I just watched a rebroadcast of Obama's state of the Union address. I didn't watch it when it aired on primetime, so I watched it at 1 am. Problem is, now I'm so upset that there's no way I'll be able to sleep unless I vent a little! I'll try to keep this light:
There are several things that I notice in all Obama speeches that seriously upset me. First of all, he comes out with the most arrogance I have ever seen in any man. He comes to the pulpit already saying "you're welcome".
For example, he talks about how he's continuing to push for healthcare. This bill, he claims is going to save us a bunch of money and decrease our national debt. Let's do math on the White House calculator: Take a 12 trillion dollar debt + 787 billion stimulus + 20,000 per clunker + 1 trillion for healthcare . . . carry the 1, then add gumdrops and rainbows. Oh, I understand now. Obama then has the nerve and arrogance to tell us that universal healthcare is for our good and will benefit us. Hm, last I saw, the approval rating for healthcare was scraping 35%. Wow. No one wants it, but THANK YOU, Barack! Thank you so much for pushing for something that we don't even want, I guess we're too RETARDED to make this decision ourselves. Thank goodness you are smart enough to understand that we don't know what we want.
Obama seems to condescend to his audience. Whenever someone yells some snide comment from the audience (which I also think is stupid, by the way) he always snaps back with something like, "look it up." Yes, Barack, I know that your intelligence is so superior to mine, thank you. He acts like a bully when people disagree with him.
Oh, and way to go for pushing aside the victory in Massachusetts like it was nothing big, even though a major issue for Brown's campaign was that he would VOTE NO ON HEALTHCARE. And people still voted for him . . .
I am so, so, so angry every time Barack blames our problems on the previous administration. Even if you believe that it's true, get over it! You have to man up. YOU are in charge now! You can't blame everything on Bush. You can't hide behind that excuse when your approval ratings drop faster than any president in U.S. history. I can't even explain enough how much this makes my blood boil. It's like he thinks he craps gold, so whenever something goes wrong it couldn't possibly be any fault of his. If I hear him blame someone else for problems in his administration again, I just might punch myself in the face.
Yes, this was the light version. I may regret this and delete it by tomorrow morning, so count yourself lucky if you got to read it. In other words, "you're welcome."
Is it 2012 yet?
Ok Mike, I am going to reply to this, but to keep it simple I will address stuff in the order you wrote it.
ReplyDeleteI also think it was a bad political move to say "your welcome." Do I think he was being arrogant? No, but he still came off that way.
I am not going to use any numbers, because I never know where the numbers come from. And even when we "know" where they came from we don't know the validity of them.
But I want to say that, since when has a president done what people want all the time? I don't mean to excuse anything, but I just want to point out that if he truly believes that improved Healthcare is important, which I think many people also do, then good for him for sticking to it. I also truly believe that an improved Healthcare system is important. According to your numbers, should I just stop caring about that because only 35% want it? No, and I think that is how he feels. I think part of being the President is the task of weighing what you personally truly believe and want and what the American People, ALL the American People, believe and want. Not just the majority.
What would you say if someone yelled snide remarks during your speech that is being aired to millions of people?
I don't think he pushed aside the victory in MASS at all. I think he just wanted to remind the Republicans that if they are going to now block every vote/bill/idea that comes through with liberal ideas then they are stepping up to the plate are going to be responsible.
I never once heard him blame anything on Bush. I heard him say that we are in deep crap, have been in deep crap for a while and the future looks like some crap, but that he and others are trying to get out of it. He said, and briefly, that he came into office with alot of "crap" carryover from the previous years. I never heard Bush's name once. I think Bush, Clinton and even Bush Sr. are included in those previous years.
Love ya Mike
I think that the 35% is important. Yes it is good for him morally to stick to his guns but his job, as well as the senators, is to represent the people not their own personal agendas. He is not king-and might we remind him that he is not god. (maybe that's going to far.) (Maybe).
ReplyDeleteYour post was good. Definitely done when you were upset and tired, but good for you for sticking to your guns.
Ok Cor,
ReplyDeleteYou're right, he didn't mention Bush by name, but he used phrases, and uses phrases frequently like, "politics of the last 8 years" or "inherited a mess". Wasn't it interesting yesterday how he told us what the national debt was specifically in 2000, then what it was in 2008? Who else could he have been blaming for that? He failed to mention that the debt has risen by nearly 2 trillion since 2008. If you believe that it is Bush's fault, fine, no argument here, but don't act like Obama has been flawless.
Yes, if someone yelled something snide at me while I was giving a speech it would be irritating, but I would expect the president to be the bigger man and just ignore it.
I have to strongly disagree with you saying that because he believes healthcare is for the good of the country "good for him for sticking to it". If 65% of Americans are saying no and he's cramming it through anyway, we are not a republic or even a democracy anymore, we are a dictatorship. We could say that if someone has a particular hatred for Jews and wants them all exterminated, people disagree with him strongly, but good for him for sticking to it because he believes it's for everyone else's good. Yes, I know that's an extreme example, but I don't have enough time to think of a better one!
I guess I don't really need to drive this point, Kevin said it pretty well. Represent the people, not your own agenda. He should see the 35% as the American people screaming at him a resounding "No".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3Sb4RtFkmo
Watch this video and contrast it with what Obama said about healthcare yesterday.
I agree that the 35% is important, but if were part of that 35% and other were not? What then. Would I want him to support me over them. I believe so. Because, just like everyone else in the 65%, I have very strong and decent reasoning to why I believe so.
ReplyDeletePlus, does 35% mean that 65% of the United States Citizens do not support the current bill, or that 65% of the US citizens want to bag health care overall? I guess numbers just thrown out there don't mean much to me.
That's a valid point. There are plenty of people in that 65% who are listed as "undecided". How you haven't made a decision yet on this issue is beyond me. But you reminded me of something that I have actually been researching lately. That is that the founders didn't build a democracy, they built a republic. The democracy we have today is evolved from the republic, which is easy to do because it is such a thin line. But the founders were against democracy for several reasons, including the reason you just stated: Thomas Jefferson said: "A Democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where 51% of the people may take away the rights of the other 49%."
ReplyDeleteI personally agree more with James Madison who said "Democracy was the right of people to choose their own tyrant."
Anyway, Cor, I hope you don't get upset because I am so upset! You're one of my best friends and I understand why you feel the way you do (or at least I think I do!) Overall, I'm just upset with Obama's speech. I feel like he is condescending and arrogant, and I really, really feel like he thinks I'm stupid. His proposals to fix the economy are completely ridiculous and make no sense, but I get the feeling like he's just telling me to shut up and get in line. I'm just sick of him.
you're not the only one, Michael. I saw this thing on CNN this morning, this analyst said that Obama has to get over what he called the BIOB syndrome, or the "blame it on Bush syndrome." I agree with the things you said, and could restate everything that you said in your post, but it wouldn't sound as good. There are a lot of people sick of Obama, and worried about the future of our country when he's done with it. I think that should count for something.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Love you!
Arguements aren't as much fun when you are nice to each other. Is the research you are referring to for your big political blog post that you hinted towards a while back? I would like to see that come to fruition so I will be convinced that you are smarter than I. Plus you always seem to say what I don't have a big enough vocabulary for.
ReplyDeleteI put that on hold because I didn't think anyone actually cared to hear it. But, since you are showing interest, maybe I'll get more serious about it!
ReplyDeleteMike, you know I would never really get frustrated about something you said. It is all good. And in all honesty I agree ALOT with you. Sometimes I feel he is talking down to me too. It can be a little frustrating. My biggest fault is that I am way too forgiving and I always see the good side of people and things and I always think things will work out. I guess I try to imagine what I would do, or how I would be if I were them, and I realize VERY QUICKLY that I would probably piss alot of people off also.
ReplyDeleteI know that is an ignorant thing to admit to, because it is definitely not a sensible thing at times to give people the benefit of the doubt. Take the example where I try to see the good in some guy walking around the neighborhood and I don't lock the deadbolt but just the regular lock. Then he robs our house. NOT GOOD! But, alas, it is my weakness. Just ask my wife.
I find that note about our history VERY interesting. I did not know that, but it makes alot of sense. And that is how I feel every time I hear people say "65% of America Does Not Want Healthcare." Plus ever since I read the book, "How to Lie With Statistics" by Darrell Huff, I get very skeptical every time I hear statistics thrown out PERIOD! All I wanted to say was this in regards to healthcare, I truly believe that an improved Healthcare System is important. According to your numbers, should I just stop caring about that because only 35% feel like I do? No.
Anyways. I in NO WAY think that Obama has all the answers or that he is doing everything right, so please don't infer that. Much Love Mike, Much Love
I think it is apparent to all Americans that healthcare is a huge topic and one that needs some answers. What the majority of American's are saying is not that healthcare doesn't need to be fixed but that Obama's plan is definitely not the answer healthcare needs to fix it. The Government needs to stay out of private business. They don't belong in the banking industry, the auto industry, and not in the healthcare industry. Obama treats the public like they have no capability of understanding the issues at hand. He speaks down to Americans and bows to down to other world leaders. In essence he has made America weaker, not stronger. He needs to get out of himself and do the job he was voted in to do...Any body know why he was voted in and what he said he was going to do?...Oh yeah, he went in to raise our national debt, I guess he has suceeded in one of the over 200 presidential promises he made while he was campaigning.
ReplyDelete