GOP Dismayed by Obama’s Strong Performance, Say it Was a ‘Mistake’ to Let Cameras Rol

[boutons_deux]

House Republicans were fired up and ready to go for their conversation with President Obama at their annual retreat today. According to the New York Times, members of the conservative Republican House Conference said they were “itching to quiz the president (http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/republicans-ready-to-spar-with-obama/?partner=rss&emc=rss) and present their policy ideas rather than listen to another lofty presidential address.” Although such sessions generally occur behind closed doors, Republicans agreed to open it up after the White House said it was willing to do so. However, after Obama’s strong performance,some Republicans (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/32225.html) are now regretting that decision (http://twitter.com/RussertXM_NBC/status/8380253627). As Luke Russert reported on MSNBC:

RUSSERT: Tom Cole — former head of the NRCC, congressman from Oklahoma — said, “He scored many points. He did really well.” Barack Obama, for an hour and a half, was able to refute every single Republican talking point used against him on the major issues of the day. In essence, it was almost like a debate where he was front and center for the majority of it. … One Republican said to me, off the record, behind closed doors: “It was a mistake that we allowed the cameras to roll like that. We should not have done that.”
“Accepting the invitation to speak at the House GOP retreat may turn out to be the smartest decision the White House has made in months (http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/the_moment_president_obama_began.php),” writes the Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder. “Debating a law professor is kind of foolish — the Republican House Caucus has managed to turn Obama’s weakness — his penchant for nuance — into a strength. Plenty of Republicans asked good and probing questions, but Mike Pence, among others, found their arguments simply demolished by the president.”


http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/29/fox-obama-retreat/


============


An amazingly ballsy move, and he apparently hit the Repugs' testicles out of the ballpark.


Imagine dubya or McLiar or pitbull bitch going up one-on-many against a nihilistic, hateful, destructive crowd! :lol

[coyotes_geek]

:lol

Well if some lefty wingnut blog says so, it must be true.

[Marcus Bryant]

So the "smartest decision the White House has made in months" is to visit the House GOP retreat?

This administration has really hit bottom. Oh, yes, the greatest thing this president has accomplished in quite some time has been to talk to a bunch of GOP congressmen for an hour and a half.

Or, his own party has held 60 seats in the Senate and an ample majority in the House and yet, his agenda languishes. Oh, it's that old dirty GOP.

Yawn.

But he was really awesome!!! lol

[doobs]

His "penchant for nuance" . . . barf.

[EmptyMan]

Still banking on empty words.

[boutons_deux]

thinkprogress made up the direct quotes from the Repugs.

[jack sommerset]

It's the strangest thing watching a few Obama cheerleaders in here jump up and down for this liar for starting the lies all over again. The repugs would ask a question, take about 30-60 seconds to do so and Obama would take 5-6 minutes bullshitting his way through the answer. On to the next question. These idiots seem to think this was a debate. They think the repugs were suppose to argue with him as he continue to lie. Nope, you ask a question and the answer you get is what you get. Which was lies. Obama Kool-aid drinkers, he said the healthcare debate was on C-SPAN with a straight face! He said the same bullshit he always has.

[Marcus Bryant]

Problem is, he won't get that venue again. Instead, he'll return to lecturing and debating the American people. As we've seen in the election results in VA, NJ, and MA, they don't really care for that sort of thing.

[Marcus Bryant]

Or, lol at jacking off to Obama's sparring with the House GOP when his ass couldn't swing a Senate race in Massachusetts(!) to his party.

[doobs]

Or, lol at jacking off to Obama's sparring with the House GOP when his ass couldn't swing a Senate race in Massachusetts(!) to his party.

You just don't get it, do you?

Massachusetts liberals just wanted to send Obama a message about his failure to pass sweeping progressive legislation by electing a Republican who promised to block sweeping progressive legislation.

[Marcus Bryant]

This is truly the American Idol presidency.

Oh, he's so cool. :jack Damn, those judges in Hyannis Port are so tough!

[George Gervin's Afro]

It's the strangest thing watching a few Obama cheerleaders in here jump up and down for this liar for starting the lies all over again. The repugs would ask a question, take about 30-60 seconds to do so and Obama would take 5-6 minutes bullshitting his way through the answer. On to the next question. These idiots seem to think this was a debate. They think the repugs were suppose to argue with him as he continue to lie. Nope, you ask a question and the answer you get is what you get. Which was lies. Obama Kool-aid drinkers, he said the healthcare debate was on C-SPAN with a straight face! He said the same bullshit he always has.

why didn't the republicans come out of the meeting calling him out on his lies jack?

I also ensoyed Obama dismantling the talking point questions. When you preface a question jack usually the person responding has to address both.

[Winehole23]

Problem is, he won't get that venue again.True, but Obama arguably held his own in the exchange. Maybe one or two senators will come around eventually. Who knows?


Instead, he'll return to lecturing and debating the American people. As we've seen in the election results in VA, NJ, and MA, they don't really care for that sort of thing.Lecturing Wall Street has been poorly received in the exchanges, so lecturing the American people is probably a safe bet. We'll see.

[Nbadan]

Anyone else sensing MB drifting more and more to the right? It's not the first time MB has represented himself as a 'independent' only to show his real colors in his posts...he did it when he was justifying the Bush administrations little foray into Iraq in 2002-03 too...only then it didn't turn out so well, for Bush, or Marcus....now Obama is in Office and MB is back supporting, guess who? The GOP....

[DarrinS]

Fox = evil

AMessNBC = sane


:downspin:

[boutons_deux]

Yep, MB is definitely, irretrievably right and verging on radical right. :)

[TeyshaBlue]

Anyone else sensing MB drifting more and more to the right? It's not the first time MB has represented himself as a 'independent' only to show his real colors in his posts...he did it when he was justifying the Bush administrations little foray into Iraq in 2002-03 too...only then it didn't turn out so well, for Bush, or Marcus....now Obama is in Office and MB is back supporting, guess who? The GOP....

Don't confuse opposing empty suits with supporting the GOP.

[PublicOption]

I like how they complain about not having the HealthCare debate on CSPAN. Both parties don't want cameras in those negotiations because then we'll see just how much both sides are beholden(carry the water) for the Insurance Co. and who has the interest of the people.

[TeyshaBlue]

i like how they complain about not having the healthcare debate on cspan. Both parties don't want cameras in those negotiations because then we'll see just how much both sides are beholden(carry the water) for the insurance co. And who has the interest of the people.

+10

[coyotes_geek]

I like how they complain about not having the HealthCare debate on CSPAN. Both parties don't want cameras in those negotiations because then we'll see just how much both sides are beholden(carry the water) for the Insurance Co. and who has the interest of the people.

That true. However in Obama's case, he still deserves some flak because he was the one claiming that the talks would be open. If you don't want to be singled out for doing things the same as everybody else then don't go around boasting about how you're going to do things differently.

[PublicOption]

fuck the teabaggers misleading naive people.

[clambake]

since when did making idiots look like idiots become an accomplishment?

[EmptyMan]

Obama could easily be completely dominated in a presidential debate, yet the GOP has no one with the balls and common sense to do so.

[DarkReign]

Obama could easily be completely dominated in a presidential debate, yet the GOP has no one with the balls and common sense to do so.

I think you meant brains. You can be the smartest man alive, if you dont look good on camera, you aint winnin' the election in this country.

Thats why every Republican "answer" to Obama starts and ends with attractiveness. Palin, Brown, that douchebag Virginia governor.

All rigid, stiff and robotic...canned movements and idiosyncrasies.

Its kind of brutal to watch, actually. You have an entire party that supposedly represents the "upper class" of this country brainstorming behind closed doors about how to win elections and the best thing they can think of is a Playgirl centerfold candidate.

Pathetic, really, if you think about it. No substance, no positions, no politics, just eye-candy for the lonely housewives of America.

The problem the Republicans are facing, IMO, is that their best and brightest are old and ugly (and stereotypically white....like Carlton "This is how I dance" kind-of white). I bet you 10 to 1 Cheney is the smartest Republican in the world.

A demagogue, a war-monger, a hater of plebs...but smart as all get-out. And therein lies the Republicans problem.

Image. Their image doesnt jive with a younger voting bloc. Young people (18-30) dont look at Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove/McCain/et all and go "Oh yeah, that dude totally represents what I'm about!" Sad as it is, its true.

But really, the gory, bitten and scarred underbelly of politics is such that the Republicans dont need a plan. Leadership in this country is so fucking ineffective and corrupt that the shelf life of a majority is less than a carton of eggs in the political timescale.

The Republicans are going to steamroll in November. Not because theyre "on the upswing" or that their message is being "received", but because their competition is a mentally retarded paraplegic. All Republicans have to do is show Americans that they can walk and chew bubble gum and they'll roll at the polls.

Its an indictment on leadership and politics, yes. But its far more incriminating of Americans. At some point, the blame of Washington has to cease. Americans should (and hopefully, shall) start looking at other Americans as the problem.

[Nbadan]

Say what you want about political hacks, but the U.S. independent voter is the stupidest voter in the history of politics...they make up their mind to vote for a candidate on the stupidest whim and we all have to suffer for their incredible stupidity..