Irony of Ironies: Bush ofc'l calls Obama "Intellectually Lazy?"
Bush official: Obama shows 'intellectual laziness'
by Frank James
As we noted in an earlier posting, today's Examiner newspaper, has an article based on its reporter Bill Sammon's new book on President Bush called "The Evangelical President" in which Bush says Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will be the Democratic presidential nominee.
In that same article, a White House official criticizes Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as demonstrating "intellectual laziness" during his campaign, for allegedly trying to get by on charisma alone and not doing the heavy lifting expected of serious presidential candidates.
We won't be the first to note the irony in that the senior White House official works for a president who himself has been often criticized for not exactly exercising his neurons as vigorously as he exercises his muscles. But that doesn't make it less ironic.
The attribution by the White House official of laziness to Obama may also strike some as having a racial component. And it may in some way play off the stereotype of blacks being lazy though, in fairness, a certain laziness has also been ascribed to Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson as well.
Here's the relevant passage from the Examiner article:
As for Obama, a senior White House official said the freshman senator from Illinois was "capable" of the intellectual rigor needed to win the presidency but instead relies too heavily on his easy charm.
"It's sort of like, 'that's all I need to get by,' which bespeaks sort of a condescending attitude towards the voters," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And a laziness, an intellectual laziness."
He cited an example from Obama's memoir, The Audacity of Hope, in which the senator complains that many "government programs don't work as advertised." Five days after the book was published last fall, Obama was asked to name some of those government programs by Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"And he can't give an example," the official said. "Look, if you wrote the book, you should have thought through what it was. But he's sitting there, fumbling around."
As for Obama, a senior White House official said the freshman senator from Illinois was "capable" of the intellectual rigor needed to win the presidency but instead relies too heavily on his easy charm.
"It's sort of like, 'that's all I need to get by,' which bespeaks sort of a condescending attitude towards the voters," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And a laziness, an intellectual laziness."
He cited an example from Obama's memoir, The Audacity of Hope, in which the senator complains that many "government programs don't work as advertised." Five days after the book was published last fall, Obama was asked to name some of those government programs by Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"And he can't give an example," the official said. "Look, if you wrote the book, you should have thought through what it was. But he's sitting there, fumbling around."
Obama did tell Russert that "we don't use electronic billing for Medicare and Medicaid providers." But the White House official said the vast majority of such transactions are indeed billed electronically.
In Audacity, Obama also recalls his first meeting with Bush, who invited newly elected senators to the White House in 2005 to hear about the president's second-term agenda. Bush took the opportunity to pull Obama aside and give him some friendly advice.
The president cautioned the newly minted senator that his enormous popularity would make him a target for rivals on both sides of the aisle. Obama thanked Bush for the advice and later recounted the episode in "Audacity." But in the same passage, Obama described Bush as a zealot whose demeanor was downright frightening when he laid out his agenda.
"Suddenly it felt as if somebody in a back room had flipped a switch," Obama wrote. "The president's eyes became fixed; his voice took on the agitated, rapid tone of someone neither accustomed to nor welcoming interruption; his easy affability was replaced by an almost messianic certainty. As I watched my mostly Republican Senate colleagues hang on his every word, I was reminded of the dangerous isolation that power can bring and appreciated the Founders' wisdom in designating a system to keep power in check."
When The Examiner quoted from this passage to Bush, the president seemed irritated to learn he had been taken to task by the senator he once counseled.
"I thought I was actually showing some kindness," Bush said. "And out of that he came with this belief?"
The president added with a bit of a scowl: "He doesn't know me very well."
Nor does Obama know his facts very well, according to the senior White House official. The official said in March, Obama was flummoxed by questions about his health care plan at a Democratic forum in Las Vegas. Two months later, the candidate drastically overstated the death toll from Kansas tornadoes.
"Ten thousand people died," Obama told an audience, when the actual death toll was 12.
"Over time, we'll see other things like that," the White House official said. "I'm going to be validated on Barack. He's not done the hard work necessary to prepare himself. And it's too late to do it."
Since that prediction, Obama has made a series of foreign policy gaffes that that has allowed Clinton to cast herself as the candidate of experience.
Baltimore Sun
LMAFO! Is there any commentary required? That's great comedy, assclowns!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Kristy
