The Gambler

[DamnYankee]

David S. Broder - In Speech to Congress, Obama Rolls the Dice - washingtonpost.com

David Broder, of the Washington Post, concluded his very insightful piece with

"When we elected Obama, we didn't know what a gambler we were getting."


Remember Kenny Rodgers' lyrics?

On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said, "Son, I've made my life out of readin' people's faces,
And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
so if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
For a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice."

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, and his face lost all expression.
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy, ya gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

Ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
'Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

When he'd finished speakin', he turned back towards the window,
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

KENNY ROGERS - THE GAMBLER LYRICS


Just how good a gambler is Obama?

 

[tremblechin]

Broder seemed to miss a crucial point... it ain't much of a gamble when you are betting that congress will drag their heels until most of this aggressive agenda is reduced to a vote over renaming french fries in the capitol cafeteria.
If he (obama) throws enough work at our do-nothing congress.. maybe he'll actually get them to address at least one thing... anything.
I don't see this as a gamble... maybe naivete - but not much of a risk.

 

[DamnYankee]

Broder seemed to miss a crucial point... it ain't much of a gamble when you are betting that congress will drag their heels until most of this aggressive agenda is reduced to a vote over renaming french fries in the capitol cafeteria.
If he (obama) throws enough work at our do-nothing congress.. maybe he'll actually get them to address at least one thing... anything.
I don't see this as a gamble... maybe naivete - but not much of a risk.

As one who was more than a little upset by the fact that Obama, with the help of Congress, used the stimulus package as an assist to move his (re-prioritized) agenda (remember the Blitzer interview on CNN?), I see the very same thing occurring with his first budget. The pundits seem to be in his corner, saying that if he has any hope of moving his agenda, he must do it now while his popularity is high -- before it fades, as it inevitably will. I see that as a risk, given that he has promised to decrease the deficit during his first term. Oh wait.... Promises don't mean anything.... Their only purpose is to win an election....

 

[editec]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Or at least, that's what we're being told.

 

[DamnYankee]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Or at least, that's what we're being told.

We've been told many things....

It's not painful for the gambler to be reckless when armed with an unlimited supply of other people's money.

 

[editec]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Or at least, that's what we're being told.

We've been told many things....

It's not painful for the gambler to be reckless when armed with an unlimited supply of other people's money.

True enough.

Why...a gambling personality might even get us into two land wars in Asia, too, if he knew his ass wouldn't be going into harms way.

That's the trouble with giving people power, isn't it?

It tends to make them reckless with other people's lives.

 

[DamnYankee]

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Or at least, that's what we're being told.

We've been told many things....

It's not painful for the gambler to be reckless when armed with an unlimited supply of other people's money.

True enough.

Why...a gambling personality might even get us into two land wars in Asia, too, if he knew his ass wouldn't be going into harms way.

That's the trouble with giving people power, isn't it?

It tends to make them reckless with other people's lives.

An interesting analogy.... So what's Obama to do? Continue to follow in the footprints in the sand (as he seemingly has no aversion to), or put his own footprints there?

 

[editec]

We've been told many things....

It's not painful for the gambler to be reckless when armed with an unlimited supply of other people's money.

True enough.

Why...a gambling personality might even get us into two land wars in Asia, too, if he knew his ass wouldn't be going into harms way.

That's the trouble with giving people power, isn't it?

It tends to make them reckless with other people's lives.

An interesting analogy.... So what's Obama to do? Continue to follow in the footprints in the sand (as he seemingly has no aversion to), or put his own footprints there?

Excellent question.

Let's just say Obama's administration and mine would not be following the same path to normalcy.

He is, I think seeking to reconstitute what we've had all along and I would be seeking to change what we had into something very different.

OTOH, he is likely not to be assassinated by a lone gunman with a magic bullet and I would very likely not get out of my first term as POTUS alive.

 

[DamnYankee]

True enough.

Why...a gambling personality might even get us into two land wars in Asia, too, if he knew his ass wouldn't be going into harms way.

That's the trouble with giving people power, isn't it?

It tends to make them reckless with other people's lives.

An interesting analogy.... So what's Obama to do? Continue to follow in the footprints in the sand (as he seemingly has no aversion to), or put his own footprints there?

Excellent question.

Let's just say Obama's administration and mine would not be following the same path to normalcy.

He is, I think seeking to reconstitute what we've had all along and I would be seeking to change what we had into something very different.

OTOH, he is likely not to be assassinated by a lone gunman with a magic bullet and I would very likely not get out of my first term as POTUS alive.

Well.... How refreshing to see an objective view -- one that apparently does NOT see the promised "Change you can believe in", unless I'm misreading your comments. For a while there, though, I had thought that those described as the "anti-war people" might have put up a little more fight and that the "ditto heads" might work up a "killer" plot. Alas, you just can't find a leader to kill off these days.... [TIC]