Stoopid right wing and Villager outrage of the day: Obama dared to laugh
By John Amato Monday Mar 23, 2009 2:00pm
Who dare he that doth chuckle in the visage of the economic turmoil?---Shakespeare Amato -1687
It's the Faux Outrage of the Week -- cooked up, as always, by the right-wingers and Media Villagers: President Obama's laugh on 60 Minutes. How dare he try to be a little lighthearted when going over the tremendous challenges that he inherited from George Bush and his court of merry neocons and CEO's? Steve Croft of 60 Minutes was dutifully upset:
STEVE KROFT: You're sitting here. And you're -- you are laughing. You are laughing about some of these problems. Are people going to look at this and say, "I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about (LAUGHTER) money--” How do you deal with-- I mean, wh-- explain -
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well--
STEVE KROFT: --the mood and your laughter.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah, I mean, there's got to be--
STEVE KROFT: Are you punch drunk?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, no. There's gotta be a little gallows humor to (LAUGHS) get you through the day. You know, sometimes my team-- talks about the fact that if-- if you had said to us a year ago that-- the least of my problems would be Iraq, which is still a pretty serious problem-- I don't think anybody would have believed it. But-- but we've got a lot on our plate. And-- a lot of difficult decisions that we're going to have to make.
I'm surprised Don King isn't complaining whenever the phrase "punch drunk" phrase is used. I mean, he never bamboozled his boxers, right? No sooner does Memeorandum have the "punch drunk" line posted when, sure enough, a right wingnutosphere party breaks out.
First, if Croft was surprised by his laughter, then the question was OK at first, but the "punch drunk" comment was out of line. He was cooler to George Bush back in 2007. No "punch drunk" comments there. And Croft laughed himself. Was he "punch drunk" too? And it's not as if President Obama was yucking it up throughout the entire interview. And Croft would never have asked a Republican President if he was "punch drunk." You can take that to the bank. President Obama handled it fine.
Andrea Mitchell brought this latest Faux Outrage up today and on MSNBC:
Mitchell: You watch him day in and day out, does he have to worry about seeming a little too cavalier or is this us nitpicking him to death. He's laughing, it's a normal human being instinct.
Chuck Todd's instant response:
Todd: Republicans sit there and look and say, if George Bush had done that, he would have been roasted....When you're at a 30-35% job approval rating, yea, that's what happens. When you're at a 55-65% job approval there seems to be more forgiveness there. President Bush saw that in '01 and 02, where no matter what he said, if he made a gaffe, nobody cared. He was the popular guy and that never happened so that's where some of the Republican-conservative criticism is coming. This is who he is. Everybody comments, he seems like a cool customer. He doesn't seem to get too high or too low.
Mitchell: Yeah, and George Bush in the first year or two could do nothing wrong so --
Todd: That's right.
Mitchell: I think this is going a little overboard. Who knows.
Andrea knows, and that's why she said it. It's amazin' to see this sitting President, at this early stage of his term, with these problems, being ridiculed at every turn by the press. The Villagers were saying that the honeymoon was over as soon as he took the oath. It's media hype.
After all, Todd's point, predictably, misses a crucial factor: There is a reason why George W. Bush was at a 30% approval rating. Bush was caught lying America into war, tortured people, and allowed the survivors of Hurricane Katrina to fend for themselves. That was just a warmup, of course, to the economic collapse. And it wasn't until the latter stages of his disastrous presidency that he was even questioned by the press with any vigor. This was a President who was handed his office by the Supreme Court and not by the people. And yes, the press certainly gave him more than a two-month honeymoon.
But Todd misses the most critical point of all, which Mitchell seems to be leaning toward: There was nothing inappropriate about Obama's laughter, particularly not for anyone who watched the longer interview, during which he was sober and serious throughout. The light sprinkling of a smile only told us he was a human being who managed to keep his sense of humor in the midst of a difficult job. Making it out to be anything more than that tells us much more about his critics than it does Obama.
Hey, I thought it was liberals who were supposed to be the humorless ones, right?
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I'm not sure whether to trust him. I mean, good breeding is one thing, but hey...
I can't seem to play the video. Dang!
2
Me either.
Andrea Mitchell, the first lady of economic disaster master, should be working in soup kitchens for the rest of her life.
Andrea! Go Galt. Give somebody else a shot at 'creative input'.
Hey, Andrea! You married to Mr. Ayn Rand, whose philosophy has destroyed our economic system! This IS you nitpicking the president to death.
You got this all wrong, though. The Villagers made sure that the honeymoon was over as soon as he took the oath by their own media hype. It's been amazing to see the major corporate media transformed from sycophantic Bush ass-lickers to a supposed Fifth Column within the matter of 60 days. Truly amazing.
It's a sad sign about the state of the American nation when people in the journalism "industry" don't get the fuck out for reasons of conscience. It's not like they can't practice their craft -- but this time without being corporate whores -- with this whole internet thing. There are any number of models for this -- ePluribus Media, the St. Louis Beacon (as one local example) -- some are non-profit, some are for-profit, but at least they aren't shilling for some bullshit fake-ass democracy. Where is the American conscience? DOES IT BELIEVE IN ANYTHING ANY MORE??? Do words mean things? Sometimes, in this country, it seems as if they don't. They mean nothing.
have a sense of humor.
It's called coping. If we didn't laugh occasionally, we'd be crying at all times.
i knew when i saw that last night, this would be the story the right would go with today. kinda like the special olympics remark on leno.
nevermind the substantive remarks.
Joe Scarborough and his "gang" started out with this shit this morning. I turned off the tv and haven't seen any other news today. I am so disgusted with this petty crap.
turning that freaking tube off for your own sanity.
I not only turned it off, as I said in my comment, I spent some of my time today just reading and enjoying my dog.
Works like a charm
Who does, Todd, the Dumbya loving Dick-head think he is? Just another Reslug whiner and bedwetter at the White House, as usual.
The Daily Show is going to write it self. Just get in the vault and pull out Bushie laughing at Iraq, etc., and it's over.
i think they're doing reruns this week.
Bush's "missing WMD" comedy routine...
Selective these pricks are, eh?
That's exactly what came to my mind this morning when I heard the complaining.
Between that, and the other day's debacle of mocking the dead Canadian soldiers, the MSM and wingnuts have absolutely NO right to criticize what others laugh at...
These media creeps have no shame.
Who sent out the repub talking points today, Rush?
all remember the right wing outrage when Bush joked about not finding any WMDs under his podium. What's the body count up to in Iraq by the way?
is 4,260. Courtesy of the real Washington clown.
If you can't maintain your sense of humor when the shit hits the fan, then you really are screwed. Without enjoying a laugh every now and then, whatever problem, crisis, etc. that you are facing will overwhelm you.
I don't understand this faux outrage against President Obama, but that's probably because we both share the same type of humor, dry, witty, sarcastic, and self-deprecating.
I agree with you completely, I too have that same sense of humor.
If I had not seen this on C&L's, I would never have known about it. Point: I stopped watching today's newsmagazines a looooooonnnnnnnng time ago. Steve Croft needs to be "taught" some decency and respect for the President!
punch drunk vs dry drunk.
Which is where I saw Tood this morning, they do a thing at the end where they all say what they learned this morning. No one said that Pres. Obama does nitrous gas. Maybe that will come tomorrow.
Take an audio or video snippet, show it with no real context, and then bash and ridicule it. Harm the messenger without considering the message.
would be so proud of them, :sniff:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays
Bush never laughed once since 9/11? I wouldn't get to upset over this. If this is the worse Obama does, laugh away.
Let's get our list going. We have...
1.) He shouldn't be filling out a college basketball bracket.
2.) He shouldn't have gone on Leno.
3.) He shouldn't laugh at all in the next four years.
That's just three. Go ahead and start a war and the media clams up like a...well, like clam. Laugh, go on Leno and fill out a bracket...DEAR GOD NO!!!!!! What kind of person is he?
He uses a teleprompter.
But, I guess that's more of a right-wing, 23% thing.
They all use teleprompters, Obama just knows how to do it properly. That's an impeachable offense apparently.
You gotta laugh at the right wing blowholes.
I would hardly compare Bracket-gate, Leno-gate and laughter-gate, with Iraq-gate, torture-gate and Plamegate. Call me a liberal loon.
" Republicans sit there and look and say, if George Bush had done that, he would have been roasted..."
That's because bush IS AN inept ASSHOLE that clearly didn't care-- go put a sandwich on your family (or some such gibberish).
Obama is not. He's cool.
for having such a cool prez.
We're stuck with village idiot Stevie Harper. He is as dull as a stick of wood.
--Iraq: 4,260. (from icasualties.org)
that's five bodies short of my towns population.
they criticizing Obama a very short while ago about being too pessimistic about the economic situation. These guys are amazingly multifaceted. Two-faced just doesn't do them justice.
I'm pretty sure the Prez was laughing at Croft's hairdo and not the content of their discussion.
The problem with George Bush is that he did not laugh, he smirked. He smirked over WMD, Katrina, troop deaths. He didn't laugh with us, he laughed at us.
along with everyone else in his administration.
Now they're all living the life of luxury, with no accountability for their past actions, and it disgusts me.
How about discussing the lack of msm concern at the "Nope, no WMD's under here!" jokes the asshat in chief made...
forgot about that one. Thanks for the reminder about how Bush laughed about how many deaths he caused starting an illegal war.
On the count of three, Everybody laugh.
Of all the stuff he laughed at or made fun of, I always thought this was probably the worst offense. Oh, ha ha, 3000 people are dead, and we flew all around the country all day.
What a F$%^&g laugh riot.
SCLM, Wingnutosphere? ::crickets::
(I can't remember who they did that interview with, probably 60 Minutes, but don't have the stomach to wade through all the clips of them on YT. Maybe someone more resourceful could dig it out & post a link..?)
just a few short weeks ago the wingnuts were saying O was "cracking up" because he wasn't smiling often enough.
I really do.
Oh please. How many times did we see Bush joking around with reporters during the worst of the violence in Iraq(which he directly caused?) Now you're going to be outraged? Kroft huh? Any relation to the Krofts who created HR Puffinstuff. Lidsville, The Buggaloos, etc.? It would make absolute sense if he were.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0jY7RCkh24
(Clips may have audio off.)
More my speed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw2nb-DHmfA
I love that second clip, ysb.
It's big-time cheesy and the green sparkly hair is simply exquisite!
I am a Dem through and through, but I have to admit, I have had and still do have a problem with Obama's apparent aloofness. He comes off so cool that he really doesn't seem to care much. And truth be told, it really drives me crazy when I see him chuckling and laughing on these shows--he really seems in very good spirits and in a genuinely good mood. But why? What's there to be so content about? If he were actually doing things to hand the country back to the people, his laughter and good mood wouldn't be so grating. But he isn't. And so my question to him--(to quote joe pesci from goodfellas) what's so f-ing funny about us and our perilous situation?
Wow, you must be a barrel of laughs at a party.
You should really watch the whole 60 minute piece and not the snippets on Faux.
Also, are you aware of the meaning of gallows humor? You would have missed that on Faux.
Maybe in 20 years those Depression II jokes will be really funny. Right now--not so much.
I did watch the whole video and my point still stands: he's too content for my tastes. This is not a time to be content.
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
Thou Democratus President-laughus……..
So what!
Methinks there is much to do about nothing.
Faux and MSNBC how dare thee prattle Bibble Babble…Thou art loathsome as toads. We may account thee as whoremasters and knaves.
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." Macbeth
Do we have a descendant of Shakespeare Amato in the house?
What would the Bard think of me-probably not much- ; -)
I thought it was pretty good!
:)
If Shakespeare were from Texas, he'd be called the Pard.
Using a teleprompter, and depending on a teleprompter are two different matters. I mean, who deserves the real credit, The Great Orator, or the great Speach-writer?
Face it: America chose style (anti-war rhetoric) over substance (actually being anti-war). That's why we he will keep revealing himself to be the egotistical brat that he is.
Obama writes his own speeches, you twit. Bush could not complete an entirely correct sentence if he ever tried. Bush with a book contract, Yah Sure. Bring in a busload of ghosts. Someone wrote the snarky speech Palin gave at the convention that cost her so much support in the middle as she fed raw meat to the rabid right.
That's speech writing.
Apparently you couldn't function WITH a teleprompter.
Remember the Shrub looking for weapons of mass destruction in his office on national TV. Remember 17 gazillion incidents of fumblemouth. I became convinced he did not have normal intelligence when he ran against Ann Richards for Governor of Texas. On Jan 20, 2000 the thought in my mind was "How much damage will this moron do." I expected the normal right wing war and the regular looting of the national treasury, Sigh! I was right in Spades. Now a clearly self-deprecating remark by Obama becomes an insult to the wingers and now he has committed the horrible sin of laughter. If the wingers were capable of thought they would have killed themselves in shame for what neocon America has become instead of continuing to call for the same policies that have ruined us. I remember some winger woman calling for the death penalty for former Secretary of State Albright who criticized Bush and the made up war. I suppose she is all right with the constant anti Americanism coming from Republican Senators and Congressmen on TV, let alone the Faux winger drones and the Hate Hags of the far right.
What is REALLY disturbing is the annoying MSM echo chamber.
Todd & MSNBC today continually referred to Drudge as somehow the standard bearer for whether Obama succeeded on 60 Minutes or not.
What is this 1999???
The MSM spend WAAAAY too much time on Politico and Drudge and are completely out of touch with America.
of smirking, laughing, mispronunciation, idiocy and blatant ignorance, I'm not mad at Barack for laughing. I'm mad at Bush for steering this ship directly into the iceberg.
than be depressed about the situation. Yes, I know, a lot of people are depressed about the situation, as well they have every right to be, but could you imagine us having a completely despairing president at this time? Despair often keeps people from functioning. The nation doesn't need that right now!
I don't see these people yelling at Jay Leno? Jokes about the economy have been an established part of his nightly monologue every night for months now. Frankly, I find them actually funny, and they help to alleviate the worries just a little.
I'll say it again: If we can't laugh about our situation right now here and there, we would be lost to crying.
the choice shouldn't be between laughter/contentment and despair...the choice should be between laughter/contentment and outrage.
It's entirely possible to have a sense of humor but also be mad as hell.
So does Obama seem mad as hell to you or even a little angry?
I can't climb into his head and know exactly what he's thinking. But I do know why many people have gallows humor, and I know it doesn't exclude people from being actually unhappy with the situation.
immensely is to find dribs and drabs of humor in what I am struggling with.
That doesn't mean I've been content and happy with tragedy, it means I have found a way to cope.
How refreshing is it that we have a Prez that talks to us like we do to each other...times are rough for all, it's good to have the lead man on que with the rest of us...more real than the past several Prezes...new time, new generation...get used to it...
What's with these pudgy guys growing goatees?
Do they think it makes them cool?
I actually think Todd is kinda cute, even if I do disagree with him completely! ;)
...these f*cking idiots have to have something to cook on their burner. This is what they could come up with....President Obama chuckled. Jesus, how f*cking desperate they are!!
No, he should be sobbing and talking in somber monotone....like the dumb f*ck that just left the White House in shame and shambles. I have a difficult time digesting this, but it doesn't surprise me in the least.
Restoring confidence to the nation might actually be improved by seeing an occassional smile on his face and hearing a slight laughter in light of this HUGE dump truck of shit that was left on his doorstep when he arrived at the White House. I thought, in my humble opinion, that it was good and uplifting that he could make light of this ugly mess and still be addressing it as he and his team of finance advidors are doing.
God, the right wing are such ignorant sluts. Just ignore the dumb shit heads. They will never be happy with a Democrat succeeding after they've dealth with denial during the repug/fascist fiasco.
We are a nation of f*cking morons...and they hype has to continue or they will all be lost and totally confused on their twisted thinking.
Since when has Dubya ever wept over the sorry state of our nation? (I'm guessing that was your point, but I had to ask)
Hell, the man was in a most jolly mood during some of our worst moments during the last 8 years... Fucker found the time to go to a birthday party while the people of New Orleans drowned!
Scumbags.
They're both definitely scumbags! McCrazy eventually visited New Orleans when he thought it would help his campaign...
A lot of us have lost heaps of money, lost jobs, lost values on our homes or homes altogether. What can you do, but laugh? It certainly gives me more confidence that he can be lighthearted in times like these.
Remember how frightened everybody was after 9/11? And how they poured fuel on that fear by creating phantom menaces coming from all over the world to destroy "our way of life"? Would you prefer that kind of leadership? "We're in trouble, boys, let's start a war!!!"
It's already starting to feel really tired to compare him to Bush. Yes, we get it--Bush SUCKED. But so what? He's gone. Now we gotta deal with the guy WE brought to the dance. And I'm already having buyer's remorse (no not between him and McCain, but between him and...oh well, nevermind, there's really no one else who had a chance who would have been much better) Sigh. Despair. Oh wait, no... outrage.
When Bush cracked a joke and laughed about looking under his desk for WMD's did the wingnuts get their panties in a twist? I guess killing 4500 Americans and hundreds of thousands of civilians in a lie based war then laughing about it is ok by wingnuts but Obama chuckling a little during an interview regarding a GOP mess he's trying to clean up and the Kry baby Konservatives get all worked up.
Fuck You Chuck Todd
It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave.
Moody Blues
Their assholes. Literally, that's what they are doing.
And here I was thinking they only their brains for crapping.
Bush Jokes about WMD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKX6luiMINQ
Wonder if Chip Reid has come down on his CBS buddy Kroft for addressing the President of the United States in such a manner.
Or maybe because Obama is a Dem, we won't be hearing Chip's outrage.
What is all this fuss about some laughter by President Obama? Should he keep glum all the time? Should he go into depression?
As a physician, I know that even in serious situations like Emergency Room, where there are many sick people , there are always some lighter moments. There has to be some laughter in life if we want to preserve our sanity.
So, lighten up, guys and give President some slack.
Since Shakespeare died in 1616, I doubt the authenticity of that quote...
this is "Shakespeare Amato" we're talking about! Not quite the same thing! :D
"I mean, he's sitting there just making jokes about (LAUGHTER) money--”
That reminds me of an old one:
A gathering of Wall Street execs were having lunch when suddenly one of them looked alarmed.
He announced, "I have to go back to the office right away! I forgot to lock the safe!"
"What are you worried about?" asked the man to the right of him. "We're all here."
When President Obama smiles or laughs, he makes me want to smile or laugh. He has a smile something like Steve Martin who immediately gets the laugh reflex going. Obama reveals his good humor and basic decency through his smile. This is a hell of a lot better than what the Smirking Chimp, or the Leering Thug had to offer.
May 18, 2006, interview with David Gregory:
Gregory: Let me ask you about your leadership. In the most recent survey, your disapproval rating is now one point lower than Richard Nixon’s before he resigned the presidency. You’re laughing...
President Bush: I’m not laughing.
Gregory: Why do you think that is?
President Bush: Because we’re at war. And war unsettles people.
Yes, Bush indeed laughed. I remember seeing it on NBC.
And then Bush immediately switches the topic to the "great" economy we have. And soon thereafter...
Gregory: They’re not just unsettled, sir. They disapprove of the job you’re doing.
President Bush: That’s unsettled.
Gregory: That’s how you see it?
President Bush: Yeah, I do. I see it as the war has… the war is… the war is difficult. And I understand that.
President Bush: Because we’re at war. And war unsettles people.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12857539/
for eight years I had to endure the giggling killer George Bush with his snarky grin and chuckle and they media kept giving him more and more room to be an asshole.
Now, at last, we have a president we can be proud of and what dose this idiotic media talk about, if Obama's laugh was going to far? are they kidding me?
If the wingnuts are sick about this presidents laughter, what were they saying when bush made a joke about WMD? I still can not believe this performance didnt lead to any measurable kickback on bush.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdDp_jlgC9M
It's OK to laugh and enjoy your work when you are working hard on behalf of the people. It is not OK when, like Bush, you are just a lazy screw-up who is robbing the people blind.
Video links broken?
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