Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thankless Thanksgiving for Hope-he Changey

It’s a good thing Barack Obama isn’t that interested in American holidays, because he’s having a horrible pre-Thanksgiving. What’s gone wrong? What hasn’t? Let’s run through these in no particular order.

1. Obama’s job approval ratings have hit a disastrous 39%, with more than 50% of Americans (and many more independents) responding that he does not deserve to be re-elected. In fact, right now, he would lose to any Republican, to Glenn Beck, to the corpse of Richard Nixon, or to a syringe of Ebola.

2. Adding to his unpopularity, Obama’s TSA staff chose this week to start groping the public at airports, and they’ve reacted to the public’s outrage by complaining about fat, smelly Americans. Stay classy TSA! What’s worse, Obama flubbed his response and still doesn’t know what to do. . . even though both left and right apparently agree that TSA has gone too far.

3. Anyone remember how we were going to pull all American troops out of Afghanistan in the summer of 2011? Well, that slipped a little. . . to 2014.

4. Bristol Palin apparently will win some dancing competition, and the media has gone so foaming at the mouth with hate, that the public is once again reminded just how insanely hateful the left has become.

5. North Korea chose yesterday to test Obama’s metal by lobbing artillery shells at an ally that is under the protection of US soldiers. And what kind of metal has Obama proven that he possesses? 100% pure aluminum foil. At least this time, Obama recognizes that what Korea did was a very bad thing. . . he just doesn’t know what to do about it.

6. Joe Biden remains his Vice President and is due to say something really stupid, like last Turkey Day. Oh wait, didn’t he just call Obama “daddy” and tell the military that “daddy was going to take the training wheels off” So does that mean Obama’s been an amateur? Or is he implying that the military is the amateur? And how does that make you feel about the big surge that is already underway and which was supposed to save the day?

7. Remember that mosque in New York City? The one that angered everyone except the extreme left? Well, now they’re filing for federal funding. That means you and I will get to pay for this monument to murder, and Obama will be the guy forcing us to cough up.

8. Finally, MoveOn.org wrote the following about Obama: “Remember Barack Obama in 2008? . . . I miss that guy.”

Sounds like it’s going to be an unhappy holiday. I wonder what else could go wrong? Anyone want to bet the Turkey he pardons gets re-arrested in a double homicide within a week?

45 comments:

Joel Farnham said...

Andrew,

Just to let you know, Bristol Palin came in third. No one from her group of friends are claiming voter fraud. At least I can't find it. :-)

I am thankful for Obama. Without him, we would have been in a world of hurt with McCain. He would have gently sold us out. As it is, Obama only has himself to blame.

Tennessee Jed said...

Maybe it is time to start our own organization. We could call it "Movethe F***On.calm."

I am amazed how exercised people got over a contest that has as much credibility as pro wrestling. I'm sure the ratings went through the roof. Bristol was quoted as saying she wanted to win to give a middle finger to those that hate her mom.

Joel - great point. "Bam" became the tipping point of unmasking just how terrible liberalism is and may have paved the way for a true roll back.

Just in case, everyone at Commenterama, have a nice Thanksgiving!

Joel Farnham said...

Jed,

I wish Bristol did win. As it is, coming in third place with no prior training and no rhythim is remarkable.

Thank you about Bammy.

Happy Thanksgiving back as well as to the Commentarama group of readers.

darski said...

Just a quick mention. You test someone's mettle

Joel Farnham said...

Off topic.

Sarah Palin body checked Karl Rove, George Will, Charles Krauthammer, and any other beltway GOP elitist advisor.

Palin laid her cards on the table.

She talked to Sean Hannity yesterday about her view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X0-igHpoh4

I don't see they have any way to go except support her if Palin decides the group of GOP candidates aren't conservative enough.

AndrewPrice said...

darski, It was a play on words.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, I'm doing an article on what makes us thankful at 4:00 PM, so save your thankful thoughts until then! :-)

As for Palin, I saw this morning that she had lost. I didn't watch the show, so I don't know if it's fair or not, but I know that the left has been positively INSANE that she's on the show!

AndrewPrice said...

P.S. I agree about McCain, by the way. I've thought that many times, and so have most of the Republicans I know. He would have done everything Pelosi wanted (just like Obama did) and WE would be blamed for socializing medicine and Wall Street, for the bailouts, the stimulus, etc. That would be very ugly.

AndrewPrice said...

Jed, Happy Thanksgiving to you too! I'm putting up a quick discussion article at 4:00 today (if you have the time) and Lawhawk's putting up an open thread tomorrow -- then we're off until the weekend. :-)


I agree entirely about the contest. That tells you how politicized our country has become that even a goofy dancing show would take on political meaning. Next season they should get all the Presidential contenders on both sides. LOL!

And I agree that Obama has been the best thing to happen to conservatism since Carter. He's exposed liberalism in ALL of its failures and given heart to conservatives. And even more importantly, he's woken up the part of the public that is conservative, but wasn't paying attention.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

And, as I say above, I couldn't agree more with you and Jed about Obama. He's been a literal lifesaver for the right! McCain would have killed us and disgraced us for the next 50 years.

DUQ said...

Shouldn't Obama be having a Tofu-turkey and all-vegan Thanksgiving for his health-nut wife anyway?

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, I'm going to somewhat side-step this (though I do like when that group of neocons gets body checked) and say that I think our Presidential field will be much stronger than people realize. Since the election, there are about a dozen new names to consider and it really feels like we've completely refreshed the ranks after a VERY dry period during the last couple election cycles.

I love the way our country refreshes itself all the time.

AndrewPrice said...

DUQ, The Obama's say what they say, not what they do, and I would not expect them to have a tofu turkey... or even celebrate the holiday (it's too American and Michelle has already told us how nothing this country did before electing her husband made her proud).

AndrewPrice said...

Here's a shocker (sarcasm)... the Supreme Court refused to overturn the appeal court ruling allowing don't ask don't tell to stay in place. Any honest court observer knew that was coming. The Supreme Court is not going to upturn a law with this potential impact until after all the procedural groundwork has been laid. Any suggestion to the contrary is just politicized wishful thinking.

Joel Farnham said...

Andrew,

I don't blame you about side-stepping a little bit. The implications of what she said won't hit you until you read another bogus "hit-piece" on Palin.

I do agree the possible GOP candidates are getting better, but the only ones making any kind of presidential noise are the usual suspects.

On the new info, it is good to see the Supreme Court NOT getting activist.

wahsatchmo said...

Sung to the tune of Reunited by Peaches & Herb:

Schadenfreude, and it feels so good...

I really couldn't believe Biden said something so horribly condescending when addressing our military, though I thought he was trying to convey that the Afghanistan military needs to become more and more responsible for providing their own security. Which is what he should have said rather than directly insult the Afghanis and demean the office of the Vice President.

It's really great that Obama tapped Biden because of his foreign policy experience, otherwise we'd have a government that alienates its allies and emboldens its enemies.

Wait...

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, At this point, we have no way to know how the court will ultimately rule -- though I would be surprised if this court struck down the policy.

But (outside of the 1960s) the Supreme Court almost never steps in at this stage so long as the appeals court hasn't upset the apple cart. In other words, if the current state of the law isn't changed by the appellate court's ruling, the Supreme Court won't step in at the procedural phase. BUT, if the appeals court had overturned the policy, then I'm pretty sure the Supremes would have stepped in to reinstate the policy pending a final decision. That's just the way the court works.

I think the media is pushing the usual suspects. I see articles all the time pushing Romney, Huckabee and/or Palin for President without ever mentioning any of the new possible contenders. But the media isn't what counts. What counts are Republican voters, who are clearly looking for new choices. You can see that all over the internet right now.

AndrewPrice said...

wasatchmo, LOL! Excellent use of sarcasm!

I agree entirely about Biden. Holy cow. There are ways you say things and ways you don't say things. And telling another country (and by implication our own military) that they've been acting like children and we've been babying them, and now they need to grow up, is just not the way to say anything. He's such an ass.

I am glad he's VP though, because he really highlights the lie that these liberal experts have a clue what they are doing.

AndrewPrice said...

By the way, I forgot to include this link to Biden's Commentarama speech from last year (I added it to the article now too). Enjoy! :-)

Ed said...

My thoughts. I don't care about dancing competitions.

I don't know what North Korea is doing, but it does not make me comfortable that Obama is in charge of our response.

Obama's approval rating is still too high.

That mosque thing really pisses me off.

Ed said...

Oh, and happy Thanksgiving (and yes, I will be back for your later post. I just thought I'd get that in now.)

AndrewPrice said...

Ed, I suspect that North Korean is just trying to extort more goodies from us. They've periodically broken the cease fire for years now, and each time someone gives them something -- like free rice, free oil, or even cash. That's probably all this is. The question is how Obama will respond. The danger with Obama is that his first instinct will be to cower in the corner, which will encourage a bigger action by North Korea. His second response might be something very stupid, which could cause an explosion over there. This might be a good time for the Chinese to flex their muscles.

I don't care about the dancing show either, I just like seeing liberals get so anguished over something to irrelevant. :-)

Tennessee Jed said...

For what it's worth, here is my 2 cents about "Dancing With the Stars, " and what happened this season. This show has been a ratings winner for ABC, but had slipped a bit after 9 seasons. I have enjoyed this show almost from the start as something my wife and I both watch together. The professionals are incredible athletes, and it is family oriented in an age when so much pop culture takes the low road. Sometimes, celebrity "contestants" even show remarkable improvement during the season(not surprising considering they are getting taught by the best in the world.)

It has never, ever, been a real competition. Celebrities range from young semi-pro dancing professionals to 80 year old Buzz Aldrin, to Tom "the Hammer" Delay. The scoring is 50% based on a panel of judges, and 50% on audience voting. Regularly, better dancers will get voted off because they don't have the same fan support. They script includes plenty of side stories about "injuries" or "discord between partners" to add drama and fill out the time slot.

Knowing television leaves little to chance, I am unsure if everything is 100% scripted including who goes home each week, or if it is a straight up popularity contest. If it is scripted, the clear storyline was always going to be "Return of 'Baby to the dance floor in an emotional tribute to Patrick Swayze." 'Typically, most of the people who actually vote, simply vote for who they like, not who danced best. I never vote, just enjoy the dancing--particularly the professionals.

Bristol Palin was one of the least skilled dancers along with Margaret Cho, David Hasselhoff, and Micheal Bolton. However, she kept receiving enough votes to eventually make it to the finals even though she was not very skilled. That would only matter if it it was a real contest or a fair fight. ABC may even have early on sensed an opportunity to use this popularity of Bristol to milk pop culture wars to the max.

Because it was a Palin, liberals who normally don't give a rat's ass about the show suddenly started going through the roof about "fairness" (in a fake contest for heaven's sake!) They began to give "DWTS" it's best ratings in several years. Anything Palin immediately goes viral of course, with media libs such as Sally Quinn and Whoopi jumping on the bandwagon to boost their own ratings with THE hot watercooler topic du jour. That, in turn, just added free publicity to the show. ABC and Disney are the big winners. A scripting coup-de-gras! :-)

It was all great fun, and seeing libs pissed off always makes me happy even if it is about something not real! ;-)

Tennessee Jed said...

Don't know how that happened 3 times. Sorry

Joel Farnham said...

Jed,

I totally agree. If Bristol had won, most conservatives would have had a field day with it, watching and laughing at the liberal idiots who now take DWTS seriously.

Unfortunately ABC would have taken a hit. As it is, the liberals are pacified. The conservatives got a good belly laugh. ABC got great ratings and every body is happy. :-)

Unknown said...

Andrew: I am too busy putting together everything but the turkey(that's my daughter's problem) for tomorrow to ruin my cooking schedule by thinking about the biggest turkey of all--the one in the White House. But your post was fun anyway. Ben Franklin wanted to have the turkey on the National Seal, but got outvoted. For the next two years, at least, I think Ben's idea is right on the money (you know, that stuff they print at the federal mints).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE

CrispyRice said...

I agree with Ed - I'd rather have just about anyone in the White House with what N. Korea is up to.

Still, a nice uplifting article, Andrew, LOL. Thanks!

AndrewPrice said...

Jed, Some people have problems with their comments posting in triplicate... I deleted the extras.

In terms of your observations, I agree completely.

I was a fan of reality TV when it first got started and it was still "raw." But it didn't take long before it became as scripted as anything else on television. In fact, if you watch the production closely, you will see things that would be impossible if they weren't scripted.... like how it just happens that there are cameras on two people in different locations at the exact time that one of them makes a nasty phone call to the other. Plus, the participants became wanna-be actors playing specific roles. . . "oh, I'm the bad guy" or "I'm the crusty old guy" etc.

The more fake it got, the less interesting it became.

I'm not a fan of DWTS because I don't care about celebrities and because dancing doesn't thrill me, though I enjoy it sometimes -- especially when it's particularly skillful dancing. But even then, it's hard to see dancing as a competition. It reminds me ice skating in the Olympics, where the scores are almost set before they even set foot on the ice.

I have no doubt that ABC manipulated the circumstances and story lines of the show. I don't know if they manipulate the voting. There has been a lot of speculation that American Idol fakes it's phone votes, though they also have been very good at manipulating the audience enough that they probably don't need to actually fake the vote anymore.

In this case, they probably realized pretty quickly that anything Palin brings with it her supporters and her opponents, and so keeping Bristol on the show was going to help their rating a lot. And it's hard to fault them for that, after all, ratings are what make the networks profitable.

But it is funny that the audience gets so bent out of shape over a contest that is clearly not a real contest and which depends on popularity rather than skill.

AndrewPrice said...

Joel, That sounds like the perfect solution, doesn't it?

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, Just so they don't put the Turkey.... or is it "this turkey" on the $10,000 bill.... right next to Bernanke. After all, being on the $10,000 bill is just too big of a job for one turkey!

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Crispy, I figured people could use something uplifting heading into the holiday! ;-)

patti said...

barry summed up in one holiday inspired word: TURKEY!

AndrewPrice said...

Patti, With apologies to the noble turkey, I couldn't agree more! LOL!

Biden too. It's like we're governed by turkeys. Did we lose an inter-species war or something? ;-)

Anonymous said...

Ugh, thank God Dancing with the Stars is over for the season. :-) While I think it's a bit ridiculous, the cynic in me wouldn't put it past some of Palin's more ardent supporters to work the system in their favor (and I'd say the same if it were one of Obama's daughters on the show).

You want to see political candidates on the show? If you badmouthed Palin's dancing, you'd be accused of being a part of the elitist "lamestream media" and if you badmouthed Obama's dancing, well, lest I bring up the dreaded "R" word? ;-)

Speaking of political children, I read Meghan McCain's book. My admiration for her, uh, physical attributes is on record but I recall in the last book club chat someone mentioning that she's a moron. Well, I wasn't expecting William Buckley but there were a few parts in the book where I felt like slapping her (and not in a good way).

"Meg, dear, the world doesn't revolve around you. Your dad is very busy and he'll bring you up to speed when he can. Don't have a fit just because you're being left out of the loop." I understand her frustration but it didn't come out too well in print. I enjoy her weekly articles and I don't doubt her sincerity but... well, I think she's getting in a little over her head.

AndrewPrice said...

Scott, I think the chaos and blood feuds that would ensue from putting politicians (or their kids) on DWTS would be awesome. I could make the fights over things like abortion and gay marriage look tame!

We could put them on Survivor too! That might be even more fun, especially if we didn't feed them at all.

Meghan McCain is an idiot who doesn't even realize how stupid she is. She says the kinds of things that college kids spit out -- "what if we were all just, like, really cool to each other?" She doesn't grasp that there are people with different opinions, and she thinks that those who disagree with her are crazy. It's very childish and very spoiled.

I saw the other day that she wants to become a political consultant on a Presidential campaign. Um. yeah. You have to have some knowledge and some skills first. Being the daughter of the worst Republican candidate in history doesn't qualify you for anything.

Joel Farnham said...

Scott,

You would be right in that Palin got a boost, but I also suspect that ABC kept her on to amp up the ratings.

I have never been impressed with Ms McCain. She never struck me as someone anyone should confide with.

Anonymous said...

Joel, re: Palin and ABC, I would be inclined to agree. :-)

As for Miss McCain, if she wasn't the daughter of a senator and/or hot (in this 27-year old guy's opinion), she'd be a non-entity.

StanH said...

Nice list Andrew of the foibles of Barry, and his brazen side kick B-B-B-Biden of their continued efforts to screw America.

Happy Thanksgiving to all Commentarians!!!

Touche’ Patti!

AndrewPrice said...

Joel and Scott, I agree that McCain would be a non-entity if she wasn't the daughter of someone famous. She's kind of like the Paris Hilton of politics.

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Stan! Yeah, Obama may not be too happy right now, but he's earned his pain.

Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

Joel Farnham said...

Scott,

Here is something to think on. Who would you rather take to dinner? Bristol Palin or Meghan McCain? Both are pretty. Both are daughters of famous politicians. One has dark hair. One is blond.

Anonymous said...

Joel, let me think about that. I'm out now but I'll reply when I get home. :-)

Writer X said...

Couldn't be happening to a more deserving guy!

Anonymous said...

Joel...

Please don't take this as a cop out but I really don't know! :-) I haven't followed Bristol's adventures as much as Meghan's (which isn't saying much anyway).

Meg has the unattainable homecoming queen thing going on whereas Bristol is the girl next door who lends you a pencil in class. At the end of the day, neither of them is really my type.

Bristol comes with some added baggage though after Levi, I'd probably be a breath of fresh air! And of course, Meghan probably wins in the "morally casual" category (to borrow a phrase from Animal House). :-)

Joel Farnham said...

Scott,

Interesting conundrum, isn't it?

The answer really lies in your age. You are 27. It is a time of a mental change in your life where a simple choice of who to take to dinner takes a bit of thinking. It only lasts a year or two, five on the outside.

This mental change can best be described as growing up, but that really doesn't describe it. It isn't really growing up. It is more about making decisions that you have put off since high school.

Making a decision about who to take to dinner, a relatively easy choice, takes on a whole new meaning while you are in this phase of life.

After you pass this point in life, a choice of dinner companions becomes very easy. I passed it, and my choice would have been Bristol. Meghan, while pretty, really hasn't done much in life except travel with Dad and Mom. Bristol, on the other hand, has experienced far more than Meghan even though she hasn't traveled as much.

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