December 29, 2010

"It's really almost criminal what they do with our President."

"There seems to be no shame or anything. They call him all kinds of names all day long, saying he's doing certain things that he's not. It's just a big old political game that I don't want to be part of. There are people spending their lives putting him down. I'm sure some of it's true and some of it's not. I was very surprised to find the man very humble and he had a nice handshake. His wife was very cordial to the guests and especially me. They made a special effort to make me feel welcome. It was not at all the way the media described him to be."

Merle Haggard, on meeting President Obama.

"He's not conceited. He's very humble about being the President of the United States, especially in comparison to some presidents we've had who come across like they don't need anybody's help. I think he knows he's in over his head. Anybody with any sense who takes that job and thinks they can handle it must be an idiot."

I know. You focused on "he knows he's in over his head," didn't you?

123 comments:

David said...

But he doesn't know.

Roux said...

Headline: Haggard... Obama in over his head... must be idiot....


Hehehe

Big Mike said...

Guy's been hitting too much white lightnin'.

Matthew Noto said...

Merle Haggard is still alive?

Palladian said...

Shut up and sing, Merle.

TosaGuy said...

I'm curious as to why Merle Haggard doesn't get any tags on posts about him, when other singers do.

Anonymous said...

"He's not conceited."

Right, because people who promise that their entrance on the scene will stop the oceans from rising are humble, modest sort of folk.

TosaGuy said...

....especially, when John Lennon, Madonna, et. al. were tagged in a post that included a video of Merle Haggard.

ddh said...

Yep, humility is what made President Obama refer to himself 132 times in one speech.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/01/26/obama_refers_to_himself_132_times_in_one_speech.html

AllenS said...

Yes I did focus in on that. At least Obama has a nice handshake. That's what counts.

Toad Trend said...

I guess Mr. Haggard would know...

cathy said...

I thought Obama looked humbled too in the Kennedy Awards program. Because all those people did something and he never did and he was clearly aware of that.

Harsh Pencil said...

Note to self: Don't ask Merle Haggard for a letter of recommendation.

Rialby said...

Whatever.

I still love the story about when Merle Haggard saw Johnny Cash one night after Haggard hit it big. Haggard told Cash that he really enjoyed that show back at San Quentin. Cash said he didn't remember Haggard playing with him back then. Haggard said - I wasn't on stage, I was in the audience.

AST said...

It's nice to see that the President still has one friend left.

MikeR said...

I did focus in on that. And I resent it when Ann reads my mind. I must brush up on my occlumency.

Rialby said...

Btw, didn't he also imply that Obama was an idiot?

Anonymous said...

As has been said of another before, Obama is a modest man with much to be modest about.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Seriously were these people calling for a new respect for the President in a coma from 2000-2008?

Tank said...

Kinda mutual.

It's really almost criminal what the President is doing to us.

Ya got your legalized plunder there, see Bastiat, The Law.

A.W. said...

yeah its example 501 of the "our nation is ungovernable" meme. which isn't true, but it would govern better if it governed less, to paraphrase jeffersion.

Unknown said...

The phrase, back-handed compliment, comes to mind.

WV "hyperm" A hairdo that gives a woman a headache.

Lucien said...

Mike R you magnificent bastard!

Occlumency! How perfectly cromulent.

Wince said...

When, oh, when will we as a country start judging people by the content of their character, not the "niceness" of their handshake?

Mary Beth said...

I have to say I'm surprised. I've found a lot of Hillary supporters to be less accepting of Obama than some Republicans.

Eight years in the White House
With the know-how we need
When you walk with a leader
You learn how to lead
And who kept her head high
When it could have been down
Who ran the show
When the scandal hit town
This country needs to be honest
Changes need to be large
Something like a big switch of gender
Let’s put a woman in charge
Put a woman in charge of the Army
Put a woman in charge of the wheel
The country owes it to Hillary
And Hillary owes it to Bill.

Toad Trend said...

@EDH

"When, oh, when will we as a country start judging people by the content of their character, not the "niceness" of their handshake?"

Do you mean 'character' in a descriptive kind of way, or in a 'rap sheet' kind of way???

Anonymous said...

It's hilarious to me that there is this new meme about treating the president all nice now that a Democrat is president.

It's just like James Taranto's brilliant observation that the homeless always come back when Republicans are president but disappear when Democrats are president.

Also, I rented a car over Christmas so I visited a gas station. Prices are very high. Why isn't the press making a huge deal of this?

mariner said...

Althouse,
I know. You focused on "he knows he's in over his head," didn't you?


No, you don't know. I focused on
I was very surprised to find the man very humble and he had a nice handshake.


"Humble" is not a word I would use to describe Obama. There's a reason he's nicknamed "The One".

garage mahal said...

Well THAT does it! I officially HATE Merle Haggard now.

Anonymous said...

Noooo....I was focusing on the, "Why do I care what Merle Haggard thinks about the president?" part.

AST said...

Even the Bush Administration’s harshest critics could never have credibly claimed that George W. Bush was irrelevant. He might have been hated, pilloried and shouted about– but he couldn’t be ignored. However Obama can be safely ignored. Invited to parties, given the chance to show off his cosmopolitan sophisticated by reciting one or two words in the local lingo, read off a teleprompter, along with some cant about the need for everyone to pull together and make the world a better place, and then dismissed for the rest of the evening.

-- http://www.eurasiareview.com/opinion/opinion-opinion/obama-has-lost-the-world-26122010/

Wince said...

There are people spending their lives putting him down.

"We're too busy singin' to put anybody down...

Hey, hey, we're The Monkeys, and we just shut-up and sing (but really don't play our instruments)."

MadisonMan said...

You should have had a poll: Which President is the topic of this paragraph.

It could be any of them, really. President-bashing is not new.

AST said...

"Really almost criminal," eh?

Bernie Maddoff violated his fiduciary responsibility to his clients to the tune of billions of dollars and will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. The Dems did far worse to more people and the worst they face is not getting reelected. That's what is really almost criminal.

Irene said...

What is it about reading a person's character based on a handshake?

When I was in my twenties, out on the job market in a male-dominated field, my advisor wrote letters of recommendation about me, in which he stated, "She has a firm, memorable handshake."

Holmes said...

You don't have to call me Merle Haggard...anymore

Anonymous said...

Well, I was drunk the day my Mom
got out of prison
And I went to pick her up
in the raaaiiin

Michael said...

Irene: Two things about the handshake. A firm one indicates that one has been taught and that one is teachable. A weak one indicates that through the vast number of handshakes the weak shaker has still not gotten it.

Anonymous said...

Wan handshakes are way underrated.

KCFleming said...

"He's not conceited. He's very humble..."

I'll bet Obama thinks this song is about him.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Merle Haggard was treated like a senior citizen on the dole by the community organizer in chief.. and he confused it with caring love.

Irene said...

Michael, well put. I was whipped into shape as a kid...lots of teachable moments.

So, what did Haggard mean by "nice handshake"?

KCFleming said...

I occasionally meet salesman who try to crush your hand in order to show dominance. It tells me: Don't buy a goddamn thing from this guy.


An enormously helpful tell, really.

KCFleming said...

"They made a special effort to make me feel welcome. "

Clinton had the charm to make people feel like they were the only one in the room. Obama has it as well, though its use is spotty, I understand.

It's a parlor trick.

Paul Brinkley said...

I've known of Merle Haggard ever since I was a kid, and had never realized that he only now turned two.

Everything I know about the passage of time must be rethought.

Anonymous said...

Clinton had the charm to make people feel like they were the only one in the room.

He's still got it, Pogo!

J said...

One wonders how much they paid Merle to say that, or how much chronic they gave him (he doesn't drink any mo' reportedly...but enjoys some cannabis ).

That said, somewhat interesting. BO's probably following orders for the most part, probably from Bloomberg-Co.

Anonymous said...

Oh come on. Nobody paid Merle Haggard anything to say anything. Or provided him with marijuana.

Jeremy said...

The Queen - "I know. You focused on "he knows he's in over his head," didn't you?"

You're kidding, right?

The teabagger nutcases who are here every day of their lives...who follow your every lead, worship Princess Sarah, the Fat Man, Beck, Hannity and anybody else who spends their day denigrating the president's every move, word or proposal...and you had to actually ask?

For someone who you and others think is "in over his head," keep this in mind: He's passed more legilation in such a short period of time than any previous president other than Lyndon Johnson...so he appears to be catching on pretty fast.

Bet you didn't know that...did you?

J said...

prove it. .....as the freaks once said, one can never be too paranoid. Agent Haggard, aka "Okie".

For that matter, you don't know the pot racket as well as some of us do.

Jeremy said...

Seven Nachos Short - "Or provided him with marijuana."

Yes...the killer weed.

Duh.

Jeremy said...

AST said..."It's nice to see that the President still has one friend left."

Well, he was just voted the most admired man in the country...so it appears you're full of shit.

And the Gallup Daily Polling has him at 47-46...approval.

Consindering the insanity we hear from the teabaggers and the birthers and the wingnuts here every day, that's pretty damn good.

Anonymous said...

And the Gallup Daily Polling has him at 47-46...approval."

But among the 10% unemployed, its much lower.

Kirby Olson said...

"almost criminal"?

What laws exactly is he referring to?

Michael said...

Jeremy: Is it because you work for people who are a lot less smart than you and make more money that you are always so pissed off? Is it because guys who made worse grades are doing better? What exactly is it that causes you to be so smugly in the right and so very mad about it? I suppose the success of others eats at you pretty mightily, but all the time? Every second? Dude, relax, even though every single person you know is fairing better you are still the smartest guy around. There is that, right?

J said...

While the birthers appear to have been disproven (note "appear to have been"), the DINOcrat bashing of those who demanded proof of BO's citizenship--and other bio-info-- was nearly as annoying as the worst of the birthers themselves. Shouldn't the public have the right to know everything? During Bush/Kerry the press had access to college records and much else. With BO, they sealed his college records, and other info. Eventually the Hawaii officials coughed up a COLB and other info, and it looks fairly legit. (tho some question it--for one, BO was out of the country shortly after his birth, and held citizenship in indonesia as a child).

The Demos seemed to insist people didn't even have the right to examine the evidence. Another reason some of us object to the modern Demo apparatchiks as well as to the GOPers and teabaggers.

The 60s counterculture was not about valuing traditional Demo politics ala LBJ or Humphrey anymore than Nixon-Co. AS Hunter S Thompson realized (HST thought LBJ at least as sinister as Nixon---with Kennedys not far behind).

Anonymous said...

A Jeremy sighting!

Oh well. Have fun without me.

Anonymous said...

This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow, my woman stopped cheatin' on me, and my ol' hound dog came back to life.

Phil 314 said...

He's passed more legilation in such a short period of time than any previous president other than Lyndon Johnson...so he appears to be catching on pretty fast.

Two comments Jeremy;
1) Is the amount of legislation passed really the mark of success?
2)Does Congress pass legislation?

So can I assume if the now-Republican House passes a bunch of bills meant to rescind or counteract BO's efforts it will counted as a success by you?

ddh said...

Hey, Jeremy, you forgot to mention the regulations and executive orders. The President has signed lots and lots, some of which a Democratic Party-controlled Congress wouldn't pass as legi[s]lation.

rhhardin said...

Obama is in over his head because what he knows about economics and systems happens to be wrong.

Marxism could have as easily been true, in another world.

You've got to build systems that naturally run downhill, not uphill; which is to say, aligned with human motivations.

Nobody has beat free market price as a vast organizer of cooperative activity, even among enemies.

The guys who bring you fresh grapes from Chile in February don't particularly like Americans.

Yet here are the grapes - and the guys as happy to do it.

Screw with prices and everything breaks down, the flip side of amazement.

multiuseless said...

Merle Haggard lives on a house boat and probably wears shorts.

george said...

I focused on the idiot comment. Haggard is right that one would have to be an idiot to think themselves qualified to run our government as currently constituted---- where every major decision is made in a central location and there are very few limits to what it is allowed to do.

So yes, Obama clearly thinks he is up to the job and yes, he is clearly an idiot for thinking so.

With friends like Merle...

G Joubert said...

Without more, I say Merle is just being gracious and genteel. That's my impression.

As for the birth certificate thing, I'm mostly surprised by the fact that none of the 57 states have enacted a law requiring the furnishing of birth certificates before candidates for POTUS are placed on the ballot. Seems like a natural and obvious Constitutional condition precedent. Maybe some will now what with all those state legislatures recently going red, just in time for the 2012 elections.

dbp said...

"I know. You focused on "he knows he's in over his head," didn't you?"

Guilty as charged.

Jeremy said...

Quayle said..."But among the 10% unemployed, its much lower."

Once again: Unemployment was at7.6% the day littel Georgie headed out...and at 8.2% three weeks later.

President Obama inherited a shitpile of an economy, two wars and a real estate market meltdown.

You and others here should read more and post teabagger drivel less.

Jeremy said...

dbp - But that's beacuse you're a teabagger and have a difficult time grasping the overall message.

Try reading it again.

Jeremy said...

G Joubert said..."As for the birth certificate thing, I'm mostly surprised by the fact that none of the 57 states have enacted a law requiring the furnishing of birth certificates before candidates for POTUS are placed on the ballot."

Thanks for the tip, birther.

Do you, by any chance, remember anybody asking about McCain?

Jeremy said...

c3 - WHine all you want, but presidents are elected to lead and govern.

Passing legislation they put forth is one of their major goals. (Why would you not know this?)

Pick up a history book or take a civics course and get back us.

Duh.

KCFleming said...

@Jeremy
delete
delete
delete
delete

traditionalguy said...

What's left of Haggard's mind is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Obama is playing good cop now after playing bad cop by capturing America and Bureaucratising the necessary means of life and death, stopping all use of cheap energy and turning the TSA and the DEA into gestapo units.

MayBee said...

Do you, by any chance, remember anybody asking about McCain?

Why does this get brought up every time? It's as if people don't really care about the answer.

Yes, McCain was asked for his birth certificate by the Senate. And yes, he provided both the long and short form.
I would link it, but I have done that so many times yet it never seems to make a difference.
So if you really care, google John McCain birth certificate and you can see images of them.

Michael said...

Jeremy: You can get another, better job that won't be so stressful, where you might have a chance at a promotion. A place where you wouldn't have to deal with a bunch of dumb bosses and clients. Have you thought of that? Because a happier person lives longer. And happier.

damikesc said...

The teabagger nutcases who are here every day of their lives...who follow your every lead, worship Princess Sarah, the Fat Man, Beck, Hannity and anybody else who spends their day denigrating the president's every move, word or proposal...and you had to actually ask?

So, outside of entertainment and audience size --- how are they different than you, circa 2000 - 2008?

Or is it only wrong to denigrate THIS President?

For someone who you and others think is "in over his head," keep this in mind: He's passed more legilation in such a short period of time than any previous president other than Lyndon Johnson...so he appears to be catching on pretty fast.

Amazing how having huge majorities in both Houses makes that kind of thing possible, huh?

NOW, he is intending to use federal agencies to regulate things in ways both courts and the Congress have said they lack the power to regulate.

But, hey, that whole "unitary executive" thing isn't a concern now, right? Just like Gitmo is no longer a terrorist recruitment tool or an American embarrassment.

Well, he was just voted the most admired man in the country...so it appears you're full of shit.

So, he wins the award, well, every President wins every year? Amazing.

And the Gallup Daily Polling has him at 47-46...approval.

So, most people don't support him. Thanks for the update.

Hint: 47% isn't a majority.

Once again: Unemployment was at7.6% the day littel Georgie headed out...and at 8.2% three weeks later.


...and it's, what, 9.9% now? And by all accounts, it's a gross understatement. You're defending the President, right?

Heck, it was 4.6% before the Dems won Congress. Man, electing those morons was a poor decision by America.

WHine all you want, but presidents are elected to lead and govern.

Given that Obama "led" by having Congress write the legislation with minimal input from him --- great job, Barry! Apparently, Obama thinks he's less competent than Pelosi and Reid.

...though, in his defense, plenty of evidence demonstrates that he's a spectacularly inept man.

ricpic said...

Part of it may come from the fact that Haggard comes out of a culture in which you dont diss your host.

Not quite the same but something like Elvis's "Thankya, thankya ver' much" to almost anyone and everyone he came in contact with. Endearing really.

tim maguire said...

First I thought maybe it was a trick and this was an old statement about Bush. Then I thought you'd follow up with a statement Merle had made about Bush that was exactly the sort of statement he now decries. Then, finally, I focused on "he's in over his head."

Most of this speech is crap, but that is accurate.

ricpic said...

Jeremy: Teabagger.

Triumph the insult comic dog: I poop on you.

Jeremy: Well, duh.

Triumph the insult comic dog: I poop on you.

Jeremy: Wingnut.

Triumph the insult comic dog: I poop on you.

Jeremy: You're kidding, right?

Triumph the insult comic dog: I poop on you.

Jeremy: Teabagger! Wingnut! Birther!

Triumph the insult comic dog: I poop on you.

Jeremy: ........................

Opus One Media said...

I was sooooo scared that Ann would go a full 24 hours without tossing meat to the base of the base.

confidence restored!

Anonymous said...

He's passed more legilation in such a short period of time than any previous president other than Lyndon Johnson

And that's such a recommendation; LBJ was so good for the country.

Anonymous said...

President Obama inherited a shitpile of an economy, two wars and a real estate market meltdown.

Um, President Obama was in Congress when the economy tanked.

A fact you simply can not acknowledge.

Anonymous said...

Once again: Unemployment was at7.6% the day littel Georgie headed out...and at 8.2% three weeks later.

Once again:
Unemployment was at 4.6% when Harry & Nancy took over.

Anonymous said...

Q: What has 64 legs and 28 teeth?

A: Front row at a Merle Haggard concert.

Michael said...

Jeremy: Unemployment up only 21 percent under Obama and you consider this a triumph? Twenty one percent is a lot don't you think? I know you are pissed off at all the dumber people doing better than you in every area of life, but don't you think a 21 percent increase in unemployment is a bad thing?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

So nice of the last president to throw a flood-level of drowning water over him.

damikesc said...

As opposed to Bush, who had no problems handed off to him.

No massive corporate accounting problems that the President before Bush utterly ignored for years. No sir.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

It's pretty desperate to liken Enron to the severity of the Great Republican Recession, damikesc - if that's what you're trying to get at.

I guess you go to (the propaganda) war with the army you have, right?

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

The legs and teeth joke was funny.

Bob said...

Where was this concern when it was Bush who was spoken ill of? Of does this concern only work for one side?

You want the job understand people will say bad things about you.

Michael said...

c4bdh: "So nice of the last president to throw a flood-level of drowning water over him."

Bush waterboarded Obama and you think that's nice?

Unknown said...

Big Gov't Trickling Down His Leg said...

It's pretty desperate to liken Enron to the severity of the Great Republican Recession, damikesc - if that's what you're trying to get at.

Especially when it's the Great Democrat Recession, caused by Willie Whitewater and his subprime mortgages and made all the worse by The Zero and his Senate pals who could have stopped it, as Dubya tried to get them to do.

Alex said...

Merle Haggard is afflicted with Obama Worship Syndrome. Or maybe he just worships power figures. Either way it's a mental affliction.

Quaestor said...

EDH wrote: Hey, hey, we're The Monkeys, and we just shut-up and sing (but really don't play our instruments)

I think they were called The Monkees so something even less literal. The only one who didn't play, at least in studio sessions, was Mickey Dolenz. Tork and Nesmith could play after a fashion, and that Davy Jones guy also played his tambourine. (After all the only only way to NOT play the tambourine is to avoid being in the same room with it)

damikesc said...

It's pretty desperate to liken Enron to the severity of the Great Republican Recession, damikesc - if that's what you're trying to get at.

You act as if Enron was an isolated incident. Global Crossing and Tyco were also quite prominent. Arthur Andersen was shut down due to their problems.

And it could have been avoided completely if Clinton did what Bush did --- not protect these corrupt companies and allow criminal prosecutions of them.

Bush also wasn't in Congress voting on the bills that killed the economy.

Say, can the empty suit we have now make similar claims?

Quaestor said...

OR something even less literal. Damn fingers.

Michael K said...

The poor understanding of economics by the political left is a source of pessimism about solving the terrible problems we face. Obama will try to bypass Congress and implement jib killing regulations by executive order or regulation since he has lost the majority in Congress. The best conventional wisdom I hear is that we will have about a year long boost from the continuation of tax rates, then another decline as the impending tax increases, which Obama has promised, approach. 2012 will be an interesting election. I don't see Obama doing a Bill .

Michael K said...

There was supposed to be a Clinton at the end of that post. Obama will not be a Bill Clinton.

Quaestor said...

The same people who today hail Merle Haggard's comments on Obama would have dismissed him as an ignorant hillbilly with a criminal record yesterday, especially if he had made similar comments about Bush.

Unfortunately for Haggard (and us Americans generally) his assessment of Obama's character is faulty, as such unreflective assessments are wont to be. If Obama were a man of genuine humility he would not have accepted the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, if for no other reason (specifically no accomplishments in the field) than respect for the memory of Alfred Nobel.

DADvocate said...

Merle's smoked too much reefer.

It's hard to imagine Merle and Barack conversing. Does Barak know what an "Okie" is? Does he think it's just the first half of "Okie dokie"?

Peano said...

This just in: "Ex-con defends Obama."

Meh.

bagoh20 said...

The fact that this is the best he could say about him is what's telling. Are these things really what you care about in a President, because they are certainly true of a lot of losers.

My handshake often sucks, because I'm thinking about how to kill you with my other hand while I'm at it. I get distracted like that easily. It doesn't mean I wouldn't make a good President. It does mean Putin won't send my head to the Congress in a paper bag some day. Choose carefully.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Oh yes. Tyco. Anderson. Throw those into the mix and let's pretend they add up to the mess that the deregulators (who still refuse to pass any meaningful reform on bank regulation - guess they know who's buttering their bread) have got us into. Pretty desperate.

I have not once proposed that nothing be done on lending restrictions. But the Republican refusal to stop letting the fox guard the henhouse is what's prolonging this second global catastrophe. What's the matter? Wasn't one Great Depression enough? You fuckers are as shameless as you are mathematically inept. Were Democrats to blame for 1929 as well? Do you ever learn from history?

You guys are just too ashamed to do anything but make the problem worse and use it to political advantage. No wonder Glenn Beck had to go up there and talk about restoring "honor" and all that jazz. I guess you just take from those sermons abstract lessons rather than actually taking them to heart and trying for integrity.

Just admit it: You don't care about the economy as long as it can be used to your political advantage.

DADvocate said...

Just admit it: You don't care about the economy as long as it can be used to your political advantage.

Huh?

I care about the economy as long as it can be used to my political advantage.

WORLD DOMINATION!!!

damikesc said...

Your party KILLED the economy when they took Congress. Lecture me more about how your side has the answers.

You've managed to screw things up, beyond repair, in the terrible 4 year reich of the Democrats.

There isn't condemnation harsh enough for our empty suit.

damikesc said...

DADvocate, we're supposed to not remember the borderline-glee the Democrats had when American body counts from Iraq were increasing.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

"Reich", "my" party, etc. Which Democrats are opposing regulating Wall Street? The ones who just got paid a bunch by those crooks to run in and win an election?

Looks like your empty suits will be having a nice time. But don't blame the idiots whom you got to vote for them. Blame Democrats. Shame is so much worse for you than taking responsibility, I know.

Feel proud, Damikesc! Your empty suits will be making a lot of money and gaining a lot of influence out of allowing Wall Street to maintain an unstable economy. Own up to it. It's how you measure your worth as people. If I've figured anything out at this point, I've learned that much.

Be proud of it and stop blaming Democrats for a situation that you are all too happy to continue.

The Crack Emcee said...

Yep, whenever I think of what people do to Obami, why it just breaks my widdle heart.

Sucker.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

KILLED the economy when they took Congress

More of that math stuff that rankles Rs:

2006

is

not

the

same

year

as

2008

Economic bubbles: If damikesc left a burning cigarette in someone's house she'd blame the fire department for not being there to prevent it.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Since one of Merle's hands was clinging to a Bible, and the other to a gun, how could he shake the President's hand?

Penny said...

"I know. You focused on "he knows he's in over his head," didn't you?"

Not for one minute.

When the going gets rough and tough, and when I don't have ALL the answers to what SEEM to be insurmountably problems, I turn to Jon Stewart, now that Letterman dissed Sarah Palin's family.

Penny said...

And sarcasm is STILL the lowest form of humor...

Gonna bite your ass till it tastes good.

It's my nature.

Chip Ahoy said...

The sentence fragment I focused on was "... especially in comparison to some presidents we've had who come across like they don't need anybody's help."

Any doubt who he meant? Is Haggard not participating there in the thing he is condemning? Is that not accepted as received wisdom only because it contributed to his opinion that was already rigid? But, yes, Haggard, be dismayed. We've all experienced eight straight years of straight up id flying around completely unleashed, and it's still being exercised. So expect nothing less.

Okay now let me get this straight though; Willie Nelson is the one with the ponytail, right?

Kirk Parker said...

Merle, meet Alice Cooper:

"So when I see all these rock stars up there talking politics, it makes me sick. If you're listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you're a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we're morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal."

PatHMV said...

The other presidents he speaks of derisively... I wonder if he has ever met any of them. I'm betting not. I don't think we've had a President in recent memory who didn't manage to impress people when meeting with them one-on-one.

Penny said...

"We've all experienced eight straight years of straight up id..."

Well, more likely a bit of "Op cit" and "Ibid", sans footnotes, Chip. But, carry on.

Penny said...

"Okay now let me get this straight though; Willie Nelson is the one with the ponytail, right?"

The man hasn't announced he's on chemo for cancer, so?

More 'n likely.

Unknown said...

You're well known as an Obama hater and the support among your readership is overwhelming.

I wonder how you justify and how they support pornographic PETA ads on your sidebar. Shame on you, Ann for your mercenary hypocrisy.

AllenS said...

Via Memeorandum, I read a blog called LeanLeft.com. The article was written by Kevin T. Keith, who quotes Haggard, but omits the I think he knows he's in over his head. Anybody with any sense who takes that job and thinks they can handle it must be an idiot part. Dishonesty by omission from Mr. Keith.

Anonymous said...

Jeremy,

Why are you cheering about Obama passing more legislation in two years than any other President? As a candidate, Obama ran on a campaign promise of being a more open President, who would take time to consider the legislation he was signing. He was supposed to put the text of any new law on line for 5 days before signing.

You've just pointed out how badly he's broken that promise. Obama has been signing very complicated and long laws (such as the health care reform bill) without allowing the public to see and comment on them.

damikesc said...

Ritmo, when the Dems took over Congress, unemployment was 4.6% and deficits were below $200M. You can't just ignore what your party did. The DEMOCRATS drove the economy off a cliff (stunning that youth unemploymeny skyrocketed just after the minimum wage hike, huh?).

As for their regulations: Wall St LIKES the regulations. And they donated overwhelmingly to Dems the last few cycles. Spare us the "Dems are fighting Wall St fatcats" nonsense since it was Dems who overwhelmingly supported the bailouts, TARP, et al.

Walll St has no better friend than the Democrat Party.

Tank said...

I was very surprised to find the man very humble and he had a nice handshake. His wife was very cordial to the guests and especially me. They made a special effort to make me feel welcome. It was not at all the way the media described him to be."

Obama = Con Man.

Con Man gotta con.

It never ends.

Known Unknown said...

"It's really almost criminal what our President does with us."

Fixed.


WV: Kierning — making sure the letters is Keiran Culkin's name are appropriately and tastefully spaced.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Wall Street donates to anyone running who has a chance of doing their bidding once elected.

And I'm sure many financiers wouldn't mind a stable economy upon which to make money. Others, those more interested in "regulatory capture" for instance, just care about how much they alone can make.

Your generalizations and post hoc Monday morning quarterbacking do not merit serious response. Hitler rose to power shortly after humans conquered the skies and learned to fly. Does that mean aviation leads to genocidal world wars?

Ridiculous how much ignorance you've spewed. The difference is between working with Wall Street but not for them, to prevent the rest of the economy from plunging further, and using one's position in office merely to do what the most powerful and influential donor asks for. It's a difference of principle, and one that I don't expect you, or anyone else whose allegiance to the Greedy Old Prostitutes (GOP) party comes at the expense of the national interest, to understand.

damikesc said...

Hitler rose to power shortly after humans conquered the skies and learned to fly.

Shortly?

Hitler became Chancellor in 1933. The first airplane flight occurred in 1903. We won't even go into hot air balloon flight.

Does that mean aviation leads to genocidal world wars?

Provided one ignores human history, sure.

I'm not sure if you hope to attempt to show how bad a poster can be at making analogies, but you are doing an impressive job.

Ridiculous how much ignorance you've spewed. The difference is between working with Wall Street but not for them, to prevent the rest of the economy from plunging further, and using one's position in office merely to do what the most powerful and influential donor asks for.

Obama was bought, completely, by Wall Street.

It's a difference of principle, and one that I don't expect you, or anyone else whose allegiance to the Greedy Old Prostitutes (GOP) party comes at the expense of the national interest, to understand.

The only groups who have done quite well under Obama are government union employees and Wall Street.

If he was bought by Wall Street (as opposed to working with them, as you claim he is) --- how would we know the difference?

What negative impact has Wall Street suffered under Obama? It's amazing how thoroughly Wall St owns the Democrat Party. It's been the case from Clinton forwards.