I thought it would be interesting to start a thread for reactions to (and impressions of) Obama’s address last night (2/24). Were you inspired? Are you optimistic? Do you believe it? Did it scare you? Whatever.
My thoughts:
Watching the speech, there were a few eye-rolling moments. But mostly, I thought it was well delivered, optimistic, a good speech. I found most all of the economic detail to be fairly alarming and dead-wrong. But I found that, watching Obama, you simply want to believe it (even a non-believer like me). You want to be a part of the optimism.
Then today, over breakfast, I read the transcript of the speech. And then I realized that it’s not optimistic at all. Something happens to prepared words when they pass Obama’s lips. That same transformation does not take place when the words are simply printed on the page. I actually found the speech to be fairly partisan, with lip-service paid to non-partisanship.
Try this exercise: Take a pen and circle all of the goals outlined in the speech. Economic recovery. Jobs. Halving the deficit. Health care for all. Tax cuts. Technology. Curing cancer (who can argue with that!?). A safe America. No torture. Budget cuts. A ‘re-imagined’ auto industry. Energy independence. A revived environment. An end to Iraq. A stable Afghanistan. Improved world relations. And much, much more.
Here is my problem: I’m a PMP. I manage a large PMO, multiple projects, etc. I’ve been doing this for about fifteen years and one thing that I have learned - and learned the hard way! - is that if you try to do too many things at once you’ll end up doing a lot of things poorly. You have to prioritize and focus energy and resources (and money). Take your wins one at a time. Each win feeds the next. To do otherwise is folly. Always will be, without exception. Each time a mandate comes down that requires multiple projects to compete for resources, time, and money the projects suffer. It’s never your best effort. It’s simply the best you can do in the circumstance.
I thought it was bullshit. Pelosi looked like a school girl attending a Beatles concert, I thought she was going to start crying and shit. I can’t stand that woman.
After the speech I heard katie Couric talking about how “The Republicans sat on their hands the whole time” during the speech, and didn’t get up every 30 seconds to applaud Obama for saying things like “we need to take care of the children” or “America is a great country” or “I had a banana with breakfast this morning”.
They really ought to limit the standing ovations during these things, it looked more like a celebration of the new baby jesus than a speech to the country. I mean you could get in a good cardio workout from all that stand up, sit down, stand up, sit down, stand up , sit down…
It was a lot of doom and gloom to me, I thought this guy was an optimist! I thought everything was going to be just fine after he was elected! No more suffering, no more pain, no more poverty, just sunshine, rainbows and kittens from now on!
NOW they want to tell me that it’s going to be a rough road ahead? I voted for Obama because he was supposed to make everything easy! Now they tell me I’m going to have to sacrifice? What is this shit?
Cut the man some slack… he has never run anything in his life. And has no relevant experience, unless one counts a brief time of doing essentially nothing as a Senator before pretty much hanging that up in favor of the campaign trail counts as relevant experience.
People knew that he had never run anything in his life. And that he had no experience.
How would you even expect someone with no executive experience and for that matter just about no experience period – except at promoting himself with speeches – to run something as large and complex as the Executive Branch well?
Carter at least had been the chief executive of the State of Georgia, and I believe had run a business as well. He had also almost undoubtedly had responsibilities carried out well as a Naval officer.
During the campaign certain Republicans and libertarians tried to convince us Obama was a moderate, a sort of Bill Clinton ?third way? reformer ? and certainly no radical as conservatives claimed.
One comment about this paragraph from Rubin’s column.
No true (L)(l)ibertarians tried to convince anyone of anything other than Obama, was at best, an advocate of Big Govt solutions and at worst, Neo-Marxist. I’m active in my State Lib’n party and active in the Rep’n Liberty Caucus (essentially the Lib’n wing of the Republican Party). No one could swallow the thought of McCain, let alone Obama.
Well, taxes are going up. And, not just for those making over 250K. Oh, for a while that might be. But, we aren’t paying off this deficit, keeping entitlements solvent, implementing whatever new government programs Obama comes up with, and ‘winning’ in Afghanistan by just allowing some cuts to expire, only focusing on a tiny percentage of the population for increased revenues.
The thing is, the Republicans would’ve raised taxes, too. Because they sure as hell aren’t going to actually cut spending. The American people want big government, and it has to be paid for.
The thing is, the Republicans would’ve raised taxes, too. Because they sure as hell aren’t going to actually cut spending. The American people want big government, and it has to be paid for. [/quote]
In some sense I agree with you, but part of me believes that the one (and maybe only) thing McCain would have been good for in the way of promises would have been to freeze spending in certain areas and slow the monster. Stimulus aside of course, because he took the same stance Obama did on that. But I feel that he may have been able to design a better one at the least anyway. That’s what the optimistic side of me wants to believe.
[quote]ProwlCat wrote:
I thought it would be interesting to start a thread for reactions to (and impressions of) Obama’s address last night (2/24). Were you inspired? Are you optimistic? Do you believe it? Did it scare you? Whatever.
My thoughts:
Watching the speech, there were a few eye-rolling moments. But mostly, I thought it was well delivered, optimistic, a good speech. I found most all of the economic detail to be fairly alarming and dead-wrong. But I found that, watching Obama, you simply want to believe it (even a non-believer like me). You want to be a part of the optimism.
Then today, over breakfast, I read the transcript of the speech. And then I realized that it’s not optimistic at all. Something happens to prepared words when they pass Obama’s lips. That same transformation does not take place when the words are simply printed on the page.
[/quote]
It’s true. I’m telling you, Obama’s got the Voice. It’s like watching Saruman come to life out of Tolkien’s book. Fucking mind control. I tried the same experiment on the campaign trail.
[quote]Sloth wrote:
Well, taxes are going up. And, not just for those making over 250K. Oh, for a while that might be. But, we aren’t paying off this deficit, keeping entitlements solvent, implementing whatever new government programs Obama comes up with, and ‘winning’ in Afghanistan by just allowing some cuts to expire, only focusing on a tiny percentage of the population for increased revenues.
The thing is, the Republicans would’ve raised taxes, too. Because they sure as hell aren’t going to actually cut spending. The American people want big government, and it has to be paid for. [/quote]
He was cutting spending and letting tax cuts expire, you seem to have left out half of his equation. Also he just cut taxes. 95% tax cut / 5% tax raise.
[quote]Bill Roberts wrote:
Cut the man some slack… he has never run anything in his life. And has no relevant experience, unless one counts a brief time of doing essentially nothing as a Senator before pretty much hanging that up in favor of the campaign trail counts as relevant experience.
People knew that he had never run anything in his life. And that he had no experience.
How would you even expect someone with no executive experience and for that matter just about no experience period – except at promoting himself with speeches – to run something as large and complex as the Executive Branch well?
Carter at least had been the chief executive of the State of Georgia, and I believe had run a business as well. He had also almost undoubtedly had responsibilities carried out well as a Naval officer.[/quote]
Yeah, I’m loving the sh*thole the last two executives left us.
I mean c’mon this is just stupid.
