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News & ArtsMonday, February 9, 2009
News Obama's First Prime Time Press Conference as President
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Feb 9, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Anyone else listening? When the host of All Things Considered said, "We're going live to the White House for the president's press conference," I had to suppress an urge to open iTunes and quickly click on Fiddler on the Roof or Avenue Q. When will that urge pass?
Best line in a response to GOP complaints about pork in the stimulus bill: "When I hear that from folks who presided over a doubling of the national debt..."
2
Don't listen to Oblather, he's only trying to pick your pocket and funnel money to his tax cheat friends.
Don't listen to Oblather, he's only trying to pick your pocket and funnel money to his tax cheat friends.
3
he's really not doing very well answering (or not) the questions.
And I don't know why he keeps pushing this electronic medical records thing as a huge job creating stimulus...it's fraught with risks to personal privacy that have nowhere near been addressed.
He's blathering on and on... he's NOT good extemporanously...
And I don't know why he keeps pushing this electronic medical records thing as a huge job creating stimulus...it's fraught with risks to personal privacy that have nowhere near been addressed.
He's blathering on and on... he's NOT good extemporanously...
4
@3 he may be long winded, but he is definately answering the questions, maybe you're not used to having to process clear intelligent answers - or maybe you're just an idiot.
5
Obama is trying something other than what has been tried in the past, i.e. reducing taxes for the rich and "haves". I like the fact that he calls those old ideas just that, old failed ideas that have been tried and failed. It's time to try something new and novel. Most people hate change, yet change was voted into office and hold onto your hats, wallets, crotches, and watches, cuz here we go...
6
He did a great job, actually asking whether republicants could respond to rationality or were just in it to jockey for political points with their base (and, tacitly, Rush Limbaugh).
7
Helen Thomas is fuckin' out of it. She wasn't even writing anything down or recording anything. After she doddered out her question, she just sat there staring BO down.
9
We invited friends over for drinks and dessert to watch the show. I haven't watched one of these things since 2001, probably. How can you NOT think he answered the questions? He answered every single one of those questions intelligently and thoughtfully.
12
it actually does my heart good to hear him pause for a moment, think and process the question and then craft a response. Sometimes it is a little long-winded and sometimes it takes a few turns, but his response does get back to the point. Quite a change from the past where there essentially canned responses and sound bites.
13
it actually does my heart good to hear him pause for a moment, hock up his leg then rip a big FART, think and process the question and then craft a long BURP. Sometimes it is a little long-winded and sometimes it stinks like shit, but his response does get back to the point. It shows good digestion. And the absent minded nose picking shows thoughtfulness, IMHO.
15
We will not support NOBAMA in 08! Clinton/Palin!! Where is Obama's birth certificate, huh? WHERE IS IT?!
16
Hi Dan, remember this?
Just a few changes and it's:
What's that phrase you use so often for journalists that produce biased, slanted, salacious, misinformed op-ed "reporting"? You got it, its'...
Stupid fucking credulous hack.
So in stupid fucking credulous hack Tom Banse’s fair & balanced report on the DEA, National Guard, and Washington State Patrol’s busts of marijuana farms, we only hear from the Washington State Patrol and a drug task force director. And, as per usual, the obvious followup questions are not asked: the Washington State Patrol says they’re making real inroads in the war on pot. Hell, they’re having a banner year. Is it true? Is what they’re doing working? Are the tax dollars being spent on this war on pot having any effect on the supply or price of pot?
Just a few changes and it's:
So in stupid fucking credulous hack Bethany Jean Clement’s fair & balanced report on NARN, foie gras, and Lark, we only hear from the owner of Lark and Anthony Bourdain. And, as per usual, the obvious followup questions are not asked: Anthony Bourdain says foie gras is totally humane and cruelty free. Is it true? Is Lark's foie gras provider actually humane? Is there even such a thing? Is there some other reason that California and a dozen European nations have are banning the production of foie gras?
What's that phrase you use so often for journalists that produce biased, slanted, salacious, misinformed op-ed "reporting"? You got it, its'...
Stupid fucking credulous hack.
17
How are we, as a nation, going to have to get used to this. After so many years of listening to Bush barely string 3 words together it's going to take some getting used to. Obama thinks if paragraphs and seemed to have a good time playing professor.
I thought Obama's presser was a political wonk's dream. Although his townhall in Indiana today was better-- it actually included opposing viewpoints and unvetted questions!
I thought Obama's presser was a political wonk's dream. Although his townhall in Indiana today was better-- it actually included opposing viewpoints and unvetted questions!
19
If he thinks before he speaks, takes long enough to answer a question (rather than doing the slightly confused smirk and vaguely insulting three-word bark of his predecessor), I can wait for him to get through his entire answer. I just love to hear the man say "nuclear" instead of "new-cu-ler" and use words longer than three, four, or five syllables. He is a college professor's dream come true.
20
I think he did pretty damn good. After 8 years of Presidential press conferences (I think bush had 2 or 3, in 8 years and his handlers kept him from taking questions) it was refreshing to hear Clear, Honest and Concise Answers from the White House for a change. This is what he really needed to do for the American public at this time. And it was a great reminder that there is great deal of potential standing there. It is just the thing that should drive the conservative idiot dittoheads into a whiny panic.
Good job Barack - stay focused!
Good job Barack - stay focused!
25
@21: I'd started wondering precisely the same thing recently. Is it choreographed somehow? Why are all the nutters suddenly posting in each and every set of comments I bother to read?
26
Above - yes, total paid intruders and GREEN little people are following you late at night
Smoke better quality
Smoke better quality
27
23
This being SLOG, you may be right.
But soon even SLOG will have to acknowledge that feeling in the pit of your guts that things ain't goijng so well.
It is amusing to read the covering and excusing and rationalizing for Obama but it won't be amusing forever.
This being SLOG, you may be right.
But soon even SLOG will have to acknowledge that feeling in the pit of your guts that things ain't goijng so well.
It is amusing to read the covering and excusing and rationalizing for Obama but it won't be amusing forever.
28
What happened to Republicans who could say something as gracious as, "I didn't vote for him, but he's our president, and I hope he does a good job."?
President Obama has been in office for less than a month, and all I read from the so-called right is the wish that his work on the economy fail, even though that wish carries in it the wish that the American people, and, indeed, people all over the world, suffer even more than they are at the moment.
This is simply evil.
President Obama has been in office for less than a month, and all I read from the so-called right is the wish that his work on the economy fail, even though that wish carries in it the wish that the American people, and, indeed, people all over the world, suffer even more than they are at the moment.
This is simply evil.
29
Does anyone remember The New Deal where huge amounts of spending didn't work??? Yes, lets learn from the past. Yeah, right. If we had a dollar for each time he says Um, we would all be economicly stimulated!!! And the comment about the people who doubled the debt would be a lot more effective if he wasn't trying to triple it.
31
re: the comment about people who doubled the debt...
It may be a nice smart assy jab to say but it doesn't address concerns about how the money is going to be spent and what it really says is : "the guys before were dumbasses but watch!- we can be just as STUPID"
It may be a nice smart assy jab to say but it doesn't address concerns about how the money is going to be spent and what it really says is : "the guys before were dumbasses but watch!- we can be just as STUPID"
32
17 19
Because we so need a long winded Professor who is enthralled by the sound of his own voice to get us out of the worst economic crisis ever!
Because we so need a long winded Professor who is enthralled by the sound of his own voice to get us out of the worst economic crisis ever!
33
Overall, I think I got as much out of it as one can expect to get from a presidential press conference.
The over-trolling of Slog is making it unbearable to read. Seriously, when is all this talk about comment registration going to produce some results?
The over-trolling of Slog is making it unbearable to read. Seriously, when is all this talk about comment registration going to produce some results?
35
I've never watched one of these except for snippets of Bush acting like a dumbass. I thought Obama did a great job. Gives me hope for the future of this country.
37
Much better than Bush, no doubt about it. But I must admit that I wasn't blown away either. I don't envy him, any President at this moment in hsitory will have trouble shining. But again...not BUSH!!!
38
@33: I know, right? It's disappointing that all these mouth-breathers are wasting time trolling Slog that could be more profitably spent trying to find their own asses with both hands.
39
38
Greg, you wrongly extrapolate your own mouth breathing ass groping subsistance for general human behavior.
Greg, you wrongly extrapolate your own mouth breathing ass groping subsistance for general human behavior.
40
Guess they're right. Stimulus spending will never work - never mind the WPA wading pools that my kids still swim in. Looks like the only cure is 50,000,000 dead, just like last time.
41
@29 - except, the New Deal programs did do a lot to help the collapsed economy.
and, yeah, I had that flinchy thing to flip the channel last night when they said there was a presidential press conference.
and, yeah, I had that flinchy thing to flip the channel last night when they said there was a presidential press conference.
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