direct Tweet from my brother alerting me to my factual error. I was upset by it. It was unintentional and I apologize for it.
If I knew then what I know now, I would have written,
“While Rep. John Boehner did refer to the passage of the health care bill as “Armageddon,” clearly he wasn’t referring to the total destruction of the Earth. No one was saying that.”
Alas, there is no Internet time machine and my error is evident.
It doesn’t change the premise of the article, though. Obama is clearly using ridicule to attempt to intimidate and silence his critics. Let’s focus on that, rather than my error.
Maybe Weller is wrong. Seems to me like the ridicule is awaking and uniting the enemy. We’ll see about the morale part come November.
Hussein does seem to influence some with his speeches. It’s a puzzle to me, my reaction is repulsion. Maybe it’s because he keeps the crapmeter redlined.
Well done, Obama. Our children will be able to watch you mock legitimate concerns about what you’re about to do to health care. Oh, you’ll comfort yourself by insisting that others failed not you but, with your purported intellect, you must have foreseen it. We’re delivering a lower standard of living to our kids and you think it’s funny.
Obama was asked a simple question by a man the media referred to as Joe the plumber. Obama answered tersely and truthfully. That was his last brief and truthful answer. There won’t be another. It is useless to ask him questions. They will only be answered by lawyeresque and verbose gobbledegook. (See comment at #12.)
The most hilarious thing about this article is how you put Carlin on the front. He would have despised your authoritarian sleazy-bullsh^%.
Thanks, I did it on purpose.
Opposing the govt takeover of the health care system is now the “authoritarian” position.
Interesting.
Many of my younger republican friends tend to agree with you. However, one must remember that many millions have waited many, many years for the chance to get access to health care. That is the reason for what appears to be exaggerated happiness. Granted, the republican suggestions of non government, private option only aside, this new law was still a miracle to get through congress. Lets face it….its a good start which over time shall serve the citizens of our great country well and take us from the third world, back to the first world when it comes to the health of our great, hard working people. And we can all agree to that eh?
You have been asked many many times to stop writing PC after all it was YOU told us that when you write THOUSANDS DIE. What are you doing trying to get on to the NEXT left wing moonbat BIG THING Euthenasia? You just KNOW it makes sense in a progressive sort of way don’t you moonbat all those non productive asset consuming Old People what use are they??
They have always had access to healthcare. What they have been waiting years for, is for someone else to pay for it.
Barry O.’s speech:
I’m not exaggerating. Leaders of the Republican Party, they called the passage of this bill “Armageddon.” (Laughter.) Armageddon. “End of freedom as we know it.”
So after I signed the bill, I looked around to see if there any — (laughter) — asteroids falling or — (applause) — some cracks opening up in the Earth. (Laughter.)
[What was edited out]: All these people ranting and raving about exploding deficits – (laughter) – Moody’s warning me two days after I signed that bill that the USA will soon lose its AAA credit rating – (laughter) – all these brainy economists, including the CBO, warning me about future hyper-inflation (laughter) – but most of the people that still support me are too stupid to know what any of that means, so who cares? (cries of “Hell Ya”!)
Obama and “Hope and Change.” After four years of Obama, you’ll be left with no hope and only a little loose change in your pocket. But, as the great Margaret Thatcher once said, “All socialists eventually run out of spending other people’s money.” She is certainly right. Obama, the European socialist wanna-be, is now broke and so are we. You all can certainly see the humor in that, can’t you?
Hey kids!
Do fear-mongers tell you that smoking cigarettes is unhealthy? Well, I started a week ago, then got a chest X-ray today, and guess what? Not a trace of lung cancer!
Tobacco smoke–it’s been PROVEN healthy!
Completely unlike YOUR moonbat brain then hey Marlon.
Your response is impenetrable in its inanity.
Prag, will it help you to comprehend if I point out Jonathan Swift’s health care plan was baby-eating?
“Lets face it….its a good start which over time shall serve the citizens of our great country well and take us from the third world, back to the first world when it comes to the health of our great, hard working people. And we can all agree to that eh?”
Uh, no.
I’ve broken the code on Obamacare ! Don’t get sick; buy your own island and defend it; hope for change; then work for the government so you don’t have to pay taxes and you get a big pay check to boot !
no blood rembo!