Obamateurism of the Day

posted at 8:05 am on December 3, 2009 by Ed Morrissey

Chalk up this Teleflubbie to karma. In the middle of blaming the Bush administration for the status of the fight in Afghanistan because of the Iraq war, Obama fumbled his big conclusion. Just what kind of end are we going reach for the war in Iraq?

“We are bringing the war in Iraq to an irresponsible end.”

If we’re setting up an 18-month timetable for Afghanistan, we’ll be ending that one the same way. (hat tip to HA reader Agam)

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.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!

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I love this idea that we’ll fix things by 2011. What a silly, silly notion.

What a ridiculous notion, that we’re going to turn things around in such a short amount of time.

All we can do is lay pain on AQ and the Talibs as much as we can, flood the place with infrastructure, and try to take advantage of the gender cleavage, i.e., using the women of the nation to push the country forward.

Ain’t gonna’ happen by 2011 though.

blatantblue on December 3, 2009 at 8:07 AM

I believe oboobi really meant that.

SHARPTOOTH on December 3, 2009 at 8:08 AM

“Call me irresponsible. Call me unreliable. Throw in undependable, too….”

apostic on December 3, 2009 at 8:09 AM

He is looking a lot like LBJ to me. Poor LBJ couldn’t blame St. Jack the Kennedy for everything, though.

IlikedAUH2O on December 3, 2009 at 8:11 AM

sorry ed, I can’t comment because I can’t listen to this fool for even 25 seconds….my cardiologist is worried about my blood pressure.

jbh45 on December 3, 2009 at 8:11 AM

I love this idea that we’ll fix things by 2011. What a silly, silly notion.

blatantblue on December 3, 2009 at 8:07 AM

Are you kidding? This guy couldn’t even close GTMO in a year. And he controls that! But he thinks he’ll wrap up the Taleebon in 18 months.

Good Luck.

alexwest on December 3, 2009 at 8:12 AM

Hope the Afghani women haven’t thrown out their burquas yet since the Talban will make them wear them again. And that the Iraqis are ready for a war with Iran.

Because if the ONE’s plans to abandon both work out, that’s what is going to happen.

Premature withdrawal is something he does a lot? Perhaps we should ask Michelle. :)

mjk on December 3, 2009 at 8:12 AM

The irresponsibility of this administration is unprecedented!

BPD on December 3, 2009 at 8:13 AM

Peace with honor.

unclesmrgol on December 3, 2009 at 8:14 AM

Occasionally not a liar.

the_nile on December 3, 2009 at 8:14 AM

But he thinks he’ll wrap up the Taleebon in 18 months.

And don’t forget, finishing the war in Pokestan.

I was sitting there during that stupid speech going, “Is he really going to keep saying it that way? And does Pakistan know that they are at war with America?” I know that’s now what he meant, but it seemed to be the subtext.

mjk on December 3, 2009 at 8:15 AM

See Lucianne and NYT.

WH invokes separation of powers to prevent party crashers and their own party organizer from testifying…WHY?????

I smell a decaying whale.

Schadenfreude on December 3, 2009 at 8:22 AM

I know that’s now what he meant, but it seemed to be the subtext.

mjk on December 3, 2009 at 8:15 AM

I hear ya.

I can’t tell if this guy is an evil genius, a moron, or some hybrid of the two.

Either way, I understand the role that goals and a date play in getting things done, but this guy just seems to be a loose cannon. And hasn’t anyone noticed that he keeps missing his dates?

They seem to be excuses to yell Go! Go! Go! Move it! to push the ball wherever he wants it regardless of consequence. (Health care, GTMO)
So I have many prayers for those serving in theater these days. I guess that is how I see this: His legislative strategy applied to war. I fear it will be a bloody mess.

alexwest on December 3, 2009 at 8:23 AM

“We are bringing the war in Iraq to an irresponsible end.”

ya gotta love TOTUS

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:25 AM

We are bringing the war in Iraq to an irresponsible end

I’m sure the tallybon would like for us to leave all the weapons too.

yoda on December 3, 2009 at 8:25 AM

thanks TOTUS for another revealing look behind the curtain of “transparency”….

ted c on December 3, 2009 at 8:27 AM

will he ever stop blaming W….seriously, this is getting to be ridiculous now…

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:27 AM

…he thinks he’ll wrap up the Taleebon in 18 months.

alexwest on December 3, 2009 at 8:12 AM

Wrapping up the Taliban is only a “nice to have.” What he wants is to get out before the 2012 elections.

Kafir on December 3, 2009 at 8:28 AM

I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

faol on December 3, 2009 at 8:28 AM

Mr. Puckeestaan and Taleebon had all the answers before the war. How these young man and women didn’t have one big massive puke when this Blamer in Chief opened his gob I don’t know.

Caper29 on December 3, 2009 at 8:30 AM

will he ever stop blaming W

Nope. When you’ve been told your entire life how wonderful you are and how it’s not your fault you are not psychologically equiped to take responsiblity for anything. Unfortunately, you’re also not psychologically equiped to be President.

crazy_legs on December 3, 2009 at 8:31 AM

During November more Americans were killed by Islamic terrorists in America than were killed by Islamic terrorists in Iraq.

Where were you in 2007, warmonger Ogabe?

Bishop on December 3, 2009 at 8:32 AM

The irresponsibility of this administration is unprecedented!

BPD on December 3, 2009 at 8:13 AM

The oval office has been un-presidented.

Sloan Morganstern on December 3, 2009 at 8:33 AM

will he ever stop blaming W

It’s who Obama is. That’s how he won the election. Frankly, it’s who the dems are. How many of them ran against Bush in their own local elections?

Watching some games this past Sunday, I had the pleasure of seeing ads for the cockroaches scrambling for Kennedy’s Senate seat. At least 1 of them is using Bush in his ads. A couple them are using Bush in their radio ads.

It’s absolute insanity.

(Of course the best line in one of the ads contains “…not the values Wall Street used while wrecking our economy…” Ya, Wall Street wrecked it. Mmm-hmmm)

reaganaut on December 3, 2009 at 8:33 AM

crazy_legs on December 3, 2009 at 8:31 AM

*sigh*

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:33 AM

Not an Obamateurism, but finally speaking truth to power (all those fine young men and women who will soon be engaged in the wars)

rbj on December 3, 2009 at 8:33 AM

I don’t care about the Community Organizer’s future. I care about our best and brightest in harm’s way. He is a horrible POTUS and a incompetant CIC. Can I get a witness? /rant off

kingsjester on December 3, 2009 at 8:36 AM

reaganaut on December 3, 2009 at 8:33 AM

unbelievable…I would hope the voters in those areas would see the stupidity of using W now…

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:36 AM

kingsjester on December 3, 2009 at 8:36 AM

amen king!

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:37 AM

unbelievable…I would hope the voters in those areas would see the stupidity of using W now…

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:36 AM

These are Massholes he’s talking about….

Caper29 on December 3, 2009 at 8:38 AM

Dr. Freud on Line 1.

LibTired on December 3, 2009 at 8:40 AM

Remember class, professor obeyme has FIRST HAND experience with the ravages of war. Surely his grief over such grisly, sad and heart breaking FIRST HAND experiences caused him to mis-speak??

Ris4victory on December 3, 2009 at 8:41 AM

We are bringing the war in Iraq to an irresponsible end

Can we say the same thing when your term is up in 2012 Mr. Obama? The American people brought this miserable and irresponsible community organizer to an END—not only saving lives but saving this nation from total economic destruction.

Rovin on December 3, 2009 at 8:42 AM

The only feature that keeps this blithering idiot in the White House is that he’s black; Any white man this dumb would have been impeached by now.

Cybergeezer on December 3, 2009 at 8:43 AM

Does this make those peace-loving Islamists (sarc) over there in the Tolllybon racists if they throw a wrench into his plans?

How could they do that to a fellow brother…?

ted c on December 3, 2009 at 8:44 AM

The only feature that keeps this blithering idiot in the White House is that he’s black; Any white man this dumb would have been impeached by now.

Cybergeezer on December 3, 2009 at 8:43 AM

did you mean “dithering”?

ted c on December 3, 2009 at 8:45 AM

I don’t care about the Community Organizer’s future. I care about our best and brightest in harm’s way. He is a horrible POTUS and a incompetant CIC. Can I get a witness? /rant off

kingsjester on December 3, 2009 at 8:36 AM

My sentiments exactly!

Christian Conservative on December 3, 2009 at 8:45 AM

I would hope the voters in those areas would see the stupidity of using W now

I wish, I live in MA (I tried to coin the term Cranberry Republic, but it’s not catching on, heh).

reaganaut on December 3, 2009 at 8:45 AM

reaganaut on December 3, 2009 at 8:45 AM

understood…hang in there

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:47 AM

Peace with honor

No. I have a sick feeling that this operation will end like Viet Nam:

Peace with horror.

oldleprechaun on December 3, 2009 at 8:49 AM

Disgusting.

ladyingray on December 3, 2009 at 8:50 AM

Now look here, y’all……..it is my considered opinion that some folks around Conservative World are taking this “Afghanistan withdrawal” thing beyond the pale of reason.

Let us not forget the “depending upon conditions on the ground” clause. That is about the finest set of weasel words ever to come out of the Obamanation’s (all hail!) mouth.

Those are the words which can gleefully pointed out when The Timetable grows closer, and is even passed.

Those are the words which are to be used to hold the Obamanation’s (all hail!) feet to the fire, should he succumb to the Screaming Lefties farther down the line.

Those are the words of victory in Afghanistan, predicated upon the strong base well and ably constructed by George Bush et al.

Y’all are being knee-jerk ninnies in the OMIGOSHITSAFAILED PLAN!!!111ELEVENTY11!! reactions.

This is not a time for defensive hysterics.

Take a moment or three and really go over the speech.

We Conservatives have obtained more ammunition against the Obamanation (all hail!) from this single speech than anything he’s done, promised, or failed at since he became president.

Mark my words…the Afghanistan speech is the true beginning of the Obamanation’s (all hail!) true politcal demise.

You’ll see…………….Farmer said so, and Farmer don’t lie.

Farmer on December 3, 2009 at 8:58 AM

No. I have a sick feeling that this operation will end like Viet Nam:

Peace with horror.

oldleprechaun on December 3, 2009 at 8:49 AM

Anyone with any recollection of Viet Nam, or any curiosity of the history of Nam, will note some extreme similarities. I remember.

Cybergeezer on December 3, 2009 at 8:59 AM

May be the only time he told the truth. Why bash him for that.

MikeA on December 3, 2009 at 9:09 AM

Is it too hard to get the actual quote right?

Abby Adams on December 3, 2009 at 9:13 AM

POCKeestohn… TAHLeebohn…

Akzed on December 3, 2009 at 9:16 AM

The irresponsibility of this administration is unprecedented!

BPD on December 3, 2009 at 8:13 AM

And historic, don’t forget historic.

rihar on December 3, 2009 at 9:17 AM

Premature withdrawal is something he does a lot? Perhaps we should ask Michelle. :)

mjk on December 3, 2009 at 8:12 AM

Wiping coffee off my screen. That will make me smile all day. LMAO. Thankyou.

LSUMama on December 3, 2009 at 9:25 AM

will he ever stop blaming W….seriously, this is getting to be ridiculous now…

cmsinaz on December 3, 2009 at 8:27 AM

No.

LSUMama on December 3, 2009 at 9:27 AM

“We are bringing the war in Iraq to an irresponsible end.”

Talk about a Freudian Slip.

mizflame98 on December 3, 2009 at 9:29 AM

Great catch, Ed.

maverick muse on December 3, 2009 at 9:29 AM

The oval office has been un-presidented.

Sloan Morganstern on December 3, 2009 at 8:33 AM

I vote QOTD. Nuff said.

LSUMama on December 3, 2009 at 9:30 AM

…for the last time,

Audacious potus candidate Obama reiterated publicly that bombing Pakistan was fine, to the horror of his Republican opponent McCain who debated that you NEVER have the right to threaten our Pakistan ally.

At the point of that presidential debate, Bush had already pushed al Qaeda OUT of Afghanistan. For all WE know, bin Laden was in Pakistan all along. We DO know he’s there now. But since Obama’s election, Pahkeestahn has been his pet kitten.

Why would anyone take courage given the cheer leading Gingrich and Rove patting the Obama speech on the back? Gingrich and Rove know nothing about military strategy and NEVER specialized in military history of warfare. They specialize in American politics and influencing voters with rhetoric and in tracking polls. They both represent business interests while posing with concern for Americans.

The Fred Thompson Show website archive provides his interviews with experts this past week. Afghanistan in NOT a country but only a collection of tribes who don’t agree about anything. There is no way feasible for the US to “win” in Afghanistan without killing everyone who lives there AND in Pakistan. We don’t even have necessary intelligence from the Afghan tribes to protect the forces we’ve already placed in that meat grinder. And whatever recruits we enlist from the Afghan tribes have tribal allegiance and loyalty to the Taliban. So we will corrupt our own security as the Afghan Army recruits sabotage our every move, just as occurred in Vietnam as the enemy communists recruited into the South Vietnamese Army and leaked intelligence sabotaging our every effort there. Right now there’s the Karzai 12 Rules of Engagement that require our forces to make certain that the enemy is ready to return fire before our troops can open fire, and that our forces can NOT raid or search without first getting a permission slip from the Taliban village.

That knowledge substantiates Michael Savage’s observations regarding Afghanistan. Americans don’t recognize the details of the Soviet experience fighting the Taliban in the Himalayas where brigades disappeared, never heard from again. Our troops are not trained or equipped to fight on the ground in the Himalayas. And even if our troops were trained in the Alaskan wilderness, our troops would still be ignorant of the exact details of the Himalayan geography. Whereas, the Taliban OWN every inch the Himalayan nooks and crannies. If America must be at war with the Taliban in the Himalayas, then let them congregate and then destroy them from the sky with multiple runs, leaving the mountains a barren no man’s land. And since it was al Qaeda all along that America declared war on initially after 9/11, are we going to chase them into Africa where they are now, and every other Indonesian country, conducting war on al Qaeda everywhere they are today or tomorrow? Either fight to win by eliminating the enemy, or take a stand where no terrorism is tolerated and protect the USA from the enemy at our own borders and within our own countryside.

Our FIRST battle must be to rescind and obliterate PC. Otherwise, we sacrifice our own to doom, and our troops blood will be on America’s hands. Those of us OUTSIDE of the military are the only ones with the power to END PC, and unleash our troops from the bonds of PC, and restore their unalienable right for self defense. Mutiny is out of the question.

Our national defense takes priority to all other Congressional funding. So rescind all tax funds from the global warming hoax including the fraudulent “economic advantages” of green energy, and appropriate those tax funds to defending the US BORDERS from terrorists. And regarding “sacrifice” that Obama touts, America can WAIT and truly research and produce veritable health care legislation. Obama can do without his pets in order to protect our troops from slaughter. Again, this is OUR battle to fight on behalf of our troops.

maverick muse on December 3, 2009 at 9:30 AM

I love this idea that we’ll fix things by 2011. What a silly, silly notion.

What a ridiculous notion, that we’re going to turn things around in such a short amount of time.

All we can do is lay pain on AQ and the Talibs as much as we can, flood the place with infrastructure, and try to take advantage of the gender cleavage, i.e., using the women of the nation to push the country forward.

Ain’t gonna’ happen by 2011 though.

blatantblue on December 3, 2009 at 8:07 AM

Well, before we get too bent out of shape over Obama’s ambitious “timetable,” just remember there were doubters, as well, who said there was no way he could close the Guantanamo Bay facility by the deadline he set there, and we’ve all seen how amazingly he’s accomplished that.

You don’t want to underestimate the awesome of the O.

BlueCollarAstronaut on December 3, 2009 at 9:33 AM

Kinda O/T: Why is it that every time Obama says, “Let me be clear”, someone else has to come out and explain what the hell he said, or clarify what he ment to say?

PappaMac on December 3, 2009 at 9:40 AM

Went to Pock-e-ston
Looked around for the Tali-bon
Saw naught but Pookie n’ Bo

Yoop on December 3, 2009 at 9:48 AM

Freudian

he picked that line up from HRC’s mind no doubt

ginaswo on December 3, 2009 at 9:55 AM

pappamac

it is like his tell

I ahve noticed that whenever he says it he is uhmm well being less than frank lets say

ginaswo on December 3, 2009 at 9:56 AM

Obama bows like a Muslim.

SilentWatcher on December 3, 2009 at 10:24 AM

The oval office has been un-presidented.

Sloan Morganstern on December 3, 2009 at 8:33 AM

Well done. :-)

Mallard T. Drake on December 3, 2009 at 12:03 PM

Not to be one to rush to Obama’s defense, but it sounds like he’s saying “an responsible end”, which is poor grammar, but would be consistent with his timetable formula for Afghanistan.

Spitfire9 on December 3, 2009 at 3:33 PM

Hey Mav-

“That knowledge substantiates Michael Savage’s observations regarding Afghanistan. Americans don’t recognize the details of the Soviet experience fighting the Taliban in the Himalayas where brigades disappeared, never heard from again.”

They are probably living quietly somewhere in Minnesota.

Seriously, I’d love to see a source for that assertion of entire brigades disappearing forever.

Regards,
MM

Meremortal on December 3, 2009 at 5:07 PM