Mature, Obama. Real mature.
Here’s the issue. For the sake of argument, let’s just say Barack Obama was correct in what he was saying. Was there any reason to be yelling at the elderly lady questioning you? Sure, maybe it ruffled his feathers. Sure, her tone was a little confrontational. So what? As President, many many people will be doing exactly that. Every time someone questions Obama or gets a little confrontational with him, is he going to lose his composure and yell at them, too?
I think the issue here is that Obama is seeing his perfect campaign, his image as the Anointed One, the feeling of inevitability, all of it — he’s seeing it slip away. And he doesn’t know what to do. So that feeling of self-assuredness and confidence is gone, as is his charm and eloquence.
And you know, I wouldn’t have a huge problem with Obama yelling at Hugo Chavez or Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. But when a voter asks you a tough question and you can’t handle it, so you yell at her, there’s a problem. And let’s be real. Her question was not out of line. It’s not against the rules to ask the Obamamessiah a tough question about national security, and to tell him you want specifics.
But clearly, Obama can’t handle that.
Hat Tip: My colleague Jay at Stop the ACLU