Althouse: "The fact that Obama doesn't get a kick out of adoring throngs is one of the qualities that made him so appealing in the first place."

March 15, 2010

"The fact that Obama doesn't get a kick out of adoring throngs is one of the qualities that made him so appealing in the first place."

"Unlike with Clinton, we never felt as though he needed us; he's a secure, self-confident adult."

From a column by Fred Hiatt about the fact that Obama doesn't seem happy as President and why and whether we should want him to be.

62 comments:

Fred4Pres said...: WTF? Other than generalized anger that they are screwing up our lives, I am not even sure what to think about these people anymore.; 3/15/10, 9:12 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Puhleeeeeeeeeeze.; 3/15/10, 9:13 AM
Salamandyr said...: I theorize his "unhappiness" has less to do with the existence of adoring throngs, than with our unwillingness to immediately bow to his latest whim.; 3/15/10, 9:14 AM
Big Mike said...: Of course he gets a kick out of speaking to adoring throngs. That's why he does it so oftern. What's this bozo talking about?; 3/15/10, 9:16 AM
Fred4Pres said...: He really liked that waffle and has never forgiven that he did not get to finish it.; 3/15/10, 9:18 AM
TosaGuy said...: Obama loved adoring unthinking throngs of the campaign who swooned like little girls at some boy band concert. Problem for all boy bands is that their audience outgrows them.

Obama = boy band president; 3/15/10, 9:19 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Being President is not about your personal job satisfaction, it is about a greater commitment.; 3/15/10, 9:22 AM
AllenS said...: More and more, I'm convinced that Obama just doesn't know what to do. I don't think it's any more complicated than that.

WV: reduckse; 3/15/10, 9:23 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: I theorize his "unhappiness" has less to do with the existence of adoring throngs, than with our unwillingness to immediately bow to his latest whim.

Lucilla: The public is fickle brother. He'll be forgotten in a month.

Commodus: No. Sooner than that.

Gladiator, 2000; 3/15/10, 9:23 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: My mind's eye picked up something about adoring thongs. You can imagine how disappointed I was.; 3/15/10, 9:24 AM
Sprezzatura said...: Rs should be outraged by the lib factory that Fred's running over there at WaPo.

Are y'all outraged at that non-stop lamestream librul media voice that flows from Fred's oversight at the WaPo?; 3/15/10, 9:25 AM
Anonymous said...: P. R. O. J. E. C. T. I. O. N.

It's not just a river in Egypt.; 3/15/10, 9:25 AM
Anonymous said...: Obama can't be happy because he doesn't have an original thought in his brain, and he doesn't like being bossed around by those that think they do.; 3/15/10, 9:25 AM
Anonymous said...: 'm convinced that Obama just doesn't know what to do. I don't think it's any more complicated than that.

He went to Harvard. Can you blame him?

Look, it's not his fault. Harvard University didn't educate Barack Obama. He was socially promoted.

He's stupid ... but it's our fault as a community that Barack Obama doesn't know what to do.

We should have educated him.

Our schools are broken.

It's too late for Obama, but what about the rest of the children?; 3/15/10, 9:27 AM
Anonymous said...: On this I agree with Big Mike.

Holding a huge rally in Berlin in the middle of the U.S. election - that's wasn't all about the adoring crowds?; 3/15/10, 9:28 AM
Automatic_Wing said...: So the fact that he's morose and hates his job is a feature, not a bug? Um...OK.; 3/15/10, 9:28 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: His predecessor partied and stuck him with the tab.

Blame Bush for Obama's cheerlessness?; 3/15/10, 9:28 AM
Henry said...: That's a damning column. It validates exactly what Salamandyr wrote above:

I theorize his "unhappiness" has less to do with the existence of adoring throngs, than with our unwillingness to immediately bow to his latest whim.

According to Hiatt -- and the pundits he quotes -- Obama doesn't like foreign leaders, he doesn't like negotiations, and he doesn't like making decisions.

I can identify with not liking politics or long meetings, but I'm not the one who ran for president.

* * *

And should we really expect Obama to be happy? W is clearly a much more affable person than O, but he didn't seem that happy being President. Interestingly, W and O are both family-oriented and both ran for president on the basis that they weren't the other guy. Obamas Is Like Bush tag.; 3/15/10, 9:30 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: His predecessor partied and stuck him with the tab

So his response is to triple the tab.

Makes perfect sense.; 3/15/10, 9:31 AM
Anonymous said...: Obama chasing the presidency was like a dog chasing a car.

What do you do when you catch it?; 3/15/10, 9:32 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: And should we really expect Obama to be happy?

Well in fairness to Obama, I'd be pretty morose if I was handed a supermajority Congress who in turn is proving to be an epic fail in voting for my pet legislation.; 3/15/10, 9:33 AM
garage mahal said...: If Fred Hiatt wrote it, you can take it to the bank!; 3/15/10, 9:34 AM
Peano said...: "he's a secure, self-confident adult"

I have serious doubts about that.; 3/15/10, 9:36 AM
Big Mike said...: @Quayle, only on this point? I think we agree on more than that.; 3/15/10, 9:39 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Rush's theory is that Obama has always had somebody carry the ball for him.

Now, for the first time in his life, its his job to make sure that things get done.. he doesn't know how to go about it.

what allens said.; 3/15/10, 9:39 AM
Henry said...: "he's a secure, self-confident adult"

It's always tempting to impute
Unlikely virtues to the cute.(Ogden Nash)

Obligatory JFK comparison here.; 3/15/10, 9:42 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Also, the ship of state is an awfully big boat.. it cant be turned at a moments notice.

Other than making the boat bigger, I have no idea what's Obama's vision for the future.; 3/15/10, 9:50 AM
Anonymous said...: Hiatt's column is astoundingly stupid. Don't they have editors at the Post?

Oh, he's the editor. Never mind.; 3/15/10, 9:58 AM
Lincolntf said...: These poor sucks are totally at sea now that Obama is actually the President. Desperate to rationalize their blind support for him, they end up contorting facts and forcing their own perceptions.
Obama is unhappy not because "Bush partied and left him with the tab", he's unhappy that he has a job where results are demanded. Not just "suggested" like in community organizing. He's gone from bringing us "hope" and "light" and "change" to being a dour, snarling malcontent committed to nothing beyond his own image.
And of course, the Lefties themselves are unhappy because they've been stripped of their opportunity to hate the President (and by extension, the US) with impunity. Imagine the confusion and disappointment in the Lib ranks nowadays.
Everything that Bush did that was called "an assault on the Constitution" or a "war crime" (Gitmo, rendition, Patriot Act, drone strikes, etc.)is now fully embedded Obama policy. Leaving the perpetual protesters in the untenable position of demonstrating either that Bush was wiser than the entire Left or that Barack Obama is a war criminal. I wonder which one they'll settle on?; 3/15/10, 9:59 AM
Tank said...: I clicked through just to confirm this wasn't from The Onion.; 3/15/10, 10:01 AM
William said...: In Europe, just after the war, Wilson was surrounded by adoring throngs. In point of fact, he was a prissy little asshole, but the people wanted a messiah, and Wilson wanted to be a messiah. The delusion of the crowd fed into the delusions of the man. The crowd eventually caught on, but their adulation had thoroughly debauched Wilson. Even after a massive stroke, he believed that his continuation in office was necessary for peace and freedom in the world......Obama feeds off the adulation of his followers even while he feeds them his measured cadences and charming smile. Look at the crowd behind him when he gives his speeches. They are clearly over the moon just to be in the great man's presence. They get it. They understand the beauty and simplicity of the health care plan and the moral grandeur of the man who supports it. Obama clearly relishes the company of such people....The whole thing makes me want to barf. Such reverence should be reserved for church or, at the very least, Bruce Springsteen concerts. But there you have it: the host feeding upon the Messiah and the Messiah feeding upon the host. It's a tight little circle of love that will accelerate before it collapses.; 3/15/10, 10:09 AM
Adam said...: He can't understand why things aren't working out as well as he'd hoped. After all, he's present every day now. Woody Allen told him that was enough.; 3/15/10, 10:20 AM
traditionalguy said...: I see this as a complaint that Obama has not yet done anything like a super hero does. The Camelot image of JFK was also wearing thin by 1963. The magic politician has to perform a magic trick every now and then. And a single Palin post on face-book has overcome all of Obama's powers to do an heroic magic act that eliminates Bad America (un-redistributed version) that we all love so much. Thanks Sarah!; 3/15/10, 10:27 AM
Big Mike said...: Well in fairness to Obama, I'd be pretty morose if I was handed a supermajority Congress who in turn is proving to be an epic fail in voting for my pet legislation.

Oh, shoot. Now I have to disagree with Hoosier. Because the way I see it, how can healthcare be his "pet legislation" if he's had essentially no input to the House or Senate versions of the bill? If either had been drafted in accordance with Obama guidelines, that fact would have come out long ago. The White House has tried to float the meme that Obama has worked the phones tirelessly behind the scense, but the only people buying that are unreconstructed hardcore lefties and tame journalists who print whatever the White House tells them to print (see, for instance, Hiatt's column).

The only "input" Obama has had so far seems to be the setting of artificial deadlines for the legislation to be passed, followed inevitably by the breaking of those deadlines by this silly little thing called reality.; 3/15/10, 10:31 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Getting the Nobel, as if he had been a Mandela or a Lech Wałęsa surely couldn't have made him feel like an adult.

Obama is the product of a Frankenstein experiment.. we wondered what a political Gabourey Sidibe would do in the body of a Denzel Washington.

How do you feast on spending w/o looking as if you are?; 3/15/10, 10:32 AM
David said...: Never felt he needed us?

How about noticing us?

"Oh, Barack, you make my legs tingle. Have your way with me. Take me to the voting booth and I will pull your lever."

"Sure, Baby. Remember, it's a big lever, unprecedented in its bigness. You'll come away completely changed."

(They go behind the curtain, where amid murmurs and scuffles there is the unmistakable groan of the lever. Barack emerges quickly, smiles a tight smile at no one in particular, and disappears into a crowd behind a velvet rope.

A few moments later the voter comes out, eyes a little glassy, looking around and blinking in the light. "Barack? You here, sweetie? I feel so great, so pleased with myself. Barack, you here? Sweetie? Baby? Barack? You said we'd talk."

The voter rearranges her clothing, puffs her hair with her fingers and tries to smile a hopeful smile at the staring crowd behind the velvet rope."; 3/15/10, 10:43 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Oh, shoot. Now I have to disagree with Hoosier. Because the way I see it, how can healthcare be his "pet legislation" if he's had essentially no input to the House or Senate versions of the bill?

Well that's a good point Big Mike. Maybe I should clarify that the concept of 'health care reform' is is pet legislation project. It certainly seems to be his main focus with everything else being a distant second.; 3/15/10, 10:45 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: It seems that Obama has adopted this more bellicose persona in an attempt to obtain the gravitas that one in his position normally acquires through achievement. It's his version of how a serious president should act. Probably something he picked up from watching television with the girls.; 3/15/10, 11:00 AM
damikesc said...: When Bush didn't care about adoring audiences, he was aloof. Obama, OTOH, is awesome for not caring.; 3/15/10, 11:08 AM
damikesc said...: Hmmm, when Bush didn't care about fawning crowds, he was aloof and arrogant. Obama doesn't care, which is a laughable assertion, and its really charming.

Funny.; 3/15/10, 11:31 AM
Anonymous said...: "If Fred Hiatt wrote it, you can take it to the bank!"

Fred is advocating for his positon Garage. What the fuck have you ever written except predictable Democrat Party one-liners?

Can you even write coherently in support of the policies you would foist upon the rest of us? I think your whole act is equivalent to a heckler. Because I don't think you can defend these policies beyond Democrat Party talking point recitations.

For example ... Barack Obama campaigned against Hillary Clinton by criticizing her for her attempts to force people to purchase health insurance from her big-business donors.

And, he defeated Hillary in part because people agree with Barack Obama that Americans shouldn't be forced to purchase insurance from Democrat Party bigwigs.

But now Barack Obama wants to force people, under threat of IRS audit and fines, to purchase insurance from his campaign donors.

How do you feel about that Garage?

Write 400 words - in your own words - on why this is not an immoral and unethical position for Barack Obama to now take.

If you can write that many sentences, and I doubt you can.; 3/15/10, 11:44 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: And, he defeated Hillary....

Something she is reminded of every time she has to go to some Celebrate Females event while Joe O'Biden is sent to do the job of alienating what allies this administration hasn't pissed off yet.; 3/15/10, 12:11 PM
Fen said...: Oh please.

"Our Glorious Leader", by Fred Hiatt.

What a bunch of bullshit.; 3/15/10, 12:59 PM
Fen said...: "he's a secure, self-confident adult"

And gee, he's articulate too!

Talk about lowering the bar...; 3/15/10, 1:02 PM
Joe said...: Obama thrives off of mass meetings and is clearly uncomfortable in more intimate settings where he has to deal with the individual. By all accounts, Clinton was obsessed with being liked by individuals.

To put it another way, if both Obama and Clinton went to a party of mostly supporters, Clinton would find the one or two people who didn't like him or even just disagreed with him and work on them in a [from what I've heard] very personable manner. Obama would seek out the biggest sycophants blissfully unaware that anyone disagreed with him, let alone disliked him.

To put it a third way, Clinton was aware that people disliked him, Obama isn't so aware. (Yes, I really do believe that Obama has convinced himself that people may disagree with his policies, but they like him personally. I detest the man at all levels. I dislike many of Clinton's policies, like others, but either way, figure he'd be fun to hang around with.); 3/15/10, 1:02 PM
Big Mike said...: @Joe, yeah you think Wild Willie Clinton would be fun to hang with. Especially if you could be the one to console those poor young lovely ladies who foolish thought he'd divorce Hillary ...; 3/15/10, 1:38 PM
ricpic said...: When I read these fawning pieces in the Marx Stream Media I can't help wondering whether the creatures who write the pieces are blind to the harshness and vindictiveness of Hussein or whether it's precisely his viciousness that makes him their Messiah.; 3/15/10, 1:39 PM
Methadras said...: His unhappiness is due to his realization that the job wasn't going to be easy and now he is seeing that adoration is a fleeting thing. To try and dismiss his disconnect as a stand-offish characterization by which he is above it all is insulting. Oh he loved it when they showed up to his campaign rallies didn't he? So he doesn't love it anymore now that he's president? Really? Anyone who thinks that is a moron.; 3/15/10, 1:46 PM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Too bad when he was being cororna...I mean inaugurated, someone should have been whispering this to him"

sic transit gloria mundi; 3/15/10, 1:56 PM
Anonymous said...: sic transit gloria mundi

My High School Latin is pretty rusty, but I'll give it a shot:

Gloria got sick on the metro?

HTH, HAND; 3/15/10, 2:12 PM
Synova said...: Well, other than the subject line quote, the article isn't entirely outrageous.

But maybe it's something to do with the definition of "kick" because it certainly did seem that he, like most politicians (I think it may be a prerequisite) did need the adoration. And of course, his campaign was very much about how the world would be brought together by his presence. How much of that was campaign and projection? During the campaign some of us pointed out his petty cruelty and subsequent charm leading to forgiveness (such as getting a big laugh out of telling a reporter he looked like a kid and after the "I felt humiliated" post O gave the guy a personal call that resulted in a "wow, O is fab" post.) During the campaign some of us wondered if he had any friends. Those speculating on what particular brand of narcissism applied to Obama weren't getting that entirely from the aether.

So "doesn't get a kick out of adoring throngs" seems a bit outrageous. Unless we take "kick" as having an element of humor involved over the whole deal. But the rest seems to be an attempted pro-Obama list of his "adult" attitudes that are actually criticisms ending with what is most certainly true; that we'd like it better if he seemed to enjoy the job just a little bit.

Clinton enjoyed the job... I think Reagan enjoyed the job... Bush H.W. may have enjoyed it, but Carter seemed not to. Bush W. has said frequently in interviews that he loved the job. Who knows what Ford thought of it. And I don't remember Nixon.; 3/15/10, 2:33 PM
Synova said...: "Being President is not about your personal job satisfaction, it is about a greater commitment."

There are any number of jobs that are intrinsically important. But no matter how profound the responsibility of teaching K-5 (for example), a person who doesn't get a whole lot of personal job satisfaction from it shouldn't be doing it. Period.; 3/15/10, 2:36 PM
ricpic said...: ...and I don't remember Nixon.

I hate the young.; 3/15/10, 2:38 PM
Anonymous said...: I still remember one of Allahpundit's headlines after an Obama campaign speech: "Does he even like us?"

The answer, of course, is no. He and Michelle are perpetually dissatisfied that Amerikkka has not lived up to their utopian ideal. That's the baseline for the left. As Sontag said, we have no right to be happy when one person is sad.; 3/15/10, 2:38 PM
Synova said...: "I hate the young."

LOL. I know. And I'm not! I think I'm just old enough to start to realize how little of history I was around for.

I remember Nixon, just not anything about the context of that time and no real impressions of the man. He exists for me like the confusing and terrifying flashes of memory of news reports seen on television about a massacre in Chicago.; 3/15/10, 2:47 PM
Anonymous said...: To anyone who has actually worked a crowd or, more importantly, worked with actors, it was painfully obvious from the start that he was simply reciting lines and waiting for the adulation.

Hang around with actors for a bit. Watch their faces and especially their eyes. You'll soon learn to spot the search and then the dourness when the applause doesn't come.; 3/15/10, 3:53 PM
cassandra lite said...: Most people do not enjoy jobs that they are not good at. We fell in love with an image who turned out to be less than a man.

http://thedeathofcommonsense.latimesmagazine.com/2010/02/the-coolest-guy-in-the-room.html; 3/15/10, 5:49 PM
Nora said...: Does he still have "adoring throngs" ?

And id all these long boring speeches don't make him happy he can as well make less of them.; 3/15/10, 7:34 PM
chickelit said...: Yeah right. Obama dislikes adoring throngs just like Clinton disliked adoring thongs.; 3/15/10, 9:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Oh, Clinton and adoring throngs. Thought he wrote thongs. That is a resounding yes!; 3/16/10, 12:28 AM
kentuckyliz said...: Clinton was obsessed with being licked by individuals.

There, fixed.

Obama is showing us all what it is like for a person when they realize they are Exhibit A for the Peter Principle.; 3/16/10, 6:14 AM
JAL said...: Peano said...
"he's a secure, self-confident adult"

I have serious doubts about that.

I don't have serious doubts about it. Secure self -confident adults are not petty and quick to anger.

wv pulayed
Obama pulayed the American people because all his life some people told him he was great. And he believed them.; 3/16/10, 6:29 PM