I think its safe to say Prez Obama is very intelligent

[quinnox]

I don't know, saying he is stupid just kind of, well, seems way over the top to me, and even treads to dangerous territory in terms of sounding racist.

I watched him in the debates with Hillary Clinton, and she is no slouch in the brains department, and he held his own. Just my opinion. Short and sweet.

[vi5]

1. People say that?

I'm as angry and disappointed as anyone at how he's run his presidency but stupid is the last thing I would call him. Perhaps naive based on too much time spent inside the DC cable news chatter obsessed circuit if I'm giving the benefit of the doubt. But stupid never enters into the equation.

[atreides1]

2. I never doubted his intelligence

It's the courage of his convictions that I have doubts about.

[daleanime]

3. Bingo!

nt

[Exilednight]

4. Intelligent? Yes. An intellectual? No. n/t

[doc03]

5. Obama got pretty much a free pass from the media up until

Rev. Wright. The media never gave Clinton a break.

[quinnox]

7. While I agree with you

There is a thread saying Obama is stupid as a headline, and that seems offensive to me. And I'm far away from being an Obama cheerleader.

[doc03]

9. I agree he is not stupid but he shows no leadership, GWB

said he was going to use his political capital when he didn't even have any, after the 2008 Obama had it and never even tried.

[immoderate]

21. Someone said, "Stupid is as stupid does."

It's also a word that describes anything you don't like.

--imm

[Exilednight]

8. It's sad to say, but if you look at the legislation that Obama passed, it lines up pretty well .....

with Hillary's campaign.

He campaigned to the left of Hillary, yet the legislation we get is either Hillaryish, or just right of.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Yes, you're absolutely right.

But the sword cuts both ways. One cannot presume that his actions arise from a crippled view of reality or a failure to understand their consequences. For example, he is often criticized for giving away his chips before the game starts, or starting the negotiations from the position where he wants to end up. No, he starts the negotiations from where the observer maybe wants to end up, but he starts at the right point to get to where he wants to end up. This suggests to me that his goals are not the same as those of many of his rank-and-file supporters. Rahm was no accident. Obama got the health care plan he wanted. He will get the tax bill that he wants.

[mazzarro]

10. Should He Just Declare That He Is A DCLer?

IOW, he takes the teapublican positions, most of the time, and then tries to negotiate how much liberal/progressive steps the teapublicans will allow him to add on? That is what he has so far done, it seems to me. So he might as well come out and say that is his approach. Or better yet declare that he is essentially a DINO and a DLCer so that we all stop banging our heads against the wall.

[glitch]

16. FWIW he has described himself as a "New Democrat" and a "Blue Dog".

He probably feels he shouldn't have to keep saying it, he's proven it with his appointments and policies since election. But labels tend to be divisive so he may not feel he should keep repeating it.

He also described himself as the "progressive" view in the team of rivals (his stated role on HCR) so you know that label needs some more explicit definition.

[Catherina]

11. He certainly isn't. Saying Obama is stupid is as wrong as saying Obama is weak

Obama is doing exactly what he planned on doing all along. Rec'd

[bvar22]

22. I agree.

You don't get to the top of the Political Heap in Chicago by being weak, stupid, or naive.
He is getting everything he wants.

[Catherina]

23. After coming out of practically nowhere with a vacuous Senate record too. n/t

[bvar22]

26. Prepped and Groomed.

Even his Speaker position at the 2004 Democratic Convention now smells BAD.
How does a low level State Senator with a Blank Slate record land such a prestigious National Spotlight?
.
.
.
Can anyone say, "Ringer"?



The DLC New Team

(Screen Capped from the DLC Website)

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254886&kaid=86&subid=85

[Catherina]

27. Especially when you consider that at the time

he was only a candidate for the US Senate from Illinois. Looking back, I can't believe I fell for this.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. stupid = racist ???

oh, please.

There are bright and dim bulbs amongst all colors and shapes and origins and beliefs.

There are also multiple forms of intelligence. Somebody can be booksmart and utterly lacking in common sense. Somebody can have emotional intelligence and not excel in booksmarts. Somebody can excel in verbal skills but lack the ability to do much more than basic math. And a politician can be a frickin genius and still not serve to advance and protect my needs and interests.

I could care less if Obama's a genius. He has left me behind floundering for survival. He has not earned my vote to retain his position in office.

[HipChick]

14. Things posted like this make me wonder

If people really know how legislation is really passed..

[Coyote_Bandit]

15. Oh I'm well aware of how legislation is passed and

I'm also well aware of the fact that the President consistently lowered his expectations and demands with respect to healthcare reform. At one point he supported single payer - but he wasn't even willing to fight for a public option. Color me unimpressed.

LBJ was able to encourage Congress to enact the Civil RIghts Act in the days when segregation was still acceptable in many places. Meanwhile, Obama didn't even try to encourage Congress to enact a strong public option in the healthcare reform legislation. But then, compared to LBJ, Obama never had the length of tenure in Washington - and the political savy and skill that brings. It's also clear that Obama is a pragmatist who does not seek principled moral reform/change. Again, color me unimpressed.

[BzaDem]

17. If you ACTUALLY knew how legislation was passed (as opposed to merely saying you do), you wouldn't

be comparing Obama's situation to LBJ's. LBJ had 68 seats in the Senate and over 20 Republicans who supported ending segregation. So much so that he could lose scores of Democrats and still invoke cloture (but even then, only after changing the bill as Obama did).

Obama had 0 Republicans who supported any bill, which meant he couldn't lose a single Democrat.

[Coyote_Bandit]

20. Obama

can't even manage to get all the Dems he has in Congress to support him. If he can't (or more likely won't) do what is necessary to get the votes of his own party members then why the hell would I expect Pukes to support his agenda?

But there really is no reason Obama should expect that kind of party loyalty when he didn't object to certain Dem political groups that facilitated the removal of Dem incumbents from office.

[hobbit709]

13. I have known very intelligent people that didn't have the sense god gave a rock

when it came to practical everyday matters.

[glitch]

18. That's true. And why people have come up with better ways of measuring intelligence than IQ

and test scores.

But I don't think President Obama has a problem with analysis, I just disagree with his conclusions which are no doubt a result of his training at the Univ of Chicago and Harvard, both major proponents of neoliberalism.

Doesn't make either one of us evil, we just come from different perspectives and disagree on how to move forward.

[NNN0LHI]

19. He has a good memory too. He remembers Bush's +90% approval rating

He knows exactly what he is dealing with. That is a very lucky thing for us. Some may not realize how fortunate that is for us right now. But I do.

Don

[GeorgeGist]

24. HIs IQ is 115.

[Quantess]

25. He is very intelligent. No doubt about that.

He does what his owners tell him to do, though.

[Iktomiwicasa]

28. He's smart, no doubt...

...but he doesn't have a spine.