Samuel Johnson wrote
“When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
Barack Obama has seen the gallows of re-election and has decided to retool himself into something he is most certainly not. Obama is going to move to the center. So promises the all too compliant and complicit left wing media.
2011:
Obama to Press Centrist Agenda in His Address
Obama’s speech may seek to redefine the “center”
Obama refocuses on centrist agenda
Obama’s State of the Union is another move to the center
‘State of the Union’ Could Mark Turning Point for Obama, Historian Says
And now he’s a deficit hawk too!
Obama seeks to recast himself as frugal centrist
Abraham Lincoln said that you can fool all of the Democrats all the time.
OK, it was something close to that and I have no doubt that that’s what Lincoln meant.
2008:
Obama’s move to center irks left
The baseless, and failed, “move to the center” cliche
Obama 2.0: Candidate Starts His Hard Move to the Center
Barack Obama’s move to the center
Obama is shifting to the center
2011:
Obama Calls for Civility in Wake of Tragedy
Obama calls for civility between parties in weekly radio address
Obama, at National Prayer Breakfast, calls for civil political debate
2008:
Obama promises to change tone in Washington.
A reminder of how Obama changes the tone in Washington here.
Laser-beam Barack on jobs
2008:
Barack Obama reveals two-year plan to create 2.5m jobs
2009:
Obama Turns Focus to Job Creation
2010:
Obama’s first State of the Union: Jobs must be our No. 1 focus
2011:
State of the Union 2011: Jobs and More Jobs
Then there’s the Rapture:
When President Obama delivers his State of the Union address to Congress, it will mark the culmination of a transformation the White House hopes will lead to a second term in 2012.
Obama and his aides began positioning the president as more business-friendly and centrist months ago, and the White House intends to build on that effort when he addresses the country and a divided Congress on Tuesday.
And over at The Hill they us why Obama can’t lose (that move to the center again):
Obama’s move to the center. During the lame-duck, 2012 GOP hopefuls broke with Republican congressional leaders on the tax cut deal they brokered with Obama. That trend will continue this year. Generally speaking, compromises with the president don’t play well with the base. But House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) both have strong political incentives to work with the White House on a range of issues, including trade, education and perhaps energy.
The more things change….
This so-called “transformation” or “move to the center” is the most transparent among the transparencies Barack Obama promised. Barack Obama is no more a centrist than is Bill Ayers. A leopard doesn’t change his spots and a socialist doesn’t change his sickles. All of Barack Obama’s statements come with an expiration date, and this is no exception. He might even be able to maintain this charade to the next election, but a charade it is.
It must be remembered that in order to retool one’s self, one must first be a tool.
DrJohn has been a health care professional for more than 30 years. In addition to clinical practice he has done extensive research and has published widely with over 70 original articles and abstracts in the peer-reviewed literature. DrJohn is well known in his field and has lectured on every continent except for Antarctica. He has been married to the same wonderful lady for over 30 years and has three kids- two sons, both of whom are attorneys and one daughter on her way into the field of education.
DrJohn was brought up with the concept that one can do well if one is prepared to work hard but nothing in life is guaranteed.
Except for liberals being foolish.
Excellent piece.
Remember when Presidential candidate John F. Kerry put Clintonistas on his team?
It was the beginning of the end for him.
He lost.
Later, some of those Clintonistas came as close as they dared to admitting to torpedoing Kerry, so Hillary would have a clear shot 4 years later.
Well, we are seeing Obama add Clintonistas all over the place in his attempt to win back some supporters.
Obama chose William Daley as his new chief of staff.
William Daley was Bill Clinton’s Commerce Secretary.
Obama chose Gene B. Sperling to head the National Economic Council.
Gene B. Sperling was in the Clinton Administration.
Obama chose Jacob J. Lew as his budget director.
Jacob J. Lew was Bill Clinton’s budget director at the end of his second term.
Obama appointed Daniel K. Tarullo to the Federal Reserve Board.
Daniel K. Tarullo was Clinton’s international economic adviser.
Obama chose Carol Browner to be his chief environmental adviser.
Clinton had her as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Of course, Obama picked Hillary as Sec of State.
She and Bill haven’t been seen together much but they are still legally wed.
Joe Biden chose Bruce Reed to be his new chief of staff.
Bruce Reed was a former Clinton aide.
My question to Obama is, CAN YOU TRUST these Clintonistas to have your best interests at heart?
They have never shown much loyalty to anyone but Bill.
It is like the frog inviting the scorpion to ride his back across the pond.
A smoke and mirrors performance is in store tonight. His “bone” to the left will be more “gun control”. Will he mention the Pennsylvania abortion baby massacre/live vivisection clinic? I KNOW HE WON”T! Will he discuss cutting entitlements for his constituents? NO! Will he talk about a health care bill re-write/repeal? No, and No.Will he discuss unfunded pension liabilities that will soon bankrupt many blue states? Of course not! He will pass that IOU to the TAXPAYERS right after he gets re-elected…. NOT!
I haven’t read the links you have in the article, but I’ve seen articles like that in the L.A. Times. I cannot imagine that this will really happen. He may pretend he is a centrist, but he isn’t, and it runs counter to his whole character. Bill Clinton was successfully able to do it because he is a political cynic. Obama is a true believing ideologue and simply can’t.
sounds like you guys have been reading the presidential approval polls.
We read the polls differently from you, John R. There is no fapping sound.
Photoshop much?
I suppose one dishonest picture is worth a thousand dishonest words.
@Greg:
Here ya go Gregster….these aren’t PhotoShopped.
Enjoy:
@Greg: Oh, don’t be snotty.
@Aye: LMAO
Hey lefties, people like Obama personally. His policies….not so much. That is what the polls have been saying.
@Hard Right:
Something must account for it. RCP shows that his approval rating has gone positive even with Rasmussen.
It isn’t going to last. Especially when he starts up his anti-business, economy killing regulatory hi-jinks again. Or when he starts fighting spending cuts and other fiscally responsible policies.
Add to that the price of gas. He hasn’t done anything major in the past couple months and people want to give him another chance to see if he got the message. He hasn’t, but they have yet to see that.
Since President Obama’s last SOTU address on 1/27/2010, the National Debt has increased $1.760.467.583.782.65
That has certainly changed my approval rating of the chosen one….Why do these polls never contact me or anybody I know?
@Greg:
I look at that ….then I look at who is asked.
At least with Rasmussen it is LIKELY voters instead of mere adults or registered voters.
So, what accounts for the bump in the poll numbers?
I’m going to say it is Obama’s words.
He is SAYING all the right things lately.
Of course, he does not mean them.
Look for example at the OP by Vince, Obama’s unconvincing feint to the center
Vince is correct: Obama PAYS homage to free markets….JUST WORDS!
(Remember when Obama stole the “Just Words” speech?)
Look at these words where Obama comes clean….hidden well into his editorial…..
So, all of the JUST WORDS where Obama says too much government regulation can be a hindrance to free markets and can suffocate entrepreneurship don’t mean diddly.
Obama’s new regulations are exempt!
But Obama fools people.
The media helps him.
@Greg: Like Abe said, you can fool Democrats all of the time.
#15, LOL!
So, IF Obama’s SOTU were a drinking game…..what would be your choices of key words…..you know, so you take a drink when he says them?
I’m going with ”INVESTMENT.”
If I chose too many and he really goes to town on any of them….I am a small person….I’d get snockered.
@Nan G:
I’m gonna choose “Together” as my drinking word.
Since I’m suffering from a really bad cold I will substitute orange juice for alcoholic alternatives.
Nan, I would say “jobs.”
BTW, CNN is broadcasting the SOTU, the GOP response, and Bachmann’s Tea Party response live. It’s the only cable news network that’s carrying all three.
Who else caught the nuance: Obama now considers the GOVERNMENT to be a special interest!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Obama talks a good game, but his actions put the lie to his words. If he actually moves to the center I’ll keel over from a heart attack.
Bachmann’s charts were classic. The bars appeared at two year intervals–odd years on one, even years on the other–to make it appear that each negative trend set in after Obama took office.
Unemployment Rate Chart
Annual Deficit Rate Chart
With regard to poll numbers, most of the polls still say the majority of the American people by almost a 2-1 margin think the country is on the wrong track. A CNN poll that came out late last week said that by a 48%-44% margin, the American people believe Obama’s first two years in office were a failure. His bounce in the polls is probably due to his Tucson speech which was well received by almost everyone. He’ll probably get another small bounce after tonight as well. Time will tell if these bounces are permanent or temporary.