So Now It's This Photo That Will Define Obama Presidency

[otohara]

He's all alone.
This I learned from the punditry on The Chris Matthews Show this AM.
A scholar who listens to no one - this photo proves it by God.

[HopeHoops]

1. I think that's a really cool photograph!

You can almost read his mind - "Wow, this is cool as shit!"

[endless october]

2. if that wall were on the Mexican border, they'd call him a hero. nt

[csziggy]

66. But remember, the Great Wall did not keep out the hordes

They still invaded China. That should be a lesson for those who want to wall off our borders - walls don't work. Ask the Germans.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. It's a great photo, and yes, he's alone...But

He's not really alone.

He's talking to someone, someone we can't see.

He is always engaged in this world.

Time will tell if this pic is the defining one of his Presidency.

[Cyrano]

4. The Great Wall of China (where Obama is standing) can be seen from the moon

My hope is that far, far into the future, Obama will be seen as one of our greatest presidents.

Right now, that judgement is in his hands, his decisions and his grit.

[jenmito]

6. It's a myth that the Great Wall of China can be seen from the moon.

But my hope is your hope. :)

[Cyrano]

23. Okay, my bad. But I'll bet it can be seen from Wasilla, Alaska

[WhiteTara]

56. only by the Sarah n/t

[mkultra]

45. it can be seen from space though

[Aristus]

8. Myth. Long-since debunked. The Great Wall can't even be seen from low orbit.

http://www.snopes.com/science/greatwall.asp

[mkultra]

46. thats incorrect

you should reread that story. It can be seen from orbit along with many other things like dams and buildings.

[Aristus]

48. With satellite imagery (Google Earth and all that), yes. but not with the naked eye.

You should re-read that story... ;-)

[mkultra]

61. its hard to see but still visible

according to the story. What makes it hard to see is its color.

[jenmito]

5. Yeah...

Matthews is on one of his "RW talking points" kicks, saying Obama is TOO intellectual, proving he's not "one of us," calling him an "egg-head," then repeating the BS about Obama's bow to the Emperor of Japan.

[otohara]

9. Tweety Is Stuck on The Bow

can't get over it.
He obviously has never been to Japan.

[patrice]

17. Any guy who makes reference, relative to another guy, about a thrill running up his leg, has NO

concept of how certain social tokens, when tendered from a position of security, are expressions of honor amongst peers and it would only be evidence of subservience (even if he went ahead and did it anyway) if he felt he could/should NOT bow.

Believe me, I have seen this in my workplace, not re bows, but relative to other qualities inherent in working with others and those who can't figure it out really do, eventually, directly or indirectly, damage the group's goals. It is my experience that many American men do not understand this, hence the msm construct known as "Tweety".

[tosh]

27. Well stated, Patrice. I, too, am familiar with this concept.

Pity that it is not more widely understood.

[patrice]

33. Thanks! . . . P.S. Love Tom Robbins!

[jenmito]

24. Yup...

he talks about it on every show he's on. My Japanese husband said Obama's bow was appropriate-unlike Cheney's LACK of bow and respect. But Matthews gets stuck on "manly" things in his opinion. He gets caught up in "macho" BS like Bush in the flight suit or Giuliani talking tough after 9/11.

[Angry Dragon]

7. The pictures I have seen of him lately

show more gray than when he took office. Is it just me??

[MadMaddie]

37. No you are right! He is graying!

[saltpoint]

10. A handsome photo.

Whether definitional for his presidency remains to be seen.

I doubt it.

[patrice]

11. He's not alone. I am with him.

I'm having my struggles and all with how things are going, but I still hope for/with President Obama.

I don't do this very often, as I consider it pretty stupid to reveal to others how you will vote, but barring something I can't forecast for you right now, I WILL be voting for this man in 2012 and whoever he wants in 2010.

I know some of the people with whom I otherwise agree almost completely around here will now forsake me, but I have bonafide Lefty credentials, so though I would be sad to lose "Liberal" friends, I don't need others to tell me who/what I am.

Yes, I AM with him.

[jonnyblitz]

13. but is he with you?

[patrice]

19. I'll never know the answer to that question if I don't leave the door open.

Yes, there ARE things that make me close the door. If one reveals those ahead of time, that information can be used by a variety of others, including him, who have a variety of purposes in doing so.

[Cha]

29. Yes, he's with all of us who don't

show him their fist like little bulles.

[jwirr]

18. +1

[PatSeg]

As a realist,

I never expected to agree with Obama on everything, but I still think he was the perfect person for this time in history. I can't think of any other politician who could have taken on such overwhelming problems with such calm and grace.

I may not support his every decision, but I do support him as president and think he will go down in history as one of our more impressive presidents.

[Jane Austin]

34. You said it better

than I could.

[PatSeg]

39. Thanks

I love history and politics and it is interesting to read what was said about presidents like FDR in his day. I even remember the negative things my father said about him when I was a child, yet today he is considered one of our greatest presidents. I personally don't think we would have gotten through the Depression without him and probably would have lost World War II if another man had been in the Oval Office. He was uniquely qualified for the job at that particular time in history. He was a born leader, but at another time in history, he could have been an ineffective, forgettable president.

I've been watching the American Experience series of shows about the thirties and FDR's opponents accused him of Mussolini-like fascism, not entirely unlike some of the criticism of the current administration.

[rebel with a cause]

49. I don't even agree with myself sometimes

so why would I expect to agree with someone else every time. ;)

I speak to someone almost daily that is not a liberal or conservative and she is one that gives me talking points sometimes because she is basically center of the road. She loves Barack and Michelle, her and her husband went against their family to vote for him in 2008. A few days ago she told me that she didn't expect Barack to be successful in his presidency because there were too many against him. He is not going far enough for those on the far left and going too far for those on the far right. She said it is not only his being AA that scares the powerful but also the fact that he comes from regular people. (She pointed out the way Clinton and Carter were treated by Washington elites and the media.) They (the powerful and the media) will not be satisfied until a rich white man is back in the WH.

Of course, these are things I have been saying for some time now, but to hear her say them and believe them made me feel better somehow because some people (not just those like me) are catching on to the way this country has been ran for a long, long time.

[PatSeg]

51. Yeah, I remember Clinton was treated like

a white trash bumpkin. How dare such a lowly person aspire to the White House? Somehow I think there is something a little different about Obama though. His roots are certainly what the established "elites" would consider common, but he comes across as so classy, he doesn't fit their bumpkin, usurper mold. I don't think they quite know what to make of him, so they just tag him super liberal, with subtle inferences to race.

His presidency will be interesting. Somehow I think it will be different than many expect, both on the right and the left. We'll see.

[rebel with a cause]

52. Exactly what I told her...

"Somehow I think there is something a little different about Obama though. His roots are certainly what the established "elites" would consider common, but he comes across as so classy, he doesn't fit their bumpkin, usurper mold."

[PatSeg]

54. Cool

I wasn't sure if I explained it well. We are witnessing something different than what we are used to.

[davidpdx]

53. The last line of your post hits exactly on what I was trying to say yesterday

Some are already screaming that Obama has betrayed them (generally the far left), but we knew he would be different. If you REALLY listened to him, then you heard exactly what you've echoed. You also noted up thread that we may not always agree with him on every issue. Those who have already given up and are screaming bloody murder are the ones that were never with him and never really paid attention to what he said. They are going to support someone else regardless of what he does.

[PatSeg]

55. Very good point

and yes, I WAS listening and I didn't see a super liberal. I saw a more moderate and controlled person, someone inherently suited to be president. I honestly can't think of anyone who could do the job better at this time. I think the more liberal agenda needs to come from the legislative branch, which is what I believe Obama wants.

[dalaigh lllama]

57. I've enjoyed reading your thoughts in this thread

and that's just where I'm at. I can't think of anyone else who I'd rather see leading us thru this mess than President Obama. Not a cheerleader, just a realist.

[PatSeg]

59. Thank you

I'm glad my thoughts were coherent. Sometimes I know what I mean, but can't always convey them clearly.

I am a liberal at heart and most of my heroes tend to be liberals, but those same heroes would not necessarily be effective as president and could do far more in the House or Senate or local politics. Historically our most memorable presidents were not generally extreme liberal or conservative. The job is far too complex for extremes.

I am not a "cheerleader" either and I think it is important that we express our disagreements about the administration's policies as they arise, but we shouldn't act betrayed or forsaken whenever decisions are made that don't conform with our expectations. One can be a liberal and a realist at the same time.

[davidpdx]

65. Pat, I wasn't specifically saying you

If that wasn't clear, I was talking in general that people who are maybe further left of him that are complaining didn't listen. I agree with you about the more liberal agenda coming from Congress.

[PatSeg]

67. Oh no, I knew that

Shoot, I was afraid that would sound like I thought you were. I was agreeing with you. Sorry! I really enjoyed this discussion.

:toast:

[rebel with a cause]

58. You are right on target.

Obama is not saying anything different today than what he was saying in 2004, much less 2008. He has been consistent and that is a rarity in politics. I have been a Obama supporter since the beginning of 2004 but that does not mean that I have always agreed with him. Sometimes he won me over to his way of thinking and sometimes I chose to just disagree with him but what made me stay behind him is that I really believe in his ability to think independently while listening to and considering others opinions.

Some of the naysayers are those who have their own agenda, candidates they want in power and they are not going to agree with anything Barack does or says. And like you said 'they are going to support some one else regardless of what he does'. The real problem is the lack of reason and reasoning that some of these people possess. It is astonishing to me. :shrug:

[PatSeg]

60. This is one of the most rational discussions I've

encountered on DU in a long time and the reason I still come here. The republican party is splintering because of their right-wing purists who will not compromise on anything. Being Democrats tend to be more informed and open minded, I am hopeful that won't happen to us.

[rebel with a cause]

62. Being rational feels good, doesn't it.

and finding others that are capable of being the same feels marvelous. :rofl:

I agree about the republican party and I just hope that the splintering becomes a complete break where those that are not fanatically right wing see where they are being dragged by those who are. I dream of seeing an end to those like 'limpbag' having power over the way this country is ran simply due to people listening to them and believing their lies. I want the return of critical thinking and an end to herd mentality like that exhibited by the faux viewer.

[PatSeg]

63. The upside is

the teabagger types have a very short attention span. FOX News and politics have become their new reality TV and eventually they'll be lured away to something else mindless and entertaining. Meanwhile, the republican party we've known for decades may actually split into two weaker parties. The more moderate party may draw some independents and Blue Dogs and the more extreme conservative party will become a lot hysterical noise, which will run out of steam eventually. Whatever happens, it will be fascinating to watch.

[rebel with a cause]

64. As the old saying goes.

From your lips to god's ear. :)

[firedupdem]

12. Nice Pic...he's not alone....He has my support as well as

all the people I know that voted for him. He inherited a boat load of shit, I'm not throwing in the towel on President Obama.

[geckosfeet]

14. When nixon went to China all the republics thought it was great.

[FrenchieCat]

15. What has Chris Matthews ever really accomplished that was good

for anyone but himself?

Why are we supposed to listen to him
and believe that he knows anything?
Cause General Electric pays him a salary?
How dumb are we supposed to be? :shrug:

[otohara]

20. Well In All Fairnesss

he was once a speech writer for President Carter and was a longtime aid to Tip O'Neal.

So we can't judge his entire life on who he is today. Which is why he shouldn't be pinning one photo of a president in his first year of office as being the defining moment.

But now...he's just one of the many talking heads on TV that spew stuff they pull out of their over-paid asses.

[FrenchieCat]

21. Yeah, he was a Speechwriter for Carter, and look how Carter ended up!

I'm not impressed the least!

And yes, he talks poo, and some folks thinks its gold.

Like you said, he's nothing but an overpaid corporate whore
who speaks the company line in an excited way.....

In reality, he's a nobody and that is exactly how I treat anything that he says,
cause far as I'm concerned, his job has never been to inform the American people
about anything.

I don't watch his show anymore. I've grown up too much for that at this point.

[PatSeg]

31. Matthews tends to talk just to fill up space

He becomes so absorbed with his own mind and he thinks his political insights are brilliant. When he has one of his inspired epiphanies, he'll repeat it over and over again for days, sometimes weeks and it's fun to watch his guests try not to show their exasperation. He does have an occasional lucid moment where he makes a lot of sense, but as a rule his ego is bigger than his intellect.

[LWolf]

16. No photo will define his presidency.

It will be defined by his actions.

Hopefully, history will be more interested in what he did than what he said or his photo ops.

[GoCubsGo]

42. Exactly right.

Not to mention that so much more will happen over the next seven years. That photo will be long forgotten before his presidency even hits the midway point.

[Bitwit1234]

22. When I find that picture of bush and hassert

I am going to post a link. That picture defines bush presidency. You will laugh you butty butt off.

[SanddancerUSA]

25. FFS! Which is It?

He's either on his own or he has lots of folk with him.

The right wingnuts on both sided of the atlantic are running around in circles.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1229944/Why-Barack-Obamas-private-pilgrimage-Great-Wall-China-lonesome-spin-doctors-make-out.html

[impik]

26. "Listen to no one"? Until now i thought his problem

was listening too much. Oh well. Only three more years to Palin. Hang in there, Left.

[impik]

28. I'm with him to the end

At some point, people will understand.

[Cha]

30. What a stupid tweety soothsayer..email addy for Chris Matthews..

Chris Matthews [e-mail]

[DU GrovelBot]

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[Robb]

35. What no one understands about this picture

...is that moments before, he walked through the Great Wall, replicating David Copperfield's 1986 illusion, only without a bunch of idiots holding a canvas box. :D

[patrice]

40. rofl! Thanks!

:rofl: :rofl:

[MadMaddie]

36. That is a wonderful picture! It shows me reflection!

President Obama unlike his predecessor doesn't need someone to hold his hand. It does look like there were quite a few folks with him.

See Mathews we all see different images looking at the same picture. Oh yea the miracle of photography to isolate one person out of many is something isn't it Chris....Chris....are you there?

Mathews wants stories, gossip and chaos because without it he has no show.

Fuck Chris Matthews!!!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

38. I get it!

This proves that he IS a socialist/communist!!!
:sarcasm: :crazy:

But seriously, this is a nice picture of him. What's the problem with it? What is it supposed to (negatively) signify? :shrug:
:wtf:

As for "bowgate", do people think that because President bowed to the Emperor of Japan, that he is letting Japan make us their b***h or something? I don't get the "manufactroversy" over THAT either. :shrug:
:crazy:

[patrice]

41. They're getting even for some of us being ashamed of * bowing or otherwise kissing ass, uh,

I mean face.

Different men, different bows etc.

Just like language, the semiotics of it amount to: For some it is an act of humiliation, for others, not.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

43. I never really had a problem with Bush's "interactions" with foreign leaders

I thought most of what he did was just a sign of cultural respect- everything except for his *massage* of the German chancellor anyway. That was just wierd!
:wtf:

[rebel with a cause]

50. What bothered me about bush's 'interactions' with the Saudis

was his actions against other middle eastern countries and what came out of his mouth about their leaders. Also, I felt like a lot of his actions were done on behalf of the Saudi oil people and cheney/bush financial interest in it. :shrug:

[Clio the Leo]

44. That photo proves........

.... that he needs a hat!

I worry for that mans ears sometimes.

[HopeOverFear]

47. that's fine with me

cuz that's a damn fine picture.