Curmudgeon's Corner

"One and Done?"

Posted by Al Campbell on Sept. 7, 2011

U.S., Political, Economy, Quality of Life, Employment

When Maureen Dowd, of New York Times fame, publishes an Op-ed in the Times on September 3^rd titled “One and Done?” we know that it must be serious.  This piece basically ‘sliced and diced’ the President for his lack of performance and for his reliance on speeches instead of results.

Among the phrases found in this piece are:

“The leader who was once a luminescent, inspirational force is now just a guy in a really bad spot.”

“As James Carville acerbically noted, given a choice between watching an Obama speech and a G.O.P. debate, ‘I’d watch the debate, and I’m not even a Republican’.”

“Republicans who are worried about being political props have a point.  The president is using the power of the incumbency and a sacred occasion for a political speech.”

“Obama is still suffering from Speech Illusion, the idea that he can come down from the mountain, read from a teleprompter, cast a magic spell with his words and climb back up the mountain, while we scurry around and do what he proclaimed.”

Maureen Dowd is among the most liberal people who write for arguably the most liberal newspaper in the country.  This is such a departure from the usual cheerleading piece as to be nearly earth-shattering.

When the cheerleaders begin to leave the field in disgust over their star player’s performance, or lack thereof, can we safely begin to assume there is some truth behind the “One and Done” characterization of President Obama?

She is very likely trying to get the attention of President Obama and his support team, but this is a very public way of doing so, and speaks volumes about the angst being felt by his erstwhile supporters.

You can, by the way, Google “Maureen Dowd Op Ed” and find the full piece titled “One and Done?”.