October 12, 2014

Leon Panetta says Obama needs to "get in the ring" and "fight."



ADDED: Transcript:
Bob, there are--you know, having been in this town close to fifty years, you know, I've seen Washington at its best and Washington at its worst.... And this country cannot tolerate another two and a half years of stalemate. The President can't tolerate it. If he wants to be able to get the things done that he wants done, and I respect him for-- for what he wants to get done, he has got to get into the ring. Everybody's got to get in and fight to make sure that we do the right thing for the country....
He almost yelled "fight," so I sensed some real frustration there.
You know... I don't mind Presidents who have the quality of- of a law professor in looking at the issues and determining just exactly, you know, what needs to be done. But Presidents need to also have the heart of a warrior. That's the way you get things done, is you-- you engage in the fight. And in this town, as difficult it is-- as it is, and it is difficult. I mean you've got Tea Party members in Congress who basically want to shut the government down and tear it down. He still has to have the ability to engage and to try to work with people up there who want to get things done in order to make sure that we just don't stalemate as a country

51 comments:

Birkel said...

The tag should be "America is in Trouble".

That events are unfolding as so many of us suggested they would should surprise nobody. Obama was in trouble from the moment he imagined he would be a successful president. He believed his own lies and we will all pay for years for The Audacity of Hubris.

The idea that Obama could "fight" his own personal failings is ridiculous. Panetta is a fool for believing this a possibility.

campy said...

... and he should "punch back twice as hard"!

Unknown said...

Obama was at a fund raiser in Hollywood. Now he's playing golf. What is up with the guy Panetta? Leave Obama alone!

The Crack Emcee said...

I love the "Obama's in trouble" tag:

Whites have their minds made up on that, do they?

Man, y'all like believing your own bullshit,...

David said...

Sway to the left!
Sway to the right!
Stand up!
Sit down!
Fight! Fight! Fight!

This is the stuff you remember when you have been married to a cheerleader.

Michael K said...

"Let me eat my waffle !"

Phil 314 said...

Love the "y'all",
gives the comment authenticity.

Anonymous said...

Does this mean the House will finally start impeachment proceedings against Obama or is this simply more faux outrage with no other purpose other than to energize the Republican base heading into the elections?

The Crack Emcee said...

Phil 3:14,

"Love the "y'all",
gives the comment authenticity."

More than the society I live in, anyway,...

George M. Spencer said...

It's the Rope-a-Dope strategy. Keep playing golf, keep smiling, keep doing fundraisers.

If your goal is to flood the country with illegals to create a permanent Democratic majority, Obama's doing a great job.

If your goal is to weaken America's presence around the world militarily and ultimately financially, Obama's doing a great job.

If your goal is to attempt to weaken the U.S. energy sector, Obama's doing a pretty good job.

Leon's too old school to get what's going on.

cubanbob said...

The Crack Emcee said...
I love the "Obama's in trouble" tag:

Whites have their minds made up on that, do they?

Man, y'all like believing your own bullshit,...

10/12/14, 1:29 PM"

Yes we believe our own bullshit just like you believe in yours.

Hagar said...

I don't know quite what to make of it, but I think maybe the regular Democratic Party is getting ready to cut Mr. Obama loose.

chickelit said...

I say let him stay on the golf course and stay on the campaign trail. Obviously, that's the way he wants to be remembered -- else why would he keep doing it? But he needs to delegate important decision making to someone people can trust. Joe Biden and Valerie Jarrett don't cut it.

chickelit said...

Phil 3:14 said...
Love the "y'all",
gives the comment authenticity.


I think Crack should use "Ye" instead of "y'all". It lends the godlike authority he's trying for.

RecChief said...

"Man, y'all like believing your own bullshit,..."


In this case y'all=Crack Emcee

avwh said...

"I don't know quite what to make of it, but I think maybe the regular Democratic Party is getting ready to cut Mr. Obama loose."

Absolutely - gotta make room for Hillary or whoever runs in 2016. And it's NEVER that the policies are wrong or bad or a mistake - it HAS to be "we just had the wrong implementer - he didn't do it right, or OF COURSE they would have worked!"

cubanbob said...

Hagar said...
I don't know quite what to make of it, but I think maybe the regular Democratic Party is getting ready to cut Mr. Obama loose.

10/12/14, 1:58 PM"

Yes Hillary is all they have and they now have to market her as The Great White Hope nevermind the actual facts that she is Obama in both whiteface and in drag and probably worse.

traditionalguy said...

Panetta's 1990s is so yesterday. Congress used to struggle to divide the spoils from 8 geographic regions of a diverse Country by trading votes.

Now Congress is inactive because Reid and Obama have paralyzed it while under cover of pretend Wars on Women and Hispanics and Blacks the FED and EPA and HSA and NSA have stolen it for their billionaire currency manipulator friends.

Phil 314 said...


"More than the society I live in"

I don't know your society.

I suspect you don't know my society, nor want too.

Anyway...

JPS said...

Collectively, liberals are arguing in the alternative:

a) President Obama is doing an amazing job and has been remarkably successful (Paul Krugman, this very weekend);

b) If you don't buy that, it's because no president has ever faced such a hostile opposition (Chris Matthews and many, many others);

c) If for some reason you don't buy that, remember that Obama really isn't a liberal (Chris Cillizza, Washington Post, Nov 2013, just to take one eloquent example), and anyway he's not really fighting (Panetta, now, apparently);

d) OK, maybe he's not all that good at this, but that's because he's just too smart for the presidency (Mika Brzezinski and others). And what about BUSH?! (every liberal friend of mine on Facebook)

Anyway, as avwh put it, "it's NEVER that the policies are wrong or bad or a mistake." And I'll posit a corollary: It's a lucky thing for liberals that their opponents are such horrible, horrible people. Otherwise we might find ourselves talking about how well liberal policies work out for those they were supposed to benefit.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

St George said:

If your goal is to flood the country with illegals to create a permanent Democratic majority, Obama's doing a great job.

If your goal is to weaken America's presence around the world militarily and ultimately financially, Obama's doing a great job.

If your goal is to attempt to weaken the U.S. energy sector, Obama's doing a pretty good job.


If your goal is to spark a liberal revolution (tea party, Pauls, Cruz, Lee, Gowdy, others)Obama's doing a pretty good job.

As I've said before a number of times, I don't know whether he is doing this on purpose because he is so smart or inadvertantly because he is so stupid.

Whichever way, I am liking the results.

I wish there were not so many horrible side effects but it took us 80 years to get here. Undoing it won't be painless.

John Henry

LYNNDH said...

I am a Tea Party person. I don't want to shut the gov't down, just rough it up a bit. Slow down spending, fire a good number of gov't workers such as ALL mid level and upper level managers in such organizations as the IRS and EPA.

richard mcenroe said...

Mannequins don't have warrior's hearts. The more Obama tries to engage the worse he looks. Axelrid and Jarrett figured that out long ago.

averagejoe said...

Obama doesn't want to fight for anything- he just wants to play "the knockout game". It's what his administration has been doing since 2008, and really what he threatened to do since the year before that. Lots of fat and happy Americans not paying attention getting knocked on their asses... "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor"-Blammo! Knocked out!

Alex said...

Obama has a glass chin.

Alex said...

Less shuckin' and jivin' and more bobin' and weavin'.

clint said...

I don't get the supposed contrast between law professor and someone who can fight for a policy.

Don't law professors train lawyers? Don't lawyers essentially fight for a living -- in exactly the same metaphorical sense he's talking about?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Love the invocation of the Tea Party folk devil. When I hear something like that I always have to wonder. Is the speaker really that stupid or is his contempt for the intelligence of his audience really that great?

Ann Althouse said...

"Don't lawyers essentially fight for a living -- in exactly the same metaphorical sense he's talking about?"

No. Most don't.

Ann Althouse said...

"I love the "Obama's in trouble" tag…"

That tag comes from something I used to say in the early days of the Obama presidency. (And you know I voted for him in '08.) I'd say: "Obama's in trouble. We need to help!"

I'd say it like (I imagined) a kid in superhero cartoon.

Ann Althouse said...

It was definitely pro-Obama in its origin, based on the feeling that we, America, really very earnestly wanted Obama to prevail and make this world a better place.

rehajm said...

I'd say: "Obama's in trouble. We need to help!"

I'd say it like (I imagined) a kid in superhero cartoon.


It's said they way Lassie said "Timmy fell down the well!!!"

But Lassie was a Republican..

pm317 said...

What! Panetta is taking away Obama's strategy of blaming republicans for everything that they won't let him do anything. They are the problem, don't you know? And now Panetta is saying, no, you are part of the problem too. Ouch!

In another interview he also said that you (president) need to work with people you don't like -- sounded like the advice I gave to my undergrad students when they were having problems with their teammates.

Birkel said...

Those comments are pathetic.

PuertoRicoSpaceport.com said...

I think it is time to start thinking of November. Obie is already in semi-retirement, what will he do if the demmies fail to hold the Senate?

He is saying publicly that this election is really a vote on him and his policies. If the Demmies lose the Senate, I suspect that he will take this as a rejection of him and his policies. We know that he does not handle disagreement or rejection well. He should, he's had so much practice since childhood, but he doesn't.

I think there is a possibility that he will just say "Fuck it, I quit." I don't see him resigning and I don't think he has done anything impeachable. At least not in a practical sense.

So what do we do if he quits in place?

Perhaps the 25th Amendment points the way:

Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.


It says "unable". Would unwilling be cause?

Probably won't ever happen but might not be as politically charged as impeachment would be.

John Henry

Michael K said...

"Does this mean the House will finally start impeachment proceedings against Obama "

No, we know that the Senate will protect him, as they protected Bill Clinton.

If the GOP takes the Senate in November, Obama may very well go rogue and dare the country to impeach him.

Then we would see race riots from his supporters who threaten to Shut down Ferguson Mo if the officer is not indicted.

They used to call it lynching but I'm not keeping up. It may be an interesting two years.

The Crack Emcee said...

From the Financial Times:

"Black Americans seem to grasp something many of Mr Obama’s white supporters often forget. If the opposing party controls Congress and wants to make trouble, it can stop almost any White House initiative in its tracks. Most voters hold the president accountable for the big trends affecting their lives, particularly economic. But there are times when this is not fully deserved. Under this president at least, black America’s insights may be a step ahead of the rest."

Which would be me over "y'all" as usual,...

Fen said...

Which would be me over "y'all" as usual

Any man who must say, "I am the king" is no true king. - Tywin Lannister

Original Mike said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Crack quoted: Most voters hold the president accountable for the big trends affecting their lives, particularly economic. But there are times when this is not fully deserved.

I agree with this in principle. For example, Bush is widely blamed for the housing bubble meltdown when in fact it was Dem-controlled policy failure and Alan Greenspan's low interest rates which inflated the bubble. President Bush actually warned of the impending problem.

Original Mike said...

"I mean you've got Tea Party members in Congress who basically want to shut the government down and tear it down."

Bullshit. The Tea Party wants the government to stop bleeding money.

Alex said...

I mean you've got Tea Party members in Congress who basically want to shut the government down and tear it down.

This is typical left-wing hit&run smear talk. They don't want to debate having a smaller government, so make the rest of us debate a straw man. That is tactically smart, I'll give them that.

chickelit said...

madisonfella said...
Does this mean the House will finally start impeachment proceedings against Obama or is this simply more faux outrage with no other purpose other than to energize the Republican base heading into the elections?

Obama impeaches himself on a daily basis. But, he must be saving some game changer move for later this month because he's pretty smug these days.

chickelit said...

I should amend that to say his supporters are pretty smug.

Annie said...

Smug indeed. The border is wide open, illegals still flooding in, and they got voter ID stopped in TX and WI just weeks before an election (of which a Chicago democrat has been out bragging that those 'immigrants' will overwhelm the GOP). Not to mention a silent, unless they are attacking their own, slimeball GOP leadership who claims to be Obama's BFF .

The Crack Emcee said...

Fen,

"Any man who must say, "I am the king" is no true king. - Tywin Lannister"

You rely on fictional characters to determine worth?

Hilarious.

Quote Conan next,...

The Crack Emcee said...

Phil 3:14,

"I don't know your society."

I know - you think cops are our friends and mom and apple pie, and white rapes and murders and theft of black wealth either didn';t happen, or deserves to profit whites because WHITE SUPREMACY - which isn't racist.

"I suspect you don't know my society, nor want too."

Nope - know it pretty well, actually. It's a place of lies and deception, the truth barricaded behind a white picket fence, under a flag pole where black bodies used to swing for sport.

"Anyway..."

Yep - Lah-Dee-Dah,...

Christopher B said...

Speaking of BS, that Financial Times quote is an example of USDA Prime bovine scatalogy.

Reagan, both Bushes and Bill Clinton were all able implement significant parts of their agendas with one or both chambers of Congress controlled by the oppostion.

Clinton did it during and after his impeachment.

GWB implemented the Surge with Pelosi's House calling for defunding military operations in Iraq every other day and twice on Sunday.

Obama barely got his signature legislation through a Congress controlled by his own party.

Birkel said...

The Crack Emcee, quoting the Financial Times:
"Black Americans seem to grasp something many of Mr Obama’s white supporters often forget."

I will admit that Mr. Obama's supporters are the dumbest sons of bitches in the know universe. Therefore, it's not surprising to me that one group of those dumb as shit supporters -- blacks -- is able to grasp something his other dumb as shit supporters cannot.

That amounts to the most humble brag ever. That may be the most left handed compliment The Crack Emcee will ever be able to muster for his brethren. God damn it, The Crack Emcee! You have set the bar so low that even you can achieve success. Well played.

The Crack Emcee said...

Birkel,

"I will admit that Mr. Obama's supporters are the dumbest sons of bitches in the know universe."

Ha!

Whites were defeated - twice - by the dumbest sons of bitches in the know universe!

All hail the know!!!!

Dumb sons of bitches,...

Birkel said...

Step One: Promise free shit.
Step Two: Count the votes.
Step Three: Events happen.
Step 4: ???
Step 5: ???

You will notice, The Crack Emcee, that the events of Step Three are not cooperating. It turns out the man you continue to support is failing. He is failing spectacularly. He is failing in a way that even his most ardent supporters -- the MSM -- can see. These failures will continue. And they will worsen.

Meanwhile, winning an election is not the same as defeating an enemy. I don't think you are my enemy. I think you are a loudmouthed internet tough guy and a one-trick pony. You're that rare breed of arrogant and ignorant that is so rarely observed in its natural habitat.

I would mock you but you manage to mock yourself at every turn. Stay Bitter and Carry On.