One take away from the President's speech today...
The speech was vintage Obama: illuminating, exhorting, cajoling, explaining, inspiring and shaming and much much more, all rolled into one amazing 50 minute speech.
BUT, I think the biggest take away was this: every one of us was complicit in getting the country where it is today, and in a sense enabling the thuggery of the last 8 years, so shape up America, and pay serious attention to the serious problems. The two particular targets were the two intransigent Congressional critter camps: Rethugs and DemWimps.
He was a classic professor, as he always is when necessary. I don't think he enjoys this aspect, but I think he does it when he has to, just enough to give him breathing room to do all the other things he needs to do to get us out of this incredible mess. My heart just aches that he has to keep doing this periodically.
He also had a not-so-secret exhortation for those of the on the left, sitting here and carping at him: I am in your camp, I want to do what you want to do; our obstacles are in the Congress, go put pressure on them. We have our marching orders. Anyone want to join me in trying to do something about this very real problem?
BUT, I think the biggest take away was this: every one of us was complicit in getting the country where it is today, and in a sense enabling the thuggery of the last 8 years, so shape up America, and pay serious attention to the serious problems. The two particular targets were the two intransigent Congressional critter camps: Rethugs and DemWimps.
He was a classic professor, as he always is when necessary. I don't think he enjoys this aspect, but I think he does it when he has to, just enough to give him breathing room to do all the other things he needs to do to get us out of this incredible mess. My heart just aches that he has to keep doing this periodically.
He also had a not-so-secret exhortation for those of the on the left, sitting here and carping at him: I am in your camp, I want to do what you want to do; our obstacles are in the Congress, go put pressure on them. We have our marching orders. Anyone want to join me in trying to do something about this very real problem?
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Maybe now that the season of "American Idol" has ended, people will begin paying attention.
May 21, 2009 12:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Good post. I think the appearance of Cheney also serves a reminder to us as well -- that we need to fight the pro-torture forces out there, the fear-mongers, the revisionists and apologists. We can't take it for granted that that is all behind us. The MSM is as ammenable as ever to Cheney and his fearmongering. Out work is cut out for us. But who thought that the Bush junta would go quietly?
May 21, 2009 3:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
I did. I thought their mess would be left behind and that Cheney would slither back under a rock. In any case I hope his appearances remind people why they voted for Obama.
May 21, 2009 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is the thing that frustrates me no end, that members of the media are this bought into the right wing-nuttery. Back in 2000, and all through the late 1990's in fact, I thought the media monsters were merely chasing after the next shiny object.
However, the appearance of Obama on the national scene nullifies that theory completely -- he *is* the shiny object on the stage and everywhere else, and yet, the media still keeps following old, washed out, has-beens such as the RNC (RushNewtCheney).
My eternal hope for the lefty blogosphere was that they would be sort of amplifiers, at least in part, for Jon Stewart and Media Matters/Think Progress, heaping scorn on the media and NOT taking up their memes and running with it.
Sigh.
May 21, 2009 9:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Congress follows the President, not the other way around. His pointing at them is simply a diversionary tactic, a dodge of responsibility. If you look to this Congress for leadership you are lost and he knows it and hopes fervently that the attention will be placed on them to do right instead of on him. Can you even imagine a body led by Harry Reid to show leadership on anything other than a full blown retreat?
May 21, 2009 11:09 PM | Reply | Permalink