Perspectives may differ. . .

. . . but the right doesn’t appear to think the State of the Union address demonstrated a pivot to the center. Whether the President is a pragmatist or an idealogue appears to be a common topic of conversation.

I’m still thinking idealogue, but I’m on the right. What do you think and what’s your perspective of what the Left thinks?

Here’s Noonan’s take:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704878904575031563325226450.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_BelowLEFTSecond

 

Keep in mind. . .

. . .this was the guy who said just about a year ago that Obama hovered over the country like a God.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2010/01/25/newsweeks_evan_thomas_obama_not_fundamentally_honest.html

What Americans care about

http://people-press.org/report/584/policy-priorities-2010.

 

OK, this is just plain funny (or is it pathetic?)

http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/slideshow/photo//100119/480/9131bc77c7534185bdbf267bb4ab8497/

From Drudge: Teleprompters for a speech before sixth graders? I hope they didn’t ask any particulalry tough questions.

 

Obama

Stephanopoulos’ interview is probably one of the better glimpses into the President’s post-Massachusetts mind. You can draw your own conclusions.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2010/01/transcript-george-stephanopoulos-exclusive-interview-with-president-obama.html

STEPHANOPOULOS: But we’re not there right now. How much of that is your fault that republicans and democrats haven’t come together?

OBAMA: You know, we have a political culture that has built up over time that has gotten more and more polarized. My hope was a year ago today when I was being sworn in that reversing that process was going to be easier partly because we were entering into a crisis situation and I thought that the urgency of the moment would allow us to join together and make common cause. That hasn’t happened. Some of it, frankly, is I think a strategic decision that was made on the side of the opposition that…
______________

I have to say that during the campaign I believe I said that what Obama meant when he said come together is that everyone should just agree with him. I have come to believe that and more. The more is that I don’t think he’s had a setback in his adult life. He’s been around people who’ve been building him up and telling him what a consensus-maker he is.

It’s been easy, Community organizer, state senator, US Senator. Even while he was running for President, other than attaining the offices he had, his biggest qualification for being President was that he was, apparently, good at running for President. Surely, this must be a great administrator. Just listen to him!

Anyway, I think he’s been surrounded by people who agree with him for years and years and years. I really don’t think he’s used to dealing with people opposed to his ideas, and his first reaction is outright denial or to think that there must be something wrong with such people. Then he figures if they don’t like what he’s doing, it’s because he hasn’t explained it to them well enough. He says this over and over again that he (always he) needs to spend more time getting the message out. That when people understand it (all 2,000 pages, in the case of health care) they’ll like it.

I think this view permeates (read: pollutes) his approach to foreign policy as well In shorthand he thinks he can charm our enemies over to his way of thinking. When they don’t immediately fall in line, he just figures they need more time to come around to his way of thinking.

I admit my view is extreme, but it takes an extreme personality to even want to be President and to get through the grind of it all. So, we shouldn’t be surprised if the men who end up in the offices tend to be extreme in one way or another?

 

Not from an unbiased source

But it’s hard to wtite an objective story on the subject:

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YzliYWQxYzBiMzkwNTBkYmYxNDQ0NzRjNjk0NGE1OTI=

 

Graphical Recent History of Unemployment by County

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

Pragmatist or Ideologue?

An email exchange;

My opener:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/20/AR2010012001935.html?hpid=topnews

I’m thinking it’s a point for me (ideologue) so far. Let’s see what he says at the State of the Union.

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Friend’s reply:

I don’t know. WSJ seems to suggest pragmatist.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703405704575015571791474224.html

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ My reply;

I wasn’t confining my belief (too early to call it an observation) to health care. I’m referring to his overall approach to governing. I don’t think he’s going to give up on cap-and-trade, for example.

Bill Clinton famously used the line “The era of big government is over.” That was a serious tack to the center. If our current President said anything like that, I think his tongue would catch on fire.

As far as health care goes, I think the article is ambiguous. It certainly could be that he intends to get some form of healthcare through, but then there’s this: “White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said later the president would prefer Congress to pass the comprehensive package, and hasn’t given up on that option.”

So, who knows. I think the State-of-the Union address should tell us all something. Tom tells me that he hears he was pushing to have healthcare done by then. Now, odds are he’ll have to say something else.

 

An assortment of advice

opinions differ, of course, but I think the woman from The Nation is from outer space. I think Barnes is correct. The president should tack to the center, but he will try populism instead, but he has no gut instinct for what will be popular (my words). Plus he has no one around him who can tell him.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704320104575014974041048224.html

State of the Union coming right up.

 

Why would Massacnusetts not like ObamaCare?

“Massachusetts passed a prototype of the Obama plan in 2006, and residents have since watched as their insurance premiums have risen to the highest in the nation, budget costs have soared, and bureaucrats are planning far more draconian regulation of medical practice. Mr. Brown accurately said the national sequel would be too expensive and reduce the quality of care, and that it would be a “raw deal” forcing Massachusetts taxpayers to subsidize all other states.”

You don’t have to read the first page of this 2,000 page bill to know that inevitably prices are going to go up and services are going to go down, and there will be 200,000 new government workers all voting Folks in this blue state know a lousy deal when they see one.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703837004575013120573610774.html

National Review once thought Jim Webb may have served to be the forty-first vote against ObamaCare. He may not actually cast the vote himself, but he’s looking to allow Brown the opportunity to do so:

Democrat: Suspend health care reform until Brown is seated

Okay, that’s enough fun for one day. Happy Anniversary, Mr. President!