So there!
Frank Rich pronounces the Republican Party marginalized and the Obama presidency clever:
This G.O.P., a largely white Southern male party with talking points instead of ideas and talking heads instead of leaders, is not unlike those “zombie banks” that we’re being asked to bail out. It is in too much denial to acknowledge its own insolvency and toxic assets. Given the mess the country is in, it would be helpful to have an adult opposition that could pull its weight, but that’s not the hand America has been dealt…
wasn’t the Obama presidency pronounced dead just days ago? Obama had “all but lost control of the agenda in Washington,” declared Newsweek on Feb. 4 as it wondered whether he might even get a stimulus package through Congress. “Obama Losing Stimulus Message War” was the headline at Politico a day later. At the mostly liberal MSNBC, the morning host, Joe Scarborough, started preparing the final rites. Obama couldn’t possibly eke out a victory because the stimulus package was “a steaming pile of garbage.”…
Just as in the presidential campaign, Obama has once again outwitted the punditocracy and the opposition. The same crowd that said he was a wimpy hope-monger who could never beat Hillary or get white votes was played for fools again.
We don’t know how this presidency will ultimately develop. (We’re not encouraged by Obama’s poor decisions of the last few weeks, as you know.) The margin of error on this policy versus that policy is much smaller than the probability of huge, unanticipated events in the next four years; thus predicting at this point can be a fool’s errand. It seems ridiculous to call Obama a failure after three weeks, but the triumphalism of Rich’s piece is equally inappropriate. We’re noting all these things now because there will likely be much crow to be eaten (by someone) over the course of this presidential term.
February 16th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Success or failure is a perception unless the “act” affects you. When things are humming along, very few “acts” affect you directly. When times are difficult and everyone is looking for leadership, “acts” affect everyone quickly.
Is Obama a class act? If the answer to that question is no, Obama has failed. It’s as clear as the nose on your face.
Would you consider Jimmy Carter a class act?
February 16th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Monday holiday cocktail hour links…
How Democracies become Tyrannies. Am Thinker
Somebody will eat crow. But who? Dino
Men often view naked women as objects. How much did that study cost? (h/t, Theo)
Re Fairness:
Waxman is also interested, say sources, in looking at how the Interne…