The Magic Negro misleads about as well as he speaks extemporaneously:
Obama1: I mean, the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives are accounting for potentially 80 percent of the total health care bill out here…. I think that there is going to have to be a conversation that is guided by doctors, scientists, ethicists. And then there is going to have to be a very difficult democratic conversation that takes place. It is very difficult to imagine the country making those decisions just through the normal political channels. And that’s part of why you have to have some independent group that can give you guidance.
Obama2: “I just lost my grandmother last year. I know what it’s like to watch somebody you love who’s aging deteriorate, and have to struggle with that,” Mr. Obama said. “So the notion that somehow I ran for public office, or members of Congress are in this so they can go around pulling the plug on grandma? I mean, when you start making arguments like that, that’s simply dishonest.”
No, he doesn’t want Congress to pull the plug on Grandma, he merely wants an independent Death Panel of doctors, scientists, ethicists providing “guidance” on the best way to pull the plug on Grandma. Two TOTALLY different things… who does he think will fall for this, besides the media? And what does the nationalized health care system he’s been pushing of late have to do with why he ran for office anyhow? It’s just a clumsy non-sequitur intended to mislead but unlikely to succeed in doing so.
What I find interesting about Obama isn’t his lame attempts to insult the intelligence of those observing him, because I’ve never seen any indication that he’s all that bright himself. What’s interesting is the way in which he appears to be transforming into one of the most openly obnoxious president we’ve known. Even Clinton, for all his many well-known flaws, had a great deal of personal charm to balance them. Whether it is throwing friends and family under the bus, calling the police “stupid” or calling his critics “dishonest”, Obama is increasingly displaying that he’s more than a bit of a jerk.
And while we’re on the subject, it’s nice to see the billboard campaign growing.
UPDATE: The antiwar candidate for the Democratic nomination is having his administration spend $1.5 billion to increase the size of the US military four percent due to escalating violence in Afghanistan. This is precisely what I meant by “counterpush”. And don’t be surprised when it suddenly becomes necessary to invade Pakistan, most likely around the time the Dow hits new lows.