NY Times: Obama the tortoise?

[Phx_Dem]

Obama’s Tortoise Tactics
By CHARLES M. BLOW

Has President Obama outsmarted us all? (Duh.)

This was conservatives’ seething summer of discontent and unhinged hysteria: town halls, tea parties and tirades. They captured headlines and gained momentum. Misinformation ran amuck. President Obama’s approval ratings tumbled. Through it all, Obama maintained a Pollyannaish, laissez-faire disposition. Some found this worrisome. Others, like me, even thought it weak. But maybe not so fast.

According to Gallup poll results released on Wednesday, the president’s approval rating has stopped falling and has leveled out in the low-50 percents, about the same as Ronald Reagan’s and Bill Clinton’s at this point in their presidencies (both two-termers, lest we forget).

The United Nations General Assembly and the G-20 summit have catapulted Obama back onto the world stage where leaders treat him like the best jock in the high school cafeteria. Even his adversaries praise him. His leadership in these forums to tighten the screws on Iran for its nuclear programs project a presidential certitude and sense of steel and authority that was sorely needed and sorely missed.

Furthermore, after Dick Cheney’s thrashing and whining about the Obama administration making us less safe, a rash of recent terror arrests has sent the signal that the aggressive pursuit of terror suspects remains a top priority.

Then there is the interminable health care debate. It seems that the Republican babble may have backfired.

<SNIP>

Maybe Obama was wise to hang back. While anger can simmer forever, overheated outrage is exhausting and ultimately counterproductive.

Anyone familiar with Aesop’s fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” surely remembers this lesson: slow and steady wins the race. I was beginning to think of Obama as the hare, but maybe he’s the tortoise.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/opinion/26blow.html?adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1253986722-B0RleMCL+5U31yIYVLPVaA

[Peacetrain]

1. They are finally starting to see the light... after 8 years of

screaming at the top of the lungs by the rightards.. Just cool calm and collected and getting it done, had them buffaloed

[DevonRex]

2. The right can't sustain the anger and everybody else is laughing at them now

because they look so stupid. I'd say it was well played by our side.

[thereismore]

6. You nailed it. Fake outrage, town hall thugs, all over. They can't sustain it, and

the break in August actually helped us a lot. The public option is the tortoise.

[Catshrink]

3. Rope a Dope

The real Project X. Obama's been our secret operative all along.

:tinfoilhat:

[Bicoastal]

4. People were "so nervous" Obama was going to lose the election because of all that anger...

...you saw at Palin rallies. All those accusations of socialism, and indoctrination, and Jeremiah Wright, and Joe the Plumber...

And then he really lost big time in November, didn't he?

[BlooInBloo]

5. (shrug) As long as it works.

[BeyondGeography]

7. Anyone who remembers 2007 knows Obama is comfortable letting someone else play the hare

Once he identifies a path to victory, he has the artistic sense of narrative, the political skills and the personal qualities to make the story work out in the end.

[Cha]

9. Obama..our Presidential

Tortuga~


I love turtles.

[Phx_Dem]

17. Someone needs to photoshop a big O-smile on that turtle! lol

:7

[Cha]

18. That wouldn't be me.

:7 Don't you love that strong shell?

[Phx_Dem]

19. Me neither. I'm photoshop clueless.

The strong shell is perfect for Obama --nothing penetrates it.

[Cha]

20. I know..I was just thinking

that~

[brentspeak]

8. So if this was all just a game, Obama would be "winning"

Too bad there are real-life issues that mean a lot more than simply the political sport of Obama vs. Republicans and the various approval polls. Meanwhile, Wall St. bankers have gotten bailed out to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, the public school system is set to be raped by Obama's Sec. of Education, as is the entire nation under Obama's "you have a duty to purchase Blue Cross/Blue Shield" health care "reform".

[PopSixSquish]

10. To Use a Baseball Analogy Because I Don't Play Chess :)

the way you consistently win games is to play "small ball" while your opponent swings for the fences. The first thing always to do as a batter, is get on base, steal second when you can and wait for the hit into the outfield which will bring you home to score.

Working the fundamentals gets you far in life...

[Cha]

13. Another analogy that I can relate to :).. is

the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries.

That was some slow plodding strategy behind the scenes. Whew!

[Cha]

11. Yeah, Frank Rich, ..it really

wasn't a wasted summer.

Thanks for this Phoenix..I'm glad someone at the NYT gets it.

[BeyondGeography]

15. Wonder how he's going to be negative with tomorrow's column

It's getting harder and harder, Frank.

[Cha]

16. Should be interesting..with that last

one on the wasted summer..I did some research on him and these aren't the only times he does clueless bashing.

I know he's good sometimes but he sure wasn't very wise on Al Gore, either..like he just needed to jump into the gratuitious bashing or he'd never make it.

[rmp yellow]

12. But didn't Obama start off strong?

...whereas the tortoise started off slow? I'm a bit confused.

[Cha]

14. I imagine you are very

confused.