A relic, no doubt, of my Catholic boyhood, I am sometimes masochistic. This may explain why, yesterday afternoon, I turned the car radio to listen to Jay Severin pump out the septic tank of his brain on WTKK. The topic was the manifest failure of Barack Obama as president. “Didn’t we, Best and Brightest, know,” Severin intoned, “that this guy didn’t have the experience, wasn’t ready for prime time?” This brought to mind the articles penned by Dave Barry-then a red hot columnist-about the “failed Clinton Administration”. In January,1993. Barry wrote:
ALLOW me to be the first professional news commentator to point out that the Clinton administration has failed. Look at the evidence. Bill Clinton has been president for over two weeks now, and:
— The national debt is still enormous.
— The world is still rife with oppression, famine and genocide.
— George Steinbrenner is still at large.The time has come to ask: What went wrong? How could failure have come so quickly to Bill Clinton, who started out with so much promise, so many ideas, such a large volume of hair?
Of course, the only difference between our own Jay Severin of 2009 and Dave Barry of 1993 was that Barry was joking. And what’s broadcast in Boston reflects what’s happening nationwide. So while Obama’s cabinet choices all strut and preen and talk about bipartisanship, the Republicans are already declaring war. And since the Democrats are playing kissy-face and the Republicans murder, the war will be a-symetric. Just a few weeks ago pundits were declaring the Republicans wholly marginalized, if not actually dead. Yeah, right.
In August, 1974, succeeding the just-resigned and disgraced Richard Nixon, the new President, Gerald Ford, declared, “My fellow Americans, our long national nightmare is over.” President-elect Obama might well consider including in his inaugural address ten days hence, “My fellow Americans, both economically and politically, our long national nightmare is just beginning.”
And our boy Jay, having supported Mitt Romney (!) right to the end, and now dutifully following the right-wing playbook, has a new lease on life
cannoneo says
It’s going to be a bit of a tightrope walk, trying to hold Obama’s feet to the fire on important issues, and at the same time defending him against media and GOP distractions.
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p>My hope would be that when we disagree with the president we keep the rhetoric very issues-based and make our criticism strategically, to avoid giving the media the canard that his base has turned on him.
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p>Of course, the approval ratings showed that majorities continued to support Clinton throughout his presidency, but that didn’t stop the media from pretending otherwise.
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p>It’s not easy, but my sense is the media elite simply like him much more than they did Clinton, and that this will help. But that’s being optimistic.
frankskeffington says
Clinton was in office for two weeks before Barry wrote his piece. Severnio bought the “Impeach Obama” domain name BEFORE Obama was even elected.
peter-porcupine says
The Office of the President Elect was in operation for 6 weeks – press conferances, even an official seal – before Obama actally BECAME President Elect on Dec. 15 (ever heard of faithless electors? If Obama had been on tape agreeing to a cut of the take from Blago, he might not have BECOME President Elect as the electors were not bound to vote for him!).
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p>Two weeks vs. Six weeks – timing is about right.
huh says
Bush started his transition on 16 December, the very day Gore conceded. If it hadn’t been for the legal challenge, he would have started earlier. It’s the way transitions have worked my entire lifetime.
peter-porcupine says
huh says
You tried the same “whine at every stage of the game” strategy against Deval. The only damage you did was to you and your party’s credibility.
centralmassdad says
Googling strongly suggests that the electoral vote was on Dec 18, 2000.
tblade says
If…If…If…When we put “if” into the equation, anything seems within the realm of fantasy. I mean if the rapture happened in August, McCain would have been spared Palin and would have been free to choose Romney or Liberman as his VP! If John McCain was caught in a night club men’s room with a mirror full of blow and 3 transvestite hookers, he may not have gotten the GOP nomination! Oh noes!
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p>Seriously, there would have needed to be 96 such faithless electors to change the outcome. 96. Your argument-by-fantasy technique is not really becoming of a person of your alleged intelligence and reasonableness.
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sabutai says
96 faithless electives would be equivalent to the Queen refusing to give her Royal Assent to a law. Sure, it’s legal, but should a conflict between law and principle happen, I imagine that law would eventually give way. And the conflict would not be pretty.
peabody says
Prediction: The Obama Administration will do its best to turn the country around and repair the damage George W. Bush and the Republicans have done to our nation.
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p>Not sorry to disappoint the GOP!
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johnd says
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p>This Catholic school thing must be my excuse for occasionally listening to Chris Matthews/Keith Olbermann, although since the election I’ve managed to avoid both shows since I realize they will filter an bad news out to do whatever they can to make Obama successful.
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p>I love listening to Jay and apparently so do many other listeners.