Apparently, the president is as ignorant of history as he is of math.
I like this idea:
The fact that Obama quickly gets lost in the weeds when he’s taken off message should put a big fat bull’s-eye on him for any of his opponents in his upcoming reelection campaign. A point I’ve made in other forums and repeat here is this: A sufficiently ruthless opponent would not defer to him but take any and every opportunity to discomfit him. What this, and similar episodes, shows is that he has never had to deal with a very public event, from which he cannot escape, in which he’s lost control and is being made to look bad. That thin veneer of cool would quickly melt. He doesn’t improvise well and doesn’t know when to stop digging: it’s tough when you believe deeply that you’re the smartest guy in the room. In fact, the person he least respects has the greatest opportunity here. Media mavens that run our so-called debates can be counted on to try to keep things predictable. Obama’s opponents should not accommodate that ruse.
The great thing is that it’s not something he can fix. It would require him to completely reconstruct his self image, and his ego would never allow it. A Fred Thompson would have destroyed Obama in every debate. McCain wasn’t capable of it, either intellectually or by temperament. Oh, and I agree with John Hindraker that the president is not a smart man. He just plays one on teevee. I’ll be this is why we aren’t allowed to see his transcripts.
[Update a few minutes later]
Obama: “Mistakes? I can’t think of any.”
[Late morning update]
The president misunderstands Passover as well. No surprise, given all the years he spent in Reverend Wright’s anti-semitic church.
Yep, if only the GOP would fight like a girl.
ken anthony Says:
“Yep, if only the GOP would fight like a girl.”
Heh.
I bet it’s a combination of both but I wonder if the press just lets them go or they don’t know either.
Actually, all it takes is one opponent to say “I don’t need a teleprompter” a few times and the political advisers will start suggesting that Obama is losing voters by continuing to use one.
A leader should lead.. if you’re just going to go out there and read what someone else wrote for you then why even have a figurehead?
Rand writes:
“A point I’ve made in other forums and repeat here is this: A sufficiently ruthless opponent would not defer to him but take any and every opportunity to discomfit him.”
Which is why I say someone like Chris Christie would utterly demolish him in every single debate and win the election in a walk.
Christie is willing to say what needs to be said and say it in a direct confrontational way. He’s handled all those consituents adroitly and directly. He would not be afraid of handling Obama roughly.
A Romney or Huckabee would not be able to bring themselves to press Obama’s buttons and they will lose.
They will lose because Obama wins when he’s not confronted with facts, with strength and directness, time and time again, in public.
And when a Christie smacks Obama in a debate and Obama whines, a Christie would take that as a reason to do more.
Trump gets an ear because he says things directly. The nation is thirsting for a grown up to talk like an American: big, tough, no nonsense, honestly. Trump is the nearest thing. Not near enough but nearest.
Not a smart man? Next you’re going to tell us that Patrick Stewart isn’t really an astronaut.
Patrick Stewart is not an astronaut. He’s a starship captain.
Passover is the day I smear some leftover lamb masala curry on the door to keep the holy spirit from murdering me in my sleep.
It works everytime.
And when a Christie smacks Obama in a debate and Obama whines, a Christie would take that as a reason to do more.
The visual on that is quite refreshing.
More importantly Patrick Stewart isn’t a refined English gentleman (anymore).
Obama claimed that Texas has always been Republican for historical reasons. To call him a moron is to insult morons. For over 100 years following the Civil War, Texas and the rest of the South was solidly under Democrat control. Those were the years where the KKK was strong, Jim Crow laws were enacted, and blacks had almost no civil rights at all.
Prediction: If Obama faces a real opponent next year (a Bachmann, Palin, Christie, or Paul Ryan type), he will refuse to debate them under any kind of open format for exactly this reason. Besides, he trusts the media not to call him on it.