Althouse: The future of nostalgia.

February 9, 2016

The future of nostalgia.

Get ready. Here it comes...

120 comments:

Meade said...: BarackO bros.; 2/9/16, 9:30 AM
Curious George said...: "The Obama administration has been remarkably scandal-free."

Mission accomplished Brooks et al.; 2/9/16, 9:33 AM
rehajm said...: That's not a thing. Nice try.; 2/9/16, 9:34 AM
Bob said...: Isn't Brooks supposed to be the token conservative at the Times? (yes, I'm aware of Brook's fascination with Obama's suit creases, thanks); 2/9/16, 9:36 AM
MAJMike said...: Not to worry. He'll plague us in the same manner as the Clinton's and Jimmy Carter. He and Michelle love the spotlight too much. Besides they'll scarf up big dollar speaking fees from the rubes.; 2/9/16, 9:38 AM
Nonapod said...: My suspicion is that the post presidency Obama will be unlike any other ex-presidents. He'll most likely go back to community organizing, just on a much grander scale. He'll make Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson look like pikers. I think he'll be very vocal, constantly criticizing whomever the current administration is. He'll do loads of interviews and public speeches to any and all who will have him.
Point is, you think you're sick and tired of him now? You ain't seen nothing yet. There will be no "missing" of Obama, perhaps not even on the left.; 2/9/16, 9:39 AM
David Begley said...: Gag!

Worst. President. Ever.

And his failures will become clear - even to David Brooks - over the next five years.
Iran with nukes will wake him up.; 2/9/16, 9:39 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Watch for Michelle running for POTUS. She'd be a good buy-in candidate in 2016.; 2/9/16, 9:39 AM
Limited blogger said...: Is that the picture of him trying to re-enter the West wing via the window, or when the door was locked?; 2/9/16, 9:41 AM
David Begley said...: Nonapod

Obama will follow the graft and corruption model pioneered by the Clintons. Expect Michelle (or maybe her brother Craig Robertson) to run for Senate. Lots of great deals to make with like-minded African dictators.; 2/9/16, 9:42 AM
C Hayes said...: The comments after this article were nauseating. I feel like I'm in totally a different reality than those people. What are they actually talking about? "He's a great man" "He's such a decent man" "If only Republicans would've worked with him". What the actual?; 2/9/16, 9:43 AM
MadisonMan said...: How can I miss you when you won't go away?; 2/9/16, 9:44 AM
Michael said...: No, David. What you miss is your fantasy of Obama as Jimmy Stewart remaking Washington by the sheer force of his charm and virtue. It was a juvenile daydream to begin with, and was bound to dissipate. Now you want another Light Bringer instead of real, flawed candidates who understand the world and might actually accomplish things.; 2/9/16, 9:46 AM
Saint Croix said...: The Obama administration has been remarkably scandal-free.

This will go down in history as one of the dumbest things David Brooks has ever said. The IRS scandal and Benghazi are two Obama scandals that leap to mind. But how could any Republican be oblivious to Hillary's e-mail scandals? It's as if Brooks is distancing Obama from his own state department, and all the felonies that were happening while he was in office. Bizarre.; 2/9/16, 9:46 AM
sean said...: The opposite of love isn't hatred, it's indifference bordering on contempt. And that is what Obama mostly radiates to anyone who doesn't share his worldview.; 2/9/16, 9:46 AM
David Begley said...: The "scandal-free" Obama Administration? LOL.

Let's start with private emails (EPA and State) and his unconstitutional Executive Orders.

Brooks still dazzled by that crease in the pants.; 2/9/16, 9:46 AM
Jaq said...: "reported scandal free" I think he meant to say. Didn't Obama illegally fire an inspector general who was investigating one of his political allies in San Diego the first year? Why yes he did. That was impeachable right there had a Republican done it.; 2/9/16, 9:48 AM
Jaq said...: To be fair though, Brooks probably only reads the New York Times.; 2/9/16, 9:49 AM
David Begley said...: Saint Croix

I still have yet to hear a single reason why our jets sat on the Tarmac in Italy and did not at least buzz Bengazhi. CINC must have been pressing his pants. Or something.; 2/9/16, 9:50 AM
Jaq said...: "If only we had stopped having elections once he was in, everything would be perfect right now!"; 2/9/16, 9:50 AM
mccullough said...: All of this could be said of W's administration as well. W was mostly even tempered and optimistic and nice to Muslim Americans. And he sucked as president.; 2/9/16, 9:50 AM
Danno said...: Anyone who had a tingle up his leg for Obama's perfect crease and still says positive things about him should be sent to the guillotine!; 2/9/16, 9:53 AM
Original Mike said...: "How can I miss you when you won't go away?"

Dan Hicks died a few days ago.; 2/9/16, 9:54 AM
virgil xenophon said...: One word: GAAKK!!!

(PS: Brooks sure can shovel the treacle, can't he?); 2/9/16, 9:56 AM
Original Mike said...: I will not miss David Brooks when he exits the stage.; 2/9/16, 9:56 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: No scandals whatsoever. Nope.; 2/9/16, 9:59 AM
MadisonMan said...: Dan Hicks died a few days ago.

Really, is there a musician who hasn't died in the past month?; 2/9/16, 10:00 AM
William said...: The Clintons left office in a final effusion of sleaze. The Marc Rich pardon. Stealing the valuable antiques and leaving cheap reproductions in the Oval Office Condom wrappers in the Lincoln bedroom.........The Clintons were far sleazier than the Obamas. On the other hand, Obama was far more inept and incompetent than Clinton. He leaves behind a far messier world than the one he found. All those dead bodies and refugees......I wonder how long it will take for it to sink into the consciousness of people like Brooks that Obama was a failure. It took quite a long time for liberals to comprehend that most of Woodrow Wilson's ideals were prejudices couched in elegant words.; 2/9/16, 10:02 AM
Wince said...: Interesting comment at the NYT:

I am a Black attorney in Washington DC, with a degree in American History.

After graduating from law school, and completing a judicial clerkship I moved to Washington DC on the eve of Obama's inauguration in early 2009/late 2008. I grew up in a poor Black community, so poor that I had to move away from home to pursue my dreams. There were times when all we had were the words of Martin Luther King, and Faith to quiet hungry stomachs, or make the cold nights warmer. During my college years, Pell Grants were cut, tuition hikes were the rule, not the exception and things did not come easy. Somehow I made it through, and by somehow I mean by working two jobs, eating one meal a day and staying focused on the goal.

I will never forget meeting Barack Obama shortly before starting law school. I was a volunteer at the 2004 DNC in Boston, he was an ambitious state senator from Illinois. As he approached my group of Black volunteers, I will never forget the way he looked at us--as if we were nobodies.

The Obama presidency has done that to the Black community as a whole. Demeaned, exploited, neglected and humiliated not just me, not just us, but our legacy and racial heritage. Dr. King died for me to live in an America where skin color didn't matter, yet it has been the weapon of choice for the entire Obama presidency to avoid accountability and truth.

Mr. Brooks, I will not miss Barack Obama. When he leaves Washington, dignity will finally return to my; 2/9/16, 10:07 AM
CWJ said...: I could think of a few more tags for this post, but I doubt Althouse has one that captures the intensity of my feelings after reading that article.; 2/9/16, 10:09 AM
Wince said...: ...return to my city.; 2/9/16, 10:09 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: As he approached my group of Black volunteers, I will never forget the way he looked at us--as if we were nobodies.

Well, you were nobodies.

Your problem is that he didn't care about nobodies.

He was on course to be elected Senator, and then president. Although, being a loyal Democrat, he ahd to be shooting for 2012.; 2/9/16, 10:11 AM
holdfast said...: Re Scandals:

The Obama Admin broke laws and regulations to accomplish its lefty policy goals by various under-handed and extra-legal means. They also lied to cover up that illegality, as well as various instances of incompetence and ineptitude. And those are the under-reported Obama scandals.

What we haven't seen, either because it didn't happen or because it wasn't reported at all, are scandals involving personal enrichment or sex - no Lewinsky, no renting of the Lincoln bedroom, no trading of cattle futures and no selling of pardons (yet). The Obamaites have been remarkably disciplined in this regard - they all know that they'll have a chance to get rich on the speaking circuit and in the lobbying game starting in 2017 and they are willing to delay gratification until then, and only break the law for the "greater good" of advancing their agenda.; 2/9/16, 10:12 AM
Gusty Winds said...: It's David Brooks. Who takes him seriously other than PBS?; 2/9/16, 10:13 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: Donald Trump has spent much of this campaign vowing to block Muslim immigration. You can only say that if you treat Muslim Americans as an abstraction.

Obama treats any person outside of the United States as an abstraction, and so does everybody else in politics. The difference between Democrats and Republicans is that Democrats do not treat illegal aliens IN the United States as an abstraction.

But once they are gone, they become abstractions, again.

Except maybe to Donald Trump, who wants to bring back deported people under the same conditions - no penalty, like current law - as people who had never been in the United States. If you can trust his extemporaneous remarks.; 2/9/16, 10:16 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: Really, is there a musician who hasn't died in the past month?

There's Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and Mick Jagger for starters.; 2/9/16, 10:19 AM
CWJ said...: "Obamacare took coverage away from only a small minority of Americans."

Left unanswered, why did Obamacare have to take coverage away from any Americans? He cites this like it was collateral damage in wartime, rather than the result of a bill supposedly designed to expand coverage. Does Brooks even think while he writes?; 2/9/16, 10:19 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Obamacare - The way it was passed, and it's crony tax-payer funded corrupt implementation-- all non-existent to the pro-D hack press. (the press); 2/9/16, 10:24 AM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Obama's relationship with Rezko dates to 1990, when Obama, then a Harvard law student, interviewed for a job with Rezko's development company, Rezmar Corp. Obama turned down the job, instead going to work for a small Chicago law firm - Davis Miner Barnhill. That firm did work on more than a dozen low-income housing projects Rezmar rehabbed with government funds.

Eleven Rezmar buildings were in the state Senate district Obama represented between 1996 and 2004. Many of the buildings ended up in foreclosure, with tenants living in squalid conditions, the Sun-Times reported last year. In one instance, Rezko's company left tenants without heat for five weeks. Obama said he was unaware of problems with the buildings and minimized the legal work he'd done.

Obama's relationship with Rezko grew closer in June 2005, when Obama and Rezko's wife bought adjoining real estate parcels from a doctor in the South Side Kenwood neighborhood. Obama paid $1.65 million for the doctor's mansion, while Rezko's wife paid $625,000 for the vacant lot next door. Obama's purchase price was $300,000 below the asking price; Rezko's wife paid full price.

Six months later, Obama paid Rita Rezko $104,500 for one-sixth of the vacant lot, which he bought to expand his yard. In November 2006, he expressed regret about the transaction.

"It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else," Obama said, "to believe that he had done me a favor." ...

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-81193; 2/9/16, 10:25 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: My suspicion is that the post presidency Obama will be unlike any other ex-presidents.

Some people think he wants to Secretary General of the United Nations. (the job opens up January, 2017) It's be hard to get elected, though.

Some think he wants to be on the United States Supreme Court.

Others think maybe he'd be satisfied with a professorship at a major university, or head of some big, global, non-profit.

He's going to stay in Washington until his daughter Sasha graduates high school (unless maybe he becomes Secretary General of the United Nations, in which case maybe he'll split his time between New York and Washington). He's not going back to Illinois. He's not going to live full time in Hawaii.; 2/9/16, 10:25 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Why would he stay in DC? Why does he give a crap about his daughter?; 2/9/16, 10:29 AM
Hunter said...: God, I saw this on Facebook earlier and all the people glowing about Obama's unparalleled class and dignity.

Yes, the guy who, if it weren't for strawman arguments constructed to paint his opponents as irrational extremists, would have almost no arguments at all. The guy who said people nervous about bringing in migrants from the same Middle Eastern countries whose migrants have caused havoc in Europe are "scared of widows and orphans."

The guy who psychoanalyzed middle American and declared their belief in God and individual freedoms are based in reactionary bitterness because they can't find jobs. I don't recall whether this was before or after he declared his intent to destroy the coal industry in which many of these same people are employed.

The guy who whines non-fucking-stop about Fox News for being the ONE major media outlet that doesn't dutifully swallow and regurgitate everything he says.

Yeah, he's the classiest and most dignified president EVER. If it weren't for those mean Republicans who opposed him at every turn, when all he ever wanted was for everyone to come together and do everything Obama wanted without any concessions or tradeoffs.; 2/9/16, 10:33 AM
traditionalguy said...: Brooks knows Obama is their benefactor distributing wealth to his friends by the trillions. He is gonna miss that.; 2/9/16, 10:35 AM
Limited blogger said...: The more visible he is as an ex-president, the better. You think "It's Bush's fault" had staying power, wait until the Obama 'surprises' start popping up. He will not stay silent about it the way GW honorably did, so each uncovered fiasco will be big, big news for a long time to come. His explanations of things won't help. This all accrues to the Republican's advantage.; 2/9/16, 10:35 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: Obama didn't rape anyone, (other than law abiding tax payers) so - you know what- Brooks is right. Classy guy.; 2/9/16, 10:36 AM
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...: I will miss him too. But Trump will be an interesting replacement.; 2/9/16, 10:36 AM
Original Mike said...: "Obamacare took coverage away from only a small minority of Americans."

And it matters not, David, that Obama clearly and repeatedly stated that this would not happen when he knew from the beginning that it was a lie?

Not to mention that "millions" a not small number.

Sheesh.; 2/9/16, 10:42 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Well of course. Whoever wins this fall won't have his pants (or skirt) as neatly creased as Obama. And Brooks will miss that.

But will I miss Obama? I don't think so. A long national nightmare will finally come to an end.; 2/9/16, 10:43 AM
Bob Ellison said...: It's money he'll be after.; 2/9/16, 10:46 AM
CWJ said...: "The Clintons left office in a final effusion of sleaze. The Marc Rich pardon. Stealing the valuable antiques and leaving cheap reproductions in the Oval Office Condom wrappers in the Lincoln bedroom."

Give it time. We're still 11 months away from January 2017.; 2/9/16, 10:52 AM
Big Mike said...: David Brooks is what the left-wing lunatic fringe thinks a "proper" conservative ought to be. Real conservatives would make the people who write for the Times piddle in their panties (men as well as women).; 2/9/16, 10:54 AM
Krumhorn said...: He's leaving? Wait!!

Dear Leader hasn't finished lowering the oceans and healing the Earth.

-Krumhorn; 2/9/16, 10:55 AM
Nonapod said...: I'm not as convinced that Obama is as consumed by blind avarice as the Clintons are. Sure, he certainly would like to make a bunch of cash from speeches so he can continue to live in the opulence he and his brood have become accustomed to. But beyond that I don't think it's money that animates him so much as being the center of attention. I suspect his greatest fear is to be ignored or forgotten.; 2/9/16, 10:55 AM
MayBee said...: I miss the Barack Obama that existed in the first few months of the 2008 election.; 2/9/16, 10:57 AM
MayBee said...: I think anyone who thinks Michelle Obama will run for office is crazy wrong. Michelle doesn't really seem to enjoy the spotlight or the game. I think she's putting up with Barack and all of this because she does like the lifestyle (but not the prying eyes part of it).; 2/9/16, 10:59 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/9/16, 11:01 AM
Todd said...: C Hayes said... [hush][hide comment]
The comments after this article were nauseating. I feel like I'm in totally a different reality than those people. What are they actually talking about? "He's a great man" "He's such a decent man" "If only Republicans would've worked with him". What the actual?

2/9/16, 9:43 AM

Those are the folks from the "community based reality". What does it matter what the actual facts are when we have a "consensus"!; 2/9/16, 11:01 AM
buwaya said...: "And his failures will become clear - even to David Brooks - over the next five years."

I don't know. Brooks is rather thick.; 2/9/16, 11:02 AM
Todd said...: Original Mike said...
"Obamacare took coverage away from only a small minority of Americans."

And it matters not, David, that Obama clearly and repeatedly stated that this would not happen when he knew from the beginning that it was a lie?

Not to mention that "millions" a not small number.

Sheesh.

2/9/16, 10:42 AM

It is compared to his national dept number! Millions is hardly worth mentioning at all...; 2/9/16, 11:02 AM
Hunter said...: Brooks:
Let’s put it this way: Imagine if Barack and Michelle Obama joined the board of a charity you’re involved in. You’d be happy to have such people in your community. Could you say that comfortably about Ted Cruz?

Ha... ha ha haaahahaha. Right.

If Barack and Michelle Obama joined the board of a charity I was involved in, I'd be reasonably concerned the charity was about to be looted, politicized, and run into the ground.

I'd perhaps be concerned about one or two of those possibilities if Cruz joined the board, but what exactly in Cruz's background suggests more concern for how he'd operate a charity, compared to Obama's involvement in Annenberg? I am at a loss.

This is just Brooksie putting his disdain for normies on display for the world without even realizing that is what he's doing.; 2/9/16, 11:12 AM
MayBee said...: Hunter- good point.

Does Brooks remember the failures and crony-ism ff the boards Barack Obama actually did sit on?; 2/9/16, 11:17 AM
Hunter said...: Nonapod said...
I'm not as convinced that Obama is as consumed by blind avarice as the Clintons are. [...] I suspect his greatest fear is to be ignored or forgotten.

I think you are right, but keeping in mind that "as consumed by blind avarice as the Clintons" is a high bar indeed.; 2/9/16, 11:18 AM
MayBee said...: Michelle Obama kicked people out of the emergency room, and Barack Obama used up CAC money giving it to his communist friends. But of course, they are the kind of people I would like to have in my community. They look great in formal wear!!; 2/9/16, 11:19 AM
Hunter said...: Looking great in formal wear is apparently the sort of thing that matters greatly to David Brooks, based on some of his previous columns.

And I am not even talking about the "perfectly creased pant" thing.; 2/9/16, 11:25 AM
Big Mike said...: @Nonapod, I agree with Hunter; "as consumed by blind avarice as the Clintons" is a standard that would be difficult to meet this side of Goldman-Sachs.; 2/9/16, 11:30 AM
Todd said...: Hunter said... [hush][hide comment]
Looking great in formal wear is apparently the sort of thing that matters greatly to David Brooks, based on some of his previous columns.

2/9/16, 11:25 AM

Well "looking great in formal wear" is much, much easier when you are not paying for said wear by top end designers or its tailoring. How "great" do you think they would look (as a couple) in JCPenney "off the rack"?; 2/9/16, 11:31 AM
cubanbob said...: I fervently hope that next January 21st Congress and President Cruz appoint 150 special prosecutors to go through every department and agency along with with all of the major cities. That will keep the criminal Democrats busy for at least four years. Once all of the corruption starts getting uncovered the calls to shrink the government will get louder and the demand to get rid of the government corruption industry will gain real traction.; 2/9/16, 11:32 AM
Rosalyn C. said...: Obama Presidency -- shovel ready.; 2/9/16, 11:34 AM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: I won't miss David Brooks. Hell, I don't miss him, now.; 2/9/16, 11:34 AM
David Begley said...: MayBee

Two hundred and fifty million reasons - after-tax - for Michelle or Craig to run for the Senate. I've heard Craig work college basketball games on TV. Better in the Senate.; 2/9/16, 11:44 AM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: It's easy to be "scandal free" when the Media won't cover the many scandalous things that have occurred, David. What a jackass.; 2/9/16, 11:45 AM
Unknown said...: and I miss Tiger Beat for which David Brooks should write, apparently.; 2/9/16, 11:49 AM
Original Mike said...: "Obama Presidency -- shovel ready."

A shovel, ... and hip waders.; 2/9/16, 11:51 AM
Bill, Republic of Texas said...: Keep at it Brooksie, maybe one day Obama will let you touch his peepee.; 2/9/16, 11:59 AM
n.n said...: Brooks will miss Obama executing policy, foreign leaders, Americans, etc. without accountability.; 2/9/16, 12:21 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: What we haven't seen, either because it didn't happen or because it wasn't reported at all, are scandals involving personal enrichment or sex - no Lewinsky, no renting of the Lincoln bedroom, no trading of cattle futures and no selling of pardons (yet). The Obamaites have been remarkably disciplined in this regard - they all know that they'll have a chance to get rich on the speaking circuit and in the lobbying game starting in 2017 and they are willing to delay gratification until then, and only break the law for the "greater good" of advancing their agenda.

I just don't see the Obamas having anywhere near the level of greed that the Clintons have. Or Bill's need for sex and sexual dominance. Plus, Barack is just too lazy to spend the time and energy looting that the Clintons have shown. A couple of nice houses, and some golf club memberships is probably the Obamas speed. Don't expect him to ger as good at golf as Fod did, but I wouldn't be surprised at some Pro-Am golf appearances.

We shall see.; 2/9/16, 12:22 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: "Fod" = (President Gerald) "Ford". Maybe the best athlete in the Presidency in the last century or so.; 2/9/16, 12:26 PM
bgates said...: I look forward to the day when I will have the opportunity to say I miss David Brooks, after he dies, perhaps after a lengthy failed struggle with several excruciatingly painful forms of cancer.

I'm quite sure I won't take the opportunity once it's there, but I do look forward to having the opportunity.; 2/9/16, 12:35 PM
MadisonMan said...: If you like your President, you can keep your President!; 2/9/16, 12:46 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: I would be sad too if my eight year vacation was coming to an end. I'm sure many other journalists feel the same way.

Time to go back to work!; 2/9/16, 12:48 PM
Sam L. said...: I eagerly await the opportunity to do that!; 2/9/16, 12:58 PM
Brando said...: I'm pessimistic enough to believe our next president might be so awful we actually do miss Obama when he's gone. I still think if Hillary had been elected in 2008 we'd be even worse off. And we may find out this year.; 2/9/16, 1:16 PM
Ctmom4 said...: @ Bruce Hayden - I think you are probably right about him. Michelle, on the other hand, I think plans to be supported in the style to which she has become accustomed. All those designer duds and private jets and Costa Del Sol vacations don't come cheap.; 2/9/16, 1:29 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: Blogger Bruce Hayden said...
"Fod" = (President Gerald) "Ford". Maybe the best athlete in the Presidency in the last century or so.
I am proud to be related, by blood, to Gerald R. Ford! He was my fourth cousin, twice removed. He was our very best unelected president.; 2/9/16, 1:32 PM
James Pawlak said...: The only words I wish to hear from Obama is his "Yes" or "No" to the question: DO YOU WANT A BLINDFOLD?; 2/9/16, 1:40 PM
gg6 said...: Brooks has been having some sort of emotional 'identity crisis' for months. Judging by this, his fever has maxed, he's hit the bottom.....; 2/9/16, 2:13 PM
CWJ said...: Ctmom4 wrote,

"@ Bruce Hayden - I think you are probably right about him. Michelle, on the other hand, I think plans to be supported in the style to which she has become accustomed. All those designer duds and private jets and Costa Del Sol vacations don't come cheap."

I agree with most of this. The Obama's may not be naturally greedy in a Scrooge McDuck sense, but they do appear to feel entitled to a 1% lifestyle. After eight years of enjoying a presidential lifestyle, I don't see either of them willingly scaling back. Up to now there have been no shortage of people willing to invest, but after January 2017, who is going to fund them at existing presidential levels. Seriously, other than a photo op or golf game with the first black president, what do they have to sell that anyone would want to buy? Who would willingly do business with Barack Obama absent the authority of holding office?; 2/9/16, 2:50 PM
Clyde said...: I'll miss Obama like smallpox.; 2/9/16, 2:51 PM
Qwinn said...: "Remarkably scandal free" makes me think of the Addams Family movie.

Woman: "Why, isn't he a lady killer?"
Gomez: "No convictions!"; 2/9/16, 2:55 PM
Jaq said...: The only words I wish to hear from Obama is his "Yes" or "No" to the question: DO YOU WANT A BLINDFOLD?f

Have a heart man, offer him a cigarette!

We kid, we kid, well, I do anyway.; 2/9/16, 3:00 PM
Theranter said...: I'll miss him like I miss the giant tumor that was growing in my breast.; 2/9/16, 3:16 PM
Big Mike said...: but they do appear to feel entitled to a 0.01% lifestyle

Fixed it for you, CWJ.; 2/9/16, 3:24 PM
Rusty said...: Brooks:
Let’s put it this way: Imagine if Barack and Michelle Obama joined the board of a charity you’re involved in. You’d be happy to have such people in your community. Could you say that comfortably about Ted Cruz?

Whatever movie he has running in his head. It's film noir and puppies die.; 2/9/16, 3:25 PM
Rumpletweezer said...: Obama may want to take up fishing after leaving the White House. Who will Michelle have to complain to? He'll be shivering, standing in a freezing stream, at the crack of dawn, thinking to himself, "At least SHE's not here."; 2/9/16, 3:26 PM
virgil xenophon said...: @Gerard Grosso

"he's hit the bottom.."

Sorry. with types like Brooks there ARE NO limits to their delusions...just like the former Stalin stalwarts sentenced to death during the 30s show trials who walked out of court with a death warrant in their hands signed by Stalin personally while muttering that it was all some mistake and if they could only explain to Stalin personally he would surely understand..; 2/9/16, 3:29 PM
Connie said...: "I agree with most of this. The Obama's may not be naturally greedy in a Scrooge McDuck sense, but they do appear to feel entitled to a 1% lifestyle. After eight years of enjoying a presidential lifestyle, I don't see either of them willingly scaling back. Up to now there have been no shortage of people willing to invest, but after January 2017, who is going to fund them at existing presidential levels. Seriously, other than a photo op or golf game with the first black president, what do they have to sell that anyone would want to buy? Who would willingly do business with Barack Obama absent the authority of holding office?"

I don't know specifically, but I only have to point to the Clinton's and their amazing money generating Foundation to be pretty sure the Obama's won't be hurting even if Michelle goes away.; 2/9/16, 3:37 PM
Etienne said...: Nice obituary. Long, but nice. Brooks can die now. He's written his best fiction.; 2/9/16, 4:22 PM
ddh said...: Pant creases are so 2008.; 2/9/16, 4:23 PM
ddh said...: David Brooks is looking for a position as Tiger Beat's political editor now that Rolling Stone has harmed its brand.; 2/9/16, 4:24 PM
CWJ said...: Big Mike,

Thanks.; 2/9/16, 4:37 PM
JackWayne said...: When people talk about how incorruptible Obama is I think they forget his campaign fund which set a low standard for corruption in 2008. My guess is that he will leave office with 500M, making the Clintons look like fools for having to grift so hard for 125M.; 2/9/16, 4:49 PM
CWJ said...: Connie,

You couldn't be more wrong. At least on that score. You don't have to like Bill Clinton to recognize that he has friends and can deliver the goods. Over the last eight years Obama has demonstrated near total incompetence on the personal influence front; starting with selling Chicago to the Olympics and going downhill from there. Domestically, be can bluster and use the authority of his office. Internationally, where presidential influence flows as much or more from the measure of the man than the authority of the office, he's been played time and time again. In both venues, what friends has he made? What favors can he call in? People with money notice these things.; 2/9/16, 4:59 PM
Joe Texan said...: Should we hope his aim improves?; 2/9/16, 5:22 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: Fast & Furious. "B-b-b-but Bush!"

Healthcare.gov, failed exchanges, and hundreds of millions wasted. "We expanded coverage!"

Lois Lerner & the IRS generally. "Not a smidgen of corruption, and our DOJ used prosecutorial discretion, so no indictments!"

Millions in loans directed toward friends (Soylandra et al.), Cash For Clunkers, etc "But the recovery! We got some of our $ back!"

VA waitlists so long veterans die, gov. employees cover it up & get performance bonuses. "The Sec. stepped down, accountability, uh, the buck stopped there!"

That's off the top of my head, David. I'm not a journalist. You're pathetic - go fuck yourself David Brooks.; 2/9/16, 5:41 PM
Paul said...: Obama??

"Here richly, with ridiculous display,
The Politician's corpse was laid away.
While all of his acquaintance sneered and slanged
I wept: for I had longed to see him hanged."

*Hilaire Belloc was right.; 2/9/16, 5:53 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: I don't remember an "I'll miss GWBush" column out of ol' David, do you? When his NYTimes colleagues were shitting all over Bush, calling him names, calling him stupid, do you remember Brooks writing a column about Bush's decency as a human being, his personal touch, his empathy, his willingness to look individuals in the eye? Bush's optimism? His good manners, his love of family? No? None of that? Yeah, me neither.

My favorite part is when he rhetorically asks if you'd like the Obamas to be apart of a charity you're running. I mean, like the Altgeld Gardens cleanup project young community organizer Obama was a part of, the one that ultimately failed but that Obama took credit for successfully running (according to fellow activists? The one none of your asshole buddies in the Media cared about actually investigating? Yeah, good track record. How's the charitable work GW's doing (mostly in Africa) these days--going well? Ah, you don't cover it, I know, I know.

You're full of shit, David Brooks, and you really should go fuck yourself.; 2/9/16, 5:55 PM
readering said...: For a number of years Brooks has been a fellow at Yale teaching a course on character and leadership, provocatively entitled, Humility. Here is the course description and reading list from 2013:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_OV-cc6zTNSYW1Ia0NQSm9yaTA/edit

Clearly, Brooks has thought about our current president and his likely successor in the context of the issues raised in his course. He sees application whether the president is from his own party and end of the political spectrum or the opposite.; 2/9/16, 6:02 PM
Gahrie said...: The very fact that Brooks is labeled a conservative is a partial explanation for the success of Trump.; 2/9/16, 6:31 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: What a coincidence. I miss Ronald Reagan. Compared to today's Republican crazies, he was a veritable left-winger.; 2/9/16, 6:33 PM
Michael K said...: "Compared to today's Republican crazies, he was a veritable left-winger."

Delusions are best kept private. I'd recommend Steve Hayward's biography if I thought you would read it.; 2/9/16, 7:27 PM
HoodlumDoodlum said...: Lying about a Supreme Court decision in the faces of the Justices themselves during a State of the Union speech where those Justices had no opportunity to fight back is the very definition of class and good manners.
Has David Brooks gone and fucked himself yet?; 2/9/16, 7:28 PM
Michael K said...: "Who would willingly do business with Barack Obama absent the authority of holding office?"

I think he has designs on the UN job. Kofi Annan did OK.; 2/9/16, 7:30 PM
BN said...: Forever! We will be listening to his Yogi Bear lecturing voice forever!

Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?

No one? Sometimes i miss the simpler times of olde.; 2/9/16, 9:23 PM
BN said...: Speaking of which, i know we're all a bunch of first born baby boomers and all, but am I the only one who in his secretest moments thanks God for Lee Harvey?

Oops. i said it out loud didn't I?; 2/9/16, 9:28 PM
BN said...: If y'all don't ever hear from me again, you'll know what happened.

It was nice knowing' you.; 2/9/16, 9:40 PM
Dr Weevil said...: HoodlumDoodlum:
"Not a smidgeon of corruption" in the IRS is technically correct. A truckload is not a smidgeon, has no resemblance to a smidgeon.; 2/9/16, 9:47 PM
Greg Toombs said...: I know how David Brooks first noticed Barack Obama’s “perfectly creased pant.” Surely it was when he got up from kneeling. It appears Brooks has one again donned his kneepads in service of Barack.; 2/9/16, 10:54 PM
Sprezzatura said...: You may think that Althosue cons would read this piece, and then react in a way that would not reinforce Brooks' criticism of rabidism.

But, nope.

He (Brooks in this situation) who laughs last, laughs loudest.; 2/9/16, 11:40 PM
Franklin said...: David Brooks and other Democrats are small-minded bigots. It's why they are wrong about every single prediction they make.; 2/10/16, 5:47 AM
damikesc said...: Yeah, "the conservative".

And his failures will become clear - even to David Brooks - over the next five years.

That's some good misplaced optimism.; 2/10/16, 7:02 AM