Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Obama: Gutless Waffler?

"Why can't I just eat my waffle?" -- Barack Obama

Last week, Democrats accused President Obama of lacking leadership. This week, The Economist questions his guts: Obama hasn’t “demonstrated much political courage.” Well knock me over with a syrup bottle! How bad do things need to get before the MSM accuses a Democrat of cowardice?

Check out this quote from the reliably liberal Economist:

Has [Obama], at any point in his presidency so far, demonstrated much political courage? It's quite hard to think of an unambiguous example. It's much easier to think of examples where he appears not to have had the courage of his convictions. . . . It is surprising after all this time how hard it is to point to any particular action or episode.
Wow! And then they list his waffles:
● His “erring on the side of caution as the drama unfolds” in Libya.

● “Guantanamo is still open, despite his promise to close it.”

● “He reinforced the troops in Afghanistan, but set a date to start withdrawing, a careful bit of bet-hedging.”

● “He pushed for peace in Palestine, but seems to have retreated at the first sign of gun smoke from Capitol Hill.”

● “He established a bipartisan commission on the deficit, but failed to run with its recommendations.”

● “He said he would let the Bush-era tax cuts expire for the rich, but backed down after the mid-term elections.”

● “His support for gay rights has been a study in caution, as has his position on gun control.”
They do point out that Obama “went to the wire” on ObamaCare, but they dismiss this because “it would have been even riskier for him to accept defeat than to press forward.” And let’s not forget that Obama’s party had overwhelming numbers in Congress, so he faced no actual opposition.

Clearly, if he were a superhero, he'd be "The Waffler." And The Economist isn’t the only liberal outfit expressing a loss of faith this week. Consider these examples:
Union Wafflery:
In 2007, Obama told a union audience, “If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself, and I’ll walk on that picket line with you.”

Comfy shoes? Yeah, that’s not a strange thing for a dude to say, oh no.

Anyhoo.... so far Obama refuses to get involved in Wisconsin. He won’t even send Joey Biden or his labor secretary. Heck, he hasn’t even sent a single death threat, unlike the rest of his union thug friends. This isn’t sitting well with the thugs. Says Rose DeMoro, the executive director of a nurses union: Obama has been “largely a bystander” and they “feel a sense of betrayal from him and are not liking it much” (does that mean they like it a little? Hmm, confusing). Other union thug-leaders made similar complaints. Obama has responded by adding insult to idiocy, when his press monkey stated that the walking shoes promise wasn’t meant to be taken literally. . . just like when he said “I won’t raise your taxes”. . . not to be taken literal.
Guns and Waffles:
Before Obama became President, he called it a “scandal” that Bush let the federal assault weapons ban expire. With the Giffords shooting and the new tone of unbridled death threats that inspired on the left, gun-control nuts thought Obama would finally follow through with prior promises to ban “assault weapons” yada yada yada. Obama even wrote an editorial, which contained the strongest words on gun control in over a decade, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (Against Criminals). They had high expectations.

But now Obama refuses even to offer a timeline for taking any action, and he’s steering clear of the issue entirely. In fact, he won’t even confirm that he still supports various gun control proposals. Thus, the Brady Bunch has given him an “F” for his first two years.
Gay Waffles:
As Clinton was our first black President, Obama is our first gay president, at least he sounded that way on the campaign trail. But then he got elected and suddenly started defending Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the Defense Against Marriage Act and refusing to take a stand on gay marriage and refusing to extend most federal benefits to the partners of gay federal employees. Hollywood gays called him out on that this week.
Eco-Waffles:
And don’t forget Obama’s incredible backflips whenever it comes to the environment. He started cap and trade and quit when someone objected. He went to Copenhagen promising to save the world and came back with an agreement to agree to ignore the conference. Windfarms. . . yeah, but they spoil the view. No coal gave way to clean coal gave way to whatever coal. Etc. Then he was going to open off-shore drilling, and he did. . . except he won’t issue permits (Bill "Groper" Clinton criticized him for that this weekend).

I could go on all day, but that would be pointless, just like Obama. At least liberals are starting to get the point.

31 comments:

Ed said...

I can totally see him with a huge "W" on his chest! Lol!

I think you're right, when the MSM starts saying a Democrat is a coward, things have gone seriously wrong for the Democrats. :)

T_Rav said...

Hey, hey, hey, Andrew! Cut Obama some slack! Those golf games aren't going to just play themselves, now are they?

Unknown said...

Andrew: Obama has done a double-waffle on gay marriage. He supported it as a candidate, then later opposed it and supported DOMA. Now, he has ordered his political Attorney General not to argue the law as it proceeds on its way to the Supreme Court. Rather than take the bold stand of opposing DOMA outright (thereby losing a major part of his liberal base), he simply orders his Attorney General not to pursue the case on behalf of the government. Better to take a cowardly political stand than to defend a law of Congress passed by a bipartisan vote. Like Pontius Pilate, he simply washed his hands of it.

AndrewPrice said...

Ed, The only time I can ever think of the MSM turning on a Democrat is after they've lost an election -- like Dukakis or Mondale, or after Carter lost re-election. Until they lose, the MSM is usually pretty good at maintaining the PR angle that the Democrat is bright, idealistic and courageous.

It would, of course, be a yellow W. . . with syrup dripping down the front of his shirt! :-)

AndrewPrice said...

T_Rav, He's just gotta make up his mind, either be President or become a full time golfer, but this in-between stuff just ain't making it.

I personally, would rather see him as a golfer. But there's no evidence he's any good at that either. Maybe we can hired Tiger Woods or someone to teach him?

AndrewPrice said...

Lawhawk, He's doing the same thing with guns. He was against it before he was for it, and now he's taking no position, except he's kicked the issue off to Holder to be against it again. You need a playbook to follow this guy's thinking!

I just think it's interesting that someone from the MSM has put together that this is a pattern and that Obama has NEVER stood on principle yet.

AndrewPrice said...

By the way, MST3k once said "waffles are nothing but a vehicle for syrup." Somehow, that strikes me as applicable to Obama too.

CrispyRice said...

Mmmmm... waffles....

If he were French, would we call him Ze Waffler?

Oh wait, if he were French, he'd really be defending the free world, no?

Tennessee Jed said...

You are SUCH a freakin' meanie . . . This guy is trying to get his bracket finished and you have the audacity to call him a waffler. Is he yet in the Clintonian league? Me thinks not. Anyway, he is probably doing nothing more than trying to figure out how to get re-elected.

As was quoted in Full Metal Jacket: "You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" Uh, well, apparently not. My hope is he doesn't so seriously damage himself that the Dems can rally around a more viable candidate. The mid-terms, as we have so often discussed have stopped the bleeding, but there are miles to go before I can sleep. ;-)

Joel Farnham said...

Super Waffleman. Able to leap in and leap out of divisive subjects at will. Leaving no one to know what he backs. Creating chaos where ever he goes.

This man, a mild mannered community organizer in his other job, has single-handedly destroyed the Democrat party. The Republicans are aghast. They have been trying to do just that for years. They quite properly resent his abilities. They are blaming Bush for this.

Andrew,

Nice list.

AndrewPrice said...

Crispy, Yep, then we'd call him "Ze Waffler"! LOL!

Of course, if he was French, then he couldn't be President because only US citizens and Kenyans can become American Presidents. ;-)

AndrewPrice said...

Jed, I heard about his working feverishly on his NCAA bracket and my first thought was, "WTF? This guy claims he can't deal with Libya and Egypt and the deficit because he's so busy... but he has time to work on an NCAA bracket?" Unbelievable.

And how much do you want to bet he ends up picking 68 teams to win it all?

In terms of his re-election, I think you're right. I think he's trying to find a way to engage his base, but without angering the rest of us. Unfortunately for him, those two things won't work because his base is so far gone from reality.

Miles to go, yeah, sadly. But I'm pretty happy with how far we've come already. Those freshmen kids are really feisty! I like that.

AndrewPrice said...

Jed, That sounds like a great trailer for a movie! "A mild mannered community organizer by day, semi-pro-wannabe golfer by other days, he brought about the Democratapocalypse...."

In terms of blaming Bush, it seems like they've finally stopped doing that -- at least for most things. I wonder what the next excuse will be?

Thanks on the list, but what's funny about this, is that this list was prepared entirely by leftists! They're the once who have suddenly realized that their hero is a paper tiger. :-)

Ed said...

Andrew, True, it is early for them to turn on him, since he's still in office. Maybe they're just getting a head start?

CrispyRice, "Ze Waffler" Lol!

T_Rav said...

Andrew, I don't think getting Tiger Woods to train him would be a good idea. I mean, do we really want to see the inevitable scene on the White House lawn a few months from now, with Michelle and those powerful biceps of hers swinging a nine-iron at his...on second thought, scratch that. Yes, let's give Tiger a call. I so want to see that.

LL said...

But, his handicap has improved - and he won the coveted Nobel Peace Prize!

AndrewPrice said...

Ed, They cuold just be practicing for 2013? ;-)

AndrewPrice said...

T_Rav, I would LOVE to see Michele clinging to the hood of the limo as Obama tries to escape the White House. The question is, what would the Secret Service guys do when she yanks him through the window and start giving him golf lessons?

Then they could go on Oprah (or Jerry Springer) for a touching reconcilliation! It would be a win-win for everyone!

Yeah, that would be great.

AndrewPrice said...

LL, He did win the Nobel for giving us all hope, that's for sure. But so far, he hasn't really delivered much in the way of hope. . . . . Actually, I take that back, he's given the Republicans a lot of hope, most notably hope for change! :-)

On his handicap, we should FOIA his golf records. I want to see if he's actually getting any better, or if he's incompetent as a golf player too! I'm betting he hasn't really improved his game, despite the constant practice.

Writer X said...

From what I understand, he's also too busy with Basketball Brackets and golfing to bother with anything remotely important--which is a good thing. If he's busy with basketball for the rest of his one-term joke of a presidency, I'd be thrilled.

This has become like the Dr. Phil Presidency. He can only get on a soapbox when it's the feel-good, easy stuff. Obesity? The Bullying Epidemic? Comfy Shoes? He's turned himself into the butt of most jokes.

AndrewPrice said...

Writer X, So very true. Even putting aside all political differences, there's just nothing about him that anyone can look up to. He's always disappearing whenever something important comes up, his priorities are all wrong (basketball? give me a break), and he always says the wrong things. He really has made himself into a joke. He makes Carter look like an action hero.

I will be very happy to see him lose his day job so he can concentrate on golfing.

wahsatchmo said...

I’m not sure what the Left was expecting from Obama. His only “real” job was Community Organizer (his little stint as “attorney” ended up being a make-work effort where he whiled away the days working on his memoirs - which proved fruitless until Michelle encouraged him to get Bill Ayers to write them for him.)

Community Organizers are professional agitators, nothing more. They can only exist provided three factors: 1) there’s a group that can be agitated; 2) there’s an individual or group to be shaken down for money and privilege; 3) the cost to pay off the Organizer to leave and take his agitators with him is less expensive than the cost to fight the shakedown.

Once the Left and the ignorant Moderates promoted Obama to the most powerful position in the country, the cost to be shaken down by the government became infinite, making every fight worthwhile. The groups that Obama chose as his agitators were environmentalists, unions, and foreign tyrannies, who are only allies so long as they get their goodies. The Media came along for the ride, primarily because they were lonely. Obama then chose to shakedown damn near everyone else, including the entire middle class. Wall Street and Insurers had no problem with the government’s shakedown once they pointed out to Obama that without their help the Administration would be stymied at every turn.

So Obama did what every Community Organizer would do once they’ve taken over whatever “evil” entity they’re targeting: open the doors to the looters and act dumbfounded when nothing is left over for the agitators. In the meantime, Obama tries to simplify the country by bankrupting it and reducing its presence internationally to an insignificant laughingstock. That way he won’t have to have such a complicated situation to work with, which is much better (and less time consuming!) for him.

AndrewPrice said...

wahsatchmo, That's an excellent analysis of Obama!

1. He had no experience that prepared him to be a president or leader. To the contrary, his experience was in shaking down companies. see e.g. Al Sharpton.

2. The left bought into the idea that he was some great leader because he was a good reader and because they assumed that the mere fact that he was running meant he must have earned the right through his prior experience -- and they never bothered to ask relevant questions about his background because he checked off all the boxes they've inflated in their beliefs into having meaning, i.e. Harvard education.

3. Once he was elected, he had no idea what the job required, so he punted.

4. When he did act, he tried the same shakedown tactics that worked so well against corporate America. But corporate America has no spine, whereas the American public does. So he met resistance and didn't know what to do.

5. His default position then became to let his courtiers (e.g. GE, the insurance industry, Goldman Sachs) take over because they promised they would get stuff done and make him famous.

6. Once the thieves got into the treasury, they emptied it. Leaving us with the bill and Obama's supporters wondering how it all went wrong.

That really sums up his Presidency, doesn't it?! Nice analysis! :-)

T_Rav said...

Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!

For our media-loving TOTUS, that would be the perfect venue.

However, in all fairness, I will say that that NCAA bracket does need a lot of work. Seriously, what moron decided there needed to be 3 more playoff teams? This is certainly the most complicated problem facing the country right now, and kudos to Obama for getting his priorities straight. (Am I being sarcastic? You'll never know.)

AndrewPrice said...

T_Rav, I actually assume that all praise of Obama is sarcastic in nature, no matter what the source. :-)

As for the tournament, I find it funny that anyone thought a few more slots would solve the controversies about who gets in and who doesn't? It just pushes it down the line.

patti said...

or my favorite when i think of barry: CHICKEN and waffles.

AndrewPrice said...

Patti, That's a pretty good summation of Obama as well. Plus, I think of some of his dumber quotes

-- we are the ones we've been waiting for.

-- tell me whose ass to kick

-- get me some comfy shoes

-- get wee weed up

It's a long list of stupidity.

T_Rav said...

Ironically, Andrew, I think more people are ticked about their seating in the tournament this year than in the past few years. Figures. (Incidentally, we should totally have a "March Madness" open thread: Name your championship picks! Personally, I'm thinking Duke vs. Ohio State.)

More seriously, though, I really am #@%$& off about our "gutless waffler." The Libyan rebels are probably about to get slaughtered, which prompted Obama to again insist on Gaddafi's departure but not lift a finger to do anything; Japan's suffering a trifecta of disasters and Obama's done...what? We're drowning in debt, and he seems content to kick it down the road and let Republicans take the heat. Half the time I'm infuriated at how lackadaisical Obama is with his job; half the time I'm glad he doesn't do anything, because if this is the mess we're in now, imagine what would happen if he was still trying to do anything?

AndrewPrice said...

T_Rav, I agree with you. It actually gives me a sick feeling that the US isn't out there doing the things we normally do -- like leading the world and aiding people in disasters.

On Libya, I simply cannot understand why (1) he didn't speak up right away, and (2) he didn't send aid and weapons to the rebels? At the very least, he should have done the no-fly thing.

On Japan, I don't understand why we haven't been more visible? It's been four days, why aren't there hundreds of US search and rescue people and emergency response people helping?

But that's Obama's pattern -- don't do the things that everyone would agree are good, but then concentrate on the few political things that no one wants except his hardest-core base supporters. He is not representing the US, he's representing a small group of unions and socialists, and nothing else interests him.

Also on Japan, I hate to say this, but I suspect there's a bit of racism going on here. For decades now, the politically correct have decided that you can insult anyone except white males and the Japanese. So whenever some non-white, non-Japanese place has a disaster, the left immediately starts screaming that we don't care because we didn't rush down there with the entire military and a trillion dollars. Now this happens and what do we get? Obama does nothing, and half the leftists in Hollywood are out there making jokes about it.

Could you imagine if someone made a joke about Haiti? Matt Damon and his buddies would have had you banned from the planet. But this time it's ok? I think it's ok to hate the Japanese in PC land because they're rich, oil using, job stealing, whale killing, America-buying, capitalists. Thus, they aren't entitled to any sympathy.

I think that's despicable.

T_Rav said...

Andrew, on Libya, I can understand why he might not have wanted to commit to a no-fly zone; that might have turned into long-term commitments in the area. But why couldn't he bring himself to even speak Gaddafi's name in his first press conferences? I think he still hasn't figured out that even the vaunted "soft" power requires more than a couple of speeches and symbolic gestures.

As for Japan, I think there has been some involvement in the relief, rescue, and damage control efforts by our military, since apparently a few of our soldiers have been treated for radiation sickness (or maybe just given iodine pills). And I don't want to imply that a C-in-C doesn't need, or shouldn't have, a good deal of vacation time--obviously, he does and should. But first, he sorta needs to be doing something productive--you know, as required by his office--and then go on vacation or golfing when the need for action has passed. Has he been meeting that standard? Maybe. I don't know. But I certainly haven't seen any evidence that that's the case.

Incidentally, as I write, word is that the reactor at that nuclear plant in Japan may or may not have suffered a containment breach and caused the nuclear fuel rods to melt down, in which case we'll probably have another Chernobyl on our hands. It goes without saying, of course (and yet I'm saying it anyway), that if ever there was a time to pray for the Japanese, this is it.

AndrewPrice said...

T_Rav, I can understand the no fly zone, but why not send weapons and aid to the rebels? That would have been a very easy thing to do, requiring a minimal US effort, and could have paid huge dividends. Instead, Obama went into hiding.

On the soft power issue, Europe is now starting to realize that soft power is meaningless in the face of actual power. They were pretty sure that their decades of feel-goodism were going to be enough to make everything turn out great in Libya, but they've discovered that they're pretty much viewed as useless in the region.

On being involved, I know that we have some involvement, but think about the level of involvement we normally have in places like Haiti compared to this? They were bragging earlier about having sent a 30 man search and rescue team. That hardly seems like something to brag about when we normally send in a thousand people to help get food and water into disaster areas.

On the reactors, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. That's the last thing they need to have happen. On a related point, I suspect that this will kill off the nuclear industry no matter how it ultimately turns out.

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