Peggy Noonan wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal about Obama’s handling of the Gulf oil spill with the risible headline “He was supposed to be competent.” Leading to the inevitable question: by whom?
I would expect that the Mr. “thrill runs up my leg” Matthews would, so would Michael Moore; he considers Fidel Castro competent. So does Woody Allen who would like to see Obama as dictator for a few years, ditto for Thomas Friedman who has a not-so-sneaking admiration of the Chinese Communist government and its ability to direct its people. To the hosts who voted for Obama because he was not George Bush, to those who voted for him because he was a “clean, articulate” black man I’m not sure whether the question of competence even raised its head.
What’s baffling is that lots of people in the Center/Right, people like Peggy Noonan herself, people like law professor and blogger Ann Althouse who now regrets that vote. People like Chris Buckley who even now is making his father spin in his grave. Why were they invested in the Obama fantasy of competence or ability? Was it respect for an academic pedigree, despite the complete absence of any transcripts? Was it Harvard? Or was it the same thing that motivated the unthinking: vote against Bush and vote for the affirmative action candidate to make you feel good?
Powerline has this to add:
What is curious is that quite a few people did think that Obama would be an especially competent president. Why? What evidence was there that Obama would be a skillful administrator? Before becoming president, he had never in his life run anything more substantial than a Senate staff. His executive experience was closer to zero than that of any president in memory.
Being a good executive requires great skill. Moreover, it is not the sort of skill that anyone is born with. It takes experience to learn how to run things, to administer things, to manage things. And people. Obama has no such experience, and is therefore learning on the job. Before becoming president, he was best known for giving speeches that were often disconnected from reality. Why would anyone interpret this skill as the sign of a competent administrator?
1 comment:
From here in fly over country, when a guy makes a speech telling me that his election will heal the earth and slow the oceans rise, I don't know about Peggy but I was little skeptical.
When this guy "cleared the field" to ensure his own Senate election; when he spent only days in the Senate and failed to make his committee meetings; when he won't produce his college work; when he pretends he doesn't smoke anymore; when he tells us that his daughter asked him if he "plugged the hole yet Daddy"; when he continually blames his predecessor for the countries ills and can't take responsibility of anything; when he picks fights with our allies abroad, and our cities and states here in America while sucking up to dictators near and far, again I'm surprised Peggy is surprised.
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