barry get over your damn name

April 3, 2009

Anyone tired of hearing "the skinny kid with the funny name"? He was not exactly skinny as a kid and his name is not at all funny on the world stage - or even in America. And he definitely resembled the dollar bills compared to Madame Secretary Clinton.

POTUS; If you had imagined 10 years ago or 20 years ago or 30 years ago that you'd have the leaders of Germany, France, China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa -- a president of the United States named Obama - you know, former adversaries, in some cases, former mortal enemies negotiating this swiftly, on behalf of fixing the global economy, you would have said, "That's crazy.'

He makes it sound like he's the one responsible. And where was his mention of Arab Countries? It's time for him to get over himself. Check out these names - I bet he has trouble saying them even with his phonetic teleprompter.

G 20 = Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors 20 economies: 19 of the world's largest national economies, plus the European Union (EU).

Where does barry's name rank amid these?

• Argentina represented by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina
  
• Australia represented by Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia
  
• Brazil represented by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
  
• Canada represented by Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
  
• People's Republic of China represented by Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China
  
• France represented by Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
  
• Germany represented by Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
  
• India represented by Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
  
• Indonesia represented by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia
  
• Italy represented by Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy
  
• Japan represented by Taro Aso, Prime Minister of Japan
  
• Mexico represented by Felipe Calderón, President of Mexico
  
• South Korea represented by Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea
  
• Russia represented by Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russia
  
• Saudi Arabia represented by Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, King of Saudi Arabia
  
• South Africa represented by Kgalema Motlanthe, President of South Africa
  
• Turkey represented by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey
  
• United States represented by Barack Obama, President of the United States of America
  
• United Kingdom represented by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Host)

POTUS: "there have been times when America has shown arrogance"

April 3, 2009

I sure wish I had a video for this because barry discusses America's arrogance - something I wrote about earlier - though it was his arrogance while representing the US. He's telepromptering at a gymnasium-type "townhall meeting which sounded like a stump speech to the world replete with we are the ones!

Found a video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T17qt_tU6wo]

TPMTV

Here's a few bits from the Washington Post:

At the crossroads where we stand today, this shared history gives us hope, but it must not give us rest. This generation cannot stand still. We cannot be content merely to celebrate the achievements of the 20th century or enjoy the comforts of the 21st century. We must learn from the past to build on its success. We must renew our institutions, our alliances. We must seek the solutions to the challenges of this young century.

This is our generation!

This is our time!

And I am confident that we can meet any challenge, as long as we are together!

Kumbaya my Lord!

Now, such an effort is never easy. It's always harder to forge true partnerships and sturdy alliances than to act alone, or to wait for the action of somebody else. It's more difficult to break down walls of division than to simply allow our differences to build and our resentments to fester.

So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years, we've allowed our alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there's something more that has crept into our relationship.

In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic Union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive [he does his dismissive extended arm motion that he used in every debate and on the View to Elizabeth] even derisive.

But [Shakes his finger] in Europe, there is an anti-Americanism that is at once casual but can also be insidious. Instead of recognizing the good that America so often does in the world, there have been times where Europeans choose to blame America for much of what's bad.

On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common. They are not wise. They do not represent the truth. They threaten to widen the divide across the Atlantic and leave us both more isolated. They fail to acknowledge the fundamental truth that America cannot confront the challenges of this century alone, but that Europe cannot confront them without America.

And then it goes on. What do you feel when you hear this?

As president, I can tell you there's no decision more difficult, there's no duty more painful, than signing a letter to the family of somebody who's died in a war.

"Somebody"? In a war?

They are brave soldiers, courageous Americans, selfless sons, daughters, wives, mothers and fathers dying on Afghani or Iraqi soil. They're not "somebodys".

He then opens it to questions:

So just raise your hand if you want a question, and I will call on you.

And then what are the odds the very first one is an American?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Oh, I called -- now, I just want to say I did not call on the American on purpose. (Laughter, applause.)

Why would he feel the need to say such a thing if he wasn't thinking it?

And then he brought up his Kenyan father he met once.

And my father was from Kenya, and when I traveled to Kenya, I had just been elected to the United States Senate. Everybody was very excited and, you know, they greeted me and -- you know, as if I was already a head of state. And, you know, there were people waving and lining the streets. I went to speak at a university, and I had to be honest, which was, America has an obligation to provide Kenya help on a whole range of issues. But if Kenya doesn't solve its own corruption problem, then Kenya will never grow. It will never be able to provide for its own.

Yes and he promised an orphanage and a school he personally would help them out and he never did - as of his world tour. And then the next person he called on was from? Chicago. Then he talks about whether he regrets his decision to run for president. I don't think he regrets running because he's still campaigning. The problem is governing.

***

POTUS: "I'm gonna call one foreigner"
POTUS: "there have been times when America has shown arrogance"
To POTUS: "Do you regret running for president?"

To POTUS: Do you regret running for president?

April 3, 2009

Thought this was interesting. barry was at a town hall meeting in Strasbourg, France and he was asked by a woman from Germany, if he ever regretted having run for president. I wonder what she saw in his face that made her ask?

From the Washington Post

(Laughter, applause.) Michelle definitely asked that question. (Laughter.)

You know, there are -- there have been times, certainly during the campaign, and there have been times over the last several months, where you feel a lot of weight on your shoulders. There's no doubt about it.

During the campaign, the biggest sacrifice, the thing that was most difficult, was that I was away from my family all the time. You know, in addition to missing -- in addition to being jealous about high-speed rail and the nice trains here, I -- I'm also jealous of the fact that campaigns here only last a few months, whereas in the United States we were running for two years.

So I was away from home all the time. And that was very difficult, because not only do I have a wonderful wife, but I have two perfect daughters. (Cheers, applause.) And so, you know, I missed them a lot. (Applause continues.)

But -- but the nice thing is, now that I'm president, it turns out I have this really nice office in my house called the Oval Office, and so -- (laughter) -- it only takes me a few seconds to get -- get upstairs, and I'm home for dinner every night. You also lose privacy and autonomy -- or anonymity. You know, it's very frustrating now -- you know, it used to be when I came to Europe that I could just wander down to a cafe and sit and have some wine and watch people go by, and, you know, go into a little shop, and watch the sun go down. And now I'm in hotel rooms all the time. And I have security around me all the time. And so just, you know, losing that ability to -- to just take a walk, you know, that is something that is frustrating.

How many times has he been to Europe? Prior to his world campaign tour he had spent one night in the UK on the way back from Russia.

But having said all that, I truly believe that there's nothing more noble than public service. Now, that doesn't mean that you have to run for president. (Applause.) But, you know, you might -- you know, you might work for Doctors Without Borders, or you might volunteer for an agency, or you might, you know, be somebody working for the United Nations, or you might be the mayor of Strasbourg.

Right? I mean, they're all -- (cheers, applause) -- you might volunteer in your own community.

But the point is that what I found at a very young age was that if you only think about yourself -- how much money can I make; what can I buy; you know, how nice is my house; what kind of fancy car do I have -- that over the long term, you -- I think you get bored. (Applause.) I think your life -- I think your life becomes -- I think if you're only thinking about yourself, your life becomes diminished and -- and that the way to live a full life is to think about, what can I do for others? How can I be a part of this larger project of making a better world?

Who is he referring to?

Now, that can be something as simple as making -- of -- as the joy of taking care of your family and watching your children grow and -- and succeed.

But I think especially for the young people here, I hope you also consider other ways that you can serve, because the world has so many challenges right now. There are so many opportunities to make a difference. And it would be a tragedy if all of you who are so talented and energetic, if you let that go to waste, if you just stood back and -- and watched the world pass you by.

Better to jump in, get involved. And it does mean that sometimes you'll get criticized, and sometimes you'll fail, and sometimes you'll be disappointed. But you'll have a great adventure, and at the end of your life, hopefully you'll be able to look back and say, "I made a difference."

All right. Thank you, everybody.

***

POTUS: "I'm gonna call one foreigner"
POTUS: "there have been times when America has shown arrogance"
To POTUS: "Do you regret running for president?"

POTUS: "I'm gonna call one foreigner"

April 2, 2009

I can't believe I just witnessed this. I'm not surprised - I'm embarrassed. Again. It's just one more example of the embarrassment already provided by the President and First Lady of the United States on their coming out to the world.

barry was taking questions at the final press conference and this is what he said:

POTUS: I am going to call one foreigner [abrupt stop, camera off his embarrassed face, nervous laughter and lame recovery] Actually I am the foreigner - that's why I smiled. One correspondent not from American and then I'll...

He makes them wait while he picks them over.

POTUS: We're not doing bidding here - c'mon. [laugh] I also want to make sure I'm not showing gender bias here.

I don't know what the gender split was because I tuned in shortly before the Chinese reporter spoke, who stuck it to barry. The camera panned the audience and there were arms gesturing at folks. A woman with blondish-red hair wearing a long-sleeved blouse was pointing at another woman, who he ended up picking.

What was he looking for as he made them jump up and down for attention like first graders? Did he take for granted that if they looked Chinese they would be from China? The "foreigners" were spread out throughout the audience and he didn't politely ask that only the foreign press raise their hands. And he took much too much time making them beg. Please someone - let him know he is not the messiah of the cosmos and that he is coming across rude and arrogant.

The woman he picked appeared to be of Indian descent, which, luckily for him, she was. She asked how the US is going to help India in the fight of terrorism against Pakistan. He initially responded by saying something like he thought her Prime Minister is a fine men. She said she did, too.

He stopped and laughed at her. And then the audience followed his lead and laughed at her. She looked around uncomfortably and then he totally embarrassed her by asking her if she was taking credit for him - the PM. It was painful to watch. And even though she handled it well, she will be roasted throughout her country. Her moment to personally stand tall and proudly represent her country was destroyed by the supposedly charming President of the United States.

And then he went on to not even answer her question - as per usual. He spouted a pre-recorded message about poverty and carbon footprints and coal and then said, ok? instead of thanking her for her question and making a quip to lighten her embarrassment.

There was no chance of an apology - he has yet to ever make one - and he wasn't about to show humility with the adoring "foreigners" of the world in front of him.

Then he picked on "Chip" from America so he could ease his way out and still he couldn't help himself. Chip asked him if the leaders were terrorizing him because of the role of the US economy in causing the global downturn and barry answered by blaming Wall Street. He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that whatever happens in the US, he is responsible for on the world stage. At home, he can get away with blaming it on other things and other people and Bush and whatever else - as he has been doing in his campaign version of "governing" - but not when he represents the entire country, which includes Wall Street and Bernie Madoff.

And he didn't stop there. He went one further, by saying they shouldn't attack him because they have their own problems.

His arrogance knows no bounds - and arrogance is the number one criteria of the "ugly American" to the folks of the world. He can charm the leaders perhaps - but not the people of the world. Especially the "foreigners" in the press, who see through all that false collegiality and actually hear his words and watch his dismissive body language.

And what did they see?

They saw the new President of the United States laugh at an Indian journalist for taking pride in her country and they heard him not apologize to the "foreigners" for taking mostly questions from American press, which he does every day.

They saw right through it. They saw that he was not prepared to answer "foreigners" questions and that he was only interested in standing before them getting his TV time and basking in the adoration of the world.

Those reporters represented their entire country and they shouldn't have been made to beg. It was the G 20 - not the US + G 19. He should have set up the press conference so that each of the 20 countries got to ask a question - if not then - some other time, or at least in writing. I don't know how many questions he took in this particular press conference but I assume this was the only opportunity to take questions from the "foreigners", who are seeing him for the first time. The day previous the British press got their opportunity.

He demonstrated, once again, with his anger at the Chinese journalist, who dared to point out barry's unpreparedness, and his mocking of the Indian journalist and his defensiveness about the US economy's role that he has no idea how to handle folks who aren't lobbing him softballs out of adoration.

It was embarrassing.

And somewhere in there was another dig at Churchill.

He talks a good game when it comes to diplomacy but he doesn't seem to know what it consists of. It includes everything - especially the little things - greetings, gestures, facial expressions, body language and understanding how to communicate to "foreigners" in front of a large group. Which most definitely does not include ridiculing a female reporter from a country that already oppresses woman - nor does it include avoiding "foreigners" questions because he is tired and unprepared. Stop the stumping, stay in the White House and become prepared.

And Michelle needs to do a little more tea sipping. Both of them need to watch how Madame Secretary Clinton is received and how she handles herself. She has the bearing and command of a President and the grace and etiquette of a First Lady.

Between them they have neither. It's what happens when one has such little time on the national stage and minimal foreign travel in an official capacity. And Michelle's had no exposure even to Washington etiquette.

No matter my thoughts about barry personally or about his eligibility to be president - he and Michelle were representing me and the rest of The American People on the world stage for the very first time and it was embarrassing. There was a clear lack of grace on both their parts.

I did not watch much of the coverage, but each time I did, I was embarrassed by his or Michelle's behavior. And please don't write any more of those - you're a racist comments. He is the President. It's time to stop that easy out and make him take responsibility for his actions.

He was representing the United States, which is made up of every race, religion, ethnicity and whatever else in the world. The world doesn't care what color he is because they are every color. They don't care that he has a funny name - because theirs are too. They care about how he handles himself toward their own countrymen. And I don't see the Brits, the Chinese or Indian people being pleased with his attitude.

Even if he was joking - he wasn't - he should have been aware that "jokes" are taken differently in different cultures. That is something a president (and first lady) should know. Why don't they? Someone not understanding the language would have seen the body language of embarrassment and arrogance and made their own conclusions.

barry may be more articulate than Bush and smoother on his feet, but he handled himself just as arrogantly, and it wasn't offset with the quiet grace of First Lady Laura Bush. And no, it isn't because Michelle is black. Face the facts. She is the First Lady. Stop using that lame excuse and make them accountable for their rude behavior.

It was embarrassing to watch. And it is infuriating to hear the press babble on about how fabulous! they did. It only reinforces to the world that their behavior was acceptable.

It wasn't.

And someone at the White House better make that clear and then teach them a little etiquette.

***

POTUS: "I'm gonna call one foreigner"
POTUS: "there have been times when America has shown arrogance"
To POTUS: "Do you regret running for president?"