Joan Walsh, Salon: "I'm thankful I'm not President Obama"

[Amerigo Vespucci]

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/joan_walsh/politics/2009/11/24/obama_thanksgiving/index.html

I'm thankful I'm not President Obama

Backers deride Katrina-style negligence, haters hate him more each day. Can this presidency be saved? Of course
By Joan Walsh

I have a lot to give thanks for this Thanksgiving, but I find myself particularly grateful for one thing: I'm not President Obama. From Arianna Huffington on his left, warning that rising unemployment could be "Obama's Katrina," to the ever-crazier Glenn Beck on his right, threatening to desecrate the memory of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with an anti-Obama March on Washington 37 years to the day after King's triumphant convening: His critics are sparing no rhetorical excess in their rush to denounce the president.

And there's a lot to criticize, particularly on the eve of a planned speech Tuesday in which he's reportedly going to try to sell an Afghanistan escalation – at least 30,000 more troops – as an exit strategy. Glenn Greenwald has laid out Obama's civil liberties transgressions, and the way he's reversed campaign promises and backed Bush-Cheney policies on rendition, military commissions and government secrecy. Like Huffington, I'm alarmed that the White House seems to be dismissing the need for a second stimulus to deal with what appears to be a "jobless recovery," while also sending word that reducing the deficit is a pressing priority (which is crazy in an ongoing recession.)

But using Katrina as a point of comparison is excessive. Katrina was an example of government incompetence and indifference, all at once. Obama is neither incompetent nor indifferent. He is a centrist Democrat, one who brought in a record amount of Wall Street money during the campaign and, not surprisingly, a whole lot of Wall Street veterans with him into the White House. I find that many progressives who jumped on the Obama bandwagon early, selling him as the progressive candidate in the race contrasted with corporate sell-out Hillary Clinton are, like Huffington, among the most disappointed by the president. I was an Obama admirer but a skeptic, and I find I'm less chagrined about the ways he falls short of my ideals than the folks who swooned for him early.

The two most interesting pieces I've read on Obama's troubles this week avoid rhetorical excess and raise more questions than answers, but I recommend them anyway. On Salon, Michael Lind asked "Can populism be liberal?" and answered, maybe: But not as long as the Democrats are the party of Goldman Sachs. Like Huffington, he argues that Obama needs to focus on jobs to keep populist anger from being channeled by the opportunistic, solutions-free GOP. If you missed it, read it over this long weekend.

[Phx_Dem]

1. Good article. And can I just say once again, because it can't be said too often,

Ariana Huffington is a huge bitch (and spare me any of the sexist remarks. I'm a woman and I know a bitch when I hear one).

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. I just see Huffington as someone with an agenda...

...and I'm not entirely sure of what that agenda IS, but she's a Rupert Murdoch if there ever was one.

[Clio the Leo]

3. And speaking of sexism....

Mary Katherine Ham just ripped HuffPo a new one ... you know, woman to woman lol

HuffPo's Misogyny: The NSFW Path to Liberal Journalism Success

The Huffington Post's methods for getting traffic of late put it at a distinct disadvantage when trying to argue credibly about respectful treatment of women.

Why, you might ask? After all, The Huffington Post is run by a stand-up, professional, liberal, feminist woman—Arianna Huffington. Surely, her site would be irreproachable on such matters. Judge for yourself.....

(more)
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/11/huffpos_misogyny_the_nsfw_path.asp

[Phx_Dem]

14. lol. Good! n/t

[HopeOverFear]

4. +1

[CitizenPatriot]

5. I saw that headline

at HuffPo yesterday and shut it down.

That's not journalism or commentary; it's hyperbolic nonsense meant to whip the base into a frenzy.

I'm sick of "leftists" (and I agree with above posters, as I'm not sure she really is one; I question her motives often) buying into the meme that attacking "our" president makes them deep.

NO, it makes you boring and predictable and reveals that you can't think clearly or report accurately. Attack him when it's real. Or, don't attack him when it's real, just report things. For fuck's sake. And maybe, just maybe, consider how to support our agenda in a way that gives him the mandate via public approval that he needs to get certain things done.

Jesus. It's not that hard. Hysterical criticism does not a brilliant mind make.

There are real criticisms to be made, but more importantly at this early stage of his presidency, there are actually also good things to report. Why doesn't she, leftist she claims to be, do that? Because good headlines don't get clicked. She's MSM now and it 's all about the dollars.

If I see one more article comparing him to Bush because he did one thing the same way, I'm going to lose it. It's not about being a fan; it's about accuracy and context. And most importantly, it's about trying to get something done. Which we will never do if we keep getting hysterical like Arianna did in this article. As for their sexism, her site is a virtual tabloid site now with pictures of bare-breasted women on every page.

Apparently, Arianna thinks he is Bush and he's had his Katrina. What now? Should we impeach him? Why the fuck not? There's got to be someone better we can get elected, who can handle two FUCKED wars and a global economic meltdown as well as right wing haters armed and at the ready and an obstructionist party bringing down every attempt to actually do the job they've been elected to do.

ENOUGH! Thank you, Joan!

[Cha]

7. +1 as we do.

Maybe Arianna is lamenting all the traffic she would get if mcpalin had oozed in?

[CitizenPatriot]

8. Good point

Sometimes I think she's pretending to be a liberal, and so she tries to copy what she thinks liberals do, which is criticize their leaders. What she fails to grasp is that for the most part, we prefer that to be grounded in reality.

Yes, it's all about traffic for her. Eyeballs and clicks.

[Cha]

9. Speaking of that..I tried

to get her email dropped and it didn't work. I need to get back and make sure it happens.

[CitizenPatriot]

11. LOL.

And I'll make it a HuffPo free holiday:-) Cheers!!!

[Cha]

6. Arianna needs to lay off the

so called left wing hysterical hyperbole and chillax.

And, think about saving her integrity.

[HopeOverFear]

10. you ever notice how left wing hysteria and right wing hysteria

sound similar? things that make you go hmmmmm :)

[CitizenPatriot]

12. right..and we should be the party

of progressives: real thinkers capable of debating complex ideas and willing to engage in deep thought before action. Someone has to do it!

Or at least, that's why I voted for Obama. He's not a reactionary; he's a grown up.

[Cha]

13. Things that

definetly made me go hmmmm? They both have that nitpicking criticism thing down to a science.