Manchurian President?
posted at 9:05 am on March 10, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Most political analysts do well to remember this axiom: avoid assigning to malice what can be explained by incompetence. Kevin Hassett of Bloomberg News wonders whether that applies to Barack Obama and his performance on the economy. Hassett makes the argument that Obama has declared war on business, and that the stumbles of his administration appear calculated for maximum damage:
It is no wonder that markets are imploding around us. Obama is giving us the War on Business.
Imagine that some hypothetical enemy state spent years preparing a “Manchurian Candidate” to destroy the U.S. economy once elected. What policies might that leader pursue?
He might discourage private capital from entering the financial sector by instructing his Treasury secretary to repeatedly promise a brilliant rescue plan, but never actually have one. Private firms, spooked by the thought of what government might do, would shy away from transactions altogether. If the secretary were smooth and played rope-a-dope long enough, the whole financial sector would be gone before voters could demand action.
Another diabolical idea would be to significantly increase taxes on whatever firms are still standing. That would require subterfuge, since increasing tax rates would be too obvious. Our Manchurian Candidate would have plenty of sophisticated ideas on changing the rules to get more revenue without increasing rates, such as auctioning off “permits.”
These steps would create near-term distress. If our Manchurian Candidate leader really wanted to knock the country down for good, he would have to provide insurance against any long-run recovery.
Obama spent plenty of time on the campaign assuring people that he had no hostility towards business and Wall Street, but at best one can say that he had no particular affinity for them, either. Obama came out of an environment of Leftist political and economic thought. It should come as no surprise to anyone who paid attention that he acts on economic policy as someone from that environment would. We’re seeing the Leftist playbook on economics, to the extent we have one at all.
Does that make Obama a “Manchurian candidate”? No. It does make him an elitist who thinks that he and his big-brained buddies can run the economy better than the markets can do themselves, in such a way as to guarantee equality of outcomes. Like others on the American Left, Obama sees the business world as hopelessly warped as long as it produces winners and losers. When he told Joe Wurzelbacher that he wanted to “spread the wealth”, he meant it — and sees that as the role of government, perhaps the primary role of government.
Just as Hassett makes the claim that Obama has crashed the markets on purpose, one can make the case that he’s incompetent — completely out of his league and clinging to his ideology rather than financial acumen. That case is much easier to make, since it doesn’t involve divining intent. We already see the results of Deadbeatonomics, as well as the thoroughly unprepared and outclassed staff of advisers that seem stuck in first gear at Treasury and the White House.
Which interpretation is correct? We’ll find out soon enough, but in the end, it may not matter all that much. Both will take us to the same place, and we have a long time before we can replace Obama. That’s what makes 2010 more important for Republicans.
Blowback
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You would have thought that typical-white-person-late-grandma-under-the-bus would have taught him some of the Midwestern values/polite behavior one would expect she brought with her to HI from KS.
OmahaConservative on March 10, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Obama isn’t interested in stimulating our economy. If he were, this would be his agenda:
1. Repeal the CRA.
2. Eliminate the capital gains tax for two years and then reinstate it at half its current rate (ala Rush).
3. Push for tort reform and “loser pays” reform in our court system to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits.
4. Eliminate any kind of cap and trade emission controls.
5. Overhaul the EPA and start eliminating emissions regulations.
6. Fast-track all new permits for nuclear plants and oil refineries.
7. Begin immediately to drill for oil everywhere.
There are others, but reducing the role of government interference in our free market system should be the goal.
Any policies that don’t include these initiatives is proof that Obama’s real goal is to wreck our economy as quickly as possible.
BackwardsBoy on March 10, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Let’s not forget that he took in hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions, and he owes them. Them being the far left (MoveOn)..Poor Warren just found out he is the man..
Pam on March 10, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Three words: Nation of Islam.
How many voters even know that church’s headquarters is in Chicago?
Newsflash: Every time over the past 20 years that Obama’s reverend screamed, “GOD DAMN AMERICA!” And every time Obama solemnly nodded “Hallelujah,” it wasn’t some wildly overplayed practical joke. They MEANT every word of it.
As far as hating America goes, Nation of Islam is even worse than real Islam. For al-Qaida and the Wahabbis, attacking America is simply a means to a spiritual end. For the Nation of Islam, destroying America is the main goal, and all the religious trappings are just window dressing.
(Well, OK, specifically they only really want to destroy “White America.” But that’s splitting hairs because as they see it, that’s all America is right now.)
Obama has been trained from birth to be a radical, and that is precisely what he is. Nothing more than that, and nothing less than that. All he’s doing is throwing (pardon the expression) monkey wrenches into the works as fast as he possibly can. And he is fully qualified to do that job.
logis on March 10, 2009 at 9:52 AM
If one crashes the system through incompetence or malice, the goal has still been met.
The ends justify the means.
Alinsky on March 10, 2009 at 9:54 AM
Ha! Good one, blatant! Maybe has ties to Starkwood?
Catch that one? Maybe a play on words, ya know, like Blackwater…
av8tr on March 10, 2009 at 9:54 AM
coldwarrior on March 10, 2009 at 9:43 AM
We know the answers to those questions but the majority of the public hasn’t a clue. Not only do they not know the answers…they don’t even know the questions. Obama and his crooked cronies in the Democratic Party are certainly not going to blame themselves and in fairness to them, it’s not their role to do so. But they can confidently present half-truths and lies to the American public knowing that the media will widely report what they say but will never question what they have done.
sdd on March 10, 2009 at 9:55 AM
hawkdriver on March 10, 2009 at 9:47 AM
Have to disagree with you on this one Hawk. Obama’s connections to Ayers and others who have embedded themselves into our “higher education” networks, is a dynamic that must be investigated. Ayers and his ilk see America as evil, mean, and a force that must be destroyed. Obama chose to hang with these people for the past 20 years.
Keemo on March 10, 2009 at 9:55 AM
Laws of Power:
See the rest of Obama’s playbook
Joe Caps on March 10, 2009 at 9:57 AM
Either Obamugabe is incredibly stupid or crafty.
The latter suggests that indeed he is trying to destroy the U.S..
TheSitRep on March 10, 2009 at 10:00 AM
I vote for ignorant. I am old enough to remember Carter. The idea that one can change the rules wholesale with no effects on the market is foolish, but not new.
Vashta.Nerada on March 10, 2009 at 10:01 AM
Yep.
MadisonConservative on March 10, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Nah. Look at Geithner.
Calling Obama Manchurian assumes these people had a plan beforehand.
Chuck Schick on March 10, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Why would Obama’s birth certificate not be available to public inquiry. Does the public not have the right to check that a presidential candidate is legally qualified to be president? It’s rather an innocuous document. Or is it?
Ernest on March 10, 2009 at 10:08 AM
The market began tanking as the real estate bubble burst and it became clear that the financial system was facing trillions of dollars in losses. As other commenters have already pointed out, the excesses in the real estate market were a direct result of Democratic legislators’ meddling in that market in the name of “social justice” — an effort that was fully supported by former ACORN lawyer and racial-grievance shakedown participant and BLT adherent Barack Obama.
And as you consult your Dim talking points for a response, let me save you some time. No, it wasn’t a “lack of regulation” that caused this mess. European banks are subject to far more regulation than U.S. banks, but that didn’t stop them from getting into an even bigger hole than U.S. banks.
AZCoyote on March 10, 2009 at 10:10 AM
“Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.”
moxie_neanderthal on March 10, 2009 at 10:11 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhojJFQbIS0
RealDemocrat on March 10, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Yep, It’s like being on a 747 where the flight crew decides to do loops, immelmanns and barrel rolls. Doesn’t matter if they are drunk, stupid, ignorant or suicidal. The net result is a huge smoking crater in the ground with a bunch of crispy corpses scattered around.
I’ve taught for about 20 years at the college level. I liked to think that none of my students were truly stupid. However, I would come across one once in a while that would make me wonder. I did come across a lot who were deliberately ignorant.
The one thing that would make me have ANY hope would be if obama would sit down and have 2 or three days of serious economic discussion with people like cramer, buffet etc.
Otherwise, BOHICA.
bullseye on March 10, 2009 at 10:13 AM
That would imply some knowledge of the markets, wouldn’t it? We all know this buffoon’s knowledge of anything outside of his own self-image amounts to bupkus. He’s a complete narcissist and maintaining himself is his only concern.
AubieJon on March 10, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Yes… The Abortion President will be calling for the “New constitution of the 20th Centaury”, when the middle class is destroyed by job loss, inflation and the collapse of the American dollar.
Badbrucskie on March 10, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Considering Willie Ayers’ interest in subversion from within, why would someone expect something different from Barry?
Oh, but their kids played together, that’s all.
Sure.
You’re missing the entirety of modern leftist thought and scholarship.
benrand on March 10, 2009 at 10:17 AM
This begs the question that I’ve asked before. If Obama were intentionally trying to detroy the economy and/or country, what exactly would he be doing differently than what he’s doing now?
Immolate on March 10, 2009 at 10:21 AM
The people Obama chooses to surround himself with? Or are these criminals simply those who invested in Obama and are now receiving their payback?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/03/09/2009-03-09_possible_conflict_of_interest_surfaces_f.html
Have you ever seen so many choices by a president get booted due to being dirty?
Keemo on March 10, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Just a thought.
I wonder how many in congress are short selling the market.
diogenes on March 10, 2009 at 10:23 AM
People are starting to see the real story..
Think destroying the mighty economy of the United States is too big a job for you? Relax. Anyone can do it. A friend sent me a handy-dandy no-fuss 12-step program for wreaking financial havoc among even the world’s most advanced economies. I adapt it below for your edification. Your congressmen probably already have a copy. The White House certainly does. But you might want to print it out in case some opportunity for spreading unhappiness comes your way:
1. Since investors and the market in general hate uncertainty, have a vast array of conflicting ad hoc policy decisions so as to create uncertainty everywhere.
2. Transfer money from those who create sustainable jobs to those who create unsustainable jobs, e.g., the government
3. Promise to invest money in things that will enhance the country’s infrastructure, such as roads and internet access, but then practice bait and switch on a breathtaking scale, so the effort is swamped with pork for pet projects dear to Democrats
4. A sufficiently generous larding of pork can help ensure the destruction of bi-partisanship, so squandering the initial good will is definitely a very good move. After all, it’s hard to get things done when you’ve alienated people whose help you need.
5. Undermine the ability of those who create jobs by increasing their taxes so there’s less money available for investment.
6. While you’re at it, offer to spread the income around by raising taxes, in the process, making it clear to those who work hard, invest in their educations, take risks, save, and delay gratification that they will see their money go to those who do not do these things.
7. Encourage class warfare. Divide the populace and destroy cooperation, thus encouraging backlash and creating paralyzing polarization.
8. Talk up protectionism, since the beggar-thy-neighbor approach has such a long and vigorous history of encouraging depression.
9. Scare people with talk of economic catastrophe. You can backpedal later, but the initial good work of helping people lose confidence should have a lasting impact.
10. Print money on a scale that will insure inflation in the future. Print it on a scale that will make people not want to hold U.S. debt without staggering interest on that debt, if they’re willing to hold U.S. government debt at all.
11. Instead of allowing hopeless institutions to go bankrupt, pour vast amounts of money into them, prolonging the pain and running up the cost while only delaying the inevitable.
12. Burden future generations with unprecedented amounts of debt so that the eoconomy you ruined today stays ruined tomorrow.
http://pajamasmedia.com/rogerkimball/2009/03/10/the-idiots-guide-to-destroying-the-economy-a-12-step-program/
Keemo on March 10, 2009 at 10:25 AM
I’m going to go with an explanation along these lines. Add in a touch of that whole “elitists know best” and we’ve got a fine four year mess.
myrenovations on March 10, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Barack’s been so stressed lately.
Why doesn’t he calm himself by playing a little solitaire?
MadisonConservative on March 10, 2009 at 10:26 AM
If you think this man is stupid – you are smoking some good stuff. If you don’t believe this was planned – ditto.
Did you miss how well orchestrated this all was… that it took less than 60 days to turn America on it’s ear! Don’t keep under-estimating this guy. He has a well-planned agenda and he keeps on getting a pass… from the right as well as the left.
unaffiliated on March 10, 2009 at 10:29 AM
Relax guys, calm down and take a deep breath. President Obama will sort out this mess that the republicans created through their greed and arrogance. It’s a big job, give him a year or two, it’s only fair. Right?
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 10:31 AM
John McCain had a chance to stop this by doing his duty to God and Country and exposing the Fanny and Freddie fiasco as the reason for the collapse of the markets, but he preferred to remain “friends” with his “friends” across the isle in the good old boys club.
he hung his Republican colleagues, the American people out to dry by instead letting his friends put the blame on capitalism and wall street and now we reap what the Braindead GOP and their nominee John McCain have sown.
Thank God gun sales are going through the roof for some day soon we may damn well need them to take this country back from the ruling elites.
It may be the only way to save this formerly great nation.
Term Limit the bastards!
dhunter on March 10, 2009 at 10:31 AM
He is the Manchurian Muslem President. He is doing what no army could hope to do – destroying us from within.
Sporty1946 on March 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM
Tacitus
bluelightbrigade on March 10, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Duh! Of course he wants to undermine the markets. He’s lovin’ this chaos, and needs it to push his marxist agenda.
ErinF on March 10, 2009 at 10:37 AM
And to all the obama voters on this blog, THANKS FOR NOTHING, you stupid f*cks!
ErinF on March 10, 2009 at 10:39 AM
Goodmorning friends, I’d like to ponder, along with all of you a few things I’ve been thinking about…
I have spent since 7am est just reading and absorbing the posts and different threads we have going today and it seems to me that several facts stand out… or do they?
Obama is either:
1) A man child in way over his head, having never run anything of value in his entire life, not being able to just vote “present” when things are tough and surrounded with complete far left radical cultists that have little to no common sense…
OR
2) We have a very, very intelligent, evil, very far left, radical man, that loathes traditional America, her values, her Founders, The Constitution, hates “whitey” and is hell bent on the absolute destruction of the American economy and Capitolistic system that has made us great…
Rational for thought #1 above: Obama has never run even a 7/11 store, (he didn’t run his campaign, Sorors and Axelrod did), he has never managed a crisis, never balanced a checkbook and was elected by an ill-informed, MSM driven, well oiled and slick political machine… Thus a idiot, an empty suit, a set of radical plans with no real idea how to implement and surrounded by a hate-America gang of thugs.
OR
Rational for though #2 above: The Messiah knows EXACTLY what he is doing and is happy that his ability to act so swiftly with his radical far left agenda due to a corrupt Liberal Congress with Pelosi and Reid as enablers… His agenda is to wreck havock on Wall Street, tax and villify the “evil rich” Republicans and producers, the sucessful and the investor class. The One has designes for Cap & Trade wich will cause the ripple effect of extreamly higher gasoline costs again forcing Americans to “adpot” his radical agenda for “green” this and that, along with the entire hoax of Global Warming. The citizens dependancy on the Federal Government grows with each passing Bill these radicals produce… Welfare, once reformed from handouts to work, is now back, bigger than ever… Increasing those in the NO TAX brackets from 45% to just over 50%… So a “majority” now will have no skin in the game, no worries (they believe) in the higer taxes on the “rcih”… Thus The Messiah’s power base, voter base is pacified…
BUT WAIT, there’s more!!!(like the Sham-Wow Commercial says)
And we’ll cover more later…
Mark Garnett on March 10, 2009 at 10:39 AM
I’ve thought this since the markets started going down….
Obama WANTS a ‘crisis’ on the scale of 9/11. He WANTS to be a ‘war time’ President, without having to go to war. He WANTS the attention, he WANTS the focus on his “greatness” (gag).
We all know what the dems say about a crisis: “Never let a good crisis go to waste” …so why should this surprise us?
Talismen on March 10, 2009 at 10:40 AM
There is a half-a-point the trolls are making here. Mind you, they skip the other half.
Namely, that people talk about Obama too much – he’s only part of the equation. It’s Obama + Dem Congress. The President holds the bully pulpit (and is using it to trash-talk his country and the markets), and the Congress holds the purse-strings.
The Dems had the congress for the last two years, but didn’t really get a chance to enact more than a portion of their agenda – which was bad enough. Now they’re going whole-hog, and the damage is accelerating.
As to whether it’s malice or stupidity, those who have been watching this train wreck for two years know it’s both.
Merovign on March 10, 2009 at 10:43 AM
“Obama came out of an environment of Leftist political and economic though”
HUH? It’s like saying Katrina was a summer storm.
I understand Ed, like Frum and many others wants to position himself as the oh-so-reasonable-center-right-objectivist, but my god…
Obama came out of a cesspool of radical communist/socialist idealogoues who want to destroy capitalism and replace it with an oligarchy who control every aspect of life down to the squares of toilet paper you are allowed to use.
THAT’s the truth, and no amount of oh-so-reasonable blather will change it
notagool on March 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM
ED – What was Obama’s first job out of college?
Wall Street. Why did he quit?
Because he didn’t like the culture, atmosphere, tactics, people, etc…
budfox on March 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Be sure and vote how you think Obama is doing! (while the vote is still open)…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093/
dominigan on March 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM
The crisis is real not manufactured. The financial crisis resulted from greed by bankers, politicians, captains of industry and yes, some average homeowners.
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Too late. It wouldn’t let me vote. But I was surprised to see him overwhelmingly scoring an F on MSNBC of all places.
Doughboy on March 10, 2009 at 10:48 AM
The Democrat Party needed to change the Presidential Campaign focus from the war to the economy. This was in preparation for the expected Obama win, and it needed the equivalant of a “Reichstag Fire” to get the Socialist agenda moving.
It was June 08 and the financial “avalanche” began the day that Chucky Schumer leaked the bad news on IndyMac Bank to the media. By July 12th, the Feds have taken over IndyMac.
(Six months later, Jan 2, 2009, a seven member group of investors agreed to buy the remnants of failed lender IndyMac for $13.9 Billion. Other investors included a fund controlled by billionaire George Soros‘ Fund Management.)
September 15 and the Democrat strategy is not working well as Obama and McCain are virtually tied in their race for the presidency.
On that day, out of no-where, in the space of less than 2 hours, the Federal Reserve noticed a tremendous drawdown of money market accounts in the U.S. to the tune of $550 billion.
The fire had been touched off.
kayo on March 10, 2009 at 10:49 AM
Heh. 61% give him an ‘F’.
Vashta.Nerada on March 10, 2009 at 10:50 AM
By politicians I believe you mean
Chris Dodd – Taking fannie money
Bawney Fwank – Shielding Fannie because his boyfriend was in fannie
Barak Hussein Manchura Obama – The jr senator who was one of the biggest recipients of fannie money and who was a lawyer pushing the ‘give everyone a home’stuff
The democraps – For pushing the ‘give everyone a home stuff”
Acorn – For militarizing the ‘give everyone a home’crap
bullseye on March 10, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Did this.
& I was pleased to see that – at the time of my voting – 61% are giving him a straight “F”, w/ a lot of “D” grades in there.
But I have this feeling that this poll will go by the wayside, w/ MSNBC using it as a chance to label “naysayers” as “bigots” & “rubes”.
*sigh*
bluelightbrigade on March 10, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Remember the Rules Obama has learned and plays by? They apply at all times.
Rule 1: Power is not only what you have, but what an opponent thinks you have.
Rule 2: Never go outside the experience of your people.
Rule 3: Whenever possible, go outside the experience of an opponent.
Rule 4: Make opponents live up to their own book of rules.
Rule 5: Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
Rule 6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy.
Rule 7: A tactic that drags on for too long becomes a drag.
Rule 8: Keep the pressure on.
Rule 9: The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself.
Rule 10: The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
Rule 11: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.
mistersurefire on March 10, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Difficult for the dollar to implode when it is traded against all the other weak currencies in the world. The Sterling and Euro are sliding due to their exposure to Eastern European countries all seemingly contending to be the next Iceland.
Despite the fact that we are printing currency and issuing bonds as fast as we can, the world appears to see us as still the safest ship in a terrible storm.
Could it be a different story in a year? Could Obama hurt our standing as the preeminent financial leader? Sure, but perhaps Geithner will have a draft of his plan ready by then.
At least today is a little better in the markets. The S&P is at a stratospheric 708–nosebleed territory ;-)
dedalus on March 10, 2009 at 10:54 AM
My post continued from above:
How would even the dumbest person, with zero business or financial experience believe that:
1) Raising Taxes during economic meltdown is a good plan?
2) Cap and Trade that will raise the price of electrical bills for working families, the ones that Obama promised to help, along with business electrical costs when business is already stressed, is a good idea?
3) Continued use of his “Bully Pulpit” to talk down the economy, causing continued stock turmoil and reduction of workforces, is a good idea?
*** The above continues to pint to a man with plans, doing things intentionaly to promote a huge power grab by Government and mainly our reliance on The Leader as a people.
Mark Garnett on March 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Government moves forward with Reparations.
Not a joke.
carbon_footprint on March 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Go ahead and take another big slug of Obama koolaid. If you don’t thing Obama has taken a bad situation and made it worse, please don’t reproduce. It would be best for America.
saiga on March 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM
George Bush is at the top of the list since it all started under his watch: White House, Office of the Press Secretary October 15, 2002
President Hosts Conference on Minority Homeownership
http://www.policyalmanac.org/social_welfare/archive/wh_minority_housing.shtml
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 10:56 AM
A Manchurian President wouldn’t show his cards in the first term. He’d stabilize the market, nurse his approval rating with moderates and secure re-election before taking the mother of all left turns.
Ponz on March 10, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Just because a bull brakes all of the dishes in a china shop doesn’t mean he’s doing it on purpose.
While ideologically left and rigid, they’ve done themselves no favors by being undisciplined, arrogant, amaturish and thugish. The net effect is to amplify their missteps.
So many unforced errors suggests to me a general propensity for errors of omission rather than commission (though they’ve those as well). I suspect that their ideology and arrogance leads them to think they can tweak the system with a socialist patina without all of the negative externalities associated with the shift. Or put another way, any negative externalities will be minimal and the collateral damages will be localized to various classes and therefor acceptable.
I’d like to think that the general population is slowing putting down their kool-aid filled dixie cups, but I’m not so sure.
moxie_neanderthal on March 10, 2009 at 10:57 AM
I will continue to “waer my tin-foil hat” and think that this is all by design…
We all know, and he does too, that if he really wanted to be the hero he could call for zero Capital Gains taxes for two years, incentives and tax breaks for business that hires more people, reduction of pork, lower business taxes for bringing work back to the US from overseas, ect., ect…
The economy would roar back, along with an upbeat message from The Messiah things would be a utopia…
But he has taken EXACTLY the opposite approach… Why ???
I have some thoughts… But I’ll make you wait a bit for my bloviations…
:)
Mark Garnett on March 10, 2009 at 11:03 AM
I noted that this is the handy work of John Conyers. Why doesn’t John start an investigation of political corruption instead? He can start with his own party and subpoena his wife Monica to testify. The FBI says they have “electronic surveillance evidence” of his wife in action….so let’s roll the tape….
moxie_neanderthal on March 10, 2009 at 11:05 AM
He hasn’t a clue about the constitution either.
Jvette on March 10, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Ed, to be fair…having everyone left with nothing is indeed an equality of outcomes.
James on March 10, 2009 at 11:08 AM
I just never seem to get enough of that tape. She was owned by a 13 year old.
carbon_footprint on March 10, 2009 at 11:10 AM
John Conyers is a joke. I’m betting the four Democrat cosponsers include Maxine Waters and Charlie Rangel.
txsurveyor on March 10, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Remember Obama let Pelosi write the stimulus bill. He’s a radical, but he’s in over his head.
By the Way Obama’s approval index is down to +6%.
Ted Torgerson on March 10, 2009 at 11:16 AM
No, he doesn’t. Well, he might have logically considered it, but he refuses to believe it would work. He’s been spoon-fed anti-capitalist rhetoric his entire life. I’m not saying he’s a robot, but we know who his mentors were, and they weren’t contributors to the Wall Street Journal.
MadisonConservative on March 10, 2009 at 11:18 AM
I can’t imagine a hundred advisors in the White House sitting by watching President Obama pressing buttons randomly, issuing directives in word salad.
Most people by now have realized that Obama’s an empty suit, dumb as a shrimp. His inaugural address left them scratching their heads. His bizarre snub of Great Britain. Etc. So we know he’s a dope.
But the fact remains, even his handlers seem indifferent.
jeff_from_mpls on March 10, 2009 at 11:24 AM
It is time for this country to get educated on Saul Alinsky and Black Liberation Theology.
Where is our conservative leadership? What are they doing about this? I sure as hell don’t have a voice!
13Girl on March 10, 2009 at 11:26 AM
They’re busy forming the “I hate Sarah Palin” club.
Nice, huh?
jeff_from_mpls on March 10, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Before wiki scrubbed it from his page last year, they noted that the elite private school O’bama went to in Hawai’i, Punahou, at the time practiced the quaint Hawwaiian school tradition known as “Kill Haole Day”. I lived in the islands in the 1960s myself, so was well acquainted with this ritual.
On the last day of school, all the white kids (“Haole” being the Hawaiian word for the honkies) get the Kos beat out of them solely based on their race. A fine thing to teach a growing future President, doncha think?
Del Dolemonte on March 10, 2009 at 11:28 AM
If ever there was a time to start a Patriot Party, it would be now. The GOP is DOA.
ErinF on March 10, 2009 at 11:30 AM
I’m still laughing.
+1
moxie_neanderthal on March 10, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Ed said:
Does not assuming incompetence in the situation also assume the intial intent is to help the economy? Does not assuming a desire to help the economy country also assume intent?
… Just Sayin’
Cassandros
Cassandros on March 10, 2009 at 11:33 AM
When I see a ‘?’ above or below your by-line, I’ve learned to suspect the headline or sub-heading it accompanies is just a come-on.
Kralizec on March 10, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Not true. McCain tried to stop the Fannie/Freddie mess, but the Democrats wouldn’t let him.
There’s plenty of cites from a couple of posts on the Power Line Forum-too many to quote here, so here are the links.
robertnyc212, I would also recommend that you read the facts about who created this mess, too. You might actually learn something, though I am not holding my breath.
http://www.plnewsforum.com/index.php/forums/viewreply/473526/
http://www.plnewsforum.com/index.php/forums/viewreply/473527/
Del Dolemonte on March 10, 2009 at 11:37 AM
Occam’s close cousin:
“Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence”
moxie_neanderthal on March 10, 2009 at 11:38 AM
I’m more inclined to think the GOP are thinking, “O Lord, please help us find some candidates who know something about finance, are well-spoken, and look good on camera.” I think very few people fit that description.
Kralizec on March 10, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Obama may be an idiot in a lot of ways, but he and the people controlling him are DELIBERATELY destroying the economy and the country. This is quite clear and people need to wake the f up. There isn’t much time to take the country back, folks. In fact we may already have gone too far down the road we’re on.
RightWinged on March 10, 2009 at 11:43 AM
“President (Bush) also issued “America’s Homeownership Challenge” to the real estate and mortgage finance industries to join in his effort to increase the number of minority homeowners by taking concrete steps to tear down the barriers to homeownership that face minority families.”
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 11:44 AM
R.O.M.N.E.Y.
ErinF on March 10, 2009 at 11:44 AM
I vote for incompetent; go back to his reaction when told that lowering capital gains rates increased revenues – it just did not compute for him. For him to be deliberately screwing things up would mean that he understands and accepts that what he has learned about economics is all wrong.
I think we can safely assume after watching him campaign that he has no ability to admit mistakes.
landshark on March 10, 2009 at 11:45 AM
I have been using the Napoleon “malice/incompetence” quote for Obama for the last couple of weeks. I have decided that incompetence is not sufficient to explain the level of damage caused.
gridlock2 on March 10, 2009 at 11:48 AM
You can’t spell MONEY without it.
dedalus on March 10, 2009 at 11:49 AM
That will make a great tagline for his 2012 campaign. I think he’ll be the only person who has the capability of cleaning up obama’s mess.
ErinF on March 10, 2009 at 11:51 AM
I’m finding it very difficult to recognize the pending Utopia that BO is in the process of creating on my behalf and therefore i’m considering going back to school.My problem is i can’t figure how far back in the education system i need to go back in the system to get myself adequately Dummied down.Would that be primary,secondary or would college be sufficient to achive the desired effects?
heshtesh on March 10, 2009 at 11:57 AM
What if it is neither malice nor incompetence, but rather a studied indifference?
I believe the most logical explanation of what has happened since Obama was elected is that Rahm has told him not to worry about the financial markets, but focus on his “change” agenda which is “what the people want.” I believe they think they can simply blame the economic meltdown and the financial crisis on George W. Bush and never be held accountable by “the people” for actually fixing it, so long as they keep their promises for “change” on the REALLY importnant stuff like, you know, the “return of science” and “green jobs” and demonizing Rush Limbaugh.
A rational person might call this incompetence; but I don’t think it is really incompetence at all. It is a calculated gamble though.
rockmom on March 10, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Wait, so Obama crashed the markets? Even though the markets started crashing well before he was elected? Even though we’ve been in recession for over a year?
orange on March 10, 2009 at 11:58 AM
What have Soros, Lewis and the other MoveOn billionaire donors been shorting lately?
Answer that question and you will have an answer to whether the administration is stumbling or stealthing.
Chaz on March 10, 2009 at 12:02 PM
I like Mitt. If the perception by 2011 is that Obama can’t figure out the economy then Mitt would due well to jump into the mix.
dedalus on March 10, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Welcome to the world of revisionist history. The same folks are still trying to make Reagan a great president instead of the senile bufoon that he was.
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 12:04 PM
Why assume a Manchurian Candidate needs to be intelligent? Give him the right backup — and, in this case, the right skin color to capture a couple of major voting blocs — and he can be dumb as a post.
In fact, an incompetent child-man with delusions of grandeur and superficial intellectual abilities might be a better choice for his masters.
Osama Obama’s history leaves one with many possible sources for his conversion into a controlled operative, from Indonesia to Pohk-ee-stohn to, well, Chicago.
He may be the highest-ranking useful idiot in world history.
MrScribbler on March 10, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Same dumb@$$ liberal
revisionisthopeful thinking.History has already judged Reagan a great President. Encouraging the economy, dealing with cold-war pressures (“Tear down this wall!”) and strengthening our military (which IS a Constitutional duty of the Federal Government).
dominigan on March 10, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Are we talking about “Bedtime for Bonzo” Ronald Reagan??
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 12:15 PM
You are absolutely correct.
Oink on March 10, 2009 at 12:19 PM
HOW can we find out?
Oink on March 10, 2009 at 12:20 PM
Poll after poll Ive seen places him in top 5 or 10.
Did you see that even the ECONOMIST is ripping Obama’s budget as “wishful and dangerous”????
That doesnt sound good, Bobby!
Chuck Schick on March 10, 2009 at 12:21 PM
I’ll take Bedtime for Bonzo over Obama’s contribution to the arts. At least with Bedtime, there was no pretense that it was a serious work.
landshark on March 10, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Sorry, he was a failed B movie actor at best. His greatest role was as POTUS or being a useful idiot.
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Is this today’s talking point since Operation Rushbo was such a spectacular failure?
rockmom on March 10, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Yes, and last year’s collapse of Bear Sterns, the September credit freeze disaster, Merrill Lynch’s collapse, 2008′s loss over over 2.5 million jobs, the Dow losing a third of its value from its high in 2008 until January, the subprime mortgage bubble, all part of Obama’s plan. He’s kind of a liberal Dr. Manhattan of economics for his detractors, able to move through time to assume blame for the recession that stated in December 2007.
okonkolo on March 10, 2009 at 12:29 PM
Meow!
Hey Bobby- market’s up today for a change. Team Obama’s going to hold off on releasing the pictures of Rush putting an 11th item in the 10-items-or-less-aisle until they need another distraction.
When’s Obama’s bank plan coming again? Looks like the April deadline’s going to be blown.
Chuck Schick on March 10, 2009 at 12:35 PM
I love Rush. He’s the perfect face for the republican party. How’s that working out for you?
robertnyc212 on March 10, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Um, I think the point Ed’s making is not that Obama is responsible for the decline of the economy. It’s that through either naivety, incompetence or intent, he’s making it worse.
Please explain:
* how cranking up deficits to levels eclipsing anything in peacetime during a credit crisis is a sound strategy
* the stupidity of the stimulus
* cranking up energy taxes on the poor on up when inflation is inevitable
* massively expanding welfare when entitlements are over $60 trillion in the hole
* Geithner
Chuck Schick on March 10, 2009 at 12:40 PM
cornfedbubba, lying liberal, neglects to mention that the market didn’t start cratering until the Demorats took over Congress. Once O took the Presidency, the afterburners kicked in.
SDN on March 10, 2009 at 12:44 PM
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