I've never bought the "believes the opposition means well" angle (once ascribed to Obama in a Woody Allen interview I read, fer chrissake); he's smarter than that.https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-02-09/has-anyone-seen-the-president
Back when he was president, Barack Obama told me that only two people treated any interaction with him as a zero-sum game. One was Vladimir Putin, the other congressional Republicans. Both behaved as if there was no such thing as a win-win situation: Any gain for Obama was a loss for them, and any gain for them must also entail a loss for Obama. The moment that the Russian president or congressional Republicans saw he wanted something, they went to work trying to keep him from getting it -- even if it was something they might otherwise have approved of.
― El Tomboto, Friday, 23 February 2018 12:01 (six years ago) link
That's more than two people, but hey.
― Mark G, Friday, 23 February 2018 12:13 (six years ago) link
what he believed or did not believe is not really the crux of the matter
― k3vin k., Saturday, 24 February 2018 23:56 (six years ago) link
Well, on this thread, it arguably is.
― Andrew Farrell, Sunday, 25 February 2018 10:47 (six years ago) link
"We didn't have a scandal that embarrassed us," he said. The former president admitted that his team made mistakes, but no massive screw-ups. He then said, "I know that seems like a low bar," at which point the audience burst into laughter. "Generally speaking, you didn't hear about a lot of drama inside our White House," he said. This was the closest Obama came to critiquing the new administration.
https://reason.com/blog/2018/02/26/barack-obama-mit-sloan-sports
― reggie (qualmsley), Tuesday, 27 February 2018 02:17 (six years ago) link
you didn't hear about a lot of drama inside our White House
there's always a lot of mini-drama in every WH that grabs attention inside DC, the kind of stuff insiders swap at cocktail parties, but Obama's WH probably generated fewer news stories about internal squabbles and jealousies than any WH I can recall.
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 27 February 2018 02:34 (six years ago) link
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/07/poll-barack-obama-the-greatest-president-of-our-lifetime.html
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:11 (five years ago) link
I knew Chait wrote it!
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:16 (five years ago) link
next time someone complains to me about millennials i'm gonna show them that chart where every generation but them picks reagan as their favorite president
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:23 (five years ago) link
https://media.giphy.com/media/6FR1VVFE0qM9y/giphy.gif
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:26 (five years ago) link
I want to know how people born in 1980 are supposed to be milennials
― k3vin k., Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:37 (five years ago) link
cos it refers to anything
― repartee is deft (darraghmac), Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:38 (five years ago) link
If we're all alive by 2020, we're millennials.
― morning wood truancy (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:44 (five years ago) link
Strauss and Howe came up with "millennial" during the 80s. iirc, the idea was the first millennials were going to graduate high school in 2000, i.e. born in '82. what's made this confusing is that nowadays it seems to be a synonym for "young person (whom I have contempt for/have invested last shred of hope in) aged 18-26"
― rob, Wednesday, 11 July 2018 20:50 (five years ago) link
Had an hour to kill before a Jays game, and didn't have a book with me, so I bought a copy of New York for this cover story--thought it was quite good.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/06/where-is-barack-obama.html
(May have been posted elsewhere--I see there's a newer issue out now.)
― clemenza, Tuesday, 24 July 2018 04:15 (five years ago) link
missed opportunity for a Thanos meme header image
― wayne trotsky (Simon H.), Tuesday, 24 July 2018 04:17 (five years ago) link
every generation but them picks reagan as their favorite president
Then I fucking well transcend my generation and I'm proud of it. Reagan flooded more raw sewage into government than any president before Trump.
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 24 July 2018 04:21 (five years ago) link
icymi
https://www.newsweek.com/obama-administration-used-tear-gas-pepper-spray-border-dozens-times-cbp-data-1233255
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 29 November 2018 21:07 (five years ago) link
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/03/the-obama-boys
not necessarily new territory, but a pretty thorough rundown of the shortcomings of obama's presidency
― you know who deserves sitewide mod privileges? (m bison), Monday, 11 March 2019 21:49 (five years ago) link
don't tell me that Rep. Omar has opened the door to heresy!
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Monday, 11 March 2019 21:59 (five years ago) link
Glad to see the link to that pernicious Sorkin TV show is acknowledged.
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Monday, 11 March 2019 22:04 (five years ago) link
Thinking lately a lot about the contrast between Obama and McConnell as political figures -- Obama played a strong hand badly and McConnell has played a weak hand amazingly well. Obama took an overly conciliatory approach when he had a popular mandate, achieving much less than he could have, whereas McConnell is absolutely maximizing the use of any advantage he has, making impressive strategic moves that will impact our political system for decades.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 1 April 2019 17:25 (four years ago) link
Obama is loved, McConnell is hated even in his own party. But McConnell is the one whose legacy will be more greatly felt.
it's a lot easier to plat defense in the senate
― k3vin k., Monday, 1 April 2019 17:44 (four years ago) link
mutombo for senate 2020
― you know who deserves sitewide mod privileges? (m bison), Monday, 1 April 2019 17:50 (four years ago) link
He should run for the house imo. That way he can use his signature “not in my house” finger wag when voting against key legislation
― Karl Malone, Monday, 1 April 2019 17:52 (four years ago) link
yes, i'd say offering to privatize Soc Sec was "overly conciliatory"
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Monday, 1 April 2019 17:56 (four years ago) link
Yeah, the only thing McConnell managed when he had the votes was a tax cut and Supreme Court justices. Everyone could have done that.
― Frederik B, Monday, 1 April 2019 18:09 (four years ago) link
you are out of your mind. First of all, he got them an extra Supreme Court seat by refusing to hear Garland. Second, the tax plan is a masterstroke -- it crushes the donor base in high tax blue states.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 1 April 2019 18:22 (four years ago) link
and does so in a way that also punishes democratic voters and lines up with republican ideological priorities
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Monday, 1 April 2019 18:23 (four years ago) link
If you think McConnell crafted that legislation, as opposed to just sponsoring it, you do not understand how bills are written these days.
― A is for (Aimless), Monday, 1 April 2019 18:35 (four years ago) link
And also, it's not a masterstroke, lol, where on earth is that coming from?
― Frederik B, Monday, 1 April 2019 18:44 (four years ago) link
tax cuts for the rich are actually ok- fred
― k3vin k., Monday, 1 April 2019 19:27 (four years ago) link
y'all are obsessed
― jolene club remix (BradNelson), Monday, 1 April 2019 19:34 (four years ago) link
hi fred, longtime reader, first time responder. What are you talking about? The GOP tax plan was specifically designed to stick it to blue states, and let me assure you, it is doing just that.
― pippin drives a lambo through the gates of isengard (Sparkle Motion), Monday, 1 April 2019 19:38 (four years ago) link
Maybe it's hard to get a good sense of that from Denmark, but it's very clear in Westchester County, NY where I work every day -- exactly the kind of high tax, good public schools, democratic leaning area that that aspect of the bill was targeted at. And btw, of course McConnell did not draft the bill, but the limit on deduction of state taxes was a key plank and he definitely made sure it stayed in.
It's also going to fuck the federal budget pretty bad when next recession comes, which is exactly what they want.
BTW, the Supreme Court isn't the only federal court, and McConnell has helped to both minimize Obama's impact and maximize Trump's as far as appointments. Those are lifetime appointments, just like the Supreme Court.
He also fucked Obamacare pretty good. I'm not saying all of this was him alone, but in general the GOP has done very well strategically considering their platform is not popular with Americans -- they have maximized what they could achieve with their backing. They've given themselves a lot of long-term advantages and backstops, whereas Obama's achievements were somewhat minimal given the mandate he came in with, and are more easily erased.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Tuesday, 2 April 2019 03:38 (four years ago) link
I don't doubt that it's brought hurt to blue states, nor that it was designed that way, but I'll still dispute that it's a masterstroke that, as you wrote, crushes the donor base in high tax blue states. I don't think either of us are in a place where we can really know that, since, well, there's been no national election since it passed, but so far it doesn't seem to have 'crushed' the donor base as much as it has pissed them off. Those areas are where GOP were wiped out in the house, and it seems to me that apart from Warren, it's going quite well with the fundraising for Dem candidates? Plus, rich people donate more to GOP politicians anyway, so it could just as well hurt
I also think that unless either Obama or McConnell convinced Patrick Leahy to adhere to the blue slip standard even though it was obvious that Republicans wouldn't do so in return, that you're giving them more credit than they deserve on this issue.
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 2 April 2019 14:38 (four years ago) link
Former President Obama expressed concern about the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, saying he feared it could end up undercutting allies.
Speaking at a town hall event on Saturday for the Obama Foundation in Berlin, the former president spoke about the need for compromise in politics, citing the Affordable Care Act as something that he said signified progress even though it did not achieve all of his aspirations for U.S. health care.
"One of the things I do worry about sometimes among progressives in the United States —maybe it’s true here as well — is a certain kind of rigidity where we say, 'Uh, I’m sorry, this is how it’s going to be,' and then we start sometimes creating what’s called a 'circular firing squad,' where you start shooting at your allies because one of them has strayed from purity on the issues. And when that happens, typically the overall effort and movement weakens," he said.
― buzza, Saturday, 6 April 2019 17:43 (four years ago) link
a certain kind of rigidity
as opposed to a certain kind of mushiness or floppiness? I think the metaphor he is overlooking here is the essential combination of rigidity with flexibility that is provided by having a backbone.
― A is for (Aimless), Saturday, 6 April 2019 17:54 (four years ago) link
I am confused by Obama's understanding of the word "compromise." Who was Obamacare a compromise between? The GOP vowed to destroy whatever he did.
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Sunday, 7 April 2019 01:56 (four years ago) link
A compromise among Democrats?
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Sunday, 7 April 2019 02:13 (four years ago) link
bingo. they compromised before they even voted.
― k3vin k., Sunday, 7 April 2019 04:25 (four years ago) link
joe mother fucking lieberman
It was a compromise between the heritage foundation in the early 90s and Romney’s Massachusetts plan
― Karl Malone, Sunday, 7 April 2019 04:47 (four years ago) link
In other words, a socialist takeover
im beginning to think obama didnt learn much from his presidency?
― you know who deserves sitewide mod privileges? (m bison), Sunday, 7 April 2019 14:44 (four years ago) link
otm
― Emperor Tonetta Ketchup (sleeve), Sunday, 7 April 2019 15:02 (four years ago) link
ironically, Obama comes off as quite rigid in his clinging to "compromise"
― longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Sunday, 7 April 2019 18:33 (four years ago) link
centrists are zealots and there's no data in the world capable of disturbing the truth they apprehended staring at a bell curve on acid
― difficult listening hour, Sunday, 7 April 2019 18:59 (four years ago) link
Thinking of “achievement” or “legacy” in terms of legislation passed & judicial appointments confirmed is significantly limiting. It’s basically the same kind of thinking that allows Trump to believe in his own claim his administration has done the most stuff ever. But yes, if you use Mitch McConnell’s scorecard to rate how Mitch McConnell has been doing at America: The Game, he sure is a genius.
― El Tomboto, Monday, 8 April 2019 12:45 (four years ago) link