Barrack Obama: A Very Skilled Politician

[Peach]

Obama is far, far from a skilled politician. He has made a series of amateurish and bumbling idiot executive level mistakes.

You are mistaking his organizational skills for deft statesmanship.

You're wrong. Bush was a skilled politician and he defined the word "bumbling". No one gets the biggest prize in the world of politics without being good at it.

Obama is far, far from a skilled politician. He has made a series of amateurish and bumbling idiot executive level mistakes.

You are mistaking his organizational skills for deft statesmanship.

Would that mean that he is a failure at politics or rather that he is a failure as a Chief Executive?

In my opinion it would be the latter. He can and does suck as a Chief Executive, but if he can pull the wool over the eyes of enough voters come this November, I would have to agree with IL, that he is a damned good politician. Not that that is a good thing though.

Immie

I agree Immie. Right now Obama is showing superb skills at the gamesmanship of politics. Who is doing worst? In my opinion, it's Romney. I'm not commenting on his views or positions but simply his skill at getting elected. He should have been a shoe in. Instead, he is constantly letting others dictate his moves. First it was Gingrich and now it's Santorum. If he were more skilled, he would simply sidestep the landmines and stay focused. Instead, he has not only followed the trail into the minefield but set off a few himself. He's in serious trouble.
I give Santorum credit. He has done well to take the base from Romney. The only problem is, he won't win the GE in a thousand years.

Bush was a skilled politician and he defined the word "bumbling". No one gets the biggest prize in the world of politics without being good at it.
*****************************************
In that sense you are correct; Bush II even getting CLOSE to Gore took skilled work, from others. But he was able to play the part. Obama fumbles, IN PUBLIC, and does not lie in a convincing manner to cover it, Bush II pulled it off. 9/11 & Iraq helped Bush II however. "I'M a WAR President" will not be forgotten.

 

[Immanuel]

Obama is far, far from a skilled politician. He has made a series of amateurish and bumbling idiot executive level mistakes.

You are mistaking his organizational skills for deft statesmanship.

You're wrong. Bush was a skilled politician and he defined the word "bumbling". No one gets the biggest prize in the world of politics without being good at it.

Obama is far, far from a skilled politician. He has made a series of amateurish and bumbling idiot executive level mistakes.

You are mistaking his organizational skills for deft statesmanship.

Would that mean that he is a failure at politics or rather that he is a failure as a Chief Executive?

In my opinion it would be the latter. He can and does suck as a Chief Executive, but if he can pull the wool over the eyes of enough voters come this November, I would have to agree with IL, that he is a damned good politician. Not that that is a good thing though.

Immie

I agree Immie. Right now Obama is showing superb skills at the gamesmanship of politics. Who is doing worst? In my opinion, it's Romney. I'm not commenting on his views or positions but simply his skill at getting elected. He should have been a shoe in. Instead, he is constantly letting others dictate his moves. First it was Gingrich and now it's Santorum. If he were more skilled, he would simply sidestep the landmines and stay focused. Instead, he has not only followed the trail into the minefield but set off a few himself. He's in serious trouble.
I give Santorum credit. He has done well to take the base from Romney. The only problem is, he won't win the GE in a thousand years.

I don't agree that Romney should have been a shoe in or even that he is not a shoe in.

First in regards to the primaries and the nomination. The other three are not much more than gnats. I think Romney is basically a shoe in and has been all along. I suspect next Tuesday will prove that this is the case. I think the strength that Santorum is showing is to keep the real "conservatives" satisfied and in the fold during the general election.

As for the general, well, if you have read much from me you know I am not supporting either party again this year. I keep hearing the confidence of the conservatives that they are going to run away with this election in a landslide, but I can't help but get the feeling that they say it without a lot of conviction. The Democrats have not held the Oval Office long enough to really be blamed for the shit we are in. For the record, I blame both parties equally. But the electorate doesn't. Their going to reelect President Obama and leave the Republicans with their heads in their hands, thinking... WTF?

Now, I voted for Bush in both elections. I was absolutely not confident he would beat Kerry. I was extremely pessimistic then and I am now. Maybe, my pessimism is getting the better of me and maybe the Republicans are right they will win. I just wish I could be as confident.

Immie

 

[IndependntLogic]

Obama is far, far from a skilled politician. He has made a series of amateurish and bumbling idiot executive level mistakes.

You are mistaking his organizational skills for deft statesmanship.

You're wrong. Bush was a skilled politician and he defined the word "bumbling". No one gets the biggest prize in the world of politics without being good at it.

Would that mean that he is a failure at politics or rather that he is a failure as a Chief Executive?

In my opinion it would be the latter. He can and does suck as a Chief Executive, but if he can pull the wool over the eyes of enough voters come this November, I would have to agree with IL, that he is a damned good politician. Not that that is a good thing though.

Immie

I agree Immie. Right now Obama is showing superb skills at the gamesmanship of politics. Who is doing worst? In my opinion, it's Romney. I'm not commenting on his views or positions but simply his skill at getting elected. He should have been a shoe in. Instead, he is constantly letting others dictate his moves. First it was Gingrich and now it's Santorum. If he were more skilled, he would simply sidestep the landmines and stay focused. Instead, he has not only followed the trail into the minefield but set off a few himself. He's in serious trouble.
I give Santorum credit. He has done well to take the base from Romney. The only problem is, he won't win the GE in a thousand years.

Bush was a skilled politician and he defined the word "bumbling". No one gets the biggest prize in the world of politics without being good at it.
*****************************************
In that sense you are correct; Bush II even getting CLOSE to Gore took skilled work, from others. But he was able to play the part. Obama fumbles, IN PUBLIC, and does not lie in a convincing manner to cover it, Bush II pulled it off. 9/11 & Iraq helped Bush II however. "I'M a WAR President" will not be forgotten.

Junior didn't fumble in public???? ROFL!!

 

[Mr. Shaman]

Barrack Obama: A Very Skilled Politician

.....Especially when it comes to cleaning-up the biggest-mess a Bush Presidunce EVER CREATED!!!!!​

April 2, 2012​

"All told, Obama's decision to complete the withdrawal from Iraq along his original timeline has been largely vindicated. Disaster has yet to occur, and some positive signs can be glimpsed from within the haze of a hotly contentious and murky political scene. And American troops are no longer trapped in the middle. That's probably the best that could have been hoped for out of the disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq --- a mistake which we should all hope is not repeated in Syria, Iran or anywhere else."

YES, WE DID!!!!!

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Obama withdrew from Iraq on the Bush timeline, moron.

 

[JoeB131]

Being the "Most SKilled Politician" is kind of like being "The Leper with the Most Fingers".

 

[IndependntLogic]

Obama withdrew from Iraq on the Bush timeline, moron.

Okay so you can't post without petty insults. Got it. In response to your post:

This is true. But guess what? Politicians have been known to break their promises. Shocking I know.
He shiftedfrom iraq to Afghan. Followed Afghan to Pakistan. Got Bin Laden. Got out of Iraq. Announced withdrawal from Afghan.
Sounds good.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

First, let me clarify that I'm not saying he's a good president or his policies are good. I'm saying that he is skilled at the profession of politics: The art of swaying public opinion, manipulating your opponents and getting elected.
The first piece of evidence to support this assertation is that Obama came out of nowhere, got elected to the Senate and then only four years later, beat what was possibly the biggest political brand name in the country - "Clinton" - to win the nomination for president. That, in and of itself was an amazing political accomplishment. I certainly didn't think he had a chance to beat Hillary - at least not at first.
So the presidency was, exactly as many predicted, out of his league. He invited Republicans into the White House, appointed them to his cabinet and put three of them on the committee that was to mold health care reform. After six months of meetings on health care, the GOP members admitted they weren't there to work with the Dems at all and "hadn't even read the proposals and never would." Oops. Seriously, after a decade of Dems and Repubs battling each other on everything, did he really expect daisies and hugs? He continued to screw up and do a bad job for almost two years, as was evidenced by the steady decline in approval without a single spike.
So Obama finally got his footing and realize that the ideal of bi-partisanship was not going to be found. He changed tactics. Time to learn from the Bush playbook when the Dems worked against him on everything - which they did. If the other side won't play nice, then screw them. Obama started doing whatever it took to get things done - including Executive Orders and Appointments during Absence. This infuriated Republicans much in the same way that Dems were infuriated when Bush did the exact same thing. But things started getting done.
He has actually done some things well. Pulling out of Iraq, Announcing the end and withdraw from Afghanistan, getting bin Laden, repealing DADT and other things helped Obama with everyone but the Conservative Base - who of course, would no more attribute ANYTHING positive to Obama, than a diehard Liberal would have, with Bush.
Then he started letting the Republicans set traps for themselves. Obama waited until John Boehner and Eric Cantor pubicly criticized him for not getting involved in Libya,seying it showed his "Wekaness on defense". One day later he announced we would join NATO forces in their efforts there. We got in and out, more cleanly than we have in any conflict in recent memory. What happened? Those same Republicans then criticized him for our involvement and Obama let them. Because they looked completely hypocritical and foolish to everyone but their Faithful Followers.
Refusing to raise the debt ceiling looked GREAT to everyone in the Conservative Republican base! To everyone else, the fact that the debt ceiling had always been raised before was was pretty glaring. The GOP had a legitimate point in that Obama criticized Bush for reasing the debt ceiling but no congress in history had taken it to the ludicrous level the GOP did in 2011. When Moody's made it clear the credit downgrade was directly attributable to the GOP being unwilling to work with the Dems, it made the GOP look very party-before-country. It got worse.
The GOP was willing and DEMANDED that the Bush tax cuts be extended - without any effort to show how they could pay for it. Obama and the Dems let this become as big an issue as the GOP wanted to make it because they knew what was on the horizon. Sure enough, when the payroll tax cut that would benefit the Middle Class came along, the GOP suddenly DEMANDED that it be paid for in advance. Again, the Conservative Base was thrilled and everyone else was appalled. The hypocrisy was obvious. Obama repeated the phrase "They will only approve of tax cuts for the rich" over and over again - and held out until the GOP caved. And then he held out again in February until once again, the GOP caved. The marketing goal was obvious: Obama is the Champion of the Middle Class and the GOP cares only about the rich. That may or may not be true but all that mattered was the perception of everyone but the Faithful Conservative Base. It worked in Obama's favor.
The 2012 GOP primaries. Hmmm. Okay so candidates always attack each other. This is expected. But Obama made himself the outside factor.
As a tennis coach, one of the things I tell players is to stay focused on their strategy and whatever they do, don't let the other player dictate play. If the opponent has a weak backhand, attack the weakness over and over.
All the GOP had to do, to continue increasing their chance to capture the White House, was attack Obama's "backhand". Stay focused on Unemployment. The Economy. The Deficit. In that order. Nothing else. Don't get distracted!
Along comes Obama and the Birth Control Issue. He makes what I thought was a TERRIBLE mistake (and posted to that fact! Once again, I am wrong). Then he makes a compromise which basically means that the laws / benefits that were in place during the entire Bush presidency, will be exactly the same now. Catholic Health Care Systems puts out a press release thanking him and saying they're fine and dandy with it. All over, right? Wrong. Rick Santorum seizes on this issue and as a result, Romney is forced to discuss it too. it becomes all they talk about for weeks. Obama is dictating play.
In the Arizona Debate, unemployment and jobs were discussed for a total of five minutes! The economy was discussed much more but while the candidates offered a lot of criticism, they had little in the way of convincing solutions. "I'll lower taxes!" seemed to be the gist and every candidate. The problem for them is that with the exception of their Faithful Base, most people thought "Gee, never heard THAT one before..."
However, Gay rights, birth control, America being a Christian Nation and other social issues got a LOT of time in that debate - time that those issues should NOT have gotten at all. They really should have stayed focused on the obvious: Unemployment, The Economy and The Deficit.
The result? Obama's approval ratings among women has risen TEN POINTS in less than three weeks! And Obama continues to subtley and overtly provoke and prod his opponents into giving him soundbites that will be priceless in the general election.
Now Santorum continues to preach from the pulpit. Romney is forced to at least add some similar commentary to his rhetoric so he doesn't look like the "Non-Christian" candidate.
In the meantime, Obama is hitting the "backhand" of his opponents over and over. After Mitt's flop in Detroit, Obama stirred his own audience into a frenzy talking about how he's glad "some people" didn't have the power to stop the auto bailouts. Now Mitt is having to backtrack and modify his game to handle Obama's attacks.
After Santorum's remarks about the seperation of church and state, Obama mentioned how grateful he was for JFK. Now Santorum is backtracking and modifying his game to handle Obama's attacks. Obama is a cunning politician. He's playing his own strategy and attacking his opponents' weaknesses.
The result is he leads every GOP candidate in the polls by 5 - 11%.

RealClearPolitics - Latest Polls

There is NO WAY this should be the case! Anyone objectively viewing his performance would conclude that Obama just hasn't been that great of a president. The lead is because Obama is dictating play.

Now the Republicans are saying we should get involved in Syria. Defense was always an area that the GOP could attack the Dems for being weak on. Not with this president! He has the notches on his belt. Now he can use this rhetoric by the GOP to get involved in Syria to capture a LOT of Independents and Mods (and maybe even one or two Libartarians - especially if Romney ends up on the ticket and campaigns like a hawk). "Do you REALLY want another expensive war in the Middle East?" The GOP would be wise to stay away from defense this year but Obama is already prodding them a bit and they have plently of people like McCain and Graham who don't even need prodding. As long as they talk about Syria, they're NOT talking about Unemployment, the economy and the deficit. Oops.

What's next? If Obama is smart, he'll start talking about issues like Affirmative Action, Immigration and so on. Put the bait out with one specific incident or situation. Then, if he's lucky, the GOP candidates will swing as wildly to the Conservative Right on that issue, as they have on birth control. This would guarantee Obama the minority vote which is expected to breaks all records at above 30% this year. It will also offer more distractions from Unemployment, The Economy and the Deficit - Obama's "backhand".

By the time the GOP has finally picked Mitt Romney as their candidate, the dice will be rolled. All the ammunition Obama could ever hope for, will already be in his possession.

If Obama can continue to dictate play, to keep the GOP candidates talking about things that are non-issues to everyone but the Conservative base, if he can continue to egg the GOP candidates into running farther and farther to The Right and away from the Center, and if the economy improves at all, Obama will see a re-election.
Given the massive number of mistakes he made early in his presidency (especially the debacle known as ObamaCare), pulling off a re-election would be a spectacular display of political skill.
And remember, I'm not saying he's good, bad or otherwise as a president. I'm saying he's good at politics: swaying public opinion, manipulating his opponents and getting elected. Barring an "X-Factor", it's looking like he'll also be good at getting re-elected.

This would be where some people comment or debate issues discussed here, and the weaker ones just sling petty insults and labels because you know, issues and points just aren't anything they can handle.

Every time I think you have reached the nadir of intelligence you prove me wrong.

 

[IndependntLogic]

First, let me clarify that I'm not saying he's a good president or his policies are good. I'm saying that he is skilled at the profession of politics: The art of swaying public opinion, manipulating your opponents and getting elected.
The first piece of evidence to support this assertation is that Obama came out of nowhere, got elected to the Senate and then only four years later, beat what was possibly the biggest political brand name in the country - "Clinton" - to win the nomination for president. That, in and of itself was an amazing political accomplishment. I certainly didn't think he had a chance to beat Hillary - at least not at first.
So the presidency was, exactly as many predicted, out of his league. He invited Republicans into the White House, appointed them to his cabinet and put three of them on the committee that was to mold health care reform. After six months of meetings on health care, the GOP members admitted they weren't there to work with the Dems at all and "hadn't even read the proposals and never would." Oops. Seriously, after a decade of Dems and Repubs battling each other on everything, did he really expect daisies and hugs? He continued to screw up and do a bad job for almost two years, as was evidenced by the steady decline in approval without a single spike.
So Obama finally got his footing and realize that the ideal of bi-partisanship was not going to be found. He changed tactics. Time to learn from the Bush playbook when the Dems worked against him on everything - which they did. If the other side won't play nice, then screw them. Obama started doing whatever it took to get things done - including Executive Orders and Appointments during Absence. This infuriated Republicans much in the same way that Dems were infuriated when Bush did the exact same thing. But things started getting done.
He has actually done some things well. Pulling out of Iraq, Announcing the end and withdraw from Afghanistan, getting bin Laden, repealing DADT and other things helped Obama with everyone but the Conservative Base - who of course, would no more attribute ANYTHING positive to Obama, than a diehard Liberal would have, with Bush.
Then he started letting the Republicans set traps for themselves. Obama waited until John Boehner and Eric Cantor pubicly criticized him for not getting involved in Libya,seying it showed his "Wekaness on defense". One day later he announced we would join NATO forces in their efforts there. We got in and out, more cleanly than we have in any conflict in recent memory. What happened? Those same Republicans then criticized him for our involvement and Obama let them. Because they looked completely hypocritical and foolish to everyone but their Faithful Followers.
Refusing to raise the debt ceiling looked GREAT to everyone in the Conservative Republican base! To everyone else, the fact that the debt ceiling had always been raised before was was pretty glaring. The GOP had a legitimate point in that Obama criticized Bush for reasing the debt ceiling but no congress in history had taken it to the ludicrous level the GOP did in 2011. When Moody's made it clear the credit downgrade was directly attributable to the GOP being unwilling to work with the Dems, it made the GOP look very party-before-country. It got worse.
The GOP was willing and DEMANDED that the Bush tax cuts be extended - without any effort to show how they could pay for it. Obama and the Dems let this become as big an issue as the GOP wanted to make it because they knew what was on the horizon. Sure enough, when the payroll tax cut that would benefit the Middle Class came along, the GOP suddenly DEMANDED that it be paid for in advance. Again, the Conservative Base was thrilled and everyone else was appalled. The hypocrisy was obvious. Obama repeated the phrase "They will only approve of tax cuts for the rich" over and over again - and held out until the GOP caved. And then he held out again in February until once again, the GOP caved. The marketing goal was obvious: Obama is the Champion of the Middle Class and the GOP cares only about the rich. That may or may not be true but all that mattered was the perception of everyone but the Faithful Conservative Base. It worked in Obama's favor.
The 2012 GOP primaries. Hmmm. Okay so candidates always attack each other. This is expected. But Obama made himself the outside factor.
As a tennis coach, one of the things I tell players is to stay focused on their strategy and whatever they do, don't let the other player dictate play. If the opponent has a weak backhand, attack the weakness over and over.
All the GOP had to do, to continue increasing their chance to capture the White House, was attack Obama's "backhand". Stay focused on Unemployment. The Economy. The Deficit. In that order. Nothing else. Don't get distracted!
Along comes Obama and the Birth Control Issue. He makes what I thought was a TERRIBLE mistake (and posted to that fact! Once again, I am wrong). Then he makes a compromise which basically means that the laws / benefits that were in place during the entire Bush presidency, will be exactly the same now. Catholic Health Care Systems puts out a press release thanking him and saying they're fine and dandy with it. All over, right? Wrong. Rick Santorum seizes on this issue and as a result, Romney is forced to discuss it too. it becomes all they talk about for weeks. Obama is dictating play.
In the Arizona Debate, unemployment and jobs were discussed for a total of five minutes! The economy was discussed much more but while the candidates offered a lot of criticism, they had little in the way of convincing solutions. "I'll lower taxes!" seemed to be the gist and every candidate. The problem for them is that with the exception of their Faithful Base, most people thought "Gee, never heard THAT one before..."
However, Gay rights, birth control, America being a Christian Nation and other social issues got a LOT of time in that debate - time that those issues should NOT have gotten at all. They really should have stayed focused on the obvious: Unemployment, The Economy and The Deficit.
The result? Obama's approval ratings among women has risen TEN POINTS in less than three weeks! And Obama continues to subtley and overtly provoke and prod his opponents into giving him soundbites that will be priceless in the general election.
Now Santorum continues to preach from the pulpit. Romney is forced to at least add some similar commentary to his rhetoric so he doesn't look like the "Non-Christian" candidate.
In the meantime, Obama is hitting the "backhand" of his opponents over and over. After Mitt's flop in Detroit, Obama stirred his own audience into a frenzy talking about how he's glad "some people" didn't have the power to stop the auto bailouts. Now Mitt is having to backtrack and modify his game to handle Obama's attacks.
After Santorum's remarks about the seperation of church and state, Obama mentioned how grateful he was for JFK. Now Santorum is backtracking and modifying his game to handle Obama's attacks. Obama is a cunning politician. He's playing his own strategy and attacking his opponents' weaknesses.
The result is he leads every GOP candidate in the polls by 5 - 11%.

RealClearPolitics - Latest Polls

There is NO WAY this should be the case! Anyone objectively viewing his performance would conclude that Obama just hasn't been that great of a president. The lead is because Obama is dictating play.

Now the Republicans are saying we should get involved in Syria. Defense was always an area that the GOP could attack the Dems for being weak on. Not with this president! He has the notches on his belt. Now he can use this rhetoric by the GOP to get involved in Syria to capture a LOT of Independents and Mods (and maybe even one or two Libartarians - especially if Romney ends up on the ticket and campaigns like a hawk). "Do you REALLY want another expensive war in the Middle East?" The GOP would be wise to stay away from defense this year but Obama is already prodding them a bit and they have plently of people like McCain and Graham who don't even need prodding. As long as they talk about Syria, they're NOT talking about Unemployment, the economy and the deficit. Oops.

What's next? If Obama is smart, he'll start talking about issues like Affirmative Action, Immigration and so on. Put the bait out with one specific incident or situation. Then, if he's lucky, the GOP candidates will swing as wildly to the Conservative Right on that issue, as they have on birth control. This would guarantee Obama the minority vote which is expected to breaks all records at above 30% this year. It will also offer more distractions from Unemployment, The Economy and the Deficit - Obama's "backhand".

By the time the GOP has finally picked Mitt Romney as their candidate, the dice will be rolled. All the ammunition Obama could ever hope for, will already be in his possession.

If Obama can continue to dictate play, to keep the GOP candidates talking about things that are non-issues to everyone but the Conservative base, if he can continue to egg the GOP candidates into running farther and farther to The Right and away from the Center, and if the economy improves at all, Obama will see a re-election.
Given the massive number of mistakes he made early in his presidency (especially the debacle known as ObamaCare), pulling off a re-election would be a spectacular display of political skill.
And remember, I'm not saying he's good, bad or otherwise as a president. I'm saying he's good at politics: swaying public opinion, manipulating his opponents and getting elected. Barring an "X-Factor", it's looking like he'll also be good at getting re-elected.

This would be where some people comment or debate issues discussed here, and the weaker ones just sling petty insults and labels because you know, issues and points just aren't anything they can handle.

Every time I think you have reached the nadir of intelligence you prove me wrong.

That's quite alright! Every time I think that you're NOT so stupid, you can directly address any points or issues discussed, you prove me wrong too! But I tolerate you because I'm sure that although your post seem to indicate your nothing but a mind-dead idiot, you're probably a good person and you probably actually care about our country. So I forgive you your ignorance.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

First, let me clarify that I'm not saying he's a good president or his policies are good. I'm saying that he is skilled at the profession of politics: The art of swaying public opinion, manipulating your opponents and getting elected.
The first piece of evidence to support this assertation is that Obama came out of nowhere, got elected to the Senate and then only four years later, beat what was possibly the biggest political brand name in the country - "Clinton" - to win the nomination for president. That, in and of itself was an amazing political accomplishment. I certainly didn't think he had a chance to beat Hillary - at least not at first.
So the presidency was, exactly as many predicted, out of his league. He invited Republicans into the White House, appointed them to his cabinet and put three of them on the committee that was to mold health care reform. After six months of meetings on health care, the GOP members admitted they weren't there to work with the Dems at all and "hadn't even read the proposals and never would." Oops. Seriously, after a decade of Dems and Repubs battling each other on everything, did he really expect daisies and hugs? He continued to screw up and do a bad job for almost two years, as was evidenced by the steady decline in approval without a single spike.
So Obama finally got his footing and realize that the ideal of bi-partisanship was not going to be found. He changed tactics. Time to learn from the Bush playbook when the Dems worked against him on everything - which they did. If the other side won't play nice, then screw them. Obama started doing whatever it took to get things done - including Executive Orders and Appointments during Absence. This infuriated Republicans much in the same way that Dems were infuriated when Bush did the exact same thing. But things started getting done.
He has actually done some things well. Pulling out of Iraq, Announcing the end and withdraw from Afghanistan, getting bin Laden, repealing DADT and other things helped Obama with everyone but the Conservative Base - who of course, would no more attribute ANYTHING positive to Obama, than a diehard Liberal would have, with Bush.
Then he started letting the Republicans set traps for themselves. Obama waited until John Boehner and Eric Cantor pubicly criticized him for not getting involved in Libya,seying it showed his "Wekaness on defense". One day later he announced we would join NATO forces in their efforts there. We got in and out, more cleanly than we have in any conflict in recent memory. What happened? Those same Republicans then criticized him for our involvement and Obama let them. Because they looked completely hypocritical and foolish to everyone but their Faithful Followers.
Refusing to raise the debt ceiling looked GREAT to everyone in the Conservative Republican base! To everyone else, the fact that the debt ceiling had always been raised before was was pretty glaring. The GOP had a legitimate point in that Obama criticized Bush for reasing the debt ceiling but no congress in history had taken it to the ludicrous level the GOP did in 2011. When Moody's made it clear the credit downgrade was directly attributable to the GOP being unwilling to work with the Dems, it made the GOP look very party-before-country. It got worse.
The GOP was willing and DEMANDED that the Bush tax cuts be extended - without any effort to show how they could pay for it. Obama and the Dems let this become as big an issue as the GOP wanted to make it because they knew what was on the horizon. Sure enough, when the payroll tax cut that would benefit the Middle Class came along, the GOP suddenly DEMANDED that it be paid for in advance. Again, the Conservative Base was thrilled and everyone else was appalled. The hypocrisy was obvious. Obama repeated the phrase "They will only approve of tax cuts for the rich" over and over again - and held out until the GOP caved. And then he held out again in February until once again, the GOP caved. The marketing goal was obvious: Obama is the Champion of the Middle Class and the GOP cares only about the rich. That may or may not be true but all that mattered was the perception of everyone but the Faithful Conservative Base. It worked in Obama's favor.
The 2012 GOP primaries. Hmmm. Okay so candidates always attack each other. This is expected. But Obama made himself the outside factor.
As a tennis coach, one of the things I tell players is to stay focused on their strategy and whatever they do, don't let the other player dictate play. If the opponent has a weak backhand, attack the weakness over and over.
All the GOP had to do, to continue increasing their chance to capture the White House, was attack Obama's "backhand". Stay focused on Unemployment. The Economy. The Deficit. In that order. Nothing else. Don't get distracted!
Along comes Obama and the Birth Control Issue. He makes what I thought was a TERRIBLE mistake (and posted to that fact! Once again, I am wrong). Then he makes a compromise which basically means that the laws / benefits that were in place during the entire Bush presidency, will be exactly the same now. Catholic Health Care Systems puts out a press release thanking him and saying they're fine and dandy with it. All over, right? Wrong. Rick Santorum seizes on this issue and as a result, Romney is forced to discuss it too. it becomes all they talk about for weeks. Obama is dictating play.
In the Arizona Debate, unemployment and jobs were discussed for a total of five minutes! The economy was discussed much more but while the candidates offered a lot of criticism, they had little in the way of convincing solutions. "I'll lower taxes!" seemed to be the gist and every candidate. The problem for them is that with the exception of their Faithful Base, most people thought "Gee, never heard THAT one before..."
However, Gay rights, birth control, America being a Christian Nation and other social issues got a LOT of time in that debate - time that those issues should NOT have gotten at all. They really should have stayed focused on the obvious: Unemployment, The Economy and The Deficit.
The result? Obama's approval ratings among women has risen TEN POINTS in less than three weeks! And Obama continues to subtley and overtly provoke and prod his opponents into giving him soundbites that will be priceless in the general election.
Now Santorum continues to preach from the pulpit. Romney is forced to at least add some similar commentary to his rhetoric so he doesn't look like the "Non-Christian" candidate.
In the meantime, Obama is hitting the "backhand" of his opponents over and over. After Mitt's flop in Detroit, Obama stirred his own audience into a frenzy talking about how he's glad "some people" didn't have the power to stop the auto bailouts. Now Mitt is having to backtrack and modify his game to handle Obama's attacks.
After Santorum's remarks about the seperation of church and state, Obama mentioned how grateful he was for JFK. Now Santorum is backtracking and modifying his game to handle Obama's attacks. Obama is a cunning politician. He's playing his own strategy and attacking his opponents' weaknesses.
The result is he leads every GOP candidate in the polls by 5 - 11%.

RealClearPolitics - Latest Polls

There is NO WAY this should be the case! Anyone objectively viewing his performance would conclude that Obama just hasn't been that great of a president. The lead is because Obama is dictating play.

Now the Republicans are saying we should get involved in Syria. Defense was always an area that the GOP could attack the Dems for being weak on. Not with this president! He has the notches on his belt. Now he can use this rhetoric by the GOP to get involved in Syria to capture a LOT of Independents and Mods (and maybe even one or two Libartarians - especially if Romney ends up on the ticket and campaigns like a hawk). "Do you REALLY want another expensive war in the Middle East?" The GOP would be wise to stay away from defense this year but Obama is already prodding them a bit and they have plently of people like McCain and Graham who don't even need prodding. As long as they talk about Syria, they're NOT talking about Unemployment, the economy and the deficit. Oops.

What's next? If Obama is smart, he'll start talking about issues like Affirmative Action, Immigration and so on. Put the bait out with one specific incident or situation. Then, if he's lucky, the GOP candidates will swing as wildly to the Conservative Right on that issue, as they have on birth control. This would guarantee Obama the minority vote which is expected to breaks all records at above 30% this year. It will also offer more distractions from Unemployment, The Economy and the Deficit - Obama's "backhand".

By the time the GOP has finally picked Mitt Romney as their candidate, the dice will be rolled. All the ammunition Obama could ever hope for, will already be in his possession.

If Obama can continue to dictate play, to keep the GOP candidates talking about things that are non-issues to everyone but the Conservative base, if he can continue to egg the GOP candidates into running farther and farther to The Right and away from the Center, and if the economy improves at all, Obama will see a re-election.
Given the massive number of mistakes he made early in his presidency (especially the debacle known as ObamaCare), pulling off a re-election would be a spectacular display of political skill.
And remember, I'm not saying he's good, bad or otherwise as a president. I'm saying he's good at politics: swaying public opinion, manipulating his opponents and getting elected. Barring an "X-Factor", it's looking like he'll also be good at getting re-elected.

This would be where some people comment or debate issues discussed here, and the weaker ones just sling petty insults and labels because you know, issues and points just aren't anything they can handle.

Every time I think you have reached the nadir of intelligence you prove me wrong.

That's quite alright! Every time I think that you're NOT so stupid, you can directly address any points or issues discussed, you prove me wrong too! But I tolerate you because I'm sure that although your post seem to indicate your nothing but a mind-dead idiot, you're probably a good person and you probably actually care about our country. So I forgive you your ignorance.

Did you have a point in that long winded ode to your inability to think?

 

[IndependntLogic]

Every time I think you have reached the nadir of intelligence you prove me wrong.

That's quite alright! Every time I think that you're NOT so stupid, you can directly address any points or issues discussed, you prove me wrong too! But I tolerate you because I'm sure that although your post seem to indicate your nothing but a mind-dead idiot, you're probably a good person and you probably actually care about our country. So I forgive you your ignorance.

Did you have a point in that long winded ode to your inability to think?

Several. But a complete fucking idiot like you wouldn't be abel to address a single one of them.
Thus, your responses are explained...

 

[Oddball]

Wow...Independent of Logic has declared victory for himself again....Who would've guessed?

 

[Quantum Windbag]

That's quite alright! Every time I think that you're NOT so stupid, you can directly address any points or issues discussed, you prove me wrong too! But I tolerate you because I'm sure that although your post seem to indicate your nothing but a mind-dead idiot, you're probably a good person and you probably actually care about our country. So I forgive you your ignorance.

Did you have a point in that long winded ode to your inability to think?

Several. But a complete fucking idiot like you wouldn't be abel to address a single one of them.
Thus, your responses are explained...

You made a lot of statements that are not supported by any facts, and claimed that the fact that Obama won an election proved he is a good politician.

You claim that the fact that he totally misjudged the mood of the country about priorities of his administration prove he is a good politician.

You claim the fact that Republicans said something they never said proves he is a good politician.

I skipped a good part of your post, but at the end you link to a bunch of polls that have huge sampling errors and claim that proves he is a good politician.

To make a point you have to do more than say Obama won an election, and that makes him a politician. You can't say that Republicans sad they were not trying on health care when they had an alternative plan that was linked to by the White House and claim that proves that Obama is a good politician. You have to provide real world examples of deals he made that worked, not all the examples of his failures.

You didn't make any points, so I couldn't refute them. The best I could do was point out how stupid all your arguments were, and I didn't want to go through them one by one and say that what you think happened has no basis in reality, so I summed it up in a single sentence.

That might make me lazy, but it doesn't make me stupid. Stick to teaching tennis, hitting a ball back and forth seems to be all the challenge your critical thinking skills can handle.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Wow...Independent of Logic has declared victory for himself again....Who would've guessed?

I love the way he started the thread by saying the fact that Obama won the nomination proved he is a good politician. All it proved is he won the nomination by gaming the system, in other words, he knows how to cheat.