Comments on: Our New President Is Awesome

By: Sean D. Martin

Sean D. Martin — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:49:48 +0000

Athenae: My grandfather always told me that the whole “marry somebody who’s nice to his mother” thing was stupid. Serial killers are nice to their mothers. He told me to marry somebody who’s nice to the server in the restaurant.

Exactly.

“You can tell a lot about a persons character by how they treat people they don’t have to treat well.”

By: anotherbozo

anotherbozo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:45:57 +0000

I’m aware of all that, Spider, but I’m not sure the Union was bankrupt in 1860 or in 1939 or whenever, or that our industrial base was so compromised or that our grandchildren were yet mortgaged to pay for not one, but two wars. I’d like to see detailed comparisons by an objective historian/economist about where we are now vs. then.

By: SpiderJ

SpiderJ — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 20:44:33 +0000

I agree that we’re currently in a state of fuckery, bozo, but I think it’s just the distance of history that makes it seem worse than that what Lincoln or FDR had to deal with. Lincoln had a country nearly split in two over slavery and thousands upon thousands of Americans died fighting each other. The entire country was in a state of Iraq 2005. FDR oversaw a massive depression and then we became embroiled in a war where we were attacked…that is, a war that we could not withdraw from based on political stability, but a war we had to win to survive.

Things are bad now. I can’t believe that they weren’t worse then.

By: anotherbozo

anotherbozo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:53:11 +0000

Bruce: encouraging information. Still, taking everything together, this is arguably the worst mess since the foundation of the Republic.

By: Bruce Henry

Bruce Henry — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:29:54 +0000

One thing he can do with the stroke of a pen is close Gitmo. Another thing would be to formally renounce torture. He can restore Habeus Corpus.
Are these things the equal of the Emancipation Proclamation? No. Will these things help the economy? No.
But they are very important.

By: anotherbozo

anotherbozo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:50:54 +0000

“At the same time, the great presidents are usually great precisely because they had to deal with big messes.”

Sure, but this may be THE mess that drowns a potentially great president. I’m not a historian, but during Lincoln’s or FDR’s terms we weren’t in hock to the Chinese with an astronomical deficit, the government wasn’t so completely broke nor was our international prestige so tattered. Tell me if you think our predicament now isn’t worse than it’s ever been.

It occurs to me that if Lincoln hadn’t been able to perform one extraordinary act with the stroke of his pen he might not be remembered so fondly. All of Obama’s initiatives will require either $$, or a hell of a lot of legal/legislative work.

By: Athenae

Athenae — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:02:59 +0000

I like the comment over there that’s like, “LENIN TALKED TO JANITORS TOO.” Jesus.

My grandfather always told me that the whole “marry somebody who’s nice to his mother” thing was stupid. Serial killers are nice to their mothers. He told me to marry somebody who’s nice to the server in the restaurant. The true test is how you treat people you could easily perceive to be below you on the social scale; do you kick them just because you think you can, or because you have to feel like a bigger guy, or whatever? Or are you as kind to them as you would be to an obviously wealthy person or a celebrity?

I have one aquaintance who likes to rag on the waitresses, comment about their tits, spill drinks on purpose, send food back, shit like that. He treats his wife and all the women he knows EXACTLY the same way. Gun-collecting Bible-humping racist Republican, of course.

I’m glad to see America’s shacking up with the guy who takes the time to talk to the cleaning crew and share a meal.

By: Rheinhard

Rheinhard — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:39:53 +0000

bozo – At the same time, the great presidents are usually great precisely because they had to deal with big messes. It’s kinda hard to do a lot of memorable stuff in a democracy when everything seems to be going well, economy is good, and you don’t have serious foreign entaglements. You’re not remembered by history when most of your day is spent posing for pictures with visiting Boy Scouts and American Legion members.

By: Parthenon

Parthenon — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:02:46 +0000

But remember folks, it’s Barack who’s the elitist.

Sorry. That snipe is kinda two weeks ago at this point.

By: anotherbozo

anotherbozo — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:14:46 +0000

Not a surprise. My wife (a cynical foreigner whose family land was seized by their government) and I have been watching Obama for over a year, almost every televised word and action, and we’ve never seen anyone so remarkable in public life. At first he was too good to be true–surely he’d go off script one day, blow his cover, and we’d see the manipulative pol underneath. But no–only the real deal could be so consistent WITHOUT going off script for such a long campaign. He was who he seemed to be.

If Obama isn’t one of the great presidents, it will only be because we left him with the biggest godawful mess in history. I swear.

By: datadave

datadave — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:02:16 +0000

It’s always cheery here. Thx, Oliver for keeping the world sunny.

(After January, it’s the Economy again…not cheery..)

By: somejackass

somejackass — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:03:49 +0000

Mylegacy, you mean his Phat hairy (censored)?

By: jr

jr — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:46:45 +0000

“The janitor is a spy for the UN”-Ron Paul

By: Mylegacy

Mylegacy — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:43:32 +0000

Three things he has Palin doesn’t; brains, an inquiring mind and a genuine interest in people. Four things if you count his…er…PhD.

By: American Street » Blog Archive » Obamwan Kenobi, Our Only Hope

American Street » Blog Archive » Obamwan Kenobi, Our Only Hope — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:30:25 +0000

[...] obvious result of America becoming AWESOME again, like I thought of her when I was a kid. (Hat Tip: Oliver) I’m not pissed enough and the GOP fear machine has been rendered impotent. [...]

By: Merkwurdigliebe

Merkwurdigliebe — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:46:09 +0000

Agreed. Awesome.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:01:25 +0000

Thanks for the tip, Oliver! I’m lovin’ it!