Obama's presser

That was perhaps the finest presidential press conference I have ever witnessed.

To the gung-ho left Obama laid out in clear, simple terms that he's not a "dictator"--he cannot, contrary to some progressives' rather peculiar imperial urge, just command a lackey parliament to do the right thing in this fight (or any other); and to the austerity-belittling right Obama placed in real terms the real harm to come to some American families--in short, Krauthammer and Will should shove it.

Obama was, as always, reasonable beyond disputation. The sequester is not an economic apocalypse or "Armageddon" (see either of the sarcastic above), he said, but it sure as hell won't help. And what's the point of pursuing anything whose purpose is decidedly unhelpful? 

Possibly his finest moment, though, came in his coy reaffirmation of our constitutional system of government. We're facing another self-wounding only because that is what too many voters voted for last November. In other words, gentle electorate, just keep that in mind the next time around.

Comments

[JTL]

At the beginning of his second term, he IS attempting to correct what he said was the biggest failing of his first term. Not communicating with the American people clearly enough.

Good on him for trying to disabuse the "both sides are equally to blame" BS. Let's hope it helps. (Extra points for trying to use the term "Jedi mind trick," though it got a little mangled in the process.)

[japa21]

I wasn't able to watch, but due to the magic of Twitter and live blogs, I was able to follow it pretty well. Sounds like he was doing some channeling of Harry Truman, putting responsibility directly on the GOP. As I commented elsewhere, "Obama had warned the GOP that if they didn't play nice, he woulod expose them for what they are. They didn't. He did.

[Turgidson]

He was exceedingly reasonable, as usual. But dispute it, they will. They always do.

And agreed with japa21 - there's a bit of Trumanesque telling the truth and the GOP thinking it's hell going on. Same as it ever was, eh?

Obama also has a keen sense of timing and knowing when it's time to address and knock down a media talking point. Pretty much the whole Village circle jerk brigade has weighed in that Obama needs to LEAD!! with Woodward going so far as to say that Obama's a wuss for not just breaking the law to get things done. It was a good moment for Obama to tell them to sit down and shut up on that one. Boehner can't LEAD his own caucus, why is Obama, who those mouthbreathers hate with uncontrollable intensity, supposed to do what their own Speaker can't? As that charming redneck's famous sign said, "Get a brain, morans!"

Like I said in a previous thread, I have a bit of hope that we're seeing the early stages of a "both sides do it" supernova, as we did with the "Bush can do no wrong" narrative we dealt with for so painfully long. Please let me be right in this hope.

[Robert Lipscomb]

@Turgidson: This is what leadership looks like. Gone are the days when the Right tells the Big Lie, the media dutifully accepts it as received wisdom, and the Left says nothing.

[Turgidson]

^ to be fair, often times in the recent past the Left was saying a lot, but being completely ignored at best, and ridiculed or accused of treason at worst. Krugman has a column about just that phenomenon today.

[pamelabrown53]

Loved the presser; loved the column. PBO is so friggin' reasonable that even, i, with a strong pragmatic streak am sometimes convinced to get off my particular hobbyhorse.

[mdblanche]

@Turgidson,
Perhaps it would make more sense to say that the Left's political leaders are speaking up and fighting back. And that plus the changing media landscape goes a long way towards neutralizing the fact that the second clause of you statement is still true.