'He Just Does What He Thinks Is Right' article on Obama

[Nancy Waterman]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704254604574614400275474962.html

Cannon to the left of him, cannon to the right of him, cannon in front of him volley and thunder. That's our president's position on the political battlefield now, taking it from all sides. And the odd thing, the unique thing in terms of modern political history, is that no one really defends him, no one holds high his flag. When was the last time you put on the radio or TV and heard someone say "Open line Friday—we're talking about what it is we like best about Barack Obama!" When did you last see a cable talking head say, "The greatness of this man is as obvious as it is unnoticed"?

snip

We start with a note from an accomplished young man who worked with Mr. Obama on the campaign and in the White House. He reminded me this week of a conversation we'd had shortly before the president's inauguration. "I remember you asked me back in January if I loved my guy. And in light of all that's happened in this first year, I still do. Even more so. And I also have a strong sense—based not just on polls but on a lot of folks I've talked to who don't always pay attention to politics—that he DOES have that base of people who still love him too.

"It's hard to detect, because the part of the 'base' that's represented on cable and on blogs is so vocal (and by vocal I mean shrill), but it's there. I also read it in the letters he gets. Some of them are amazingly poignant and appreciative of what he's done and what he's doing. Some of them are tough—very tough—but still respectful and hopeful that he's doing the right thing. Even if they're unsure right now, they want him to succeed. . ."

He sees them as a kind of quiet majority, or at least quiet-but-large-group-within-the-electorate.

[Captain Hilts]

1. That's what they used to say about GWBush. 'Bam is more deliberative. Thank goodness. nt

[Armstead]

2. Many of us like Obama -- But believe he is letting us down. He can;t bank on goodwill forever.

And a condescending article from the QWalkl St. Journal is not the best source of reassurance.

[NJmaverick]

3. I really enjoyed reading that article, thank you

[JVS]

4. Peggy Fucking Noonan and WSJ? When you get praise from bags of shit like them, you're doing poorly

[NJmaverick]

5. So what should we make of right winger cheering efforts to kill the bill?

[dave29]

10. +18000

[jaxx]

6. Yeah, that's the man I voted for.

Thanks for the article, nice ones are few and far between.

[JVS]

8. Here's another article by Peggy Noonan. Maybe you'll like it too.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204884404574362971349563340.html

Or maybe you'll like her moving forward attitude toward torture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIGzJkSq3lo&feature=player_embedded#at=51

[NJmaverick]

11. Again? You still haven't told us what we are supposed to make of the right wingers

cheering on the kill the bill efforts.

[freddie mertz]

15. I'll tell you: Right wingers suck, Including Peggy Noonan.

This is getting surreal.

[NJmaverick]

18. Ok so if right wingers suck and they are always wrong

and since they hate President Obama, then it stands to reason (by your line of thinking) that President Obama is doing a great job.

[freddie mertz]

25. That is very simplistic logic, grasshopper.

We have many kinds of right wingers, and they are only one element in the mix.

The real puppeteers here are the big corporations and their lobbyists (the puppets are the politicians, media, etc).

The Powers That Be use both parties and the news channels to wave shiny "controversies" in front of foolish citizens.

"Obama is a socialist, a Nazi, et".. that was useful, it helped them to apply pressure to compromise the bill.

They used the same trick on us, "forget about healthcare for all, we have a public option for you," then dropped it like a stone, as planned, when it beame "impossible" to get through the "Senate."

What, you actually think this government serves YOU?

Or that they think about you at all?

[jaxx]

19. LOL I don't own stock in Peggy.

You were being funny, weren't you??

[JVS]

26. Just a comical reminder to "consider the source" so to speak

[Moochy]

28. My favorite Nooner article

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/15/magazine/confessions-of-a-white-house-speechwriter.html?pagewanted=1

Oh that Reagan and his sexy, sexy feet!

[JVS]

29. LOL

[rudy23]

7. That's how Obama wants to be seen, hated by "the people" on both sides

Loved by the corporations in "the center." Obviously from the attack dogs he's sent onto poltical sites, his goal is to conflate well-read Progressives with shit-flinging teabaggers. Get ready.

[freddie mertz]

16. Do you know who Ms. Noonan is?

[rudy23]

23. Yes, I'm saying his strategy is working on her. I think that when it suits the R's,

they will tout Obama's bipartisanship. And that's how he wants it, apparently.

Obviously, I'm pretty upset that Rahm went public with his "who gives a shit about Progressives, who else are they gonna vote for?" strategy, so I am doing a good bit of arguing on this subject today.

[freddie mertz]

24. Agreed.

Rahm started this war and I would not be surprised to learn that WH operatives are stirring the shit across the blogosphere, trying to distract us from the real fight: which is reconciliation.

[FrenchieCat]

Thanks for that posting.

These days I don't bother with the comments on a thread on a positive Obama article....
Since it isn't the primaries anymore, I no longer care so much as to what people think of this President. I believe he will do what is right at the end of my review, and that's how I shall proceed.

Thanks Again!

[Cha]

22. That's for sure worth repeating!

:)

[FrenchieCat]

9. Thanks for that posting.

These days I don't bother with the comments on a thread on a positive Obama article....
Since it isn't the primaries anymore, I no longer care so much as to what people think of this President. I believe he will do what is right at the end of my review, and that's how I shall proceed.

Thanks Again!

[VMI Dem]

12. So did Bush.

Noonan? LMAO.

[Cha]

21. Only bush was a fuckin' puppet so

cheney and rove were manipulating him..big fuckin' difference.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Peggy Noonan? Really?

Not exactly the person whose discernment I'd be looking to in anything. But if Republican hacks are your cup of tea, as clearly many here adore Noonan, then she's you gal fer sure!

[freddie mertz]

14. Peggy Noonan on the "silent majority" eh? Oh brother, where art thou?

[paulk]

17. through the looking glass

when Peggy Noonan writes a positive article about a Democrat, it's time to start counting the silverware...

[Cha]

20. Thanks Nancy, this is how I feel about him.

I don't care what the detactors have to say about it.

The President is not depending on anything but his knowledge and dedication to getting the job done.

There's a difference between what the puppet bush did and what a real President is actually doing to clean up the puppet's mess.

[Moochy]

27. Noonan : "I FIRST SAW HIM AS A FOOT, a highly polished brown cordovan wagging merrily on a hassock."

Peggy Noonan and her foot fetishism with Reagan. Awesome!

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/15/magazine/confessions-of-a-white-house-speechwriter.html?pagewanted=1

Confessions of A White House Speechwriter
By Peggy Noonan; Peggy Noonan was a producer at CBS News before becoming a speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and George Bush. < snip >

I FIRST SAW HIM AS A FOOT, a highly polished brown cordovan wagging merrily on a hassock. I spied it through the door. It was a beautiful foot, sleek, perfectly shaped. Such casual elegance and clean lines! But not a big foot, not formidable, maybe even a little . . . frail. I imagined cradling it in my arms, protecting it from un-smooth roads.

[renate]

30. who reacts like that to a SHOE?

:eyes:

The first thing she thought of before she even met the rest of him was cradling Reagan's foot in her arms? This is a professional writer who isn't embarrassed to have that drivel printed in front of God and everybody?

Anyway. One thing that keeps my blood pressure down when the President says or does something I'm not crazy about is that I have confidence that, unlike his predecessor, he is doing the best he possibly and politically (given the complete lack of partisanship) can. With Bush I was always so frustrated that he was plotting against the majority of the people he was supposed to serve in favor of the ones who'd given him the biggest campaign donations. I believe that Obama is doing the honest to goodness best he can given the political climate and the hand he was dealt before he ever came into office.

[bvar22]

31. Noonan....PEGGY NOONAN !!????

OMG.

Your wing of the Party has truly lost your minds.

LOVE Peggy Noonan.

HATE Jane Hampshire.


:rofl: