Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?

Three NY Times articles exemplify a turning of the tide for Team Obama. 

First up, Young Artists Out of Love:

The Rise of the Drone Master: Pop Culture Recasts Obama

WASHINGTON — In Marvel’s latest popcorn thriller, Captain America battles Hydra, a malevolent organization that has infiltrated the highest levels of the United States government. There are missile attacks, screeching car chases, enormous explosions, evil assassins, data-mining supercomputers and giant killer drones ready to obliterate millions of people.

Its inspiration?

President Obama, the optimistic candidate of hope and change.

Five and a half years into his presidency, Mr. Obama has had a powerful impact on the nation’s popular culture. But what many screenwriters, novelists and visual artists have seized on is not an inspirational story of the first black president. Instead they have found more compelling story lines in the bleaker, morally fraught parts of Mr. Obama’s legacy.

Obama as Captain Un-America? Ouch.

Perpetual front-runner Maureen Dowd, being young hip and artistic, joins in:

Is Barry Whiffing?

WASHINGTON — Stop whining, Mr. President.

And stop whiffing.

Don’t whinge off the record with columnists and definitely don’t do it at a press conference with another world leader. It is disorienting to everybody, here at home and around the world.

I empathize with you about being thin-skinned. When you hate being criticized, it’s hard to take a giant steaming plate of “you stink” every day, coming from all sides. But you convey the sense that any difference on substance is lèse-majesté.

You simply proclaim what you believe as though you know it to be absolutely true, hoping we recognize the truth of it, and, if we don’t, then we’ve disappointed you again.

...

I also appreciate the fact that it’s harder for you than it was for J.F.K., W. and all those other pols who had their rich daddies and their rich daddies’ rich friends to buy anything they needed and connect them up and smooth the way for them. That gives them a certain nonchalance in the face of opprobrium and difficulty, a luxury that those who propel themselves to the top on their own don’t have.

Hmm, JFk and 'W'? What about Wild Bill Clinton of the, well, Hope Clintons? There is a Dem icon with no useful family ties. Pressing on, she riffs on Obama's "Take me out of this ballgame" metaphor:

An American president should never say, as you did Monday in Manila when you got frustrated in a press conference with the Philippine president: “You hit singles; you hit doubles. Every once in a while, we may be able to hit a home run.”

Especially now that we have this scary World War III vibe with the Russians, we expect the president, especially one who ran as Babe Ruth, to hit home runs.

She deserves minor props for realizing that the Babe was a lefty just like Obama. Of course, the Babe was also a record-setting pitcher...

Instead of the Babe Ms. Dowd should have gone with the Yankee Clipper just so she could work in a Mrs. Robinson reference about confused and alienated youth (and angry elders!). Or she could head in the direction of Mr. Coffee and exhort Obama to give up the decaf in favor of the strong stuff. Hey, I don't normally offer these Pro Tips for free.

And to be fair, this point is excellent:

The Times’s Mark Landler, who traveled with the president on his Asia trip, reported that Obama will try to regain the offensive, including a graduation address at West Point putting his foreign policy in context.

Mr. President, don’t you know that we’re speeched out? It’s not what we need right now.

Drone Master indeed.

The third leg of the NY Times stool is this laugher explaining how the head of the Executive Branch is going to focus on, how shall we say it, executing:

As His Tenure Winds Down, Obama Turns Focus to Executive Branch

...

For the remainder of President Obama’s term, what matters most to his success is what Washington watches least: competent governmental management.

Although the part of his presidency that involves getting major new laws through Congress has wound down, the part that involves effectively running the vast federal apparatus to carry out his priorities still has nearly three years to go.

Three long years. And yes, they mention the obvious:

In one way, the situation is liberating for Mr. Obama because, in basketball terms, it puts the ball in his hands at the end of the game. But it is also perilous. From starting health care exchanges to overseeing the National Security Agency to executing his Syria policy, the diffident chief executive and his team have repeatedly thrown the ball out of bounds.

“He’s a nonmanager,” said Charles O. Jones, a presidential scholar and a senior fellow at theMiller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia.

This sort of heresy would have been unimaginable not that long ago. Say, October 2012.

Comments

[narciso]

I watched the BBC show Copper, sort of Homicide 1864, and it painted NYC not as a
citadel of enlightenment, of course, the UK's involvement in the engagement is only lightly touched,

[Miss Marple]

I figure Schoen knows that the orders on Bengazi came from Obama through Val Jar, and she is being set up as the heroine who resigned.

I am always fascinated by the machinations of the Clintons, who never fail to defeat their rivals, even if it takes a while.

[Captain Hate]

Doug Schoen might make Boehner cry.

Can somebody make this "bipartisan" by mentioning that Powell was in on the coverup?

[Miss Marple]

Lovell on again.

General points out that they didn't know how long it would last, but they should have tried.

In his earlier testimony he said this really bothered him, so that is why he is testifying.

When the questioning starts, I imagine we will hear the general trashed by the democrats.

[Miss Marple]

Captain Hate!!!

Great point!!!

Let's drag Powell in for questioning!

[narciso]

the problem is the Dems all act like rabid wombats when attacked, ours for the most part like Chip Dillard, Cheney was a notable exception in Iran Contra, which they never forgave,

[Miss Marple]

Boehner was on Twitter acting all outraged about the documents being withheld.

I told him "SELECT COMMITTEE!! NOW!!"

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

THis hearing is boring, TK.

blah, blah, blah... The political world can kill ya with verbiage.

Maybe the questioning will be better

[Miss Marple]

The Fox coverage is good, pointing out the significance of the general's statement.

[Miss Marple]

Issa is asking if other officers should be interviewed General says any information which would help explain what happened should be obtained.

[Miss Marple]

McCain calls for a Select Committee on Fox, says he, Graham, and Ayotte have been calling for one for some time.

[Threadkiller]

The warning story was apparently the only story that turned out to be wrong.

Did the same lying Whitehouse debunk it? Their complicit media?

Did the media have a change of heart due to DOJ pressure?

I would like to see how anyone proved the warning story was false.

[Rick B]

TC,

I doubt that either the Red Witch or the Red Squaw can elicit the resonance necessary to win. I understand "it's a woman's turn" but I also understand the ease with which Howard Dean promoted the Great Black DHope over Red Witch as the prog choice in 2008, despite all the ululations of the Vulvarian Horde. Both Red Witch and Red Squaw will miss badly with very important segments of the Democrat coalition. In particular, there is no reason to believe blacks and Hispanics will respond well to white shrews well beyond their sell by dates.

I'm pretty sure Red Witch understands that Howard Dean stole her moment, not so sure Red Squaw understands much of anything.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

The NYC Draft Riots of 1863 are a fascinating, and little remembered part of Civil War history. Our modern take on 'Lincoln the Legend' are at odds with events on the ground at the time. I recommend to anyone reading up on the Draft Riots and the NYC Civil War politics of the time.

[shoenfeld]

"Select a committee now"

It's worked so well, shy stop now?

[Threadkiller]

Thank you for updates on the hearing.

[Miss Marple]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/head-of-pentagon-intelligence-agency-forced-out-officials-say/2014/04/30/ec15a366-d09d-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html

Perhaps related to the ongoing cover-up?

[Thomas Collins]

My hope, Rick B, is that Team Obama and Team Clinton occupy themselves with undercutting each other on the Benghazi debacle, and that, even if Team Clinton emerges victorious, Hillary will be severely damaged goods. As far as Warren goes, I realize it's too much to hope for given the hard prog center of gravity of the modern Dem Party, but if the Dems nominate a woman, I would hope it's Heidi Heitkamp (although I think it's more likely that Heitkamp would be the VP choice for Andrew Cuomo if he emerges victorious).

[narciso]

Seems he was too competent, by contrast General McGoo is eternal.

[Danube on iPad]

"it is essentially a group raging & whining that someone doesn't like them."

Professing dislike of a group of people solely on the basis of their race is generally considered bad form. It is much worse when the group under discussion includes your employees and your customers who have enriched you.

[narciso]

Back on the Ranch, the Court decided to authorize Sky Dragon netting, through the EPA

[peter]

MM,if you are on the road from Yellowstone to Jackson Hole, and it is a long drive between the two, and you feel like pizza, be sure to check out Leek's Marina. Hard to find, unless you know where it is but they make great pizza and have a nice assortment of root beers and craft beers.

[Miss Marple]

Jason Chaffetz is doing a good job

[narciso]

'what is exactly you do here;

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/05/01/the-white-house-beat-where-no-one-knows-your-name-but-hates-your-tweets/

[narciso]

blurred lines, the non Thicke version;

http://hotair.com/archives/2014/05/01/video-syria-keeping-remaining-chemical-weapons-as-leverage/

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

bad form...

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/kristine-marsh/2014/05/01/huffpo-asks-pbs-ponders-what-about-homophobic-nba-owners

[Threadkiller]

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/economy-budget/204174-operation-choke-point-harmful-to-flow-of-commerce

[Threadkiller]

http://kcbq.com/news/articles/police-simon-made-911-call-that-led-to-arrests

[Marlene]

The Congress has about 50 days of legislative "work" between now and election day. What are the chances of a select committee within that time frame? In an election year?

[Miss Marple]

Complete list of high military officers purged by Obama Administration as of November:

http://conservativeangle.com/disturbing-the-complete-list-of-purged-military-high-officers-under-obama/

This does not include the two intelligence officers gone today.

[Buckeye]

Daddy

My favorite pastor at our church is a Dartmouth grad. He clearly got a top shelf education, but is also the smartest guy I know, so could be just that.

If your daughter thinks she wants to go to med school, I would strongly encourage her to go wherever she can get exposed to and participate in serious research. Probably means Berkeley of the schools you mentioned.

Fellowships after Residency are competitive, and the research experience separates the girls from the women.

[Miss Marple]

http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples-blog/naacp-to-accept-racist-offsets-t13912.html

Heh.

[Miss Marple]

Carney briefing up on Fox.

[MoodyBlu]

Hey JIB,

If you are still looking for places to stay in Rome, give this site a look. I obtained this link years ago from some Italian air traffic controllers who were advertising to American controllers to come visit Rome and rent their properties. I spent 2 years in Aviano just north of Venice from 75-77. Love me some Italy. Good luck.

http://www.fewoitalia.de/eng/index.htm