I Need A Hero

James Joyner (UPDATE 2) steps on what what might have been an amusing meme.

[END OF HEROISM]

Comments

[thelonereader]

Speaking of heroes, there is a new email picture going around,I do not know how to connect JOMmers to the picture, so I will describe it instead. It shows Obamas face fitted onto Steve Erkel's body including the glasses askew, standing in front of an chart titled U.S. Economy, and of course the chart shows a swift downward drop---then in a bubble next to the face it says----Did I do that?----Do you hear that annoying voice? Steve Erkel was a dorky character on the sitcom Family Matters from several years ago. The depiction is perfect. If anyone has access to the picture I hope that you can link it for the group, sorry I am not that savvy.

[kim]

I like the irony of creating a hero by picking the best of a lot of pictures. Obama's been made heroic by a similar mechanism. If you see all the pictures of this man, he's a shitty little crook.
============================================

[bad]

I Need A Hero

I'm holding out

[bgates]

Pictures are easy. Words are hard.

-the aaahhh uhh ee just one thing that uuh I was thinkin' about as I was uhh as I was gettin' on the cuuh copter cuz ah ee ya know it was hard for me to, to believe you were en..tirely serious about that socialist question. Uh, I, I did think it might be useful to point out that uhh, it wasn't under me that we started uhh, buyin' a whole bunch of sh...shares of banks. It wasn't on my watch.

And it wasn't on my watch that we passed...ah, a massive new entitlement, uh the prescription drug plan without...a source of funding. Ahh, and so I think that, uh, it's important just to note...uh, when you start uh hearin' folks uh, throw these words around, that...um...uh, we've actually been...operating...uh, in a way that uh is entirely consistent with free market principles. Uh, and that uh... uh
Some of...the same folks who were...ehh throwin' the word socialist around can't say the same.
[question to attempt to get Obama to say Bush was socialist]
Well, huh huh huh, I d-I I just think it's c-clear that by the time we had...ahhh...by the time we...got here, uhh...ee uh, there already had been...uh, an enormous infusion of taxpayer money into the financial system. And...aa ii eee iii eee the the thing I constantly try to emphasize to people is, that...if...coming in the market was doing fine nobody would be happier than me, uh to stay out of it. Ah w ee ya know buuh, I have more than enough to do...uh, without having to worry about the financial system.

Uhh, and the fact that uh, we've had to take these extraordinary measures, uh, and intervene is, uh, not an indication of my ideological preferences but an indication of the degree to which...uh, lax regulation uh, and extravagant risk-taking...ahh has precipitated a crisis.

That's not even a gotcha question in an interview. Obama called the press.

[thelonereader]

Sorry forgot quotation marks in the above email picture referenced as "Did I do that?" .

[Soylent Red]

I don't need another hero.

All I want is life beyond Thunderdome.

[Pofarmer]

Ah, more big brother govt

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-875

It's the "Food safety revitalization act" or something like that, the link comes and goes. But, what it does, is pretty much set up an other parallel beauracracy for "food safety" along with what the FDA and USDA already do. Two isn't getting it done, so we'll try another one. Anybody feeling the weight of big govt yet? They're gonna get mandates spending to such a point that there won't be ANY discretionary spending here pretty quick.

[DebinNC]

Hugh Hewitt has been following the devestating consequences of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

[bad]

They're gonna get mandates spending to such a point that there won't be ANY discretionary spending here pretty quick.

Lack of funds hasn't slowed 'en down yet.

[RichatUF]

bgates-

Obama called the press.

He was drunk dialing his girlfriends.

[StrawmanCometh]

Rush is on a roll.

[MayBee]

Ha, RichUF!

I'm glad you posted that link, bgates. I think he sounds very different than he does on camera. The uh eh ums are there, but in the call he has a bitter tone to his voice.

[DebinNC]

Rush's playing the "it wasn't on my watch" tape.

BO wouldn't know a "free market principle" if it [insert joke here].

[bgates]

He was drunk dialing his girlfriends.

He'd never date anybody white. Booty call, maybe.

[bad]

extravagant risk-taking

That's how the stupid bastard got elected. You'd think he'd be more grateful.

[ben]

Has Obama become the posterboy for the Peter Principle?

[penis size]

More & more people know that blog are good for every one where we get lots of information any topics !!!
_____________________

Penis Size

[kim]

Yes, good link, bgates. The bitterness, the irrationality of it, the sensitivity about socialism; this is the real Obama, and I hope it gets played over and over until it enters the national consciousness.
=================================

[bgates]

extravagant risk-taking

Barney Frank talked about "rolling the dice". I'm pretty sure calling him "extravagant" is a homophobic slur.

[Old Lurker]

ain't touching THATt one

[Extraneus]

Rush is on a roll.

I heard him earlier, funny as h*ll. Riffing on Warren Buffet, Jack Welsh, Cramer, all having to preface their criticisms of Obama's policies with how much they just love the guy and his policies.

"Is it wrong... for a man... to love... another man?"

[Frau Jedöns]

"He'd never date anybody white. Booty call, maybe."

Hopeychange *did* date at least two white females, at least reported as females. One was while Obama was in NYC researching his "journey" for one of his autobiographies. The other was an unidentified "non-African American" female with whom, it was reported in a Chicago paper or publication, he shared an apartment. They separated when our young hero journeyed to Harvard. The link to the live-in article has disappeared. Has it been destroyed by the giant google eraser? Someone ain't talkin'.

[Porchlight]

Has Obama become the posterboy for the Peter Principle?

Totally. I wonder if we can make a Google bomb to put Obama at the top of the results page when "Peter Principle" is searched.

It will be really devastating for some people to wake up one day and find out Bush isn't in fact the worst President of our time (all time?) - their guy is.

I just hope that day comes, for all our sakes, in time for something of the republic to be saved.

[Porchlight]

Yes, I remember some quote from his book about how he dated a white woman and "pushed her away." Jack Cashill thought that Obama's white girlfriend was fictional, a stand-in for one of Ayers' romances:

The Odd Story of Romance in Dreams From My Father

[sbw]

Henceforth, political parties will blush when, during the campaign for the nomination with a weak field, people accuse them of "pulling an Obama".

[Jane]

Actually I want to hear that the media is "pulling an Obama" early and often - in fact I think I'll start using it every time they refuse to cover a story.

[ben]

"Totally. I wonder if we can make a Google bomb to put Obama at the top of the results page when "Peter Principle" is searched."

Kewl idea, how do we implement it?

[bgates]

I should have specified when I said "never", I meant in the Obama sense of "right now". I'd actually read Cashill's story of pushing away a white girl, though for some reason I remembered he had a relationship with someone who was also mixed race but refused to exclusively identify with blacks.

[Enlightened]

"Penis Size"

Carp - looks like Begala and Carville are trolling again....

[ben]

Et tu, Brutus?

A Turning Tide?
Newsweek, by Howard Fineman

"Surfer that he is, President Obama should know a riptide when he's in one. The center usually is the safest, most productive place in politics, but perhaps not now, not in a once-in-a-century economic crisis.(Snip)But, in ways both large and small, what's left of the American Establishment is taking his measure and, with surprising swiftness, they are finding him lack-ing. "

[Enlightened]

Jack Cashill thought Enlightened thinks that Obama's white girlfriend was fictional, a stand-in for one of Ayers' romances

;o]

[bad]

LOL, enlightened

[Porchlight]

I should have specified when I said "never", I meant in the Obama sense of "right now".

LOL. It gets even more complicated - since when Obama says "always," as in "I have always said," it actually means "never."

[Porchlight]

I should have specified when I said "never", I meant in the Obama sense of "right now".

LOL. It gets even more complicated - since when Obama says "always," as in "I have always said," it actually means "never."

[Porchlight]

Rats. Never hit Post twice, even if your browser is frozen up.

[Porchlight]

Kewl idea, how do we implement it?

Ben, I'm at work which means I should be circumspect about such things. But just search "Google bomb" and "miserable failure" and "George Johnston" and you'll see helpful links.

It's actually really easy if you can make it go viral.

[Ranger]

Danger, Barry Obama, Danger!

Fineman @ Newsweek:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/188565>A Turning Tide?
Obama still has the approval of the people, but the establishment is beginning to mumble that the president may not have what it takes.

it comes complete with a dozen failures already, and then concludes:

Other than all that, in the eyes of the big shots, he is doing fine. The American people remain on his side, but he has to be careful that the gathering judgment of the Bigs doesn't trickle down to the rest of us.

This looks like a warning shot across Obama's bow from the people who put him in power.

[kim]

You can fool all of the people some of the time, folks, for how long, even kim doesn't know.
============================================

[bad]

I guess it didn't occur to O that a stock market slide would piss people off in such a bipartisan fashion.

He must of believed the carp about the Republican party being the party of the rich, and believed a crashing market would only affect Republicans...

[bgates]

The center usually is the safest, most productive place in politics, but perhaps not now
Earth to Newsweek: midway between Lyndon Johnson and Pol Pot is not "the center".

I suspect Fineman wouldn't know the center if it drove up to DC and punched him in the mouth, a hypothesis I'm sorely tempted to test.

[Porchlight]

Yeah, I thought that was crazy too, bgates. Later he writes that Obama is governing from the left (thank goodness he's not that blind). But overall, the criticisms Fineman lists out are also coming from the left, which makes me think Ranger's interpretation is correct.

[centralcal]

Hey guys - Freeman is under the bus . . . per Ben Smith at Politico:

"Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair announced today that Ambassador Charles W. Freeman Jr. has requested that his selection to be Chairman of the National Intelligence Council not proceed. Director Blair accepted Ambassador Freeman’s decision with regret."

[Enlightened]

And now this - Chas Freeman's out. Jake Tapper's got it over at PP.....LUN

[Enlightened]

Question: If Pelosi is "open" to another stimulus - can we just start sending her cases of vibrators so she can self stimulate and leave us the hell alone?

I've got a p-touch labeler, I can print out a shit load of "Nany's Stimulus Package" on all the boxes....

[Enlightened]

Or maybe I can go all Spider-Pinko on her and drop cases of them at her doorstep.

Hey - if the Pinkos can camp in front of her house, I should be able to drop her off some delightful vibrator treats. I live (and work)pretty close.

[Jane]

I just can't imagine that another stimulus will fly. I hope it will cause a revolt the likes of which we have never seen before.

[PeterUK]

Hero.

[clarice]

ranger, what do you suppose it would take to mollify Newsweek? Making it the official record of the WH ? Subsidizing the rag? Offering Fineman Gibbs' position?

[bad]

LOL PUK

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

Dude, PUK.

clarice -- when BHO loses rich guys like Buffett and Welch (two of the most talented executives in the nation's history -- measured by performance), he can blame them for being rich and weather the storm. But when he loses Fineman, he be in trouble.

Kind of ironic, but maybe true.

[kim]

I've a feeling the editors at Newsweek aren't going to mollify. First Samuelson, now Fineman? The straws are blowing in the wind, and you don't need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows.
===========================================

[PeterUK]

"Earth to Newsweek: midway between Lyndon Johnson and Pol Pot is not "the center"."

That would be Toss Pot.

[Ranger]

ranger, what do you suppose it would take to mollify Newsweek? Making it the official record of the WH ? Subsidizing the rag? Offering Fineman Gibbs' position?

Posted by: clarice | March 10, 2009 at 05:36 PM

I really don't think this is about Newsweek as much as a warning to Obama that if he loses the "big shots" there is not much Newsweek (or the rest of the MSM) can do to protect him.

[Enlightened]

Well, at least SF Gate is upbeat - they proclaim today the Best Day Of The Year! Stocks Up! Thank You Citigroup!

Good lord.

[bad]

I just can't imagine that another stimulus will fly. I hope it will cause a revolt the likes of which we have never seen before.

Especially if the TARP infusions will be another 2 trillion to "greedy" banks as speculated by WaPo.

[PeterUK]

His Smugliness Obama a result of the Peter Principle.

[kim]

And I think some in the MSM have figured out that he is a crooked fraud, and are beginning to cover their bases and asses. What big boys has he pissed off, anyway? Well, I don't really expect an answer for that. If we knew, well, it would be an entirely different story.
==================================

[bad]

O dissed Mississippi in his education speech today. Check out this comment:

Obama has the gall to call out the state of Mississippi. Both of my children graduated from PUBLIC schools in Mississippi - BOTH went to PUBLIC colleges in Mississippi and one is an Accountant and the other received a Masters in Engineering. BOTH scored ABOVE (YES, ABOVE 30) on the ACT.

Makin' friends.....

[kim]

I don't think it's the big boys he's pissed off, I think it is all the little boys and girls he's instantly impoverished. Forbes has a nice article pointing out that his budgets project wartime-like deficits as far as the eye can see, even with rosy economic forecasts. Hoi polloi is catching on to the fantasy that is Obama, and it's Sunday morning coming down, while a hard rain falls.
======================================

[Extraneus]

Too bad Fineman only listed Madoff as one of the "malefactors of the last 15 years" needing "harsh justice." I'd have liked to compare his list to mine.

[royf]

It seems to me that in most cases when the media has been critical of the democrats they restrict that to the periods in between election cycles. When it gets close to the elections they will either not mention it at all or they will say the zero listened and learned.

[PeterUK]

kim,
"What big boys has he pissed off, anyway?"

Kingmakers expect reward but they also expect humility from their creature.Can you see that in the Chosen One? I reckon some have been struck by the bow wave of the First Couple's egos.

[kim]

Mebbe so. I suspect it might be Axelrod and Emmanuel who have pissed off the big boys. And come on, Fitz, time to trumpet.
=======================================

[Dorothy Jane]

Could Obama ever function without Axelrod? I don't think it is possible...

[Jane]

I think it is odd that O gives a speech every day but never ever comments on current events. The natural disasters in the midwest, the N Korean and Iranian nukes - Fox is now reporting a big workplace shooting in AL. (Maybe Richard Shelby will miss the omnibus vote)

At any rate, perhaps it is his inability to improvise, but it's weird.

[verner]

JR, not only is he losing Fineman, even Whoopie Goldberg is bitching about all the tax she's going to have to pay.

SHORTEST.HONEYMOON.EVER.

[bad]

At any rate, perhaps it is his inability to improvise, but it's weird.

So true on both the inability to improvise and the weirdness.

The other possibility is to keep "time" context out of his speeches. In review of his words, current events help people remember more of the atmosphere and time context on the day a speech was given which makes them more likely to notice inconsisitencies in what he said.

CathyF, please explain what I mean....

[Matt]

in other news, the White House reported today that it will install newer and larger mirrors in the Oval Office, residential quarters, and all public areas so that the Emperor may better see himself as he travels through the building.

[Matt]

My BIL, career Marine, retired Col, liberal dem, had a lot of money tied up in Citi stock, and boy is he pissed.

This is turning into the big boys, the little guys, the men and women in the muddle, and just about everyone else who is not a declared socialist freaking out on Obama all at once. A hard rain's gonna fall.

The feelings of having been had are widespread and visceral. If they had just listened......

[runescape money]

Here are some power leveling rules to ensure your account security,rights and interests. runescape accounts Inventory Safety We will NOT remove your pre-existing items and gold when we are on your account to do power leveling.

[royf]

Well the "moderate taliban" have answered Zero and Plugs. How will the Activist Media play this?  Link  http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5291GQ20090310?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Taliban say Obama's call on moderates "illogical"

"This does not require any response or reaction for this is illogical," Qari Mohammad Yousuf, a purported spokesman for the insurgent group, told Reuters when asked if its top leader Mullah Mohammad Omar would make any comment about Obama's proposal.

"The Taliban are united, have one leader, one aim, one policy...I do not know why they are talking about moderate Taliban and what it means?,"

 

[bad]

The Taliban are perseptive, royf.

[clarice]

Jane, do you suppose all these are pre taped? Kind of like OBL's?

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

SHORTEST.HONEYMOON.EVER..

Yep. And don't you just love it, verner?

The other possibility is to keep "time" context out of his speeches.

He's particularly bad at history context too, bad.

That combination bodes poorly.

Even FDR, who was one of the most skillful political orators in US history, was at least artfully ambiguous when he was dissembling on fact or context. And he normally dissembled consciously and with (in his mind) good objectives for the nation. BHO, on the other hand does it because it's a bad habit.

[Rick Ballard]

Happy birthday, Jim.

I believe it's a little more than a bad habit. Bubba could pick some arcane bit out and weave a tale that led people to believe he knew what he was talking about. Zero doesn't have the mental horsepower to even do that. He's gotten a pass on his mediocrity for his entire life - up until now.

[mel]

Happy Birthday Jim!

At the LUN, I leave you a video present of Zoot, Gerry, Brookmeyer, et al, Rome, 1956. If this isn't West Coast Cool, I missed the definition as taught by my dad.

Walkin' Shoes

[mel]

Oh, hope your speakers are on...

[RichatUF]

Happy Birthday, Jim!

[bad]

Jim did you do something fun today? Something fun and at least a little naughty...

[Ann]

Happy Birthday, Jim.

Little naughty things...like what bad?

[bad]

(Think Southern belle accent here:)

Why, Miss Ann, whatever do you mean?

[Stephanie]

Happy Birthday, Jim!

[Rick Ballard]

Rich,

I just noticed this at BEA "On July 31, 2009, BEA will release a comprehensive revision of the national income and products accounts."

Census is killing off phantom Mexicans while the BEA enHansenizes all economic data - we'll be in nirvana in no time.

Have you picked a "today is most like..." wrt this recession? I'm leaning toward '74 because of the oil shock component.

[jimmyk]

I don't think the Peter Principle is the right concept to describe Obama's rise. If I recall correctly, doesn't the PP presume competence at all but the final stage? Obama has shown zero competence at every position he's held. He is only good at persuading people to keep elevating him. He's like the crazed guy on that Seinfeld episode who Elaine kept trying to fire, but because she was afraid of him she kept promoting him instead.

[Rick Ballard]

jimmyk,

Agreed. A PP makes the grade a few times before failing. There is no evidence that Zero ever cut the mustard based upon ability.

[bad]

zero competence

LOL, I've heard it's non-existent.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

I've been naughty all day. Plotting, planning, cooking, blogging -- what could be better.

Thanks for the thoughts, gang.

Jerry Mulligan has been one of my favorites since high school, mel. Thanks for the youtube reference. Now I will be listening to all of his you tubes in the next few days. He sadly died at age 68. And he had a long-term relationship with Judy Holiday and Sandy Dennis.

[RichatUF]

Rick-

Thanks for the link. Seems they have been planning it for a year and it is strange they are incorporating quite a bit from the non-profit sector. We'll see, non-profit looks to be an Obama Administration goal. Can the BEA make people want to buy a Pelosi-UAW Widowmaker rusting on a Zombiemotors lot?

I really haven't come up with a "today feels like...". '74 is a pretty good, but this one feels like it has one more leg down-maybe a terrorist bombing during the G20 conference which really spooks the markets, another cockroach coming out of the cabinetry...not sure, more of a spipy sense.

But it does seem like Geithner's dissembling regarding mark-to-market (maybe he'll release easing guidance at the G20) and Bernanke's CFR speech seems to have at least stopped the nightsweats.

[bad]

Rich, do you think mark-to-market will get suspended?

[Elliott]

Happy birthday, Jim! Sorry to be late to the party, but I hope it was a good one.

[Rick Ballard]

Bad,

I'll bet no suspension. AFAICT the Feds are trying to tune mortgage rates down a little to see what happens to demand. They babbled about a 4% rate in December and froze up applications. 4% is too low (IMO) but we could see 5% in short order (it's currently 5.17%). If the market continues to clear at the bottom we should see a little "bracket creep" and price stabilization. It's not as if demand can be tamped down forever.

[bad]

Rick, I saw somewhere today that there are several million homes and condos sitting vacant but not for sale, and that when they hit the market prices will likely depress further.

[Rick Ballard]

Bad,

There are definitely "several million homes and condos sitting vacant". That was also true at the height of the boom. It's been true in Buffalo, NY for over 20 years. Same houses.

That meme needs to be watched carefully because it's part of the 40 acres and a 3BR 2BA payoff. I'm all for giving Obama supporters houses in Buffalo, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Pontiac, New Orleans etc. Nothing in the 'burbs though. I'm of the "it's the people who make the slums" persuasion - let 'em gentrify Detroit.

[bad]

Thanks Rick. Now I really want to remember where I read it.

Detroit will be rolling in dough soon. $355 million in stim funds headed to the Detroit school system, considered the most corrupt school system in the country, no strings attached.

[Rick Ballard]

California 2000 vacant houses = 711,679

California 2005-07 vacant houses = 1,018,470

That's at the top of the boom in a very hot state. The "millions vacant" is "true bunkum".

[RichatUF]

bad-

Do you think mark-to-market will get suspended?

Probably not, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see some tweaking at the G20 to try and stabalize the Irish, British, and Swiss banks. Then again, if the Obama Administration really is hostile to Britian and wants to be vindictive (and help out Soros in exporting the "open society") the G20 Conference could turn out to be a real disaster. We'll see.

[Tower Defense]

I thought that was crazy too, bgates. Later he writes that Obama is governing from the left (thank goodness he's not that blind). But overall, the criticisms Fineman lists out are also coming from the left, which makes me think Ranger's interpretation is correct.