Althouse: "You're more liberated to act when you've internalized those low approval ratings."

January 19, 2011

"You're more liberated to act when you've internalized those low approval ratings."

"This is a White House and a president that are in some ways galvanized by a crisis."

(A quote from 2008.)

15 comments:

Scott M said...: They would be extra-liberated if, by law, a president could only serve one term. Something has always struck me as odd that we let out chief executive split his attention between running the country and campaigning. One four-year or one two-year and out. Period.; 1/19/11, 9:24 AM
Known Unknown said...: My thought was always Presidents actually did their best campaigning by being President.; 1/19/11, 9:27 AM
traditionalguy said...: I think Janis Joplin beat them to that profound thought: "When you've got nothing, you've got nothing left to lose". The Big O must feel liberated from pleasing Americans. Now he can simply sell us to China for gobs of the new world currency.; 1/19/11, 9:33 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Yeah, I heard a sports announcer say the Seahawks would play with joyful abandon in Chicago becuase they had nothing to prove anymore.

How did that work out for them?

What this sounds like is a lame duck one termer. Unfortunately, I think Obama will be a very difficult candidate to beat. But he is beatable. We just need a good candidate whose head is out of his or her butt.; 1/19/11, 9:37 AM
Phil 314 said...: quote from the linked piece:

"People ask me, 'Do you ever see any of the ghosts of your predecessors here in the White House?' I said, 'No, I quit drinking.' "
That enduring, frat-boy enthusiasm is exactly the sort of thing that riles his detractors,

How is that quote "frat-boy enthusiasm"?
Gosh, is it impossible for a journalist NOT to use phrases that resonate with the partisans.

In my mind Bush's outlook (as described here) sounded mature. "Frat-boy" is not a term I associate with maturity.; 1/19/11, 9:42 AM
traditionalguy said...: Fred4pres...Remembering that Fred Thompson would not fight that fight, do we need to seek out a candidate who can stand up to the slings and arrows and blood libels and keep on attacking with smart moves? Conservative Politicians going up against the Media gang means a mission into harm's way, and the Karl Rove endorsed RINOs are all too smart to take that risk.; 1/19/11, 9:45 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Unfortunately, I think Obama will be a very difficult candidate to beat.

Possibly. If unemployment drops a few percentage points in the next year or so and the overall economy improves then yes, his opponent will have an uphill battle. If joblessness is where its at now, toss in anticipated $4-5 gallon gas then chances are he'll be getting to spend in more time in Hawaii.; 1/19/11, 9:45 AM
bagoh20 said...: This is true for real leaders, and in most cases a U.S. President will not be allowed to react in the remaining options of panic or anger. This WILL make him better, but that is still a long way from good.

There is really no way to fix a leader with bad ideas, seared in over a lifetime. He needs to go, and be restrained as much as possible until then.

What would be an extremely cool fantasy would be for him to do a complete 180 like many current conservative/libertarians like myself have. To be become a right winger out of learning and experience and go hog wild cutting government. He would become my hero, and possibly the greatest President of all time, which is what we need right now. Then I would love his Kenyan, half-black, arrogant, socialist, Muslim, dirty Chicago politics, unqualified, never had a job, affirmative action, ass . Seriously, I'd have his face tattooed on me, and I hate tattoos.; 1/19/11, 9:46 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: A colleague of mine gloated that Obama's approval ratings are going up while Palin's are plummeting. I agreed and noted that his numbers have improved and perhaps it had something to do with letting us keep more of our money (extending tax cuts), insisting that we get rid of job killing regulations, finally realizing that perhaps murderous Islamic terrorists need to be confined in Gitmo and increasing Predator strikes on terrorist camps reduces the number of terrorists.

It's almost Reganesque.; 1/19/11, 9:50 AM
bagoh20 said...: The right candidate will beat him in 2012, but the contestants don't exist yet. The Republican needs to develop, and Obama will be a different guy this time. He will no longer be inexperienced, unqualified, or unknown. But, he will have a record, that his base will hate, but they ain't gonna go the the other guy. He will still have 95% Black support. He will be tough to beat, but if the economy is still bad, he can be beaten. If it improves at all it will be near impossible. The problem is the independents, who seem to flip flop on the smallest of changes in the narrative.; 1/19/11, 10:00 AM
Amexpat said...: "...think Janis Joplin beat them to that profound thought: 'When you've got nothing, you've got nothing left to lose' ".

It was Dylan who sang "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose" in "Like a Rolling Stone" from 1965.

Joplin sang "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose"
in "Me and Bobby McGee" from 1971.; 1/19/11, 10:06 AM
traditionalguy said...: Sheepman...Thanks. My Dylan cred is ruined now. I should have known that verse full of such wisdom had to come from Dylan.; 1/19/11, 10:09 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: Seriously, I'd have his face tattooed on me, and I hate tattoos.

I have a Rita Hayworth lookalike pinup girl tattooed on my arm so even if Obama became Reagan, I'm running out of arm room.; 1/19/11, 10:11 AM
Unknown said...: The Zero is enjoying a bounce because nothing is really going on in DC. Rasmussen compares a politician's Strongly Approve to his Strongly Disapprove and creates an index from it. The Zero's always goes up over the weekend or if he's on vacation and plummets during the week.

When it's obvious unemployment isn't going down and prices are going up, led by fuel costs, watch his numbers then.; 1/19/11, 10:24 AM
gk1 said...: Not sure where all this confidence obama will be unbeatable if the economy picks up. Obama will find some way to blunder into some side issue like the 9-11 mosque or the Gates affair. He really stinks at politics, it was unthinkable 2 years ago, but its ture. So what he sounds less like a berkeley freak on the economy now. He will step in it again, I'd lay money on that.; 1/19/11, 11:29 PM