“You’re the one denigrating Obama’s competence without saying why, and insisting that I provide a detailed accounting. Why?”

I’m not denigrating…I’m being skeptical. You know, the way you are with Republicans.

Why I’m being skeptical? Well gee, fella…the Allegedly Hawaiian-born Big Kahuna just happenned to be the LEAST experienced candidate fielded by either major party for any of the top slots.

I don’ think that inquiring what the rationale was for the great big Obama Hootenanny of 2008 is a beyond-the-pale query.

You’re the one denigrating Obama’s competence without saying why, and insisting that I provide a detailed accounting. Why?

DS

” I made the mistake of thinking that you were capable of researching your own talking points, ”

Uhhh, Dave…I wasn’t the guy who made claims that Obama was competent…you were.
Therefore, they are your “talking points”, not mine.

I’m sorry. I made the mistake of thinking that you were capable of researching your own talking points, while all along the problem is that you don’t know how. Here, let me help you:

** First legislation, the HOPE Act, which increased Pell Grants to $5100, and later joined Senator Kennedy on the Higher Education legislation that passed July 20, by a vote of 78-18…

**The Coburn-Obama Government Transparency Act of 2006
is an act that requires the full disclosure of all entities or organizations receiving federal funds beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2007 on a website maintained by the Office of Management and Budget.

**The Lugar-Obama Nuclear Non-proliferation and Conventional Weapons Threat Reduction Act
Authored by U.S. Sens. Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Barack Obama (D-IL), the Lugar-Obama initiative expands U.S. cooperation to destroy conventional weapons. It also expands the State Department’s ability to detect and interdict weapons and materials of mass destruction.
Signed into Law on January 11, 2007.

DU

Senator Obama’s fight for universal children’s health care in Illinois.
His success bringing Republicans and Democrats together on bills such as the one in Illinois requiring police interrogations and confessions to be videotaped.
His leadership on ethics reform in Washington.
His bill to make the federal budget far more transparent and accessible to Americans via the Internet — we could use that openness in Texas.
And his vital work with Republicans to lock down nuclear weapons around the world.

Watson

Looks like a good start to me. There’s more if you care to look for yourself.

I’m sure you are familiar with the shortcomings of the State of Texas under Bush… right? Could you share who told you Bush did a “fairly creditable” job of it? I haven’t heard that line before. Maybe with a citation you could make it stick? Oh, right. You don’t do research. Got it.

Yeah, Jeb was a good governor. Who has been blowing all this smoke up your stack? And why do you keep sucking it up?

These two are no model governors, if that is what you were trying to imply. Cutting taxes for the rich may make your retiree friends happy, but most folks in both states got the shorter end of that stick. And your statement that you knew “W” would be elected as early as 1998 – well, let me just say that Stalin would be proud.

You can keep pissing in the wind, or you can actually check the facts. Your choice.

Peace.

DS

“You have no rebuttal to my argument.”

Izzatso? Here I asked you to give me some specific concrete ObamAccomplishment:

“Just out of curiosity, what…exactly…in Obama’s VAST record of public service leads you to conclude that he is competent?”

to which you replied:

“I know that Obama is competent because of his performance to date…”

Fella…you balked.

Look, it wasn’t my intention to harsh your Obamahigh or anything, but I reckoned that while you’re floating up there in mid-air, fartin’ with the angels and suchlike, you could easily drum up a fact or two that an earthbound, (or sea-bound, in my case), pedestrian could hang his hat on regarding Obama’s competence at much of anything beyond campaigning for office…and I’ve still received nothing more concrete than your heartfelt declaration of ObamaFaith.

“Without his legacy, Bush would never have been allowed near the White House. You may think it looks like chewing the carpet, but actually you are the one that looks like a rug-muncher for bringing up Hillary as an example without noting the elephant in the room. Would you vote for Jeb, too?”

Ooops…there it is! That “W” spasm you’re prone to.

You really can’t say anything good about our 43rd Preznit, can you? The fact that he was Governor of Texas, and by all accounts did a fairly creditable job of it, just slides right off that apparently teflon-coated segment of your grey matter, doesn’t it?

It may be spreading,(which is cause for alarm), because it apparently is bleeding over to the “Jeb Bush” aisle in your skull. I’m not a Floridian, but I work with scads of ‘em, (mostly Yankee tax and snow-refugees), and from what I hear, Jeb was a pretty good governor.

“W” being born into the Bush family certainly didn’t hurt his chances, but I’d observe that after Bill Clinton’s conduct in office, the media, (whose creature he was, heart and soul), was so mortified that they didn’t have the heart to seriously oppose “W”‘s run.
Way back in late 1998 and early 1999, we knew that “W” was going to be the next Prez.
In actuality, it was the second term that was denied to Bush 41 by the convergence of an economic downturn,(which ended exactly when 41 said it would), and the candidacy of H. Ross Whack-job and his magic Voodoo Stick.

So while leagcy certainly played a part, circumstances were by far the greater credit to “W”‘s election.

“The funny part is you have been pissing on my leg the whole time.”

In Muncie, it’s a fraternal mark of respect, (or so I’ve been informed).

“Many of us were getting worried that the “decider” was taking us down that path. Thankfully the Republic is durable, and continues on.”

Were you sent to the Halliburton Labor Camps? I heard the grub wasn’t too bad there…

Y’know, after having a few discussions with you, I’m inclined to prefer my moonbats to be of the “barking” variety, rather than the “stealth” kind like yourself.

Funny that. I’d much rather have a reasonable discussion than a shouting match. To each his own. I skipped the labor camps, but I hear the no-bid contract was quite lucrative.

“I’d say you might want to replace “Hillary Clinton” with “George W Bush” in that formulation. GWB is the closest thing to a hereditary monarch that our nation has ever had.”

See? That’s what I mean. You usually sound very reasonable, (for one of your ilk), but then it’s like this mental picture of “W” pops ino your nugget, and you give in to an irresistible urge to fall face first on the floor and start chewing the carpet while howling at the chandelier about BusHitler Halliburton RoveCo, in mid-conversation.

In case you hadn’t noticed, GWB was the first legacy president we’ve had in a very long time. And Hillary didn’t even win the primary. Without his legacy, Bush would never have been allowed near the White House. You may think it looks like chewing the carpet, but actually you are the one that looks like a rug-muncher for bringing up Hillary as an example without noting the elephant in the room. Would you vote for Jeb, too?

It’s very disconcerting. Rather like discussing a ball-game with a fellow and he nonchalantly just starts urinating on himself, y’know?

But that’s only the half of it.

The funny part is you have been pissing on my leg the whole time. I just pointed it out, and now you blame me for your own poor aim.

“I think he should have no trouble winning a second term, where he could get more of his long term goals accomplished.”

Jumping the gun a bit, aren’t we? Here we are a week into Obama’s first term, and you’re apparently ready to repeal the Amendment and vote for the chap who claims to have born in Hawaii TWO more times.

Certainly I’m looking a little farther ahead here, but you’re the one suggesting a change to the Constitution. I think Obama should plan for success. It would be foolish not to.

“He is an extremely competent person, facing an extremely difficult set of circumstances.”

Just out of curiosity, what…exactly…in Obama’s VAST record of public service leads you to conclude that he is competent?

I’ll spot you he’s the Heavyweight Champion at voting “Present”.
And he did manage to worm through Chicagoland politics without an indictment, but other than that…

“If he lives up to his potential,”

Sure sounds like you’ve already made up your mind about that, so why the equivocation?

I know that Obama is competent because of his performance to date, but he still has to prove that he can handle the job of POTUS. I know he is capable and competent, but he will have to demonstrate his capacity with performance. Is this really that hard to understand?

And all that above is the OTHER half of what I was talking about.

There you were, writhing on the floor rapping like the “Exorcist” and gnawing through the throw rug, and the image of Obama beams onto that drive-in screen inside of your coconut.

You pipe down, get a beatific look on your mug, and levitate 6 feet in the air on a shaft of sunlight.

I’m not trying to say you’re a kook or anything…but dude,you are giving a hell of an impression of a slobbering madman.

Obama is not the Messiah. Bush was not the AntiChrist. They’re just a pair of schlubs who got what they wished for.

Yes, we have two schlubs who got what they wished for. Neither is divine. Your image of carpet munching speaks to your own interests more than mine. That you see me as a slobbering madman is quite revealing. As you note above, I sound quite reasonable. The connection you fail to make is that I am quite reasonable. The slobbering madman you will meet only in your own mirror.

You have no rebuttal to my argument. Obama is quite likely to serve two terms, and be one of our better leaders. So keep on with your barking wingnut routine, and I will keep up my reasonable articulation of why you are wrong.

Peace.

DS

“Many of us were getting worried that the “decider” was taking us down that path. Thankfully the Republic is durable, and continues on.”

Were you sent to the Halliburton Labor Camps? I heard the grub wasn’t too bad there…

Y’know, after having a few discussions with you, I’m inclined to prefer my moonbats to be of the “barking” variety, rather than the “stealth” kind like yourself.

“I’d say you might want to replace “Hillary Clinton” with “George W Bush” in that formulation. GWB is the closest thing to a hereditary monarch that our nation has ever had.”

See? That’s what I mean. You usually sound very reasonable, (for one of your ilk), but then it’s like this mental picture of “W” pops ino your nugget, and you give in to an irresistible urge to fall face first on the floor and start chewing the carpet while howling at the chandelier about BusHitler Halliburton RoveCo, in mid-conversation.

It’s very disconcerting. Rather like discussing a ball-game with a fellow and he nonchalantly just starts urinating on himself, y’know?

But that’s only the half of it.

“I think he should have no trouble winning a second term, where he could get more of his long term goals accomplished.”

Jumping the gun a bit, aren’t we? Here we are a week into Obama’s first term, and you’re apparently ready to repeal the Amendment and vote for the chap who claims to have born in Hawaii TWO more times.

“He is an extremely competent person, facing an extremely difficult set of circumstances.”

Just out of curiosity, what…exactly…in Obama’s VAST record of public service leads you to conclude that he is competent?

I’ll spot you he’s the Heavyweight Champion at voting “Present”.
And he did manage to worm through Chicagoland politics without an indictment, but other than that…

“If he lives up to his potential,”

Sure sounds like you’ve already made up your mind about that, so why the equivocation?

And all that above is the OTHER half of what I was talking about.

There you were, writhing on the floor rapping like the “Exorcist” and gnawing through the throw rug, and the image of Obama beams onto that drive-in screen inside of your coconut.

You pipe down, get a beatific look on your mug, and levitate 6 feet in the air on a shaft of sunlight.

I’m not trying to say you’re a kook or anything…but dude,you are giving a hell of an impression of a slobbering madman.

Obama is not the Messiah. Bush was not the AntiChrist. They’re just a pair of schlubs who got what they wished for.

YouTube video?

Nope. Pay-per-view. Capitalism 101.

Let’s start with the kind of guy,(or gal), who seriously spends evry waking moment truly convinced that they are the best suited person of their time to be President.

We’re generally talking about people with a larger dose of ego than is healthy for them, are we not?

This is a typical rhetorical argument. The old saying is that “Anyone who wants to be President should be barred from the office.” I’m afraid that’s a hollow argument. Do we really want someone as President that doesn’t believe they can do a good job?

And I’d say that this is especially so for “self-made”, (still your howls about that for a minute, my fellow Conservatives); Heck, to get a get someone who ISN’T at least bordering on narcissim to run for the gig, we almost HAVE to look to “legacy” candidates from political dynasties, (Bush, Gore, Kennedy etcetera).

Here I disagree most vehemently. Obama knows his capacities because he is a “self-made” man. “Legacy” candidates like Bush are a much poorer choice, because they have not really been tested, and believe that they have a right to their position – rather than an obligation to earn it.

If you’ll grant the above, then we can move on, (as it were), to the effects of unbridled public adulation on a person who is already inclined to believe only the best about himself,(or herself).

I won’t, but go on…

It’s a very seductive thing for anyone to have everyone kissing their ass, and when the person who is being seduced is wielding power…well, if you can’t see the danger in that, then you’re a lot less intelligent than I gave you credit for.

Thankfully there are folks like yourself around to provide a counterpoint to any ass-kissing that may take place. Thanks! If you actually took a look at the appointments Obama has been making, you’ll see that ass-kissing ability is not his #1 criteria.

One of the peculiar things about George Washington was that he first soured on the British because he was refused a commission in the British Army. He was what we would call a “Climber”, and this is evident in writings. He may be forgiven this perhaps, since it was his station to be born to Colonial Virginia’s Tidewater aristocracy, but the fact that when it REALLY counted, and he was offered the Crown of the United STates, he had the strength of character to go against his own nature and decline is what really makes him our greatest President.

Had Washington accepted, we perhaps would not have been a nation governed on democratic principles for a long, long time. We might not be one nation at all.

Many of us were getting worried that the “decider” was taking us down that path. Thankfully the Republic is durable, and continues on.

Now contrast Washington with the likes of a Richard Nixon or a Hillary Clinton.

They’d seize the crown that NOBODY had offered them.

I’d say you might want to replace “Hillary Clinton” with “George W Bush” in that formulation. GWB is the closest thing to a hereditary monarch that our nation has ever had.

Does that mean that Obama is immune to the -worship- of the “O-bots”, (great term, whoever that was…we’ve got our perjorative for the next four years!)?
I hope so…and I suspect that he is, but he bears watching.

That’s that “constant vigilance” thing we were warned about back in the Republic’s early days.

Yep. Been practicing that full time.

@134. Bilgeman:

It would not surprise me if Obama voluntarily served only one term.

There are some solid reasons for this.

I would be quite surprised if Obama were to bow out. I think he should have no trouble winning a second term, where he could get more of his long term goals accomplished.

As long as I can remember, (I came into this world during the JFK/LBJ Administration), a President’s second term is when he gets damaged the most, (unless you’re Jimmuh Carter, or Gerald Ford…and let’s be honest, all the Presidency did for Ford was interrupt his golf game).

This is not Obama’s concern. His focus is on what is best for the USA – and that is likely to include a 2nd term for himself.

Obama has a racial legacy, whether he likes it or not. If he does poorly, then “The One” might end up being “The ONLY One!” for a long time. I don’t think he wants that.
If he has a nice, quiet, humdrum, “caretaker” kind of Presidency, (and good luck with THAT ‘un!), then gracefully steps aside, he will be the eminence grise of the Left’s political brahmins for decades to come.
(As opposed to Bill Clinton, whom nearly everyone just wishes would disappear).

Obama does not have the luxury of a caretaker Presidency. He has really serious issues to resolve for the sake of the USA, thanks to our previous occupant. His first term has to be very active and ambitious to move his agenda and the nation forward. It is likely that he will need a second term to get to many of the longer-term issues with the Federal govt.

I don’t think Obama is a stupid man,(although some of his political supporters certainly appear to be booger-eatin’ morons of the first water), and if I’m right, then he should know that for all his “remaking America” jibber-jabber, he may really get only 2 or 3 solid initiatives underway in his time.

Obama has a huge opportunity to get a lot more than this done if he can contain and harness the energy of his supporters. He has a nearly complete majority in congress, where the GOP only has enough power to be a minor annoyance, or in rare cases an obstruction. There is no reason that Obama should not serve two terms and get a large portion of his initiatives written into law.

You haven’t really offered any good reason Obama would step down after one term. He is an extremely competent person, facing an extremely difficult set of circumstances. If he lives up to his potential, he will carry the USA to new heights by the end of his second term. The tough part will be finding a Democrat to take his place when his time is up.

Peace.

DS

“Who is the retard? conservatives on a conservative blog or leftist on a conservative blog calling others stupid?”

I didn’t expect this comment from a supposedly smart and informed person. An analogy to the conservative/conservative blog is like going only to a McDonald’s all the time when there are zillion other restaurants. How do you get to know what conservatives are thinking if you don’t mingle with them?

What happens to me is that I read the opinions, but the ones that are creepy and ignorant are the ones that I deal with. Like yours. Why would I bother with people in their right mind?

Besides, PJM is a well designed blog and fun to read.