What I fail to uderstand is why large numbers of people fall for this. Read the whole thing.The El Paso speech is notable not for breaking any new ground on immigration but for perfectly illustrating Obama’s political style: the professorial, almost therapeutic, invitation to civil discourse, wrapped around the basest of rhetorical devices — charges of malice compounded with accusations of bad faith. “They’ll never be satisfied,” said Obama about border control. “And I understand that. That’s politics.”
How understanding. The other side plays “politics,” Obama acts in the public interest. Their eyes are on poll numbers, political power, the next election; Obama’s rest fixedly on the little children.
This impugning of motives is an Obama constant. “They” play politics with deficit reduction, with government shutdowns, with health care. And now immigration. It is ironic that such a charge should be made in a speech that is nothing but politics. There is zero chance of any immigration legislation passing Congress in the next two years. El Paso was simply an attempt to gin up the Hispanic vote as part of an openly political two-city, three-event campaign swing in preparation for 2012.
Accordingly, the El Paso speech featured two other staples: the breathtaking invention and the statistical sleight of hand.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Demagoguery 101
Krauthammer on Obama's rhetorical style:
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1 comment:
Good question.
Criticism of Obama by Republicans is often prefixed with "he's a nice guy with a great family."
My question is always would a nice guy constantly lie and misrepresent his opposition, often times to their face when they have no chance to defend themselves. Would a nice guy use outlandish claims to mock and misrepresent his opposition. Would a nice guy constantly blame his problems on his predecessor, yet take the credit when his predecessor's policies allow him a victory and yet continues to disavow those policies.
As far as a great family, would you put your young children under the rants of Jeremiah Wright and his parishioner, Common, while his wife tells us what our kids shouldn't eat?
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