The Rude Pundit's been thinking about what was so gut-punchingly frustrating about President Obama's Oval Office
address on Tuesday night. Certainly, at this point, one shouldn't expect anything other than vagaries and platitudes from any speech that is ostensibly "major." That way, you give your enemies very little to attack. But it isn't just the bland stew of multiple subjects Obama mentioned that is so
galling.
Let us say, and why not, that you're a gay dude and that you've found yourself in the supposed dream situation: you've met two guys at a Fire Island bar in these waning days of summer 2010 who are ready to celebrate the end of the season by having a threesome with you. They're a couple, but, hell, the liquor's been flowing freely and they've even said that it's one of their fantasies. Groovy. You get back to their beach house, and you're joking about who's gonna pitch, who's gonna catch, who's gonna ski with a couple of dicks as poles. And then the two of them start making out with each other, yanking on each other's cranks, god, you hope one day you meet someone who's so into you. It's so hot, the clothes off, you at the foot of the bed, looking for your opening, thinking, "Well, that ass seems unoccupied," but every time you try to find entry for your tumescent member, you're denied, either through subtle motion or not-so-subtle hand gesture. And you realize that this ain't about to be your fantasy. It's theirs. And their fantasy involves you perched on the end of the bed, like a good terrier, jacking off while watching them fuck.
The Rude Pundit had that feeling, enlarged and weeping, as he heard what Obama was talking about: the alleged end of the Iraq war, which isn't really ending; the nonstop stream of praise for the soldiers, some of whom committed atrocities like torture; the ennobling of the people of Iraq without mentioning the number of their dead; the outreach to the pro-war crowd by paying respect to the views of George W. Bush. And the rest of us? The majority of the nation that opposed the war while it wore on for years and years? The ones who were waving our hands saying, "How about some help at home"? Obama offered us, "(I)t’s time to turn the page." Or, in other words, have fun fucking yourself, there, Sparky. Oh, and he said, speaking for people who supported the war and people who opposed it, "(A)ll of us are united in appreciation for our servicemen and women, and our hopes for Iraqis’ future." Or, in other words, stick a finger up your own asshole, too.
As the speech moved on, to Afghanistan, with its vaguely defined "get the couple of dozen of al-Qaeda members still goatfucking there," and to the economy, with a brief feint to the need to invest at home, the Rude Pundit wondered, "What do you want, Mr. President? No, really. What do you want? Is there something you want us to do? Is there something you want us to support, beyond more war? Tell us." It's like during the health care debate when he wouldn't say what his bottom line was.
He said we have to "jump start" green industries, that we need to invest in education, and one or two other things, and, hey, look, we captured or killed some al-Qaeda leaders. The only time he said anything approaching specifics was when he said what's been done for vets.
But this presidency was supposed to be about uniting us and asking us for action, asking us to all work together so we can all get off in a glorious future. Now, so cowed by the image created of him by the right, so put upon by unending crises, he merely asks for our patience, not our elbow grease.
The disappointment the Rude Pundit had with this speech, has with this President right now, is that we were ready to go. Many of us still want to get some job done. But what's the goal? What's the end game? What do you want?
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