Just curious what you meant by “the Tea Party…with its scorched-Earth politics.” My memory of those days is that the Tea Partiers were amazingly civil, even to the extent of policing the grounds after one of their events, a striking contrast to the Occupiers or (more recently) BLM.
"But then, she said: “To be honest, I am realizing that, until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope. Maybe you’ve experienced the same feelings. A deep pit in my stomach. A palpable sense of dread about the future.”"
I never trusted him and voted Republican each time. His 10 years attending a hater church, his socialist program and leftist-islamic leanings were clear tells. McCain and Romney turned out to be garbage however... still they would have been better than what we got.
“ But then, she said: “To be honest, I am realizing that, until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope. Maybe you’ve experienced the same feelings. A deep pit in my stomach. A palpable sense of dread about the future.”
Does anyone worth $100’s of millions really worry about the feelings of the masses of Americans? As a rhetorical tool it sounds good, but the Obamas have moved into the bubble of safety and isolation enjoyed by the super-rich.
Obama, who never did anything in his life but ride on the taxpayers' coat tails is now worth MILLIONS. Our system is so broken. I was enthralled with him in the first election; his speaking ability is mesmerizing and I truly hoped he could do and be what he seemed capable of. As a pretty conservative white woman I voted for a Democrat (gasp) and have regretted it ever since. Barak Obama did more to divide our country than any president in my lifetime. Instead of bringing our country together he expounded on our differences. And the "wonderful" Michelle...the first time she was ever "proud of her country". I really wish those two would disappear into one of their mansions and leave the world alone.
Of course, Obama never promised a socialist revolution, and after his first two years faced a hostile congress, which became implacably hostile in his second term. He had a historic first act to perform simply because of his race, and to his credit he had some concern about how history would regard his performance. He handled himself with a grace and dignity that befitted his office ( . . . ) without sacrificing youthfulness and sharpness. Well, life as a permanent public figure changes people (read how the Grants ended their days), and the Obamas are now types, symbols, emblems, but so intersectionally (yeah, that's deliberate) that they can be seen from quite a few different perspectives. What they say is predictable (this is, after all, a political convention), but their energy communicates as freshly and effectively as it ever has. Keep on underrating the Obamas and the many things they stand for. That, along with your companion detestation of Hilary, is what got you Trump.
Glibness is not wisdom. Energy is not a policy. The failure to work with Congress is a failure and an pitiful excuse for not accomplishing the job. Many, and probably most Presidents had to deal with adversarial legislatures, so why does he get a pass? Yes he's youthful, has grace, dignity, etc. etc. - none of these are substitutes for getting the job done. Was a America a better place after his 8 years? Was the world a safer, better place? Just to be clear - I wanted him elected, but I regret it.
Great comparative writting. My take, Michelle was fire, Obama was ice. As for how folks see all of our public figures it's a Rorschach Test crap shot. We see what we want to see.
Okay, I'll take the bait. Yes, I too have a sense of dread. My dread is that neither party in this great land can produce a presidential candidate worthy of our vote. It's sickening and saddening and I refuse to be comforted by sanguine diatribes that ring hollow. Our great nation is in trouble on both sides of the aisle and if we, the voters, don't take this nation back from the party bosses, tech oligarchs, and Hollywood elites, we will devolve into a once-great nation like the British, the Greeks, and the Romans. I've never believed in a multi-party system...until now. We must find a better path.
Debasing the prestige of American troops with a shamefully mismanaged, humiliating, and craven withdrawal from Afghanistan? Check.
Deploying the apparatus of the state to pressure social media to censor disfavored opinions? Check.
Manufacture lies about the truth that was the Hunter Biden laptop? Check.
Throwing money (student loan debt cancellation) at Gen Y and Z voters fortunate enough to have been to (increasingly worthless) college, and smart enough not to have paid as they went? Check.
Coercing through extreme measures (the denial of a livelihood) the forfeit of the right to bodily autonomy? Check.
Complete takeover and lock step messaging from dominant media outlets of Democratic propaganda ("Joe Biden is sharp as a tack")? Check.
Weaponization of the legal system (passing laws temporarily changing the statue of limitations), for harassment of the leading political opponent? Check.
Neutering the standards and moral of the Secret Service to allow an assassination attempt on said opponent? Check.
Flaunting the power of the unseen oligarchs running the DNC (and the country) by openly defying longstanding democratic processes to manipulate (not once, but twice) the selection of the Democratic nominee? Check.
Just curious what you meant by “the Tea Party…with its scorched-Earth politics.” My memory of those days is that the Tea Partiers were amazingly civil, even to the extent of policing the grounds after one of their events, a striking contrast to the Occupiers or (more recently) BLM.
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? © Gospel of Matthew 7:3
Nothing new in the last two thousand years.
"But then, she said: “To be honest, I am realizing that, until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope. Maybe you’ve experienced the same feelings. A deep pit in my stomach. A palpable sense of dread about the future.”"
Yeah, me too, but for very different reasons.
I never trusted him and voted Republican each time. His 10 years attending a hater church, his socialist program and leftist-islamic leanings were clear tells. McCain and Romney turned out to be garbage however... still they would have been better than what we got.
“ But then, she said: “To be honest, I am realizing that, until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope. Maybe you’ve experienced the same feelings. A deep pit in my stomach. A palpable sense of dread about the future.”
Does anyone worth $100’s of millions really worry about the feelings of the masses of Americans? As a rhetorical tool it sounds good, but the Obamas have moved into the bubble of safety and isolation enjoyed by the super-rich.
Obama, who never did anything in his life but ride on the taxpayers' coat tails is now worth MILLIONS. Our system is so broken. I was enthralled with him in the first election; his speaking ability is mesmerizing and I truly hoped he could do and be what he seemed capable of. As a pretty conservative white woman I voted for a Democrat (gasp) and have regretted it ever since. Barak Obama did more to divide our country than any president in my lifetime. Instead of bringing our country together he expounded on our differences. And the "wonderful" Michelle...the first time she was ever "proud of her country". I really wish those two would disappear into one of their mansions and leave the world alone.
Nailed it Suzanne!
Of course, Obama never promised a socialist revolution, and after his first two years faced a hostile congress, which became implacably hostile in his second term. He had a historic first act to perform simply because of his race, and to his credit he had some concern about how history would regard his performance. He handled himself with a grace and dignity that befitted his office ( . . . ) without sacrificing youthfulness and sharpness. Well, life as a permanent public figure changes people (read how the Grants ended their days), and the Obamas are now types, symbols, emblems, but so intersectionally (yeah, that's deliberate) that they can be seen from quite a few different perspectives. What they say is predictable (this is, after all, a political convention), but their energy communicates as freshly and effectively as it ever has. Keep on underrating the Obamas and the many things they stand for. That, along with your companion detestation of Hilary, is what got you Trump.
Glibness is not wisdom. Energy is not a policy. The failure to work with Congress is a failure and an pitiful excuse for not accomplishing the job. Many, and probably most Presidents had to deal with adversarial legislatures, so why does he get a pass? Yes he's youthful, has grace, dignity, etc. etc. - none of these are substitutes for getting the job done. Was a America a better place after his 8 years? Was the world a safer, better place? Just to be clear - I wanted him elected, but I regret it.
Similarly, “hope” is not a winning strategy.
A winning slogan, perhaps, but not a winning strategy.
The Obamas are insufferable.
The Obamas are as close to moral authority as it gets in American politics.
bwahahahaha
The Democrats are insufferable.
It's like the last 3 and a half years never happened! All Trumpian gloom and doom
Kinda feels like September 10th, 2001 every day now for the past month.....
Its hard being worth millions
Hope without some solid material benefit emerging from it is fantasy.
Hope may be all Pandora left in the box, but unfortunately, it is also the essential basis for all charlatans and schemers.
Great comparative writting. My take, Michelle was fire, Obama was ice. As for how folks see all of our public figures it's a Rorschach Test crap shot. We see what we want to see.
"If you've got a business, you didn't build that" - Barack Obama, 2012
"For the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country" - Michelle Obama, 2008
cherry picked quotes for sure, but they are indicative of the mindset that ran the white house from 2008-2016 (..and 2020 - 2024?).
The Obamas have contempt for you.
Okay, I'll take the bait. Yes, I too have a sense of dread. My dread is that neither party in this great land can produce a presidential candidate worthy of our vote. It's sickening and saddening and I refuse to be comforted by sanguine diatribes that ring hollow. Our great nation is in trouble on both sides of the aisle and if we, the voters, don't take this nation back from the party bosses, tech oligarchs, and Hollywood elites, we will devolve into a once-great nation like the British, the Greeks, and the Romans. I've never believed in a multi-party system...until now. We must find a better path.
Petey - if you looked carefully through those translucent glasses of yours, you would see that the Democrats are the ones who killed hope.
Regulations that put large corporations ahead of small businesses? Check.
Eliminating merit and achievement as a means of getting ahead? Check.
Increasing costs of goods while not growing wages? Check.
Dumbing down education while indulging the mentally ill and drug addicted? Check.
Telling people not to believe their lying eyes and calling riots "fiery but peaceful" protests? Check.
Fear mongering about the rise of the oceans while purchasing oceanfront property in Massachusetts and Hawaii? Check.
No wonder Mrs. Obama sees a diminution of hope. She and her friends did all that.
Debasing the prestige of American troops with a shamefully mismanaged, humiliating, and craven withdrawal from Afghanistan? Check.
Deploying the apparatus of the state to pressure social media to censor disfavored opinions? Check.
Manufacture lies about the truth that was the Hunter Biden laptop? Check.
Throwing money (student loan debt cancellation) at Gen Y and Z voters fortunate enough to have been to (increasingly worthless) college, and smart enough not to have paid as they went? Check.
Coercing through extreme measures (the denial of a livelihood) the forfeit of the right to bodily autonomy? Check.
Complete takeover and lock step messaging from dominant media outlets of Democratic propaganda ("Joe Biden is sharp as a tack")? Check.
No accountability for any civil servant , check
Weaponization of the legal system (passing laws temporarily changing the statue of limitations), for harassment of the leading political opponent? Check.
Neutering the standards and moral of the Secret Service to allow an assassination attempt on said opponent? Check.
Flaunting the power of the unseen oligarchs running the DNC (and the country) by openly defying longstanding democratic processes to manipulate (not once, but twice) the selection of the Democratic nominee? Check.
...
Hope dies here.
Did my view of the article get truncated? Is the last sentence supposed to read "A palpable sense of dread about the future.”
It seems Peter Savodnik didn't finish his thought(s) about Michelle Obama.