July 13, 2011

The cool one lost his cool.

"President Barack Obama abruptly walked out of a stormy debt-limit meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday, a dramatic setback to the already shaky negotiations. 'He shoved back and said "I’ll see you tomorrow" and walked out,' House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters in the Capitol after the meeting."

80 comments:

exhelodrvr1 said...

Cantor is a racist.

Fen said...

[Obama] shoved back and said "I’ll see you tomorrow" and walked out,'

Chokehold! Chokehold! Violence in the workplace! FBI should investigate.

ambisinistral said...

I cracked up when Boehner described Obumbler's negotiating position as a bowl of Jello. You know that had to piss off the thin-skinned one.

In spite of the No Drama Obama malarkey, he doesn't have very good self-control. Keep pushing him and keep needling him. If the public thinks he'll shut down the government over a tantrum he's toast.

rcocean said...

An excellent display of political theater. He'll probably go on the offensive and portray Republicans as greedy country-club types that just wanted to cut SS, medicare, and welfare in order to keep the top tax rate below 39%.

Of course, the Repubs will just say that a lie, which will be a tough sell.

Oso Negro said...

Let us hold the Republicans can hold firm.

Firehand said...

Apparently The Lightworker has just fully discovered that "I won" does NOT mean he gets whatever he wants; it really just means "I'm now the one who has to argue with you. And I may not win."

And he really, really doesn't like it.

Rick said...

Obama needs to be slapped around like this. It may help him grow up.

coketown said...

He kicked over his blocks and left. He's on his way to tell the media that Eric Cantor was mean to him.

Shut the frack up, Barry, and eat your peas.

JAL said...

Anyone recall anything like this is recent years? I mean how did Clinton behave towards Gingrich & Co.?

I suppose this looks "macho" to someone?

They (WH & lefties) are losing control of the narrative.

Cedarford said...

It does look like another 2008 crisis is coming. This one involving a big drop in the value of the dollar, a downgrade in America's bond rating - driving higher interest rates.

Dems are in a bind because they will not put much on the table for cuts and want more in taxes than was collected in Clinton's booming economy.


Republicans like to tell their rubes that they are against funding the NEA and 50K studies of Wombats in Australia..to show what fierce waste cutters they are....but they have yet to balance their fealty to Grover Norquist with proposing actions on the huge ticket budget items.

End Bush's unfunded free premimum price drugs paid by the Feds? Nope.

Cut the cost of elective wars and all the stuff the Heroes of the military and Homeland Security want? Nope.

Tell the old folks no SS COLAs? Nope.

Freeze medicare prices and require healthcare providers to treat or be fined? Nope. That's "anti-freedom".

This is going to a very bad place for America immediate future. Maybe 2 steps below the buy gold, stock up 3 months food and fuel, get your guns point..Maybe 2 steps below calling for a military coup that will take over temporarily. Until problems with Congress, laws, Constitution, the gutting of US jobs to China for higher Wall Street profits going to a few, more war and entitlements than we can afford, and "no taxes on the rich!! mania" - are fixed by the military regime.
(Yes, that would mean democracy and the lawyers dressed in robes 'failed' the American people.)

JAL said...

Discovering that "I Won" is like winning the lottery.

It rarely works out well.

JAL said...

Wondering if we should get a couple hens so I don't have to get my eggs from DBQ.

KCFleming said...

Obama said, 'Don't call my bluff'".

So did he admit he was bluffing the whole time?

Anonymous said...

all righty then.

Time to sell treasuries and buy corporate bonds. No loss if they come to their senses, and I'll avoid a loss if they decide to blow up the economy.

Revenant said...

Obama isn't used to negotiating. Hopefully he'll get the hang of it soon.

edutcher said...

Little Zero just blinked.

And I loved the part where he said he'd take this to the American people. All the polls are against him on this and he knows it.

Oh, and Reagan would have walked out in a hissy fit? Reagan was a gentleman.

And a man.

Anne M Ford said...

We have the dems on the run, they are not setting the agenda anymore. Instead they are caught in reaction mode. And the more they react, the more they are showing that they are really just spoiled rotten kids that refuse to grow up and face reality. All we have to do is keep enacting legislation they hate and they will spontaneously combust.

Milwaukee said...

I had broccoli tonight. Haven't had peas in awhile. I prefer sweet snap peas. Or frozen peas in with my macaroni-and-cheese for a real "green and gold" look.

Barack wants wealth redistribution, which is what the taxes are for. He doesn't seem to care about getting the economy running.

From Inwood said...

I would remind you that excitation in the defense of Neo-Socialism is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of Social Justice is no virtue!

Carol_Herman said...

Actually, the weakest "deal breaking" man in the room is Mitch McConnell. Who is backed by Snowe, Brown, McCain ... and probably a few others, in the senate.

Obama always plays to the camera.

And, he always plays "bully."

It's probably how he earned his "great grades" to get his credentials at Columbia and Harvahd.

I think the "deadline" for decision is August 7th. And, I doubt the republican politicians are united enough to go the distance.

bagoh20 said...

There is no crisis. Nothing dramatic will happen - no matter what happens in D.C..

Most of the country is working and will continue to. The dollar is not in crisis.

A small portion of the country is having a hard time and the government is over stretched and must be pared back. If it's, through cuts, then a small percentage of the population will lose some sweet stuff they weren't earning anyway. They will deal just fine living like the less fortunate all around them.

If it's tax increases then even more who are earning it will lose jobs and the government beneficiaries will still lose theirs eventually.

All of that is not a disaster, and we will, overall, be fine. Just keep doing the basics: work hard, satisfy your customer or your boss, use your money wisely, take smart risks. enjoy your life.

Things can still go to shit but it's not happening tomorrow or next month, or ever, if we do our jobs.

Stop whining and get to work.

traditionalguy said...

The real Barack I in action at last.

He was being a Dick on purpose, because he can.

Why should Obama care about the dollar crash, which he has so carefully engineered for Soros, happening sooner or later? Unless he can get the Media to accuse the GOP of triggering it before it goes off on its own time delayed fuse.

So he is tempting the negotiators to act petulant and arrogant like he does.

Rule #1 about King Obama's style: Whatever he is doing is exactly what he accuses his opponents of doing and claims he will not do.

If we caught Obama robbing a bank, he would immediately accuse the bank guards and band the tellers of the bank robbery that he is trying to stop.

And the media will report as a fact what Barack I says, while they dig up dirt on the guards and tellers.

From Inwood said...

"Enough," writes [NYP's Michael]Goodwin. "He is the Man Who Won't Listen to Anybody, so why should anybody listen to him? . . . I will leave that unhappy duty to others. I am tired of Barack Obama. There's nothing new there...we feel Goodwin's pain, and we suspect most Americans do. The World's Greatest Orator is almost always uninspiring, condescending, self-aggrandizing, peevish and grim.

He is also, as Goodwin notes, ideologically inflexible: "There is not a single example on domestic issues where he voluntarily staked out a spot in the American middle. . . . Obama's default statist position remains unmolested by facts or last year's landslide that was a rebuke to his first two years. He continues to push bigger and bigger government, higher and higher taxes and more and more welfare programs."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303406104576444050573040200.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion

edutcher said...

Something else, I wonder what the internal polling was on his little Godfather routine on CBS last night?

Pat Austin at the So It Goes In Shreveport blog said her 87 year old mother reacted with, "How can he do that?". Not they (Republicans), but he.

Unknown said...

Kabuki.

The Repubs soon will "el foldo" as Trump calls it. The GOP is enthralled by the trillions at their fingertips as much as the Dems. Heck, I probably would be too.

el polacko said...

"So did he admit he was bluffing the whole time?"
good catch, pogo! either he's bluffing his way through this...or he doesn't really know what 'bluff' means.

LarryLMSW said...

Obama is an empty suit and a fraud; He projects himself, in his carefully manufactured modulated speech, as a calm, deliberate intellectual when in reality there is very little substance to the man. Not having real self-esteem, he is highly dependent on outside adulation and validation. When these aren't forthcoming, and his positions are confronted and contradicted with intelligent opposing arguments, he feels threatened and becomes defensive. Where do I sign the impeachment petition?

Anonymous said...

"I have reached the point where I say enough," Obama told the leaders, according to the account. "Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this."

Holy Crap. I was putting an economic catastrophe at 1 out of 5. I now up it to 1 out of 3. Maybe they'll go with McConnell's plan, but it can't get through the House right now.

If they can't get anything through the House:

Bond markets freak out about the last week of July. The Congress will act within a few days(TARP revisited) but it'll be too late to avoid a shock to the market.

20% unemployment in the USA.

Scott M said...

As to President Obama's bluff...I'm honestly still in a bit of amazement that he tried to pull the "SS checks may not go out" in this, the info age. Quick figuring shows SS checks, Medicaid/Medicare, interest on the debt, military, veterans obligations, critical law enforcement and intelligence can all be paid with change to spare on the 200 bil average we get each month in DC.

It's the rest of the crap that takes us over and into $40 for every $100 we spend. As others had previously mentioned, for the remaining lampreys, it will be very much like a balanced budget amendment is in place.

The GOP in the house needs to outline this, tell POTUS that they're going to pass a bill ASAP in the house authorizing the sectors of government listed above and only those with no raising of the debt ceiling. When it gets to the senate and fails, POTUS will only have himself and Reid to blame.

pauldar said...

Wow, is this a leader or what. Can dish it but not take it.

The Crack Emcee said...

Obama's never been a cool customer, he's just never been challenged before. A few days ago, I had a friend begging me - begging me - to give him "sympathy."

Let me be perfectly clear:

I'm all out of sympathy.

Unknown said...

I say good. I'm glad Obama got pissed and walked and i hope the republicans don't fold. It is time to stop playing games and start to address the issues that face the country.

Each side has their bullshit -- "No taxes", "No cuts". If it takes a trainwreck to get the politicians serious, so be it.

We have to address entitlement reforms and bloated government programs. We have to address a bought and paid for IRS code.

Why not now?

Anonymous said...

"It's the rest of the crap that takes us over and into $40 for every $100 we spend."

yeah. But the Treasure will pay for the government contracts before entitlements. Private buisnesses can and will sue to get the money promised.

David R. Graham said...

"So did he admit he was bluffing the whole time?"

He certainly did. First thing I noticed. Hitched up his skirts and showed his knickers. Always happens with the likes.

Instructive histrionics tomorrow and Friday. He's on the run. "Sources" mounting desperate rear guard, deflecting attention to Murdoch and otherwise seeking to commandeer the AAR.

"I want to be a president." You are, buddy. You don't deserve to be, never did.

David R. Graham said...

"All of that is not a disaster, and we will, overall, be fine. Just keep doing the basics: work hard, satisfy your customer or your boss, use your money wisely, take smart risks. enjoy your life."

Concur.

Lance said...

These talks are a farce. Conservatives want one-for-one matching with no tax hikes. The President wants tax hikes with less than one-for-one matching. It'd be nice to think one of them has to give, but in fact it'll probably be everyone else that pays for it.

BTW, I love how Cantor is willing to go on the record while all the White House and Democratic "sources" remain anonymous.

David R. Graham said...

"And, I doubt the republican politicians are united enough to go the distance."

Doesn't matter. Facts go the distance, and underlying, immutable form and function of reality.

Lance said...

The Repubs soon will "el foldo" as Trump calls it. The GOP is enthralled by the trillions at their fingertips as much as the Dems. Heck, I probably would be too.

McConnell tried that already. Boehner made some sympathetic noises, but House conservatives said "no way".

David R. Graham said...

"BTW, I love how Cantor is willing to go on the record while all the White House and Democratic "sources" remain anonymous."

Yes, good point. Says who is truthful and therefore holding the balance of power.

David R. Graham said...

Where's garbage and her FUD? I miss her. Stud, where are you and your choir? Or do you play Riehl? I'm confused.

Anonymous said...

You people talking about a crashinbg dollar: what's it going to crash against exactly? You realize that currency prices are all relative to other currencies, right?

Please don't say the Euro. Please don't be that dense.

Furthermore, if the dollar does crash, how does that lead to domestic unemployment?

I really don't follow the economics of this thread or, frankly, either side's predictions of doom. As long as taxes don't go up much and trade stays free, we're fine because the whole world is in a credit shit storm right now.

Brian said...

“[Obama] really is a solid, normal person who remained grounded in the middle of all this craziness. And I like to think that, now that he’s President, with his steely nerve, his intelligence, and his groundedness, he’ll do the job that must be done. The trickery is over.”

Some 'tard said that; the name escapes me at the moment.

coketown said...

You people talking about a crashinbg dollar: what's it going to crash against exactly? You realize that currency prices are all relative to other currencies, right?

You are conflating two functions of money to reach a dubious conclusion. Currencies are relative to each other as media of exchange, true. As stores of value, though, valuations fluctuate independently and are not zero-sum. That is, one currency can weaken without a net strengthening of other currencies; flight from the dollar does not necessarily demand entering another currency market. As we saw from the Japanese real estate crisis to the Tiger economy crises to the dot-com bubble, currencies often depreciate to the benefit of commodities, stocks, bonds, or real estate--not to the benefit of other currencies.

Every currency crash in history was followed by a sharp increase in domestic unemployment. Your question should be the opposite of what you asked. If the dollar crashes, higher unemployment is unavoidable.

Methadras said...

Trump said Repubs are El Foldo. I think he is right.

Roger J. said...

Mr Obama is a major loser

would love to play poker with him if he doesnt know what a bluff is

John said...

What a spoiled child.

AllenS said...

I see others have beat me to it --

"Eric, don’t call my bluff,” said obama.

What an idiot. This fool of a President obviously has never played poker. He certainly doesn't have a clue what the word bluff means. He is dumber than Joe Biden.

Mick said...

The "Cool One" is Inelgible, since he was born British of a British subject father. When the media stops protecting him this will come home to roost. In due time.


psione--- descendants

Roger J. said...

AllenS--if I may sir, NO ONE is dumber than Joe Biden but Obama comes close

Anonymous said...

"You people talking about a crashinbg dollar: what's it going to crash against exactly?"


Gold (definitely gold, look at what's going on in that market), real estate, CAD (Canada), corporate bonds, ect.

I think the larger threat is not the dollar falling, but the economic shock to the global market & rising unemployment.

The Tokyo stock market was affected yesterday by the Moody warning about a possible downgrade.

I mean, crap, the Euro looks shakey right now. The worry is Greece falls, then Italy & finally Spain. We don't even know which banks hold which debt of that big sh*tpile.

Worst case is that this crisis & the Euro send us into a global downturn.

We're not there yet. Hopefully the congress critters calm down markets. If not, we have the potential of a black swan event.

AllenS said...

Roger, if Slow Joe is in the lead, I'm predicting that obama will catch and surpass him in The Biggest Idiot Category. The man is a fool.

AllenS said...

Canuck,

Think back to the Enron collapse. What was it 5 billion dollars? That was absolutely chump change. I see bad, bad, bad things ahead.

TWM said...

"Don't call my bluff," Barry said? Obviously the fool knows as much about poker as he does about running a country.

Call it, GOP. Call it.

Brian Brown said...

So Obama admits he's lying?

I mean, a "bluff" isn't when you're telling the truth, after all.

The mixture of arrogance and petulance is kind of bizarre. I guess he sees his Presidency melting down before his eyes.

Karmakshanti said...

Rude. But sensible if he was really losing his temper, and Congressmen are paid enough [as well as insured enough] to be thick skinned about it, and certainly awake enough to try and make political hay with it.

Although I don't see why they bother. This isn't even a blip in the news cycle.

Anonymous said...

“Eric, don’t call my bluff,”

Barack, I'm going to call and raise you four trillion.

The Drill SGT said...

the group has not identified enough cuts to win House passage of a $2.5 trillion debt-limit increase — the size the president says is needed to get through the 2012 election,

That's the scary line from the article. Even after they think they are making cuts, O'bama expects to be running up 150 Billion in Deficit Each Month for the foreseeable future. 150 billion used to be n annual deficit...

Canuck said...
Time to sell treasuries and buy corporate bonds. No loss if they come to their senses,


Careful buying bonds in unionized firms. If they get into trouble, you bond holders may be told by O'bama to go to the back of the lines, or to eat your peas...

I wonder what the GM takeover has done in aggregate to the premium bondholders demand from unionized firms...

Big Mike said...

Okay, okay, who is this guy masquerading as the President, and what did he do with the "No Drama Obama" of 2008?

Moose said...

Listening to NPR this morning - no mention of this however.

Anonymous said...

For a fleeting moment, a thought entered Obama's brain-

maybe they really won't let me raise taxes-REALLY!

Calm down, Barry. You already know the solution to your problem.When the law/Congress/the Constitution/anything gets in your way, you always have your trump card.

Policy.

Quit wasting money.

Next time a guy catches a home run ball, Geithner needs to put a much great value on it-

You can't just go around giving things away-

Where's the social justice?

The Drill SGT said...

“Eric, don’t call my bluff,” the president said, warning Cantor that he would take his case “to the American people.”

OK poker players, does O'bama have a clue on how to play or bluff? seriously...

He meant, "Eric, I'm not bluffing..", meaning he is serious, has the cards and is going to win.

what he said, "Eric, don’t call my bluff,”, which means to me he is bluffing and ought to fold...

gerry said...

Obama won't budge unless the solution carries him beyond the next election.

Senator McConnell's proposal would force Obama to campaign for ceiling increases almost continuously during 2012. Obama won't agree to that, and the Republicans can say that their proposal would have spared a credit downgrade - or whatever else happens - but that Obama refused to cooperate.

Obama is in descent.

Rasmussen now show O down 5% against a generic Republican, which is a huge leap in a week. This is a winning issue for conservatives.

Scott M said...

The whole Moody's thing...strikes me as political machinations. Moody's says there's a possible downgrade if we don't increase the debt ceiling and out comes Geitner. It's possible I missed it, but did Geitner blow the horn like this when S&P said they were looking at a possible downgrade if we didn't get our deficit spending under control a while back?

What did Moody's think of Fannie and Freddie before they went tits up? Moody's listed Lehmna Bros as a "buy" right up until they day THEY went tits up, didn't they?

Pardon me if I'm skeptical about anything Moody's says.

Curious George said...

"The Drill SGT said...
“Eric, don’t call my bluff,” the president said, warning Cantor that he would take his case “to the American people.”

OK poker players, does O'bama have a clue on how to play or bluff? seriously...

He meant, "Eric, I'm not bluffing..", meaning he is serious, has the cards and is going to win.

what he said, "Eric, don’t call my bluff,”, which means to me he is bluffing and ought to fold..."

Barry's short stacked. Just so in the end the GOP slow rolls this bitch

AllenS said...

I guess it's easy enough to bluff, and tell everyone that you are bluffing when you are using someone elses money.

"Hey, let's play poker. Everyone give me money so I can play."

The Drill SGT said...

AllenS said...
"Hey, let's play poker. Everyone give me money so I can play."


O'bama wants to be the bank, issuing out chips, and setting a stack aside for himself while he's at it. The problem comes at the end of the night when the winners want to cash in...

Or as Ms Thatcher once opined,

"The problem with socialism, is that sooner or later, you run out of other peoples money"

we're about out

Paul said...

The 'cool one' never was cool.

Now the pressure is on and HE WILL CRACK.

No, I don't mean give in. He may actually crack.

He has never been tested in his whole cocaine filled live

Just watch.

rhhardin said...

A credit downgrade will be interesting. A lot of places can't hold less than top grade debt and will have to unload it; and a storm of margin calls perhaps will occur.

A credit crisis caused by credit regulation, something we just went through.

Hagar said...

I do not think Obama understands the meaning of the word "bluff."

But "Eric, don't call my bluff" like that on his way out of the room sounds a lot like a personal threat.

Saint Croix said...

You people talking about a crashinbg dollar: what's it going to crash against exactly?

It would crash against anything you can buy with dollars. Commodities, for instance. Gold, silver, food, shelter, gas, anything.

You realize that currency prices are all relative to other currencies, right?

That's leftist thinking, that it's all a zero-sum game and whenever there's an economic winner, there's an economic loser. No. You can have win-win scenarios, when lots of nations are doing well. You sign a free trade agreement, for instance, that's a win-win. Both economies improve with increased trade.

You can also have a lose-lose scenario, where one country defaults, and another, and another. You can have a worldwide Great Depression, which is in fact what happened in the 1930's.

It is profoundly stupid to think that our huge debt is no big deal because Greece or Spain or Ireland or Portugal might default. Apply that logic to your own family and see if it works for you.

Joe Schmoe said...

So Obama thinks this is his "Reagan versus the Air Traffic Controllers" moment. Doesn't he realize that what he advocates makes him the Air Traffic Controllers?

Mitch H. said...

That's great visual. That's Gingrich-bitching-about-how-he-was-treated-on-Air-Force-One petulant imagery.

Obama likes to think he's Reagan, but really, he's more of a Gingrich: would-be professorial pseudo-intellectual who likes to surround himself with cultists and worshippers.

Jim said...

Cantor is a routine and shameless liar. Unless there are some better sources, I'd take this whole story with a 50lb bag of salt.

Anthony said...

Hate to say it, but despite most of the feeling expressed here, O will probably win this one. The MSM still largely controls the narrative and they are playing it exactly the way O wants: Tough negotiator Obama going toe-to-toe against favor-the-rich Republicans. They will make sure Repubs are blamed if it all goes south.

Anonymous said...

I suppose no one is reading this now but I feel compelled to respond to my economic critics.

First of all, I'm no leftist. Poo on you, Croix. Second, a credit crisis is an economic contraction. Contraction means deflation, not inflation. We just had one and fears of deflation are why the Fed pumped trillions into the economy.

In the event of another credit crunch, the dollar will go up relative to other currencies as banks flee to it. Just like last time. Also, commodities prices are likely to go down, not up, as demand goes down. Not all commodities will react this way, but most will.

SunnyJ said...

Hard for me not to equate my years of equine training to O's behavior. Inexperiened horses, will often times respond calmly and without drama to the intial steps. It's not until you put some real pressure on them, moving their feet, directing them that they resist...and ususally it's an explosion when it comes. Then you find out who they really are!

This ain't my first rodeo, but I'd say from observing O, it is his. Expect big meltdown shortly. If he goes quiet, he's like a sulking horse, shooting you the one eye and waiting to take his shot. When he take his shot, it will come out of nowhere and it will mean to kill you.

Either way, not sure this show is worth the price of a ticket.

Amartel said...

This big dumb drama queen was never "cool." He thinks he's cool, he works at being cool, and his lovestruck dumbfuck mindsuck followers eagerly go along with the farce. Truth be told, the only "cool" people are the ones who arent' trying.

Mike said...

No, 0 didn't loose his cool. He just realized that he was late for his tee time.

See ya tomorrow!

oh, and with regard to the comment about not calling his bluff. If that is 0's negotiating approach, maybe that is why his foreign policy efforts are so ineffectual....

DADvocate said...

Give Obama a break! He was late for his tee time.

By saying, "Don't call my bluff." does he mean he's actually willing to kill Grandma and Granddad by withholding Social Security checks and all that? He seems to have no problem playing games with the livelihood of our senior citizens.

DADvocate said...

No, 0 didn't loose his cool. He just realized that he was late for his tee time.

Ha! I searched for the word "golf" but not "tee time." Oh, well. Great minds....