Obamateurism of the Day

Allahpundit noted this video from Townhall’s Greg Hengler last week, but it’s still a worthy addition to the Obamateurism rolls.  Most politicians contradict themselves at least occasionally over a period of a few years, if they’re in the mix enough to matter on national policy debates. It takes a true amateur to contradict one’s self within the same speech:

Obama Face Number One:

“It starts off with the basic idea that we’re all in this together. Mark Warner came in at a time when the fashionable politics was the nasty kind of politics, the slash-and-burn politics, the arguing and arguing without everything — ever getting anything done kind of politics. And Mark Warner said, you know what, we can try something different. What we’re going to do is we’re going to be pragmatic instead of ideological. We are going to try to bring people together rather than push them apart. We are going to make sure that we listen to other people’s ideas.”

And then there’s Obama Face Number Two:

“But I don’t want the folks who created the mess — I don’t want the folks who created the mess do a lot of talking. I want them just to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess. I don’t mind cleaning up after them, but don’t do a lot of talking.”

We’re going to listen to people’s ideas — as long as they agree with ours.  Well, that’s certainly a recipe for participatory democracy!  Shorter, unified Obama: I won.  Maybe he should just stick with that.  It wastes less time, and causes less carbon emissions.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at obamaisms@edmorrissey.com with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Addendum: Normally I’d put a link to Chris Muir’s Day by Day site here, but today I want to do more than that. Chris has a fundraising drive to keep his excellent cartoon alive.  Be sure to drop a few dollars in his collection to keep one of the Rightosphere’s most talented warriors in the fight!

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