Obama Kills Good Press With Narcissistic Runway Rant
January 26, 2012 10 Comments
The big news yesterday evening and today, at least in conservative circles, is Obama’s big blow up at Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Apparently the President didn’t like how Brewer portrayed a meeting between them in her book. So of course he did the most logical thing: He got in her face on the runway at an airport. Brewer didn’t back down and waved her finger at him before Obama stormed off while she was in mid-sentence.
Sadly this isn’t the first time Obama has pulled this stunt. He got in Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s face on the runway a couple years ago. Once you can chalk up to a bad day, twice suggests that this President feels it is acceptable to berate opposition leaders on airport runways. This sort of thing is so bush league, so below the office which Obama holds. But I suppose we’re accustomed to Obama lowering his office. Whether it’s inviting GOP Congressmen to press conferences only to attack them personally or whether it’s commenting in harsh terms on local events without knowing all the facts, Obama has consistently lowered the office of President.
From another angle, all of the good will that the President may have built with his State of the Union speech was destroyed in just a few minutes. Independents are not going to enjoy seeing a picture of the towering President in the grill of a woman. And no, this isn’t a racial thing. Independents wouldn’t want to see Bill Clinton in the grill of a woman like this. Of course, Clinton had the decency to place a phone call to express disagreement rather than waiting to attack on an airport runway.
Make no mistake, the left will love what Obama did. They hate Jan Brewer because of Arizona’s immigration law. So perhaps this excites them about Obama, perhaps they’ll believe he’ll show more passion in the upcoming year. But let’s face it, Obama shouldn’t be focusing on his base. He should be focusing on the independent voters who will ultimately decide the election in November. He has a great opportunity to reach those folks while the GOP battles with conservatives over who the nominee will be. Obama threw away his chance by getting in Brewer’s face.
It’s especially poor timing, happening the day after the State of the Union. Rather than focusing on his speech, the topic of conversation has shifted to a picture of a towering Obama standing over little Jan Brewer who bravely shakes her finger at him wherein we can all imagine she’s saying “please get out of my face.” And thus all the good will earned by his speech has been lost. The worst part about it is that this confrontation was premeditated by Obama. He had to think about it on his long flight to Arizona. Did it not occur to him that confronting a Governor on a runway in full view of the public would go viral?
This is just another in a long line of political blunders by this President. Obama has never truly controlled his own message because he has such poor handlers. Even when they control their message, Obama blows it up with a bone head move like this. Is there anything more narcissistic than a President who becomes so outraged over a book that he just has to confront someone on an airport runway? Wouldn’t you have to be absurdly self-absorbed to give up a week’s worth of good press in order to yell at someone on an airport runway?
About Steven
ALL 517! states need a Jan Brewer as governor. Obama proves he is a paranoid, insecure, selfish, narcissistic, liar. Obama is so self-glorified that he touts he considers himself one of the 4 best presidents. Whitehouse Christmas ornaments even had his face superimposed on Mt Rushmore. Disgusting!! Gut the Whitehouse of this socialist closet muslim.
I don’t know much about Jan Brewer but she clearly wasn’t going to back down despite Obama’s attempt to intimidate her. Obama is more likely to be an atheist than a Muslim. But he’s definately self absorbed, there’s no way around that.
Love it, love it, love it!!
Had this been a Democrat Governor sticking her finger in the face of a Republican President your rant would have been all about the Gov’s lack of respect for the office of the President and how the President showed just the right level of disdain and gravitas in response to spectacular insult.
It is ridiculous, but I gotta give you credit, Steve; you are able to apply your dogmatic bias and intellectual dishonesty almost uniformly, regardless of the situation. So that’s pretty cool.
I suppose had the Governor confronted the President, then the situation would be different. Instead, we have a President who confronted a Governor for no particular reason. We’re talking about a passage in a book that was only purchased by a couple thousand people and our narcissistic President is getting in the face of a Governor over it on an airport runway. I wouldn’t defend Bush if he did such a thing, it’s just that absurd.
Oh bull. No way you post “Bush kills good press with narcissistic runway rant”. Your ideology requires this sort of thing to be an affront to your team and you would undoubtedly come up with a rationale to make it so. I mean, you are wholly behind one party’s side of the story (i.e. this was all about a passage in a book) – you would to the same thing if your team member was the President in stead of the Gov, but you’d be backing the President just as vociferously.
End of the day, you will make reality fit your beliefs, no matter how completely you have to pretzel your logic – the costs to you are simply too high if you don’t.
If Bush had ranted at a Democrat Governor on an airport runway, I would be happy to criticize him for doing such a thing had he done it. Two things happened for Obama because of this silly rant. First, he lost several days of what should have been good press. Rather than focusing on his SOTU speech, the media was focused on his silly exchange with Brewer. Second, it drew attention to Jan Brewer and made what was otherwise an unpopular book that few read into an instant best seller.
Obama’s rant was nacissistic. But more importantly it was politically foolish and utterly pointless. This should have been a private exhange between the President and the Governor over the phone. Instead, we all know about it because the President decided that a meet and greet on an Arizona runway was the place to confront Brewer. If Bush had been so politically obtuse, I would have loved to have attacked him for it.
“If Bush had been so politically obtuse, I would have loved to have attacked him for it.”
Uh huh, sure you would have…that’s pretty funny. Come on, tell us another one!! : )
I’m happy to criticize Republicans, especially on purely political matters. I’ve criticized Boehner a number of times on here for political miscalculations.
You crack me up, Steve. Do you even read your own blog?
“I’ve criticized Boeher a number of times”. Ha!! Awesome…
Yes I do. The fact is it drives me absolutely crazy when the GOP squanders political opportunities and/or spend political capital foolishly.