Bradley J. Fikes
I’ve never been a supporter of George W. Bush, but as the handoff nears, Bush the Younger’s record of opposing terrorism and the terrorist apologists in the media and elsewhere is starting to look pretty good.
President Obama will face challenges from terrorist-supporting states like Iran and non-state terrorists like Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah. Nothing in Obama’s record suggests he’ll have the strength of will to stand up to them. Bush did.
During Israel’s recent war against the terrorist group Hamas, Bush stood firmly behind Israel, while Obama ducked the spotlight. Given his long association with the Hamas-loving Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama can be reasonably assumed not be be strongly opposed to Hamas. At least he never said so at the time.
And Bush may have been right about Iraq. While I still have doubts about the Iraq war, I’m less opposed to it now, and am rethinking matters. It’s not that Bush has been particularly eloquent or persusive. The large number of demented, often blatantly anti-American and anti-Semitic protesters here and around the world have been far more persuasive.
Zombietime is an excellent resource to show just how much the anti-war movement and support of those pacifist Palestinians has been taken over by these racist loonballs:
President Bush, thank you for your work opposing terrorism and opposing terrorist advocates like these who would deliver us to our enemies, by stupidity or design.
And thanks for those Supreme Court Justices and the appeals judges. Excellent work. And David Ehrenstein must be thankful that Bush didn’t retain power as dictator for life as he feared.
Why Webster! Didn’t you know? Cheney has implanted mind control chips in Obama, Reid, and Pelosi.
It’s all a plot!
Bush transitioned with dignity that nearly everyone on the Left didn’t forsee. They misunderestimated him.
But they flipped out today.
Roberts flipped the words, Obama paused mid sentence, Roberts corrected, Obama then repeated the original flipped words…..
At the end Roberts then prompted Obama with the traditional but not part of the formal oath. “So help you God?”
“So help me God.” Spake Obama.
And so it goes.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/legalities/2009/01/chief-justice-f.html
Dersh reviews some classic trial books:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123216000558792749.html#printMode
The ones about the Scopes and Rosenberg trials were most interesting.
I was unhappy that Bush did not pardon Libby and he made a lot of mistakes but his intentions were always good, if misguided about immigration. The Bush Derangement people were always more about themselves than Bush. I wonder if they will swallow Obama’s steps to rational policies or will they turn on him ? I think it is all about image and feelings so he will get a pass. And, of course, he is black so criticism by anyone is racist.
^ Michael Kennedy, that’s how I feel. You said it all, and so well.
Thanks Bradley for the excellent send-off.
The Obamanation is giving me a *lot* of fun on Facebook, where most of my journo colleagues are having a lovefeast.
One colleague complained that I was very good at “ruining a party”. Mind you, I simply commented on my own FB page, not daring to post my heretical views on the True Believers’ pages.
Now I have decided to accept The One as my personal lord and savior. Thanks to Mike LaRoche, I have joined the Church of Obama the Redeemer, the better to spread worship of The Obamessiah™ to all the heathens.
In Obama we are blessed!
Bradley,
Blessed be.
Oops, wrong “religion.”
The FaceBook stuff is amazing to read. Since I know most of my “friends” (and how little they know about politics, as well as how virulent their hatred of the Right has become), it is amusing to read the huge crush they have on a….
Chicago politician.
That is a mighty tall pedestal they have placed a pretty untested guy upon. I hope he does well. It’s a LONG way to fall.
Teh One can’t fail. It will just be Bush’s fault.
On a serious note, this thing with him winning is no laughing matter. The stuff he’s planning is hardcore.
I have no illusions that playfully mocking Obama is the same as stopping his loony policies. But it’s a start at puncturing teh mythology of his most worshipful followers in a way for them that’s hard to refute. If the zealots get angry, it only shows their intolerance for the same medicine they gave Bush. Don’t underestimate the power of well-aimed mockery that punctures pretensions.
As H. L. Mencken said:
“One horse laugh is worth ten thousand syllogisms.”
Bradley, it won’t work. Your mocking of BO will be seen (is seen) as fundamentally different from mocking GWB. You will not be seen as fair, or even someone with a different opinion to be respected (unlike, for example, full on Marxists in the college culture). And I have to tell you, from bitter experience, that politics can and does impact the workplace. I have said it before, and I have been laughed at several times (not by you).
But I notice that the people who claim that my argument is “whining” are not willing to play “Republican for a Month” to prove their own point. They know better. For example, would they be willing to wear a button that says: NOT MY PRESIDENT for a month at work? How many similar buttons about GW Bush did my Left of Center brothers and sisters wear in 2000 and 2004? I still see the bumper stickers now. And notice that the new White House website attacks GW Bush over Katrina, with nary a word for the local and state government officials who were the ones who screwed that particular canine.
Fundamentally different. Nuance, as Ace of AOS puts it.
I have a recommendation that will serve people very well for the next four or God help us eight years: go read Eric Hoffer’s book “The True Believer.” It was written in the 1950s, but is surprisingly prophetic.
Also spend some time with Jonah Goldberg’s book.
I sincerely hope I am wrong, and that BO will forge a centrist and post-partisan administration. But there is utterly nothing in his background that supports that hope. I think he is reading his own PR stories from the MSM. I’m hoping that the Presidential briefings wake him up to the geopolitical coffee at hand.
GW Bush, for all of his faults, saw the world as it is: a selection of “less bad” choices, instead of a polar “good versus bad” buffet. And his actions after the election have been classy and gracious. No equivalent of “W” keys missing from computers, no underwear being auctioned off.
Fingers crossed. People wanted change. They are about to get it. But they should remember the supposedly Chinese curse: be careful what you wish for—you might get it.
The best hope we have is Obama’s ambition. That is his central drive, as is the case with most presidents. The difference here is that it is all there is. He is pure ambition untempered by experience. Nixon had been through a lot and still let his emotions wreck his presidency. Clinton could have been the best Democrat president after FDR and Truman but let his appetites wreck his reputation. Do you notice that his impeachment is forgotten? I think that is the root of BDS. But it is never mentioned.
The senior people around Obama may keep him from making major mistakes but we had better pray for a quiet four years. I don’t think he is up to major threats.
Thanks for the kindly advice, Eric,and the concern behind it.
However, I’m still going to give it a go. The difference between academia and journalism is that the latter is really under the microscope, both politically for bias, and economically for (lack of) profit. And journalists don’t have tenure.
It’s well-known that journos overwhelmingly back Obama, and any with at least a smidgen of professionalism are a bit embarrassed when that groupthink is pointed out. How can you be independently covering the administration of someone you worship? They don’t have much of an answer for that. My peers also know I did not back Bush, and my change of heart about his stance on terrorism is not because of Bush, but because of his whacked-out terrorist appeaser allies. If anything could make me support the war in Iraq, it’s Cindy Sheehan and her ilk. (I still think the Iraq war was unwise because we have overextended ourselves, but I never thought or said the war was illegal or that Bush was guilty of war crimes).
Has politics harmed my career? I can’t say. But I do enjoy challenging groupthink, and have done so since my college days, when I was very publicly for Reagan in the pages of the Daily Aztec.
And don’t underestimate the power of a dissenting opinion. It punctures the mystique of groupthink.
So I’m going to worship Obama. Not in a mean-spirited way, but just by taking the excesses of his followers to their logical conclusion. You can follow my statements on Facebook.
Now excuse me, I must perform my morning ablutions and invoke the aid of the higher power that sits in the White House.
Obama vobiscum.
I think you are right, Bradley. The alternative voice will now be a good place to be. When Obama does something stupid, the vast majority of the press will know but will be very reluctant to break the spell. I expect that we will hear very little about things that would disappoint his followers. Somebody has to say it.
I wish you well, Bradley. But there are not many journalists out there getting published who are not Obama cheerleaders right now. Even to the point of shameful displays.
Your mileage may vary. But remember the things going on in Hollywood—after Jon Voight attacked Obama, several producers opined that they would never want to hire him for a film. Or have a look at the FIRE website (www.thefire.org).
Do read Hoffer’s book. And buckle up. I think it is going to be a rough ride.
Bloggers can and do survived some of this partisanship. Maybe that is the better model. But tipjars are pretty meager pickings, I would guess.
Not everyone gets a gig like Sullivan, for example.
Hollywood is a different animal than journalism (didn’t someone once describe Hollywood as high-school with cash), so there will be a market for writers/journalists who have issues with Obama. Will they be booked on MSNBC’s Hardball? Probably not, but there are other venues out there.
peace
Hi James,
You’re right, the market for Obama skeptics will be healthy, especially since IMO his economic plan isn’t going to work.
Eric,
Journalism seems to be more open to dissenters than Hollywood or academia. There is that ethical tenet about not being beholden to the government or any particular ideology. Even those that violate this in practice will concede the principle if challenged on it.
Well, most of them.
With all of our jobs in peril from the economic stresses afflicting the news business, journalists are more aware now, however grudgingly, that they can’t just appeal to the left. They need to reach out to moderates and conservatives — even the occasional Libertarian.
Not too many Obama skeptic types in the LA Times newsroom. I think it is hilarious.
Mike, I think you gave the wrong link. That one is about the New York Times and its Slim chances.
It won’t be long before comedians turn on Obama. With democrats having all the power who will they mock? For now it’s just good clean fun for Jon Stewart but soon some real criticism will come Obama’s way. That will be interesting! But for now it is enough to see leftist comedians admit that even when a democrat and a republican say the same thing they only hate the republican for saying it.
http://betsyspage.blogspot.com/2009/01/daily-show-nails-it.html
Brett.
Why wouldn’t comedians turn on Obama? If they care more about what funny than politics, good comics will mine what they can from the Obama admisntration. Heck comics such as Jamie Foxx (who does a spot on impersonation) and Katt Williams have mined good jokes about him.
peace
Yeah, I got the wrong link and now can’t remember where the other was.
Right you are James. Its just nice to see democrats parodied once in a while since it seemed like 99% of the time they’ve gone after republicans lately. But I enjoy a good joke even when a republican is the brunt of it as long as it is not completly nasty and perpetuating a complete lie. The Bush is dumb meme got tiresome only because few people knew Bush had a Harvard MBA and did better than Gore in academic studies.
Brett,
The best Saturday Night Live skit was the one where they played Reagan as a loveable goof by day and a ruthless, crazy, task master at night (God I’m old..smile). I can’t wait for someone to do something on Obama as Michael Corelone from “The Godfather” (a horse head in Rev. Wright’s bed comes to mind….grin) or Grandma Robinson as a taskmaster to the two kids. “I don’t care who your Daddy is. You best get your homework done!”
Yeah it’s easy to fall on the tired tropes, but the best jokes move beyond them.
peace
Bradley, I have a krush on you.
Careful, Bradley. Remember what consorting with Rielle did to John Edwards.
Come to think of it, it was only what John Edwards wanted to do to the country, or at least the Department of Justice.
Eric, good point. I won’t be consorting with Rielle!
However, praise is gladly accepted! (I offer it back to Obama Christ in homage).
Over at Washington Monthly, they were celebrating Obama’s new approach to terrorism. I guess they missed this story. I had posted a comment but somehow it was deleted. A mistake, I guess. I asked them the very question this article answers. Is a hellfire missile intelligence or law enforcement?
Back to Bush for a second – this president made untold numbers of private trips to Walter Reed to visit recovering soldiers, their parents, and to award medals to those unable to leave the hospital. He never sought publicity about it and never made it a performance, no cheap exploitation but heartfelt respect and honor for those in the military which spoke volumes about the man himself. He clearly understood and recognized that nothing would be possible in America without those willing to go before us.
I hope Obama begins to understand and develop the same depth of respect and honor for them as he works closely with them. I’m not hopeful given his blowing off of the Medal of Honor Ball but I’ll try to be optimistic.
Dana, I think that we need to look at the core values of each of these people. GW Bush has only responded to media criticism once (when he thought a microphone was not hot, as I recall). Barack Obama just got peevish, again, with the press (which loves him).
My problem, again, is that I teach people like Barack Obama, who has never truly left the academic womb (and “community organizing” isn’t exactly the real world).
So we’ll see. But I am expecting that the “Snoboma” meme will be an accurate one.
There are a few signs already that Obama is thin skinned and inexperienced. His striking out at Limbaugh and Hannity will only help them and make him look petulant. Some of this is simply inexperience, the sort of experience that made Tom DeLay smile for his booking photo, for example. I didn’t like him and I thought he hurt the party but he was experienced and knew that if he was smiling in that photo it would be seen once and go away. Obama doesn’t know that kind of thing because, not only is he a neophyte in politics, but he has no experience in losing.
Roosevelt got his experience the hard way with polio. I have read a number of biographies of FDR, the recent ones are much less sycophantic. They say that he was an arrogant young man in 1920 when he was the Democrats’ VP nominee (Many people forget that). Polio made a mature man of him. Obama is Roosevelt in 1920, not 1932.
I’m going to have to say that Obama will not only look petulant but will also get his ass kicked. Limbaugh is a grandstander but knows what he’s talking about and frankly doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him, even the President. It’s helpful to have a 20+million audience. Monday’s show should be good.
You’re right, EB he never left the ivory tower. Insulated from so much reality and arrogant enough to think that he can lead based on reading Saul Alinsky and not having any hands-on experience.