Monday, May 09, 2011
President Obama's 60 Minutes interview: "We don't trot out this stuff as trophies."
I found this to be an extremely interesting interview by Steve Kroft.
There is no grandstanding by our President, no swagger, and no attempt to paint himself as being super cool or lacking self doubt. Throughout the interview he comes off as honest, proud of those who made this mission possible, and humble concerning the part that he played in achieving something that his predecessor simply could not make happen.
This President has done, and continues to do, something I feared might never be possible again. He has made me proud of my country. Not because of any simple minded blind allegiance to a piece of colored cloth, or because I fear being called unpatriotic, but because now this President is working hard to EARN our confidence in him and our faith in this country.
Is he perfect?
Oh hell no!
But is he such a huge step up from our LAST President that he seems to have single-handedly resurrected pride in our nation? Oh hell yes!
(H/T to the Huffington Post.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
spelling police: "Is her perfect" should be "he"...
ReplyDeleteother than that, he hit it out of the park in an intelligent way. No need to grandstand when you have shoulders as broad as his and an ego that is intact.
From Politico this a.m.:
ReplyDelete"Sixteen percent of Republicans without a college degree support Palin, compared to just 9 percent of college graduates. Twenty-two percent of Republicans earning less than $24,000 support her, compared to just 7 percent of those who make more than $90,000."
I would venture to guess that the 22% group also contains a lot of Limbaugh, Beck and Franklin Graham followers.
Also, here's a reminder about what Franklin Graham said on Easter Sunday:
“He can solve this whole birth certificate issue pretty quickly. I was born in a hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. And I know that my records are there, you can probably go and find out what room my mother was in when I was born. I don’t know why he can’t produce that. It’s an issue it looks like he can answer pretty quickly.”
I don't know about anyone else, but just listening to the president's calm, measured manner of speaking is rather soothing. Compare that to the frenetic jitteriness of George Bush.
ReplyDeleteHow can we not be proud of such an intelligent human being at the helm? No posturing, no grandstanding. Just talking. He does not take the presidency lightly.
The town hall craziness, the birther nonsense, Palin, Trump, and all the demagogues look so ridiculous compared to this man, who seems sincerely committed to advancing our nation.
A marines worth is measured by his kills. A hunters worth is measured by his kills - and wall mounts and number of pictures with carcass. While I think there are valid arguments for both sides of the osama coin, I respect the President anytime he (general) defends an action.
ReplyDeleteThe next time you post Sarah and Jeremy standing by their kills, maybe post a picture of child Levi posing with his first dead caribou? BEcause if you're going to make the argument you've been making with that support, you can't leave Levi and others out of it.
I was riveted to the TV by this interview. It wasn't the subject matter -- though that was interesting. It was the way the president behaved. It's everything from his direct look and the raw intelligence that you can see in his eyes. There's no fidgeting, no looking askance. He's so present and thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteOccasionally, when I have the stomach for it, I venture over to right-wing blogs. I continue to see comments by his detractors where they have somehow convinced themselves that our president is dumb. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not know how anyone could look at this interview and see anything except determination, thoughtfulness and raw intelligence.
The way Sarah Palin has re-purposed "Common Sense" as a platform the way she has of being 'American,' & cornered the market on 'Family Values,' just makes me sick of anyone, especially politicians - of wearing their faith and their patriotism on their sleeves.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a free country where we don't have to prove our worth as citizens, but we do, silently in the form of taxes and community organizing.
Ironically, it's the folks like Sarah Palin that try and take away social safety nets so that they can pat themselves on their backs for their church charity with strings attached and do as much as they can NOT to pay taxes.
I'll take conventional wisdom from adults like President Obama over Common Sense platitude queen Palin any day.
Bellicose decision makers like Bush / Cheney got us into unimaginable budget busting spending and interminable life taking wars.
ReplyDeleteSarah Palin, the 21st Century Calamity Jane Six-Pack, a coward at an entirely different level, would pick fights with outright allies to get snickers from bullies of arrested development that make up a segment of our population.
Sarah Palin is a most dangerous kind of aspiring leader, her "gutteral" instincts, her inability to process whatever sensory input presented to her over the years, and knee-jerk responses (cause ya know, pussyfooting is such a grown-up assessment of conflict resolution) would very easily cost us more in terms of national spending and innocent citizens lives (victims of terrorism) as well as our troops purposely put in harms way.
Living in a Police State would be required to support a Palin
Administration.
This must really tighten sarah´s butthole. After all, sarah and her close family friend and convicted murderer Jeremy Morlock clearly disagree with President Obama and the American way. Jeremy and sarah believe ¨trophies¨ are ¨part of the mission.¨
ReplyDeletePresident Palin would have done interview with Bin Laden's head either....
ReplyDeletea) sitting on desk in Oval office
b) on a stake in rose garden
c) being held by Piper
d) mounted and stuffed on Chuck's living room wall
e) used a soccer ball by Trig
stay classy Sarah
I agree 100%. In fact, I had so little confidence in the last "president" that when it was announced that Bin Laden had been shot, I fully expected that it happened in Texas!! I am serious, I really believe that the ties were so strong that the last administration KNEW where he was and prevented efforts to capture him. He was more valuable alive than dead or captured. He gave them an excuse to torture people. I lost all trust in the US during the last fiasco of an "administration".
ReplyDeleteI see Levi still has the Palins bent over and squealing.
ReplyDeleteOuchie, ouch, ouch.
And then I found THIS
ReplyDeleteThe differences are astounding. Cannot believe that anyone still takes this woman seriously.
4:59, I think the point you missed is that Levi isn't using hunting kills for political gain (ok, with Palin, it's other peoples' kills) nor does he demonstrate a perverted pleasure from killing. He appears to be what Palin pretends to be: a good ol' boy hunter, not a prissy trophy hunter. Nor has he hunted and killed humans.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @4:59
ReplyDeleteThe half term governor might run for President. Jeremy is a member of the US Army. Why should Levi, a punk, civilian, be considered when discussing a pathological enjoyment in killing?
Bill
Agree with everything you posted. We taped this interview - I want to watch it again (actually a few times!) - I am so proud of our President for the way he handled this interview and proud of him and all those involved for the mission to find Bin Laden.
ReplyDeleteIn the gospels, the story of King Herod celebrating his birthday comes to mind. That day his daughter danced before him and his guests and he was so pleased he promised her anything, even half his kingdom. Prior to this, John the Baptist had once told him it was wrong to have married his brother's wife, Herodias. Because of this, she, Herodias, asked her husband the King to have him executed. He wouldn't. So she held a grudge against John the Baptist. So when the daughter went to her and asked her, "what should I ask for?" She said, "ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter". The King reluctantly had him beheaded because of the daughter's request. This is a story of a woman with a grudge.
ReplyDeleteTypo alert-"Is her perfect? Oh hell no!"
ReplyDeleteFormer Bushite says:
President Obama has 'pounded his chest' too much and taken too much pride in the success of the mission to take out Osama bin Laden, according to, of all people, George W. Bush's former Chief of Staff, Andrew Card.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/05/bush-chief-of-staff-obama-has-pounded-his-chest-over-bin-laden.php
Be sure to click through to the Der Spiegel interview for the full interview. This is one of the guys that helped Bush look good. Still at it.
Nice article, thanks for the information.
ReplyDeletesoon there will be rain on you parade...already the skies are stormy.
ReplyDeletewhat i mean is the story ever evolves...too bad
ReplyDeleteHey Sarah, the military operation conducted by President Obama was not bad for a community organizer ...
ReplyDeleteI know it does not compare to your military operation when you as mayor and leader of Wasilla overtook by force the property of a family standing in your way of erecting a hockey stadium in honor of Track's grandfather.
If Sarah Palin was in charge of this military operation, how much do you think she would of charged America? $100,000 or $150,000 per day for her services?
ReplyDeleteThe reason why President Obama comes off as so cool, calm, and collected is because he's honest. When you listen to questions and answer them truthfully and thoughtfully, you come across well. His earnest nature shows. We are fortunate to have such a level-headed and thoughtful President during these tumultuous times.
ReplyDeleteI too am ENORMOUSLY thankful to be rid of the swaggering idiot cowboy president. I have been disappointed in some of what President Obama has done - or not done - but I find him honest, capable, highly intelligent, and maybe most importantly - humble.
ReplyDeleteI have taken my lumps on this site because of my somewhat less than fawning support of the president, but I feel much the same way as Dr. Cornel West who says that, "We must all RESPECT, PROTECT, and CORRECT our President."
I think that President Obama has done much to restore a sense of dignity to the White House that was woefully lacking during the reign of W.
Sarah Palin had military experience while governor and mayor of a small town and one of her duties were to keep her kids from being captured behind enemy lines. Sarah worked very hard to keep those kids out of the hands of the Alaskan State Troopers, juvie and jail. Sarah too over saw complicated covert operations like when Operation Tri-G was carried out which today is considered a very successful mission.
ReplyDeleteOne thing people don't really understand is that Sarah’s family is not the uneducated retarded white trash grifting hill billies that they seem to portray. They are actually highly educated highly skilled members of an elite Caribou Team known only as Team 6 from Wasilla which is led by seasoned combat veteran Commander Track Palin who specializes in destruction of transport vehicles.
As you can see, this family is so dedicated to their mission that they surgically alter their faces and bodies just so they won't be recognized in public.
So to the Palin family, on behalf of a grateful nation I thank you for your services.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteThe reason why President Obama comes off as so cool, calm, and collected is because he's honest. When you listen to questions and answer them truthfully and thoughtfully, you come across well. His earnest nature shows. We are fortunate to have such a level-headed and thoughtful President during these tumultuous times.
7:50 AM
Have you noticed when President Obama is asked questions, he does not look over his shoulder and ask Todd for the answers?
Anon at 4:56, you wrote "A marines worth is measured by his kills."
ReplyDeleteThis is incredibly offensive and it is untrue. How do I know? Let me ask my father, my brother, my son or my nephew, my uncle and my aunt. All Marines. Each a man or woman of honor, character and integrity. Their worth was never and will never be measured by the number of kills. You should become informed and you should apologize.
President Obama's calm, mature, and measured response is a welcome contrast to the empty, juvenile bombastic approach of GW Bush. I am grateful that he doesn't want to present pictures of the dead Bin Laden, partly because we're supposed to be above that and partly because Al Qeda is already enraged enough to vow reprisals. People like Palin are dangerous because of their stupidity, ignorance, lack of class, and lack of knowledge of the complexity of international relations. She is thin-skinned, immature, and inclined to pick stupid fights. If she were ever president, that tendency would carry over into starting fights with other countries less than enamored of the United States.
ReplyDeleteNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://blackwaterdog.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/cartoon3.gif?w=500&h=383
Oh be SURE not to miss this! The kids weigh in on Osama bin Laden takedown.
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/2011/05/09/kids-react/
Hi Gryphen,
ReplyDeletePlease be sure to offer up some comments about Bristol's new reality show:
http://x17online.com/celebrities/bristol_palin/bristol_palin_gets_new_reality_show_massey_brothers_kyle_bio_biography_dancing_with_the_stars_live_with_la_05911.php
She will be living with two black guys in Los Angeles while Bristol works for a charity. (For a charity?? Is she still trying to sell abstinence?) And where the Hell is Levi when he should be demanding custody and a readjustment of his child support?
I'm proud he's our President. Well, spoken, intelligent, calm, everything I believe a President should be...oh and he's cute to boot
ReplyDeleteI am so, so happy the United States of America is being led by President Obama and his Administration (especially Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden).
ReplyDeleteWe'd be in such do-do if McCain and Palin were in place. Thank God the voting took place as it did!
He's NOT perfect...but he's pretty damn good!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad he's our president right now.
I watched 60 Minutes last night. I was proud of President Obama. He is a really classy, intelligent man. I liked the part about not displaying Osama's body like a trophy...hint, hint, $carah, did you get that? Now, please stfu and let our president do his job! I am so thankful McCain and the Ilk didn't get elected.
ReplyDeleteKudos, Mr. President. Kudos.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/09/pakistan.compound.intel/
There is no purpose in showing the photos.
ReplyDeleteLike the two birth certificates, those who hate him will deny the truth, now admitted by al Queda.
They are the boy who cried "Wolf." More and more Americans and citizens of other countries are seeing what these denierss are, they are haters not seekers of the truth.
Let them destroy themselves.
Excellent interview. We knew who Obama was and that is why we voted for him. It's so nice not to have to listen to the swaggering cowboy any longer.
ReplyDelete