So I really didn't feel much like posting.
However, after I sat the younglings down and enjoyed some sci-fi goodness (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) then chucked them in bed for some new BSG goodness (that's Battlestar Galactica, folks), then soaked my body in hot water (as I was still cold), then got up the next day to warmer temperatures and breakfast fried in bacon fat, I'm feeling more up to my usual. And with the Obama inauguration next week, it's on.
Which brings me to the Asshat of the Week. And since we're going to inaugurate us a new POTUS, it's time to give Barry his due:
President Barack Hussein Obama is Asshat of the Week
Now, I'm sure Obama will earn the award in the future. And I will be a little more harsh than I'm about to be. But since he really hasn't done anything yet (which is a whole other discussion), here's how he earns the award. And before you jump on me, know that I've got a Founding Father covering my back!
John Adams, who would have, had I been around with this blog, become the second Asshat of the Week on his inaguration, once said, in reference to his son (who would have been the sixth AOTW for this reason), "No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it."
In essence the presidency is an office where you face a shitstorm daily at the best of times. It's an office where vacations mean you're in a friendlier environment when you get presented with the daily shitstorm. A large chunk of the politically active people hate your guts and hope you slide under a gas truck and taste your own blood. And the man who holds the office ages about 4-5 years for every year in office. Just ask Bush.
And while being elected to the office is the pinnacle of achievement, having to step behind the desk and know your mistakes will be the biggest in the world is no walk in the park. Now Barack Obama will be the 43rd person to suffer this.
(Side note: I'm leaving out William Henry Harrison, because he'd earn AOTW for standing out in the cold, getting sick, and dying within a month.)So imagine, having become AOTW for getting in way over his head (as all incoming presidents do), what will happen to the man on the left if he manages to get through two terms (right).
14 comments:
You don't even need to justify your reasons for naming O'Bummer the Asshat of the Week. He should get that recognition every week!
Well good on you Pasadena Closet Conservative.
And why "Closet Conservative?" Are you ashamed of being a conservative? If so, we understand, and you have our sympathy.
You're being left behind this week because a majority of your fellow Americans are quite happy with the incoming president, despite your ungracious and spiteful remarks.
But I'm sure Barack Obama is used to that sort of malignant sentiment (he is, afterall, a black man in America). And he will graciously deal with it and rise above it.
Asshat of the week, Patrick?
The guy hasn't even taken the oath of office and you and your fellow splenetic sour grapers are doin' a heckava job making asshats of yourselves.
But not to worry. It won't sully our enjoyment of the next few days, not matter how much you piss on this joyous time.
PS. Hugs, kisses and brotherly love to you and yours.
It's going to be a long, long eight years for some folks. And that's as it should be.
Don't peak too soon Patrick!
Groucho the Closet Conservative is an odd piece of work. (I wonder if he's actually a 'storage solution' who can type or if he is actually a 'Closeted Conservative'?)
In his words: I dare not "out" myself because I would run the risk of being held hostage by liberals at some Ashram while being brainwashed...(snip)
For some unknowable reason PCC is under the impression there are those interested enough in his 'views' to cause him discomfort.
It's good to live in hope.
If how Obama has handled himself from the point of winning the election until now is any indication of how he'll be as president, than I have to agree with the award Patrick has given him. Although maybe moreso the hypocrites who think his inauguration costing $150 million is okey-dokey but Bush spending $40 was disgusting, I might have given the AOTW award to them this week instead.
PCC: If I did it every week, it would become boring. I'm sure there will be future awards for him.
Shaw: I made it clear that this award was for discovering how terribly sucky the position of POTUS can be. He's in the company of 43 other presidents on this one (except WH Harrison who snuffed it early).
And I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with my Tuesday post.
Arthur: I'm just getting warmed up.
Beth: The $150 million is "stimulus" so it's perfectly ok.
And I somehow typed that with a straight face.
Beth,
Here is a link that will show you who the people are that are contributing to PE Obama's inauguration:
http://tinyurl.com/6jld8c
While disclosure rules don't require making information public on donors to Obama's inauguration until a few months after the event, the Obama team has opted to disclose beforehand.
And traditionally, there have been no limits on donors to inaugural events, but Obama capped those donations at $50,000, which the center notes "is still more than 10 times what individuals could give to his campaign."
The Obama team has made another change by barring contributions from corporations, labor unions, political action committees and registered lobbyists - though individuals from major corporations, such as Google, are free to make the maximum donations.
With an estimated 2 million or more people expected to be in the nation's capital on Tuesday, how can this be an "inexpensive" event?
By a whopping 80%! The American people approve of how Obama has handled himself during this transition.
It is curious that I find jealousy, resentment, and malice only on conservative blogs (there may be exceptions, I don't read ALL of them). What a shame.
Your petulance will rob you of enjoying a wonderful day for America.
Shaw, the $40 million for Bush's inauguration were also contributions, but there were people who thought that was wasteful back then, if you weren't one of them do not take offense to my charge of hypocrite. I am not bitter, but if you all could dish out the criticism of Bush, then you have to accept that we will hold you to the same standards that President Bush has been held to.
Beth,
I understand your concern. But the fact is that Obama's inauguration will attract almost 5 times the number that attended Bush's 2nd.
This will be an historic day on so many levels.
Instead of being upset over what will be spent on this day, we should be happy that so many millions of Americans will disregard the cold and inconveniences to participate in the event.
I just wish you and other conservatives could share the joy with the rest of us.
Shaw: Somehow, I don't think you were enjoying Bush's inauguration in 2001 all too much. And that was when there appeared to be a big difference between the candidates.
But I will enjoy it to some degree. Maybe not the joy, but...
For the record, I am not upset on what will be spent, since it is coming from the contributions and from people purchasing tickets to the events. I only pointed out the hypocrites who cried that the money people spent for Bush's inauguration could have gone to help this cause or that cause, yada, yada, yada.
Historic, yes. Joyous, hardly.
I should have mentioned I would not have been joyous with McCain either, there was to be no joy for me this time around.
Yawn. There has long been a significant portion of the American public frightened out of their wits by change. This group has gone by names such as 'silent majority'. 'Conservatives'. 'Patriots'. Or the favorite in the overheated rightwing blogosphere, 'real Americans'. All euphemisms for frightened middle-class whites (and the cynics who keep them agitated) frightened half to death of losing their privileges.
Get over it. The sun will come up the day after this inauguration and all the other days to follow. No one will take your guns and the liklihood of the Marxist state will remain just another tool the fear mongers use to stir things up.
Relax. Things are going to be okay.
Really. I mean if we can survive eight years of GWB we can do practically anything.
Arthur, " does the phrase Pot-Kettle-Black" ring a bell?
"There has long been a significant portion of the American public frightened out of their wits by change."
I should say there is, without question, an equally significant portion of the American public who's cognitive ability is such that they can smell the difference between bullshit and "change" in a New York minute.
Count yours truly as one of them. Because, the fact of the matter remains that when it comes to government "it's the spending stupid". Suffice it to say then that, merely exacerbating it and codifying it as "change" smells like bullshit if you ask me.
But to be fair and objective, McCain wasn't offering anything substantially different either. Which is why they say, when you have your choice between an knock-off or the real deal, supprisingly logic prevails and people go for the real thing everytime.
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