Barack Obama is a man who is trying to have it both (all?) ways.
I do not think we have ever witnessed a person in public office who has more often said one thing and done another. Earmarks and deficit spending, Guantanamo, Iraq and signing statements; in each case, as a candidate, Obama claimed he would operate differently than former President Bush. Now, having been elected, he is operating out of the Bush playbook on all of those items.
He gets away with it because most of his fawning allies in the mainstream media, will simply not report any contrary news or opinion about him. He therefore feels empowered to continue with the disconnect between his rhetoric and action.
Not all observers are blind to what he is doing. My favorite commentator, Victor Davis Hanson, shows he is onto Obama in this post from National Review OnLine. Hanson's article questions the motives behind Obama's double talk on the economy. This is his lead-in:
"...it is quite striking that in the space of a mere 50 days, Obama & Co. have gone from “We are in 1932 and things are getting worse—unless” to “Things are not as bad as we think,” with choruses from the likes of Larry Summers on the dangers of talking down the economy and sowing fear. This is one of the most schizophrenic moments in recent memory."
Some others have also noticed, like Paul Mirengoff at PowerLine and Charles Krauthammer at Real Clear Politics.
There is little doubt that Obama has been trying "not to waste" this good crisis in the service of pushing through his ultra-liberal agenda. It is also clear that he will say anything that helps him mask his real intentions. We can only hope that Lincoln was right and Obama is wrong and he can't fool all of the American people all of the time.
I do not think we have ever witnessed a person in public office who has more often said one thing and done another. Earmarks and deficit spending, Guantanamo, Iraq and signing statements; in each case, as a candidate, Obama claimed he would operate differently than former President Bush. Now, having been elected, he is operating out of the Bush playbook on all of those items.
He gets away with it because most of his fawning allies in the mainstream media, will simply not report any contrary news or opinion about him. He therefore feels empowered to continue with the disconnect between his rhetoric and action.
Not all observers are blind to what he is doing. My favorite commentator, Victor Davis Hanson, shows he is onto Obama in this post from National Review OnLine. Hanson's article questions the motives behind Obama's double talk on the economy. This is his lead-in:
"...it is quite striking that in the space of a mere 50 days, Obama & Co. have gone from “We are in 1932 and things are getting worse—unless” to “Things are not as bad as we think,” with choruses from the likes of Larry Summers on the dangers of talking down the economy and sowing fear. This is one of the most schizophrenic moments in recent memory."
Some others have also noticed, like Paul Mirengoff at PowerLine and Charles Krauthammer at Real Clear Politics.
There is little doubt that Obama has been trying "not to waste" this good crisis in the service of pushing through his ultra-liberal agenda. It is also clear that he will say anything that helps him mask his real intentions. We can only hope that Lincoln was right and Obama is wrong and he can't fool all of the American people all of the time.
UPDATE 3/14/09: This Michael Ramirez cartoon is spot on regarding Obama's penchant for talking out of both sides of his mouth.
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