Stewart Strafing Obama Isn’t News
01 February 2010 3:00 pm by Taylor Marsh
Howard Kurtz remarks today in his column that Stewart’s incoming towards Obama is “creating a buzz.” Though he’s right that comics have more at their disposal than was originally anticipated. Kurtz quotes Aravosis, who takes out after Stewart, then Bill Kristol, who emails Kurtz something truly remarkable:
“Jon has always been a crypto-neocon,” he e-mails. “Could he be coming out of the closet? . . . A neoconservative is a liberal mugged by reality.”
Mugged by reality, liberal or otherwise, doesn’t quite hit it, actually.
Anyone in the job of analyzing Pres. Obama would lose all credibility, some have, if they don’t see what’s been happening over the last year. Stewart has no allegiance to sacred cows for the sake of it; certainly not to preserve the Democratic ego. Obama’s first year has simply left the president no cover.
Fouad Ajami eviscerates Pres. Obama today in the Wall Street Journal. Ajami knowing a little bit about a fall from grace from great heights, as he was once a quite respected Middle East expert, whose neocon ramblings over Iraq skewered his credibility into a death spiral during the Bush-Cheney era. But it’s tough to deny some of what he writes today. The most cogent two sentences concerning J.F.K.:
We have had stylish presidents, none more so than JFK. But Kennedy was an ironist and never fell for his own mystique.
This is absolutely spot on. Kennedy’s self-deprecating humor was part of his intelligence, as was his stunning grasp of his own mortality, due to his precarious health, of which the public new relatively nothing about at the time, but more importantly his own fallibility, which perhaps came from the testing grounds of family, but also having the boat he skippered blown to smithereens which offered the evidence. J.F.K. wouldn’t have been caught dead saying something so self-indulgently arrogant as: “Well, the big difference here and in ’94 was you’ve got me.”
Obama’s fall hasn’t been lost on anyone, least of all Jon Stewart. Kurtz:
Last week, though, the president was the punch line. After showing video of Obama speaking to schoolkids, the “Daily Show” host said in amazement: “You set up a presidential podium and a teleprompter in a sixth-grade classroom? . . . I’m not a political adviser, campaign strategist, et cetera, but that’s not a great photo op in a middle school classroom.” [...] With Obama, he’s merely using a popgun. But given Stewart’s platform, even that has quite an echo.
See, it’s really simple. You can’t float hanging curve balls to experts, comedic or political. Anyone who sets up a teleprompter in a sixth-grade classroom deserves to be a punchline.
This is simply reality as Obama begins year two.
While I agree that he has fucked around during his first year not doing shit, I get really creeped out by people who really glom onto this “he is an arrogant young buck” meme. The admin believing its own hype? Yep. Self indulgent? Yep. Any more self indulgent than any other politician (and his or her sychophants) that temporarily experiences fawning popularity? No. (And the idea that JFK was NOT self-indulgent and full of his awesomeness is ridiculous. He hung around with the Rat Pack and sometimes actually appeared to think he was in a Dean Martin movie about being the president, complete with babes, cigars, and fine Scotch.)
Yeah, the teleprompter thing has to go. But we know the motherfucker can kick some serious ass without a teleprompter so let us let that go, ok? And let’s REALLY let go of the idea that Obama is supposed to fulfill your wish-fantasy of some Morgan Freeman-ish Wise and Humble Negro at the Helm. Obama is a politician. Likely, he is a terribly conceited bastard (name one politician who does not think that he or she is important enough to change the world and make everything okay for America and the world and I will show you a liar), he is also bright enough to realize where he fucked up and change direction. Let’s see. He has signaled that he is ready to start challenging republicans rather than kissing their asses, so we will see whether the lessons of the first year have been learned.
Funnily enough, I remember the concern trolling of the Democrats after Clinton’s first, shitty year of nominees thrown under the bus, bruising gays in the military fight, etc. His presidency was dead, he had betrayed this and that group, and he was generally thought to be an asshole and a phony who was a mile wide and an inch deep.
I am not saying that we run squealing at the first sign of trouble. But there does seem to be a pattern with this spineless, worthless, pathetic party. We think being able to say “tolja so” first is more important than sticking together to get things done. Which is why I think this will be the last Democratic president and the last Democratic majority. Hopefully we can get a few things passed before we are relegated to the dustbin of history. We will have two parties, I think. But neither of them will be progressive. Progressives don’t appear to believe in progressive values enough to compromise or suck it up enough on one thing to get the other thing done. And we definitely don’t believe in solidarity. It is a weak, spineless movement that does t-shirts and blogs while the other side does grassroots and ground up organizing (city councils, school boards and on and on up to the White house).
When I first heard Obama used a teleprompter in the classroom, I dashed to find out hoping that he didn’t actually address schoolchildren using it. Happily that was not the case. I’m looking for any signs of hope in what has been a clueless president so far.
Where to start, Weezie2008… As to JFK, the reference in the post was very specific. It’s the only one to which I was referring, which is clear, so let’s keep it focused where it was meant.
Nobody should “suck it up” for politicians who aren’t delivering liberal or progressive policies just because they have a “D” by their name. That’s called being a SUCKER. Because if you don’t hold politicians and political parties to account they have no reason to listen at all.
It would also be appropriate for you to considering who’s holding things up. It’s Democrats and Obama. We never needed 60 votes and we still don’t. That’s their bar, which they accepted, something Bush & his crew never did, doing whatever it took to pass what they believed in, no matter what anyone else thought.
The current crop of Dems have the Sally Field curse. They want to be loved, really loved, which is clearly the case for Mr. Obama where Rep. are concerned, because he’s been courting them at his own and our expense for over a year now.
You don’t choose “solidarity” with politicians you can’t trust, have no credibility, and don’t know what they’re doing.
So Stewart goes so goes a generation… Not surprising since it’s all I’ve been hearing from my friends (all in their late twenties and early thirties) is how the President and the party continue to sell them and their futures down the river and folks like Chris Dodd only add to the perception problem. I don’t think Obama and the Dems can get these folks back…
Weezie…I think there is quite a bit of projecting going on and you are not immune. You have not heard anyone here wishing Obama would act like one AA sterotype or accussing him of another. Arrogant is arrogant no matter the color in which it is wrapped.
Iceblinkjm…you just wrote about one of my greatest fears when Obama became the phenom. I could not see how he could possibly be ready for the job. I knew the young people loved him and would be the most affected if he was not successful.
If things had gone the way I wanted them to he would be Vice President right now,learning on the job.
Please don’t take the lesson from this that liberal values and world view are wrong. What is wrong are the souless people masquerading as liberal.
“Please don’t take the lesson from this that liberal values and world view are wrong.”
What lesson will be taken from this administration?
That liberal values and world view are wrong. Sorry, Lake Lady; that is the reality. That is why Obama is such a bad President; and a bad Democratic Party leader.
I was disgusted that G.W. Bush raised the debt ceiling time after time [what, 5, 6 times during his 8 years?] I was alarmed at his deficit. Now: The world has watched as Obama has quadrupled the size of the deficit in one year! We’ve seen him raise the debt ceiling 2-3 times in one year!
He’s spending like a drunken sailor and believe me; it’s not helping.
Here’s the truth: In about 7 years, we’re going to be spending as much as we spend on national defense today–to pay the rollover costs of our debt. That’s from Neil Barofsky. So, Obama is dangerous; reckless; feckless. If the people of this country take a lesson from his time at the helm of the Democratic Party, you can bet it will be that “liberals are big spenders, big government.”
One more thing: Under Obama, we now have MORE people employed by the government than are employed in private enterprise/business.
That’s the definition of “big government.”
Iceblinkjm says:
01 February 2010 at 5:28 pm
I’d like to hear you write more about this, IB. I’ve gotten emails on this one, too. If you feel like it, please expound. It’s a subject that needs to be talked about more.
Noogan..OBAMA AIN’T NO LIBERAL!!!
Jon Stewart is one of those people who tells truth to power. He’s not perfect; but I’ll never forget him chastising Tucker Carlson one night on “pundit’s prime time” about the sorry state of the media.
Well done, Jon!
What can I say? I like the guy. I don’t make it a “must see” television show; I”m too old for a constant diet of Jon Stewart. But, I like him–far better than I like Bill Maher, who just strikes me as a pathetic little weasel.
Jon Stewart’s recent take off on Keith Olbermann was a treasure.
Thank you for that Jon.
Lake Lady: Obama ain’t no liberal.
Okay, I’ll go with that; but he’s the head of the Democratic Party, no?
Yes.
And, just as G.W. Bush tarnished the Republican Party by association, Obama’s going to taint the entire Democratic Party with his administration.
Elections have consequences. Democrats were STUPID to go with this man–a callow, charming character who had no history. They should have gone with the proven entity. The Senate knew he was a callow, spotlight-stealing liar. They figured he was a good sell. They went with that; it’s a real shame, because we’ve got such huge problems now that we could have used a leader who really knew HER stuff.
Not replaying primaries; just pointing out some facts. It is what it is; and the spinmeisters will spin this as “Liberals are big-spenders; big government fanatics.” And, I think it will stick. Mark my words: Republicans will use this argument against Democrats.
Noogan~ I was talking about liberal values not the Democratic Party. Please note the last sentence of what I wrote.
I’m sure there are people with conservative values who don’t recognize the Repulican Party either.
Obama a Liberal? Come on folks, Wall Street got exactly the guy that they bought and paid for. And he will deliver a Republican House and Senate to them come November. Ain’t it great when a plan works out? Peace
Republican
Bingo Imhotep!
oyyyy
days after obama beseeched the gop to stop fillibustering non stop everything and a weekend after obama went to the gop conf they did it again. it took all 60 dems to break a gop fillibuster on some lowly nominee. the gop should be thrilled- it gets to kill every dem priority and the dems have not done well educating an angry public that the gop is now using the fillibuster every day for the 1st time in history. looks like when brown is seated the govt stalls out fully. if the gop wants to do this crap it must be held accountable.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/01/dems-break-gop-filibuster_n_445242.html?view=print
Taylor Marsh: I stand corrected. I misread your narrowly focused comparison between Kennedy and Obama.
Still, I see such a parallel between Clinton’s first year and Obama’s first year. There was just as much rending of the garments and gnashing of the teeth about Clinton’s hubris and arrogance. And lots and lots of talk about how he had sold us all out – though he never sold himself as a liberal in the first place. He sold himself as a populist. We just projected our desires upon him. He was an asshole to us fickle Democrats until he wasn’t. When the economy recovered, he was our god again and all of our concerns about how he betrayed us and threw us all under the bus were out the door as we gleefully pursued our newest dot com venture.
I don’t think that this economy will recover that way under Obama. Not because of Obama, but because are a way different country now. We are extremely authoritarian (peasant minded) and corporate-owned. We have been getting there for a long time. But I think we are “there” now and can never go back (without some kind of revolution and we are far too lazy for that). We will turn the house and senate back over to the authoritarians in 2010 and then the whitehouse in 2012. We are finished as a party. I believed for a long time that if we just got some control, we could show the American people how progressive values made this country great and could continue us on the road to greatness. But we have been infected by the neocons hollow authoritarian “values” so much that WE no longer really believe in our values. How can we have complete control and still be running for the hills and cutting each other’s throats on the way?
I think if Hillary Clinton had been voted in as president, we would be facing the same thing. The trajectory is inevitable. Years of apathy and spinelessness have put us on the track that we are on and where we are going is unavoidable. The party is dead. Probably American democracy too.
“extremely authoritarian and corporate owned” is known as Fascism. Especially when you sprinkle liberally with religion and endless foreign wars. Welcome to the brave new world order. Peace
weezie..can’t disagree with much of what you say. My disappointment in my party is immense.
Imhotep..I wish more people realized that.While I am not a conspiracy theorist because I don’t believe in that level of competence. It does seem like first we get Bush to take us down and then we get corrupted and bought out Dems to finish the job.
I have long believed that Obama was bought and paid for by corporate interests. He is delivering. Keeping the industrial military complex moving along, keeping health care industry booming, wages down, etc.
Weezie
Can’t you affirm Obama without throwing in Clintons?
It seems to me that your entire purpose is “leave Obama alone – those others were bad too.” And if one does criticize him it must be seen under the over arching – racism.
When do you suppose Democrats should expect the President to start acting like a Democrat and act on Democratic priniciples? When 25% of his presidency is complete – on, yeah, we’re past that and nothing done. Don’t try to blame it all on Congress – he and his leadership havve determined that 41 Senators is a majority.
Don’t blame Sally Field either – she didn’t say that until she WON.
Weezie2008 says:
02 February 2010 at 7:56 am
Actually, Bill Clinton never sold himself as a populist, but instead as someone in touch with people versus George H.W. Bush who didn’t even know about supermarket scanners.
Bill Clinton was about one thing and one thing only: HE TAUGHT DEMS WE COULD WIN AGAIN. Period. That’s what so many people forget. I’ll leave the rest for another time…
djjl – Don’t forget Bill Clinton’s corporate ties, which were very wide and very deep. It’s just that WJC had a gift of triangulating these interests while empathizing with people.
That liberal values and world view are wrong.
Prove it, Noogan.
I don’t forget Clinton’s corporate ties. My point is that Obama was touted as being of the people – he wasn’t, never was, and isn’t now.