Althouse: "I like the president personally. We get along well. But the president isn’t leading."

April 6, 2011

"I like the president personally. We get along well. But the president isn’t leading."

"He didn’t lead on last year’s budget, and he clearly isn’t leading on this year’s budget."

Said House Speaker John Boehner today. Later, he met with the President and Harry Reid at the White House, and, per Boehner, "We made some progress... But I want to reiterate there’s no agreement."

(NYT link.)

36 comments:

Andrew said...: My understanding of the issue is that the democrats had a chance to pass something when they held control, but punted it to the republicans (right??) so this string of problems is not really surprising...

what I'd like to see come out of all this is real debate about what the role of government should be. So far all I've really heard has been a bunch of people calling the conservatives "evil" for wanting to cut government programs.; 4/6/11, 10:16 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Ha ha ha.

He's name calling. Apparently that's what leaders do.

That guy is great fun.; 4/6/11, 10:18 PM
Chase said...: But the president isn’t leading.

But the president isn’t leading.

But the president isn’t leading.

But the president isn’t leading.

Let it sink in. Because it's the truth. The Real Sad Truth. The future of this great land - whether it will again thrive or fully and fatally decline - is now completely in the hands of the people in Washington right now. It's that stark. It's that serious.

But the president isn’t leading.

But the president isn’t leading.

But the president isn’t leading.; 4/6/11, 10:21 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: The President is not a leader. He is a flip flopper.; 4/6/11, 10:23 PM
Sprezzatura said...: "It's that stark. It's that serious."

Oh please....you didn't even add an exclamation point, never mind all caps.

Exclamation points and caps are used when it's really serious.

[Although the repetition was not a bad ploy. But, caps and exclamation points would really punch it up.]; 4/6/11, 10:26 PM
Chase said...: Thanks pbANDj.

I have read your posts here for a while.

I don't think you really give a shit about the future of America as long as you personally get to do whatever you damn well please.

Am I wrong?; 4/6/11, 10:32 PM
Sprezzatura said...: You're wrong.

I just don't think the current doomsday folks really know what suffering is.

Our country has overcome many orders of magnitude more difficult challenges, w/ many orders of magnitude less greatness to draw on.

So, you pity party folks amuse me. [But, I'm also pleased that we have so many Chicken Littles. It keeps us on our toes.]; 4/6/11, 10:41 PM
Brent said...: Our country has overcome many orders of magnitude more difficult challenges, w/ many orders of magnitude less greatness to draw on.

Amen. Glad to hear you're a Reagan fan.

Optimism is great - but it can make the mistke of thinking something strong will always be that way with out vigilance or determined assistance. Every other society in human history has gone the way of the ashheap. If you think that can't happen here in a short time, then, well, you are not a serious person - a mature person, an active citizen.

That's okay. my son is in the Marine Corps so people like you can play away. Sleep well pbANDj. Just stay out of the way of the grownups.; 4/6/11, 10:54 PM
traditionalguy said...: Obama is leading us into Socialism powered by windmills. He explained it to Joe the Plumber. Everything good and powerful in the USA will be forbidden so that Obama can rebuild North America into a depopulated nature preserve restored as it was 400 years ago.; 4/6/11, 11:08 PM
Sprezzatura said...: Brent,

Reagan?

Really, that eight year period is the best example of our nation beating the odds, overcoming adversity, and creating greatness out of little more than grit and determination?

Sheesh.

P.S.

God bless your son.; 4/6/11, 11:12 PM
AST said...: At least Boehner didn't call the Dems "hostage takers."; 4/6/11, 11:46 PM
Alex said...: pb&j - so $1.5 trillion deficits are no problemo?; 4/7/11, 1:34 AM
Almost Ali said...: The President is not a leader. He is a flip flopper.

Actually, he's a jive turkey, no more, no less.

And if John Boehner had any street sense - he'd meet Obama on the corner of 'K' Street, not in the White House.

Which explains why Boehner won't last through summer as Speaker, such is the narrowness of his stunted perception. Such is the thickness of his cerebral cortex.; 4/7/11, 1:41 AM
Revenant said...: If Obama would like to refrain from leading for the next year and and half, I'm cool with that.

I did like the AP news article yesterday that stated Obama was "impatient" with the lack of progress, though. That was just special.; 4/7/11, 3:02 AM
Toad Trend said...: "Mr. Reid accused Republicans of seeking a “shortcut around doing our jobs..."

This statement is telling.

Mr Reid cynically playing the role of 'do your job' guy is relatable to anyone working under an overbearing manager. Its the same thing as hearing 'figure it out' from a manager thats in over his head.

Reid, a man beholden to so many for his position, is paralyzed in the sense that he must continue to support out of control spending.

His words are the words of a man in a box. And men in boxes like other men in boxes.; 4/7/11, 5:19 AM
Toad Trend said...: @pbj

"So, you pity party folks amuse me. [But, I'm also pleased that we have so many Chicken Littles. It keeps us on our toes.]"

So glad you are 'amused'. It appears your dem overlords are also. After all, it is a 'game' to you.

And while you joke and make light of real peril in the form of economic paralysis and debt, others are trying to put out the fire.

Suggestion: come to your senses. How do you know if you are not seeing things clearly? Ask yourself this question - if I ran my affairs the way government does (profligate spending, more and more borrowing to service your debt, and the taxation 'needed' to keep your game going), how long would my household last before my 'house of cards' came tumbling down?

If you deny certain realities, eventually you will be bitchslapped back to lucidity. It happens to everyone. Even a silly 'hopey-changey' liberal.; 4/7/11, 5:35 AM
Unknown said...: Karl Rove seems to think Little Zero wants a shutdown because it will burnish his leader cred the way it did Willie in '95.

If so, Zero seems to be in for an awakening similar to the one where he was promised an easy victory in Libya.

pbAndj said...

You're wrong.

I just don't think the current doomsday folks really know what suffering is.

Of course, only Lefties understand and empathize with the real suffering that the people go through, so they want things bad enough the Conservatives, Libertarians, Republicans, and Tea Partiers have to go through it, too.

The idea that they might also be on the receiving end seems to never enter their little baby minds.; 4/7/11, 6:05 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: pb&j - so $1.5 trillion deficits are no problemo?

Shouldn't be. Fact of the matter is, there is plenty of money out there that the Federal government can easily access. It wont turn into a crisis because the Feds won't let it become one. Revert back to Clinton era tax rates, slash defense by 50% and institute a 5-10% VAT and no more deficit.

That or some varied combination thereof is going to happen before we go under because the money is there, they just haven't decided to confiscate it yet. And if you think they won't, think again.; 4/7/11, 7:44 AM
KCFleming said...: "But the president isn’t leading."

"I don't care, Obama is awesome."; 4/7/11, 7:44 AM
Anonymous said...: "I like the president personally. We get along well. But the president isn’t leading."

Come on! Wha'd do you want? He's 'present'.; 4/7/11, 7:47 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: And there isn't going to be any spending cuts. None. Oh maybe a cut here or there in one dept. or other but the overall budget will increase because it always has.

Thats why Ryan's Medicare gambit won't go anywhere because they will simply raise the Medicare tax before they cut away those vital benefits. Same with Social Security. The taxpayer can scream all they want but the AARP screams louder and there are going to be a whole lot more of them than angry taxpayers.; 4/7/11, 7:48 AM
John henry said...: So here we are more than halfway through the 2011 fiscal year and still do not have a federal budget for THIS year, forget about the year starting in Oct 2011.

What were the Demmies doing all 2010 when they had a majority?

It is good to know that Obama is meeting personally with Speaker Boehner about this. I am sure serious discussions will get this resloved.

On the other hand, how serious a meeting can they have in 3 minutes.

Yup. 3 minutes. That is all the time the Prez had for the Speaker.

John Henry; 4/7/11, 7:59 AM
Hoosier Daddy said...: On the other hand, how serious a meeting can they have in 3 minutes.

How long does it take for a game of paper, rock, scissors?

I'm tired of this whole charade. They can't find $100 billion to cut from a $3 trillion budget and such a cut is considered draconian? All of them are a joke.; 4/7/11, 8:08 AM
Joaquin said...: He's not leading!
Wow! Really? And why would anyone really think that he was going to be any different than what he is?
Zero experience
Zero track record
Zero accomplishments
Yet you expecteded leadership out of him!
COME ON, MAN!; 4/7/11, 8:10 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Travel, golf, someone else pumps his gas. Who cares about a silly budget? Spend money and tax!; 4/7/11, 8:22 AM
Ricardo said...: Half of the nation refuses ... absolutely refuses ... to do anything the President recommends. And then they whine that the President isn't leading. It isn't that the President isn't leading, it's that YOU aren't following.

Off subject (or maybe not). The replay of Ken Burns' The Civil War this week on PBS is a stark reminder that nothing has really changed in the last 150 years, concerning the hostility that Americans have toward each other over political and social issues.; 4/7/11, 8:44 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: In my opinion, Obama not being a leader isn't a bug, it's a feature. Imagine the additional damage he could do if he actually was a leader.; 4/7/11, 8:54 AM
New York said...: Obama can't lead on anything now because he is focused on 2012. If he were to lead on the budget, or on Libya, he would risk upsetting people or looking ineffectual. His approval rating is as high as it is because he makes sure all that people have to go on is his persona.; 4/7/11, 9:10 AM
Almost Ali said...: I think Obama should spend the rest of his term looking for his so-called Hawaiian birth certificate.; 4/7/11, 9:21 AM
Almost Ali said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/7/11, 9:36 AM
Phil 314 said...: Like Lauren about to sing "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman", Dems, Reps and BO all know we've heard this song before and each is hoping to sound as good as Aretha (or even Carol King) but not come off like Celine Dion; 4/7/11, 10:23 AM
Phil 314 said...: and not sound creepy like Rod Stewart; 4/7/11, 10:36 AM
Original Mike said...: "[T]he President isn't leading. He didn’t lead on last year’s budget, and he clearly isn’t leading on this year’s budget."

He didn't lead on ObamaCare, either. Our President is a pussy. Why did he even want the job?; 4/7/11, 11:14 AM
Revenant said...: And then they whine that the President isn't leading. It isn't that the President isn't leading, it's that YOU aren't following.

Um, Rick -- if people don't want to follow you, that means you're not a good leader.

Your mindset assumes that leadership is a right, and following is an obligation. That's true in many countries, but not here.; 4/7/11, 2:13 PM
Robin said...: Last year, the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate and the White House but could not pass a FY2011 budget.

None.

We are now halfway through FY2011 and the Democrats offer nothing to redeem their failure but obstructionism.; 4/7/11, 10:04 PM
Robin said...: Revert back to Clinton era tax rates, slash defense by 50% and institute a 5-10% VAT and no more deficit.

It is nothing short of astonishing, Hoosier, that you would believe that such a silly proposal would make you look sophisticated. What you propose would create a depression in this country that would make the '30's look like a paradise.

And you are too clueless about economics to even realize how silly your numbers are.; 4/7/11, 10:07 PM