Eclat

I said something at the dinner table last night that I think needs to be turned into a blog post. After watching Obummer's interview with Steve Kroft wherein he broke both arms patting himself on the back, I said that he was "blinded by his own eclat." Here are  few of his eclat moments:

"I became a lightning rod for some partisan battles. I could not be prouder of the track record we’ve put together. By almost every measure, the country is significantly better off than when I came in. If you can look back and say, “The economy’s better. Our security’s better. The environment’s better. Our kids’ education is better,”

"You know, I changed those things that were in direct-- my direct control. I mean, I-- look, I’m proud of the fact that, with two weeks to go, we’re probably the first administration in modern history that hasn’t had a major scandal in the White House. 

"Part of the job description is also shaping public opinion. And we were very effective, and I was very effective, in shaping public opinion around my campaigns." 

"In the first two years, when I had a strong majority in the House and the Senate, we were as productive as any administration has been since the ‘60s. I mean, we got a lot done." 

" Yeah, look, if you’re putting all the weight on that particular phrase [red line], then in terms of how it was interpreted in Washington, I think you make a legitimate point. I’ve got to tell you, though, I don’t regret at all saying that if I saw Bashar al-Assad using chemical weapons on his people that that would change my assessments in terms of what we were or were not willing to do in Syria."

"[Next] I’m going to try to get some sleep. And do a little puttering. Because I haven’t had a lot of chance to reflect and absorb all this. I do not expect to be behind a desk a lot. I look forward to teaching the occasional class, ‘cause I was a professor. And I had fun doing it."

"I am looking forward to getting out of the bubble. I am glad that I’m leaving this place at a relatively young age, at 55. So I have the opportunity for a second maybe even a third act in a way that I think would be tougher if I were, you know, the age of some presidents when they left. "

If you want to read the whole 60 minutes interview, go to CBS Recap. Wear your sunglasses ...

Headlines

These headlines are real ... they have all been discovered on Internet news sites.

60 Minutes: Trump will take $1 salary as president ...

Study: Beer a day helps prevent stroke, heart disease ...

Palestinian UN envoy promises to make Trump's 'life miserable' if he moves embassy to Jerusalem

Satellites show Earth cooling at rapid rate ...

Fed's pull agents off open border to process alien surge ...

Muslims brutally beat [Swedish] TV chef for looking like Trump ...

Hunting, fishing recognized as Constitutional right in Kansas, Indiana

Claim: 3 million votes in presidential election cast by illegals ...

Trump's plan for Coal Country, hollow out the EPA ...

Border agents could ignore Obama directives ...

Soros prepares for Trump war ... Blocks of protest buses caught on tape

Clinton campaign decisions based on computer algorithm ...

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This AM on Morning Joe there was a discussion between two Senators of different parties (names unimportant) about the upcoming UN session and Obama's unwillingness to meet then face-to-face with Israel's Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu (see my previous blog post: Shame).  Aired during this back and forth were Romney's and Obama's comments on this issue in their 60 Minutes interviews yesterday.  Basically, Romney said (and I agree) that this dissing of Israel by Obama sends the wrong message to Iran during these tempestuous times.  Obama's excuse was that he is in "constant" contact with Netanyahu by phone and therefore such a meeting isn't necessary (I think we know of one half-hour call a week or so ago).

My immediate thought was perhaps The Barry could make Bibi his Facebook friend ... which would then clearly show the world (and Iran) the degree of the United States's solidarity with Israel?

Strained Metaphors

Obama has a penchant for casting long, strained, and often silly metaphors to paint a pitiable picture of his Presidency:

I- describe us…as…I'm the captain and they're the crew on a ship, going through really bad storms. And no matter how well we're steering the ship, if the boat's rocking back and forth and people are getting sick and…they're being buffeted by the winds and the rain and…at a certain point-- if you're asking, "Are you enjoying the ride right now?" Folks are going to say, "No." And are they going to say, "Do you think the captain's good—doing a good job?" People are going say, "You know what? A good captain would have had us in some smooth waters and sunny skies, at this point." And I don't control the weather. Obama, coming up soon on 60 Minutes

Obama compared the country to a car Republicans drove into a ditch, "a deep ditch, muddy and hot, with lots of bugs." Democrats, Obama said, including him and Oregon's congressional Democrats, piled into the ditch and began pushing the car out. "We look up and Republicans are just standing there watching. We say, 'come on down and help''' Obama said. "But they just stand there and say 'you're not pushing hard enough. Finally, we get the car out of the ditch and the Republicans tap us on the shoulder—they want the car," Obama continued. "But we tell them you can't have the keys because you don't know how to drive." Then in his best laugh line of the night, Obama observed, "if you want to go forward in a car, you put it in 'D'; if you want to go backward, you put it in 'R.'" from the Willamette Week, 12/9/10

…We have gone above and beyond what was requested by the very Republicans who said they supported broader reform as long as we got serious about enforcement. All the stuff they asked for, we've done. But even though we've answered these concerns, I suspect there will be some who will try to move the goal posts one more time. They said we need to triple the border patrol. Or now they’ll say we need to quadruple the border patrol. Or they’ll want a higher fence. Maybe they'll need a moat. Maybe they want alligators in the moat! They'll never be satisfied, and I understand that. That's politics. But the truth is the measures we've put in place are getting results.  Obama in El Paso, Texas

Mr. Obama also tried out a cleaning metaphor, accusing Republicans of acting like fussy supervisors who refuse to lift a finger to help the crew.  “We’ve got our mops and our brooms out here, and were cleaning stuff out and they’re sitting there saying, ‘Hold the broom better; that’s not how you mop.’ Don’t tell me how to mop! Pick up a mop! Do some work on behalf of the American people to solve some of these problems.’’ from the New York Times, 5/13/2010

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Such dewy drivel might play well to his adoring audiences, but now I think I understand why The Barry never wrote nor published anything when he was the Editor of The Harvard Law Review.