Typical George Will or is he just THAT frustrated?

lindy · 10-06-2009, 18:31

I was a bit surprised that Will was so openly critical of Obama with an apparent personal attack...after all, this isn't Limbaugh or Hannity.

Honestly though, I'm glad SOMEONE is listening/critiquing Obama's speeches: when he's on the tube, I simply turn to the fishing channel.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...d=opinionsbox1

An Olympic Ego Trip
By George F. Will
Tuesday, October 6, 2009

In the Niagara of words spoken and written about the Obamas' trip to Copenhagen, too few have been devoted to the words they spoke there. Their separate speeches to the International Olympic Committee were so dreadful, and in such a characteristic way, that they might be symptomatic of something that has serious implications for American governance.

Both Obamas gave heartfelt speeches about . . . themselves. Although the working of the committee's mind is murky, it could reasonably have rejected Chicago's bid for the 2016 Games on aesthetic grounds -- unless narcissism has suddenly become an Olympic sport.

In the 41 sentences of her remarks, Michelle Obama used some form of the personal pronouns "I" or "me" 44 times. Her husband was, comparatively, a shrinking violet, using those pronouns only 26 times in 48 sentences. Still, 70 times in 89 sentences conveyed the message that somehow their fascinating selves were what made, or should have made, Chicago's case compelling.

In 2008, Obama carried the three congressional districts that contain Northern California's Silicon Valley with 73.1, 69.6 and 68.4 percent of the vote. Surely the Valley could continue its service to him by designing software for his speechwriters' computers that would delete those personal pronouns, replacing them with the word "sauerkraut" to underscore the antic nature of their excessive appearances.

And -- this will be trickier -- the software should delete the most egregious cliches sprinkled around by the tin-eared employees in the White House speechwriting shop. The president told the Olympic committee that: "At this defining moment," a moment "when the fate of each nation is inextricably linked to the fate of all nations" in "this ever-shrinking world," he aspires to "forge new partnerships with the nations and the peoples of the world."

Good grief. The memory of man runneth not to a moment that escaped being declared "defining" -- declared such by someone seeking to inflate himself by inflating it. Also, enough already with the "shrinking" world, which has been so described at least since Magellan set sail, and probably before that. And by the way, the "fate" of -- to pick a nation at random -- Chile is not really in any meaningful sense "inextricably linked" to that of, say, Chad.

But meaningful sense is often absent from the gaseous rhetoric that makes it past White House editors -- are there any? -- and onto the president's teleprompter. Consider one recent example:

Nine days before speaking in Copenhagen, the president, addressing the United Nations General Assembly, intoned: "No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation." What was the speechwriter thinking when he or she assembled that sentence? The "should" was empty moralizing; the "can" was nonsense redundantly refuted by history. Does our Cicero even glance at his speeches before reading them in public?

Becoming solemn in Copenhagen, Obama said: "No one expects the Games to solve all our collective problems." That's right, no one does. So why say that? Then, shifting into the foggy sentimentalism of standard Olympics blather, he said "peaceful competition between nations represents what's best about our humanity" and "it brings us together" and "it helps us to understand one another."

Actually, sometimes the Olympic Games are a net subtraction from international comity. But Obama quickly returned to speaking about . . . himself:

"Nearly one year ago, on a clear November night, people from every corner of the world gathered in the city of Chicago or in front of their televisions to watch the results of the U.S. presidential election. Their interest wasn't about me as an individual. Rather . . ."

It was gallant of the president to say to the Olympic committee that Michelle is "a pretty big selling point for the city." Gallant, but obviously untrue. And -- this is where we pass from the merely silly to the ominous -- suppose the president was being not gallant but sincere. Perhaps the premise of the otherwise inexplicable trip to Denmark was that there is no difficulty, foreign or domestic, that cannot be melted by the sunshine of the Obama persona. But in the contest between the world and any president's charm, bet on the world.

Presidents often come to be characterized by particular adjectives: "honest" Abe Lincoln, "Grover the Good" Cleveland, "energetic" Theodore Roosevelt, "idealistic" Woodrow Wilson, "Silent Cal" Coolidge, "confident" FDR, "likable" Ike Eisenhower. Less happily, there were "Tricky Dick" Nixon and "Slick Willie" Clinton. Unhappy will be a president whose defining adjective is "vain."

georgewill@washpost.com

rubberneck · 10-06-2009, 18:44

There is a growing current of people who are very unhappy with the President's lack of governance. The campaign is over, he won. It is time for him to act like a President. Sadly I think he is in over his head and this is something we are going to have to live with for the next three years. It's too bad that too many members of our society spend more time trying to figure out who to vote for on American Idol than President.

longrange1947 · 10-06-2009, 20:26

He has proven over and over again that he is over his head. He always defaults back to his comfort zone, hot air rhetoric and meaningless speeches to the "masses". He does not have the background nor the intelligence to be a President . Add to this mess, he has surrounded himself with the worse kind of advisors, know nothing, social bigots, with dreams that their "non-failed socialism" will be proven as the perfect system, and only the Russians could have screwed it up.

Of course that is only my opinion and since I did not graduate from an Ivy League school, it can't be worth much. But then again I have exercised judgment and leadership under some "trying" times. Something he has yet to accomplish.

Penn · 10-07-2009, 03:44

Those who have seriously supported BHO Presidency have been circling the wagons for some time now. It was first evident when legitimate criticism was equated to racist based remarks. This was especially true with regard to policy initiatives and the selection of personal advisers with questionable loyalties to our Country. Defensiveness even remotely referencing race is a sign of utter weakness. We know it as fellow Americans and so do our enemies.

A President with a (supposed) lack of awareness in the background, or affiliations of his advisers is laughable. Hey boss, just a heads up, I just hired a film director to shot your first 100 day legacy installment; he flying in on Swiss Air any day now….What leader, even in the lonely world of septic tank installation does not want a capable assistant? Not aware who your COS delegates authority too? No flow Chart to reference, vertigo issues when you question the ability and integrity of your staff?

Political naiveté aside; it is not an excuse for not being a responsible elected leader, accountable for the poor decisions of either yourself, your staff, or your campaign manger suggestion that you attend the Olympic city selection event; embarrassing yourself and by association, the lowly assistant septic tank installer blindly supporting your cerebral processes.

As one who traverses the hallow paths of an Ivy league school daily, I can tell you this: The dread of failure the university citizenry feels is palpable. As I type this, an emergency research project committee has been formed and funded. Its purpose is to investigate both Einstein’s and Newtonian theories of gravity and space time distortion, for apparently, shit rolls uphill.

Richard · 10-07-2009, 04:55

Here in Texas, the school day begins with the Pledge of Allegience and Texas Pledge - I am of the opinion the day in The White House now begins with, "Mirror...mirror on the wall..."

I watch George Will on Sunday mornings as he sits at the round-table on This Week with George Stephanopoulos; he tried giving BHO the benefit of the doubt but has been a disappointedly harsh critic of him and the current administration for some time now, and his comments have become harser and more blunt over the last six months or so.

Richard's $.02

gagners · 10-07-2009, 06:00

You guys have no idea how people in this state eat his speeches up. They love 'em - as though he were actually saying something. I'm glad someone at a major paper (the Post, no less), said the word which we were all thinking: Vain.

Think this will be reprinted in the "Times"??? haha

Richard · 10-07-2009, 06:23

Quote:

Think this will be reprinted in the "Times"???

FWIW - George Will is 'syndicated' with the Post Writers Group and not a NYT columnist - however, if you go to the NYT and type 'Obama vain' in their search function, you'd be amazed at how many of the NYT columnists and editorials have used that very term to describe BHO.

Richard's $.02

kgoerz · 10-07-2009, 07:31

It all comes down to his experience. Which he doesn't have any. They tried to say what experience did GW have. Well, he ran a Baseball Team for one. Thats head over heels above Obamas experience. Im sure problems and crises came across GW's desk on a daily bases. Yes, they didn't involve life and death. But they were problems he learned to deal with.

Richard · 10-07-2009, 07:34

Here's how we in Texas view of the vanity of the current POTUS:

A cowboy from Texas attends a social function where Barack Obama is trying to gather more support for his Health Plan.

Once the President discovers the cowboy is from former-President Bush's home area, he starts to belittle him by talking in a southern drawl and
using mono-syllabic words.

As he was doing that, he kept swatting at some flies that were buzzing around his head.

The cowboy asks, "Y'all havin' a problem with them circle flies?

Obama stopped talking and said, "Well, yes, if that's what they're called, but I've never heard of circle flies."

"Well, sir," the cowboy replies, "circle flies hang around ranches. They're called circle flies because they're almost always found circling around the back end of a horse or livestock."

"Oh," Obama replies as he goes back to rambling. But, a moment later he stops and bluntly asks, "Are you calling me a horse's butt?"

"No, sir," the cowboy replies, "I have too much respect for the citizens of this country to call their President a horse's butt."

"That's a good thing," Obama responds and begins rambling on once more.

After a long pause, the cowboy, in his best Texas drawl says, "Hard to fool them flies, though . . .."

And so it goes...

Richard's $.02

dennisw · 10-07-2009, 08:05

It's interesting that George Will would write this piece on President Obama. I cannot dissagree with Mr. Will's words, but I wonder at his judgement, and am somewhat bewildered at his gall. He couldn't see this coming? Isn't it the same George Will who virtually on the eve of the election was so critical of McCain pretty much endorsing Obama by default. It took this long for him to realize Obama was afflicted with a severe case of self love? What was Mr. Will thinking when he wrote the following on October 9 of last year:

Quote:

It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/0..._n_128482.html

His insight is appalling. Obama's big flaw was lack of experience? Mr. Will can you spell B O N E H E A D? When it counted most, George Will has shown himself to be a weak sister( no offense to the warrior spirited women who frequent this board) lacking the skills to discern the lesser of two evils(assuming McCain's boiling moralism is both a reality and an evil). In hindsight, Mr. Will needs to man up. He needs to admit he was an idiot and when good judgement is required , he cannot be trusted. Mr. Will when there's a choice, I will take boiling moralism over lack of moral conviction. Welcome to the party, thanks for nothing.

Richard · 10-07-2009, 08:37

Mediocre commanders can accomplish great things with superb staffs and subordinates - I think Mr Will - as many of us - was anticipating such a situation would emerge out of necessity with the BHO Presidency - and now that it hasn't and looks as if it won't...

and

...and he isn't alone.

And so it goes...

Richard's $.02

LarryW · 10-07-2009, 09:55

Quote:

Both Obamas gave heartfelt speeches about . . . themselves. Although the working of the committee's mind is murky, it could reasonably have rejected Chicago's bid for the 2016 Games on aesthetic grounds -- unless narcissism has suddenly become an Olympic sport.

One can tell a lot about a person by listening to how many times he/she uses the words "I", "Me", "My", and "Mine". Narcisscism is a good description of the WH.

akv · 10-07-2009, 10:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

Mediocre commanders can accomplish great things with superb staffs and subordinates -

This reminded me of the old adage attributed to the Prussian General Staff in WWI who referred to their British adversaries as " An army of Lions led by Donkeys"

What if the Donkey's advisers are sheep? The delayed response to General McChrystal's request further exposed Obama's lack of leadership ability. I think Obama is waffling in an attempt to display strength since even SNL is now roasting him for hubris and ineptitude. I think he has little choice but to give his appointed General what he needs, but he might just punt.

On a side note we had a recent thread on Hillary's game plan, I think if McChrystal is denied and resigns, this would be a golden opportunity for Hillary to turn on Obama and resign as well, citing concern for the troops and the country.

**Razor** · 10-07-2009, 12:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

Mediocre commanders can accomplish great things with superb staffs and subordinates...

So you met my rifle battalion commander in Germany?

Utah Bob · 10-08-2009, 08:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard

Mediocre commanders can accomplish great things with superb staffs and subordinates - I think Mr Will - as many of us - was anticipating such a situation would emerge out of necessity with the BHO Presidency - and now that it hasn't and looks as if it won't...

and

...and he isn't alone.

And so it goes...

Richard's $.02

Bingo. Remember Jimmy Carters Georgia Mafia?