Althouse: Obama, referring to the "narrow window" of time when he had 60 votes in the Senate: "after Franken finally got seated and Arlen had flipped, but before Scott Brown won in Massachusetts."

October 28, 2010

Obama, referring to the "narrow window" of time when he had 60 votes in the Senate: "after Franken finally got seated and Arlen had flipped, but before Scott Brown won in Massachusetts."

Arlen had flipped.

66 comments:

Trooper York said...: I thought he flopped.

I mean he didn't get re-elected even though he sold out his party and all of the people who voted for him as a Republican.

Isn't that what you call a flop.; 10/28/10, 4:45 PM
Chase said...: What? He didn't see it coming? Isn't that his job - Chief Administrator? Doesn't he have people in place that can push his agenda with the correct timing?

Is that what Chief Executives do- blame someone else?

How is it the Republican's fault when you control 60 seats?; 10/28/10, 4:45 PM
Trooper York said...: I mean when Benedict Arnold sold us out to the limeys he became a general.

When Wade Boggs signed with the Yankees he won a World Series.

When Brad Prit betrayed Jennifer Aniston he got to bang Angela Jolie.

Who did Arlen get to bang?

Helen Thomas?; 10/28/10, 4:47 PM
Trooper York said...: Or Jeane Garafolo.; 10/28/10, 4:47 PM
Trooper York said...: Maybe Keith Olberman.

Yeah that's the ticket.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.; 10/28/10, 4:48 PM
traditionalguy said...: If the Dems had 70 votes , we would still be Referring to rule #1: If obama is talking, Obama is lying. He only talks when he doesn't have power over a subject as yet. Once he has the power, then he goes off and plays golf.; 10/28/10, 4:49 PM
Chase said...: Sorry - I keep wanting to give Obama the benefit of the doubt. I don't have to agree with his policies, but I can get behind his intelligence and his patriotism and his basic decency. I've commented such numerous time on this blog.

But he keeps stepping in it. When the President of the United States tells one group of American's (hispanics) to oppose another group of Americans that the President describes as "enemies", he's clearly in over his head with what the office requires.

We have a boy in the White House trying to do a man's work.; 10/28/10, 4:55 PM
Chase said...: And here is a Hispanic who resents the President's offensive remarks:

Politicians' Latino strategy: Blame the other guy; 10/28/10, 4:58 PM
BJM said...: AChase

Doesn't he have people in place that can push his agenda with the correct timing?

Wasn't that Rahm's forte?; 10/28/10, 4:58 PM
Once written, twice... said...: While we are on the subject of "flipping and flopping," Ann voted for Obama, who then pursued the agenda that he ran on. Obama ran on universal health care, he did not get everything he wanted and had to compromise. You can say that about most issues that Obama has acted on.

Is Ann now anti-Obama because he did not get done in the first two years everything he ran on? Or, is she anti-Obama because he tried to accomplish the things he promised to pursue during the campaign?

My dear Althouse Hillbillies*, it is neither of the above. Instead, Annie is just playing you. She is throwing you red meat to keep you on her (blog) porch. Enjoy gnawing your Althouse bones! They come cheap!

*Althouse Hillbillies refers to only those dumb conservatives who suffer from poverty of intellect and are easily manipulated by hucksters like Ann Althouse.; 10/28/10, 5:04 PM
Hagar said...: No wonder this guy drives Althouse up the wall!; 10/28/10, 5:08 PM
ndspinelli said...: The prez is just trying to talk like a tough DA, when we know he is of PD stripes.

Ironically, Arlen was a prosecutor in his early years, and I'm sure he did flip a few defendants.; 10/28/10, 5:19 PM
traditionalguy said...: Denver...You don't really believe what you are shoveling here do you? When the Professor gets her red headed blood up like she has today, nothing distracts her mind. And she has about the most intelligent commenters on the internet. So where does that leave you? I suggest you listen and learn.; 10/28/10, 5:39 PM
Once written, twice... said...: Well, I shouldn't say "they come cheap" because, afterall, the good taxpayers of Wisconsin are paying her $160,000.00 a year to keep you guys in bones. That and for her to go on vacation 300 days of the year.; 10/28/10, 5:39 PM
Once written, twice... said...: TradGuy,

In this thread

http://althouse.blogspot.com/2010/10/lets-look-closely-at-what-white-house.html

Ann said that if she were president she would allow DADT to be declared unconstitutional by a lower court and not appeal because it would further her personal policy preference even though she is not sure that DADT is actually unconstitutional.

Annie is not too principled is she?

BTW, when Annie "gets her red headed blood up" she is just going into her fourth rate Glen Beck mode. It gets the Althouse Hillbillies into a frenzy and they post 600 times.; 10/28/10, 5:45 PM
dbp said...: Had Obama's policies been more reasonable, he could have gotten a few "moderate" Republicans to vote for them.

That he feels he needed the magic 60 only proves that he had no intention to be moderate or reach-out to the other side or any of that crap from the campaign.; 10/28/10, 6:02 PM
blake said...: Yes, the problem with the American Republic is ANN ALTHOUSE!

Such power.; 10/28/10, 6:11 PM
Unknown said...: Note that he did nothing when he had it. Incompetence speaks for itself.

Trooper York said...

I mean when Benedict Arnold sold us out to the limeys he became a general.

When Wade Boggs signed with the Yankees he won a World Series.

When Brad Prit betrayed Jennifer Aniston he got to bang Angela Jolie.

Who did Arlen get to bang?

Helen Thomas?

Worse, Michelle.

In re Benedict: Arnold was already a general. All he got was that stupid T-shirt.

Well, he did do Peggy.

Denver said...

...

*Althouse Hillbillies refers to only those dumb conservatives who suffer from poverty of intellect and are easily manipulated by hucksters like Ann Althouse.

The only poverty of intellect is on the part of the Lefties so eager to be manipulated by the Chicago Medicine Show.; 10/28/10, 6:17 PM
Blue@9 said...: That's just sad. Most Presidents in the past would have been dancing in the streets with 59 seats in the Senate. 60 Seats? Insanity! Oh, but it was only for seven months! Poor, poor President Obama, if only the universe were fair!; 10/28/10, 6:25 PM
DaveW said...: Ann said that if she were president she would allow DADT to be declared unconstitutional by a lower court and not appeal because it would further her personal policy preference even though she is not sure that DADT is actually unconstitutional.

I don't know why I let myself get suckered into this, but I just went back and read it and that's not what she said.; 10/28/10, 6:38 PM
Once written, twice... said...: Yes it is what she said. Did she not say that if she was prez she would not appeal? Did she not say that she does not know if DADT is unconstitutional?; 10/28/10, 6:47 PM
MadisonMan said...: Arlen had flipped out.; 10/28/10, 7:20 PM
Hagar said...: On most issues you would have better luck getting a straight answer from Slick Willie than this guy, but he is thin-skinned and gets careless when his pride is pricked, which you can tell in several places if you read the whole transcript.

And what's up with him saying Larry Summers "did a heckuva job!" on the Jon Stewart show?

Why go on there to start with? Jon Stewart is not exactly politically reliable and might have let go with more than what he did.; 10/28/10, 7:41 PM
former law student said...: What did GWB accomplish in eight years besides tax cuts and the Iraq invasion?; 10/28/10, 7:42 PM
Big Mike said...: @Chase, I have a pretty good recollection of what it was like demonstrating for civil rights in the 60's.

Please don't use "boy" to refer to a Black adult male.

Thank you.; 10/28/10, 7:59 PM
Big Mike said...: Obama would not have needed to compromise very far to pick up the votes of Collins, Snowe, or even Graham. But neither he nor Reid, and absolutely not Pelosi, have any concept of the word "compromise."; 10/28/10, 8:02 PM
MadisonMan said...: What did GWB accomplish in eight years besides tax cuts and the Iraq invasion?

NCLB! There's a bonny piece of legislation!; 10/28/10, 8:10 PM
gk1 said...: Whats amazing about this statement is if he thought things were rough now wait till next week. This pussy isn't cut out for this job. He should just quit now and save us the agony of this hamlet bullshit for the next 2 years.; 10/28/10, 8:28 PM
former law student said...: This pussy isn't cut out for this job. He should just quit now and save us the agony of this hamlet bullshit for the next 2 years.

Yeah, he could be posting on Facebook right now. Making speeches for $100K a throw, spending more time with the kids, shooting the odd caribou now and then -- Paradise.; 10/28/10, 8:37 PM
Mark said...: "Yeah, he could be posting on Facebook right now. Making speeches for $100K a throw, spending more time with the kids, shooting the odd caribou now and then -- Paradise."

Replace "shooting caribou" with "playing 18" and "posting on Facebook" with "pre-empting prime-time TV" that's pretty much what Obama IS doing. (She-who-will-remain-nameless seems to be a bit more effective with the money she's raking in, but then again, she's a proud capitalist.); 10/28/10, 8:48 PM
The Drill SGT said...: woe is me says Obama, I had only had 60 votes part of the time. The rest of the time, I was sooo left I oould neither hold the Dems together nor pick up a Maine RINO

woe is me

so much for changing the tone; 10/28/10, 8:55 PM
Unknown said...: former law student said...

What did GWB accomplish in eight years besides tax cuts and the Iraq invasion?

Tax cuts and turning a lot of Tangos into good Tangos works for me.; 10/28/10, 9:10 PM
Big Mike said...: @Drill SGT, "woe is me" is a definite change in tone -- despite all of the calumny he had to deal with, I don't remember George W. Bush complaining. Do you?; 10/28/10, 9:46 PM
Unknown said...: Big Mike said...

@Drill SGT, "woe is me" is a definite change in tone -- despite all of the calumny he had to deal with, I don't remember George W. Bush complaining. Do you?

Texicans never complain. That "Victory Or Death" thing.; 10/28/10, 9:57 PM
AST said...: Too bad for them that Meek won't take a dive, to reward Crist for flipping.

Chase: I can get behind his intelligence and his patriotism and his basic decency. I've commented such numerous time on this blog.

Have you read Rules for Radicals? Obama used to lecture on Alinsky. Read just part of that book and you won't believe in his basic decency anymore. As for his intelligence, I think you're confusing good rhetorical delivery with intelligence. He's not as bright his fans keep telling us.

Rhetoric is not the same thing as truth or even intelligence: [Quote]The declining years of ancient civilization were beset by a feverish preoccupation with rhetoric which suggests nothing so much as a hopeless alcoholic's devotion to the bottle. Everywhere the ancients give us to understand that rhetoric is their poison, that it is ruining their capacity to work and think, that it disgusts and wearies them, and that they cannot let it alone, because it pays too well and, having destroyed everything else, it is all they have left of remembered grandeur. It should be immediately apparent that this arresting phenomenon may have more than an academic interest for our own age; nevertheless, from this point on the reader, if there be such, must draw all his own parallels and conclusions. Our bemused and saddened gaze is directed to the ancient scene alone.[endquote] Hugh W. Nibley, Victoriosa Loquacitas: The Rise of Rhetoric and the Decline of Everything Else; 10/28/10, 10:07 PM
gk1 said...: Reading the whole piece I was thinking wow, its rough to have an actual job that requires results, isn't it Barack? Well sweetie its gonna get a lot rougher next week.
He's already lining up his excuses for failure already.; 10/28/10, 10:21 PM
Methadras said...: President Ekrle is not black. He just walks around saying, "Oh, did I do that?"; 10/28/10, 11:27 PM
former law student said...: Have you read Rules for Radicals? Obama used to lecture on Alinsky. Read just part of that book and you won't believe in his basic decency anymore.

Alinsky gave the have-nots practical tips how to accomplish their most important goals. What is not decent about that? Did not Jesus promise that the meek would inherit the earth?; 10/29/10, 12:13 AM
blake said...: Aw, really, FLS?; 10/29/10, 1:41 AM
Methadras said...: former law student said...

Have you read Rules for Radicals? Obama used to lecture on Alinsky. Read just part of that book and you won't believe in his basic decency anymore.

Alinsky gave the have-nots practical tips how to accomplish their most important goals. What is not decent about that? Did not Jesus promise that the meek would inherit the earth?

Do you just say stupid shit like this to come off looking like you actually know something? You need to get off that train, Chuck.; 10/29/10, 4:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Obama ran on universal health care,

You can't provide the slightest bit of evidence for this.; 10/29/10, 5:32 AM
Anonymous said...: former law student said...

What did GWB accomplish in eight years besides tax cuts and the Iraq invasion?

Hysterical!

Oh how far we've fallen!

You're now comparing your sort of a God President to that (dummy!) Bush.

You people are a silly joke.; 10/29/10, 5:35 AM
Anonymous said...: Obama, who then pursued the agenda that he ran on

Yes, please genius show us one news article where Obama "ran on" a single payer health care mandate, bailing out auto companies, and a 1.3 trillion dollar federal debt.

I dare you. Clown.; 10/29/10, 5:36 AM
tree hugging sister said...: Why do I suddenly fell compelled to shriek the Dread Pirate Roberts, "Life isn't fair, PRINCESS" line...?

This president person engenders the oddest reactions to his peculiar assertions.; 10/29/10, 7:11 AM
Hagar said...: There were more clips from his Jon Stewart appearance on TV last night. and it just got worse. Even with Stewart being as gentle as he could, Obama just was not up to it, and the audience - a Stewart audience - wound up laughing at him rather than with him.; 10/29/10, 8:13 AM
Robert Cook said...: "And she has about the most intelligent commenters on the internet."

What the blurg??!!!! This lot?! OMFG!

Hahahahahahaha! It is to laugh!; 10/29/10, 8:29 AM
Original Mike said...: As other's have noted, this just gives lie to his claim that he was willing to compromise. I seriously doubt he understands the concept.; 10/29/10, 8:32 AM
Robert Cook said...: "What did GWB accomplish in eight years besides tax cuts and the Iraq invasion?"

Don't forget institutionalization of torture and warrantless wiretapping as SOP, the mass murder of Iraqi and Afghani citizens, the erasure of habeas corpus, the shitting upon of our civil liberties. Bush wasn't such a lazy asshat as he appeared.; 10/29/10, 8:35 AM
Original Mike said...: Obama ran on universal health care.

WTF???; 10/29/10, 8:38 AM
former law student said...: Do you just say stupid shit like this to come off looking like you actually know something?

I am handicapped by knowing something of Alinsky's life and work -- I cannot in good conscience make vague slurs about that saintly man.; 10/29/10, 9:23 AM
Big Mike said...: I assume you're just trying to stick a finger in everybody's eye, FLS? Surely no one intelligent actually believes that Saul Alinsky was anything other than a raw, stinking turd.; 10/29/10, 9:46 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: And she has about the most intelligent commenters on the internet."

What the blurg??!!!! This lot?! OMFG!

Hahahahahahaha! It is to laugh!

Good thing you're not a commenter on this blog eh Robert?

Are all leftists devoid of any sense of irony?; 10/29/10, 9:55 AM
Christopher in MA said...: ". . .institutionalization of torture and warrantless wiretapping and [standard parlor Bolshie vomitus]. Bush wasn't such a lazy asshat as he appeared."

For once I'm going to agree with you, Cook. Because the fact that he allowed traitors like you and half the Democrat leadership to walk the streets unhung for 8 years is enough for me to damn him as an asshat, too.; 10/29/10, 10:21 AM
former law student said...: Surely no one intelligent actually believes that Saul Alinsky was anything other than a raw, stinking turd.

The Catholic philosopher and Thomist, Jacques Maritain, was highly impressed with Saul Alinsky, maintaining a regulat correspondence with Saul, and even introduced him to the future Pope Paul VI.; 10/29/10, 10:22 AM
Robert Cook said...: Hoosier,

I really shouldn't have to explain, but some people just aren't very discerning: I may comment here, but I don't consider myself as belonging to the cohort of Althouse commenters, as being of you who make up the general population here who Trad Guy was referring to.; 10/29/10, 10:42 AM
Big Mike said...: Multiple sources seem to agree with this summary of Maritain's philosophy: Among the dominant themes in [Maritain's] work are: that science, philosophy, poetry, and mysticism are among many legitimate ways of knowing reality; that the individual person transcends the political community; that natural law expresses not only what is natural in the world but also what is known naturally by human beings; that moral philosophy must take into account other branches of human knowledge; and that people holding different beliefs must cooperate in the formation and maintenance of salutary political institutions.

[emphasis mine]

I find these reasonable statements, particularly the last, difficult to reconcile with the likes of Saul Alinsky, or recent Democrat. My impression of modern liberals is that one either agrees with you in toto, or one is to be run over. Yes, I include you in this assessment judging from your comments on Althouse blog posts. The notion that the other side might have some useful insights is as foreign to you as Urdu.; 10/29/10, 10:53 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: I really shouldn't have to explain, but some people just aren't very discerning:
I may comment here, but I don't consider myself as belonging to the cohort of Althouse commenters, as being of you who make up the general population here who Trad Guy was referring to.

Oh I see, so you're a regular commenter here but you have conveniently placed yourself outside of the cohort of commenters who make up the general population.

Thanks for clearing that up.; 10/29/10, 11:03 AM
Hagar said...: As Dirty harry said at the end of "Magnum Force": "A man has got to know his limitations!"
I don't think Obama does, since he has always been carried through life by others, but now they can no longer do so. In the White House he must sink or swim on his own, and his personal performance so far at best looks like dog paddling.; 10/29/10, 11:12 AM
blake said...: Hoosier--

Disparaging comments, like taxes, regulations, ethics and standards are for the little people.; 10/29/10, 11:17 AM
former law student said...: Robert Cook, paraphrased: "I ain't no Althouse Hillbilly™"; 10/29/10, 12:34 PM
Robert Cook said...: FLS:

Or, put another way, most of the regular commenters here are delusional, living in a Fox News- , Tea Party- . and/or Ayn Rand-defined landscape that has little resemblance to reality.

By definition, operating from faulty premises and with faulty data, there can be no useful--read, "intelligent"--output.; 10/29/10, 1:07 PM
blake said...: Or, put another way, most of the regular commenters here are delusional, living in a Fox News- , Tea Party- . and/or Ayn Rand-defined landscape that has little resemblance to reality.

And is there any chance of the election changing your mind about that?

wv: flamst; 10/29/10, 1:54 PM
Blue@9 said...: Don't forget institutionalization of torture and warrantless wiretapping as SOP, the mass murder of Iraqi and Afghani citizens, the erasure of habeas corpus, the shitting upon of our civil liberties.

Are you describing Bush or Obama here?; 10/29/10, 5:07 PM
Robert Cook said...: "Are you describing Bush or Obama here?"

Both.; 10/29/10, 8:50 PM
Robert Cook said...: "And is there any chance of the election changing your mind about that?"

No. How would it?

Many Americans are delusional or ignorant (or both) to varying degrees, and I recognize it's very possible this delusion and ignorance may be manifested in imminent electoral results. As it usually has in the past.

Delusion and ignorance manifested in the actions of people is the norm, not an unlikelihood and not a validation of the delusion and ignorance as discernment and acumen.; 10/29/10, 9:01 PM
Fen said...: Robert Cook: Many Americans are delusional or ignorant (or both) to varying degrees, and I recognize -

Whats funny is that you don't recognize your own level of delusion and ignorance, while proudly thumping your chest about how much more enlightened you surely must be.

Its classic Libtard.; 10/31/10, 7:27 AM