Obama's surrender at West Point

[CountDeMoney]

Even I stop waiting for the big comeback this late in the 4th quarter.  Can 2016 hurry the fuck up already, so Hillary the Hawk can take care of business?  Sigh.

WHY COULDNT OUR FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT BE CLARENCE WILLIAMS III?

Politico.com
Edit pages pan Obama speech
By: Jonathan Topaz
May 29, 2014 08:00 AM EDT

Editorial boards at three major U.S. newspapers are criticizing President Barack Obama's foreign policy speech at West Point on Wednesday as incomplete and failing to recognize America's international standing.

The New York Times editorial board, often supportive of the White House, wrote that his address "did not match the hype, was largely uninspiring, lacked strategic sweep and is unlikely to quiet his detractors, on the right or the left."

Obama "provided little new insight into how he plans to lead in the next two years," the Times wrote, "and many still doubt that he fully appreciates the leverage the United States has even in a changing world."

The Times also continued its criticism of Obama on transparency on targeted killings and intelligence, saying his call for more transparency was "ludicrous" given the administration's unwillingness to give "even minimal disclosures."

The Wall Street Journal, far more accustomed to criticizing the president on foreign policy, said Obama's speech was marked less by what he said and more by what he left out — the pivot to Asia, relations with Russia, a defense of the administration's Syria policy, a discussion of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and other issues.

"We know that no foreign policy speech can cover the entire world," the Journal concluded. "But listening to Mr. Obama trying to assemble a coherent foreign policy agenda from the record of the past five years was like watching Tom Hanks trying to survive in 'Cast Away': Whatever's left from the wreckage will have to do."

The Washington Post editorial said the president's "binding of U.S. power places Mr. Obama at odds with every U.S. president since World War II."

"President Obama has retrenched U.S. global engagement in a way that has shaken the confidence of many U.S. allies and encouraged some adversaries," the board said, attacking the president for resorting to rhetoric instead of adjusting policy.

The Post also said that Obama provided "scant comfort" to those concerned about his policies on Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.

[Ed Anger]

I'm so tired of Barack. And even more tired of #Michelle.

[11B4V]

Even I stop waiting for the big comeback this late in the 4th quarter.  Can 2016 hurry the fuck up already, so Hillary the Hawk can take care of business?  Sigh.

WHY COULDNT OUR FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT BE CLARENCE WILLIAMS III?

CLARENCE THOMAS would be more interesting.

[CountDeMoney]

CLARENCE THOMAS would be more interesting.

If I wanted to see a black mute, I'd watch Scrooged again.

[Jaron]

The best thing about Obama is how much he fires up the Tea Party group and, by extension, the right wing in general. I don't think we really have anything to compare him to because he is the first Democratic president we've had in this age of social media. I will be gladly voting for President Hillary Clinton. I thought Mitt Romney was respectable and I could see myself voting for him, but I don't see anyone else in the Republican party I could vote for in good faith. Certainly not that Trey Gowdy. Can't stand the guy, but the right wing gets all wet for him right now.

[Eddie Teach]

Never heard of Gowdy.

[Tamas]

The best thing about Obama is how much he fires up the Tea Party group and, by extension, the right wing in general. I don't think we really have anything to compare him to because he is the first Democratic president we've had in this age of social media. I will be gladly voting for President Hillary Clinton. I thought Mitt Romney was respectable and I could see myself voting for him, but I don't see anyone else in the Republican party I could vote for in good faith. Certainly not that Trey Gowdy. Can't stand the guy, but the right wing gets all wet for him right now.

A Jaron sighting!

[Caliga]

I thought Mitt Romney was respectable and I could see myself voting for him

Of course you do, Utahn.

[derspiess]

CLARENCE THOMAS would be more interesting.

If I wanted to see a black mute, I'd watch Scrooged again.

You know you want to hear him do his oath of office in Gullah.  Admit it.

[crazy canuck]

If you win a Nobel Peace Prize before you do anything you dont really have to do anything.

Btw this thread reminds me of a thread we did just before he become President - I think started by Berkut.  As I recall the upshot was that people were hopeful but the consensus was that Obama would never live up to the hype and in the end most everyone would be disappointed.  Languish is wise.

[Valmy]

I have to say he failed even my pessimistic expectations. 

[alfred russel]

I don't quite get what he has done wrong. I understand that people who want to bomb China and Russia are disappointed, but otherwise he seems okay.

[grumbler]

I don't quite get what he has done wrong. I understand that people who want to bomb China and Russia are disappointed, but otherwise he seems okay.

I'd say that, for me, there are two big problems.  First, he walked into office knowing that one of the main faults of his predecessor was falling in love with the gadgets and shortcuts to getting desired results, no matter the cost in constitutional erosion.  He even articulated the problem well.  He then fell in love with the very same things, and became the opposite of the "open and honest" chief executive he promised to be.  I know that some of that was probably inevitable, once he really understood the stakes and the alternatives, but he still talks the talk.  Second, he was shit at getting actual legislation passed (yeah, I know he had Reid and Pelosi as anchors, but still...) even when he had majorities and even a supermajority in the Senate.

Some of his policies have been bad, but that i don't hold against him as much; I have thought every president has had some bad policies.  What I hold against him is that he is one of the smartest presidents we have ever had, and has failed to use any of those smarts.

[mongers]

Was he ever a smart politician?

[grumbler]

Was he ever a smart politician?

His career was far too short to know.