Talk radio hums and haws with obama the osama-slayer story

It's fun to watch those radio (and teevee) talkers who have been feathering their fortunes by stoking hatred for the president.

They've been caught in a conundrum after he did something - killed Bin Laden - that runs counter to their narrative that Obama is an undecisive wimp (if not at heart a traitor and terrorist sympathizer).

The winger talkers (who only last week were calling him an empty suit with a teleprompter) couldn't help but praise Obama for the kill last Sunday, but writhed agonizingly to pivot back to blaming the president for something, anything, everything.

Rush's praise was so effusive, it was widely interpreted on the right and left to be sarcastic. Seems like only yesterday he was hoping on-air that Obama would fail and was beating up Michelle Obama for her figure.

Conor Friedersdorf wrote in The Atlantic blog:

His problem was that he couldn't come out Monday morning swinging. Sure, some of his listeners would stick by him. But the Limbaugh audience is largely made up of nationalistic War on Terror hawks who wanted bin Laden's head on a pike as much as anyone. Opening with a direct attack on Obama after an event that brought out the jingoism in NPR listeners wasn't going to play.

So Rush did what he always does when he flip-flops: he made a deliberately ambiguous monologue. Ditto-heads knew what he really meant. It was in their Secret Maha Rushee Code.

Strategically ambiguous monologue done with, he got down to the nut-cutting once more: The liberal media (the NY Times) was conspiring with Obama to exaggerate how dangerous Bin Laden was to make Obama seem like more of a tough guy.

Hannity, the tool, jumped right in Monday with his own laudulence, but not without giving Bush the ultimate credit in the same sentence:

“I think what they did in the White House was a gutsy move,” Hannity said. “It was the right thing to do and now that we got this information from enhanced interrogation, I wonder if all [of] these liberals blasting me on Twitter are willing to praise President Bush for getting the intelligence ultimately.

And so it went... the rest of national talk radio re-echoed Rush and Hannity all week.

Locally, Dori Monson (KIRO m-f, 12-3p) had a kitten with more than his usual peals of fake laughter as he beat up Obama for totally screwing up the PR around the attack.

He repeatedly (and we mean repeat-peat-peat-peatedly) called Obama's "a shockingly incompetent administration" for the changing narrative of the events coming out of the WH. This meme was all a bit dissonant, since while he was, at the same time, bitching about how it was "all Obama all the time," and running with the story every day.

(photo: Dori Monson- "not enough was too much.")

Seems to us the PR was pretty damn good. Americans felt good about themselves; Obama's enemies spoke of little   besides his great success for a week, and his poll numbers bumped up nicely.

We still remember how brave these truthtellers weren't when a President Bush was stumbling with Iraq and the English language. He and his brillant Rovian political section could sell his foolhardy war to no one... except the right-wing media who, as someone has said, "had their testicles in a lockbox" for the duration of his two terms.

(And oh yeah: It's all bullshit Republicans have been fostering for years that Democrats are soft on security. Democrats presided over all the wars of the last 60 or so years. And won most of them. Wilson, WW1, FDR & Truman WW2 and Korea, Kennedy prevailed in the Cuban Missile crisis, Clinton in the Balkans. Not to mention Hiroshima, the Gulf of Tonkin and Waco. To the distress of many in his base, Obama has been as aggressive or more so than Bush in the struggle with international terrorism, even shackled with the chore of ending Bush's unneccessary, irrelevant, irresponsible and expensive war in Iraq).   

 

 

Comments

[sparky]

Yeppers, on this blog too. Kinda amusing.

But only kinda.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

"(And oh yeah: It's all bullshit Republicans have been fostering for years that Democrats are soft on security. Democrats presided over all the wars of the last 60 or so years. And won most of them. Wilson, WW1, FDR & Truman WW2 and Korea, Kennedy prevailed in the Cuban Missile crisis, Clinton in the Balkans. Not to mention Hiroshima, the Gulf of Tonkin and Waco. To the distress of many in his base, Obama has been as aggressive or more so than Bush in the struggle with international terrorism, even shackled with the chore of ending Bush's unneccessary, irrelevant, irresponsible and expensive war in Iraq)."

Only the historically ignorant (ie Joanie) don't know the history of Democrats and war.

It will be interesting if the real anti war progressives --not these faux types that post here-- will walk the walk. They have all become neo-cons like Pres Obama.
While it is amusing to watch the Sparky types who reveled in labeling folks 'chicken hawks' for supporting the war in Iraq she doesn't seem to mind war now. Recall how you use to call Steven that back in the Bush days?

The Sarah types insist that it's because Pres Obama is 'competent' which makes the policy acceptable.

We got the third war and plenty of time to start another in Pakistan before the 2012 election. Those predator drone attacks may be coming to an end if the Pakistani's have anything to say about it. That means will have to send in troops to Pakistan to get the remaining Al Queda types.

Here is a quick question: Do we end the war in Afghanistan now and bring the troops home. Of course, you're condemning women there to a brutal life filled with acid attacks for going to school, beheadings for being the victim of rape, honor killings, etc etc. That's the 'good war' Pres Obama campaigned on that he would win. He's had two years. He's increased the troops. Any progress? If we 'win' what do we 'win' and is it worth continued loss of life to fight a war you know you can't win.
(anyone hear of couple fellows named McNamara and Johnson? --both good Dems)

C'mon now, Bush was an idiot. Obama is the smart one. The anti war type that was too smart to get us into Iraq. Somehow we got involved in Libya and he still can't after two years get us out of Afghanistan.

[KS]

Bush was more intelligent about the economy than Obama is, but that is not saying much at all. They are both "chicken hawks" BTW. Clinton was smarter than both of them put together on fiscal responsibility.

I give more credit to Leon Panetta and Mrs. Clinton for for the kill shots of UBL than I give Obama. This will becoming more clear with time. If they get #2 - Al Zawhiri - that would be big and will cross that bridge when we get there.

[Andrew]

I'm utterly amazed by what Obama has accomplished in two years, and I'm looking forward to the next six. I can honestly say I no longer fear for our future.

[sparky]

Ah Putz..always so quick to tell me what I think. Again.

[KS]

Sparky, you typically refute common sense. He's trying to give you some clues that you roundly dismiss.

From your postings, its hard to believe that you like our Democratic Republic form of government and more likely to see that you'd prefer state-run everything...

Yes we can't

[Mike D]

"Bush was more intelligent about the economy than Obama is"

It's great one-liners like that that keep bringing me back to this blog.

[joanie]

You made sense of that, Sparky? A lot of words with little logic. I don't try anymore.

Go to bed, KS. All you do is repeat yourself endlessly.

[joanie]

I give more credit to Leon Panetta and Mrs. Clinton for for the kill shots of UBL than I give Obama.

Why, KS, you have a source in the CIA or is it the SEALS? Now we know whence comes your dearth of expertise...

Hahahahaha.

[Andrew]

These racists will give credit to each and every last white member of the White House, right down to the guy who puts the presidential coasters on all the tables, before they'll give any credit to our First Black President.

[Tommy008]

I TRULY BELIEVE Beck is a Mormon racist, after he accused Obama's raid of the compound of being "incompetent"....... on The Killing tonight on AMC they had a shot of the Ballard Train Trestle Bridge and a nice long shot of the remodeled old Seattle City Light building on Eastlake, from the othersideo f Lake Union. Later a guy was riding in a car on the show and a talkradio nut who sounded a lot like Dori Monson was on, ranting about Somali immigrants...

[Rat_Bastard]

"he did something - killed Bin Laden"

If Bin Laden was killed when Bush was in office or if it happened in the future and a Republican was in office...
The left would go on and on about how it was the forces in motion well beyond a president saying:
"Yeah, sounds good... Do it."
The fact that it happened on Obama's watch has the left crowing about how Obama killed Osama!
It's all pathetic team politics.
Any sitting president would have done the same thing.
And it has nothing to do with the race of anyone.
The cry of "Racism" with any of this is insulting to all.
It keeps people from being free individuals with thoughts and opinions and shoves them into the box of color they were born into.
It's in fact... Racism.

[Tommy008]

Osama's wife was sold to the beast OBL at 17 years old for 5000 dollars in 2000 by a matchmaker friend of OBL who told the family snd the girl nothing about the true identity of her future betrothed. The wife's family back in Yemen had no history of extremist views or support of terrorism. I'm sure that the wife has not been allowed to communicate at all with her family in 11 years ...just to dangerous for the beast. At least now she can take her young children back to Yemen and be with her family again. The beast could have gone another 15 years without beign cauhgt, or maybe never caught.You cant blame the poor wife and young kids for anything.

[Andrew]

"The left would go on and on about how it was the forces in motion well beyond a president saying: "Yeah, sounds good... Do it."

Well in fairness, Bush's reputation was already so bad that had he made a mistake and accidently killed some wealthy Pakistani who just wanted to be left alone, it wouldn't have made matters much worse after he let New Orleans drown and was still bogged down in Iraq seveal years after declaring "Mission Accomplished".

There was a lot that could have gone wrong. One helicopter crashed unexpectedly. What if the remaining chopper didn't have room for all the personel? What if Pakistani police or military made it to the compound in time and engaged in battle with US forces? What if bin Laden has capable security and a US soldier was taken prisoner?

Conservatives suddenly lose all their imagination when having any only serves to humiliate them even further.

[Tommy008]

what if a force of forty or fifty al-qaeda was lving in 2 or 3 houses nearby, just a cellphine call away and could get there in minutes once the panic code word was said. There in minutes with automatic weapons and grnades on each man.

[Andrew]

or if bin Laden had wired the whole place with explosives, or had surrounded himselves with a dozen orphans as human shields, and then purposely shot them to make it look like the Seals had killed a bunch of orphans? So much potential for disaster. Obama has brass balls. Large, polished brass balls.

[Puget Sound Blathers as Andrews continues to Master Race Bait]

Obama has brass balls. Large, polished brass balls.

Posted by: Andrew | May 09, 2011 at 12:45 AM

Andrew, it's disturbing how obsessed you are with Pres Obama's balls. Earlier you made a disparaging remark about fearing for Michelle's 'pussy' and of course those repeated references to their race. Why is it that you repeatedly are making sexual references to our President and First Lady?

IT's damn obvious that the one on this blog with the 'issues' is you.
No one else regularly brings up the issue of race or sex as do you. It's sickening.

Grow up. Move out of mamma's basement. Get a girlfriend (or boyfriend if that's your preference). In other words, become a man. I'll put in a good word with Duff to see if that internship is still available at his company.

A better idea. Since you are so gung ho about the direction that Pres Obama's foreign policy has taken why not 'see the world' and join the military.

But of course you won't. You'll stay in mamma's basement obsessed with the race of our President.

[Itchy]

Reminder, because it bears repeating.

Bottom Line:

1. Bush had 7 years to "smoke him out" and all he did was wimp out. The banner should have read "Nothing Accomplished."

2. Obama put the focus back on finding OBL and he found him and killed the MoFo.

One was an incompetent pretend cowboy. The other gets shit done.

It's just that the weak-minded in this country (and that's a significant number) believe the right-wing corporate media who try to tell us it's the other way around.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

poor itchy, you ain't nothing without scratchy (andrew).

to say bush wimped out is to demean the efforts of the brave men and women of the military and civilian world who were working on killing osama. moreover, this fellow you say 'wimped out' kept us safe on the homeland post 911.

wanting to take all the credit and bestow it on someone for political reasons is hurtful to all those who sacrificed to get osama. i wish you and andrew would stop it.

and tell your partner, scratchy aka andrew, to stop the race baiting and the references to the anatomy of pres obama and the first lady.

[Puget Sound Blathers bad news for Andrew]

bad news andrew, duff say's he ain't hiring. tips: work on that resume a bit to clean up those typos and finish your second year at bellevue community college.
apply again towards the end of the year. he has some positions that may open up. of course, you'll need to be able to lift 50 lbs.

[Itchy]

PSB: Keep spinning your nonsense.

Bush didn't keep us safe. Terrorists killed more than 3,000 Americans on US soil on his watch.

To suggest he kept us safe is to demean the efforts of the brave men and women of the military and civilian world who WARNED Bush that OBL was determined to strike in the US. Bush chose to do nothing.

And how do you think those brave men and women who were risking their lives to find OBL felt when Bush went on TV and said he didn't care about finding OBL?

Another Bottom Line: Bush is the President with the most terror victim blood on his hands.

So keep braying.

But Bush let the terrorists strike.

Bush invaded the wrong country.

Bush didn't get OBL.

Bush destroyed the economy.

Bush let New Orleans drown.

Sadly, there are still idiots who want to believe he accomplished something.

[joanie]

And Cheney spent two years criticizing Obama for the change in strategy to get it done. "Don't mess with Pakistan" says Cheney.

Well, he messed with Pakistan and it worked. He used intelligence and it worked.

I listened to these people over the weekend: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, director of the Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization, will be joining us to talk about the death of Osama bin Laden, and what this means for Al Qaeda.

We’ll also hear from Heather Hurlburt, executive director of the National Security Network about what the future of the war on terror, now that we’ve taken out public enemy number one.

John Nichols from The Nation will be here to tell us why the GOP is so mad that Obama was able to do what Bush was never able to.

Amazing what you can learn when you listen to information radio instead of emotional radio.

And please don't get stuck on who brought them to me. If you do, I'll send Malcolm Nance to get you.

[Rat_Bastard]

Say that everything with the mission went wrong, choppers crashed into an orphanage and carnage everywhere...
If Bush were in offce, it would be that he just had to be a cowboy and a hero and caused this disaster.
If all of that happened with the "Obama killed Osama" mission then it would be that it wasn't Obama's fault, he gave the diretion and the Seals screwed up.
It's all just politics as usual.
My guy is great, your guy sucks, even if they do the same thing.

[Coiler]

Idiot Bush is the worst president.

[Andrew]

I see that putz has resorted to insults and drawing attention to spelling mistakes. I take this to mean he's conceding on all points of actual debate. That's how one raises the white flag here on BW.

Good points raised Itchy, obvious as they may be. There was a psychologist on CNN talking to John King I believe, talking about how "birthers", and conservatives who're working hard to deprive Obama of deserved credit, lash out as a defense mechanism because they can't emotionally handle someone who's "not like them" winning a victory. In their minds they believe on "their kind" can succeed at anything. Any victory achieved by another group will be dimissed, ignored, or denied in order for them to maintain a self image as someone who belongs to the better group. Humans are a social animal, and so it's no surprise that our social defense mechanisms manifest themselves in matters of politics.

[Chucks]

LOL Tommy008. What if a force of 40 or 50 al-queda was living 2 or 3 houses away...........?
The reality is it might have taken a few extra minutes but there would have been another forty or fifty dead sand crabs and an even happier and prouder SEAL team having taken out the trash.
As for getting Osama, we really must give President Obysmal his due. ObL was killed on his watch, under his orders. That is the way history will correctly record it.
Now we just will have to deal with it. By the way, did you see on Drudge where the EPA is fining the US Navy for dropping a turd in the ocean? The AG has the Justice Dept filing suit as we speak.

[Andrew]

it might have taken a few extra minutes but there would have been another forty or fifty dead sand crabs

And I get accused of "race baiting". How funny is that? This is what we're dealing with, folks.

[Chucks]

Andrew, I make no apologies for my hatred of Al-qaeda or the Taliban.
But, neither of them is a race.
You are not a stupid man Andrew. Why do you work so hard in an effort to convince that you are?
(and yes, you are a race baiter, in fact a master. You don't recognise the fact because it is an accepted tactic of the liberal/progressive mantra and you just want to fit in and get along.)

[Andrew]

I don't see how the epithet "sand crab" refers to al Qaeda, or the Taliban specifically.

I bet you're the kind of racist who says not all blacks are n*******, just "some of them".

[Chucks]

Sorry to disappoint you Andy, but that word is not allowed in my house or anywhere else where I can control the environment.
But there you go with your race baiting again.
Make that wager for $100.00 and drop the check off at The Millionaire's Club in Seattle.
It would be the first smart thibng you have done today.

[Andrew]

You're either OK with the concept of racism, or you're not. You can't use a term like "sand crab" one minute and then insist you're color blind the next. You need to seriously reconsider your principles.

[Chucks]

Bull shit Andrew. That is the way you chose to see it. Again, just because that is the way you want it to be does not make it the way it is.
You need to quit dwelling on race. It is possible to recognise diversity in human beings without being racist.
What race is sand crab? I just thought that they were annoying little insects that live in the desert. Bugs that need killing.

[Tommy008]

Chucks is talking about Al Qaeda. They ARE sand crabs. Certain ignorant people use terms liek "sand crabs" or "sand ni##ers" when theyRE speaking about all Pakistanis or all Arabs but CHucks wasn't using thE term that way. Just like when I called bin Laden a "human turd" im not taLKING about all Arabs as a race.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

chucks
andrew is a divider. it's about politics. he really doesn't care about the issue of racism except to exploit it.
after all, by making claims that those who disagree with Pres Obama must be racist he demeans real racism.

[Tommy008]

Bin Laden received about 80 million dollars when he was 13 , and rights to 7 million interest each year for the rest of his life (decades later the 7 million was cut off by the family but it was too late. his illicit businesses in the Sudan had built him a fortune of 350 million). Unfortunately Daddy bin Laden , who be every account was quite the dude, had been dead for three years, when the little dick got the money. By the time he was 16 or 17 Osama had turned from a noral Saudi boy and teen into a priggish little prick whose extreme decication to Islam was clearly becoming aberrant even by Saudi Muslim standardes. He would pray 7 times a day, two more than the required 5. It's too bad Daddy wasn't around to smack the little turd when needed and put him to work on a Bin Laden Group bulldozer, or breakng his back as a hod carrier from 13 to 25 years OF Age.

[KS]

It's just that the weak-minded in this country (and that's a significant number) believe the right-wing corporate media who try to tell us it's the other way around.

Posted by: Itchy | May 09, 2011 at 05:03 AM

Itchy - who gives a shit ?? All of that will not help our economy.

Joanie - let Sparky answer the comment I made. Just because that comment triggers the obfuscation machine shows you have nothing worthwhile to say.

[KS]

"Bush was more intelligent about the economy than Obama is"

It's great one-liners like that that keep bringing me back to this blog.

Posted by: Mike D | May 08, 2011 at 10:04 PM

Yep, I dared to say that on this blog and stand by it. They are two lousy records but Obama's is worse. The unemployment with Bush was mainly under 6% - since 2009 it has not been below 8.5% How do you figure otherwise ? The financial collapse was just as much the fault of the Demo-craps.

So go ahead, bring it if you'd like.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

two things that pres obama did that helped the economy: renewed the bush tax cuts and reduced the amount of ssn tax that was removed out of your paycheck.

[KS]

True, but he capitulated to the GOP and would not have done it if the Democrats had stayed in control.

[Chucks]

But by far the most important program that Obama adopted, after learning the risks to our nation is the Bush Doctrine when it comes to executing the war of terrorist.
It does show that the guy has some common sense, or at least has persuasive aids and staffers that have that sense and he is willing to acquiesce to the needs of the nation for our survival.
For that, we should be proud.
The only major error that he may have committed so far, that may come back to bite us in the butt was his short changing his generals on the number of troops they felt they needed to win in Shitholestan. They said that they needed 40,000 and he sliced it to 30,000. If they were right, it could be a problem. If he was right, it saved our nation millions of dollars at the only expense of a few hundred of our troops. We will see, although I would rather have spent the money or moved our guys out over killing extras to save money.
But he is the expert.

[joanie]

No comments Bastard? Your post above fits right in.

Let me see:
Bush(7 years) + 0
Obama(2.5 years)= mission accomplished

Carter - debacle in the desert but he tried. Yes, I gave him credit. Bush . . . two wars, Tora Bora, bomb bomb bomb - hundreds of thousands of lives later - trillions spent on two wars - sure, why not give him a pat on the back. Must have been something he did right in all that death and mayhem. Don't you think?

Anybody who talks trash like you chux doesn't stop at the N word. You're such a fraud.

[joanie]

Here's a present for chux - the fervent non-racist in the group:

The nation's partisan alignment, according to Pew, now closely resembles California's: 25% of the registered voters hold views that make them "mostly Republican"; 40% incline "mostly Democratic"; and 35% are independents of various stripes.

The Republicans, according to Pew's findings, are overwhelmingly white (about 9 out of 10), devoutly and decisively Protestant (roughly 7 out of 10) and financially well off (7 of 10). The old divide between the GOP's social and economic conservatives, Pew found, has been erased. These days, to be Republican is to be equally conservative in both areas. This national realignment, the Pew analysts argue, is the most significant change in the six years since their last such survey, though it occurred in California years ago.

Another Bill Maher gem: Did Bin Laden win?

[Tommy008]

another plus to OBL being dead- no more taped, tedious lectures to America from the bearded beast extolling the writings of "two nickel crank" Noam Chomsky. A "Bill Maher gem"? please , i think i'll skip the latest drivel from that smirking little puke. What's the difference between Bin Laden and a 200 pound turd? The turd will float in the Arabian Sea.

[joanie]

Little envy . . . hmm, gollum?

[Tommy008]

remember all the laughing at Patty Murray over her claim that OBL built roads and schools in Afghanistan? In my research i came across areference to Bin Laden building roads and bridges and possibly schools, but not for Afghanis, it was for the tribal people of Waziristan in northeast Pakistan OBl spent a lot of time Pakistan befoRE he formed AL Qaeda. So it looks like the little lady got her facts mixed up.

[Tommy008]

Perhaps one might be envious of Chomsky's acclaimed writings and lectures in the field of liguistics. I'm not talkiong about any of that. All of his awards, accolades and honorariums have been received for his work in that area, not for anything else.. Chomsky is a textbook example of a person who is brilliant in a prticular scientific field of study but a card-carrying "two nickel crank' and goofball when he ventures out of his expertise into the world of political/social/anarchist writings and activism. Weakminded fellow travellers of his don't understand the difference.

[Tommy008]

linguistics

[Andrew]

These days, to be Republican is to be equally conservative in both areas. This national realignment, the Pew analysts argue, is the most significant change in the six years since their last such survey, though it occurred in California years ago.

This is because in the past six years Republicans have lost the intellectual and the curious among them, and are stuck with fundamentalists, whose combination of greed, religiosity and fear both keeps them in the party and scares newcomers out.

[Puget Sound Blathers]

ks, you are right.
chucks it has to really frost the intellectually curious among the so called progressives on this blog that pres obama is at best, bush-lite in regards to foreign policy.
andrew, sparky, merci to a person are defacto neo-cons.
during the bush years, all we heard from those folks was the anti war rhetoric. terrorist should be read rights and civilian trials. close gitmo. stop rendition. no more waterboarding.
with a Dem Pres it
s changed. now they want to keep those wars-a-going: iraq, afghanistan, and libya. no trials for terrorist. gitmo open for business. rendition. torture. as long as it is a Dem signing the orders they are curiously silent.
well, the neo cons got their start in WA State with Scoop Jackson so the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

who knew? well nevets called em out on it long time ago. it took some time but he was shown to be right about the usual suspects.

[KS]

And I get accused of "race baiting". How funny is that? This is what we're dealing with, folks.

Posted by: Andrew | May 09, 2011 at 02:14 PM

Not very funny at all. Besides being patently absurd, you and Coils are master baiters of race.