After a devastating week for the president in which the Syrians and Russians got the upper hand on the Syrian war negotiations, the Fox News Political Insiders agreed that it was one of the most inept episodes in presidential leadership in their lifetimes. It was fumbled so badly, John LeBoutillier quipped, “it ended up being a hand-off to Putin.” He thought that Obama’s comment about Putin being “the kid slouching in the back of class” would cause a backlash from Putin, and now were’ beginning to see it.
Gregg Jarrett presented a poll that showed the American public’s support for war in Syria before and after Obama’s Syria speech, and the group marveled that support for a strike actually went down after the speech.
But on the question of who’s more incompetent and inept – the Speaker or the President? LeBoutillier thought the speaker of the House earned that distinction for coming out with Cantor in favor of bombing Syria without asking members of the Republican conference what they thought, and when they did a head count, the day of the president’s speech, they had a dozen members out of 200. “It’s pathetic how little these guys know how to lead,” he said incredulously.
“That 63% That is 2/3 of the American public telling the government – we’re not doing it, anymore. It’s like the movie, “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it, anymore. and there’s no leader leading that….”
“Normally…historically, when a president gives a speech”, Caddell agreed, ” or the administration says ‘we have to take action’, the country will rally around ….these are the worst numbers…it’s across the board. He went on to say that it’s the elite political class in Washington who want it, but the mainstream in the country of all parties and all ideologies are saying, ‘no, no, no’ – “this is historic, he said, “and if it goes into domestic politics it could be really big.”
After the break, they discussed budget negotiations where they had all kinds of advice for the hapless “Stupid Party.”
Doug Shoen called ObamaCare a “death star” and the only way it helps Obama is if the Republicans decide to shut the government down to defund it. That, they all agree would be a disaster for Republicans.
Video via Johnny Dollar
Here’s a rebuttal on defunding ObamaCare from a doctor via the Heritage Foundation:
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Roger Kimball: Obama Then and Now: the Rashomon Effect (first in a series)
I believe that we are witnessing the gradual, or possibly not so gradual, decomposition of the emotional consensus that put Obama into the White House in 2008 and, not without a struggle, returned him in 2012. On every front, domestic as well as foreign, statements that seemed apposite a year or two or three ago suddenly, ominously, have acquired new and less pleasing valences. A few days ago, I expatiated briefly on candidate Obama’s 2008 declaration that he and his followers were only “five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” At the time, Obama’s promise (or should I say, “his threat”?) was greeted with wild cheers.
Now that the transformation is well underway, there are fewer if any cheers. The economy is moribund. Obamacare is more unpopular than ever. Racial tensions are far worse now than when Obama came to office. Everywhere one looks, Obama’s domestic agenda is in shambles. And when it comes to international affairs — well, let’s just say that Obama must be rueing the day he drew that red line about Syria or heard the name Vladimir Putin. Has there ever been a more cringe-making presidential speech than the incoherent bilge that oozed out of Obama’s mouth last Tuesday? Jimmy Carter’s infamous “malaise speech” is the only thing that even comes close, and at least Carter’s speech had the intelligence of Christopher Lasch’s book The Culture of Narcissism as a source.
Nice Deb 