So did you see Obama’s speech at the memorial service last night? [UPDATED]
Well, I did, and he didn't disappoint the crowds or most of the punditocracy judging from the immediate, gushing, reactions on both sides of the spectrum that I saw and read afterwards. In his usual mellifluous voice, with his usual eloquence, he delivered a lovely speech full of platitudes and aphorisms which is his usual style; and the adoring crowds got t-shirts with slogans on them too!
The only problem was it was a speech he should have delivered days ago, when his cadre of political brownshirts, and the media (forgive my redundancy), chose to go on a hateful rampage and try to turn a horrible shooting to their advantage politically and use the opportunity to move in for the kill on their ideological adversaries. He should have made this address from the Oval Office on Monday. He could have stressed all of the same themes, and by speaking out sooner one would presume that his cult-like followers would have been forced to stop trying to pin blame for the shooting on everyone from Sarah Palin, talk-radio personalities, and the Tea-Partiers to the paper-boy on the corner. Call me cynical, but his choice to use a public memorial service, complete with t-shirts bearing the slogan, "Together we thrive", no doubt the 2012 campaign's version of "Yes we can!", has me wondering whether last nights address was part of a larger, Machiavellian, more calculated, construct.
Here you have a President that has suffered a mid-term shellacking in a manner similar to Clinton in 1994, in the wake of which Mark Penn noted:
Comparing Obama’s current situation to the aftermath of the 1994 “Republican Revolution,” Penn noted that it took the Oklahoma City tragedy in order for President Clinton to “reconnect” with the American people.
He then stepped off the cliff by saying that President Obama needed a “similar event” to achieve that reconnection following his party’s midterm losses.
Jarring, isn't it?
At any rate, the Tucson shooting last weekend outwardly seems to provide such a moment, or at least is perceived that way by Obama's cadre, who sprang into action and proactively begin vilifying their political opponents for creating the climate of hate that fostered the attack; regardless of the inconvenient lack of even of a shred of evidence to substantiate their claims. And after letting the MFM and Looney left give his opposition a thorough, savage, going over for the last few days, the "good cop" swoops in to say that everyone should be playing nice, that no one should be blaming another for the actions of a lunatic, and gosh darn it all, can't we just all get along ?!? Add to this a heart-string pulling anecdote of the wounded congresswoman opening her eyes for the first time since the attack and an invocation to make America all it can be for the sake of a murdered 9 year old and you have an emotional, filmworthy-nay-Academy award winning, scene that would have made the great Frank Capra jealous.
And, voila !, Obama has the "Oklahoma City moment" that he needed. But as I said, perhaps I'm just being cynical...
I still believe this was a carefully orchestrated charade, a crisis that wasn't allowed to go to waste. I'd like you to pay attention over the next few weeks. See of Obama delivers a follow-up address over the next few days where, like Bill Clinton, in a less than Presidential manner he essentially joins the nutroots in calling out "the right wing extremists". Listen to hear how many times the MFM relives this event; and especially how many times they tell you both that this is Obama's Oklahoma City moment and just how well he's managed to reconnect with the American people. Note also when folks are scolded for not living up to the standards of comity and cooperation Obama spoke of last night, especially when the same folks are merely opposing the President's agenda or trying to roll back parts of the 111th congress' liberal ideological wish-list spending splurge. And, kind reader, as the 2012 campaign begins to gear up, listen for my prognostication to come to pass; for the collectivist slogan, "Together we thrive!", to replace, "Yes we can!", as the nutroot's Obamist mantra.
Listen for these things. The "Tells". The unmistakable marks that this "Oklahoma City moment" of Obama's is an attempt to draw straight from the Clinton playbook. And when you recognize them, resolve to see this poseur who, like his followers, would capitalize on other's death and sorrow fired in 2012.
What do you think dear reader? Am I barking up the wrong tree? Jaded perhaps? Too far into tin-foil-hat territory? Did you catch anything I missed? Please weigh in with your opinions and observations of the speech, the service, and my post.
[UPDATE] : One of the more arresting moments in his address, at least according to pundits, is the near-miraculous eye opening of congresswoman Giffords as recounted by The Won and corroborated by Senator Gillebrand of New York. I hate to pick at nits, but have cause to wonder about this based on a story I read in a local Tucson paper:
Giffords is in a drug-induced coma in intensive care. Doctors frequently awaken her to check her responsiveness, and she could open her eyes and respond to simple commands Sunday – an encouraging sign, said Rhee said.
Now let me make perfectly clear that her survival itself is a miracle as well as a testament to her caregivers, both at the hospital and on the scene; thank God she appears to stable and headed for a recovery.
That said though, which is it? Were the doctors lying to the Tucson Sentinal over the weekend? Did Obama and Gillebrand mistakenly discribe the event, intentionally or otherwise? Or is it something else alogether?
Because I have to tell you, my intuition says that if this had been Republican President making the very same remarks last night, under the very same conditions, and in the identital context, that today the "BOOOOOOOOOOOSH! LIED!, PEOPLE DIED!" crew would not only be rending their garment, gnashing their teeth, and demanding TRANSPARENCY! and DA TROOOOOOOOOOOOF!, but that they'd already be manufacturing the giant paper-mache heads to wear and the effigies to burn and hang when they stormed the White House in righteous protest.
Me? I'm not planning on marching, burning, or paper-mache-ing. I just wonder which version of the truth is, well, the thruth; becuase I have it from a very good source that it will indeed set you free...





January 15th, 2011 - 20:01
You don’t have to stop on my account.
My comment about “Epistles” was not notably directed at you. Although I differ with many of your positions, I didn’t think that you were wearing your keyboard out expressing them.
NTTAWWT, at some points. I have managed to drop a couple of rather extensive comments here and there myself, when the urge overwhelmed me. But I generally think that concise is better.
Be that as it may, I’m a gun-clinging, Bible-thumping, Constitution waving, gap-toothed, cousin-humping, Confederate Flag waving Right WingNut of the first water, so what would anything I think matter to anyone?
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January 15th, 2011 - 20:12
You are very likeable Jefferson. I don’t care if you sling guns, but you shouldn’t be allowed to be better armed than the army. I’ll wave the Constitution with you. It’s a beautiful document. My daughter has a gap in her teeth. Depending upon what your cousin looks like…. As a confederate, do you think the South should still be able to have slaves?
I think you matter.
See, I got sucked in again.
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January 15th, 2011 - 20:40
Actually, I live in the South. I’m not “from” here. I’ve got ancestors who served on both sides of the “Late Unpleasantness”.
My dear Wife is a Yooper, and the only folks in the State that I’m related to are my Daughter and the Grandsons. My son moved out of State.
But I do have a Pocket Constitution, and while I am not better armed than a serious Army, I could probably equip three or four Platoons, if you don’t insist on full-automatic weapons.
Slavery? Please! I’m not sure I believe in prisons, let alone something that stupid.
I’ll give you my memory of a Robert A. Heinlein quote on that one. “Putting a man in prison is an offense against his dignity. Killing him is not.”
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