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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274276: Mar 13th 2019 at 9:41:33 PM

Apropos of nothing, my aunt actually remembers Obama from his Columbia days when she attended as well. She vaguely recalls that he was a pretty quiet and attentive guy during the lectures.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#274277: Mar 13th 2019 at 9:45:48 PM

Because it's "Not a real job." And it helped organize Democrats to vote.

I just checked, George W. Bush was governor of Texas for 6 years. Even counting the time he spent on Bush Sr. campaign team, he actually had less time as a public official than Obama did.

wisewillow She/her Since: May, 2011
She/her
#274278: Mar 13th 2019 at 9:46:34 PM

Wait, Governor was the first office he ran for???? Goddamn nepotism.

Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#274279: Mar 13th 2019 at 9:48:24 PM

If we're counting failed campaigns, he ran for Congress in the 70's, but lost.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274280: Mar 13th 2019 at 9:50:15 PM

I'm still trying to wrap my head around how anyone remotely familiar with US politics could seriously consider Obama to be anywhere near as politically inexperienced as Trump.

Edited by M84 on Mar 14th 2019 at 12:57:07 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#274281: Mar 13th 2019 at 9:56:41 PM

They're probably equating "never heard of him before he ran" with "inexperience". Never mind that most people can't name all of the members of their own state legislators, they just assume that someone they didn't hear of before they ran must somehow be totally new to the stage.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274282: Mar 13th 2019 at 9:57:11 PM

It's not even a matter of politics. It's a matter of being able to count. It's math.

But then again, we live in a world where people somehow blamed Obama for 9-11.

Edited by M84 on Mar 14th 2019 at 12:58:21 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
CharlesPhipps Since: Jan, 2001
#274283: Mar 13th 2019 at 10:14:03 PM

Logic does not support these guys.

One of my internet friends, I found out before we drifted apart was a birther. I mean, it was out of left field but he PASSIONATELY believed that there would be evidence that revealed Obama was not a US citizen and it would then remove him from office.

Here's the thing, I then pointed out it would make Joe Biden president.

That horrified him.

Because he assumed after Obama was removed, it would reverse the election.

Like it was a magic spell.

Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#274284: Mar 14th 2019 at 1:14:24 AM

Paul Manafort indicted in New York state on 16 charges. You know, I can't help but think that these crimes appear to be unrelated to Trump. That might mean that New York is engaging in a fishing expedition. Or it might mean that Manafort is that crooked.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
LordYAM Since: Jan, 2015
#274285: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:03:45 AM

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/03/the-obama-boys

Pretty devastating take. Yes there are times you need to compromise but a lot of centrist Dems like to pretend the republicans aren’t unreasonable assholes who would burn the country to serve their interests, or that you need to stay true to your guns.

Silasw A procrastination in of itself from A handcart to hell (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: And they all lived happily ever after <3
A procrastination in of itself
#274286: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:04:31 AM

I’ll go all in on Manafort being just that crooked.

Beto has now offically annonced from what I’m seeing, I’m hoping that he becomes a minor figure who uses the brief run as a launching pad for another office, he wouldn’t be a bad VP pick or he could give the senate another try.

“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran
LordYAM Since: Jan, 2015
#274287: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:05:55 AM

Obama wasn’t inexperienced but like a lot of west wing fans he thought he could be bipartisan and tried to avoid confrontation even when it was needed

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274288: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:16:19 AM

Ugh, just by browsing that site I can already tell this Nathan J. Robinson is a partisan hack.

Edited by M84 on Mar 14th 2019 at 5:17:08 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LordYAM Since: Jan, 2015
#274289: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:34:17 AM

Way to dodge the points. The west wing way of doing things is niave and his point about how the other guys refused to play ball yet he still tried is legitimate. For the love of god one of the guys cited was blindsided when a republican staffer told him they intended not to work with Obama.

His article about how the Israeli military cheerfully commits war crimes is also legit yet people go apoplectic when it’s pointed out that AIPAC does in fact lobby and wields power.

This is what I mean when I refer to mindless centrism. It’s the refusal to say “No” when the other side is being racist and obnoxious, or to put your foot down, or to call out a candidate when their actual record is shitty (Joe Biden and Kamela Harris) and demand better. It’s dismissing all that as partisan and insisting on repeating the same tactics that cost Hillary the election.

When Gavin Newsome pushed through his executive order to block capital punishment he face procedure the finger and told death penalty supporters to go fuck themselves. And it was the right thing to do. Civil rights only passed because Johnson stuck to his guns and forced it through.

Edited by LordYAM on Mar 14th 2019 at 2:41:45 AM

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274290: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:41:05 AM

Sorry, but someone who wrote that the solution to the SAT and other aptitude tests being flawed and elitist is to ban them entirely and make it so that colleges don't need admission at all has already lost credibility with me. And contrary to his recent tweets, the recent bombshell college admissions scandal is not validation for his bullshit idea.

Edited by M84 on Mar 14th 2019 at 5:41:23 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
LordYAM Since: Jan, 2015
#274291: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:45:50 AM

So that means it’s okay to ignore the fact that the Obama staffers displayed naïveté in how politics worked, or that Israeli soldiers cheerfully commit war crimes yet people are more offended when illhan Omar points out that AIPAC does wield a lot of power and influence?

Yeah No that’s infantile logic right there. You can make uninformed points in some areas and be dead on about others. When it comes to pointing out that being centrist allowed republicans to walk over Dems Robinson is entirely right.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274292: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:48:26 AM

[up]The point is that if someone spouts a lot of clearly biased stuff which doesn't make sense, why should I be using them as a credible source on anything?

I'm pretty sure you could find a more credible source backing the idea that Obama was a flawed President who didn't quite live up to the left's lofty projections.

Shit, I'm pretty sure most people here would agree with that assessment.

I actually agree that Obama wasn't the best President. I already stated I'm not a huge fan of his. But that site is still garbage.

Edited by M84 on Mar 14th 2019 at 5:50:04 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#274293: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:49:41 AM

I think it's a bit much to dismiss all arguments someone makes because you think one of them is very stupid.

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274294: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:50:27 AM

[up]I just picked that SAT thing as one example. The rest of the site isn't much better.

Disgusted, but not surprised
GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#274295: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:52:47 AM

I'm not seeing the SAT article. I see a bunch of articles with fairly sensible headlines...

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274296: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:53:21 AM

[up]The SAT thing is from last year, and it's referenced in his Twitter thread. In a tweet in which he claimed the recent college admissions scandal is validation for it.

About the only good thing I'll say about that site and that editor is that he doesn't seem to outright make shit up.

Edited by M84 on Mar 14th 2019 at 5:55:00 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#274298: Mar 14th 2019 at 2:57:48 AM

This has little to do with anything, but since Current Affairs came up, I finally have an excuse to talk about how I read a piece on there arguing Dems should just agree to pay for the wall to save Dreamers.

So they're no stranger to bad takes.

i'm tired, my friend
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#274299: Mar 14th 2019 at 3:01:41 AM

If one is going to use biased sources, one should at least be honest about the fact that they are biased sources.

There's a reason some of us here don't take TYT seriously.

[up]Which makes the criticism of Obama for being "too" compromising all the more hypocritical.

Edited by M84 on Mar 14th 2019 at 6:03:20 PM

Disgusted, but not surprised
GoldenKaos Captain of the Dead City from Cirith Ungol Since: Mar, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Captain of the Dead City
#274300: Mar 14th 2019 at 3:02:45 AM

But TYT are very obviously biased.

I also have no idea what a non-biased source would look like.

Edited by GoldenKaos on Mar 14th 2019 at 10:04:39 AM

"...in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach."

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