Obamateurism of the Day

And he is also going to be at a fundraiser. This man hates anything that is traditionally American. He is despicable.

Cindy Munford on July 28, 2010 at 8:37 AM

His hubris could be his undoing. If the GOP makes significant gains this November I hope that they do the things that Obama promised but didn’t deliver on – bipartisan solutions that help the country.
If they don’t do things smartly Obama stands a good chance of being re-elected. Remember when Clinton shut the government down in ’95 and successfully laid the blame on the GOP?

Bradky on July 28, 2010 at 8:41 AM

thomasaur on July 28, 2010 at 8:46 AM

Actually Newt ran his mouth about being snubbed:

The Republicans tried to blame Clinton for the shutdown, but Clinton got a break two days later when Gingrich made a widely-reported complaint about being snubbed by Clinton; Tom DeLay called it “the mistake of his [Gingrich's] life”.[1]

DeLay writes in his book No Retreat, No Surrender:[3]

“He told a room full of reporters that he forced the shutdown because Clinton had rudely made him and Bob Dole sit at the back of Air Force One…Newt had been careless to say such a thing, and now the whole moral tone of the shutdown had been lost. What had been a noble battle for fiscal sanity began to look like the tirade of a spoiled child. The revolution, I can tell you, was never the same.”

Gingrich’s complaint resulted in the perception that he was acting in a petty, egotistical manner, and Clinton defended the seating arrangement as a courtesy to Gingrich, the back of the plane being closer to his pickup car.[1] Later polling suggested that the event badly damaged Gingrich politically.[4]

The shutdown also influenced the 1996 presidential election. Bob Dole, the Senate Majority Leader, was running for president in 1996. Because of his need to campaign, Dole wanted to solve the budget crisis in January 1996 despite the willingness of other Republicans to continue the shutdown unless their demands were met.[5]

In any event a good lesson for the GOP if they make major gains.

Bradky on July 28, 2010 at 8:51 AM

I read this article and it mentions that some presidents never addressed the jamboree. Understand the frustration with him opting for the View instead of attending but on the other hand is it a major story being taken out of context?

Bradky on July 28, 2010 at 9:13 AM

Cindy Munford on July 28, 2010 at 9:22 AM

I understand what you are saying.
Looking ahead it is my opinion that in terms of strategy the GOP will need to marginalize him. How? I think by complimenting him for his likeability and convictions on a liberal agenda. Use that as the launching point to contrast how those approaches are out of touch with the mainstream wishes.
The negative tactics will make his supporters more entrenched and easier to set gotcha traps for the GOP. Remember Reagan and his “there you go again” retort. He criticized Carter but in general stayed on the high road.
The approach I suggest makes it easier for people on the fence about him to come to the conclusion “yeah he is a nice guy and all but he just isn’t the right guy for the job”.

Bradky on July 28, 2010 at 9:29 AM

Cindy Munford on July 28, 2010 at 9:39 AM

I should have picked a better phrase. I agree with you about leaving personalities out of it which is pretty much what I was trying to say. As for compromise I think people need to be realistic. If the GOP gets the house back they will not have numbers to ram through anything such as the dems have done.
Focus on good incremental changes and modifications that can get bipartisan buy in. It shows the GOP is competent about representing the electorate. If Obama draws a line in the sand and vetoes it makes him the bad guy and hurts his reelection chances.
But if the mantra of no compromise – take no prisoners becomes the battle cry Obama will have a very good case in 2012 that the GOP couldn’t deliver. Fair or not it will be the story line that the GOP let him write.

Bradky on July 28, 2010 at 9:48 AM