David Axelrod’s Alinsky-ism gave me an AH-HA! moment today

from The Huffington Post/Howard Fineman:

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s top adviser suggested to The Huffington Post late Wednesday that the administration is ready to accept an across-the-board, temporary continuation of steep Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest taxpayers.

That appears to be the only way, said David Axelrod, that middle-class taxpayers can keep their tax cuts, given the legislative and political realities facing Obama in the aftermath of last week’s electoral defeat.

“We have to deal with the world as we find it,” Axelrod said during an unusually candid and reflective 90-minute interview in his office, steps away from the Oval Office. “The world of what it takes to get this done.”

I knew I’d read this same comment before in Saul Alinsky’s book Rules for Radicals and went on a search to find this quote. Sure enough here it is:

“As an organizer I start from where the world is, as it is, not as I would like it to be. That we accept the world as it is does not in any sense weaken our desire to change it into what we believe it should be – it is necessary to begin where the world is if we are going to change it to what we think it should be. That means working in the system.”

I doubt that anyone else is going to catch this Axelrod slip but it’s in verbal gaffes like this that the true socialism of this regime, makes itself known.

Our leader suffers from an STD (Short-Timers Disorder)

I was too young to remember this devastating ad:

But from all historical accounts, it was definitely an election changer. It’s been shown many times over the years for that reason and I can see why it was a real game changer. During the last election, I saw the maker of this ad on a news show and this is one political ad that hit a home run and will live on in history for how it affected the electorate.

Which brings me to this ad:

Even though Hillary lost, this is another high impact ad. It reinforced my opinion, when I saw it that Obama was not the right guy to sit in the oval office. It gives you pause to think: Who do you want taking that call? Who do you trust to do the most right thing?

Even his running mate gave reason for voters to question the decision to elect Obama:

Obama’s been tested from all sides and he shows nothing but annoyance (or naivety or downright incompetence) to events, not decisiveness or a vision of purpose during any critical event that he has faced. The only time he shows determination in a purpose is when it’s a crisis he has generated (remember the “health care crisis”?)

In the book Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, at a time while Obama was still debating his run for president, he asks his handlers if he can be home every weekend during the campaign. When I read this little paragraph in the book, I was astounded. Is it just me, or does this sound a little naive? Did he think that running for president of the United States was going to be a 5 day work week, 9-5 job? Did he think this was a day job? And does he think that while he’s president, he can close shop at 10pm and turn out the lights?

I think he does. And I think that anything that happens while he’s “indisposed” will be nothing short of an annoyance and a distraction. I just do not believe that he ever had a clue what this job entailed, what level of responsibility living in the White House requires. (It was reported that during the transition, and after Bush had met with Obama, Bush told one of his aides that “this cat is clueless.”) As I’ve said before, I think he knows he’s a one-termer and he’s going to get all the perks he can get from this job – traveling the world, seeing everything, hosting glittering parties for celebrities, enjoying private concerts and flying in chefs from all over the country.

All the while, he’s standing back and letting his underlings write policy, draft bills and generally run the country and the world. (If he knows nothing else from community organizing, he knows how to delegate. Hence, all the czars in this government.)

All of this rambling brings me to this column by Alex Pappas in today’s Daily Caller.

Will we ever know who this guy is?

I admit that I’m dumbfounded by this president. And I’m asking the same question I asked over a year ago, Who is this man?

On one hand, I think that Obama has to be the most naive person to ever sit in the oval office. Just look at his record with rogue nations like North Korea and Iran. I think that Obama really thought that if he could just talk to these evil men, he could charm them into seeing things his way. Just this morning, North Korean put it’s soldiers on war alert. If the North invades the South, how will we react? Or will we?

How out of touch with the American people do you need to be to set up a flag.gov site for neighbors to spy on each other and report to big brother? Did he really believe that this would fly (pardon the flag flying pun) with what we, as Americans, believe is fair and just?

On the other hand, he seems to be completely overwhelmed by the office he holds. A look at his response to the catastrophic oil spill is a good example. It has him paralyzed into inaction. His regime seems to be confused and befuddled into inactivity and forcing the governors of those states impacted, to take action alone.  But to be fair, what was his first act when he finally did do something? He sent lawyers to the gulf.

Louisiana marshlands impacted by underwater BP oil gusher

He totally ignored Nashville and it’s horrific flooding. Those citizens must feel real warm and fuzzy about him now.

And on the third hand (if I had one), he shows so much callousness and lack of class that it’s almost unbelievable. Where will he be on Memorial day? Not at Arlington. He’ll be throwing a party for Paul McCartney.  Has anyone forgotten how he treated Benjamin Netanyahu? Or the Dalai Lama? Compare that to how he treated the Mexican president last week with a state dinner.

(from frugalcafeblogzone.wordpress.com) Dalai Lama leaving through the WH back door.

His regime members okayed a fly over of Manhattan that terrified New Yorkers last year. While unemployment hovered near 10%, he took his wife out for dinner and a Broadway show, spending millions of dollars and disrupting the city. He spent more bundles on his family’s summer vacation at Martha’s Vineyard and a Christmas trip to Hawaii. (Let’s not forget that was at the same time as the Christmas panty bomber event, too.)  He can’t be bothered to take his children to church (because after all, he’s not a Christian) but he makes a show of his golf game every Sunday.

It’s been 10 months – TEN – since his last press conference. What does that say about him? Not only does he not respect the press that is so enamored with him but he’s afraid to speak off the cuff, sans a teleprompter for fear he might say something idiotic again, (rememeber “the cops “acted stupidly?”) Oh, he campaigns all the time, he’s speechifying constantly but never without a script, never without his teleprompter. Is it any surprise that his last press conference was the one that prompted a beer summit in the Rose Garden?

Rose Garden beer summit

I just don’t know who this president is. I don’t think there was ever a question, whether you like George Bush or not, who he was and what he stood for. But with Obama, we were sold a bill of goods during the campaign that he was the smartest man to ever run and then win the White House. If hes’ so smart, how can he keep doing such stupid and naive things? What does that say about the intelligence of his handlers?

For me, 2012 will not come soon enough. The one thing I know for sure about this man is that has got to go. He has to be sent back to his bastion of corruption in Chicago so that we can repair the damage he’s done.

Obama’s Oval Office gets history makeover | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

I love it! Now all of a sudden he’s concerned about appearances. He spent $4000/night sleeping in a house in Hawaii, how  many millions of dollars for staff, secret service, golf, snorkeling…. blah blah blah, and now – NOW – he cares how his spending will appear to the nation? I don’t have to remind you of the cost of a mystery fly-over of Manhatten or $8000 to fly a pizza chef in or date night on broadway or entire family trips to Europe or botched trips to Copenhagen…

This guy makes me puke! PUKE, I tell ya!!!

Given the plight of so many unemployed Americans, President Obama did not want to spend a lot of money on a lavish redecoration of the Oval Office. But he did want to make it his own. So Obama asked California…

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Obama’s Oval Office gets history make…“, posted with vodpod

Have Obama’s image handlers been on vacation, too?

Great column here about how Obama’s image makers and news shapers have been falling down on the job in the last 2 weeks.

And as Vicki writes here, the images that the White House is putting out are less than flattering. Smug-down-his-nose pictures of Obama with Biden, an empty oval office… what’s the message being sent to the American people? This whole year has been about image from the WH. What’s happened to Axelrod?

The One’s on television 3 times a day but let someone try to blow up a plane over Detroit and he’s mousy mum for 4 days! Does he not think that the American people needed to hear some reassurance after this Christmas day terrorist attack? That we needed to know that the LEADER was on top of this?

Make no mistake about it: the bomb may not have gone off but the attack was successful, just the same. We are scared, we are off balance, we are confused and we were surprised. And the president has been golfing and snorkeling and dining in a $4000/night estate. We have over 10% unemployment and he’s vacationing like this?

Again, it’s about image and lack of attention to it. The real Obama seems to be emerging.

Mapquesting around the White House

I gotta know – Does this president even know how to find the oval office by himself?

HE’S NEVER IN THE DAMN WHITE HOUSE!!! HE’S ON TV EVERY SINGLE DAMNED DAY!!!

I’m really really REALLY tired of seeing and hearing him… *banging my head on the table*