Obama’s Praiseworthy Notre Dame Address
On that we can agree. He wants to change the tone, and he calls for mutual respect. He wants civility!
The president — let’s call him that, even though a scornfully uttered surname was the most respectful appellation certain parties accorded his predecessor — the president is praying for a “presumption of good faith” about his political opponents.
If his followers are listening and taking this seriously, Republicans are in for even more serious trouble.
Imagine a Left where MoveOn and Kos and Keith and all their spinners and yakkers suddenly turned rhetorically even-tempered. Imagine Carville as gentlemanly as Calvin Borel, or Howard Dean speaking with the calm, measured assurance of an NPR anchor.
Meanwhile, the Right would still be represented by (let’s be honest now) shrill, antagonistic, accusatory, and sometimes downright snarling Savages and grating Great Ones. Double digit electoral votes for life my friends, that would be our fate.
When it comes to political rhetoric, we’ve got to go to school on this guy, this eloquent Mr. President. He’s taking about style, saying he will argue with “passion and conviction,” while still extending a “presumption of good faith” through “fair-minded words.” We need to do that. We need to sound like that.
Note that on the abortion issue he tells the Notre Dame graduating class “at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.” Even though he will likely appoint three young Supreme Court justices who favor abortion rights, President Obama makes no false promise of utopian compromise, nor does he taunt opponents with anything like a triumphal “case closed.” He makes a rough sketch of some common ground, but this was neither the time nor place for the untidy specifics of this particular issue.
President Obama correctly perceived that the only way he could honor his hosts and their graduating class was to speak with class. Generations of “Fighting Irish” have used Notre Dame to elevate themselves from street brawlers to the middle class. With this speech, the president is telling them to offer a handshake, not a fist, to opponents, and to speak with the fair-minded language of the educated class.
At a time when our politics have devolved into media-driven imbroglios, and where conflict equals ratings, this part of President Obama’s Notre Dame speech resonates as a welcome call to civility. Let’s hope and pray that many will heed his call, in the words of the Notre Dame Victory March, “what though the odds be great or small.”
But it’s a lie.
Even as Obama spoke those false words, his chief advisor Axelrod compared Carrie Prejean to a dog — because of her opinion on gay marriage, which happened to be the same as the president’s stated one.
Obama is a pathological liar. Nothing he says is true, ever.
Obama’s certainly a gifted speaker. Certainly issues like abortion and gay marriage require nuance and a sense of humility. Somewhere around 51% (supposedly) of Americans identify themselves as “pro life”. Many African Americans and Latinos voted in favor of prop 8. Obama has something to lose taking on a hard left turn on these issues. Plus, in any religious establishment, you have to be in safe mode.
But on the economy and confronting some conservative voices (Rush Limbaugh) he can be abrasive. He’ll be soft spoken on issues that require that kind of tone, on areas considered his strength, he’ll go on the offensive. His dismissive remarks aimed at the tea party movement, as well as his laughter at a truly tasteless joke by Wanda Sykes, illutstrate this point.
Obama’s very good at creating a sense of open mindedness to opposing views. “We can have a honest debate about this”. But right after that, he’ll go long about why his ideas are ultimately right, or slyly associating the other ideas to “failed ideas of the past”.
Please, someone prevent Mr Kearney from posting again. This outright lie is exactly what is hurting the Republicans:
“Meanwhile, the Right would still be represented by (let’s be honest now) shrill, antagonistic, accusatory, and sometimes downright snarling Savages and grating Great Ones. Double digit electoral votes for life my friends, that would be our fate.”
If one actually tries to maintain they imagine that the left propaganda machine will be “rhetorically even tempered” while Republicans are the nasty, guttural perverts of political dissent they need to go ahead and change their affiliation to a big “D”. I’m sick of luke warm conservatives. What you need to be advocating is that the party gets down and dirty and stops trying to play all nicety nice with liberal progressives.
Obama’s entire claim to civility falls completely apart every time he opens his Marxist yap and blames conservatives for every progressively driven ill this country suffers. Spit out those who think like this writer as the luke warm swill they are. Put some spine back into conservatism. And, finally, expose the leftist agenda for the pathetic blame America first socialist movement that it is. That is the way to defeat creeping progressiveness. This line of weak kneed ideology absolutely is not!
Musing Lew
Jim, they were arresting Catholic clergy for tresspassing on a Catholic campus when that speech was being written. The hand he is offering is a clentched fist, not the hand of mutual respect. You read the code words of reason and fairness, and interpreted them as you wanted to; you are right in what you want, but his interpretation is not yours. He might back off in the face of organized opposition, but he plans to use the clenched fist against anyone who allows him to.
All the “fair-minded words” and all the legal nuanced definitions do not change the fact that abortion is nothing less than murdering children. If Kearney likes it because the impostor in the white house tells a story, Kearney should stick to “Alice in Wonderland”.
Snake oil salesmen are always smooth. I don’t buy snake oil, and I don’t buy Obama as a reasonable man. He was an abortion activist, he is an abortion activist, and he will continue to be an abortion activist. He can stroke me all he wants, I won’t fall for it.
What is wrong with Americans like Mr. Kearney? The American people’s inability to think clearly frightens me.
The speech Obama read from a teleprompter changes absolutely nothing about the abortion trajedy in our country.
Will Obama show any common ground when he makes his judicial picks? Will he consider to stop using Americans money to fund the spread of abortion around the globe?
Mr. Kearney I find your idiocy repulsive. You’re every bit as emotionally ridiculous in your analysis as the rest of the sycophants who hang on this revolting man’s words.
Humm… “fair minded words.” Isn’t The One the fellow who just yesterday used this sacred Memorial weekend to criticize his predecessor’s attitude toward the military. These sniping words at George W. Bush are a new low in unfairness toward a man who has remained silent since leaving office.
Note: The One did not change or rethink his absolutist pro-abortion with no limits position but the “toned down” his web site. Wow, what a guy! In the words of Rodney King, “Why can’t we all just get along?”
The Presidential Compromise is this: You accept that abortion on demand is and will remain the law of the land and I’ll quite calling you a right-wing ideologue. As Rush says, “…”bipartisanship” is defined in Washington as Republicans caving on their principles and agreeing with Democrats.”
Our President wants the government to control everything (Wall Street, car companies, CO2 emissions, etc.) EXCEPT killing unborn babies – in his view, that’s never any of the government’s business. He’s spent more money more quickly than anyone in history, putting our children and grandchildren up to their eyeballs in debt, but we should cool the rhetoric. Give me a break.
This writer should be Obamaboarded- strapped down and forced to listen to audio of BHO’s BAIPA testimonial remarks before the committee he chaired in the ILL. Senate. Mr.K., do Jillstanek.com, access the audio or printed transcript THEN get back to us with your thoughts on TOTUS’s fair-minded words (lies)!!
Obama’s prepared speeches are not sincere, rendering his utterances are nothing more than empty words.
It’s frightening to see so many people who ear only what they want to hear. Just a little analysis would reveal Obamna’s incoherence, inconsistency, and false premises. Mr Kearney would have us join Obama’s army of dupes, more than willing and able to be manipulated.
For far too long, civility has been used as a weapon against decent people. Too much has been lost as a result of hoping to avoid confrontation and conflict. Trust has been violated, goodwill has been exhausted. Enough is enough.
Obama is not to be trusted. He is not an honest man.
Jim: The man who occupies the White House voted for infanticide. In other words, he supported killing a baby after-birth. Even the imbecile Barbara Boxer rejected killing out-of-the-womb babies who survived failed abortion attempts, but Bambi was all for it. Keep kissing his ass and you will go far in today’s media.
Nowhere except China does a government kill children in the womb as extensively. Apparently you won’t find many scholars who believe Roe v Wade decision was properly reasoned. The SCOTUS admitted it retains it because ppl have grown accustomed to killing their sons and daughters in the womb and have sex expecting to be able to do so. The SCOTUS said it didn’t want ppl losing trust in it! More killing then.
There isn’t a greater corruption facing the US than this. Imagine the US Republic, or Globe for that matter, if slavery wasn’t faced down. Now imagine the course BO has for the US by extending the scope of the abortion regime as deeply and pervasively as he wishes. The US hasn’t seen a politician as extreme as this guy. It is downright eerie to have to remind everyone what he stands for time and again. Wake up people.
Oh and civility?
I see nothing wrong with swatting flies.
Let’s say that you have a different opinion. You think the lives of flies are sacred, and therefore you think that swatting flies is grossly immoral. You hold this view with the utmost sincerity. Unfortunately for you, I’m making the rules. And I say:
* You can’t refer to fly-swatting as “murder.” That would be “hate speech,” inciting others to violence.
* You can’t interfere when I swat flies.
* You must contribute to the purchase of fly swatters.
Now, with those ground-rules established, let’s begin a civil discussion of the morality of swatting flies. There’s no need for anger, recrimination, or name-calling. We have a sincere difference of opinion. Let’s– oh, wait, excuse me a moment [thwack!]– find some common ground.
(H/T Diogenes)
Mr. Kearney, believe it or not, no matter how reasonable you think you are, you have, sir, have drunk the kool-aid. Are you out of your mind…
“Imagine a Left where MoveOn and Kos and Keith and all their spinners and yakkers suddenly turned rhetorically even-tempered. Imagine Carville as gentlemanly as Calvin Borel, or Howard Dean speaking with the calm, measured assurance of an NPR anchor.
Meanwhile, the Right would still be represented by (let’s be honest now) shrill, antagonistic, accusatory, and sometimes downright snarling Savages and grating Great Ones. Double digit electoral votes for life my friends, that would be our fate.”
If?…If?…If Obama actually admitted to this nation where he’s trying to take it…what would the people think ‘if’ that happened. What ‘if the far left wing bloggers and members of the media, who have been giving Obama journalistic fellatio for the past two years changed and actually criticized his far left wing policies? And your description of the right being ‘snarling savages’? Are you nuts? Have you read or listened to ANYTHING THE DROOLING , OBAMA OBSESSED MEDIA HAS SAID ABOUT OBAMA FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS????? You have lost ALL credibility and, obviously live in a ‘Obamaland’ now. Hey, what ‘if’ the American people actually started ‘listening’ to Obama and ‘understanding’ his socialist/statist actions and policy reversals of his neophyte inexperienced administration? The Obama ‘bubble’ will burst and when it does, many, many of his sycophants will have to admit just who this guy is. It’ll probably happen when these poor souls taxes go up. This piece of journalistic malpractice is pathetic and you, Mr. Kearney, are a fool and do not deserve the journalistic respect of anyone.
This is Obama’s political genius. His words resonate with many, so profoundly that they are seduced into ignoring the cold facts of his ACTIONS, which in the case of abortion, as so often, are utterly contradictory to his conciliatory platitudes. In other words, you got suckered.
My, Jim, looks like you’re willing to go for one more serving of turd if that makes you look enlightened – aside of Notre Dame’s idiocy of inviting the teleprompter dude there, Soetoro’s speech was, as usually, simply gibberish.
The guy is pathological fraud, and nothing of what he’s uttering is more than warm air, pretentiously pumped over a teary-eyed audience.
Wake up, buddy -
“I didn’t change my position, but I did tell my staff to change the words on my website.”
This is the essence of the entire story. I changed the words but not my position.
Wake up.
I’ll bet the doctor who wrote The “Evil” One the letter doesn’t even exist except in the lies of the prevaricator-in-chief.
“Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in the face of tyranny is no virtue.” Barry Goldwater
Appropriate words for the times we are now in. Perhaps Mr. Kearney should take heed?
The man is a great and gifted speaker, But his words do not match his deeds, At ND he said we will try and reduce abortions. Yet he wiped out the Mexico act, giving money to abortion clinics outside the USA. He approved embryonic stem cell research when actual fact adult regressed stem cells are more viable for research. He is just killing humans. He is trying to get rid of the conscience act so christian will have to give abortions on demand or lose funding to the hospital or clinic where they work. This forces pro life health care worker into a moral dilemma. Some will change professions.
And lastly he is spending like a drunken sailor saying it will help pay off the debt… Not even possible. China and India will own us.
TOTUS – praiseworthy (and all the other positive labels given this charleton)
In the same sentence is a oxymoron.
BHO is a evil presence and so is the MSM for pushing his evil agenda.
God Bless America and our Troops rock.
Tea Party – July 4 2009
It’s still murder no matter how slick the Messiah is. And telling a woman to get one is counseling her to get one.
Read that Kearney.
Where’s vivo and the Pastor? No need to come here and insult the readers when the poster himself will do that for them, I guess.
Post Script: The pro-infanticide man living in the White House on the taxpayer’s (my dime) expense was not born in this country. The dead-give-away for me was when he said during the primary’s that he was going to campaign in all 57 states. The man is a FRAUD.
“Not even possible. China and India will own us.”
No. Just like a parasite the USA will renounce its debt.
The point of Obama’s charming story is to praise himself. The key to the story is how he changed the wording on the website and how great that was.
This didn’t stop him from issuing the nasty DHS report equating pro-lifers with terrorists. Nor did it prevent him from mocking McCain because of his age during the campaign. The Chicago street fighter has a very uncivil tone in his administration so far, all happening AFTER the great realization that he praised hiself for in commencement story.
There is a difference between putting forth a self serving anecdote saying how civil your are vs the record of uncivil words and deeds.
The story is manipulative and was cynically designed to get pro-lifers to drop a vigorous advocacy of their views, yet Kearny falls for the whole thing.
ANOTHER DEMONSTRATITION OF EXTREME NAIVETE
He’s listening. The words resonate with him. They resonate with me. He’s talking about toning down political rhetoric, and he cites an excess committed by someone on his own team.
These are just words. They mean nothing, except that his man is capable of saYing anything and does it so well that the weak minded members of his audience are completely dazzled. He’s trying to tone the rhetoric while he puts the finishing touches to his pro death agenda.
Obama is a radical, extreme pro abortionist. So radical and extreme that he does not believe there should be any restrictions on abortion. He even believes that babies that survive abortions should not receive medical care.
So Mr. Kearney all that you’ve done with this post is demonstrate your inablity to think when listening to Obama.
“When it comes to political rhetoric, we’ve got to go to school on this guy, this eloquent Mr. President. He’s taking about style, saying he will argue with “passion and conviction”, while still extending a “presumption of good faith” through “fair-minded words.” We need to do that. We need to sound like that.”
“Meanwhile, the Right would still be represented by (let’s be honest now) shrill, antagonistic, accusatory, and sometimes downright snarling Savages and grating Great Ones.”
Two quotes from this post caused me to shake my head sadly.
There are pro-life Republicans who DO sound like that–with the advantage that they ALWAYS have sounded like that through long and successful careers in politics and public service. They haven’t,to grossly understate, been treated very well by the party. Again, we need Huckabee, Palin, Ron Paul, and a whole bunch of other leaders to form a conservative party. I think we are ready.
I’m so happy Jim Kearney was able to enjoy a warm fuzzy moment during the president’s speech. Have a nice day.
Considering 0bama won’t give us the ‘right’ to ‘choose’ our own Health care one day… I don’t buy it.
BTW…WHO WROTE THE SPEECH?
Civility eh…? As Theoden said to Saruman’s urgings for “Peace” “‘We will have peace, when you and all your works have perished-and the works of your dark master to whom you would deliver us. You are a liar, Saruman, and a corrupter of men’s hearts. You hold out your hand to me, and I perceive only a finger of the claw of Mordor.’”
For the illiterate among you, who will believe I am comparing Obama to Saruman, I am making a comparison between what someone says, (whose teleprompter makes his mouth say anything), and what he does and really believes. Does anyone suppose that I will be greeted with cheers and adulation if I show up at the local abortion factory with a sign, “Support Pres. Obama’s desire to “reduce the number of abortions”? Greeted as a comrade in the President’s great quest for life?
Oh, and another thing. Someday people will look back at us with astonishment over abortion, as we do those over slavery, and say, “How could they not get that?”
Bumper sticker: Opposed to slavery, don’t own one. Expressed like that, the sentiment soesn’t quite work, does it?
This is America. Kearney should not be allowed on these pages. If you can spew hate…leave!!
Yeah, it would be a much better world if all the muggers started being more civil, wouldn’t it?
Instead of:
“Give up the money, muthaphukka!”
You’d get:
“Hand over your wallet sir, please.”
And maybe if it catches on we could get them to conclude the transaction with:
“Thank you…bee-yotch!”
Much more polite that way ain’t it?
Hey, if it gets any more civilized, you might not even realize that you’re being robbed.
The Left implores those who oppose their ideology to open their hearts and minds, and be fair. Yet, there are no more close-minded, hard-hearted, and unfair individuals than those who embrace the Leftist mantra. Go figure.
Mr. Kearney is correct.
Conservatives need to begin statements with, for lack of a better term, platitudes, like: “We understand that the pro-choice position is based on compassion for the mother, that bringing a child to term and raising a child would greatly affect her life. However, except in extreme cases of rape or incest, the mother made decisions that led to the pregnancy. And, as we all know, decisions have consequences.” Or “We understand that a fetus is not a fully formed adult human, with all the rights and responsibilities that confers, but neither is a one-year old child. And the fetus, like the one-year old, are both stages in the making of that adult.”
I’m sure there are far more eloquent arguements than I made above. But the reason Obama is so convincing is that he recites the other side’s arguements so as to make the listener think that he has considered both sides of an issue. Beginning with a shrill, loud arguement is no way to get a listener to hear you.
Adult stem cell research has resulted in 70 treatments. Embryonic stem cell research has resulted in none. So why does Obama want to fund the latter when it’s the former which produces results?
If Obama is listening to the concerns of pro lifers why couldn’t he deny public funding for soemthing that destroys life and doesn’t work?Why couldn’t he give us even this little crumb?
Why did he extend funding for abortions in other countries?
What has he done, not said but done, which demonstrates respect for the views of people opposed to the wholesale destruction of innocent human life.
Throughout the course of their legendary 1858 debate in Illinois, Senator Stephen A. Douglas insisted that the institution of slavery—its rightness or wrongness, and therefore its permissibility–was a decision—a choice– that should be left up to individual states. His opponent, however, disagreed. Abraham Lincoln reminded the audience that The Declaration of Independence stated as a self-evident truth the equality of all men; and since blacks were, by any conceivable definition, as human as whites, it followed that slavery was inherently wrong; no laws, legislation nor election could make it right. Truth about fundamental moral principles, Lincoln argued, could never be decided by a vote.
Fast forward 150 years and Barack Obama has just finished preaching to the choir at the nominally catholic University of Notre Dame. He talked about abortion, and there were no tough questions, so he could comfortably indulge his native language of moral indiscrimination; saying, for example, that the important thing is to find “common ground”, to “open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think precisely like we do”, and to accept that the “ultimate irony of faith is that it necessarily admits doubt.” But in August, 2008 when moderator Rick Warren asked the candidates when life began (McCain responded promptly, “At conception!”) Obama winced and waffled–not disingenuously–but seemingly out of genuine obtuseness and lack of conviction.
In spite of Obama’s confusion, the human fetus is, by any conceivable definition—biological, logical, moral, or theological—a human being. Isn’t it ironic that our first black president—a self-professed student and admirer of Abraham Lincoln’s—would here adopt the same dehumanizing illogic and advocacy of the South’s great apologist of slavery—Stephen A. Douglas?
Craig S. Maxwell
@34
Kearney is not right. The reasonable pro lifer who starts by stating his understanding of the reasons for other sides position would be cut off where I end your ditty:
“We understand that the pro-choice position is based on compassion for the mother, that bringing a child to term and raising a child would greatly affect her life. However, …
The “pro choicers” have controlled the narrative for 40 years. Obama is allowed to express understanding (in words only) for the other side becase those who control the narrative know where he stands.
Kearney has fallen for Obama’s siren song hook, line and sinker. Obama’s Notre Dame speech was no different from every Obama speech: eloquent talk of cooperation and compromise on the podium, with a dogged pursuit of the most extreme, divisive policies off the podium. It is useless to watch an Obama speech, it says absolutely nothing about his policies and little beyond vague platitudes. You have to watch his actions which usually tell a very different story.
Lost me on the title. The Obama-person and what drives him have NOTHING TO DO with what he says–don’t you get it yet? You’re congratulating some political hack for saying something that might have made sense to somebody to get him thru the controversy and another day withOUT showing who he really is and with no real consequence to anything or anybody! You’re “busy with a little here and a little there, till the man is gone.”
What world are you living in? Look at the actions, the insanity of what he’s doing! His whole plan is to keep you busy playing with his words while he steals us blind!
I feel like I’m screaming at a Novocain user convention…..Jeeezzz.
(by the way, inject it into the brain, whudya get? a numbskull!)
I love it. Actually heard a caller on local talk radio yesterday say he wished he had skipped his quintuple bypass and died instead if he had known Obama was going to be president. Not too late buddy, find the tallest building, please!
Obama’s speeches always sound good but that is because he can say anything, and promise anything and he’s never held accountable for his words.
I mean – I could make equally inspiring speeches, given a teleprompter and an adoring crowd. However, unfortunately – the press would hold me to a different standard and actually FACT CHECK WORDS AGAINST ACTIONS.
Uhm … let’s do something CRAAAAZY here and do that for Obama …
He says that we shouldn’t demonize the other side – yet he took cash from organizations like MoveOn.org that DO exactly that. Now you can say that Obama isn’t responsible for their actions – and that’s true – but if he wants an honest debate on the merits of the issues – why didn’t he DENOUNCE their tactics? I’m sorry folks – silence is complicity.
He says we should seek ways to reduce the need for abortions – notice that he’s placed completely off limits any negotiations for reasonable restriction on abortions. In essence he’s saying – I’ve won this debate – and all I’m going to listen to here from you are ways to make abortions unnecessary – because I’m not going to go with any reasonable restrictions. Oh, how charitable of him!
Hmmm … if he’s really up to finding ways to REDUCE abortions – dya think he might be up for funding some “abstinence only” educational programs? Hmmmmm?
Yeah … right … didn’t think so.
Yeah he’s pretty open and honest.
36 Max–nice job! “genuine obtuseness and lack of conviction.” Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Obammer in a real debate? Or real press conference for that matter? They have to manage and watch and the boy blunder like a hawk. Live he’d spew marxist socialist relativist legalistic gibberish. We have an amorphous sponge in the White Tower–soaked for years in all the wrong stuff.
From Mr Kearny’s PJM bio:
“Jim Kearney, a television critic for Pajamas Media, teaches Mass Media and Television Programming at Loyola Marymount University. A former TV critic for KPCC-FM and The Hollywood Reporter, he has also worked as a TV executive and consultant. He is on the web at TVCriticism.com.”
TC Critic for an NPR outlet? Hollywood reporter? Aren’t they engaged in culling substance from the airy persiflage eructed by the “illuminati” as they transit the red carpets of various tinsel-town galas?
No wonder this schlumpf thought Obama’s vapidness was noteworthy.
40-Tomboy–You must’ve enjoyed the story today about the Chinese “citizen” who pushed the man threatening suicide over the bridge. Might be your kinda guy–heck, country, eh? Now get back to work and push some fetuses into the bloody brain sucking vacuum machine to spare the earth the burden of one more carbon producing useless eater. You have a mission to fulfill.
“When the wicked are in power, the people mourn.”
i give you “tom” (#40) – the quintessential representative of the caring and compassionate left.
I also believe Mr. Kearney made a very convincing point, to my chagrin.
Obama is a shrewd politicians, and a great liar. That he was so much applauded at Notre Dame tells you of the challenges conservatives face. Notice the audience that he is addressing: the younger crowd, the i-pod, twitter, crowd, many of them brain-washed by the mostly liberal educational system. And I don’t say this likely, I have children and nieces, and they are literally being brain-washed at school, they are teens who never read history, of shallow political understanding, but come home comparing Obama to Lincoln and their teachers are 100/1 in favor of Obama.
I consider his Achilles heel to be his energy policy. That was his greatest about-face in the campaign, we, who did not vote for him, knew he was totally against any oil and natural gas exploration and expansion here at home, the same for nuclear, and that he lied because it was politically expedient and the price of gas was going to cost him the election. He has now stalled exploration of Florida and Louisiana and is ready to tax the oil industry. The price of gas is coming back up big time, and the opportunity with it to boot him in 4 years.
(Moderator–if Ann Coulter said what I said–and she would–you’d publish it…I hope. People shouldn’t be spared the graphics of what they’re supporting in infanticide. Oh well–Rosenbummer ironically blocked all 8 of mine in his two offensive articles on censorship–I mean anonymous commenters.)
(Thanks–getting blocked on Rosenbummer’s taunting articles had me worried about this great site.)
46 Miami Man: I think they applauded for two reasons. 1. He didn’t deliberately offend them any further as they feared and cause even more controversy and discomfort–seemingly. 2. Mainly, and similar to 1., they applauded because he dances so well! He (his handlers and his slick delivery) can take on a dicey situation and with a few clicks of seeming graceful bows and a good dose of old reason-numbing rhetoric that no one can argue with, he made it through! Hurrah! I think the applause was virtually a big SIGH of RELIEF–(as well as the usual idol worship of the youth as you said.)
Hope and change, remember. If the Owonderboy doesn’t do anything obviously foolhardy (surely the press would tell us..) we can keep HOPING for that great CHANGE in the sky!!! Now pass the soma, I think I’m starting to wake up….
Mr. Kearney
What is Obama willing to give up on this issue? I’d appreciate an honest answer.
Thanks
Michael D. Shatto
I am amazed by people, assumed to be of reasonable intelligence, that are unable to recognize a lie or a liar when he comes and squats in their path for 100+ days.
What imagination capturing tale, or promise, has been told by this man that has not turned out to be a lie?
Please my friends, go out and rent the video The Flim-Flam Man. Watch it over and over until you are reasonably competent at recognizing a lie, a liar, and their ramifications to you. Now repeat the phrase, “Liar liar pants on fire!” Do this until you are no longer mistaken as a fool and an easy ‘mark’.
Jim;
I won’t call you an idiot or a fool. More than one person has been sucked in by Obamas smooth talking trash. “Fair minded words”, means;’Lets all just get along while I take you all to hell.’ It was fine for the left to speak loud harsh, mean spirited lies about Mr. Bush back in the day. Now when we are actually identifying real lies and evil deeds we must be civil about it? Sorry, ain’t gonna happen.
God hears our cry’s for justice and he provides a Moses, a man of slow halting speech to lead us to the promised land not some smooth jive talking (let me use fair minded words here) lying fool.
Don’t look for men of flesh to glorified by God.
Not gonna happen. A lot of harsh words have been written about the punishment for the wicked. No one is going play nice with you when you have a sharp two edged sword about to stike you down. They will more than likely speak the harsh truth.
Great article! I agree completely!
Mr. Shatto – On “this issue” you mean the abortion issue. (My issue for praising him is his plea for a civil tone of public discourse, and the winning way he expresses that plea.)
On the abortion issue, the answer is not much if anything. The conscience clause he mentioned has been an area of contention lately, but there is no true concession until it finds form in signed legislation. When it comes to policy, as HondaV65 states, fact check the words against actions.
On my issue (language, tone, and the media politics of winning) he concedes only the benefits of vicious attack politics. These often net out as detriments, and would undermine his personal branding. If his allies carry out attack politics judiciously on his behalf, I am not so naive as to believe he will deny them a warm place in his “open” heart.
Smooth talkers and straight shooters breathe the same oxygen, but they metabolize it differently. Which one gets the upper hand is a matter of circumstance. In times of prosperity, there is plenty of opportunity for the smooth talkers (and the prophets of doom, like the global warmers). In tough times the straight talkers get their chance.
This was illustrated vividly with the two speeches in Washington last week.
The president would get a gold medal if teleprompting was an olympic discipline. He is plainly out of sync, no matter how much praise is thrown at him. Dick Cheney was right, no matter how much scorn has been thrown at him.
The author of this article is nostalgic, understandably.
Pleas for civility. How considerate.
Why now after all these years? Sounds like the goose realizes the gander might use some of the same sauce on it now.
I think I’ll just read the other pundits more and this one less.
# 48 D-wah: I was “edited” also. Roger is probably taking a well deserved holiday weekend off. All I said is that Mr. Nothing was was born either in Kenya or in Indonesia. He wasn’t born in the USA. He received more votes than the other guy, but I won’t refer to him as Mr. President until I see his original birth certificate, not some phony photo copy of his “deliverance” in Hawaii.
The phrase “fair minded words” is to this columnist like Haagen Dasz is to Rosie O’Donnell.
Uncontrollable lust to buy and consume.
How many fair minded words are there in the “rightwing” domestic enemies list that his people published? He is responsible for that.
So when I see “fair minded words” floating through the air, I just think, “His lips are moving, he is lying again.”
Dear Professor Kearney,
I read your column and I agered with everything you said.
Then a little voice in my soul said to me:
“Civility and politeness when discussing murder.
Doesn’t it sound out of tune ?”
The little voice is right, Sir, it is only evil that speaks orderly and politely about evil. We should avoid this trap, Sir.
I understand exactly what you mean, Sir, but it is a bloody trap.
You shouldn’t be ashamed of having fallen for it and into it, you sound like a reasonable person and you obviously project your being a good person on others, in your perception of them.
Evil always reduces horror to quotidian routine and asks from us to be gentlemen.
Let’s detect the note out of tune in all this, Sir.
We are talking about someone who repeatedly voted in favor of late term abortion , Sir.
My feelings stop me from telling you in detail what late term abortion is , Sir, how it is carried on.
I, politely, ask you, Sir, to find and read a medical description of the procedure of late term abortion. THEN, and only then, read again the words that invite “us” to be polite.
Do that, please. I am an anonymous commenter and you may think that I am a half-wit fanatic, I will not be offended by that, but please do what I have asked you to do.
Then tell me again who has to learn civility.
Let’s not be deceived, Sisters and Brothers, let’s not be deceived.
Best regards.
Sherab
Thank you for the opportunity to comment.
Sorry”
I meant AGREED of course
President Obama is not a gifted speaker at all since he is always dependent on teleprompters to keep him on message; a gifted speaker does not need any crutches. He can speak off the cuff. President Obama has the same talent as any newsreader. What gift is there in reading words? None.
I can always tell if Obama has 2 or 3 teleprompters by how he’s moving his head. When he has 2, it’s like watching tennis.
President Obama is an empty suit with hollow rhetoric.
One thing I would NEVER accuse Obama of “being” is “fair-minded.” This is the man who is sidling up to the world’s worst terrorists while calling those Americans who did not vote for him terrorists.
I am afraid our President only speaks the truth accidentally, never on purpose.
Delia:
Considering 0bama won’t give us the ‘right’ to ‘choose’ our own Health care one day… I don’t buy it. BTW…WHO WROTE THE SPEECH
An exceptionally astute question which Kearney didn’t think to ask before praisng Obama for his oh so civil tone. The answer as to who wrote this speech – and all the others – is: someone other than Obama.
This is obvious to those of us who have heard Obama impromptu, where he does a fine imitation of Forrest Gump, except that his grasp of the facts isn’t as good.
So what Kearney is praising is Obama’s hiring of a gifted speech writer who knows how to appeal to superficial people (the vast majority) who prefer form over substance. Whoopee, at least one member of the Obama team isn’t a gross incompetent.
So let’s give Obama his due. He made a good choice for the most important position in his inner circle.
And let’s also acknowledge that Obama does a very good job of reading a speech before an enthisiastic crowd of supporters.
In the case on Notre Dame, Obama must have been on an extreme psychological high on an issue very close to his heart. When Catholics bestow honors on an extreme pro-arbortion fanatic it’s prety easy to bask in your own glory.
There are, no doubt, hundreds of Hollywood actors who could have perormed as well under the circumstances but no one in their right mind would say they are qualified to be POTUS.
Despite the fact the seeds of his ruinous legacy have been firmly planted within the first 100 days, it’s going to take more time for the elites to get, or acknowlege, what they foisted upon America.
StillBill#57; Thanks for the affirmation–figured he was filtering a lot of us out. It was a taunt, the guy’s a sleaze. Here was my last comment I challenged him with, just for laughs:
(of course it’s still awaiting censorship, I mean moderation:)
Personally, I think he (Rosenblum) has a point there…but if he’d part his hair in the right place and wear a hat, no one would notice…(I keep trying, Rosie…let’s see if you have a sense of humor…)
Have a great weekend.
Jim Kearney – Thank you for your response. You said, “on my issue (language, tone, and the media politics of winning) he concedes only the benefits of vicious attack politics. These often net out as detriments, and would undermine his personal branding. If his allies carry out attack politics judiciously on his behalf, I am not so naive as to believe he will deny them a warm place in his “open” heart.
Your response indicates that the man does not practice what he preaches. I understand the premise of your column, that Obama is a gifted orator and marketing dream and that the GOP must adopt his tactics to win back voters but unfortunately, like Obama’s words, yours too, ring hollow. Obama and the Democratic establishment used
scorched-earth tactics to destroy the Bush administration and undermine the War on Terror, while we had young men and women engaged in war on foreign soil. There is nothing in their actions that indicates they sought or are seeking a way to reduce the level of vitriol in American politics. The combination of Obama’s “brand” and the anger of his supporters is simply another form of vicious politics, the good cop-bad cop routine. It will do nothing to improve the political discourse in this nation and in fact, his inability to address the facts and stand by his word or principles will only deepen the divide that presently plagues us. He will not tell his underlings to change their tone for the betterment of the nation, Axlerod or Emmanuel will give the orders that their allies continue to fight the opposition and “get in their face.” He is the leader of the United States and the Democratic Party and he has done nothing to call off the vicious attacks. Why has he not pleaded for civility at an SEIU rally or NARL convention?
The Republican Party has taken the tact you advocate and in return, received the iron fist covered with a velvet glove carried by Obama and the MSM. Please ask Carrie Prejean if she feels that Obama or his underlings are now practicing a “more pleasant” brand of politics or the Chrysler bond holders accused of greed and threatened with exposure if they did not acquiesce to the demands of the present administration. Prejean, a 21 year old women who has been trashed and vilified by wide range of leftists, including Obama’s chief political operative David Azelrod, did nothing wrong but express an opinion on marriage that mirrors Obama’s. Has he come to her defense or publicly chastise Axlerod? Did Obama chide Keith Olbermann for his spittle, flying tirade against Dick Cheney this week? Were the Chrysler bondholders given a commendation for protecting investors’ rights? The answer, as you know, is a resounding no.
Obama’s speech at Notre Dame was hollow at best and spiteful at worst. His speech was given at America’s preeminent Catholic university and he used his pulpit to “politely” attack Catholic values and doctrine while seeking to create divisions within the Church, which it appears he has done. There was nothing civil about his words on this issue and to use a commencement speech to do so was “vicious attack politics.” He did not acknowledge the horrific procedure he so vehemently defends nor did he acknowledge the convictions of those who whole heartedly oppose the murder of the unborn. His recent speech on the Bush administration’s tactics in the War on Terror gave no credit to President Bush and only blamed him for leaving a “mess” in Guatanamo Bay that Obama must now clean up. There was no gratitude for keeping us safe in difficult times or for the complex decisions that had to be made in the years after September 11th. There was no defense of the CIA or the legal officials that risked their careers to provide guidelines in this new world.
Again, I understand and agree with your premise that he is using a winning strategy but some of us continue to expect actions to match words. The vast majority of the American public remains too busy, blissfully unaware, or simply too ignorant to note the true meaning of Obama’s soothing tone and “soft diplomacy.” Obama is a gifted orator but so too was Adolph Hitler. Eventually his deeds will have to match his words. The President of the United States should be more than a “brand”.
Mr. Gain: Yes, always credit the writing team. But until “written by”, “story by”, etc. crawl down the screen after a presidential address, we must credit as head writer the man playing Caesar in this political Show of Shows.
Войска ПВО: Didn’t Krauthammer write for the Washington Post? High marks from me to all who bring a measure of balance to our lopsided MSM.
Happy talk, and nothing more.
we must credit as head writer the man playing Caesar in this political Show of Shows.
Mr Kearney,
Why do you insist upon heaping praise upon him for someone else’s stirring words?
Is it that your role in this show of shows is to play the part of the praising fool rather than offering intelligent and sober analysis?
No wonder the public has yet to grasp the extent of the damage caused by this unvetted, unexamined President – who has avoided critical scrutiny by good deliveries of fine speeches written by others.
Once the effect of his reckless deficit spending is obvious, more people will ask how could someone as smart as Obama make so many stupid decisions? You’ve inadvertently provided the answer Mr. Kearney. Congratulations.
mshatto
Thank you for your brilliant post. (Are you related to the famous Toronto Argonaut legend Dick Shatto? I believe he was from Kentucky.)
Pajamas Media. Please hire Mr. Shatto and relegate Mr. Kearney to the taxi squad.
To everyone who has attributed Obama with eloquent and gifted speaking skills, I must disagree vehemently.
He is NOT a great speaker. He is, at best, an average reader.
He is not eloquent. When he isn’t reading from a script, he’s stuttering and stumbling, resulting in incoherent blather.
Most importantly, no matter what he is saying, it is meaningless, as his words don’t mean anything. When one can casually change the meaning of a word in order to turn any given situation to their own advantage, then I must conclude that the speaker of those words is disingenuous. The speaker is engaging in the oldest form of deception, trickery, and arrogance. The speaker truly believes that they have a special ownership of the words they change.
I am sorry, Mr. Kearney, that Obama’s deception fooled you into buying his message of neutrality and calming uttering. It is best, when listening to Obama, to don a Bose noise-filtering headset, turn the ipod to Frank or Dino, and crank the volume up to 11.
What nonsense. Mr. Kearney can’t see beyond his own enchantment with Obama’s tone. This is the same Obama who recently warned us of unsustainable federal debt while driving us all off the debt cliff. You need to have someone quickly slap you back to a consciousness state Jim.
“He received more votes than the other guy, but I won’t refer to him as Mr. President until I see his original birth certificate”
I understand your concern over this issue, and though I disagree, your position does have some mer-AAAAARGH. I can’t do it! I can’t be nice to blowhard idiots. Call it a personal failing.
My real response: NOBODY CARES WHAT YOU THINK!!! NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR NONSENSICAL CONSPIRACY THEORIES!
Anyway, this article was fair minded itself and doesn’t deserve the fate of being pilloried by know-nothings in a jammies thread.
46. MiamaMan,
Totally off-topic [my apologies] but, you are wanted on thread:
http://pajamasmedia.com/ronrosenbaum/2009/05/22/thank-you-thank-you/
You were skewered royally and I’d like to hear your side of the story.
Thanks,
Delia
#13 Martin: Right on!
“when we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do — that’s when we discover at least the possibility of common ground.”
Nonsense. Let’s open our hearts and minds to stoning women who want to drive, or bare their arms, or walk around with their hair showing. What possible common ground do we have, or will we ever have, with the Muslim world that wants to exterminate us?
More “feel good” bull shit from the man who wants to enslave all of us.
63. Terry Gain,
You nailed it. 0bama’s ‘handlers’ and ‘speech-writers’ are the ‘string pullers’. 0bama loves listening to 0bama much like a bad Hollyweird actress loves replaying their 15-minutes of forgettable fame over and over and over.
DohBama is a broken record gone platinum.
Following up on its decision to close Gitmo – the state of the art facility in a tropical paradise, where the inmates enjoy a diet better than 99% of the world’s population – because it offends – and thus creates more Jihadis – the Obama Administration announced today the following security measures in the Overseas Contingency Operation, all of which effective immediately:
1. Homosexuaity is abolished.
2. Public consumption of alcohol and cigarettes are prohibited.
3. Above ankle skirts and dresses, as well as shorts are abolished.
4. Headscarves are mandatory for all woman under the age of 90.
5. All Madonna concerts are cancelled.
6. Democracy is temporarily suspended.
…
I must seriously doubt Mr. Kearney’s intelligence quotient. But wait, does anyone of intelligence serve as a television critic or teach in a J-school?
Consider the source.
Kearney: “… teaches Mass Media and Television Programming”
He not only drinks the cool-aid, he’s one of the many mixing it!
#63 Terry Gain – You are too kind to the messiah when you state “So let’s give Obama his due. He made a good choice for the most important position in his inner circle.”
I think it was just the opposite. The ones pulling the strings hired Obama for the lead role. He is the reader, the talking head for their regime.
As for BHO doing a good job of reading, well that is I guess true, so long has he doesn’t lose his place.
Actually, I do not understand what people see in his presence, delivery, posture, inflections, etc. that make him so compelling to many. It is all contrived. I find him a total bore and his socialist ideas disgusting.
Delia:
Thanks, here is a copy of the post I am trying to post in that thread, to no avail so far, just for your information, as you deserve it:
[Delia:
Achtung! Thanks for calling me back to the thread. Ha, ha, ha, somebody screwing me up?
I never thought I would be so important for Herr Rosenbaum to write about me. I am unemployed, Mr. Rosenbaum may be you want to share what you made with the article about me with me, believe me it is needed.
Delia, yes, Herr Rosenbaum is correct, I am the one who sent to his post the hateful email in Spanish and German to “vivo”, but it was really to call Herr Rosenbaum’s attention. It sure worked. I have always suspected “vivo” is from my neighborhood here in Miama. As for “callate la boca”, in Spanish means simply “shut up”.
I was trying to post to no avail, and thought that Mr. Rosenbaum was blocking my posts, so guessing he was Jewish, I said to myself, let me tease “vivo” with some historical German facts, to really catch Rosenbaum. It sure worked. I guess the whole thing was a matter of “cookies” in the computer. It happened to me on another thread.
Herr Rosenbaum, my apologies, I am not anti-Semite, nor glorify Nazis, on the contrary, I am the guy in contact with Thomas Blatt (Sobibor survivor) who is now in Germany for the Demjamjuk trial, and a student of the “Aktion Reinhard” part of the Shoa. Nor I am an Eichmann lover, on the contrary.
Yes, Delia, it is me, I can be sarcastic as hell sometimes, I am far from perfect. I am sorry to disappoint you. I am also prone to make fun of people since I was a little kid. I got some bad Karma coming, I guess.
I sure chose the right bad combination. Those 2 hateful movies sponsored by Goebbels, the remake of “Jud Suss”, and the terrible creation of the “Ewige Jude”.
Herr Rosenbaum, with that Mephistophelian face he exhibits on the picture here on Pajamas, sure did not take it lightly.
Moogie, what the German part says?:
[Ihr name ist Jud Süss, ein mitglied der Ewige Jude. Sie sind ein Troll, schweinehunde. Ihre vorfahren leider entkam Eichmann’”.]
No, I can’t translate it, it is too nasty, this only comes out good in German.
So, as a final apology, I say to Herr Rosenbaum:
Ich bitte Sie, meine entschuldigung von ganzem Herzen!
Ich wollte mich nicht zu verletzen können.
Bitte verzeihen sie meine dummheit!]
This bit about the “irreconciable differences” between the pro-life/pro-choice factions. Even if it were true (it isn’t), legislators and presidents still must choose. Obama chooses abortion. In effect, he’s saying this is a paradox, a conumdrum, so let’s all get along. Oh, by the way, I just signed a new abortion bill into law.
One more point: Obama is not a gifted speaker. He is a pompous speaker. Those who like his speeches like being condescended to.
Shrill times call for shrill voices. The antithesis of “no drama” is “mo’ drama.”
Screech on, Rush.
Mr. Kearney, you got suckered by Obama’s usual double-speak, pragmatic BS that all his voters bought, too.
Boris – Noted and appreciated. Plus you have a sense of humor!
Mentioning President Obama in some positive light, especially regarding his style and tone, must not be verboten as some would have it.
In an earlier age would you have been so fixated on JFK’s politics that you would have ignored learning from his gifts as a communicator? Media are languages, and JFK was fluent in television.
There need to be places where the center-right comes together and learns how to attract the young and the undecided, as President Obama has done.
I believe the center-right also needs to have greater respect for the power of story telling. We need to latch on to more story tellers in the comedic and dramatic spheres, as well as our pundits, politicians, and preachers.
We certainly need to learn more about the evolving media languages of the information age, because these are the levers of power shaping our future. In my view we are in a transitional phase, where ties between new media and the “legacy” major media will determine success.
Amidst all the channels and sources, critics help us find, recognize, consider, and thank story tellers who enrich the culture. We are not the warriors of the culture wars, but we can supply battlefield intelligence.
As a television critic, I will consider the stories told in that most consequential medium. Thank you to all who have participated in this thread, I’ve read every word. I hope you will read my reviews as they are posted.
Yo dude! he’s NOT the President.
To be POTUS ( President of the United Sataes) you have to pass three tests;
{snippet}
“The Constitution requires that a candidate for the presidency must be a “natural-born” citizen of the United States, at least 35 years of age, and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.”
From here;
http://library.thinkquest.org/11492/convention/requirements.html
There is a 4th requirement, which is winning 270 Electoral votes.
Of those requirements the Usurper has only met 3.
That makes him an Usurper NOT a president.
Sorry, but that is just the way it is.
Calling him President is just an indication or ignorance ( a lack of information, NOT an insult) and bias.
#26 — Obama is a radical, extreme pro abortionist. So radical and extreme that he does not believe there should be any restrictions on abortion.
Obama said that discussion can’t happen when one side is screaming. This portion of the speech was about attack politics.
All you’re doing is rotating the screech knob to 11.
Sadly, it appears you weren’t intentionally ironic.
Obama is a Muslim
Muslims practice Taqquia, deception. They are obligated to, if it furthers the cause of Islam via Jihad.
Obama practices taqquia against strong opponents, such as the american people, and dispenses with it when dealing with an apparently weak small, threatened ally.
Kearney was not saying for a moment obama was sincere. He said he sounded sincere, to those non-famililiar with taqquia, which is the majority of the Americans.
Obama gave an outstanding speech. People can learn and benefit from what he said.
People on this thread just can’t stand it. Pitiful. They have zero objectivity. Gladly, they are a marginal group.
vivo:
Callate la boca!
The teleprompter gave an outstanding speech. Obama can’t articulate 4 words on his own. He went to Notre Dame to create a wedge among Catholics. He is a shrewd politician, of those who use masterfully: divide and conquer.
Yes, it is hard to stand it. Pitiful. Yo are the one with zero objectivity, and, at least around here, a member of a marginal group.
“Mentioning President Obama in some positive light, especially regarding his style and tone, must not be verboten as some would have it.”
I agree and actually feel the same way about the left’s reaction to Bush. Despite my views on his policies, he did an outstanding job of promoting aid to Africa and he deserves recognition for his efforts. The unfortunate fact is that 25% on either side are mere ideologues who react rather than think.
Miamaman don’t waste your breath, the “divide and conquer” concept is too hard for simple brains like vivo, who was probably brainwashed since childhood into thinking lenin and stalin were misunderstood heroes, he probably reads only comics. You have to pity him. Don’t engage in intelligent debate with him, he’s an obamatron programmed to worship and bow down.
84-Jim Kearney: “Place where the center right comes together…learn how to attract the young and undecided as O has done”?–”the center right needs more respect for story telling”?
Boy, talking real substance here, Jim. Apparently you’re completely unaware of the mega disinformation machine that runs this guy and the severity of what’s happening.
Well, you did get the vivo’s praise, that should tell you something…i.e. you’re petting a velociraptor.
(try this perspective on what the big O is really saying)
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/obamas_selfactualizing_languag.html
Mentioning President Obama in some positive light, especially regarding his style and tone, must not be verboten as some would have it.
Mr. Kearney
You didn’t just say Obama was an effective communicator. You said his speech was praiseworthy. His speech was bs intended to disarm his opponents by pretending he’s prepared to be reasonable and compromise on abortion. He’s not. His history and agenda could not be more extreme.
Unless you too are an extremist on abortion, you were taken in.
What has civility to do with truth?
G Alston:
#26 — Obama is a radical, extreme pro abortionist. So radical and extreme that he does not believe there should be any restrictions on abortion.
Obama said that discussion can’t happen when one side is screaming. This portion of the speech was about attack politics. All you’re doing is rotating the screech knob to 11.Sadly, it appears you weren’t intentionally
ironic.
——-
Alston
I’m just stating the truth. It seems like yelling to you because you don’t want to hear it.
No, he’s not radical and extreme. He only voted for infanticide 4 times.
Name one restriction on abortion advocated by Obama.
The irony of you referring to a wholly justifiable statement as yelling while pretending to advocate discussion is not lost on me.
Obama is trying to silence his opposition while he pursues an extremist agenda. He has many foot soldiers helping him.
Jim: The man wasn’t born in this country. He will probably get away with it because we have a gutless Congress (both parties) and a gutless media (propagandits). I’m not crazy. I don’t see black helicopters circling around my house. And I have a law degree dating back to 1974. It doesn’t make me smarter than anyone else, but I learned something in 40 years of legal practice. If someone won’t show their cards, they have something to hide. Jim: go out and get yourself a Pulitzer prize. Find his birth certificate. You will lose all your media friends’ respect, but you will gain my respect, and what is most important of all–you will be a genuine, hard hitting, call-it-as-you-see-it JOURNALIST.
#88 Vino – he speaks socialist drivel. Sorry I don’t speak that stuff.
You say he gave an outstanding speech. All I got was the usual crapola of parsing words, mincing meaning, doublespeak. If you understood his speech, you really have some symbiosis going with the One.
What I rely on to understand this clown is watching his actions. His actions speak volumes. And actions don’t come with “ah,’s” “uh’s” and “and’s” which litter the stuff coming out of his pie hole. Even his body language says more than the verbal stuff being projected.
When one is in a power position, they can afford to appear willing to talk, when they know that they will get there way anyway.
Yes, Obama is right. I can not and do not want to understand a position that allows for the killing of babies. We also forget that the main function of government is not welfare, health care, and tampering with the economy. It is the security and protection of its people. The weaker ones need to be protected all the more.
Easy to be civil and “elegant” when you lie as easily as he does. He is the master of the bait and switch. Will say and do anything to promote his own agenda and self interest. Can’t he address any issue without talking about himself ? Coming together means coming over to his way of thinking at all costs. Easy to be eloquent and not shrill . That will all dissipate when the tables turn on him as they surely will. I will never understand why more people don’t see through him. He is totally transparent to me.
ah, but the doctor who he mentions in his speech now faces being fired for not giving out abortion pills.
and of course let’s ignore all that taxpayer money that will do abortions overseas, and fund ngo’s to bribe/intimiddate poor countries into allowing abortion as part of reproductive medicine.
In summary: He lied.
#95 — Obama is trying to silence his opposition while he pursues an extremist agenda. He has many foot soldiers helping him.
Accusing Obama of extremism is also extremism.
Obama is a liar. The key to understanding Obama is that even when his rhetoric is soaring, he’s not saying what’s on his mind. He DOES what’s on his mind.
To understand the guy, we’ve got to analyze what he does, not what he says, or … especially … the way he says it.
G Alston:
#95 — Obama is trying to silence his opposition while he pursues an extremist agenda. He has many foot soldiers helping him.
Accusing Obama of extremism is also extremism.
—
Alston
Accusing Obama of extremism on abortion is merely telling it like it is.
Three hours and thirty nine minutes before you posted the above evasion I asked you to:
Name one restriction on abortion advocated by Obama.
I’m waiting.
#103 — Name one restriction on abortion advocated by Obama.
I’m waiting.
Obviously you didn’t read and comprehend the president’s statement. He said that two sides weren’t going to agree and that the way forward was to NOT cast the opposing side as extremist.
Can you at least address what was said? Is that possible?
Alston
So you can’t find one example to belie my claim that he’s an extremeist. I knew you wouldn’t be able to.
Oh, but I’m not supposed to use the word extremist to describe him. Why? Not because it’s not accurate but because it’s too accurate. Calling him what he is interferes with the way forward. Forward to what?
We’re not supposed to raise our voices while he pursues his extremist agenda. It’s not civil. But putting drills in the skulls of unborn babies is quite civil, is it?
I refuse to play Obama’s stupid game. Moderation in the face of extremism is no virtue. There, I’ve addressed his idiotic statements.
105 Terry Gain
“Moderation in the face of extremism is no virtue.” Right.
Of course, if obama figures that out, he’s going to get all confused over his declaration awhile back to seek out the “moderate Taliban” to have tea and crumpets and talk about common ground.
Barack Obama is Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard.
107. Sebastian Shaw:
“Barack Obama is Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard.”
~
LOL! True dat! He’s always read for his ‘close-up’ too!
#65 mshatto. Eloquent!
#105 — So you can’t find one example to belie my claim that he’s an extremeist. I knew you wouldn’t be able to.
Abortion is legal. How is keeping the status quo extremism?
Maybe if you can explain how leaving things alone counts for extremism, maybe we’ll be able to converse. Until such time, I’m thinking you don’t have much to offer.
Brilliant Alstonisms
When you can’t respond intelligently spout nonsense.
The status quo cannot be extreme.
If it’s legal, by definition, it’s not extreme.
Partial birth abortion is moderate.
Infanticide is not extreme.
Mr. Jim Kearney,
1 million lives were destroyed in the womb last year and Obama couldn’t find within himself the desire to protect those who have been born alive in botched abortions. You want to give him credit for his soothing words on the subject? Can you not see that he is only attempting to silence the moral voice that conflicts with his own depravity?
An immoral man can still have an attractive personality. The key to judging good character is to look for that moral sense before you look to personality.
Rush was spot on when he called Obama a master of the “low are of political seduction”. If you do not awaken from this slumber, you will soon find yourself morally bankrupt as well. Until you do, it would be best for you not to post on Pajamas.
Jim, in addition to using code words that he knew you, and most others in favor of civil discourse, would buy off on and be conned, you might look at his other BS stunt, the birth certificate thing. He knows many who could be a problem for him can be distracted by playing on their suspicions, so he hypes the issue by refusing to release the certified document which he already has. Look at some of the commentators above – they fell for Obama’s birther con totally, and he can count on them to keep doing things that make the dangerous conservatives look stupid. You and they heard what you wanted to hear in his BS. He is not listening, you are.
22. geokstr:
“Where’s vivo and the Pastor? No need to come here and insult the readers”
I don’t insult, I challenge your intelligence.
80. MiamaMan:
“I have always suspected “vivo” is from my neighborhood here in Miama.”
I’m glad I don’t live there. Lots of geographical & weather mishaps. But the food might be good.
89. MiamaMan:
“He went to Notre Dame to create a wedge among Catholics.”
Catholics are so screwed up they don’t need wedges. Now pray 3 padres nuestros y 4 ave marías.
91. susan:
I read in a comic book about a girl named Susan who couldn’t think straight and always got in trouble. But because she was kind of good looking, she married a rich Republican and lived happily ever after. The End.
Wrong crowd, Kearney. Most of the folks in here can’t even contemplate the possibility that Obama might be a decent, competent man…who just happens to be a liberal. Instead, the only way they can think of his is as a baby-killing, Allah-worshipping, terrorist with “socialist tendencies,” because well…that’s what liberals are, right? Says so right there on the radio.
I applaud your willingness to applaud a guy you disagree with, because most of the PJMers would consider that blasphemy.
Well … What bothered the doctor was an entry that my campaign staff had posted on my website — an entry that said I would fight “right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman’s right to choose.”
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Does that include a unborn female’s right to live? Or are some females more equal than others?
Hi Jim!
Nice piece and I agree with Herb (115). All the commenters should also applaud your willingness to engage them in civil discourse as well as that doesn’t happen very often.
I look forward to reading more of your insights into the world of television. I’ve missed not getting them in person.
John