Cohen: Say, who is this fellow in the White House, anyway?
posted at 12:15 pm on July 20, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
Richard Cohen delivers one of the better analyses of why Obama finds himself falling in the polls and flailing as he approaches the midpoint of his term in office. The truth is that no one really knows Obama, and his initial failures have eroded confidence in his abilities to lead the nation, a point Obama’s apologists obfuscate in a blizzard of Reagan references and polling comparisons. However, as Bruce McQuain points out, Cohen comes to his conclusions by a process that should have taken place in 2007, when Democrats began rallying behind a candidate with no track record, no executive experience, and nothing but a narrative to recommend him for the highest executive office in the land:
The comparison to Reagan may give Obama cheer, but it is not really apt. For even in Reagan’s darkest days when, according to Gallup, six out of 10 Americans reported that they did not like the job he was doing, an astounding six in 10 nevertheless said they liked the man himself. He was, of course, phenomenally charming, authentic and schooled at countless soundstages in appearing that way. Just as important, the public had faith in the consistency of his principles, agree or not. This was the Reagan Paradox and it helped lift his presidency.
No one is accusing Obama of being likable. He is not unlikable, but he lacks Reagan’s (or Bill Clinton’s) warmth. What’s more, his career has been brief. He led no movement, was spokesman for no ideology and campaigned like a Nike sneaker — change instead of swoosh. He seems distant. No Irish jokes from him. For the average voter, he casts no shadow.
Reagan, by contrast, had been around forever. He was not defined solely by gauzy campaign ads but by countless speeches, two contentious and highly controversial terms as California governor, and a previous race for the presidency. There was never a question about who Reagan was and what he stood for. Not so Obama. About all he shares with Reagan at this point are low ratings.
What has come to be called the Obama Paradox is not a paradox at all. Voters lack faith inhim making the right economic decisions because, as far as they’re concerned, he hasn’t. He went for health-care reform, not jobs. He supported the public option, then he didn’t. He’s been cold to Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu and then all over him like a cheap suit. Americans know Obama is smart. But we still don’t know him. Before Americans can give him credit for what he’s done, they have to know who he is. We’re waiting.
That’s precisely the problem — the media is waiting. While they parachuted dozens of reporters to Wasilla in order to investigate a Vice-Presidential candidate in the general election, the media didn’t bother at all to trek to the much more accessible Chicago to get any sense of Barack Obama’s politics or connections to the corrupt Daley Machine. It’s not as if the issue of corruption in Chicago was an arcane political topic, either, but the only mainstream media interested that topic were the newspapers in Chicago.
Nor did the media exactly fall all over themselves to look at Obama’s track record of leadership, or more accurately, the lack thereof. Obama rarely if ever led on any legislative activity that had notable controversy. Instead, he preferred to vote “present” on those issues, an option afforded by the Illinois legislature, and did so over 130 times during his seven years in the state Senate. In one famous encounter, an Obama campaign surrogate couldn’t name a single legislative accomplishment of note for Obama during his time in either the state legislature or the US Senate that would provide a basis for voters to trust him with an executive position at the top of the American political system. Yet the media acted as if Obama had credibility and refused to report anything that contradicted the notion.
However, there were some who continuously pointed out these shortcomings in a vain attempt to get the media to pay attention. That’s why Cohen’s “we” gets Bruce, well, we-we’d up:
Who is “we” Mr. Cohen? And where were you and your kind when the vetting process was supposed to take place. Why are you still waiting for an introduction? Why didn’t you do your job?
It’s not just Cohen who failed to do the job, but the entire American media that sold us the Obama bill of goods.
Addendum: Just to remind everyone, my friend John Ziegler produced an excellent documentary exposing all of this, How Obama Got Elected.
Blowback
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I’ve seen no proof of this. In fact, if you examine his Presidency, Obama could have spent the entire time on the golf course, leaving Congressional liasioning to his staff, and we would not have seen any difference. Americans in all 57 states just know it to be true.
J_Crater on July 20, 2010 at 12:19 PM
The election is over, now the media leftists can take a few tepid steps toward investigating the “real” Obama. However, if anything even remotely embarrassing were to surface, the taps will be shut off again.
Bishop on July 20, 2010 at 12:19 PM
They didn’t want to Ed. This was a candidate they could “mold” into anything they wanted, and they sure tried, and if anyone said anything against their chosen one, well they were called a racist. But it has backfired on them big time now. Mister “vote present” President has been an abject failure, and they can no longer cover for him.
Johnnyreb on July 20, 2010 at 12:21 PM
Its like rats fleeing a sinking ship……
alecj on July 20, 2010 at 12:21 PM
Of course these people now feel free to burnish their reporters credentials now that Obama is safely installed in the WH.
We will see the exact same scenario played out if Obama makes it through his first term and decides to get re-elected. The only trouble for these guys is fewer people will trust them like they did in 2008.
Mord on July 20, 2010 at 12:22 PM
One of two things is happening. Either the media has realized what a loser they lifted to stardom, or, they are partaking of the great American pastime of lifting one to great heights only to take greater joy in seeing them torn down.
JamesLee on July 20, 2010 at 12:22 PM
OT: Grahamnesty is voting for Kagan. Can this idiot be recalled?
ConservativePartyNow on July 20, 2010 at 12:22 PM
All the mea culpas, mmmm mmmm mmmm. Thanks a lot MFM.
GnuBreed on July 20, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Obama , a journolist production.
the_nile on July 20, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Refudiated.
the_nile on July 20, 2010 at 12:24 PM
J_Crater on July 20, 2010 at 12:19 PM
Agreed. I think it is funny that everyone falls all over themselves mentioning how smart the man is while they are in the process of criticizing him. Yet there is no hard evidence to back it up. Obama probably is pretty smart, because he just lets everyone else talk about how smart he is instead of trying to prove it.
Mord on July 20, 2010 at 12:25 PM
Refudiated in all 57 states
J_Crater on July 20, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Wasilla is much safer than the south side of Chicago. I doubt many reporters want to venture around the community to invesitage Obama.
WashJeff on July 20, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Why the continuous comparisons to Reagan? Preposterous! To my way of thinking, Obama is more akin to Jimmy Carter.
And how do we know that Obama is smart? Based on what? Claims by the media that he’s smart are based solely on claims by the media that he is smart.
SlaveDog on July 20, 2010 at 12:27 PM
Don’t you mean “midpoint of his first term in office”, Ed?
/Leftist troll of your choice.
Del Dolemonte on July 20, 2010 at 12:27 PM
Yes he is. He’s a phony–all intellectual elite-speak when he’s in D.C., and sliding into jive-lite when out huckstering for votes. And he’s an egotistical smartass.
Dee2008 on July 20, 2010 at 12:27 PM
President Journolist!
WashJeff on July 20, 2010 at 12:28 PM
On the contrary, he is extremely unlikable. He is extremely unlikable because he is a prick; a stiff prick. A stiff prick loved unreservedly and unquestioningly by media whores and brain-dead liberals.
ya2daup on July 20, 2010 at 12:28 PM
It’s a good thing I’m already bald because “revelations” like this make me want to pull my hair out from sheer frustration.
Yakko77 on July 20, 2010 at 12:28 PM
Take away his Teleprompter, and see how smart he is.
Wethal on July 20, 2010 at 12:28 PM
OT: Grahamnesty is voting for Kagan. Can this idiot be recalled?
ConservativePartyNow on July 20, 2010 at 12:22 PM
Refudiated.
the_nile on July 20, 2010 at 12:24 PM
strategery
scorpio9 on July 20, 2010 at 12:29 PM
Speak for yourself. There are no facts on record to prove this statement. Release his SAT, LSAT scores and Grades and then we can judge for ourselves as to how smart this characterless man is.
chemman on July 20, 2010 at 12:29 PM
LOL
ladyingray on July 20, 2010 at 12:30 PM
It’s odd how these lefties always feel they have to slip this in. “He’s brilliant” “He’s so smart” “He went to Harvard”
I see nothing that shows me Obama is “smart”. All I see is someone doing whatever Soros and the Center for American Progress tell him to do.
darwin on July 20, 2010 at 12:31 PM
One doesn’t have to prove what they know to be a certainty. After all you never hear omnipotent figures bragging about what they are, only their servile followers do that.
docdave on July 20, 2010 at 12:32 PM
Oh,yes he is. He is a thin-skinned narcissist with tacky manners (giving people the finger, insulting the Supreme Court at the SOTU, etc). The only people close to him are his enablers Michelle, Jarrett and Axelrod, who constantly feed his ego with “You are the One..” I doubt the man has any true friends, which is usually a sign of likeability.
Wethal on July 20, 2010 at 12:32 PM
We don’t know him but we know he’s smart.
artist on July 20, 2010 at 12:33 PM
The entire media apparatus failed to “get to know him” while simultaneously restricting the access to stories about him—like the REV Wright story, a story that there is compelling evidence existing that shows that they outright killed it. Guilty on two fronts media.
ted c on July 20, 2010 at 12:33 PM
Being steeped in marxist theology does not make one smart.
rbj on July 20, 2010 at 12:33 PM
He’d be Alvin Greene.
Key West Reader on July 20, 2010 at 12:34 PM
affirmitive action
ndulik on July 20, 2010 at 12:35 PM
This is the key phrase – then, now, and most certainly into the future.
Rebar on July 20, 2010 at 12:36 PM
When I first heard of Barack Obama I had an open mind. I never would have voted for him because I do not vote Democrat. I purchased his book and said to my husband ” I think you should read this book.. I think this guy is a communist. Then I looked at his past ( in the senate, because that is all there is) and saw his voting record… done.
shar61 on July 20, 2010 at 12:36 PM
McCain voted present for the election campaign.
aengus on July 20, 2010 at 12:36 PM
The media couldn’t vet him without appearing racist. They were so eager to prove they weren’t, he got an affirmative action pass.
TinMan13 on July 20, 2010 at 12:37 PM
Funny how the “Harvard” thing can be so easily dismissed when the time calls for it. Pres. Bush went to Yale, but I remember “Oh He got C’s” and “LOLz! He was a cheerleader!”. These statements somehow negating his degree and ultimately competence.
How about this: Attending and graduating from a good school is it’s own achievement, not something to add to or detract from a person’s abilities like a fashion accessory.
Rightwingguy on July 20, 2010 at 12:37 PM
To echo others: They do? Why? Because he uses his “radio-acting voice” to read a teleprompter with text prepared by others?
This Obama “smartness” illusion is 99% based on Obama going to Harvard.
If one goes to Harvard, then one must be smart, right?
Unless….the person got in because of minority quota or some other trick.
Do we know Obama’s SAT and LSAT (Law School Admissions Test)? His grades he got at Harvard and his undergraduate colleges?
What if Obama got a waiver on the SAT and LSAT?
What if Obama barely passed college and Harvard? What if we knew Obama’s pre-Harvard college classes were “Basket Weaving” and “Cooking 101″ type classes?
If we knew Obama barely made it in college then there would be a different opinion about his “smartness” (Remember all the hub-bub about McCain being 512 out of 522 in his class – or something like that?)
We know nothing about Obama’s college days. And if we did there would be a different picture painted of him.
albill on July 20, 2010 at 12:38 PM
Do you ever start to wonder if the media conspired to see how far they could wag the dog? You know, like, umm, let’s see if we’re powerful enough to elect a good looking idiot to be POTUS?
/
Key West Reader on July 20, 2010 at 12:38 PM
Really? Because there are dozens if not hundreds of actors with longer careers than Regan who aren’t one tenth as charming as he was. If you still refuse to give him credit for brains and political acumen could you at LEAST admit the man was charming without trying to minimize THAT too?
And Obama isn’t worthy of polishing Regan’s tombstone, so don’t even bother with the Regan comparisons, please.
DrAllecon on July 20, 2010 at 12:39 PM
I find this interesting and do not trust any msm type.
There is a treasuer trove of info on the messiah. If these a@@holes were serious they would start reporting with out being forced to do so.
I just don’t think they’ll do it. Although if they even just scratch the surface the Dems are going to have to run someone else in 2012.
ORconservative on July 20, 2010 at 12:39 PM
The media started this the night he gave the address to the DNC in 2004. I recall the next day the pundits asking if they had just witnessed the first future Black President.
They were fawning all over him. And he hadn’t done ANYTHING but give a speech. One lousy stinking speech.
He hadn’t even been elected a US Senator yet.
Think about that. A state senator with no significant legislative accomplishments gives a single speech and people are talking about him being the President of the United States.
It’s like a really bad reality show plot.
ButterflyDragon on July 20, 2010 at 12:39 PM
People who are actually smart don’t need to constantly remind and tell people. They prove it through acts and deeds, something Obama is incapable of unless they’re destructive and unconstitutional acts and deeds of course.
Yakko77 on July 20, 2010 at 12:40 PM
Despite Cohen’s sudden realization that Obama is an empty suit, he accepts Obama’s “smartness” with the same lack of curiosity he now criticizes.
rhombus on July 20, 2010 at 12:40 PM
That’s an easy question: Obama is Vincent Chase. Believe it. I’ve been saying it from the beginning. If you want to know who Obama is just watch one episode of Entourage.
July 10 on July 20, 2010 at 12:41 PM
And all you were armed with was common sense and a desire to look a little more closely at a presidential candidate.
The MSM had nearly limitless resources to look deeper into the man’s character and they remained willfully ignorant, and covered up whatever they did accidentally find.
DrAllecon on July 20, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Hannity was telling us. And why doesn’t he do a blue collar “jobs” tour? The idea scares the WH and he seems to like doing that.
He doesn’t have a right winger challenging him, does he?
I bashed Juan McLame the other day and got mail telling me what a great conservative he is, and always has been.
IlikedAUH2O on July 20, 2010 at 12:42 PM
Except we’re living that reality now. It’s almost enough to get me believing a conspiracy theory but there’s no conspiracy when it comes to a stupid electorate too lazy or unwilling to see through the charade the media sold them and vote for their messiah.
Yakko77 on July 20, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Here’s the deal. If I can do a little research and figure it out, anyone can. That’s exactly what I did after BHO was showcased at the 2004 Dem convention. I was curious, spent a few hours one weekend on the computer and compiled enough information to write a book. It also convinced me that there was no way this person should ever, ever, be POTUS. Never.
The media could have done the same, and they probably did. They made a conscious decision to obfuscate and lie to the public.
We have no real media other than the internet. That’s why BHO and his commie czars want to shut it down. They want to destroy free speech and the right to chose our news sources.
They want to control you in every way they can – like that grotesque health care bill which was achieved with every sort of chicanery and lying possible.
That is what the Democrats are. They want every single American on their plantation.
Cody1991 on July 20, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Spell Reagan’s name correctly.
July 10 on July 20, 2010 at 12:44 PM
Why does this sound strangely like “I’m not racist, I have Black friends?”
JamesLee on July 20, 2010 at 12:44 PM
LOL. I got a request for money from him and responded that HE is responsible for what we’ve got squatting in the WH.
Key West Reader on July 20, 2010 at 12:44 PM
OT: dang it, just saw the headlines on the front page…grahamnesty strikes again….
the only GOP to vote kagan out of committee…
cmsinaz on July 20, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Everybody watch yourselves, it’s the spelling police.
*tries to look innocent*
Bishop on July 20, 2010 at 12:46 PM
The ‘elite liberal WHITE MFM’ MADE Barry Obama. They’re invested in him, because they SOLD him. That’s why he can treat them like dirt, and they’ll come back begging for more.
GarandFan on July 20, 2010 at 12:47 PM
So smart he won’t show us his grades.
Little Boomer on July 20, 2010 at 12:47 PM
The answer to the question of why the liberal media ignored who Obama is during the campaign is pretty simple. Liberals believe that they alone are qualified to run things. All that’s needed is an education, and connections with fellow liberals, and that should do the trick. Throw in some oratory skills to fool the little folk, and racial politics for good measure, and that’s how someone like Obama gets elected, isn’t it?
As a footnote, the same little people that were fooled during the campaign are then smeared as racists when they dare stand up and protest. Typical leftism, isn’t it?
Dennis_Second_Thots on July 20, 2010 at 12:47 PM
Thanks to Cohen for coming clean a bit. But some myths never die.
And, of course, Obama’s problem is that we just haven’t got to know him better.
I know it’s difficult to come out and say, but Americans hate Obama because he’s a douchebag who doesn’t know what he’s doing.
For me, this is one of the better weeks of current events I’ve had in a while. Thank God for Breithbart, Carlson, Fox News, Hot Air, and everyone else holding Obama’s feet to the fire.
BuckeyeSam on July 20, 2010 at 12:51 PM
Obama is just like an executive I used to work for. People would come out of his office and look at me with the same expression on their faces and then go on to explain they didn’t understand a word he said. Obama is just like Jim. He likes to talk in circles, elevating himself each time and saying nothing.
moonsbreath on July 20, 2010 at 12:51 PM
Rush just hit this post! Woot!
JamesLee on July 20, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Yay, ‘nother mention of HA by Rush!
rbj on July 20, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Like Pelosi famously quipped ” we have to vote for it to see what’s in it”.
patrick neid on July 20, 2010 at 12:54 PM
I wonder why this story isn’t getting more traction.
Did these people really do anything wrong? Or (as usual) are 0bama’s people trying to hide something ?
UltimateBob on July 20, 2010 at 12:55 PM
Fixed
Cicero43 on July 20, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Give me a break. This guy is as knowable as just about any president in history. His history, education, legislative track record (though short), associations, and public speeches all give us a very clear picture of who and what this man is.
We can blame the MSM, but most of this information was available prior to his election. With just a bit of digging, the facts were clear. The blame lies squarely with the American people, who’ve voted for yet another candidate who tickles their ears with lofty speech.
BO’s agenda is using America’s weaknesses against us. The ignorance of American voters, the left’s love of spending and government control, the spineless and impotent republicans, and greed of most the political class are all being used to set the stage for a massive collapse in the systems which far too many Americans depend on. BO knows where this is headed. He and his cadre of radicals will be ready to pick up the pieces and reshape America into their Orwellian utopia.
BO’s approval numbers are the startling reality of just how many Americans are ready for BO’s radical change. The message of personal freedom, opportunity, and sacrifice are lost on nearly half of the population. It will not be fixed by electing new politicians in 2010 or 2012. The hearts and minds of individuals need to be won.
ClanDerson on July 20, 2010 at 12:57 PM
My prediction is that Ed will soon be a guest host for Rush.
Big leagues, baby!! :))
Cody1991 on July 20, 2010 at 1:03 PM
—–
He’s a NeoProgressive-Socialist, and thanks loads for NOT letting everyone know before the election.
Fake8 on July 20, 2010 at 1:03 PM
Nor a reflection in the mirror.
bloviator on July 20, 2010 at 1:05 PM
According to this American Spectator piece (a long but good read) that is pretty typical of our ruling class.
http://spectator.org/archives/2010/07/16/americas-ruling-class-and-the/print
Threshing Flora on July 20, 2010 at 1:06 PM
2nd that…
cmsinaz on July 20, 2010 at 1:07 PM
Socialist, hell bent on destroying America …
tarpon on July 20, 2010 at 1:08 PM
Americans know Obama is smart.
Just exactly how do we know that? He gives a good speech – but he doesn’t write them and he can’t speak extemporaneously. The fact that he’s never let anyone see his college transcripts speaks volumes about his intelligence, or lack thereof.
KrisinNE on July 20, 2010 at 1:08 PM
Watching slow people learn something usually involves pain.
Inanemergencydial on July 20, 2010 at 1:11 PM
I have a question and request for those of you who are very tech smart.
Is it possible to access original websites that now have been scrubbed or altered? I have a particular one in mind, but I don’t know how to do it.
TIA
Cody1991 on July 20, 2010 at 1:12 PM
Reagan’s low ratings were because of antagonistic, leftist media. Obama’s low ratings are in spite of MSM’s herculean efforts to promote and shield him. That’s how bad <0 really is as an executive.
Ay Uaxe on July 20, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine
http://www.waybackmachine.org/
May work.
Chip on July 20, 2010 at 1:18 PM
Yea, but WE didn’t buy the bill of goods. We saw all kinds of red flags and thought his promises were bogus claims he’d never be able to pull off. We questioned his experience and his record and the way he wanted to appease other nations. We screamed about Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright and his unfinished community projects and his questionable ties to Chicago cronies, and the cries fell on deaf ears. Now look at the mess we’ve got…shame on the majority of the press for not even attempting to do their jobs.
scalleywag on July 20, 2010 at 1:18 PM
Cohen’s “we” were just abiding by the JournoList blackout on anything potentially damaging to the Obama candidacy.
novaculus on July 20, 2010 at 1:20 PM
Some women like stiff pricks…
Steve Z on July 20, 2010 at 1:21 PM
Isn’t this about time for a kid in the crowd to yell, “Hey! The Emperor is naked! He has no clothes!!!?”
I got tons of “he’s sooo smart” from family members, and a number of acquaintances, in the run-up to the election. Got a lot more of the same after the election, and was told several times even recently that Obama is going to be remembered as one of the smartest Presidents in our history. And this all from college grads with advanced degrees, too.
As the nakedness of Emperor Obama I painfully slowly becomes apparent to more and more Americans, I will refer them to the Archives here at Hot Air…and proudly say “Well, I told you so.”
coldwarrior on July 20, 2010 at 1:21 PM
“Americans
knoware continually told that Obama is smart.” However, what objective fact shows is that he’s not–the systems that he rose from and through, which should have educated, tested, and if necessary weeded him out, are just proving to be remarkably dumb.Ay Uaxe on July 20, 2010 at 1:22 PM
Thanks, Chip. There is one in particular that is very revealing. I’ll give it a try.
Cody1991 on July 20, 2010 at 1:22 PM
Huh? What do you mean you don’t know who he is? Did you read his first book? Remember his “imaginary” friend Ray ranting on white people. Folks, that is what psychologists call ‘Projection’. By his own admission, when he got to Occidental, he associated with radical students and professors so as not to be a “sell-out”. Sell out to whom? The “man”? In other words, the “white man”. Why are all his college records hidden? In 24 hours the so called mainstream media descended on Alaska and knew more about Sarah Palin than her own parents. Yet, we know nothing about Obama other than what his handlers put out. If he is so “brilliant, you would think that as President of Harvard Law Review, he would have had huge money offers from every tall building law firm in the country. But no, he goes back to Chicago to agitate for black liberation. Only a marxist ideologue does that. Common sense and simple observation tells me that Obama is a secretive, lying, bigoted, marxist. We know exactly who and what Obama is and his enablers in the press will eventually tell the truth or face further erosion of their businesses.
scullymj on July 20, 2010 at 1:24 PM
Just take a long look at him in that photo with his preacher under “Top Picks.”
That’s who he is.
Brat on July 20, 2010 at 1:27 PM
Reagan in a nutshell. You knew what to expect…so did the bad guys. Thats what made him the true leader of the “Best Administration, evah”.
BobMbx on July 20, 2010 at 1:30 PM
As frustrated as I am with the MSM and their blatant bias for Obama I’m more frustrated with all the useful idiots who failed in the same manner and exercised their vote so recklessly and foolishly.
Yakko77 on July 20, 2010 at 1:30 PM
As for being likable, I can’t really find much to like about Mr. President. He’s lied to the American people over and over again, he’s passed legislation he knows damned well Americans didn’t want, he’s the most bipartisan man on the planet aside from maybe Nancy Pelosi, he’s pompous and arrogant, wasteful, and a profligate rump.
scalleywag on July 20, 2010 at 1:33 PM
How do you say that in Austrian?
Logic on July 20, 2010 at 1:34 PM
Hey – how did that apostrophe get in there?!?!?
Logic on July 20, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Thanks to Sweetness and Light! They saved a screen shot of the old TUCC.org website with a mission statement:
http://sweetness-light.com/archive/barack-obamas-church-ultra-left-and-afrocentric
Trinity United Church of Christ
About Us
We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian… Our roots in the Black religious experience and tradition are deep, lasting and permanent. We are an African people, and remain “true to our native land,” the mother continent, the cradle of civilization. God has superintended our pilgrimage through the days of slavery, the days of segregation, and the long night of racism. It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people, and as a congregation. We constantly affirm our trust in God through cultural expression of a Black worship service and ministries which address the Black Community.
Trinity United Church of Christ adopted the Black Value System written by the Manford Byrd Recognition Committee chaired by Vallmer Jordan in 1981. We believe in the following 12 precepts and covenantal statements. These Black Ethics must be taught and exemplified in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They must reflect on the following concepts:
1. Commitment to God
2. Commitment to the Black Community
3. Commitment to the Black Family
4. Dedication to the Pursuit of Education
5. Dedication to the Pursuit of Excellence
6. Adherence to the Black Work Ethic
7. Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect
8. Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness”
9. Pledge to make the fruits of all developing and acquired skills available to the Black Community
10. Pledge to Allocate Regularly, a Portion of Personal Resources for Strengthening and Supporting Black Institutions
11. Pledge allegiance to all Black leadership who espouse and embrace the Black Value System
12. Personal commitment to embracement of the Black Value System.
The Pastor as well as the membership of Trinity United Church of Christ is committed to a 10-point Vision:
1. A congregation committed to ADORATION.
2. A congregation preaching SALVATION.
3. A congregation actively seeking RECONCILIATION.
4. A congregation with a non-negotiable COMMITMENT TO AFRICA.
5. A congregation committed to BIBLICAL EDUCATION.
6. A congregation committed to CULTURAL EDUCATION.
7. A congregation committed to the HISTORICAL EDUCATION OF AFRICAN PEOPLE IN DIASPORA.
8. A congregation committed to LIBERATION.
9. A congregation committed to RESTORATION.
10. A congregation working towards ECONOMIC PARITY.
—————————–
Some excerpts from the “Black Value System” via the Trinity Church’s website (pdf):
BLACK VALUE SYSTEM
Statement of Purpose
We honor Dr. Manford Byrd, our brother in Christ, because of the exemplary manner in which he has thrice withstood the ravage of being denied his earned ascension to the number one position in the Chicago School System…
The Black Value System
These Black Ethics must be taught and exampled in homes, churches, nurseries and schools, wherever Blacks are gathered. They must reflect the following concepts:
Commitment of God
“The God of our weary years” will give us the strength to give up prayerful passivism and become Black Christian Activist, soldiers for Black freedom and the dignity of all humankind…
Commitment to Self-Discipline and Self-Respect
To accomplish anything worthwhile requires self-discipline. We must be a community of self-disciplined persons, if we are to actualize and utilize our own human resources instead of perpetually submitting to exploitation by others. Self discipline coupled with a respect for self, will enable each of us to be an instrument of Black Progress, and a model for Black Youth.
Disavowal of the Pursuit of “Middleclassness”
Classic methodology on control of captives teaches that captors must keep the captive ignorant educationally, but trained sufficiently well to serve the system. Also, the captors must be able to identify the “talented tenth” of those subjugated, especially those who show promise of providing the kind of leadership that might threaten the captor’s control.
Those so identified as separated from the rest of the people by:
Killing them off directly, and/or fostering a social system that encourages them to kill off one another.
Placing them in concentration camps, and/or structuring an economic environment that induces captive youth to fill the jails and prisons.
Seducing them into a socioeconomic class system which while training them to earn more dollars, hypnotizes them into believing they are better than others and teaches them to think in terms of “we” and “they” instead of “us”…
A visit to the church’s bookstore shows they have been true to their word. It is full of “Afrocentric” books, many of which make the usual preposterous Afrocentric claims, such as that Cleopatra was black.
The book store also shamelessly hawks Mr. Osama’s books.
———————-
There’s more. My point is that anyone who marinates in this environment cannot represent the broad swathe of Americans. Where anyone chooses to worship is their choice, and their are many, mainstream ethnic churches that do not embrace this sort of ideology.
The MSM knew all of this, and unless you were willing to do the research on your own you would never know anything about BHO.
I guess that’s why the liars in the MSM are trying to cover up now by wondering why BHO doesn’t seem to understand Americans.
Cody1991 on July 20, 2010 at 1:42 PM
That too. Hard to figure that one out.
scalleywag on July 20, 2010 at 1:49 PM
Yes, yes, but he was a Yale man, don’t you see Lovey? He could not have been too smart…
/Mr. Howell
Battlecruiser-operational on July 20, 2010 at 1:58 PM
In law school I knew plenty of people who graduated from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc., who I would not say are “smart” in the way the media means that O! is smart. When they say he is smart, they mean he is some kind of brilliant guy who can learn anything, figure out problems, come up with solutions – that he is sharp and quick and capable. But, there has been no evidence of that and simply attending and graduating from a good college is not evidence of that type of “smart”.
I knew plenty of people from those schools who could not do any of those things. They were “book smart” in that they did well in High School and on the S.A.T. – well enough to get into a good college and had the ability to graduate from that college (usually in a soft major – poly sci or something similar). But, they would never impress you with their quick thinking, ability to understand difficult concepts, or the like. They were good at memorizing info from text books and parroting it back on exams. They did not have superior analytical ability or anything else to make one “smart” in the meaning the MSM has here.
So yes, it is possible to have attended and graduated from Harvard without being “smart” as it is being used here. Sure, most such people are probably in the upper 30% of intelligence, but that hardly makes one a genius and does not confer common sense or wisdom of any sort. And, if everything one “learns” in school is wrong, you can hardly be considered well-educated (i.e., O!’s liberal ideology).
And, as far as law school goes, like everything else there are plenty of dumb lawyers out there. So graduating from law school (I don’t think Obama every actually practiced law) does not make one “smart” in the sense it is being used by the MSM.
Being good at school and being a smart person can be two very different things. There is no evidence in the record thus far to establish that O! is the latter.
Monkeytoe on July 20, 2010 at 2:00 PM
Amazing that anyone is really comparing Obama to Reagan. Obama has done the exact opposite of what Reagan did in 1981-82. Reagan knew that our economy in 1980 was broken and knew how to fix it–tax cuts, spending cuts, breaking the unions, strangling inflation, which he knew would provoke short-term pain but a long-term boom, which made him unpopular in 1982 (when it didn’t matter) but hugely popular in 1984 (when it did matter). Reagan guided his agenda through a generally hostile Congress, and his “likeability” with Democrats was a definite plus.
Obama came into office facing a recession, but not the high inflation Reagan faced. Obama let a friendly Congress spend wildly on very few jobs, threw Government money at unions in the GM and Chrysler takeover, and spent huge amounts of money, time, and effort trying to “fix” what wasn’t really broken (health care), and has saddled the country with huge deficits and debt for no real gain. Unlike Reagan, who convinced Congressional OPPONENTS (Democrats) to vote for his tax cuts, Obama was opposed by many Congressmen from his OWN party, but prevailed because he “won” the 2008 election, with no input from the opposition party. When the Bush tax cuts expire in 2011, does anybody really believe that the economy will come roaring back like it did in 1983?
Voters dissatisfied with a President usually punish him by voting for the opposition party in Congress. Reagan’s Republicans lost seats in 1982, but it didn’t matter much because DEMOCRATS ALREADY CONTROLLED CONGRESS. Obama’s Democrats might lose the House, and have a weaker majority in the Senate, but will Obama listen to the voters?
If Obama wants to follow Reagan’s legacy, he must DO WHAT REAGAN DID, or even what Bill Clinton did–move to the right! But with Obama’s monstrous ego and unwillingness to talk with political opponents, he will probably veto bill after bill coming from a Republican House, while none of his own agenda gets passed, while his poll numbers sink further south. And we the voters won’t blame Bush in 2012.
Steve Z on July 20, 2010 at 2:03 PM
SATs and LSATs would tell us more than his college transcripts–as a professor, I know how easily high marks can be “earned” in some classes. But I really wouldn’t care what his scores were–he’s an America-hating Marxist whose every goal is unconstitutional. That is what I care about.
DrMagnolias on July 20, 2010 at 2:05 PM
I’m wondering if anyone else sees Obama today as I do.
If you were, let’s say, a highly-placed executive of a large organization, and you now found yourselves at the levers of power that you’d worked all your life to reach, and you expected the board to keep you there, you’d show a fair degree of effort in doing your job and you’d put off those things that got in the way of your work.
If, on the other hand, you ended up in that seat by a quirk of history, you knew you weren’t qualified, had no clue what you were doing and fully expected to be thrown out soon, you’d be running around taking advantage of every perk the job had to offer as fast as you possibly could, every vacation and every round of golf you could get in on the company dime, so that when you did find yourself back on the street you’d at least have something to show for it.
I see an Obama that’s already planning for his life after the White House.
JEM on July 20, 2010 at 2:08 PM
My prediction is that Ed will soon be a guest host for Rush.
Big leagues, baby!! :))
Cody1991 on July 20, 2010 at 1:03 PM
I only listen to Mark Steyn or Walter Williams as guest hosts. The rest of them bore me to tears. I have no idea if Ed would work out. In print, he can be condescending and preachy but not all the time. I might give him fifteen minutes to find out.
Extrafishy on July 20, 2010 at 2:09 PM
BHO would never be hired in the private sector based on his own lack of merits. I’ve often wondered how the business leaders who supported him feel at this point. Perhaps they just feel it was a bad investment. What bothers me the most is that they backed a guy with zero experience in any endeavor other than running for the next, higher gig. Maybe they thought they could bribe him enough to buy protection. What they didn’t understand is that not only is he ignorant, he’s a rigid ideologue.
BHO doesn’t give a damn about this job. It’s the position he wanted, not the responsibilities. Look at him. He’s aged more in 18 months than Bush did after 4 years, and that’s after 9/11.
The bottom line is that BHO is a nothing. But that’s what Democrats like – a pretty package, all gloss, something to fawn over, but no substance.
We’re all paying the price for this childishness.
Cody1991 on July 20, 2010 at 2:18 PM
They know who Obama is. He’s the radical leftist who is championing their dream agenda. Now that it is apparent that Obama is failing, they are running cover and claim they don’t know who he is. CYA in full mode.
Mallard T. Drake on July 20, 2010 at 2:21 PM
I have two things neither of which I wrote but find useful. I’ll post them individually.
WHO IS HE?
Ever wondered why no one ever came forward from Obama’s past saying they knew him,
attended school with him, was his friend, etc. Not one person has ever come forward from his past.
VERY, VERY STRANGE…
This should really be a cause for great concern.
To those who voted for him, you have elected the biggest unqualifed fraud that America has ever known.
Sort of adds credence to the idea of The Manchurian Candidate thing happening here!
George Stephanopoulos, of ABC News. said the same thing during the 2008 campaign.
He too was a classmate of Obama’s at Columbia class of 1984. He said he never had a single class
with him.
While he is such a great orator, why doesn’t anyone in Obama’s college class remember him? And, why won’t he allow Columbia to release his records?
NOBODY REMEMBERS OBAMA AT COLUMBIA!
Looking for evidence of Obama’s past, Fox News contacted 400 Columbia University students
from the period when Obama claims to have been there, but none remembered him.
Wayne Allyn Root was, like Obama, a political science major at Columbia who also graduated in 1983.
In 2008, Root says of Obama, “I don’t know a single person at Columbia that knew him, and they all know
me. I don’t have a classmate who ever knew Barack Obama at Columbia . EVER! Nobody recalls him.
Root adds that he was also, like Obama, “Class of ’83 political science, pre-law” and says, “You don’t get more exact or closer than that.” Never met him in my life, don’t know anyone who ever met him. At the class reunion, our 20th reunion five years ago, who was asked to be the speaker of the class? Me. No one ever heard of Barack! And five years ago, nobody even knew who he was. The guy who writes the class notes, who’s kind of the, as we say in New York, the macha who knows everybody, has yet to find a person, a human who ever met him.”
Obama’s photograph does not appear in the school’s yearbook and Obama consistently declines requests to talk about his years at Columbia, provide school records, or provide the name of any former classmates or friend while at Columbia.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Allyn_Root#column-one
NOTE: Root graduated as Valedictorian from his high school, Thornton-Donovan School, then graduated from Columbia University in 1983 as a Political Science major in the same class that Barack Hussein Obama was supposed to have been in.
Some Other Interesting Questions..
Why was Obama’s law license inactivated in 2002? Why was Michelle’s law license inactivated by Court Order?
It is circulating that according to the U.S. Census, there is only one Barack Obama but 27 Social Security numbers and over 80 aliases. The Social Security number he uses now originated in Connecticut where he is never reported to have lived.
No wonder all his records are sealed!
We must go on and continue sending these out to everyone.
Pass this on to everyone…pass it across America!
LarryG on July 20, 2010 at 2:28 PM
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