But I’m just a soul whose intentions are good / Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
Apparently the diagnosis within the White House is that Obama is a soul whose intentions and actions are good, but because he was so busy successfully acting on those intentions, he failed to communicate their total wonderfulness. And as a result, he’s just misunderstood:
One thing I regret this year is that we were so busy just getting stuff done . . . that I think we lost some of that sense of speaking directly to the American people. . . . I think the assumption was, if I just focus on policy, if I just focus on the, you know, this provision, or that law, or are we making a good, rational decision here, that people will get it.
So prepare for another chorus of paeans to The One’s new clothes. A propaganda offensive for all you hicks out there just not smart enough to get it on your own, so it has to be spelled out for you.
But Obama’s problem isn’t that people don’t know what he’s done and what he intends to do, but that they know them all too well. Consequently, this new communications barrage is only likely to make things worse for him politically, not better. It’s sort of like what Twain said: better to remain silent and let people think you’re an idiot, than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Title H/T: Eric Burden and the Animals.
Lyrics definitely date you as a 70s kind of guy.
Comment by Scott Irwin — January 26, 2010 @ 10:20 am
More like 60’s-just being picky but it is Burdon, not Burden
Comment by TJ — January 26, 2010 @ 11:03 am
Prof, I think it’s already happening. Look at this Ellie Light mess. Perception management is a strange thing, I mean, did they really expect him to remain the annointed one as things got worse (rhetorical question). See you in class tonight professor!
Comment by Jack — January 26, 2010 @ 11:27 am
TJ–Yeah, wrote it in a hurry, and wasn’t sure about the spelling. Been awhile, you know. Thanks for the correction.
Scott/TJ–uhm, would you believe I’ve only heard this on the retro stations on XM? Didn’t think so.
Jack–yup, in 50.
Thank you for your right on observations about our present situation.
Comment by TJ — January 26, 2010 @ 6:51 pm
In the State of the Union address he stuck to the same line revealing entrenched narcissism yet another time. However, this time he was a worse of an actor than he usually is. Perhaps he feels wounded. He didn’t exhibit the same level of confidence in the speech as he usually does.
I hope he is going through a transition of bombastic speeches and “let’s pretend ideals” facing reality check and this is not yet another cynical ploy such as a one which was once suggested to me by a University of Michigan senior professor on how to to position yourself in a classromm. “You pretend you teach, they pretend they learn,” he said.
Comment by MJ — January 28, 2010 @ 9:04 am
I dislike Obama, but did like the targeted tax decreases to business. For a left wing liberal like him, that is hard to say.
It was a poor speech. No real good meat in it. Probably the worst first term state of the Union in a long time. Obama had a huge advantage, similar to Jimmy Carter. He acted like Nixon. Blew it.
Hopefully the Republicans can take the House, squeeze the Senate. Obama is a one termer.
Comment by Jeff Carter — January 28, 2010 @ 1:19 pm
should amend that. Clinton might have been a one termer, but he was way more adept politically than Obama. Obama is a creature of the Chicago machine. So are all his advisors. In Chicago, it’s Daley’s way or the highway.
Clinton had to work on compromise as a gov. Obama has been a pontificator all his life.
Comment by Jeff Carter — January 28, 2010 @ 1:21 pm
Jeff–agreed. Like the Coakley implosion in MA, Obama’s performance reveals the dangers of operating in a one party state. When somebody from such a system gets thrown into a true political competition–which is different than intra-party/mafia infighting–they usually flounder, at best, and sometimes sink like a stone.
One disagreement–I’m not a big fan of targeted tax breaks. I think a cut in corporate taxes generally, and capital taxes generally, is better than targeted tax cuts. Capital taxation in general is growth reducing, not to mention that huge waste involved in gaming the corporate tax system.
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