Hey, remember when questioning your opponents’ patriotism and calling for “Country First” were bad things? Funny how that all went out the window in early November of 2008.
At Commentary today, Peter Wehner writes:
According to the New York Times, on his bus tour in the Midwest, President Obama is “bitterly pointing the finger at his opponents for their refusal to consider any new revenues to tackle the deficit and their insistence on deep near-term spending cuts that will only cause more economic pain. His anger is long overdue.”
I’m delighted the Times is so happy that Mr. Obama is so angry. But here’s something to ponder. Assume that George W. Bush was on a bus tour in the Midwest and accused Democrats of refusing “to put the country ahead of party” because they would “rather see their opponents lose than see America win.” Do you suppose the Times would have praised this as evidence that Mr. Bush was finally engaged, passionate, and “fighting back” (which is what liberals are saying about Mr. Obama now)? Or would they have vilified Bush for accusing his opponents of being “unpatriotic,” of not loving America, and of employing vicious, uncivil rhetoric?
Now for the bonus questions: What individual, on the night of his election, standing atop a stage in Grant Park, reiterated one of the central themes of his candidacy by saying, “Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long.” And who, during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, said, “One of the things that we have to change in our politics is the idea that people cannot disagree without challenging each other’s character and each other’s patriotism.”
If you guessed it’s the same man who during the 2008 campaign gave an interview to Rolling Stone magazine in which he said, “I want us to rediscover our bonds to each other and to get out of this constant petty bickering that’s come to characterize our politics” and “the tit-for-tat, ‘gotcha’ game that passes for politics right now doesn’t solve problems, I want to get beyond that,” give yourself a lollipop.
What, not an ice cream cone or Slurpee? But as Wehner concludes. after catching the New York Times praising Obama’s anger, “Who knew that deep down Barack Obama was really Spiro Agnew?”
Hey, Obama’s been channeling Nixon from the start of his administration; why not Nixon’s veep as well?
Incidentally, Michael Barone ponders if President Obama will channel Harry Truman in securing a potential comeback victory in November of 2012.
No, he has MSNBC to violate Godwin’s Law when smearing his opponent; there’s no need for Obama to do it himself, unlike Truman.
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