Barack Hussein Obama, May 2008: “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.”
James Earl Carter, July 1979: “I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing. . . . And I’m asking you for your good and for your Nation’s security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel. Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense — I tell you it is an act of patriotism.”
We have been here before. Do we really want to go back there again?
But we didn’t do it RIGHT under Jimmy Carter. Obama will INSPIRE us to do it right.
And true communism has never failed, because it’s never been tried.
No.
Will there be food police to see that we are all equally hungry or will the rich be able to have full meals while flying in their private jets?
Yes, a good number of Democrats do want to go back there again.
Especially here in Portland.
The moaning about Reagan and not following up on Carter’s policies has never ceased here.
Here is the you tube of the obama comments: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XXIvmJ8xenc
Hmm, will this work?
We can’t just have legalized gay marriages and civil unions and all these pro-homosexual laws and just expect other Moslem countries to say OK.
Huckleberry Finn’s friend Jim had a term to describe ignorant blacks like Obama….he called them ‘chuckleheads’.
Technically, Obama is correct. Where he is mistaken is that we should predicate our actions on what other countries are “OK” with. No matter what we do, somebody, somewhere, will object to it. That’s their problem, not ours.
the problem is… we didn’t learn. Gas engines have become much more efficient since Carter’s days, but just to squeeze more power out. Public transit hasn’t changed much at all, because no-one wants to pay.
The thing is, you can’t make changes via Gov’t. fiat, and expect it to stick. Where the market makes the changes ruthlessly, without wondering who to bloody. If fuel prices had stayed high in the late 80′s and 90′s we’d already HAVE plug in electrics. Meanwhile, those that actually need large trucks wouldn’t have nearly as much to pay for now. Now that there is money to be made, speculators and oil companies are driving that price up.
People stop doing certain behaviors, when it isn’t cost effective to do so…
Before Obama came along with his Jimmy-lite “reductio ad absurdum” act, I hadn’t fully appreciated just how big a jerk Carter really was.
Obama has officially jumped the Shark.
Not just NO, but HELL NO! I dont own cardigan and I dont want to sit freezing in the dark, while listening to a malaise speech, thank you very much.
LOL! I had the same “flashback” to Carter when I read Obama’s words this morning. Too bad about half the “possible” voting electorate wasn’t alive during Carter to remember the days of “malaise” and “lowered expectations”…
I expect though, these “self-rationing” pronouncments from Obama would ever apply to his wealthy contributors or even Obama himself.
God knows, Gore could certainly afford to miss a few meals, but there just isn’t an easy way to offset your appetite with “carbon credits”.
Hmmm…CARBO-credits anyone????
Didn’t take long for him to get his “Malaise” speech out did it! Too bad the young generations didn’t live around the time of Carter to understand how bad things can get with Carter II.
Whaddaya mean? The only reason collectivism hasn’t worked wherever it’s been tried is that the right people weren’t in charge!
“This time for sure!” — Bullwinkle J. Moose
To think what Reagan would have done with a fool like this—there you go again Jimmy.
St Obama-who are we to question his wisdom for us? After all we deserve it because we are evil and not something to be proud of until he blesses us.
Regarding Dr. Ellen’s comment above:
“But we didn’t do it RIGHT under Jimmy Carter. Obama will INSPIRE us to do it right.
And true communism has never failed, because it’s never been tried.”
The scariest thing is that I can’t tell if that’s a parody or the honest sentiments of a true believer.
What should be most concerning is that given a disagreement between what other countries think and what the American people want, Obama is siding with other countries. Someone explain please just how that is supposed to come off as a positive attribute in a president. Shouldn’t our president be representing and strongly advocating *our* interests to the rest of the world?
Wait–I have an idea. Everybody whose name begins with A-K will get to eat and turn on the heat on even-numbered days; the L-Z folks will eat and be warm on odd-numbered days. That should solve everything.
Courtesy of the Messiah of Nuance and Transcendence: Prepare to reduce your carbonara foodprint.
Hmm, Barack, no SUV’s, less calories and lower home heat temperatures? why this may cause even more typical white people to get even more BITTER than they are. Imagine the boon to gun dealors, clergy and the border patrol!
How is this for the new slogan going into November. YES WE CAN’T.
Vote for Obama and kiss goodbye the All-You-Can-Eat buffet.
No SUV’s, less food and heat?
This will cause more typical whites to become even more Bitter, and will be a boon for the clergy and firearms businesses.
New Slogan for the fall campaign;
Yes We Can’t!
Vote for Obama and watch those extra pounds just melt away!
Hey, in that YouTube bit where Obama says the fateful words that this post is about, did he say “Tundra?” Did I hear that right?
” . . . . whether you live, uh . . . in the desert, or, uh . . . the tundra . . .”
“Tundra?” Seriously, did I hear right? Does he have the U.S. confused with Siberia? Does Siberia have 57 states, or all of Russia, maybe?
God forbid I should defend Carter, but he was reacting to an external boycott by OPEC. Obama wants us to disembowel ourselves over what I (and many others) believe to be a bogus crisis thrust upon us by arrogant scientists and power-grasping politicians.
Nah, this is supposed to apply only to those states in the middle. You know, the ones whose only function is to supply corn and wheat and refined petroleum products to people in the really important parts of the country…
No Plan
No Clue
No Experience
No Bama
Free enterprise that is what made and runs our country. Just because others have tried a different road and failed is their issue not ours. Socialism. like communism has failed.
No, we haven’t been there before, unless the readers of this PM post were early proponents of recognizing and fighting the climate change problem.
We haven’t been there before unless you honestly believe that we are not closer to reaching peak oil, after 29 years of annually-increasing gasoline consumption (including recent booms in developing countries).
No offense, but the logic in this post, and in many of the comments, is EXACTLY why Obama resonates with so many people. You guys just don’t get that times change, and that the circumstances our country finds itself in are almost never perfectly analogous to situations from recent history.
You guys didn’t get that the debate over whether to invade Iraq was not very similar to the decision to declare war against Nazi Germany in 1941 (despite all the comparisons made by conservative bloggers, commentators, Christopher Hitchens, etc.). And as the country gradually realized how stupid a decision it was to invade, you didn’t get that the mounting frustration with Iraq was very different from leftist/radical opposition to Vietnam during the 60′s.
And you can’t get that the economic and geopolitical forces stemming from the climate change problem and the global long-term energy supply problem are very different from the short-term, largely politically-driven energy crisis we found ourselves in 29 years ago.
This inability to differentiate new circumstances from the past is common among you Baby Boomers; Bill Clinton even had trouble telling the difference between Obama’s campaign and Jesse Jackson’s (despite Obama raising more money, from more individuals, than any other candidate in American history).
Memo to all Baby Boomers: when your 4th grade teacher told you that history repeats itself, she didn’t mean it literally.
A week or so ago, Germany’s minister for the environment (formerly he was in charge of pop culture) travelled to a tropical country. He reurned more determined than ever to prevent global warming because if Germany became that hot and humid he would hve to spend his days in bed with air conditioning.
Just the man I want to control my thermostat and diet! Oh, did I mention that said minister is built like a Teletubby?
Once again Barack Obama reveals himself to be of a totalitarian bent. Earlier this year his wife was quoted in a speech,”Barack is going to make you work” etc etc.
“. . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.”
Is he running for for President of the United States or World President?
“. . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.”
Er, paraphrashing our beloved former president: it depends on who “other countries” are. I bet the OPEC countries will love us, else they would have to eat their sand, drink their oil. The Brazilians will love us, they have oil and food for us. The Chinese will love to send us their manufactured goods… On the other hand, the Euros will hate us because we bid up everything and they can’t keep up.
To paraphrase Mr. Hupf’s quote above:
“Once again, Barack Obama reveals himself to be a total idiot.”
Who in the world is going to say, “Well, I am not going to eat less until the Americans eat less”?
This former community organizer reminds of the guy who gets elected president of your property owners’ association and tries to put speed bumps all over the neighborhood because his wife’s toy poodle ran out into the street and almost got hit by a car once.
Will:
you stated we (boomers) have an inability to differentiate new circumstances from the past as being common among us, and you state we haven’t got it yet the debate over whether the invasion of iraq was not very similar to the decision to declare war against nazi germany…
will…go read a history book for once in your life-we didn’t declare war on Nazi Germany, they declared war on us-maybe if you and the other Okoolaid drinkers had some kind of understanding and knowledge of the past you’d see this guy is nothing but recycled Marxism lite, and that all he has done in his life is talk, talk, talk…and he’s obviously found enough of you, as inexperienced and naive as he is, to listen, listen, listen.
Go read a history book or two.
As I said on RS, GAD, it’s Carter without the twang.
Obama, I’m telling you, is the biggest charlatan and con artist to come down the pike in my lifetime if not in 5 lifetimes.
Hah! Will said (PEAK OIL). As if we have any clue how much oil is in the entire earth including all the ice and oceans. Only a liberal would assume we can correctly estimate the amount of oil in the world.
But the point is the cost of energy and the amount of production. Who cares if we are using 25% of the world’s energy. We need to produce more of it. If we could bring down energy costs with drilling, nuclear, refineries and the holy grail of renewable energy then we would top inflation in its tracks.
And as terrible as Obama is, he’s probably going to be the next president. He’ll ride a wave of ignorance of histroy, PR points, and PC propaganda.
Realizing that is like dodging the arrow and catching the cannonball.
Will, Obama’s a boomer, too. You’re committing the ultimate ageist, generationist sin: you just trusted someone over 30.
There’s a famous definition of insanity, the one about expecting a different outcome. Kid, you’re it. So, to that extent at least, I guess it really is all about you.
So, if Americans continue to eat three squares a day, drive vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and live in air-conditioned comfort that is symbolic of the American Dream, Obama thinks the world is going to turn against us (i.e., the United States).
While I don’t relish such a prospect, neither do I believe it is imminent. Nevertheless, I’m willing to accept some of the positive outcomes that might result from such a turn. The list of positive outcomes includes, but is not limited to, the following:
* People around the world will no longer want to come to the United States; therefore, the issue of illegal immigration should go away;
* Countries around the world will no longer want — or accept — foreign aid from the United States; therefore, the federal deficit will shrink;
* People around the world will no longer want to eat food grown, harvested and/or processed in the United States; therefore, Americans should have plenty of food; and
* Oil-exporting countries will suspend shipments of oil to the United States, forcing liberals in Congress to lift environmental restrictions and remove bottlenecks that have prevented the U.S. oil industry from realizing the full potential of its heretofore untapped domestic energy resources. As a result, the U.S. will realize energy independence for the first time in decades, gas prices will fall and carpooling will once again become an option and not a necessity.
Is Obama making a campaign pledge to reduce the American standard of living?
Unfortunately, the Republicans have so completely lost their way that he might get away with it.
ummm. there IS tundra, in Alaska, where no drilling for oil is allowed because of the tundra-caribou-mosquito-polar bear circle of life thingy.
Obama probably saw a photo of said circle-of-life sent to him by his many ecology supporter friends, and he and Michelle definitely want to see the joint for some future June day (only one day, of course, they are busy people!).
To celebrate Obama’s opinion, I took my Corvette out for a spirited spin, came home to my air conditioned home, set at precisely 72 degrees, and later, toasted the sunset with a glass of merlot in my in-ground spa. You’re a chump, Obama. I live in the United States of America, not some third world ghetto. I work hard, give generously to charity, including foreign disaster relief and if I want to enjoy some creature comforts in life, I will do it. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness baby. Live it, love it, or go live somewhere else.
There is only one way and one light, and that is Barack Obama. He will save us all if we allow him to.
Bob: Hear! Hear!
Will: What flavor is the kook-aid this week? Very Barry? Green Guilt?
Quote of the Day:
No Plan
No Clue
No Experience
No Bama
Brilliant, Matt!
Don’t call me. I’ll be in the driveway, gunnin’ the engine of my SUV to help pay that windfall profits tax. Somebody has to, right?
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is now positioning herself as first in line for the chairmanship of the PRC: http://www.hillarystore.com/store/HC0925.html After all, she wasn’t really from New York, either…
It’s a good news, bad news thing: Good News: Barack Obama really IS the Second Coming of J.C. Bad News: J.C. doesn’t stand for “Jesus Christ,” it stands for “Jimmy Carter.”
Will, I hope you will link to some material on the dabate about our response to the German declaration of war in 1941. If not can you at least outline some of the arguments of those who did not want to declare war in retern? I never heard of this debate and am looking forward to learning more.
JT said “Wait–I have an idea. Everybody whose name begins with A-K will get to eat and turn on the heat on even-numbered days; the L-Z folks will eat and be warm on odd-numbered days. That should solve everything.”
Not fair JT. When a month has 31 days the L-Z folks will eat two days in a row. Hmmmmmm Not to worry… Obamessiah will make it fair.
Will, most of the Democrats in 2003 voted in favor of going to Iraq; they even insisted on another vote in order to look strong on national defense. In short, the nation’s representatives (look up republic if you need help here) voted in favor of the action. Have the balls to see it through. Like most Democrats, their word and commitment don’t mean sh*t.
Sorry, McCain kicks Obama’a ass in ’08. You’re confusing media bias with what the average thinking voter will do. Obama is an extremist freak.
Obama is no different than the others in Washington he purports to be “different” from. He plays the old CYA game, pointing the finger at the populace when summing up the current energy predicament. Yes, it’s our fault because we are not energy efficient enough. Excuse me, but the U.S. has significantly improved energy efficiency in the last two decades, and today still consumes roughly the same number of barrels of oil each day as in Carter’s time – amazing given the increase in population, cars, and production capacity. We are in an energy predicament becaus we haven’t built any new refineries in the last thirty years, because only 15% of the shale offshore has been explored, and because we won’t drill at ANWR. That, plus the continued oil company monopoly that reaps its oscene profits at America’s expense. And you can thank the bozos in Washington for that.
Obama’s new campaign slogan:
No You Can’t.
“Tundra?” Seriously, did I hear right? Does he have the U.S. confused with Siberia?
No, Obama was talking about the Toyota Tundra. It has a V8 engine! The horror!
Obama will INSPIRE us to do it right?????????? Guess what, if some of you want to deprive yourself, I will not stand in the way as you regress. We have the resources. We have the technology. We are also being restricted at every turn by those who have planned for this day, and the days beyond. They are called LIBERALS, which is another name for COMMUNIST. Let’s export them to Cuba, Venezuela, China, and perhaps Saudi Arabia. Then we can do what needs to be done.
um. D:
those electric cars we would all have? what do you think they are plugged into? that adapter wire is connected to a giant power plant.
speculators and oil companies are the evil scapegoats? energy has gotten so much more complex in the last forty years, ethanol, India, China, no new power plants, no new refineries for a hugely expanded population and auto fleet… its just like a politician to find a bogeyman and claim he is the problem.
Obama’s approach to Iran is remarkably similar to Carter’s as well. It sounds like a bad movie promo (cue to growling voice-over): “In the war against terrorism, pacifism won’t give up no matter how many times it fails. CARTER 2! This time with nukes!!”
Regarding Dr. Ellen’s comment…. You’re damn right it’s never been done right… Not here, Not ever. Read our Constitution you fool. I suggest
you get the hell out of this great country and never come back… You
can’t even appreciate the greatness of our free society and how that came
to be. Get lost you cancerous wretch!@!@
Whats the plan jimmie????OH,I’ll stop drilling in our country but first you guys put all your money in middle east muslim wells that are worth nothing till i make them worth something by saving the world when i tell them how dirty oil is and how i am going to save all america from the death of drilling for nasty oil here and then those muslim wells will make you rich rich rich….that johnson thinks he’s sooo smart with that chumpy haliburton….
i don’t understand what you could mean???I have inflated my tires and man ooo man am i rollin…down down down down down….i luv my inflated tires…they are on my car….and boy are they round….maybe even rounder than they were before….before i inflated them that is…isn’t it great to have inflated tires….i know how much i enjoy it when my tires are inflated….i think everyone should have inflated tires…don’t you….boy i sure am glad my tires are inflated….you should try it….as a matter of fact…i think everyone should have inflated tires….and when you inflate your tires you will be as happy as i am….i luv my inflated tires just as much as i hate haliburton…don’t you hate haliburton…i know i hate haliburton…if you don’t hate haliburton you should….if you luv your inflated tires be sure to hate haliburton….thank you so very much….TT
This is AMERICA goddammit!!!
Yes, I hope we do go back there. Efficiency standards led Americans in the 1980s to control OPEC, not the other way around. One side effect was dropping profits for oil companies. Oh dear