On a recent WTF podcast Marc Maron interviewed Chris Rock, and as expected it was a good interview which I certainly recommend if you like Chris Rock even slightly.
Toward the end they touched on Rock having dinner with Woody Allen, and Rock alluded to how Allen was big on the president, which led Maron to ask Rock his opinion of Obama.
(Stick with me.)
Rock said he was fine with the president; like everybody he wished for more action, but he noted how all presidents' first terms are essentially four years of running for a second term, at which point they can actually do something. He referenced how even with George W. Bush it wasn't until the second term that he could "really fuck up the world," so perhaps in a second term Obama could really "do some gangsta shit" (euphemism for actually accomplish something, I presumed).
(Egad, I'm not presenting this part of the interview well. Please keep reading anyway.)
He also mentioned how Bush was the first president we've had who really was only the president of those who'd voted for him; he was basically a niche president, appealing only to a specific group. And especially in his second term he really didn't give a shit about those who weren't on his side.
What really annoyed those on the Democratic side was how Obama was back to trying to compromise and be the president of everyone, rather than being the counter to Bush. What they want, he noted, is not justice but revenge.
And it occurred to me that such might be the biggest challenge to Obama getting re-elected might prove to be: Those on the left wishing that Obama would give up on trying to compromise and instead be just their president for a term. It's seeming pretty clear that the GOP isn't going to have an inspiring candidate (whoever gets the nomination) but the Republican base will vote for whoever is on the ballot, and the Democrat base will vote with the hope that Obama will become what they want, and the election will come down to the independents, and if they conclude the president is simply too out of step with the times with his (futile) attempts for broad appeal, then there might be an inclination to see if putting a Republican in the White House results in at least something happening with the House.
I don't see any GOP candidate really beating Obama; I merely see the possibility of Obama losing on his own.
I wish the times still allowed for a reasonable man in the Oval Office, but I'm not sure the country is set to deal with that anymore.
(I should clarify the majority of the interview had nothing to do with politics, and Rock wasn't speaking passionately about it during this small portion where he glibly touched on it. I was merely identifying the roundabout means that inspire these thoughts that pop into my head.)
Toward the end they touched on Rock having dinner with Woody Allen, and Rock alluded to how Allen was big on the president, which led Maron to ask Rock his opinion of Obama.
(Stick with me.)
Rock said he was fine with the president; like everybody he wished for more action, but he noted how all presidents' first terms are essentially four years of running for a second term, at which point they can actually do something. He referenced how even with George W. Bush it wasn't until the second term that he could "really fuck up the world," so perhaps in a second term Obama could really "do some gangsta shit" (euphemism for actually accomplish something, I presumed).
(Egad, I'm not presenting this part of the interview well. Please keep reading anyway.)
He also mentioned how Bush was the first president we've had who really was only the president of those who'd voted for him; he was basically a niche president, appealing only to a specific group. And especially in his second term he really didn't give a shit about those who weren't on his side.
What really annoyed those on the Democratic side was how Obama was back to trying to compromise and be the president of everyone, rather than being the counter to Bush. What they want, he noted, is not justice but revenge.
And it occurred to me that such might be the biggest challenge to Obama getting re-elected might prove to be: Those on the left wishing that Obama would give up on trying to compromise and instead be just their president for a term. It's seeming pretty clear that the GOP isn't going to have an inspiring candidate (whoever gets the nomination) but the Republican base will vote for whoever is on the ballot, and the Democrat base will vote with the hope that Obama will become what they want, and the election will come down to the independents, and if they conclude the president is simply too out of step with the times with his (futile) attempts for broad appeal, then there might be an inclination to see if putting a Republican in the White House results in at least something happening with the House.
I don't see any GOP candidate really beating Obama; I merely see the possibility of Obama losing on his own.
I wish the times still allowed for a reasonable man in the Oval Office, but I'm not sure the country is set to deal with that anymore.
(I should clarify the majority of the interview had nothing to do with politics, and Rock wasn't speaking passionately about it during this small portion where he glibly touched on it. I was merely identifying the roundabout means that inspire these thoughts that pop into my head.)
I don't think Bush drifted away from ruling the nation into being a niche president... I think liberals decided to stop being nice to people they disagree with. It all started with Gore losing his lawsuit for the presidency in 2000. It then became open season on Bush - "Bushitler," "Kill Bush," "Fuck Bush," etc. on signs and bumper stickers and in news stories. You never saw that kind of hatred toward Clinton from the right, even though he deserved it. ;-) Bush happened to preside over the complete abandonment of civility in political discourse on the part of the left. Now Obama gets to enjoy it too.
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