President Obama is on television right now delivering a speech to the Business Roundtable that can be variously summed up thus: I am not a socialist. This reminds me of the awkward moment over the past weekend when the President called back a New York Times reporter to clarify his answer to the query "are you a socialist?" (Warning: Listening to the audio at the link is very difficult owing to the extraordinarily high "uh ratio").
On a flight from Ohio to Washington on Friday, Mr. Obama was asked whether his domestic policies suggested that he was a socialist, as some conservatives have implied."The answer would be no," he said, laughing for a moment before defending his administration for "making some very tough choices" on the budget.
As the interview progressed, Mr. Obama never returned to the question. When he called, he said he had been thinking about it as he boarded the helicopter taking him back to the White House.
"It was hard for me to believe that you were entirely serious about that socialist question," Mr. Obama said from the Oval Office.
He then dismissed the criticism, saying the large-scale government intervention in the markets and the expansion of social welfare programs had begun under his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush.
and,
"By the time we got here, there already had been an enormous infusion of taxpayer money into the financial system," he said, adding, "The fact that we've had to take these extraordinary measures and intervene is not an indication of my ideological preference, but an indication of the degree to which lax regulation and extravagant risk taking has precipitated a crisis."
It's well established that this president and his apologists can hardly articulate a policy position without blaming something on the previous administration, but the fact that President Obama felt compelled to "clear up" his answer to the socialist question speaks to the pressure the administration must be feeling perhaps from opinion polls like this. One rule of politics is that once it becomes necessary to explain what you are not it is probably too late.
The harsh lesson for the Obama spin meisters is that once policy is established by signed legislation it is much more difficult to erase the stamp such positions put on the politician, an inconvenient truth perhaps for a politician with as little experience as Barrack Obama.
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Barack Obama, Democrats
Comments (17)
During the campaign, The Da... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Edward Sisson
| March 12, 2009 5:28 PM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
During the campaign, The Daily Show dealt with the "socialism" issue by bringing on an avowed socialist and asking him: 'Is Obama a socialist?' to which the avowed socialist said, 'No, of course not.' And the audience is left thinking: 'Well, so much for that allegation, it's obviously phony.' But the technique is a transparently invalid way of dealing with the question. Of course someone who is more extreme and public on an issue will describe those who are not as extreme as not being "the real thing." No doubt the MSM will now adopt the same approach.
1. Posted by Edward Sisson
| March 12, 2009 5:28 PM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 17:28
2. Posted by _Mike_ | March 12, 2009 5:49 PM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
People have got to know whether or not their president's a socialist. Well, I'm not a socialist.
Familiar ring ?
2. Posted by _Mike_ | March 12, 2009 5:49 PM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 17:49
3. Posted by 914 | March 12, 2009 5:57 PM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
If it squawks like a socialist than there must be some truth to it.
3. Posted by 914 | March 12, 2009 5:57 PM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 17:57
4. Posted by DaveD | March 12, 2009 6:30 PM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
"He then dismissed the criticism, saying the large-scale government intervention in the markets and the expansion of social welfare programs had begun under his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush."
Okay, time for a recap of the Obama phenomenon up to this point. Let's see, he's been JFK, Lincoln, FDR and now George W. Bush. He's quite the chameleon isn't he?
4. Posted by DaveD | March 12, 2009 6:30 PM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 18:30
5. Posted by WildWillie | March 12, 2009 6:38 PM | Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
Obama's handlers had to straighten out the NYTimes on the socialist question. Why? Because there was no teleprompter to explain his positions. This guy is a joke and most americans are starting to get it. ww
5. Posted by WildWillie | March 12, 2009 6:38 PM |
Score: 4 (6 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 18:38
6. Posted by marc | March 12, 2009 6:45 PM | Score: 6 (8 votes cast)
I've never claimed he's a Socialist, a far... FAR leftest yes.
However I do find it interesting the communist party of the U.S. has such glowing praise for Obama.
6. Posted by marc | March 12, 2009 6:45 PM |
Score: 6 (8 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 18:45
7. Posted by GarandFan | March 12, 2009 7:07 PM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
I'm waiting for the spin about 'labeling' people.
As my grandfather once told me; "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, flies like a duck, has wings like a duck, it's a fucking duck."
And to think he never even graduated high school!
7. Posted by GarandFan | March 12, 2009 7:07 PM |
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 19:07
8. Posted by 914 | March 12, 2009 7:30 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
You can put lipstick on a pig but You cant cut any pork from the Ospama administration.
8. Posted by 914 | March 12, 2009 7:30 PM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 19:30
9. Posted by braininahat | March 12, 2009 7:45 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
You can take the boy out of a socialist country, but you can't take the socialist out of the boy.
I said, "boy". RACIST!
9. Posted by braininahat | March 12, 2009 7:45 PM |
Score: 3 (5 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 19:45
10. Posted by 914 | March 12, 2009 8:03 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
"Obama tries redefining Himself"
After the first 50 days of this crap I think We would all respect Him more if Obama tries resigning Himself.
10. Posted by 914 | March 12, 2009 8:03 PM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 20:03
11. Posted by Jason | March 12, 2009 9:13 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
The campaign is over Obama, we will judge you by your actions...and the results. Not by your promises, rhetoric, excuses and spin.
http://www.rightklik.net/
11. Posted by Jason | March 12, 2009 9:13 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 21:13
12. Posted by TOhio | March 12, 2009 9:22 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Okay Obama, we won't just call you a "Socialist" we'll call you the "Socialist Messiah."
Obama's voting in the U.S. Senate (for the little time that he was there) was to the LEFT of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont who is an open Socialist.
12. Posted by TOhio | March 12, 2009 9:22 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 21:22
13. Posted by TOhio | March 12, 2009 9:31 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Here's a link to the analysis discussing Obama's liberal voting record. Notice that in 2007, Obama was #1 in his liberal voting ranking, beating out Bernie Sanders, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x4501043
The lesson? Don't listen to what Obama says, look at what he does.
13. Posted by TOhio | March 12, 2009 9:31 PM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 21:31
14. Posted by ODA315 | March 12, 2009 10:16 PM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
"By the time we got here, there already had been an enormous infusion of taxpayer money into the financial system," he said
So he decided to double it.
That's hope we can believe in.
14. Posted by ODA315 | March 12, 2009 10:16 PM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on March 12, 2009 22:16
15. Posted by annette | March 13, 2009 12:16 AM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Obama took questions only from his list. No off the cuff remarks. The entire speech to the businessment was a campaign speech offering no insight to his economic plan. The business men who were allowed to speak a question were fawning at best.
15. Posted by annette | March 13, 2009 12:16 AM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on March 13, 2009 00:16
16. Posted by Oyster | March 13, 2009 5:15 AM | Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
"He then dismissed the criticism, saying the large-scale government intervention in the markets and the expansion of social welfare programs had begun under his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush."
Shorter: He started it!
Even shorter: Bush!
16. Posted by Oyster | March 13, 2009 5:15 AM |
Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
Posted on March 13, 2009 05:15
17. Posted by annette | March 17, 2009 11:00 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Obama has worn out his option to point to the past administration as responsible for his failures.
17. Posted by annette | March 17, 2009 11:00 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on March 17, 2009 11:00