Irritate Kaus, Alienate Kurtz - Heck Of An Interview, Barack

Barack Obama sits down with NBC News for an interview on health care reform and is brutalized by Mickey Kaus for his effort.

Obama also manages to take a shot at media magnate Howard Kurtz of the WaPo and CNN with this:

Snyderman:  Mr. President, I'd like to ask you about your new nomination for surgeon general.  You've had two surgeons general nominees — Dr. Sanjay Gupta, high-profile, academic neurosurgeon, Dr. Regina Benjamin, under the radar, family practitioner in rural America. They seem on paper to be diametrically opposed.

Obama: Could I say, I have great respect for Sanjay Gupta, but I never nominated him.  

The press nominated him. I never — you know, that was not — there were people who had suggested that he might make a good surgeon general.  And I think, in fact, he could have made a good surgeon general. He's a very well-spoken person and a lot of the job of the surgeon general is to get a message out.

"The press" nominated him?  That was Howard Kurtz, or "Mr. Media" to you, who was credited by the WSJ and NY Times with breaking the story.  From Kurtz:

President-elect Barack Obama has offered the job of surgeon general to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the neurosurgeon and correspondent for CNN and CBS, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation.

Sure, offering the job is not the same as a formal nomination - per the reporting, Dr. Gupta had issues to resolve and needed a few days to reflect. 

But go ahead, Barry - call Kurtz a liar.  That should be a winning play.

Comments

[Ralph L]

Offering him the job isn't quite the same as nominating him, so they can both be technically correct. BHO sounds more like WJC everyday.

[bad]

Ibama is calling the press liars.

Finally he gets something right.....

What will Kurtz say? Will he have the balls to speak up in case the president is being ess than honest....

[Semanticleo]

You and yours are the leading proponents of parsed language. Maguire. (See Scooter Libby DEEfense) I should have thought imitation was the highest form of flattery.

You are like the American Idol judges who, when issuing their score, must remove tenths
because, 'yer hair flew around while you did yer cartwheels'................

[Semanticleo]

Parse this..............

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2009/07/brodners-catoon-du-jour-news-quiz

[Captain Hate]

Parse this, ebonics pinworm: Go fuck yourself with Mother Jones strap-on.

[Semanticleo]

We don't talk like that at JOM, corncob....

[Larry Sheldon]

I don't understand the problem.

Employee (Kurtz) stepped off the line, employer Barry H. called him to task.

Happens all the time.

[Parking Lot]

here is the link to the Mickey Kaus comments

http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/kausfiles/archive/2009/07/15/obama-as-health-care-salesman-he-sucks.aspx

[Captain Hate]

We don't talk like that at JOM, corncob

What "we" is that, douchetool? You and your imaginary son? Good luck getting anybody to agree with you on "how we roll", idiot.

[Semanticleo]

that's much better, squash..............

[Dorothy Jane]

I looked at the Mother Jones link - not sure I get it - was it inappropriate somehow? Was it funny?

[Semanticleo]

"Was it funny?"

Perhaps to some. For me it was ironic, telling. But let's not make you another
poster child for redemptive self-awareness..

[PeterUK]

"We don't talk like that at JOM, corncob."

Whose we,you slobbering microcephalic cretin?

[Parking Lot]

Wow, Mickey Kaus doesn't think much of 0's off teleprompter talents.

((Yikes. If passage of health care depends on Obama's ability to educate the American people and change their mind--which, thankfully, it doesn't--we're in big trouble))

[Semanticleo]

You want yer ass shaved again (metaphorically), PUKe?

[Dorothy Jane]

Mickey Kaus is probably being added to the under the bus list

[Dorothy Jane]

PeterUK - are there many trees in the Bloomesbury area? I need to know for a story I am writing.

[Captain Hate]

What semantic brilliance using vegetables for name calling, anal wart on the body politic. At least your spelling has improved but you still can't use capitals in your oh so edgy ur-language (or is that yer-language?) which only you can seem to understand. Kind of a Finnegan's Wake written by Zippy the Pinhead.

[Semanticleo]

"Zippy the Pinhead."

I'll let you know when he publishes. You must be gettin' tired of the Dick and Jane series.

[bad]

I'm a big fan of the Dick and Jane saga. She whips his ass everytime...

[Semanticleo]

You all better be nice or I'll send my imaginary son after you!

[BB Key]

OT
Fox just ran the Boxer smackdown.

Lets see how the rest of the MSM reports it.

Is it just me, I think Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI is effeminate

[Semanticleo]

lol... wingers. You think I care that you caught me making up bullshit? NOT!

You guys don't fucking deserve the truth. I'll say what I want, when I want, and I don't give a shit what you losers think about it.

Stick THAT in your corncob holes, boyz.

[Dorothy Jane]

I am a girl -

[Semanticleo]

ever the sniviling coward, PUKer

[Captain Hate]

Does Septic have a multiple-personality disorder or is there at least one sock-puppet?

[Semanticleo]

Just because I made up an imaginary son in Iraq doesn't mean I have MPD, tool.

[Semanticleo]

"multiple-personality"

Once when I played multiple roles using
monikers like 'Gilgamesh' and 'Vicious Socialist' to have some fun, I was banned.

PUKe likes to purloin my moniker because it thinks its being clever. The fair-minded administrator finds no need for penality.

[Neo]

Was the TOTUS present for these interview ?

Thought not

[Semanticleo]

Ensign Pulver likes to join in on the 'cleverness'.

[Semanticleo]

Of course, even though I was banned, I still kept posting.

I even made up an imaginary son who I claimed was serving in Iraq to get some sympathy. And you stupid fucking wingnuts fell for it! Hahahahahahahahaha

[Rick Ballard]

Cap'n,

Site maintenance. Are you sure "wart" is correct? I've always considered "polyp" a better fit. Wart just sounds too wholesome...

[Rick Ballard]

Kaus hot link.

TOTUS was definitely not present.

[PeterUK]

Dorothy Jane,
It is fairly,if attractively built up.But there are parks
Bloomsbury Park. You might try Google Earth.

[Jane]

Cap'n,

Have I told you lately that I love you?

[PeterUK]

Septic Do piss off,like a good little pustule.

[Ralph L]

Imaginary son or not, it sounds more like Munchausen Syndrome. We think my step-monster has it, too.

[PeterUK]

Ralph L.
Not this was all rather tragic,Septic's gender reassignment went drastically wrong,simply couldn't make its mind up what to be.

No wonder the son joined al Qaeda.

[DebinNC]

For someone who owes his success to his vaunted self-control, Obama seems to be losing it. He's projecting weakness in all areas now.

[PeterUK]

"For someone who owes his success to his vaunted self-control, Obama seems to be losing it. He's projecting weakness in all areas now. "

Obama is just not up to it,nobody can spend their lives goofing off,then take the top political job on the planet.The Democrats should be ashamed foisting this cipher on your country.

[Buford Gooch]

Usually, I encourage people not to feed the trolls, but you guys are hilarious today. May I have another?

[Rick Ballard]

"He's projecting weakness in all areas now."

That ain't projection. When the fascists come back in September they have to go to campaign mode. They will let the rest of the commie's agenda die rather than risk their seats. He has three weeks and I don't believe he'll make it.

It's a good time to make your thoughts known, even if the bum "representing" you is in a safe seat.

[Captain Hate]

Rick,

I'll defer to you on the polyp; it has a bit of the lurking under the radar demeanor that fits the persistent irritant.

Jane,

No you haven't and I was feeling pretty damn lonely! So thanks for being pro-active so I didn't feel like a craven attention whore.

PUK,

Donks capable of feeling shame; that UK dry wit gets me every time!!

[Hattip]

Well, it looks like Obama has another PR problem.

[JBean]

Oh, my. The trolls are getting more vitriolic, here, there and everywhere.

What could the matter be? After all, they won, didn't they?

[PeterUK]

"Oh, my. The trolls are getting more vitriolic, here, there and everywhere.

What could the matter be? After all, they won, didn't they?"

Did you ever see one of those fake auctions,one where an accomplice wins a TV for a dollar. All the punters bid and get TV sized parcels for fifty dollars. When they get them home there is only half a house brick in the parcel.
Obama is the brick.

[Dorothy Jane]

Thanks, PeterUK.

[Dorothy Jane]

OOO - Very nice picture - Thank you Thank you!

[DebinNC]

Dem Senators being courted by Baucus according to the NYT:

Nelson, Pryor, Bennet, Udall-CO, Udall-NM, Hagan, Shaheen, and Warner.

There's also a strange quote from Grassley at the end which seems to be lamenting the public perception that the plan will cost $1T, when spending should remain flat. If that's what he's saying, he sounds like a Baucus convert.

[PeterUK]

Dorothy Jane,
Here is a map of the area. As you can see,very pleasant.

[Dave in OC]

Rick,

Thanks for the reminder. I've got a solid conservative in Gary Miller so I wrote to thank him for being on the right side of the issues. I also asked him to work on the 8 idiots (but I didn't call them idiots...).

[Jane]

Rick,

I wrote my congressman and invited him to discuss his view on my radio show. I also asked him to read the bill before voting on it (oh so much to ask) and to support congressman Fleming's bill.

[Semanticleo]

After three days trying to force a verbal slip of the tongue from Soto, the Imperial
Wizard of the WingNuts is the first to 'crack' under the pressure of hidden agendas.

Sessions 'cracks' me up.................

[Semanticleo]

Marmalard;

You also crack me up..................

[Semanticleo]

Racism rears it's ugly head, Mr. Lincoln.

[Extraneus]

CBO isn't too sanguine about the future.

Federal Debt Held by the Public Under CBO’s Long-Term Budget Scenarios

(Percentage of GDP)

Keeping deficits and debt from reaching these levels would require increasing revenues significantly as a share of GDP, decreasing projected spending sharply, or some combination of the two.

What are the chances of either? Click the pic for details.

[PeterUK]

That's a lot of crack you are showing there Septic.

[Semanticleo]

Kyl and McCain eschew the bail out for states but want to preserve their own cash cow for the home team.

The New Whigs continue to slouch toward Bethlehem..............

[Gmax]

showing or smoking?

[PeterUK]

Gmax.

Weird enough to do both.

[Rick Ballard]

Dave & Jane,

Good for you two. I find it difficult to refrain from issuing the FU52 salute to the cretin dishonoring the office in my district but I've been able to limit myself to "I'm very concerned..." to this point.

I keep wanting to ask "What local Republican do you most fear?". Just out of curiosity, of course.

[Semanticleo]

There you go. Racism, it is............

[Jane]

I've got it in for my congressperson. When I called about cap and trade on the day of the vote his staff refused to say how he was going to vote. He has never once answered any email I have sent him.

So I talked about it the radio - and will continue to talk about it until the man wakes up and realizes he works for me.

[bad]

Go Jane!!

[Semanticleo]

"So I talked about it the radio"

Yer public access 'station' has how many watts? Your three listeners want to know...

[bad]

Seman, your bitterness is unseemly. You won. Show the joy.

[Jane]

Don't worry Seman, I'm even on Itunes.

You are however, an empty suit.

Tee hee.

[Captain Hate]

After three days trying to force a verbal slip of the tongue from Soto,

LOL @ this. She tortured the English language worse than anything your pet terrorists received in Gitmo. This wide-load bag of stupid should pray for a paralyzed larynx to keep her from becoming the Fredo Corleone of the court by a margin larger than her huge credibility gap.

[bad]

As I recall, a lefty was skewered for referring to her as less than bright and being very disappointed in her selection when she was first nominated.

Have we heard from him lately?

[Semanticleo]

"I'm even on Itunes."

What? No YouTube?

That's depressing....>chuckle>

[Melinda Romanoff]

bad-

I believe the phrase you are trying to find is "rewarded, in full, by testimony given". Jeffery Rosen, and the perfesser owns the link.(LUN)

Is the floor creaking in here? I hear noises.

G'night all.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--This wide-load bag of stupid...--

It's a rare pleasure to watch a maestro at work.

[peter]

Hmmmmm, the NYTIMEs just got rid of its classical music station. It's going to be a public radio station, part of WNYC< in other words, it will get tax dollars. I love classical music, but isn't this just a roundabout way to give tax dollars to bail out the financially troubled NY Slimes?

[Caro]

So Fonda Bama

Testing. Just testing.

[glenda]

Oh, Caro...those must be the jeans he wore tossing that pitch at the All-Star game. No wonder he had no "windup"..
Fonda needs to move to Cuba, get some sun!

[Caro]

That's what I thought, Glenda, Mom Jeans.

[Soylent Red]

The jeans, in conjunction with the weak ass girl throw remind me of sitting in a dugout on a hot summer day, heaping derision on opposing players like, "You throw like a girl and your mother dresses you funny."

And now, lo these many years later, I can pull out the same derision and use it again. It's like recycling, really.

I do it for the children.

[glenda]

Hey-Soylent--it's New Braunfels time! The Waggoner crew will be there 20-24th, sans moi', I, alas, have the old dog duty.

[Elliott]

Sonia Sosolawyer. If that doesn't get me a job writing headlines for a British tabloid, nothing will.

[Holly]

Reading the comments about having a crappy representative gives me a renewed sense of appreciation for my own. I really like Jeb Hensarling. He responds to every email I send (and it's not a form letter). Just before the TARP legislation, he started a telephone "town hall" Q/A session and has continued it every two months or so since. It's interesting the way it works. I get an automated phone call telling me Hensarling will be conducting a Q/A session in 30 minutes. If I want to participate, select 1, and in 30 minutes I will get another phone call. Please have my questions ready and remember that there will be other folks on the line with me asking their questions. It's cool. He gives very thorough answers, even when it's a dumbshit question.

[peter]

OT, New York City's only classical music radio station is about to be sold by the NY slimes to Univision. The current six thousand watt broadcast equipment will be used for a Spanish language station, WQXR will move up the dial, and become a public radio station with pledge drives and a weak 610 watt transmitter. I am pissed.

[Jane]

Caro,

You have outdone yourself!

[bad]

Congratulations, Caro. LOOOOOVE it.

[Soylent Red]

glenda:

Thanks for the invite. Unfortunately they have me working pretty hard out here until after 01OCT09. I'll get down to see you one of these days though, and Hit in Fayette-nam too.

[Appalled]

To get back to the point of the post at this late date, I have a couple of observations.

1. Obama has chosen to have a very verbal presidency -- where he is constantly speechifying, talking, and plastering his face on the tube. I think this bit on the Surgeon General nomination is a consequence of that approach -- the more you talk, the more you are going to say that you shoul not have said. Plus, I think Obama is probably wearing himself out with the endless speechifyiong and squeezing in the actual governing on the margins. Tired people get irritable, and say that tart thing they perhaps should keep to themselves.

But, somehow, I think that a media columnist's wrath is not something to fear. If Obama ever ticks off Jon Stewart, though, all bets are off.

2. I think Kaus' point, that Obama seems awfully intent on selling "responsibility" and "less of those unecessary tests" as part of his healtcare salesmanship, as interesting. I think I would take it a different direction than Kaus does, however. I think we are getting a window into the Obama mind -- in which the average American citizen is a TV watching schlub who eats too many snicker doodles, and doesn't get out there and tone up those flabby abs. The thing always to watch for about people of the left of my generation - they don't like the average American very much.

[hit and run]

Appalled:
If Obama ever ticks off Jon Stewart, though, all bets are off.

Have you seen this?

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-2-2009/that-s-great-now-fix-the-economy>That's Great. Now Fix the Economy

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--Obama has chosen to have a very verbal presidency -- where he is constantly speechifying, talking, and plastering his face on the tube......Plus, I think Obama is probably wearing himself out--

Don't know about himself but he's sure wearing me out with his endless, platitudinous, boilerplate. How many times can a guy say "let me be clear" and then tell a bald faced whopper before the whole country is worn out?
And despite what people say about his rhetoric, it is actually mind numbingly tedious and sophomoric.
It's like listening to an endless loop of junior high commencement speeches by the teacher's pet that always wore high water pants and got a daily melvin at recess.

[bad]

a daily melvin at recess.

Please define...

[Sue]

If the stimulus wasn't meant to stimulate economic recovery, why is the website called recovery.gov?

Twitter by http://twitter.com/Slublog/statuses/2677793453>Slublog

[DebinNC]

Please define

According to Urban Dictionary, a melvin is a backward wedgie performed on the front of one's tighty whities...and it is said to "hurt bad".

[bad]

Thanks DebinNC. That's a new one for me. I just thought it was a variation of the always reliable wedgie.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

bad,
We had a scholarly discussion on the regional usage of the terms wedgies vs melvins awhile back.

In my neck of the woods a melvin was the term for a garden variety wedgie.
Aesthetically the term melvin seems considerably more poetic to me or perhaps it's just nostalgia, pining for those recesses of old and all those nerds like Barry just asking for one.

[bad]

LOL Ignatz

[Porchlight]

peter,

That sucks about WQXR. I grew up listening to it - still the gold standard for classical music radio.

[drjohn]

Cracks in the armor are becoming visible....what's the word the press is using fight now?

Oh yeah- feisty.

[drjohn]

'Later on he tells people that they are foolish to prefer brand name drugs to generic drugs, and to want multiple medical tests. "If you only need one test, why do you want five tests?"'

Well, Barry that would be because multiple tests are needed to ward off LAWYERS and frivolous LITIGATION- things about which he would do NOTHING.

[don't let President Muffin Top dissuade you, white ladies, joycekane can find you a brother who's ripped]

the Obama mind -- in which the average American citizen is a TV watching schlub who eats too many snicker doodles, and doesn't get out there and tone up those flabby abs

[Semanticleo]

thank u, joycekane... now that's a pic I can beat to.

[bad]

My eyes!! My eyes!!

[cathyf]

'Later on he tells people that they are foolish to prefer brand name drugs to generic drugs, and to want multiple medical tests. "If you only need one test, why do you want five tests?"'