Althouse: "[Obama] was then followed by a guy who was bumming us out. I felt like I just needed a drink when I was done with Paul Ryan."

January 26, 2011

"[Obama] was then followed by a guy who was bumming us out. I felt like I just needed a drink when I was done with Paul Ryan."

Said Rep. Anthony Weiner, who found Obama's SOTU "uplifting" and Ryan's rejoinder not so much.

Now, let's think about this. He didn't need a drink after Obama's talk, but he did after Ryan's. What does that mean? Apparently, Obama's rhetoric comes with its own high, while Ryan's is more of a plain glass of water. Is Weiner interested in reality or not? I think we deserve sober Congresspeople at this point.

65 comments:

Michael K said...: We have deserved them for a long time, at least since Mark Twain. The difference is that they control so much more of our lives. Let's hope that the Republicans can recognize their opportunity and are ready to take it. Maybe they should reread "There is a tide in the affairs of men..."; 1/26/11, 9:54 AM
TMink said...: Well, some people cannot face reality and retreat to fantasy and or substances to cope. They prefer a pretty lie to the gritty truth.

Sounds like progressives to me, prefering pie in the sky socialism to the hard work and competition of capitalism.

Trey; 1/26/11, 9:55 AM
prairie wind said...: Uplifting? Weiner probably needed a cigarette afterward.; 1/26/11, 9:55 AM
Sofa King said...: "You know, more than 100 years ago, Upton Sinclair wrote this, that 'Its difficult to get a man to understand something if his salary depends upon his not understanding it.'"

- Albert Gore, An Inconvenient Truth; 1/26/11, 10:00 AM
MayBee said...: Ryan's speech was Weiner's Sputnik moment.; 1/26/11, 10:04 AM
ricpic said...: But it's so much fun for Obama and me to play with other people's money. That Ryan's a party pooper.; 1/26/11, 10:06 AM
Scott M said...: Weiner, while strident and shrill, is also implacable and disingenuous. I don't care what he thinks outside of how much sand he plans to pound.; 1/26/11, 10:09 AM
Anonymous said...: Hey Mr. Weiner, you should hang out in the unemployment line* sometime.

That's really a bummer!

*Caused by congressional policy.; 1/26/11, 10:14 AM
Anonymous said...: What does that mean?

The always odious Anthony Weiner has been grooming himself to be NYC mayor for as long as I've known his name.

So far events have kept him away but he never stops running. Whenever he speaks, it's towards the NYC far left that could elect him.

WV: dinge

How does Blogger know?; 1/26/11, 10:14 AM
D.D. Driver said...: Ryan made an uplifted Weiner go flaccid.; 1/26/11, 10:18 AM
PaulV said...: Weiner is bitterly clinging to a past when Republicans were seen, but not heard.

WV: revers
the revers are coming for the weiner; 1/26/11, 10:22 AM
Trooper York said...: Look. Give the guy a break. His name is Weiner. What the fuck do you expect.; 1/26/11, 10:32 AM
Trooper York said...: I mean his name is Weiner but we all know he is just a dick.; 1/26/11, 10:33 AM
Unknown said...: The effect Weiner says the speeches had on him was the exact opposite of what the rest of the country felt.

Tells you something, doesn't it?; 1/26/11, 10:37 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I think it's pronounced "whiner" not "wiener."; 1/26/11, 10:38 AM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

Everything's uplifting until you get the bill.

Just out of curiosity, I checked Weiner's bio. He went directly from college to Chuck Schumer's staff and has never worked off the public payroll since. Not worth anyone's trust on fiscal matters.; 1/26/11, 10:42 AM
D.D. Driver said...: I think it's pronounced "whiner" not "wiener."

It's FrahkenSTEEN. Not Frankenstein.; 1/26/11, 10:46 AM
Scott M said...: It's pronounced Eye-gore, Froedrick.; 1/26/11, 10:49 AM
tree hugging sister said...: There's a Brazilian cachaça brand that has a beautifully evocative name for moments when people like Weiner speak. I use it often:

Pitú

Sounds like spitting on the sidewalk in disgust and nobody's the wiser.; 1/26/11, 10:49 AM
KCFleming said...: He aches longingly for the Weiner Republic.; 1/26/11, 10:56 AM
Original Mike said...: "Is Weiner interested in reality or not?"

He is not. I watched him a week or so ago being interviewed about the ObamaCare repeal vote, and all he did was repeat, ad naseum, the line about repeal increasing our debt. (Say, could Weiner be garage?); 1/26/11, 11:03 AM
paul a'barge said...: You know, if your last name were "Weener" and you didn't have the personal depth to rise above that, you'd be all bummed out when someone shoved your life-failures into plain view in front of everyone else. Like the Weiner guy.; 1/26/11, 11:04 AM
Scott M said...: (Say, could Weiner be garage?)

No, I'd say not. The gut says garage has actually held a real job that wasn't paid for by tax payers.; 1/26/11, 11:04 AM
Sprezzatura said...: Althouse switched her support from the 'war on the war on metaphor' to the' war on the war on the war on metaphor!'

This is going to be really confusing when she jumps ship, again.; 1/26/11, 11:05 AM
chuckR said...: What you need, Rep. Whiner, is several glasses of water to help overcome the hangover from our 20 year long bender.
Yeah, Major Ryan of the Financial Salvation Army preaches a temperance that no drunk like you wants to hear, but needs to hear regardless.; 1/26/11, 11:10 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Yeh, not much to say here. A liberal Democrat with no experience outside government, is bummed because someone is telling him that the party is now over. The adults have taken away his credit card, and he and his friends won't be able to party any more on someone else's money.

Obama got him remembering all the good times when they could squander hundreds of billions of dollars in weeks buying all their friends new trinkets and drinks at the local bar. But now, here comes Ryan, reminding them that the party is over. Bummer.; 1/26/11, 11:14 AM
Bender said...: So, now we've had Ryan this year and Bobby Jindal last year give the response. Both of whom have been touted as being better candidates than that know-nothing boob Sarah Palin.

And both of them elicited all sorts of ugh in response to their performance.

Would that there were not such a visceral, irrational, and rabid hatred about Palin from libs and Republican elites alike. Instead of putting people to sleep, like Ryan and Jindal, she would have roused the troops to their feet. Too bad. It's America's loss.; 1/26/11, 11:22 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I think it's pronounced "whiner" not "wiener."

Either way it is correct.; 1/26/11, 11:30 AM
Trooper York said...: I told you. It's pronounced dick.; 1/26/11, 11:36 AM
Henry said...: "Bumming us out" is an echo of "the dismal science", Thomas Carlyle's blast against John Stuart Mill. The earlier term has two meanings -- one colloquial, one historical. Both work against the glad-hand politician. The colloquial meaning, that one must count costs and consequences, is obviously an affront to our tepid populists. The historical meaning, that sociology is pernicious, is likewise.

This Modeled Behavior post is apropos.; 1/26/11, 11:41 AM
Anonymous said...: The adults showing up and turning on the light in the salmon smoke-filled basement always bums out the irresponsible adolescents.; 1/26/11, 11:43 AM
michaele said...: I thought Paul Ryan did a very good job. I was nervous at first because the initial camera view made him look like he was sitting at a child's desk. However, then the shot tightened up on his face and that worked for me. Paul has believable eye crinkles, so when he expresses concern, it comes off as authentic.; 1/26/11, 11:44 AM
SteveR said...: Why would Weiner listen to Ryan? He's going to complain regardless.; 1/26/11, 11:54 AM
D.D. Driver said...: "she would have roused the troops to their feet."

We already HAVE a leader that can give a rousing speech and its been a disaster. We need to put the adults back in charge.; 1/26/11, 11:55 AM
Toad Trend said...: Oh, now there's a surprise.

Coming from the forked-tongue 'Happy' Weiner, poster boy for smart ass lawyers everywhere.

Bite me Anthony.; 1/26/11, 1:15 PM
Phil 314 said...: To Rep. Weiner

Apparently you want answers but not
THE TRUTH; 1/26/11, 1:28 PM
Anonymous said...: He was just in a bad mood because his date with Peter King was such a dud.; 1/26/11, 1:35 PM
Bender said...: We already HAVE a leader that can give a rousing speech and its been a disaster. We need to put the adults back in charge.

We also need people who are NOT career politicians, who have not spent their entire adult lives either in Congress or working for people in Congress, e.g. Mr. Ryan.; 1/26/11, 1:37 PM
ricpic said...: Lipshitz is a worse name than Weiner, and a common one to boot.; 1/26/11, 1:37 PM
Methadras said...: Weiner is one of the worst leftard partisan hacks to ever be shat out of the Democrat party. He's a dyed in the wool communist shill and if he dropped dead today, I'd celebrate. Fuck him and what he stands for. That's my new civility.; 1/26/11, 1:48 PM
Methadras said...: Ann Althouse said...

I think it's pronounced "whiner" not "wiener."

That's all he does. Oh, he's given some outstanding performances on the house floor.; 1/26/11, 1:49 PM
Mutaman said...: "Just out of curiosity, I checked Weiner's bio. He went directly from college to Chuck Schumer's staff and has never worked off the public payroll since. Not worth anyone's trust on fiscal matters."

Whereas Paul Ryan has spent years in the public sector-- not.; 1/26/11, 2:16 PM
Mutaman said...: "Look. Give the guy a break. His name is Weiner. What the fuck do you expect."

I've always found crass jokes about Weiner's name to contain a whiff of anti-Semitism; 1/26/11, 2:21 PM
Original Mike said...: "I've always found crass jokes about Weiner's name to contain a whiff of anti-Semitism"

Oh, bullshit.; 1/26/11, 2:37 PM
Toad Trend said...: @Mutaman

"I've always found crass jokes about Weiner's name to contain a whiff of anti-Semitism"

Double bullshit.; 1/26/11, 2:53 PM
madAsHell said...: They are Germanic names:
Weiner - the guy that owns the wine press
Wiener - the guy from Vienna

Nothing semitic about it.

Now, the history of how they acquired those names is another story...; 1/26/11, 2:56 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: "[Obama] was then followed by a guy who was bumming us out."

Does it bother anyone else that we have an elected official who talks like a California stoner?; 1/26/11, 3:08 PM
MayBee said...: "I've always found crass jokes about Weiner's name to contain a whiff of anti-Semitism"

perhaps you mean anti-sementism; 1/26/11, 3:27 PM
Michael K said...: Maybe, if the Illinois Appellate Court could enforce a rule that Rham had to live in Chicago for a year, we could get an election law that, to run for Congress, you have to have held a private sector job for one year.

Any chance ? Nah.; 1/26/11, 3:32 PM
Trooper York said...: Hey Mutaman....Fransn zol esn zayn layb.; 1/26/11, 3:50 PM
dick said...: As a constituent of Weiner (don't blame me - I hate the guy) I wish he would get drunk and fail to show up for his job. That would be a big improvement. Same for Chuckie as well. Another waste of air IMNSHO - and I am his constituent as well.; 1/26/11, 3:52 PM
Trooper York said...: And Mutaman....tonight at dinner....Es zol dir dunern in boykh, vestu meyen az s’iz a homon klaper!!!!!!; 1/26/11, 3:57 PM
BJM said...: Weiner's going to need another drink.

However, I'm beginning to wonder if this issue isn't rope-a-dope designed to blame the usual conservative suspects.

Maybe I'm becoming too cyncial...nah.; 1/26/11, 4:01 PM
BJM said...: @Crack

Does it bother anyone else that we have an elected official who talks like a California stoner?

He should be so cool.

Weiner's an envious little pisher who doesn't have the grace to name a colleague who has achieved more prominence.; 1/26/11, 4:12 PM
holdfast said...: You want the truth?

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

Total schlemiel.; 1/26/11, 6:07 PM
Michael said...: These people on the left are not serious people. They are ill equipped to deal with the realities of the moment. Very handy with the soundbites and the reflexive appeals to the playbook. But not serious people.; 1/26/11, 6:18 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Weiner edited:

"Reality is such a stone cold bitch."; 1/26/11, 8:52 PM
Revenant said...: We also need people who are NOT career politicians

That rules out Sarah Palin, then. She's been a politician even longer than Paul Ryan has.

You can rant and rave about "rabid hatred" from "Republican elites" and "libs". Neither of those groups matter, and neither do non-elite Republicans like yourself. What matters are the swing voters, who are anti-Palin by a 3 to 1 margin.

Look, I'm very sad that your favorite politician hasn't got a snowball's chance in hell of ever being President. Welcome to my world. Now suck it up. You want a conservative in the Oval Office? You want someone who isn't a career politician? Fine! You've got approximately 80 million conservative adult Americans to choose from who haven't already convinced the country they're idiots.

Is it fair that people think she's an idiot? No. Life's tough, wear a helmet.; 1/26/11, 10:25 PM
The Musket said...: "Kev said...

(the other kev)

Everything's uplifting until you get the bill."

He's going to have a boom and bust hangover:

http://rebekahmohr.blogspot.com/2010/06/fear-boom-and-bust-hayek-vs-keynes-rap.html

wv: jobon -- what whiner doesn't have; 1/27/11, 12:29 AM
dick said...: Revenant,

Sarah has also run with her husband a fishing business successfully. She knows the business part of it as well and that was before she went into politics. Guess you missed that one. Also worked in the communications field as well. She may have been in politics longer than Paul Ryan but she is also close to 20 years older than Paul Ryan and most of that 20 years was spent in private industry.; 1/27/11, 1:06 AM
Mutaman said...: Hey Trooper, from what your wife tells me, you're an expert on that
Fransn zol esn zayn layb stuff. she said you caught it at some Tea Bagger rally.; 1/27/11, 5:28 AM
Revenant said...: Sarah has also run with her husband a fishing business successfully.

She worked for her husband's fishing business, which was successful both before and after her involvement with it. This doesn't tell us anything about her knowledge of business.

All of this is moot. Her qualifications don't matter, because --like I pointed out -- she can't win. If Republicans are idiotic enough to nominate her then Obama will be President until 2017. It doesn't matter if she could make a great President, because she won't be a President of ANY kind.

Maybe nominating her will make you feel good. You'll really have stuck it to those libs and "Republican elites!". And I hope that good feeling comforts you during our continued descent into Democratic socialism.; 1/27/11, 12:35 PM
MayBee said...: FWIW, Weiner is on CNN right now.
His name is indeed pronounced "wiener", not "whiner"; 1/27/11, 4:16 PM
PaulV said...: My brother translated the name of a german restraunt Weiner Wald as Forest of Sausage and not as Vienna Woods; 1/27/11, 7:18 PM
PaulV said...: "Now, the history of how they acquired those names is another story..."
Bismarck required a surname. So Weiner people were wealthy to bribe the census taker.
When established the German retirement system he was told to use 65 because few workers lived that long. So when SS goes broke blame him rather Washingto politician trying to buy votes; 1/27/11, 7:29 PM