Krauthammer on Obama’s speech: “Abstract, vapid, and self-absorbed”
posted at 8:19 pm on June 4, 2009 by Allahpundit
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But … that’s so unlike Obama. I need to correct CK before I praise him, though: The One doesn’t blame the United States for colonialist attitudes towards the Middle East at the beginning of the speech. He blames “the West,” which is certainly true if the West includes Great Britain and France (and it surely does). In fact, he explicitly says further on, “Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.”
That said, I’m embarrassed I missed the superb point he makes at the end about Obama’s moronic moral equivalence on women’s rights in my post earlier. It really is the most offensive part of the speech. I wonder, though, if The One feels compelled towards relativism because he’s a leftist or simply because, for all the hype, his oratory is formulaic and always includes a passage about how both sides to whatever conflict he’s addressing have legitimate grievances. That’s the real secret to his “post-partisanship”, I think: Unless absolutely forced to, he eschews taking a stand so that he can play President Above-it-all. To see just what a hack he is, have a look at this and note step 8 vis-a-vis Krauthammer’s critique. Inevitable.
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Even if they can’t get their drivers license (actually, I think the DMV/BMV tries to work with the individual), I don’t think anyone would consider them less equal… well, maybe the French would.
Upstater85 on June 4, 2009 at 9:20 PM
poor woman she is.
very depressing, but im sure its for good reason
blatantblue on June 4, 2009 at 9:21 PM
I’m loving the ‘Hammer!
daesleeper on June 4, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Just in case some of you wanted to see what some sub-women looked like…
http://blog.cleveland.com/health/2008/04/04292008_amish.jpg
Upstater85 on June 4, 2009 at 9:22 PM
Yeah, much sympathy going her way….
No doubt…
ladyingray on June 4, 2009 at 9:22 PM
Obama claims there are so many Islamic contributions on the way to enlightenment.
Check out Atlas Shrugs website (Pamela Geller) to see the comparison in Nobel Prizes awarded to the 1.2 billion world muslim population (20%) vs the 14 million (.002%) of world population comprised by Jews.
Obama likes to play fast and loose with facts.
jdflorida on June 4, 2009 at 9:22 PM
And it matters not that the millions of Jews who were murdered (after being robbed, beaten, starved, tortured, etc.) had no say in what happened to them and little opportunity to avoid their fate, while the Palestinians have repeatedly been offered the opportunity to have their own homeland — and so much more — but have refused those offers and have chosen instead to continue their “suffering.”
But hey, President Pantywaist, it’s basically the same thing, right?
Idiot.
AZCoyote on June 4, 2009 at 9:24 PM
And another girl that isn’t quite my equal…
Upstater85 on June 4, 2009 at 9:24 PM
Marxists like Obama don’t believe nations like America have any legitimate grievances. Moral relativism is the gimmick leftists use to flim-flam the tractile “moderates” among the population who lack the knowledge and wisdom to see through it.
TMK on June 4, 2009 at 9:25 PM
Krauthammer must have been drunk when he heard the speach because ed said it was pretty good.
peacenprosperity on June 4, 2009 at 9:25 PM
There’s some speculation as to whether or not he had quite a bit of help on that book.
IrishEi on June 4, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Oh, believe me. Those in Obama’s crowd believe this is nothing more than a Zionist conspiracy. Seriously, in large slices of academia the Jews are looked upon as their own little “stuck up” group.
Upstater85 on June 4, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Ouch… that’s really rubbing it in.
Upstater85 on June 4, 2009 at 9:27 PM
maybe pretty good as in “he did what he went to do”
not good in krauthammers eyes
when analyzing speech and rhetoric, “good” means “that person got done what THAT person wanted to do” — personal opinion is not included
blatantblue on June 4, 2009 at 9:27 PM
Not to get off topic, but I’m sorry
blatantblue on June 4, 2009 at 9:14 PM
But I still make a mean Margarita for my guests!! I have a form of Menuires disease, the main result is vertigo. Bed spins without the fun of getting there! My husband says it just makes me a truly dizzy blonde -:)
catlady on June 4, 2009 at 9:28 PM
AZCoyote on June 4, 2009 at 9:24 PM
Wethal on June 4, 2009 at 9:29 PM
What? Do you owe ed money or something?
peacenprosperity on June 4, 2009 at 9:30 PM
Isn’t he a little curious where all that charitable giving by Muslim Americans might be going?
ctmom on June 4, 2009 at 9:30 PM
I still feel bad you’re missin out on the fun
blatantblue on June 4, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Perhaps he was referring to the “eight million” Muslims living in that large “Muslim nation” known as the United States.
It’s the Muslims who think women are lesser beings.
AZCoyote on June 4, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Women in Saudi Arabia, taliban controlled Afghanistan, Iran etc. don’t choose to cover. They cover, get whipped or die.
Some choice…
This is the kind of thing that drives me batty about Obama and his….er….um…. nuance.
katy on June 4, 2009 at 9:32 PM
Well, on the bright side…If the ‘idiot leader of our country’ does destroy the west and all of the women of the world end up wearing burka’s at least that ‘FUGLY’ wife of his will have her nastiness covered up so we won’t have to be repulsed by her…
Ltlgeneral64 on June 4, 2009 at 9:32 PM
Isn’t he a little curious where all that charitable giving by Muslim Americans might be going?
ctmom on June 4, 2009 at 9:30 PM
It’s going to bring anthrax to south Texas. I cant wait…
catlady on June 4, 2009 at 9:32 PM
Yeah, we wouldn’t want it to be unequal like MTP or Stephie’s show where the “panel” is usually three liberals to one conservative who is usually too polite to interrupt. I am so worried about how Fox presents itself.
Cindy Munford on June 4, 2009 at 9:34 PM
blatantblue on June 4, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Nah, I am ok with it, had my fun for a lot of years. Legal drinking age was 18 when I grew up, so I had plenty of time to damage brain and liver cells.
Ltlgeneral64 on June 4, 2009 at 9:32 PM
But she will still show us her “beautiful” manly biceps, right?
catlady on June 4, 2009 at 9:35 PM
Did anyone else hear that unctuous “reporter” on CNN say that this is the kind of speech that wins presidents the Noble Prize.
Barf inducing, it was.
Dhuka on June 4, 2009 at 9:35 PM
Maybe he’s thinking about lefty attitudes in this country toward conservative women. I mean, sliming, trashing, destroying, rape fantasies…
ddrintn on June 4, 2009 at 9:36 PM
BTW, the link to the speech formula article at Daily Beast was good! I think the writer has Obambi’s speeches pegged!
catlady on June 4, 2009 at 9:37 PM
Have you seen who the winners have been recently?
Upstater85 on June 4, 2009 at 9:38 PM
Well, if it doesn’t make you sad, then I’m happy
blatantblue on June 4, 2009 at 9:39 PM
My 11 year old nephew refers to Obama as Ethelred the Unready. LOL!
daesleeper on June 4, 2009 at 9:42 PM
I doubt Charles Krauthammer has ever said anything that I disagreed with. I think he has a great mind and is a great man.
Star20 on June 4, 2009 at 9:43 PM
I am waiting for the president to fix the world on an Oprah based idea of everyone wiping the slate clean and starting over fresh from today. I sure wish he would quit apologizing as if the US is the only country without a spotless history. It’s ridiculous.
Cindy Munford on June 4, 2009 at 9:45 PM
Oh my good God.
ctmom on June 4, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Krauthammer sets the bar very high, good.
Speakup on June 4, 2009 at 9:53 PM
Oh my good God.
ctmom on June 4,2009 at 9:51PM.
ctmom: Thats 4 lbs. of Anthrax,via Mexico thru Texas!:)
canopfor on June 4, 2009 at 9:53 PM
I have to say Charles is the best. Everything that man says is so eloquent and to the point. Joe Klein eat your heart, you pathetic loser.
Lance Murdock on June 4, 2009 at 10:05 PM
Most of Obama’s thinking seems to be at the undergraduate level, and especially the lefty academic fashions of twenty years ago. I was re-educated at attended a very liberal school in the late 80s and these last few months have flashed me back to those years more times than I can count.
Missy on June 4, 2009 at 8:47 PM
Del Dolemonte on June 4, 2009 at 10:08 PM
CK absolutely rocks! He is like the King of getting to the point in less than 10 seconds! I marvel at the man!
As to the whole “we are scum of the Earth torturers”, one wonders how the 1.5 billion Muslims are going to play that line out. I am with Scalleywag in that enough already; it was 3 guys. But I would add, we have never been a nation which advocated torture. Some will attempt to say we have, but that was only in cases where we had been attacked, were at war and needed to save other lives. If Obama is going to say we have tortured the 231 prisoners at GITMO, then the other hand will show radical Islam has tortured well over a million peoples. And in far worse ways our people could envision!
When oh when will Americans turn back to their history books, and see we are only strong when we are fiercely defiant in the face of all forms of tyranny? When our CIA was strong, we were strong, and in so many ways the world was a better place. When people feared us, we were providing freely freedom to the dark places of oppression.
freeus on June 4, 2009 at 10:15 PM
I won’t even discuss how WE torture with an enemy that BEHEADS its prisoners.
ctmom on June 4, 2009 at 10:25 PM
It is absolutely appalling how we’ve left our border states so vulnerable. God help you all down there.
ctmom on June 4, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Now that observation is worthy of Bartlett’s Book of Quotations. LOL
onlineanalyst on June 4, 2009 at 10:31 PM
Not sure what your point is. I know the dates of his undergraduate years. I’m just saying that what comes out of his mouth reminds me of what I was taught in the mid-late 80’s. IOW the leftist academic dogma didn’t change much in those intervening years.
Missy on June 4, 2009 at 10:31 PM
I hate to disagree with somebody who clearly understands the situation, but it isn’t just about exacting revenge for humiliating the third world. It’s also about exacting revenge on America for practicing slavery for 1/20th of the time the rest of the world has, and then having the audacity to become the most successful country in history despite it rather than destroying itself from grief, anguish and shame.
notagool on June 4, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Classic!
BuckeyeSam on June 4, 2009 at 10:40 PM
OK, Dick Morris came to the Light because of Hillary. Wonder who caused Krauthammer’s conversion? Working in the Carter Administration probably. Perhaps the realization after living under Reagan that Liberal Dems were not really that good for one’s bottom line?
I don’t trust him.
Dr. ZhivBlago on June 4, 2009 at 10:43 PM
“The Hammer” is always the smartest man in any room he enters.
ndulik on June 4, 2009 at 10:51 PM
Another excellent post, AP. But you can’t go wrong with good material. The K-man was on fire. Even Baier commented. And Mort knew better than to get in his way. If Juan Williams had been there tonight and crossed Charles, I’m betting Charles would have either shot him or spat on him.
Out: Ed. In: AP?
AP, you’re on a roll today. Don’t blow it with a Megan McCain post.
BuckeyeSam on June 4, 2009 at 10:52 PM
I’m glad someone brought that up. I’ve never seen Kondracke that upset and hostile before. Someone needs to find that clip too.
Another great article AP!! Well done! You are on a roll today!
Knucklehead on June 4, 2009 at 10:57 PM
It is absoluetly appalling….
ctmom on June 4,2009 at 10:52PM.
ctmom:After 911,the borders should of been closed,and
also,there are parts of the American/Canadian
border that can be walked across,with no surveil
lance!!:)
canopfor on June 4, 2009 at 11:02 PM
I just heard on the radio that the State Department issued a memo to foreign journalists, in Spanish, directing them to watch Obama’s speech on CNN.
This is apparently unheard of.
Of course, Krauthammer isn’t on CNN.
capitalist piglet on June 4, 2009 at 11:18 PM
Obama has no idea who Anwar Sadat is, he thinks he’s a field in Alaska, the 58th state.
Why would we be surprised the lefties don’t care about women’s rights? The recent bout of rape fantasies sorta puts that to rest, their care about women’s reproductive freedom.
These people are just twisted.
benrand on June 4, 2009 at 11:27 PM
But Obama specifically stated in his speech that he’s a student of history. How did he not weave Sadat into his speech?
BuckeyeSam on June 4, 2009 at 11:32 PM
Obamaquivalencies:
One the one hand, Hitler killed 6 million Jews and made Europe a charnelhouse; on the other hand, he produced 6 million Volkgwagons that made life easier for the German people…
profitsbeard on June 5, 2009 at 12:07 AM
An Obama speech? Naw……
Hawkins1701 on June 5, 2009 at 12:11 AM
If Charles K. weren’t confined to that wheelchair, he might have had the hearty life experiences that would allow him to understand the Child-King’s intellectual nuance.
/Joe Klein
omnipotent on June 5, 2009 at 12:19 AM
Well, you might ask the same thing about Michelle. A nice, middle-class upbringing in a family who loved her; an education at Princeton; a million-dollar house; and a 350k-a-year job. And spends more money on a pair of shoes or a piece of jewelry than many people make in a week or more.
Yet – she resented her university, had a distinct lack of pride in her country until her husband was campaigning for President, and based most of her rhetoric around “demands” she, through her husband, planned to make of people.
And complained to a bunch of women who made an average of 32k a year that she knows how it is; why, her kids’ extracurricular activities alone were 10k a year. She doesn’t EVEN KNOW how good she has it. Doesn’t even know.
And identifies with another woman, Sotomeyer (sp?,) who also griped about being properly loved or valued in the manner she thought she should have been.
Both Michelle and Barack have shared the same sorts of indoctrinations, based on an underpinning of resentment for the country they (or at least she) grew up in. And that resentment is a such basic building block of their world view, that if you took it away, most of their philosophies would crumble.
That’s why they will never lose it, and will never be happy, no matter what. It would bring on a nightmare of cognitive dissonance.
Alana on June 5, 2009 at 12:34 AM
I love Krauthammer a bunch, too. But I will never forgive him regarding Sarah Palin. I fully expect him to eat all his words on her someday, and offer a sincere apology.
Alana on June 5, 2009 at 12:37 AM
Since Rush has resigned as titular head of the GOP, can we appoint CK? He says what needs to be said, but isn’t the lighting rod that Rush is.
Mallard T. Drake on June 5, 2009 at 12:39 AM
How did the Ayatollah of Sh– and Shinola fare on his first Egyptian trip? After trashing America, Israel, Christianity and the US military, he barged down the Nile and sank.
MaiDee on June 5, 2009 at 12:49 AM
That is an amazing article. I sent the link to Michelle and a couple others. Maybe they’ve already seen it, I don’t know.
I’d have to view the evidence myself, but I have no reason to suspect he’s lying about what’s in the books. And as a writer, I can say I would have looked for many of the same clues, but I never would have expected to find so many obvious ones. Bill Ayers was either incredibly careless about leaving his “signatures” behind, or he wanted to be discovered.
Daggett on June 5, 2009 at 12:54 AM
Brilliant! ::burp::
cannonball on June 5, 2009 at 12:58 AM
When he runs out of bad stuff to say about us, he just makes some up.
Alana on June 5, 2009 at 1:06 AM
I think Ed, the “useful idiot” for today, needs to listen to this.
TTheoLogan on June 5, 2009 at 1:13 AM
Obama is one of those, “On the one hand … on the other hand…” kind of guys. At first, it sounds very fair and well-considered. Until you start to realize that the two hands are not equal. He compares the Holocaust to refugee camps that are only in existence because the Arab countries around Israel that supposedly champion the Palestinians won’t actully let them come into their countries. He compares “some” thinking women who cover their faces and heads are “less than equal” to all the well-known abuses of women in the Middle East. He compares the one coup in the middle of the Cold War, with its looming threat of nuclear annihilation to all the mischief done by Iran for the last generation.
And it certainly sounds like just another way of saying, “Hey, don’t blame me! I inherited the problem, and I’ll try to fix it.”
Just once I’d love to see him defend the U.S. without qualifying it all with unequal moral equivalence.
ThereGoesTheNeighborhood on June 5, 2009 at 1:46 AM
All the Islamic countries have grievances but the United States is just plain evil
Mark
http://mark24609.blogspot.com/2009/06/obamas-message-to-islam.html
mark24609 on June 5, 2009 at 1:57 AM
As usual, the Hammer nails it.
It’s about time someone did.
SilverStar830 on June 5, 2009 at 2:48 AM
My wife had some inner ear trouble from an infection as a teenager. When she gets tired, then I’m married to a dizzy blonde.
She thinks its funny, the first time or two I make the joke…
ThereGoesTheNeighborhood on June 5, 2009 at 2:58 AM
Krauthammer rules!
He can see right through Obama’s soaring rhetoric and call it for what it is. A bunch of BS meant to bamboozle the masses.
Brilliant Analysis CK!
sarahpalinfan99 on June 5, 2009 at 4:35 AM
No we can’t! What the hell are you thinking? We don’t appoint the head of the republican party, the media does with guidance from the dnc.
peacenprosperity on June 5, 2009 at 7:19 AM
Dont hurt ‘em Hammer.
Well, maybe just a little bit.
Cant touch this.
5u93rm4n on June 5, 2009 at 7:19 AM
Abstract, vapid and self-absorbed, eh? I think CK’s giving BO the benefit of the doubt here. I’d add “historically ignorant, condescending and nonsensical”.
mr.blacksheep on June 5, 2009 at 7:27 AM
Will Gibbs attack CK the way he did Rush?
ctmom on June 5, 2009 at 7:33 AM
The answer is “all of the above”.
rbj on June 5, 2009 at 8:07 AM
It’s not morally equivalent, but it’s an emotional point that distorted minds can hold onto as they condemn their own nation that defends their personal sexual and power seeking agenda.
Krauthammer, you magnificent bastage.
Hening on June 5, 2009 at 8:10 AM
I had to watch that again, it was such a perfect analysis. Charles is the man!
scalleywag on June 5, 2009 at 9:40 AM
Your 11 year old knows more about history than the POTUS.
+1 (and +1 for you, too)
bluelightbrigade on June 5, 2009 at 9:49 AM
Natan Sharansky nails the entire simplistic, childish Obama philosophy of “post identity” in his magnificent book “Defending Identity”. After reading that book, everything is SO much clearer to me. I think it is one of the most important books to come along in a while.
Sharansky’s basic idea is this: there are two critical ingredients to a healthy, functioning society: freedom and identity. Without a strong identity, a free society is weak and has no “greater purpose” (ie. Canada), while without freedom, a society with a strong identity is fascistic (ie. Iran). Some people observe a belligerent nation like Iran, and (understandably) make the following simplistic overgeneralization: “oh, look at all the trouble Iran is making. I guess ALL strong identities are bad for the world, because strong identities just make people combative and intolerant”. A nation without a strong identity is weak, though.
I think that President Obama has embraced this naive and simplistic “post identity” philosophy. I think he is trying to tear down ALL strong identities, and that includes both American and radical Islamic identities. He simplistically believes that “all strong identities are bad”, and that once all strong identities are gone, the world will be a more peaceful place. In truth, American identity is good, and radical Islamic identity is bad.
dave_lantos on June 5, 2009 at 10:00 AM
Krauthammer slices The Tyro in Cairo like a hammer.
Christien on June 5, 2009 at 12:25 PM
I think the rationale people like Obama use for invoking this moral equivalence (e.g. the women’s lacrosse team in U.S. vs. women being beaten and stoned in Iran) is that the two societies “are just different.”
They’re in different parts of the world and they’ve developed differently. The way women are abused in the U.S. is just as bad as the way women are abused in Iran, and whatever tiny bit of progress people might make in Iran should be praised just as much as movements forward in the U.S.
It’s pretty stupid.
thebadoutlaw on June 5, 2009 at 12:26 PM
If I get to pick my cellmate, I’ll go with The Hammer.
Akzed on June 5, 2009 at 12:53 PM
Charles K is unequalled. Abstract, vapid, and self-absorbed. Beautiful.
We have sent forth the Prom King to speak for America.
J.E. Dyer on June 5, 2009 at 12:55 PM
THAT is soooooo right! Supremely awesome!
ORconservative wondered why Obama had an ax to grind, or hates America so much. The answers lie in all those whom had contact with him during his lifetime. His father absolutely hated America, and this hatred was handed down from those around his father in Kenya. Even though his father was ot around much, Obama still idolized his father and has emulated him. His mother hated America, and that is because she spent a large amount of her time in Leftists universities. I believe she was warped by her parents, and the era in which she grew up in; along with the time I think the family spent near Seattle. His maternal grandfather was always disgruntled, and to me was basically lazy. His maternal grandmother, who recently passed away, worked hard to put him where he is now, and this seemed to rub him the wrong way. There is also the fact he had some resentment towards her which was encouraged from her husband, his grandfather.
When he returned to Hawaii from Indonesia, his grandfather took him to meet one Frank Marshall Davis. Davis had fled Chicago, and was one messed up dude. He was steeped in Black Liberation Theology, was intensely anti-American, and very much influenced by Saul Alinsky. Obama spent quite a bit of time with Davis, and IMO this was what truly messed up his mind and topped off the hatred tank.
After leaving Hawaii, Obama attended Occidental College which is jammed packed with extreme American hating Leftists. He moved on to other universities, and presto you have one arrogant, American hating, Black man with fascists beliefs.
The bottom line is Leftists ideology will always lead to hatred.
freeus on June 5, 2009 at 1:03 PM
Sorry that all ended up in bold!
freeus on June 5, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Yeah, Krauthammer is a real genius like when he said
Palin Pick by McCain was suicidal!
robertnyc212 on June 5, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Ask a Muslim if he/she knows that a reference to “the West” refers to the U.S., Great Britain and France? I posted on a Moroccan board a few years ago and never once did they ever mention Britain or France in their rantings about colonization only the U.S. I can’t count the number of times posters told them the U.S. never colonized their countries. They never comprehended that.
moonsbreath on June 5, 2009 at 1:16 PM
DITTO. And well said, second to Krauthammer’s comments. ;)
Lourdes on June 5, 2009 at 1:27 PM
AND THE OBVIOUS IS, THEN, THAT BARACK OBAMA IS, INDEED, MUSLIM *IN HIS MIND* (thus, a Muslim regardless of what nametag he tries to apply to his “faith”).
BECAUSE the only person preaching against “colonialism” “by the U.S.” (or, labeling the U.S. as having engaged in “colonialism”) IS BARACK OBAMA (and other Muslims).
In his mind, the U.S. is responsible for some awful intrusions upon Islam of historical proportions (”colonialism”) and it’s some big, big awful thing (in his mind, in the mind of [other] Muslims).
That this has never happened — that the U.S. is not and has never been, IN REALITY, a colonializing nation isn’t something Obama understands becuase he’s literally repeating the point, among others, that he’s been indoctrinated upon: “the U.S. is responsible for colonization of Islam nations”…
The conclusion about Obama for that statement alone (yet there are many others that arrive at this same conclusion) is that he is, indeed, Muslim (despite his attempts to claim otherwise).
He’s acting out as a Muslim, his behavior and reason associate if not are well-tuned to Islam and Muslim culture, he’s proving himself both liar in the context of saying that isn’t so and a dutiful Muslim all at the same time.
Lourdes on June 5, 2009 at 1:33 PM
I’m sorry Charles but I didn’t think it was that good.
chicken thief on June 5, 2009 at 3:11 PM
I respect Krauthammer.
The struggles for women in America is precisely regarding Conservative Women whom Obama himself persecutes overtly and covertly.
maverick muse on June 5, 2009 at 4:25 PM
He’s not acting like a Muslim. He’s acting like himself — a radical who hates America.
He gets along well with Muslims because he’s familiar with the culture and he shares their desire to see America (as it exists) destroyed.
Daggett on June 5, 2009 at 5:15 PM
Who teaches your 11 year old history? If it’s yourself, pat yourself on the back… if it’s Himself, pat him on the back… and if it’s neither, make sure you keep a close eye on him as the Obamatons will probably make him disappears.
On that note… I congratulate your 11 year old’s knowledge of history.
Chaz706 on June 5, 2009 at 6:06 PM
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