Althouse: "On College Campuses, Obama's Not Cool Anymore."

June 7, 2011

"On College Campuses, Obama's Not Cool Anymore."

The Atlantic asserts.

85 comments:

AFG said...: Pretty sure he will look cool again when standing next to a guy like Mitt Romney. Don't underestimate (I don't think althouse does) candidate Obama in 2012. He's gonna mop the floor with these dorks.; 6/7/11, 4:22 PM
Scott M said...: My son is a junion in college (ugh) and has a serious girlfriend he plans to marry (double ugh) and have little kids with (triple dog dare ugh).

In his circle of friends, most voted for President Obama when he was just candidate Obama. Having spent a lot of time with them, both on campus and home visits, the Atlantic article parallels what I've noticed. To make matters worse for the President, my son's girlfriend hails from a purely Democrat family. She recently told me that neither of her parents plan on voting for him again.; 6/7/11, 4:24 PM
Scott M said...: JUNIOR in college. I'm not quite sure what a junion is.; 6/7/11, 4:24 PM
edutcher said...: Not being able to get a job has a way of inserting a lot of nasty reality into all those youthful, idealistic fantasies.; 6/7/11, 4:25 PM
chickelit said...: AFG said: He's gonna mop the floor with these dorks.

Because...everyone likes to feel like a tool?

Maybe college kids are wisening up to what his policies and ideology really mean.; 6/7/11, 4:25 PM
SunnyJ said...: My daughter just completed her freshman year at a private college, with very liberal liberal arts temperment. She has mentioned (and she's certainly not a hyperactive leaning political being) that she always thought it was so dumb how everyone was all about Obama and didn't have a clue what they were talking about in the past...and lately, she's seen and heard a great deal of dissatisfaction and right leaning conservative talking. She noted the video showing the survey where students are asked to "share the wealth" of their GPA and were adamantly against that was viral on campus. I found that very interesting in my one person, case study kind of way. Perhaps AFG needs to get a little closer to the demographic we're talking about...just sayin'; 6/7/11, 4:28 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm getting old enough to realize that the only people who can definitively say what's "cool" with young people is...young people.; 6/7/11, 4:29 PM
mccullough said...: Anyone who thought Obama was cool was disabused of that when he threw out the first pitch in the 2009 All-Star game wearing his wife's jeans.; 6/7/11, 4:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Maybe not.

But the boomers still have them each safely locked into the payment stalls, and they are being harvested for their current and future earning power as we speak.; 6/7/11, 4:33 PM
traditionalguy said...: This is no surprise. The one group being sacrificed by Obamanomics to an early life of serfdom at McDonalds is the college graduates with student loans.; 6/7/11, 4:34 PM
avwh said...: "Not being able to get a job has a way of inserting a lot of nasty reality into all those youthful, idealistic fantasies."

Bingo!

Unrealized hopes and negative change ("he made it worse") have a way of doing that, as well.; 6/7/11, 4:34 PM
MarkD said...: Out of hope and he's taken a bit more than their change. Who says our kids can't learn?

It's too bad that some lessons are so expensive.; 6/7/11, 4:41 PM
AllenS said...: I see a generation that will have to grow up very fast. Very fast to the reality of life. There is no where, in a phrase of hope and change.

However, this current deficit/debt that we are running will surely ruin most of these young peoples asperations.

I feel sorry for them, but, that's life. In fact, they are lucky that they don't have to worry about getting drafted. I didn't vote for this affirmation action couple that is currently living in the White House, so you reap what you sow.; 6/7/11, 4:43 PM
Curious George said...: College students graduate and move into the real world. Unlike their professors who remain in their kollective fantasy land..; 6/7/11, 4:45 PM
Sal said...: "President Obama poll numbers are nearing the levels he enjoyed in 2008..."

So which is it? Is he polling well or is he tanking? Guess it depends who you ask.; 6/7/11, 4:47 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Not being able to get a job has a way of inserting a lot of nasty reality into all those youthful, idealistic fantasies.

I have more than once chuckled at the reality that the generation most hurt by Obama's Presidency is the one that supported him the most strongly - the youngest voters. A record number of them are unemployed, and they are the ones who will pay off his trillions in additional debt, for ObamaCare, and for the Democrats' refusal to address Social Security and Medicare issues (except through ObamaCare rationing and price controls).

That said, whenever I bring this up to my kid, said kid doesn't want to hear it. So, not all college kids have lost their desire for CHope (Hope and Change).

On the other hand, his campaign had better come up with something better than "Winning The Future" (WTF). WTF is in their daily jargon, at least if they go to college, and to them, it doesn't mean Obama's campaign. At least not yet. Having the definition they understand tied to his campaign will make it especially uncool.; 6/7/11, 4:54 PM
garage mahal said...: Pretty sure he will look cool again when standing next to a guy like Mitt Romney.

Who let the dogs out

Who. Who.; 6/7/11, 4:55 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: Adding insult to injury for youngest voters: Senate Confirms Former RIAA Lawyer for Solicitor General. This is the guy who took the lead in shutting down Grokster. And he is now Obama's lead attorney in the Supreme Court, as well as being #2 or #3 in the Justice Department.; 6/7/11, 5:01 PM
mariner said...: MarkG,
So which is it? Is he polling well or is he tanking? Guess it depends who you ask.

No, it depends on whose writing the narrative.

That would be the Democrat Party PsyOps Community, known more generally as the mainstream media.; 6/7/11, 5:04 PM
Michael K said...: My daughter was at U of Arizona in 2008. There was Obama campaign stuff all over the campus. They even had big plasma TVs showing his ads right on campus. The president of the university gave him a tongue bath when he appeared in Tucson after the Gifford shooting.

She got disgusted with the left wing stuff in her classes and dropped out. She then went to community college to get her basic requirements and is now going back to finish. The stuff she was getting as a freshman wasn't worth $25,000 a year.

These kids have really been indoctrinated in the colleges. It will be interesting to see if they have figured it out like my daughter has.; 6/7/11, 5:08 PM
ricpic said...: Obama was always a vicious arrogant punk. But the young are so stupid that whatever's in the air as cool is accepted as cool. Who care's what youth "thinks?" To quote Celine: Youth is futility.; 6/7/11, 5:23 PM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: I think Mitt Romney is much cooler than Obama. Unlike Obama, Mitt knows a little something about ecconomics.; 6/7/11, 5:24 PM
Anonymous said...: These kids today. What's the matter with them? Don't they know that Obama is "sort of God"? Don't they read Evan Thomas?; 6/7/11, 5:24 PM
Anonymous said...: Don't underestimate (I don't think althouse does) candidate Obama in 2012.

Will he run on hope and change? He certainly can't run on his record.; 6/7/11, 5:28 PM
Cincinnatus said...: Probably they've figured out that they are not going to have much job prospects when they graduate.

If they are sober enough to think that far.

Oh, and breaking every single campaign promise might be sinking in.; 6/7/11, 5:30 PM
ricpic said...: A junion is the union of june bugs spiraling upwards in the ambient air. Everyone knows that. ;^); 6/7/11, 5:31 PM
SPImmortal said...: ""President Obama poll numbers are nearing the levels he enjoyed in 2008..."

So which is it? Is he polling well or is he tanking? Guess it depends who you ask."

Dude's already polling behind the less than stellar Mitt Romney.

He's sinking; 6/7/11, 5:39 PM
Carol_Herman said...: One of the worst things you can do is disappoint a kid at Christmas.

The next stupidest thing would be to expect college kids to like ya; when they're the ones worst hit by unemployment.

That Obama's ratings have fallen into the toilet? God works in strange ways.

Even if Obama goes "all nice" to Bibi Netanyahu, it won't matter.; 6/7/11, 5:54 PM
Sal said...: Obama loses all of the people who wanted to feel good about themselves for voting for a black guy. There were a lot of those, but they've been there and done that.; 6/7/11, 5:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Obama loses all of the people who wanted to feel good about themselves for voting for a black guy.

I have said this, in a much gentler way. I think it will have a huge impact on the election. Not because people are racist. But because the wave of cultural euphoria that the nation felt at electing a (half) African-American cannot be repeated. Our sins have already been washed away.

If only Obama had been competent, the story would have had a better ending.; 6/7/11, 6:00 PM
Carol_Herman said...: In 2012, I see a 3 way race.

And, in 2008, it helped Obama that McCain was such a doofus.; 6/7/11, 6:01 PM
AllenS said...: Tomorrow, in the forenoon. I have a good friend, who is a school teacher, is coming out to my place to borrow my tiller. When he brings it back, beer drinking will take place. I won't make him feel uncomfortable, but I'll have to ask some questions.

He was a big Obama supporter. Whatever answers he gives, he'll always be my friend.; 6/7/11, 6:02 PM
Anonymous said...: "She recently told me that neither of her parents plan on voting for him again."

They won't get the chance.

Barack Obama is not going to be the Democrat Party nominee in 2012.

Hillary Clinton is.; 6/7/11, 6:13 PM
Anonymous said...: "Obama loses all of the people who wanted to feel good about themselves for voting for a black guy. There were a lot of those, but they've been there and done that."

And they can look around and see for themselves what happens when you do that.

Some lessons have to be relearned by each successive generation.

This generation has learned their lesson about what they did and that will accrue to the benefit of Republicans for a lifetime.; 6/7/11, 6:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Some lessons have to be relearned by each successive generation.

When did the previous generation learn about voting for the failed president who is African-American? Was it Johnson?

Also, tell us the one again about how Weiner isn't just stupid and foolish, but also an insane sociopath. I love that one.; 6/7/11, 6:19 PM
ricpic said...: Well, I'm sure that Dem Party bigwigs would prefer the nominee be Hillary. But #1) Obama is arrogant, supremely so, and #2) without a large 98.6% Democrat turnout by blacks the Dems are dead. It's gonna be Barry.; 6/7/11, 6:20 PM
Anonymous said...: "Will he run on hope and change? He certainly can't run on his record."

Obama's campaign will be focused in two areas:

1) Blaming Republicans for obstructing change

2) Blaming Republicans for the Depression and telling voters he needs 4 more years to undo the damage.

He will not run on his record. Or on hope, or change.

It won't work, but there is no other strategy he can employ.

Republicans will just run. The smartest thing the Republican candidate can say is: "Are you better off than you were 4 years ago, or do you think we need new leadership."

Say that over and over and over and over.

"Obama is a nice fellow and he was given his chance to lead and he failed. It's time for new leadership."

Game over.

The only way Obama can win is if Republicans nominate Romney because he's essentially the same as Obama. People will stick with what they know if the two parties have virtually identical candidates, plus Romney is a member of a weird cult and that turns off middle America.

Romney and Harry Reid are members of the same secret cultish society. Remember that.; 6/7/11, 6:22 PM
ricpic said...: The Republican candidate, whoever he/she is, needs a good short sound-bight to repeat endlessly during the campaign.

I offer up, gratis:

He Made Things Worse.; 6/7/11, 6:30 PM
mccullough said...: Nevadabob,

Mormons are good family people, have jobs, and don't blow shit up.

I'm happy to support a cult like that.; 6/7/11, 6:30 PM
ricpic said...: Have mercy on Barry, he's still digging out of the hole that dastardly Bush put us in.; 6/7/11, 6:35 PM
ricpic said...: Salt Lake City's probably the only big city left in the country where you could leave your door unlocked permanently with no consequences. Well, most neighborhoods.; 6/7/11, 6:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Nevadabob- "Barack Obama is not going to be the Democrat Party nominee in 2012.

Hillary Clinton is."

If this happens I see the 9 out of 10 blacks that voted for and are happy with, Obama, staying home and sitting on their hands.

Obama would have to bow out on his own, he will not do that.; 6/7/11, 6:51 PM
Chef Mojo said...: Totally off topic. Or is it?

@Garage Mahal:

Judge Reverses Decision; Will Now Allow James O’Keefe To Attend Conservative Conference In California

Suck it, Garage...; 6/7/11, 6:54 PM
Anonymous said...: "If this happens I see the 9 out of 10 blacks that voted for and are happy with, Obama, staying home and sitting on their hands."

If they do that, then they won't get their $10.00.

Oh, they'll show up. They'll show up. Blacks have never sat out any election ... even when only whites were on the ballot.

They need the money.

Hell, 40% of black men are unemployed completely or having to take part-time jobs that they can't support a family on in Barack Obama's vision of America.

Hillary offers hope, and change and is a Democrat who could actually win.; 6/7/11, 7:08 PM
garage mahal said...: I have a very good lawyer named Michael Maddigan

Pulitzer!

Nice catch there Cheffy. He;s all yours.; 6/7/11, 7:10 PM
Anonymous said...: "Mormons are good family people, have jobs, and don't blow shit up."

Mormons are people like Democrat Harry Reid.

Republicans don't need Harry Reid Lite to be their nominee.; 6/7/11, 7:11 PM
Big Mike said...: I'm not quite sure what a junion is.

It's a photography studio near Wausau, WI.; 6/7/11, 7:36 PM
Big Mike said...: I think I need a different bumper sticker. One that says "Don't blame me if you can't find a job. I voted Republican."

Maybe I can modify this one.; 6/7/11, 7:40 PM
Larry J said...: Obama loses all of the people who wanted to feel good about themselves for voting for a black guy. There were a lot of those, but they've been there and done that.

Which brings up the sign that was posted online on Memorial Day. It read something like this: "If you voted for Obama in 2008 to prove you're not a racist, you'd better be prepared to vote for someone else in 2012 to prove you're not an idiot."; 6/7/11, 7:48 PM
garage mahal said...: I think I need a different bumper sticker. One that says "Don't blame me if you can't find a job. I voted Republican."

Anthony Weiner's dick is longer than the list of job bills Republicans have introduced. They don't want jobs, they want as much misery as possible. It's their only hope.; 6/7/11, 8:22 PM
RuyDiaz said...: Wait Garage, you think Bills create jobs? You are so thoroughly statist that cannot even understand what conservatives believe.; 6/7/11, 8:26 PM
Big Mike said...: Anthony Weiner's dick is longer than the list of job bills Republicans have introduced. They don't want jobs.

First of all, Anthony doesn't have one of those things. Like the rest of Nancy Pelosi's lapdogs, he was neutered long ago.

Why else would one of Hillary's longtime aide's have married him? Betcha Huma didn't give him very much humma-humma, did she?

Secondly, like most liberals (and I include the slowly recovering Professor) you seem to believe that any problem will eventually go away if only you throw enough money at it. Jobs. Education. The phases of the moon. If it's a problem, throw money at it.

Maybe Republicans have a better idea? Maybe jobs don't rely on unions and big corporations and Goldman-Sachs. Maybe jobs rely on thousands of small firms hiring one or two more people? Maybe you and Obama and the alleged economists Obama has hired as economic advisors need to wrap your minds around that? Just sayin'.

But while we're on the subject, I understand that there is still around a hundred billion in unspent funds from the alleged "stimulus" of 2009 (that didn't stimulate anything, as most of us noticed). Maybe we could spend that on infrastructure construction instead of keeping Fannie and Freddie afloat?; 6/7/11, 8:52 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: garage seems to be under the mistaken impression that the way to create jobs is for politicians to pass "jobs bills" through Congress.

That explains a lot.; 6/7/11, 9:13 PM
Robert Cook said...: "Maybe college kids are wisening up to what his policies and ideology really mean."

Yeah...that he's just another Republican.

(P.S. That's "wising" up.); 6/7/11, 9:17 PM
Big Mike said...: @Robert Cook, I used to think that you must be about four or five standard deviations from the norm to regard Democrats and Republicans as indistinguishable.

But if you can't tell the difference between Barack Obama and a Republican then you're wa-a-a-ay further left than that.; 6/7/11, 9:23 PM
Known Unknown said...: Mormons are people like Democrat Harry Reid.

Yeah, but he's not Mormon Mormon.; 6/7/11, 9:26 PM
Revenant said...: Will he run on hope and change? He certainly can't run on his record.

He will presumably run a fear-based "the other guy will be worse" campaign, like Bush did in '04 and Carter did in '80.; 6/7/11, 9:48 PM
chickelit said...: Robert Cook wrote: (P.S. That's "wising" up.)

Whew! Good thing you knew what I meant. I hate it when language fails.

______
wv = pedant; 6/7/11, 9:52 PM
Alex said...: Anthony Weiner's dick is longer than the list of job bills Republicans have introduced.

On in liberal la-la land do jobs get created via federal "job's bill".; 6/7/11, 10:14 PM
JohnJ said...: "Pretty sure he will look cool again when standing next to a guy like Mitt Romney.”

So what?

Romney is the only Republican candidate who can beat Obama. I base that opinion on the resources available to him and his appeal to independents. The apparent demand for a series of conservative litmus tests on Health Care, Global Warning, and so on, completely baffle me and are almost pathologically self-defeating.; 6/7/11, 10:18 PM
David said...: "I offer up, gratis:

He Made Things Worse."

Peggy Noonan's lawyer wants to talk to you.; 6/7/11, 10:33 PM
Anonymous said...: If Obama and Romney are standing together, it merely means that there are two dorks standing together. The cool people are not there.

Naturally, I would vote for Romney.; 6/7/11, 10:35 PM
JohnJ said...: “Naturally, I would vote for Romney.”

Seemingly a no-brainer.

But...

A presumably conservative commenter on another thread implied that there was no discernible difference between Romney and Obama.

AB-SO-LUTE-LY NUTS!

Keep that rigid philosophical posture and we'll be watching a repeat of the Grant Park victory speech come November, 2012.; 6/7/11, 11:02 PM
Anonymous said...: A presumably conservative commenter on another thread implied that there was no discernible difference between Romney and Obama.

Which is funny because that's what kooky nutball leftist Robert Cook says. Cook also believes that Bush and Obama are international war criminals.

Anyway, I guess it's true what they say about the loopy right and the loopy left being the same thing.; 6/7/11, 11:16 PM
Kirby Olson said...: The African American students are mostly really digging Obama and I think it's good for them to see this, just as it would be good for women to have Rosie O'Donnell or Phyllis Diller (is she still alive?) or someone like Britney Spears (is she 35 yet, she looks about 50).; 6/7/11, 11:18 PM
Fen said...: I see a generation that will have to grow up very fast. Very fast to the reality of life. There is no where, in a phrase of hope and change.

At a recent event, one of the women brought her son and his friends, all in college.

Discussion turned the economy (they all voted Obama) and I remarked "These are the Good Ole Days. Enjoy them while they last"

Could've heard a pin drop. I know, mean, but fun.; 6/7/11, 11:18 PM
Trooper York said...: Mitt Romney doesn't have the balls to beat Obama. Obama will Mau Mau him and Mitt will have to take it because he won't fight back. He doesn't have the cujones to take him down.

Plus he believes in a lot of the same nonsense as the Jug Eared Jesus. The health care nonsense. The Global warming nonsense. He is the rhino-i-est of rhinos. Shit you might as well run one of those broads from Maine.; 6/8/11, 12:15 AM
Trooper York said...: Besides in the first debate Mitt will start crying and claim that he was brainwashed when he came up with Romneycare.

Who needs to see that?; 6/8/11, 12:19 AM
Anonymous said...: But underneath it all, Mitt will be wearing The Garment. That's something.; 6/8/11, 1:31 AM
Dustin said...: I don't want cool anyway. I don't want a golf pro or a feel good vague promise bearing icon.

I want someone willing to roll up their sleeves and show up to work every damn day, ready to try to lead this completely broken government out of this mess. It's going to take extremely hard work to even keep this ship sailing, and heroic work to get government down to a sustainable size.

Mitt Romney is far, far, far from my ideal. I fundamentally differ with him on some core principles. However, compared to 'cool' Obama, or 'uncool' Obama, Romney probably is more serious about the fiscal crisis. And his coalition of support would demand things Obama's doesn't.

I sorely hope the GOP nominee is not Romney, but the democrats are probably going to attack him mercilessly because he would beat Obama handily.

Sadly, I do not think the 2012 election really matters that much. I know people always say it matters more than ever, but I think the big election that mattered was the 2000 election. That set us on the course Obama is trying to follow, albeit with absolutely no leadership ability.

2012 will see a President with 2 or 3 wars, and a need to press onward in that direction. He will have a government that is many times larger than it has any business being. He will have a congress dominated by people who do not want to solve our problems if they can push the problem off a few years (even if that makes the problem so much worse for whoever has to clean it up).

Obamacare is never going away. The budget will never be balanced. We will be fighting Islamofascist monsters for the rest of our lives.

If a President can actually solve any of these problems, they need to build a monument to them on a grander scale than any in this nation. But in all likelihood, the 2012 election, while important to an extent, is too little, too late.; 6/8/11, 2:41 AM
Bruce Hayden said...: Mormons are people like Democrat Harry Reid.

Well, I now have 2 Mormon Senators. My local Congressman, Dean Heller, was recently elevated to the Senate, and, thus, I am in the probably .2% of the population w/o a Congressman. Sen. Heller seems to be about as far to the right as Reid is to the left. The two seem to only have their sex, religion, and state in common (though they may also both have an NRA membership too - after all, this is Nevada).; 6/8/11, 2:55 AM
test said...: "But the young are so stupid that whatever's in the air as cool is accepted as cool."

Young people aren't stupid, they're impressionable. The activist left has learned how to take advantage of their insecurities and desire to move into adulthood.

Most are away from their families for the first time. They often believe they have been sheltered and want to expand their understanding of social interaction including politics. One side tells them they don't know shit and need to earn respect by changing that. The other side appeals to their vanity by such things as insisting they be called men and women and asserting their opinions are as equally valid as those of the informed.

Naturally many respond well to these basic overtures and look to those activists for guidance.; 6/8/11, 6:21 AM
Toad Trend said...: "Discussion turned the economy (they all voted Obama) and I remarked "These are the Good Ole Days. Enjoy them while they last""

Even idealistic and ignorant kids learn the realities of economics, eventually. Especially if they are engaged with people that have had the experience of a job loss, etc.

Being mugged by reality will be the best education they never got. The best thing we all can do is drive home the fact that they and their progeny are on the hook for all of these ideologically-driven promises made by politicians.

It is not cool to have politicians names emblazoned on stickers on cars. Nor is it cool to be okay with insisting your neighbor pay for what amounts to your responsibilities. Unfortunately we are part of a terribly failed generation and rather than roll up in a ball and suck our thumbs, we need to start enlisting real adults to take on these problems.

Re-electing boy Zero in 2012 would only continue the failure. The answer lies with electing fiscally sound local officials and federal officials that are willing to start dismantling this wasteful juggernaut of big government.

The litmus test could be this: do you favor making illegal immigration a crime? If their answer is no, then they should not be taken seriously. Facilitating suicide is not part of the solution.; 6/8/11, 6:29 AM
test said...: "Even idealistic and ignorant kids learn the realities of economics, eventually. Especially if they are engaged with people that have had the experience of a job loss, etc."

Not necessarily. There is a large part of America, virtually all the activist left, which has no intention of joining the economy in a productive capacity. They want to emulate Obama's career: figure out a way to get paid for politics and activism.

The safest place is academia, although those positions are highly sought after. So they join ACORN, or some do-gooder NGO, or USAID. Or they work in the education system, where shared sacrifice means others bear your portion of any sacrifice.; 6/8/11, 6:48 AM
Toad Trend said...: Immaturity IS looking to politicians for guidance.

You'd be better of using the magic 8-ball! Not recommending it necessarily, but, isn't it pathetic and an admission of colossal ignorance to hold these elites in such high regard?

Doing that ignores the damage they have done.

And to make matters worse, they blame the very people of this country.

Big government IS the problem folks. Both 'right' and 'left' need to wake up to this. 'Coolness' is utter bullshit. The Pied Piper was 'cool', hence his 'followers'.

Look inward, people. Look at yourselves in the mirror. Maybe there will be a chance for you to recognize that YOU look to the WRONG things. Like worshipping politicians. And social programs/social engineering. Turn the TV off tonite, swear off MSNBC and Fox news and walk next door to your neighbor's house. Talk to them. See if they need help with something.

Giving is so much better than demanding...we all need to be less selfish. We need to stop holding elected officials up as idols. They are not. They had nothing to do with us being here on planet Earth. They are false idols.

If we take our lessons from history we might just have a chance. If not, well...; 6/8/11, 6:58 AM
Curious George said...: Obama and I finally have something in common.; 6/8/11, 7:00 AM
Shanna said...: He Made Things Worse.

Or "change isn't always positive" as I tried to tell about a thousand people in 2008.; 6/8/11, 7:07 AM
virgil xenophon said...: Dustin@241am/

"Obamacare is never going away. The budget will never be balanced. We will be fighting Islmofascist monsters for the rest of our lives."

Sadly, probably true. Only the stoics will survive. Long down the road in the future it will be said of Americans alive today what the poet Virgil said of Alcibiades: " 'History' is what Alcibiades lived and suffered."; 6/8/11, 7:34 AM
Anonymous said...: 'Not necessarily. There is a large part of America, virtually all the activist left, which has no intention of joining the economy in a productive capacity.'

Well, a core of the Left can only imagine the economy, politics, world etc through their ideals of justice and equality and peace. It's deep, it's emotional, and it's almost impossible to argue the point.

They follow those ideals and ideas to their conclusions...all else be damned, including a free and open marketplace, a small and monitored government, governing mostly with the the consent of the people, and choosing the right wars and staying ahead of aggression and pursuing the nation's self interest.

They grow their lives and organizations with your money.

Obama, whaever hopes you may have for him is politically in bed with a lot people who don't pay taxes, or don't pay very many, people who don't produce. That's politics. Follow the money.

I hope sooner or later all those vaguely leaning liberal youth and independents will realize support of this president may conflict with their freedom, wealth and opportunities. Welcome to politics!

And yes, you are still secured in your life, liberty and property, and you need not be ashamed of such pursuits despite the mainstreaming of a lot of Western universalist claptrap these past generations.; 6/8/11, 9:07 AM
Mick said...: Seven Machos said...
"Don't underestimate (I don't think althouse does) candidate Obama in 2012.

Will he run on hope and change? He certainly can't run on his record."

That is IF he runs. He is still ineligible (not a natural born Citizen, since his father was never a US Citizen). A whole lot of people will have standing to challenge Obama the Candidate.; 6/8/11, 9:30 AM
richard mcenroe said...: ScottM -- Come on down to Malibu in August for the junion run. It's a sight to see and great eatin'...; 6/8/11, 9:34 AM
richard mcenroe said...: But, but, it's BUSH! Dammit, it's BUSH! He kept a key to the White House and he's sneaking back in at night to screw with the economy and Afghanistan while Obama sleeps off his hard-earned golf games!

You FOOLS! Don't you SEE?!; 6/8/11, 9:38 AM
B said...: "Anthony Weiner's dick is longer than the list of job bills Republicans have introduced."

They only need a few. Flat rate taxes with no deductions except for investment, repeal Obamacare, open up US oil assets while passing something that says in some way that the US will never sign onto any form of cap and trade. Last - put conditions on any US financial support to the UN. A US comptroller should be vectoring any US funds given to the UN to the right hands/groups/targets. Either that or pull out of the UN altogether in favor of an organization of democratic states. Either option would reduce the need for US military spending at the operational level dramatically.; 6/8/11, 11:34 AM
Revenant said...: Cut the college kids of 2008 some slack. A college freshman that year was born in 1990, which means that for basically the entire time they had been politically aware the Republican Party had been the party of financial irresponsibility and gay-bashing.

"The other side used to be worse when they ran the show -- but that was so long ago that you aren't old enough to remember it". Not a good sales pitch. Like I've said before, the Republicans were so terrible that it was hard to believe the Democrats could be worse. But I expected the Democrats to rise to that challenge, and they did.; 6/8/11, 1:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Mick -- Nobody is going to sue Obama over citizenship. He is a U.S. citizen.

No court will throw out a sitting president, either.

Face it, dude. You've lost completely and utterly. Your life's dedication has proven a total, catastrophic failure.; 6/8/11, 4:43 PM