Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Another Addition for Obama, The Blame Czar?

This is rich. We know about Obama's many, many czars. Mark Steyn believes Obama has another one, someone of whom you have heard, but who isn't on the usual list,

Obama Makes Bush His Blame Czar
. You know, he has a point - we've been hearing for months now "He did it!" from Obama on all sorts of issues.

Steyn begins his piece writing about "Barack's Rock," Valerie Jarrett:
Valerie Jarrett announced the other day that "we're going to speak truth to power."

Who's Valerie Jarrett? She's "Senior Adviser" to the president of the United States – i.e., the leader of the most powerful nation on the face of the Earth. You would think the most powerful man in the most powerful nation would find a hard job finding anyone on the planet to "speak truth to power" to. But I suppose if you're as eager to do so as his Senior Adviser, there's always somebody out there: The Supreme Leader of Iran. The Prime Minister of Belgium. The Deputy Tourism Minister of the Solomon Islands. But no. The Senior Adviser has selected targets closer to home: "I think that what the administration has said very clearly is that we're going to speak truth to power. When we saw all of the distortions in the course of the summer, when people were coming down to town hall meetings and putting up signs that were scaring seniors to death."

Ah, right. People "putting up signs." Can't have that, can we? The most powerful woman in the inner circle of the most powerful man on Earth has decided to speak truth to powerful people standing in the street with handwritten placards saying "THIS GRAN'MA ISN'T SHOVEL READY." Was it only a week ago that I wrote about this administration's peculiar need for domestic enemies?

The Senior Adviser seems to have forgotten that she is the power. Admittedly, this is a recurring lapse on the part of the administration. There was Barack Obama only the other day, blaming everything on the president – no, no, silly, not him, the other fellow, the Designated Fall Guy who stepped down as head of state in January to accept the new constitutional position of Blame Czar. Musing on problems in Afghanistan, Obama blamed the "long years of drift" under his predecessor. The new president – OK, newish president – has been Drifter-in-Chief for almost a year but he's too busy speaking truth to the former power to get on top of the situation. It could be a while yet. In his more self-regarding moments, such as his speech to the United Nations, he gives the strong impression that the "long years of drift" began in 1776.

Indeed, Ms. Jarrett thinks throwing around phrases pulled from those who are actually in the trenches will give her some street cred. You don't think anyone fell for that hooey, do you? Just in case you know anyone who did, you can tell them that she is a lawyer, married to a doctor, and was on the Chicago Stock Exchange. So, yeah, not exactly a career in the Peace Corps., or hell, even AmeriCorps. Just more posturing on the part of the Obama Administration.

Just like Obama's blame shifting. Just more posturing to protect his carefully crafted image:
Rocco Landesman, head honcho at the National Endowment for the Arts, seems closer to the reality of the situation. In his keynote address to the 2009 "Grantmakers in the Arts" conference, Landesman hailed Obama as "the most powerful writer since Julius Caesar". He didn't mean a "powerful writer" as in a compelling voice, gripping narrative, vivid characterization, command of language, etc. He meant a "powerful writer" as in Caesar was king of the world, and now Obama is. He came, he saw, he stimulated: "If you accept the premise, and I do, that the United States is the most powerful country in the world, then Barack Obama is the most powerful writer since Julius Caesar. That has to be good for American artists."

I suppose so. He could invade somewhere and force the natives to accept degrading roles in NEA-funded performance art. He could take out the Iranian nuclear program by carpet-bombing it with unreadable literary novels. That is, if you "accept the premise" that the United States is the most powerful country in the world. Rocco Landesman may, but it's not clear, from his actions (or inactions) in Eastern Europe, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere, that the president does. But, even so, it seems an odd pitch to "American artists." Rocco Landesman, Speaking Goof to Power, isn't the first Obama groupie to enjoy the kinky frisson of groveling obsequiousness, but he's set an impressive new standard in public revelation thereof. Rocco's aunt, Fran Landesman, is the great lyricist of "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" as well as "The Ballad Of The Sad Young Men." But surely there are few sadder middle-age men than her nephew, prostrating himself before his master as the most literate global colossus in two millennia.

Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, but I take his point. Still, there are a whole bunch of sad "middle-age men" who would fit that bill. Chris Matthews springs immediately to mind.

Speaking of the NEA:
Meanwhile, Larry David is now doing televised NEA exhibits on his HBO show "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Christians are said to be "angry" at him because of an episode in which, after he accidentally sprays his urine on a picture of Jesus, his assistant mistakes the droplets for tears and calls in her mother to witness the miracle of Christ weeping. Ha-ha! Oh, those brave transgressive artists! Of course, Christians aren't "angry" in the sense that two U.S. residents arrested last week are. The pair – one an American citizen, the other Canadian – were so "angry" about the Muhammad cartoons published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that they hatched a plot to kill the artist and his editor. As many commentators pointed out, Mr. David's splashy stunt is a dreary provocation: It's easy to be provocative with people who can't be provoked. If he were to start urinating in a more Mecca-ly direction, he'd find an entirely more motivated crowd waiting for him at the stage door.

But I liked the point made by the Anchoress, a writer at the magazine First Things: Putting Muhammad, et al aside, if Larry David had a yen to urinate hither and yon, wouldn't it have been "braver" to have done it to the religious icon du jour? That's to say, Barack Obama. And then maybe Ashton Kutcher could have marveled at how even Obama's image was empathizing tearily with all 687 million Americans without health insurance. Or, alternatively, dribbling warm champagne from his Norwegian Nobel banquet toast. C'mon, Larry. Sure, you might not have a career afterward, but, unlike any Islamo-provocations, you're not gonna get killed. Just fired, and probably damned as a racist. But at least you wouldn't be a simpering suck-up to power like Rocco Landesman and the other creeps.

"Religious icon du jour" - priceless. I mean, c'mon, obviously he is - just check out that Chia commercial. And I wouldn't hold my breath on the end of sucking-up, but that's just me:
At some point the Caesar cult has to manifest itself in an achievement – I mean a real achievement, not merely some dud prize handed out by Norwegian Lefties. Afghanistan is his now: Notwithstanding "years of drift," whether it winds up as victory or defeat is his call. It's Obama's war. It's Obama's economy. The stimulus bill is his stimulus, and for $787 billion it created 30,000 new jobs (according to the government) or (according to the Associated Press) 25,000. Either way, you do the math. It's Obama's unemployment rate, Obama's dollar, Obama's debt. Pace Valerie Jarrett, the truth is you are the power. And those on the receiving end of it are going to be speaking a lot louder in the months ahead.

Yep, it surely is all Obama's now. And not for nothing, but it isn't like the Drmocrats didn't control both houses for two years before Obama got into the White House. There is a lot for which Bush is responsible, but at some point, Obama needs to stop making him the Blame Czar, and start doing his job.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Disillusionment will turn to a feeling of betrayal. And that will, in turn, convert to anger.

Fr. John Mary, ISJ said...

Rev. Amy: Amen. Alleluia!
That Larry David thing was just disgusting and a really sophomoric as well as blasphemous piece of s***!Pardon my French.
If he had a picture of Mohammad or Martin Luther King, Jr. to "piss" on he would be dead meat. Dead meat.
Why, oh why, cannot this 'Present Resident of the White House' take responsibility for being the leader of our nation??
Stop the "blame game" and get to work.
Oh, yeah, I forgot.
"We" are beyond reproach.
Uh, huh.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

McNorman, you are so right.

I just saw a few minutes ago the transcript of a radio call in which a woman in Detroit said she had come for her "Obama money." The DJ asked where Obama was GETTING this money, and she said from his "stash." I kid you not.

But here's the thing - she is not the first person I have heard who thinks Obama is literally going to give her money (or pay her mortgage as another woman said, or even buy her gas as yet another woman said). SOMEONE is telling these people this. Someone made these promises to these people to get their VOTE.

So, yeah - it will be mighty interesting to see what happens when they realize they have been had...

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Nazareth Priest -

Yes, it was all those things, including completely unnecessary. The point seemed to be far less one of "artistic expression" and far more your take on it (and no worries abt the language, friend. I swear, when I was in seminary, I think we all thought we had to get all of the cuss words out of our systems. I think what ended up happening is that many of us got into a "bad habit!" Ahahahaha! :-) ).

But you said it best.

And you are absolutely right - had it been any other religious or iconic figure, there would have been a whole lot of outrage.

Huh. Well, okay - I can live with being incorrigible!! :-D

Get to work, anyway, Obama!

Anonymous said...

OMG, Rev, this is just too freaky. I was just on the phone with someone wanting to know if we could donate to his (local) cause. After much pushing by him, I finally got him to understand that like other small retailers in the area, the one I work at is barely hanging on and sadly, we just can't this year. He then said, "Yeah, eight years of Bush really screwed up the economy."

I just couldn't let it pass. I told him that, while I had no love for Bush at all, we now had a new President who needed to do more than throw money at his wealthy Wall Street and Banking friends.

There was a moment of silence, and then the gentleman I was talking to simply said that these were hard times for everyone.

Yep, Bush is the Blame Czar, and the kool-ade is still flowing here in the City by the Bay. And folks are still drinking it.

Sigh.

Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy said...

Hey, SF -

Thanks for the anecdote. That hits the nail on the head.

YES, Bush had a lot to do with the economy during his time, BUT - the Democrats were in bed with Fannie and Freddie. The Demos controlled Congress for TWO YEARS before Obama took office, and he voted for a bunch of stuff he is now blaming on Bush! (This must be why I keep finding myself calling him "Obushma" all day today.)

It's just ridiculous. I disliked Bush intensely, but it just defies any logic that people forget the Dems were in control - Bush couldn't do ANYTHING without them for those two years.

This is what happens when people care more abt what happened last week on "So You Think You Can Dance" than what Obama was doing before he took the White House. Really, really sad...

Great comment - thanks! (Oh, and my partner loved the name you have for SF, too!)