what are barack obama's flaws?

i think pretending the nsa expansion doesn't occur and occur in pretty much this exact manner under the administration of any other candidate dem or republican to have won a primary in the last thirteen years (if not thirty) but i do think someone could point at obama's zealous pragmatism and cautiousness as why it hasn't been challenged or checked in any token way by this admin. similar root behind expanded use of drones (w/ added bonus of cutting defense budget), manages to avoid both the major risks of war and the major risks of peace, it was similar thinking that was behind eisenhower's embrace of the cia, having yr cake and eating it too.

I remember the "3 o'clock phone call" political ads HRC aired during the 2008 primaries. Obv, Barack has learned not to leave himself open on that flank.

"Don't worry, Michelle, I'll listen to the recording in the morning..."

‏@DennisThePerrin
Obama justifying his authoritarian policies -- Nixon without the flop sweat.

george will got there already in may

GW is anti-infinite-surveillance huh

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/23/what-is-barack-obama-presidency-for

ab-so-lutely nothin'

(cept Dems winning elections)

I suspect that the corporatists are so deeply entrenched in US government at this point that no power short of a cataclysm could dislodge them. No one rises to the top who would ever dream of rocking the boat.

we'll need those boats in less than 50 years

solid summary, but leaves out how bill ayers ghostwrote soetero's books

http://thedailybanter.com/2014/04/the-story-of-barack-obama-as-told-by-conservatives/

Unconvincing. Not a single use of Hussein.

pop culture gets the hopey changey sadz

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/us/politics/pop-culture-puts-spin-on-grim-realities-of-obama-presidency.html

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/03/93_countries_that_have_flip_flopped_on_obama_partner/

https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/statuses/462782328797159425

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/05/22/a_poor_chapter_in_the_history_books_obama_foreign_policy

ghostwritten by ghost of richard nixon

jusy remember guys, WalMart is leading the way to our green future.

not that we really need it anymore but i think this piece answers the thread title's question about as well as anything will:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bromwich/the-leader-obama-wanted-t_b_4932145.html

ugh reading this gives me heartache

It ambles into speculative psychology in the last third but I can't quibble with the characterization of the early years, his preparedness for the job, and his use of words as mirrors. And it's true: he's overexposed, but, c'mon, Ronnie would have been all over social media.

i like bromwich generally. he and "leo strauss" are good go-tos for non-volkist criticism

anyway: OFA spammed me twice today about james taylor

swing and a miss, obungler

Ronnie would have been all over social media.

Ronald Reagan @thegipper - 1m
jklol #joke

Ronald Reagan @thegipper - 6m
We begin bombing in five minutes.

Ronald Reagan @thegipper - 8m
My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw #Russia forever.

can't even imagine what the reaction would be if a president made a crack like that now.

longest five minutes ever

"A tree's a tree. How many more do you need to look at?"

Contrary to popular misconception, this microphone gaffe was not broadcast over the air, but rather leaked later to the general populace. But the Tokyo newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported in October 1984 that the Soviet Far East Army was placed on alert after word of the statement got out, and that the alert was not withdrawn until 30 minutes later.

Ronald Reagan @thegipper - 1m
What's #AIDS? I don't have it, do you? #hilarity

(http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/12/aids-white-house-larry-speakes-joke-press-briefing-1982.html)

make that

Retweeted by Ronald Reagan
Larry Speakes @presssec - Oct. 15
What's #AIDS? I don't have it, do you?

WalMart is leading the way to our green future.

fwiw I hate Walmart with a passion, have never set foot in one etc. but their energy efficiency and renewables program really have been v forward-thinking

other bits:

Q: Governor, do you think homosexuals shoud be barred from public office in the United States?

A: Certainly they should be barred from the department of beaches and parks.

"We were told four years ago that 17 million people wen to bed hungry every night. Well, that was probably true. They were all on a diet."

In contrast to reading Ishmael Reed's interview with George Schuyler this afternoon:

http://www.policymic.com/articles/38965/ishmael-reed-all-the-demons-of-american-racism-are-rising-from-the-sewer

http://gawker.com/president-obama-cut-in-line-for-barbecue-in-texas-1603270179

"I feel real bad, but—"

classic barry

ENTER Morbius, with a grudge.

trivia is boring

franklin's is dope tho

I need to give them another try, but I gotta admit that their appeal eluded me the one time I went. It was certainly good, but not as good as a variety of other BBQ joints in and around town that don't make you wait in line for an hour in 105-degree weather and don't run out of various items before noon.

i mean its no salt lick or even ruby's, but damn if i'm not tired of the NC garbage i get up here

The insane hype around Franklin mystifies me, but I guess I just need to try it again. I recently went to a family wedding in California and a whole bunch of people were asking me about Franklin.

I have a deep and abiding love for both Salt Lick and Ruby's. I took a college pal to Ruby's for lunch when he visited recently and the place was empty, but the food was amazing! Why don't they get more love? I guess people want something new.

ruby's is my fave tbh if only because its the only bbq joint to make a policy of feeding touring musicians

http://i.imgur.com/8WRQPXf.gif

hypno.......tic

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view3/1653073/black-or-white-mj-o.gif

more bromwich:

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n13/david-bromwich/the-worlds-most-important-spectator

pretty good rundown of how half-assed everything turns out. but in the end i don't know how this analysis differs from ron fournier.

the specifics of his charges aside, this guy is a good writer. i especially like:

Ted Cruz, the junior senator from Texas, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, presents himself as another adoptive and grateful American of Cuban descent (though born in Canada). He bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Joe McCarthy – a clean-shaven, teetotal McCarthy, without the jowl and the after-hours squint. Cruz talks smoothly and skilfully, always in a tone of accusation: a manner that one might suppose had passed with the death of McCarthy, but nationalist rage and resentment have a melody that lingers on.

a few instances of passive voice keep this from being a real success, and I question this insistence on Obama's poor relations with congressional Dems; we'll know when the bios are published.

Something to chew on: A perilous and unspoken accord in American politics has grown up while no one was looking, which unites the liberal left and the authoritarian right. They agree in their unquestioning support of a government without checks or oversight; and it is the Obama presidency that has cemented the agreement. The state apparatus which supports wars and the weapons industry for Republicans yields welfare and expanded entitlements for Democrats. The Democrats take to the wars indifferently but are willing to accept them for what they get in return. The Republicans hate the entitlements and all that goes by the name of welfare, but they cannot escape the charge of hypocrisy when they vote for ever-enlarging military entitlements.

This sounds like it was true in 1988.

i'm probably overrating bromwich a bit but i feel like so much political writing these days is pitched at the same tone of apocalyptic hysteria that it's a relief to find someone saying these things in a calm and reasonable way.