C'mon, President Obama -- Time to Start Returning Fire

[DonViejo]

Trump’s outrageous tweets have drawn silence from the sometimes over-dignified former president. But Mr. Ex-President, your half of the country needs you.

BARRETT HOLMES PITNER

03.11.17 12:01 AM ET

President Barack Obama doesn’t have any official engagements on the horizon and hasn’t said much since returning from vacation, but we should still probably brace ourselves for another 6 a.m. tweetstorm this weekend from President Donald Trump accusing the former president of undermining his presidency. In less than a week, Trump has accused Obama of wiretapping his phone and releasing 122 Gitmo detainees, and he has given oxygen to the conspiracy theory of an Obama-empowered “deep state” or “shadow government” covertly working to destroy him. These claims are absurd, dangerous, and false. But as a liberal Obama backer, I also find them bizarrely welcoming.

Following Hillary Clinton’s defeat, most Democrats wondered about who would fill the void left by Obama. While Obama was vacationing in the Caribbean with Richard Branson, the Democratic Party frantically discussed strategies for addressing the Trump presidency, winning elections at the local, state, and national levels, and pinpointing the emerging leaders of the party.

While all of this is necessary, your average, run of the mill liberal quietly just wanted Obama to come back. Most would have voted for him a third time if possible, so the idea of him and Michelle living a quiet post-presidency life away from the media gaze simply did not make any sense. And now, thanks to Trump’s and the GOP’s “Obama OCD,” America will surely see the emergence of citizen-activist Obama sooner than we thought.

A battle is brewing between these two presidents. Trump and today’s GOP seem to struggle to function if they cannot pick a senseless fight with Obama. They need Obama to appear active, so that they can criticize whatever it is he’s doing and blame him for their troubles. Obama’s absence has forced them to create wild conspiracy theories instead.

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/11/c-mon-president-obama-time-to-start-returning-fire.html

[JEFF9K]

1. "Not returning fire" doesn't work well against Republicans. Let's have some counter punching. nt

[Missn-Hitch]

2. I disagree. His silence is the correct response. No need to acknowledge wing nuttery.

Let things play out over the next couple of weeks. I am confident the Executive Producer of The Apprentice will be gone soon.

[underpants]

3. Would you like a bigger shovel Mr. Trump?

Obama is smart to stay out of it. Trump is dying for a public spat. It's part of his pro wrestling schtick.

[happy feet]

5. +1

I agree. Don't feed his ego. Let him continue to dig his own grave.

[murielm99]

6. The proper response is silence.

Most former Presidents do not comment on the current President.

Even Dubya has remained mostly silent about Trump. Many people were surprised when he made even a few mild statements about this "administration."

Maybe Dubya and Obama will speak up or work together.

[Nitram]

7. I disagree. If Obama gets involved, it turns into just a personal feud. The stakes are too high

for that kind of distraction. Have a little faith. Obama knows exactly what he's doing. But his authority is limited at this point.

[mwooldri]

8. Stay quiet, lay low.

#45 needs a Boogeyman. He had his primary opponents. Then he had Hillary. He has no one left except Obama to villify. Obama by being quiet foils that plan.