I apparently am stepping off on my left foot, not my right.
So, this video is making the rounds -
So, this video is making the rounds -
And I'm not outraged by it.
Here's some of the stuff overheard in conversations about the statement:
Here's some of the stuff overheard in conversations about the statement:
"This video makes me want to puke."
"I will admit that the words, "rot in Hell you sorry excuse for a CinC" came to mind"
"Yeah - when he actually referred to his responsibility as CinC, I gagged."
"My first thoughts were “what an entirely inappropriate comment for the President of the USA to make concerning what appears to be an act of terrorism.” He is so unbelievably stupid without his teleprompter!"
"I watched that live. Made me sick. ABC broke in to say that the President was about to hold a brief press conference and make a statement about the Ft. Hood shootings. I kept waiting and waiting for him to sober up and acknowledge the incident. Took him long enough. Of course, that came way after he gave a "shout out" to a "Medal of Honor WINNER". clueless POS CiC".
"I watched the bloody video. It's disgusting. He thanks and thanks and eventually gets to the point and dithers and pithers. Useless and rather narcissistic. No leadership. No professionalism. No clue. Not even political sense"
I'm clearly a pansy though I agree with the analysis in that last quote.
Now, if I had been the President, I would have *led* with Fort Hood, and then segued to the conference (i.e., exactly the opposite of what he did), and he wasn't helped by the way Fox framed the intro (hey, Shep didn't know any better than we did what the Prez was going to say). If you edited it differently, it would come across differently. Still not good, certainly, but not as awkward as it came across with the newsies setting the expectation he was going to come out for a presser on the topic, vice shoeing it into scheduled closing remarks at a conference.
I don't think he did that badly, except in comparison to when he has a nice script he's rehearsed. He's a victim of his reputation for oratory - vice his continually mediocre performance as an extemporaneous speaker. In this respect, President Clinton was hellabetter at speaking off the cuff.
He clearly isn't comfortable yet with role of CinC. Too bad there's a war on, eh, boss?
So, back to me being such a squish.
I know what it is - I've set the bar for the President on things like this pretty low, so it's easy for him to meet the low expectations I have for it.
I'm not a pansy, I just have low standards.
Now, if I had been the President, I would have *led* with Fort Hood, and then segued to the conference (i.e., exactly the opposite of what he did), and he wasn't helped by the way Fox framed the intro (hey, Shep didn't know any better than we did what the Prez was going to say). If you edited it differently, it would come across differently. Still not good, certainly, but not as awkward as it came across with the newsies setting the expectation he was going to come out for a presser on the topic, vice shoeing it into scheduled closing remarks at a conference.
I don't think he did that badly, except in comparison to when he has a nice script he's rehearsed. He's a victim of his reputation for oratory - vice his continually mediocre performance as an extemporaneous speaker. In this respect, President Clinton was hellabetter at speaking off the cuff.
He clearly isn't comfortable yet with role of CinC. Too bad there's a war on, eh, boss?
So, back to me being such a squish.
I know what it is - I've set the bar for the President on things like this pretty low, so it's easy for him to meet the low expectations I have for it.
I'm not a pansy, I just have low standards.
Instead, he keeps telling them he's borrowed 30 trillion silver shekels in their name, interest compounded daily, from some guy named Judas 'hong kong' Iscariot to bail out the wine press manufacturers and extend benefits to the out of work fishermen.
You know by now he's probably having to assure Michelle Magelene that they aren't really going to nail him to the cross.
Problem is, although Joe Medicine Crow seems like a great guy, he never won the Medal of Honor! He did receive the Congressional Gold Metal according to Jawa.
So, yes, Obama is a moron.
The Medal is earned, not won. It's a attitude shared by the soldiery in general, in my experience, because no one wants to be under the command of someone out to "win" a Medal. That usually ends badly.
There's a massacre/attack; President announces an upcoming statement; network lays a backdrop for a statement on the massacre; President thanks all and sundry for setting up a wonderful conference, gives a half-joking "shout-out", discusses the conference for a couple minutes, then finally gets around to giving a cookie-cutter statement about the massacre. The statement wasn't so much the issue, although it could have been better, as was the way he stuck it behind everything else. That's his screw-up, and the "there's no greater honor but also no greater responsibility for ME, to make sure...", making sure this is at least in part about him, didn't help.
Watching and listening to him, this just seemed like any other less-scripted speech or statement he's given. There just doesn't seem to be anything unique about discussing the massacre, any real concern or caring. About the only things he got right were a) making a statement, and b) not including "Ft. Hood police acted stupidly".
It appears even the Chicago press is less squishy than you, John. Of course, he was only saying what the teleprompter told him to say. Which is partly the point.
Agreed the presentation was botched; was that due to White House goofs, network goofs, or both? (I vote both)
As for Obama being retarded, he knows what his briefers tell him. One can't expect him to quickly memorize every detail of our military culture, especially considering his background. It's an alien world to him. On the other hand, he (or his team) hired the briefers, so they are his responsibility.
The man has a bad habit of hiring incompetents. I expect that's part of his Chicago upbringing, where paying political debts takes priority over those qualified for the job.
I'm proud to say that one of the email quotes is mine... and I stand by it.
He has no clue about the order of importance of the day. You don't appear on camera, all happy and giddy, and giving a "shout out" before FINALLY getting to the condolence part. Reminds me of Clinton and his incredible ability to cry on cue- but at least Clinton COULD cry. Obama just cries like a freakin' baby. The man is in way over his head.
The Chicago Press story is straight on point. At least someone in the media "gets it"- outside of Fox, of course.
I didn't disagree with all of 'em - I just came to the realization that I don't have quite the visceral reaction many of you guys do... because, well, just the way I am but mostly because, I really do have such low expectations that there are times when he looks downright good.
And 'recipient' just sounds too passive to me. A dog receives a pat on the head. A good little girl receives an ice cream cone. You don't receive a victory in a battle - you go out and win it! Just like those guys won the MOH.
Yes, it is a minor and unimportant point...
I know you're not necessarily disagreeing with my statement, and I understand your point about not having time to get permission to credit- I'm not worried about that at all. I also agree with both you and Sanger about "winning" a medal. I don't know any soldiers who set out to "win" anything, except a war. Sometimes they get medals along the way... but they are awarded; not "won".
I do agree that when you set the performance bar as low as it is for Obama, sometimes you expect him to clear the bar... but my bar isn't set quite that low.
Fox is anything BUT Fair and Balanced. What a laugh. Nothing but overheated innuendo and ego-driven opinionating interspersed with some news that may or may not be factual....all supposedly representative of a conservative viewpoint vice liberal. I consider myself a conservative, generally, but I can't stand the tripe that passes for reporting on Fox, and more than anything I can't stand the Rather-esque nature of the knotheads calling themselves reporters. Certainly they are not alone in their knotheadedness, but I ended up watching Rachel Maddow at MSNBC, and thoroughly enjoying her low-key, even handed approach. No ego, no excessive tonal variation, not preening, and none of that O'Reilly and Smith crap about, "well, we;re not here to spread rumors or innuendo, buuuuuuut...."!
Ever since Smith went to New Orleans and made an a$$ of himself in front of the 'dome' it's been downhill. Heck, they might as well hire Renaldo, Imus, and Johnny Knoxville!
Sanger: would you characterize this as (say) a "Fox has become so mainstream they're as clueless as everyone else with power" thing? Or would you see this as "yet another bunch of idiot Country Club Republicans?"
I don't know the cause, but my opinion is that they have just let their ego's get ahead of their professional credentials and they have come to beleive that because they are saying it, it must be true and as good as gospel....
In recent weeks--my wife watches Fox about equally with CNN and MSNBC, I only watch in passing or when I want to see something specific as the III Corps Cdr press conference the other night--I have seen O'Reilly and smith both do the same thing several times: They preface some leading comment with the qualifier that it's not Fox's job to spread rumor, or that they are not supposed to report innuendo, or the like, then they do just that. It's like an old Yenta, starting her gossip session with the phrase, "I'm not usually one to talk, but..."
I'd prefer the Yenta news to what's there now. And I really did enjoy Maddow. It was refreshing.