Elizabeth Hasselbeck seems to think we should all go around in mourning because of the economy or maybe its over the 2 wars. She wasn’t quite clear during her rant. She needs to read some history. Americans got through the Great Depression listening to FDR’s Fireside Chats. He tried to cheer people up, keep them informed, give them hope. Yes, he told a joke or two. Americans have always maintained their cheerfulness in the face of adversity.
Some background, Sarah Palin, like her or not, mocked President Obama by writing on her hand as her ‘teleprompter.’ Now everyone knows that all presidents since JFK have used the teleprompter. They have other things to do rather than sit around memorizing speeches. However, laughing at President Obama over his use of the teleprompter is something his opponents have latched on to, and so be it. He is a gifted speaker.
This humor seems rather harmless to me. Palin mocks Obama, Gibbs mocks Palin. No one is a sacred cow. There is nothing much vicious being said. So why does Elizabeth Hasselbeck get close to hysterical over the issue? I don’t watch The View. I don’t enjoy watching and listening to people attempt to scream over each other. But isn’t Hasselbeck really a little over the top or is she just politically naive?
Did Hasselbeck think Palin was serious? Didn’t she realize that Palin was spoofing the President? I thought it was silly but also harmless. And she got it back at her. Hopefully she is woman enough to take it. I imagine she is.
I guess Palin does not understand satire and she complains about telaprompters, what a hypocrite. Palin’s hand job just shows all of us what kind of dullard we are up against, I have not seen this since junior high. She is so perfect for “Fake News”. WOW and some call her a leader….please.
What I found most offensive about Sarah Palin is when she mocked Obama supporters with that sarcastic quip, “How’s that hope and change working out for you?”
Millions of people like me voted for Obama with high hopes, only to have them dashed. There’s nothing funny about that. Most Americans do feel disappointed. If Palin thinks Americans living in misery is funny, then she is unfit to be President or hold any elected office.
EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Palin’s debut as a motivational speaker: Houston attendees rate her a ‘Fail’
By David Neiwert Tuesday Feb 09, 2010 1:00pm
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/exclusive-sarah-palins-debut-motivat
Many of us do not need to be motivated by a “motivational speaker.”
Moon, sad to say but I am not seeing much of that “cheerfulness in adversity” this time around. Those who have jobs or fat contracts with “The View” can chuckle a bit perhaps. But those without jobs and little prospect of finding them in the near future, as well as those with small businesses going on the rocks, just don’t seem to be laughing much these days. Starryflights hit on something in #1. Not only do we have people suffering economically and financially, but we also have a whole lot of people who feel let down by the guy they thought would save them — and quickly. A bit different this time out, I think.
And I certainly don’t see where Obama or George Bush bear that responsibility. In fact, I am not sure what any president can do about the economy.
I would be outraged if the White House went around dooming and glooming and refusing to give people hope.
Starry, I am not sure what you expected Obama to do. What is it you wanted him to do and that he hasn’t done. I understand that Wolverine is a conservative and probably wouldn’t have expectations from a Democrat.
I feel Elizabeth Hasselbeck is behaving like an hysterical child. Perhaps because I don’t watch The View there is something I am missing. I see Barbara Walters behaving professionally and attempting to have a dialogue. I kept wanting her to smack E.H. and telling her to get herself under control. What disappointing behavior.
I don’t watch the thing either. The few times I have done so, I was thoroughly turned off by Behar. She reminds me of someone who might go into blog moderation because of her penchant for very impolite attacks on anyone who happens not to agree with her political views. I would put Behar in the category of “hysterical.”
I can honestly say I have never watched the show from beginning to end. I have just seen clips from it. Behar seems to be the ying of Hasselbeck’s yang. Neither seem to be capable of seeing someone else’s point of view. I don’t think Behar was bad in this particular segment, however. What is the other lady’s name?
I just can’t stand the shrieking and talking over each other.
I do like Whoopie Goldberg. I don’t always agree with her politics but I find her interesting and humorous. I think I am trying to say I don’t find her so strident as a rule.
Joy Behar is a moron, she is the one that thought that ‘black Friday’ was racist….
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2009/11/27/joy-behar-s-moral-quandary-isnt-it-little-racist-call-it-black-friday
@hello It’s all “moron” fare anyway, daytime TV programs targeted towards a certain demographic of women who are home to watch this insulting drivel and the idiotic commercials that are hand-picked for that audience. I found it painful just watching that clip.
And I’m not calling the targeted demographic morons, just the producers and personalities on these programs who seem to be assuming that they are morons.
I do think Hasselback has one point right, though: What is it about Sarah Palin that drives the left into such a feeding frenzy and commands the attention of even the White House? She can’t legislate her middle name right now, so what’s the big deal?
And I do believe President Obama bears some responsibility for the economy. He made some HUGE promises early on, the biggest whopper being that the stimulus package was absolutely necessary to keep unemployment from rising above 8%.
That money would have had a better return if the President and Congress took it to Vegas and threw it into slot machines and onto craps tables. So much of it was wasted, and then we were lied to about the number of jobs “saved or created” as a result.
It is all theater anyway. The show, which I have only seen during visits to the vet, is set up to have 3 liberal-tilted people (to varying degrees) and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. And so, EH comes across as being strident. Who wouldn’t when all of your opinions are being trashed from 3 sides? And yes, Barbara Walters in a professional but her opinions generally side with the other 2.
Of course if they balanced it so that EH wasn’t the only one under pressure to respond, then you would have all the drama of the Sunday morning shows. So it is a show based on the very theater that EH is being criticized for. I have better things to do with my time than listen to the screaming by everyone on the show.
That was BW is a professional not in a professional.
“This humor seems rather harmless to me. Palin mocks Obama, Gibbs mocks Palin.” – the only problem with this is why is Gibbs mocking anyone? Is that what Obama sent his spokesman out to do? Mock someone they don’t agree with?
I find this especially odd considering that on the same day Obama calls for an end to petty politics…
@hello .. an end to petty politics for everyone else but them…
“Millions of people like me voted for Obama with high hopes, only to have them dashed.”
I feel your pain, Starry. If I had voted for a guy who was then blessed with a Congressional supermajority, who did not (up until January 19) require a SINGLE Republican vote to advance his most cherished initiatives like healthcare and cap and trade, and then a year later came out completely empty-handed on those promises, I would feel I had been “had”.
@hello
This reminds me of the campaign when the Obama campaign decided to immediately answer any criticism. It would have been much funnier if Gibbs had planted a question from the press about what the President thought of Palin’s speech. Then he could have pulled it off effortlessly and the people would see more of the humor.
As it was, he was answering something else and it did not fit the situation so it fell somewhat flat.
One thing that EH was saying was pretty right on (I only watched a couple of minutes of the yelling back and forth). Palin has no political authority, not a legislator and has no job other than speaker and occasionally doing commentary on TV. Most times the White Houses in the past have stayed above any criticism by simply ignoring things or when asked would quip, “they are entitled to their opinion.” So this White House has decided that counter attack is the right mode for them.
It will make them look petty and not Presidential if they don’t watch out. They need to act like they are governing, not engaged in a campaign.
Were you Anti-Obama-ites as critical of George Bush’s weapons of mass destruction? Did he lie or did he miscalculate?
I don’t think any of us can say what would or would not have happened had the stimulus package not kicked in. It is all conjecture. The economy might be significantly worse and the joblessness much higher.
As for Palin, who cares if she can legislate anything. Cindy Sheehan couldn’t do jack about any legislation or the war in Iraq. Yet she was a constant irritant to the Bush admininstration. I don’t recall hearing Bush speak of her but I sure remember various spokespeople taking a poke at her. Ari Fleischer often served as the Bush administration’s pitbull. That is one of the jobs of a press secretary. Tony Snow was a little less of one. But that was Tony Snow and he has special circumstances.
@Rez
“It will make them look petty and not Presidential if they don’t watch out.”
I think it’s a bit too late for that, that ship sailed a while ago…
Nice name calling Moon, ‘Anti-Obama-ites’, that’s a new one. 🙂
“Were you Anti-Obama-ites as critical of George Bush’s weapons of mass destructions? Did he lie or did he miscalculate?”
Of course he miscalculated. Of course I’ve been critical of the war right from the beginning. But Bush hasn’t been President for over a year now, so what does it matter? That what-about-Bush silencing technique, so favored by the left, is getting very old.
Hello, I can rachet it up a few notches if you like.
And it will get older and older as some of you expect Obama to wave a magic wand and fix it all.
Reminder, we didn’t go over the cliff.
@Emma
In some cases the what-about-Bush technique is the only option avaiable I suppose.
Most of us rallied around Bush after 9-11, an obvious crisis. Many of us rallied around Bush during the economic melt down. Many who did not were members of his own party.
If he got it stuck to him by his own folks, Obama doesn’t have a chance. It started long before he took office. The rancor and nastiness in politics makes one wonder why anyone would run for office.
I will continue to point out the hypocrisy of criticizing Obama for things Bush did as long as it continues. It can get older than the hills. The far right has outdone itself this time. The more nastiness I hear, the more I will support Obama. (and I was very much a skeptic for a long time) I hope he slaps Hillary Clinton on the Supreme Court.
Hello is going to have a long and miserable 3 years with this anti-obama obsession. He is the president. He is in office for another 3 years. H-man, What can you do to make it more bearable for yourself?
@Rez “So this White House has decided that counter attack is the right mode for them.”
As I said earlier this week, I am in FULL support of this administration staying the course. If that means ridiculing Americans who are not in elected positions from the unchallenged White House podium, then bring it on!
Well Moon, I survived the first miserable year, Ill figure out a way to get thru the next 3…. 🙂
You seem to be at a breaking point with so-called ‘Anti-Obama-ites’, how are you going to make it more bearable for yourself defending the indefensible with what-about-Bush DNC talking points?
This administration shows time and again that it is completely devoid of any real warmth or genuine sense of humor. I see a lot of bitterness and rancor in their own ranks. Rahm Emanuel calling fellow Democrats “f-ing retards” does not point to a person with a generally genial demeanor. Our own President demeans Americans who “cling to guns and religion,” explains himself in speech after speech and then derides us for just not getting it when it comes to healthcare.
Small wonder then that what should have been a harmless little dig appears to be a cynical and elitist slap to many people. And judging from recent poll numbers, Americans just aren’t laughing, nor are they feeling the love.
Shall I laugh in your face now or later Hell-boy? I go back to the Clinton era so I wouldn’t count on me running off in tears. I saw what was done to him. Then those who dished it out the worst wondered why Bush caught it so badly. Hmmmm, let’s see.
All of those behaviors, however, are counter-productive to recovering from near economic disaster, winning a 2 front war, and building a stronger nation.
I am an American and I laughed. Interesting how I am no longer considered an American. Plenty of people laugh.
There is a great divide out there. Don’t be fooled by polls. The only polls that count are the ones on election day. We both know how to frame a question to get the desired result.
I am wondering why more legislation wasn’t passed in the 2003 and 2005 Congress years when Republicans occupied the White House and both houses of Congress. If history repeats itself, the Republicans will take back some turf, will get nothing done. then the Democrats will take back control and they will get nothing done…it is endless. no one stands for principle and common sense, just party line. A good reason to hate both parties.
Not much has changed since that fateful Republican convention in 1992. We all remember what happened then. There was just a little too much clinging to Guns, God, Gays and Glory then also.
The Foxies would have loved FDR and Fala.
Moon, I go back all the way to Eisenhower. I’ve come to the conclusion that most presidents do it to themselves at some point in their administrations, and then the Opposition jumps all over them. SOP. Rites of passage. Part of the job. Harry Truman’s long ago reference to the heat in the kitchen was spot on. Sometimes I wonder how we all manage to survive, but we do. The constitutional system we inherited from the founders —strong and tough. During the most recent presidential transition, an African was heard to observe that Americans were very lucky. In his country a transition often meant carrying the previous leader out of the presidential palace in a pine box. We ARE lucky. In China a thread like this would probably be banned.
So I could be banned and in a pine box…but my pelt wouldn’t be on the wall. 😉 What a great line, Wolverine.
I think too much is expected from one person. It costs so much to get elected that everyone who achieves election is in someone’s pocket. Perhaps not everyone but pretty darn close to it.
Harry Truman was remarkable. He was probably one of the most abused VPs in the history of the country. Yet he had some very serious decisions to make. The Atomic bomb and ending WWII come to mind.
Wolverine, when you say ‘you go back,’ does that mean life time or voted for? I can remember when he was president. I remember my father explaining Ike’s heart attack to me so I wouldn’t be scared if I heard about it. But I was a long way from voting for him.
Hell-boy? Have we hit a new low Moon or are you just doing your best Gibbs impersonation?
Me thinks someone has a case of cabin fever… 🙁
Sigh…..another humorless Tea-person. Hell-boy doesn’t like his new name.
Moon, I graduated from high school about the time Eisenhower’s second term was coming to an end. I can recall some years earlier going around town on my bicycle delivering Eisenhower campaign signs during his run for a second term against Stevenson. Speaking of getting slapped around politically, I can still remember the press flashing pictures of Stevenson all over the place because a photographer got a shot of him with a hole in the sole of his shoe. Man, a lot of water has gone under this bridge! Do they give out official diplomas for cranky old geezers who still have teeth that can bite? I wear my hair in a ponytail. How’s that for a dyed-in-the-wool conservative? When the grandkids ask me about the ponytail, I tell them I grew up in the era of the ‘hippies.” Then they ask me what a “hippie” is. If that doesn’t make you feel like an ancient!
I long to go back to my original name, “SoyCulero”
Actually I love it Moon! Sounds tough and mean… thank you. 🙂
Hell-boy… makes me sound like some sort of super hero from the comics.
Some conservatives may be shrill and obnoxious, but at least most were not taken in by all the ‘hope and change’ rhetoric. All the tears and swooning in the mere presence of Obama have given way to realization that he is just a mere mortal with a penchant for government power, over spending, and redistribution of wealth.
My statement before the election that Obama was a socialist who wants to radically increase the size and power of government was roundly dismissed on this blog. I stand by my statement.
Great story, Wolverine. You and Mr. Howler are almost contemporaries. He couldn’t quite vote for Kennedy. A little too young. I think his first election was the Johnson/Goldwater presidential election. So you really have a pony tail? Not too conservative sounding.
I have found a lot of ex marines like to wear pony tails.
kelly, you realize that lots and lots of people voted for Obama who didn’t swoon over him?
I believe every president in the past …oh in my lifetime and before has radically increased the size and power of government. In fact, name one that hasn’t. Reagan certain did. Bush did.
The redistribution of wealth…holding back on that one. It depends on how that is defined.
“The View” is a show for entertainment purposes only. Anyone who thinks they are getting any kind of news from it is kidding themselves. They argue back and forth for the drama of it, and a lot of it is acting, Elizabeth H. included. I’ve only seen it a few times, and could not stand any of the woman on there – including Elizabeth – who as a conservative I might find some things in common.
It’s all acting/drama, and “created for TV theater”. I don’t think i could sit through that show on a daily basis – I don’t find any of the regulars on there likeable. I once saw it when Rosie was on there – wow was that show really obnoxious back then! Even with her gone, I still couldn’t take watching it.
I’ve met a few very conservative ex-soldiers, and more than one of them also wears a ponytail. They are not in any way liberal in their views, that’s for sure, as I’ve heard the pony-tail wearers talk politics.
And lots and lots of people that DID swoon, pass out, and otherwise breathe heavy over him!
And your point, Slow? Not everyone who ended up voting for Obama did so because they were enchanted. Many did it because McCain sold out and brought in an unqualified (in the eyes of many people) running mate.
Now you might not agree that she is unacceptable. Ain’t America great? For every person who was ga-ga over Obama, I am sure there were folks who were ga-ga over Palin. However, those who kept their hearts out of their heads voted beyond pure emotion. And the bottom line is, Obama won.