Obama Is Warning America About Trumps Presidency. Are You Listening?

[DonViejo]

The New Republic
BY BRIAN BEUTLER
November 15, 2016

-snip-

There is a text and a subtext to everything politicians say in public, even ones without more elections to run. It was the subtext of Obama’s press conference that unnerved me.

On the surface, his performance was reassuring. He was chipper. He did not doomsay. He searched for the generous and hopeful things to say about Trump and Trump’s designs on the presidency. But on close reading the sum total of his remarks was frightening—a stage-setting, at the very least, for an administration Obama expects will be hobbled by incompetence and likely to fail.

Obama kept returning to three basic themes: that Trump will be given every opportunity to succeed, thanks to the tutelage Obama and his team will be providing, and the fact Trump won’t be inheriting massive crises—which should give him the kind of running room Obama never enjoyed; that the work of a presidency is ceaseless, and much of it highly detail-oriented; and finally that Trump’s grasp of what he’s been elected to do is at best remedial.

Obama may be subtly trying to communicate to the Trump transition team that they need to make massive strides, and quickly, or they will be, in Obama’s words, “swamped.” But his expectation that Trump and his entourage will get their act together is clearly very low. “The most important point I made,” Obama told reporters at the White House, referring to his conversation last week with Trump, “was that how you staff—particularly your chief of staff, your national security adviser, your White House counsel, how you set up a process and a system to surface information, generate options for a president, understanding that ultimately the president is going to be the final decision maker, that that’s something that’s going to have to be attended to right away.”

-snip-

https://newrepublic.com/article/138757/obama-warning-america-trumps-presidency-listening?utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=sharebtn

[smirkymonkey]

1. Trump is so in over his head it isn't funny.

What a disaster!

[physioex]

3. Pfttt....

They have a long history of electing charlatans and second rate actors.....

[gordianot]

2. When will it be time to drop subtlety?

Other than his lies Trump has not been very subtle.

[Hekate]

6. For Obama? The day after he leaves office.

Kaboom

[lostnfound]

12. Not even then. Obama is brilliant and positioned...

He knows that he has a tiny sliver of a chance to influence Trump and keep an open channel of communication.

Listening to Obama speak about it, he seemed as thoughtful and guarded as ever, and I felt as if he was reporting to the world at large after a fact finding mission into hostile territory. "What is the state of mind of the patient, doctor?"

As delicate of a situation as a hostage negotiation situation.

[pinboy3niner]

4. Don't worry, everything will be in Trump's capable hands...

His tiny, tiny hands...

[TygrBright]

5. The relevant Toon:

Just sayin'...

ominously,
Bright

[handmade34]

7. k&r n/t

[safeinOhio]

8. He will be just fine.

Step back, give him some rope and when he hits rock bottom, be there to toss him a pick and shovel.

[Sunny05]

10. ryan and priebus ... and many others, I'm sure ... have beat us to that. nt

[Sunny05]

9. Agree with so much above ...

trump's failings will be scary for all the economic, international, and other reasons. Plus, this whole mess will leave pence, priebus, and ryan (maybe others) in charge ... bannon, Giuliani, ... God, it's scary. To some extent they are in charge now. Of course, trump being in charge terrifies me. But everyone else I just named terrifies me.

Keep up with all that you can. Contact elected officials. If you're in a red state like I am, sure we can do our best with our federal-level officials. But I am staying in contact with what state-level Democrat officials I know. And I am not in a county nor a state district with any Democrat representing me. So I am contacting state-level Democrat officials wherever they are. I figure they have more connections with Democrats at multiple levels/places -- national and in other states. (Actually, I know they do.) So I am staying in contact with them no matter what the issue.

[Liberal In Red State]

11. I am like the walking dead. Absolutely horrified that people I know supported this . . .

orange monstrosity. Bill Mahr said on Friday night - you can't de-friend 50% of the Country - yet that is exactly what I want to do. Intelligent people forwarding news postings from Donald Trump News that he won the popular vote . . . NOT . . . that after days of attacks on citizens especially minorities he says "stop it" and I'm suppose to accept this as "presidential behavior" when he should have been out their on night one! Doesn't attend any Veterans Day events. Mostly likely because he has no respect for the military having been a draft dodger himself. I've come to the conclusion that anything this idiot does is just "white noise" to his minions. He can be found to be a pussy grabber, a racist, in bed with the soviets financially, and they hear nothing. Not one of the former living presidents, none of their wives and children, not one major newspaper publication, not former Republicans in positions of cabinet like Colin Powell or Condolesea Rice, not even major GOP members of Congress that weren't up for re-election offered their support and/or endorsed this jerk. No the conservative masses held their nose and voted for him. Their hatred for Hillary was so strong it drowned out everything. The only candidate held to a high standard was Hillary. Was she perfect? Far from it - but even the knowledge that Wikileaks's was effectively trying to sabotage the election - "white noise". The only way to really hurt him is to not let him be normalized and even that is beginning to breakdown. This guy is a fame whore. He needs adulation, stroking. Hollywood elite need to stay away from him - let those who really do support him be highlighted by attending Whitehouse functions- at least we will know who they are by the company they keep. Athletes need to boycott the Whitehouse - let Brady Bellicheck and the Brothers Ryan attend. They insulted President Obama - time for pay back. His and the entire GOP treatment of President Obama and his family from day one has been the most disgraceful treatment I have every seen in Hollywood. I'd like to see someone should out during the State of the Union address "sexual predator" just to see how the right react. He now is not sure if he will go after Hillary . . . Try it! I dare him! If we collectively do not rally around her - then to hell with the right - it is all out political war. The right no longer has the moral high ground . . . as if they ever did. They are hypocrites of the highest order. I watched Rick Santorum lend his support on the Bill Mahr show one night after all the information that had come out on Drumpf . . . I realized then his agenda was the Supreme Court . . . everything else was "white noise". There is no such thing as men and women of character in politics - it's say anything and do anything to win. So though it may take a number of years to get back to this place . . . LET'S GO WIN!