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Reason Writers Around Town: Brian Doherty in The American Conservative on Barack Obama as "The President of Everything"
Over
at The American Conservative, Reason Senior
Editor Brian Doherty discusses the Ozymandian ambition of that man
in the White House:
[President Barack] Obama said in his pseudo-State of the Union Address, "The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and universities; in our fields and our factories; in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs and the pride of the hardest-working people on Earth."
But in just three months, we have seen what Obama means when he talks about "reach." He doesn't mean "our reach" but his own. His sense of that reach, and the abrupt and scary speed with which he's used it, marks him as an executive with a tentacled grip—multiple, crushing, inescapable. No longer the cautious critic of presidential power of the campaign trail, he now sees nothing as beyond his grasp.
Less than a hundred days in, the fully articulated ideological contours of his vision remain unclear-just as he wishes. It suits Obama's self-image as a mere pragmatic problem solver to never explain, to float from power grab to usurpation as if nothing but thoughtful reaction to the exigencies of the moment guides him. But it's already obvious that those actions veer strongly toward expansive government, limiting our options in every aspect of national life.
Octobama|4.20.09 @ 1:18PM|#
"His sense of that reach, and the abrupt and scary speed with
which he's used it, marks him as an executive with a tentacled
grip-multiple, crushing, inescapable."
Suffer, bitches.
Kyle Jordan|4.20.09 @ 1:19PM|#
Is that because he's black or because he was talked up as God's gift, failed to perform up to the hype or at all, and then (hopefully with The One soon) will totally fuck his career by doing something stupid and wind up in prison and hated by many?
|4.20.09 @ 1:24PM|#
Obamandian?
"And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Obamandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'"
High Every Body|4.20.09 @ 1:31PM|#
BTW, is that a penny in your pocket?
No, I am just happy to see you.
The Octobama|4.20.09 @ 1:44PM|#
"No, I am just happy to see you."
So you're saying there's no change?
|4.20.09 @ 1:51PM|#
OMG! WHat a racist cover! Everyone knows that octopuses (octopi?) are a racist slur against blacks! I can't believe the American Spectator would stoop to such low levels.
|4.20.09 @ 1:52PM|#
Errr... I meant American Conservative. I'll go chastise myself for not using the preview button, but that cover is STILL racist!
Barack Obama|4.20.09 @ 2:04PM|#
As far as he's concerned, it's Barack Obama's country. We're
just living in it.
L'État c'est Moi, merci beaucoup. Lorsque je pars, l'état
demeurera.
JB|4.20.09 @ 2:08PM|#
It's no wonder he gives reach-arounds to Chavez: Obama hates the
US just as much as Chavez. Him and his America-hating wife are
actively trying to destroy this country.
Who needs Al Queda when Obama has bankrupt the country? Barak
Hussein Obama is a terrorist.
Biff|4.20.09 @ 2:15PM|#
"It's no wonder he gives reach-arounds to Chavez: Obama hates
the US just as much as Chavez. Him and his America-hating wife are
actively trying to destroy this country."
I heard him refered to on TV this weekend as "Dred Scott's
Revenge". I shit you not.
Change we can hope for|4.20.09 @ 2:22PM|#
Remember when Republicans were worried about whether new RNC
chairman Michael Steele could be an effective fundraiser, or
whether his controversial comments would hurt the party's
finances?
Month by month, that looks like an increasingly overblown
concern.
In January, Steele's first month, the party collected $5.8 million.
In February, $5.1 million. Last month, $6.7 million. Including $7
million transferred to the RNC by the McCain-Palin campaign, the
committee raised $25.3 million in the first quarter.
By contrast, the DNC raised $5.5 million in March, and transferred
$2 million from Organizing for America - the entity that used to be
the Obama campaign. For the quarter, the DNC raised a bit more than
$13.8 million.
In terms of cash on hand, the disparity is similarly wide: $23.9
million for the RNC, $9.7 million for the DNC.
No wonder they're only spending $850 on nyah-nyah radio ads against
Norm Coleman in Minnesota. Maybe that's all they can afford.
KyleG|4.20.09 @ 2:23PM|#
But he's trying to cut $100M from the budget in 90 days! Hope and change have arrived!
High Every Body|4.20.09 @ 2:24PM|#
I heard him refered to on TV this weekend as "Dred Scott's
Revenge". I shit you not.
That is an odd way to compliment Chavez.
The Octobama|4.20.09 @ 2:25PM|#
"But he's trying to cut $100M from the budget in 90 days! Hope
and change have arrived!"
I call it the .00003 Percent Solution.
Anonymous|4.20.09 @ 2:50PM|#
I didn't bulldoze your car. Look, I have the passenger-side mirror in my pocket to prove it.
|4.20.09 @ 3:20PM|#
We will stamp out wasteful and inefficient programs the NEA and AFSCME disapprove of!
|4.20.09 @ 3:21PM|#
Yes I spent more money in three months than Goerge Bush spent in 8 years. Yes, we are facing multi-trillion dollar deficits for the forseable future. But, we can always call Geico and save money on our car insurance.
The Octobama|4.20.09 @ 4:26PM|#
For my next trick, I shall correct this Bush-era deception,
implemented to make a mockery of American Tourists, which I
consider a blemish on our nation's history.
Readings show Four Corners marker off by 2.5 miles:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/04/20/national/a124751D82.DTL&tsp=1
Jonas|4.20.09 @ 4:27PM|#
Xeones | April 20, 2009, 1:58pm | #
Yo, fuck Barack Octobama.
I feel like that could be even shorter.
Baroctobama?
Hmm, but then it seem to lose some pizzazz / clarity.
George B.|4.20.09 @ 8:45PM|#
"Yes I spent more money in three months than Goerge Bush spent
in 8 years."
Don't flatter yourself, Baracky. You've got at least 2 years at the
rate you're going before you can match ol' George here. And I
helped raise the baseline for ya and get everyone so pissed off at
my party that they would swallow any ridiculous bullshit you told
them.
economist|4.20.09 @ 8:47PM|#
"The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They
exist...in the imaginations of our entrepreneurs"
And there I'm sure they'll stay.
Will|4.20.09 @ 8:54PM|#
Of course Barack Obama can do everything! You should just see him walk on water!
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