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January 19, 2010
David Brooks and the Real President
I suppose we should be grateful he's not admiring pants creases. Still, amazing that a guy who prides himself on being smarter than you can write something so breathtakingly false. Behold the power of Obama Beer Goggles:
In many ways, Barack Obama has lived up to his promise. He has created a thoughtful, pragmatic administration marked by a culture of honest and vigorous debate. When Obama makes a decision, you can be sure that he has heard and accounted for every opposing argument. If he senses an important viewpoint is not represented at a meeting, he will stop the proceedings and demand that it gets included.Really, David? Really?If the evidence leads him in directions he finds uncomfortable, he will still follow the evidence. He is beholden to no ideological camp, and there is no group in his political base that he has not angered at some point in his first year.
Three days after taking office, Obama's response to Republicans who disagreed with the economic stimulus plan was "I won." Obama had been president less than a month when in February he openly mocked Republicans during a speech to the Democratic caucus.
In April, he told a group of bankers that he was the "only thing between you and the pitchforks."
In May, Obama threatened to sic the White House press corps on Chrysler bondholders who disagreed with his plan to bail out GM.
In August, Obama said he did not want "the folks who created the mess to do a lot of talking," preferring them to "just to get out of the way so we can clean up the mess."
In September, John Boehner revealed that Obama had not invited GOP leaders to the White House for meetings on healthcare reform since April.
In October, the White House declared war on Fox News and tried to encourage other news organizations to alienate them.
Earlier this month, after both houses of Congress passed different healthcare bills, Obama agreed to a plan that would allow Democratic leaders to sidestep conference committee to once again shut the GOP out of the process. This, despite his oft-repeated promise on the campaign trail to make the debate open and on C-SPAN.
Yesterday, Politico reported that Obama plans to take a "combative" turn to fight for healthcare if Scott Brown wins today's election in Massachusetts.
I'm sure there are other examples, but these stories do not paint a picture of a president interested in "honest and vigorous" debate, and the arguments of those who may disagree with him. His actions on healthcare alone suggest not one who puts evidence-based pragmatism ahead of ideology. It's time for Brooks to bury his Fantasy Obama and face reality - he was suckered.
Cross-posted at The Greenroom
Posted by slublog at January 19, 2010 03:42 PM
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