In recent weeks, and especially over the last few days, the right has become fully invested in a strange line of attack against President Obama. As we discussed on Tuesday, Dick Cheney, former Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen, and others are accusing Obama of "skipping" intelligence briefings related to national security. The closer one looks at the argument, the dumber it appears.
And yet, in the wake of Tuesday night's violence, conservatives are now going all in.
Now, I strongly suspect that Thiessen, a loyal Bushie who's now a Washington Post columnist, knows what he's saying is silly. He worked in the White House and surely realizes this anti-Obama attack really doesn't make any sense at all.
But it's an election season, Thiessen hopes to undermine the president's standing, so it's in his interests to say Obama blew off an intelligence meeting yesterday in order to jet off to Vegas to raise campaign cash.
The truth, as Thiessen probably realizes, isn't controversial at all. In reality, Obama received a detailed, written intelligence briefing yesterday, just as he does literally every day, which contained pressing national security information. Most of the time, Obama also receives an in-person briefing in the White House, though as Thiessen probably realizes, many of the president's national security meetings are never put on his public schedule.
But what about the meetings the president is allegedly "skipping"? There are no such meetings -- as Dana Milbank explained today, "In reality, Obama didn't 'attend' these meetings, because there were no meetings to attend: The oral briefings had been mostly replaced by daily exchanges in which Obama reads the materials and poses written questions and comments to intelligence officials. This is how it was done in the Clinton administration, before Bush decided he would prefer to read less. Bush's results -- Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and the failure to find Osama bin Laden -- suggest this was not an obvious improvement."
Indeed, Thiessen's entire line of attack only helps remind us that George W. Bush received a series of dramatic briefings about a pending al Qaeda strike in 2001, which he neglected to take seriously.
But even if we put that aside, this attempt to smear Obama is nonsensical. I realize Republicans are looking at the polls and feeling antsy, but this line of attack is just dumb.
Update: I've since been informed by a Democratic source that the president didn't even have any fundraisers in Nevada yesterday. The attack is wrong on every possible level.
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http://moelane.com/2012/06/09/troll-hunting-101/
Why wait?
Speak, wipe, flush, you GOP tools.
"But even if we put that aside, this attempt to smear Obama is nonsensical."
Only if you live in the real world where thinking, analyzing, and logic rule. In GOTP land, they may not be in Kansas, but they're definitely looking for the wizard....
I am so happy for you, Shooter. I went over to the site and it looks like you've found the perfect home. Sounds like none of your talking points will ever be challenged over there, your instinctively correct opinions will be sanctioned and most cheerily agreed to, and the general conservative victimization atmosphere will suit your particular skin color very well. All in all, it sounds quite like a vanilla ice-cream heaven.
Best of luck, thanks for stopping by.
Yes, you do need more coffee if Zora looks like Shooter to you. Oh, that pesky 'reply' button!
A Republican's claim about Obama doesn't have to be true, it just has to be MADE, it thus becomes Truth.
Hey, did you hear that Obama skips daily briefings to jet off to Vegas fundraisers, even while American soil is under attack?
See?
"He's in the Rose Garden, with some fried chicken and a couple of 40's. (jivin' wit some 'nappy headed ho's')
Cue a clip of Amos and Andy, Steppin Fetchit, and Butterfly McQueen.
Clinton had written daily briefings as well. Only ole George couldn't be bothered to read, so they had to inform him with words and pictures.
Not to mention the first operational test of a nuclear weapon by N. Korea...
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
My favorite part of the quote: "This is how it was done in the Clinton administration, before Bush decided he would prefer to read less."
Did Pretzelogic really say failure to find Bin Laden? Wow, according to numerous sources related to the Bin Laden raid, the intelligence came for one source and Obama was sitting on Bin Laden's location for almost 4 months.
As far as daily intel briefings, Obama doesnt feel he needs an expert to talk about whats going on in the world, cause he is the Messiah already so he's an expert. Hows that expert knowledge working in Egypt, Libya,Tunisia, Yemen and elsewhere treating Americans there? Oh quite well I see.
Numerous sources. Tee-hee.
Obama doesnt feel he needs an expert to talk about whats going on in the world. Tee-hee, tee-hee.
Provide evidence for this claim. How do you know that his "sitting on Bin Laden" wasn't for good reason? You frame this as though Obama somehow should have been doing something different. Whatever argument you can make here you do realize that the end result is that Osama Bin Laden was killed, yes? How certain are you that your argument wouldn't negate that fact?
Provide evidence for your assertion that Obama doesn't feel he needs daily in person briefings because he feels he's already well informed on the subject.
It's funny to me how no one on the left calls Obama the Messiah. Only people on the right do that. Me thinks you doth protest too much.
What are you even talking about here??? The protests? Those protests have nothing to do with America (in terms of our population at large) or American foreign policy. The protests are because a right-wing nut job from an anti-Muslim fundamentalist Christian group here in the US released a video on Egyptian television in which Muhammed was compared to a child molester (among other things). The protests were against the film by the radical fundamentalist nut job Muslims in those countries (anyone else seeing a theme here???). The attacks had nothing to do with those protests- those were two separate incidents. You do understand this, yes? And the attacks, for the record, were not carried out by the Libyan people or the Libyan government. So what the heck are you talking about???
Actually, I was quoting from the excerpt from Dana Milbank's column, which was, in turn, quoted in Steve Benen's blog post, above, which you obviously didn't bother to read with any care. Huh... I wonder why you're a Bush fan? LOL.
Oh yes - that "location", which turned out to be in an ostensibly allied (and nuclear-armed) country providing material assistance (routes of access, etc.) to us in our ongoing war in Afghanistan. I guess you hate to see a President acting responsibly - waiting until the intel could be confirmed to a reasonable certainty, and planning for a difficult mission could be done. No, seriously, I'm sure you hate that - you rwnj's do seem to love the whole "shoot first, ask questions later (if ever)" scenario. At least Obama had the location to "sit on" - Bush, as early as six months after 9-11, said in so many words that he "truly was not that concerned". Underscoring that basic point, Bush, in 2006, disbanded the CIA's "Bin Laden Unit" which had been tasked with locating what the public had been led to believe was the "world's most wanted" terrorist. So, duh, YES - failure to find Bin Laden. Much like your failure to make a point, only worse.
Really? I can tell you don't like to read (or maybe just have trouble with reading comprehension), so I'll highlight for you the relevant part of Benen's post (which isn't that long - you should try reading the whole thing, unless you're afraid you might learn something):
Breaking that down into small words for you, that means President Obama (have you no "respect for the office"?) is in daily contact with "experts". Happy? And what is it with you rwnj's and that whole Messiah thing? The only ones bringing that up are you. Have a complex, much?
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
And, oh yeah - I just reminded myself: Pakistan acquiring nuclear weapons. Yet another "excellent" foreign policy result from the Bush era. /s
LOL.
Vulture/Voucher 2012
Proving Two Rights DO Make a Wrong!
;-)
You give Thiessen way too much credit, Steve. He's dumb enough to believe what he's saying.
No, Thiessen is lying, with malice aforethought, in the hopes that enough people will like the lie enough to repeat it.
But it isn't, that's the problem. Anyone who has been on the blogs and comments sections, who has been in a difficult conversation with confused family members, who has been accosted by neighbors over the new fox "news" of the day knows that all of this works almost better than the truth.
The whole "liberal media" thing is a flipping lie, but it works and over time works even better. They have a whole mass of people who believe that the ONLY truth is what is on fox and that audience and its faith is growing not lessening.
This is the greatest danger, not the election of the moment. This is what will win in the end. Whenever in the past it was decided that free speech somehow allowed lies to masquerade as news and facts, when Limbaugh was allowed through free speech to rant and spew disinformation, when in the MSM balance meant equating both sides regardless of truth or facts... This was the battle that was not fought and it is probably past fighting now. We can look to the recent history of the WMD press and those two lone reporters and see the future of the "news." We can look to 2010 and this election to see the candidates choose the topics they want to talk about "jobs, jobs, jobs" and how many local news stations buck that for more.
The press is witnessing its slow decline into irrelevancy. The Lybia uproar worked only because it was immediate, not because of truth and in a few weeks or months they will change the history there too and facts will get lost in obscurity.
Who wins this time really isn't going to change the onward progression of the battle we are not fighting.
You first paragraph is spot on except for one thing.
The word "almost" does not belong.
My local blog is full of posters who are bringing up this nonsense and will never admit that they are wrong. They are still talking about how we built that...and that Obama sent England back a bust of Churchill that they gave us...and so on and so on.
Todays nonsense is just another pop up piece in an endless and unwinnable game of wingnut whack-a-mole that anyone who attempts to set the record straight gets stuck in.
Fox is the ONLY place you can get a somewhat conservative viewpoint, with a great deal of their news being actual news reports, not opinions. Every other media is liberally slanted. CNN is pretty good, but MSNBC is over the top liberal. No pretense to being balanced in their reporting. Always there to roll their eyes, speak with sarcasm and with smirks on their faces. Always after the conservatives. I have never heard a good word about a conservative from that channel.There are a couple who can actually talk without being hateful, but most cannot. As I said, CNN is kind of in the middle. Even ABC's liberal Stephanopolis can report fairly and can agree with some republican viewpoints. He reports in a very respectful, professional way. MSNBC is vile, vicious and venomous. That's why their ratings are low with today's ratings being less than 1/2 that of FOX. O'reilly beats ED by more than 3 times, Hannity is more than double Rachel and Greta is double Odonnel. I think that is because you get a look at conservative values (the only game in town) and a somewhat balanced view. Hannity is quite conservative, but like I said, the only game in town. MSNBC thinks that if you report with sarcasm and hatefulness they will gain viewers. I don't like that kind of attitude. I like to get my news from someone who can try to state facts without all of the drama. I do watch msnbc though because I don't want to only hear the conservative viewpoint, but the way they present the shows turns me off. Even if I might agree with 1 small part of something they say. I do think it was very unprofessional and unpresidential to go to NV to campaign after what had just happened to American officials. Very unpresidential! At least pretend to be interested and connected, even if you are not.
Teabag alert!
Jes...
Go steep yourself !
Oh, I am so using that.
"BarackObama skips daily intel briefing the day after terrorist attack and goes to Vegas. Now watch this drive..." [whack!]
We been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
While corporate owned news prevails they recognize that opposing sides sells as well. I also have faith in the internet despite sick videos, they drove Susan Komen into the open.
It was well-known that Bush 43 couldn't stand to read wonky stuff, and always just wanted the "top-line" and CYA version.
Granted, a lot of people relate more to oral delivery. Esp. business types (as a consultant, I can be certain that 90% of the document-based "deliverables" we deliver to clients are never even opened, much less read. Instead we schedule walk-throughs, and even then, retention is so low, we may have to repeat the walk-throughs of the same material every few weeks.).
OTOH, there are highly literate people who put considerable intellectual capital and analysis into preparing documents, government documents, scientific documents, documents which contain information millions of dollars in contracts or reparations or development aid that may hang in the balance, hinging on the accuracy of the information conveyed (see also, Nate Silver's analysis, for instance).
Only to have it routinely ignored or dismissed, a form of intellectual retreat. Labeled as "biased." Like the people applying the dismissive label even understand the methodology by which the information was analyzed. Or to have essential layers of nuance erased in reductive "top-line" summaries.
It's a bit like a fundamental disconnect between cultures of adult literacy and cultures of... elementary school?
Time-pressed people can't or won't read and retain, to be sure. But I also suspect there's a layer of marginally-competent class-based managers and executives (schmooz jobs bought for them by Daddy, and the Daddy before him) who represent power and RULE by the AVERAGE.
The world has outstripped them in the sophistication of knowledge capital and decision support, but power is retained within the "Duh" Class of prep school buddies who emerge as "leaders" of the dumbed-down middle.
Maybe it is a bit like the rise of the Merchant/Trade class in the face of the landed gentry and clergy of the First and Second Estates, coming out of the Middle Ages. The "old" classes held power without wampum, while the rising classes cornered the wampum, but suffered a lag in terms of secular power. And they gave us the Industrial Revolution.
I'm not sure what's happening here now, but it SEEMS like the now-old money barons of the Industrial Revolution are getting overwhelmed with sophisticated Information Age wampum, bits of information, analysis, and Big Data.
But the less sophisticated and information-illiterate types still hold most of the secular power and dismiss this new bit-based wampum. Who needs it? Give me the top-line!
The bigger question yet to be settled is whether the value-added from the more sophisticated, densely-literate Information Age parsing CONVERTS to enough value to trump (or at least out-think!) the Duh-Class, now trying so desperately to establish conventions of bloodlines and inheritance to amass, accumulate, and pass on great hoarded piles of old world wealth.
This reminds me of the executives who sign memos with the line "Dictated but not read." You know, I'm too important to take the time to pay attention to detail and make sure this is what I meant. And if it isn't, it's the secretary's fault.
So what your saying is a written intelligence brief is prepared everyday, and not read (or vetoed by the current "Duh-Class")? Or that someone dropped the ball not realizing with the violent spring, overthrow of dictators, fledgling Muslim controlled democracies, and on-going attrocities in Syria, that something like this could happen?
Whoever released this stupid film certainly knew it was going to light the kindling that has been building up in that region. But who knew that someone- a private citizen as part of a reactionary fundamentalist christian movement- was going to do this? Some of that stk is valid criticism and some of it is not. Remember not all ends can be predicted at once. Also remember that the protests were largely peaceful- it was just Libya that had the attack. And that was sparked by calls from Al'Qaeda to retaliate for their leader being attacked. That should have been assumed- a counter attack I mean- but perhaps they believed it would happen in Afghanistan? the problem here is that you cannot assume what was and wasn't known by intelligence agencies. If they come out and say we knew X Ok then that's one thing. But since that hasn't happened you're reaching a bit.
You know you just let bush off the hook......
With every passing day this campaign season, the Republican brand is projecting and reinforcing crass political theater! Get these buffoons off the stage! Vote the Rascals Out!
What balderdash we are being subjected to by the intellectual charlatan known as Thiessen! He has no shame - no need to ask the rhetorical question!
Whew! The stupid spewed upon us by the Romneyites is a most tiring thing indeed!
And, dangerous!
Did I mention Mitt Romney, his advisers, his political allies and his presidential campaign are revealing a cold calculated cynicism toward the exceptional system we call American democracy by being so stupid, bumbling and craven in their efforts to gain power - and never once looking back to see what damage they've been causing?
Check it out for yourself, and go through the check list of voting requirements in your particular state and district, work to comply with them in a timely matter as time is running out, and then vote - vote as if your Middle Class Ass depended on it, cause it does! -Kevo
Amen to that, Kevo!
Republicans wrong about everything again? Say it isn't so! :-)
Remember when Obama went to Cairo and gave that HUGE speech, discounting former American President's and saying how much he loved his Muslim brothers and that his administration would be a new beginning by supporting the Muslim efforts in the world? Well, ODumbass, YOUR Muslim brothers are now blowing up American Embassies and killing innocent Americans! Romney was right! No matter HOW the liberal media is trying to spin this!
david
You do realize the 10 Muslims were killed trying to protect the consulate in Benghazi don't you? You are a silly ignorant man and I pity you.
I don't. Men like him revel in their ignorance. I'm bored of that type. Let's see some quality tr0lling, you hack!
Gather accurate information. Cogitate. The post. Did Romney's moronic statement not impress upon you the need for accurate and complete information?
For david-275678: The only thing spinning is your woefully misinformed brain.
That's nice. Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Libya is still dead.
Yup and the maker of that film is still free. But of course we need to blame the uh uh who else?
Yeah, but you can't arrest him for being a crass POS....And the people being arrested for the attack? We'll never see the tried....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48064908#.UBBfWPXJ-Dk?OCID=pro|Say+hello+to+NBC+News|
The movie released was not the movie filmed.
I’m telling you something stinks about this whole situation. Neo-Cons move greedy fanatic savages around the Middle East like so many useful tool pawns on a chess board.
9-11-12
The breaking news in Libya and Egypt is a farce. The same covert-op, Christian, neo-con devils who instigated the protests before the Iran Hostage taking incident during the Carter Administration are perpetrating these traitorous acts AGAIN!
The situation in Iran led to the defeat of President Jimmy Carter to Ronald 6 Wilson 6 Reagan 6... Conservative wackos actually voted for an actor who played 2nd fiddle to Bonzo.
Big monied interests are paying off Libyan-Egyptian locals to storm US compounds in a concerted effort to bring down Obama/Biden before the election. By the way, what has Ollie North been up to recently?
Learn to THINK again on consciousmc.blogspot.c**
No, no, no. The it was the A-Team. Remember, they got away last time....
The problem is that people - voters - who follow and listen to these people don't know the difference. And who's going to tell them....Faux News?
They are now (this hour, this very minute) attacking the President in a coordinated blog smear based on one paragraph of "maybe" in a British newspaper. This borders on the treasonous. These are, BTW, the same people who organized the "Empty Chair Day" Clint Eastwood swarm and the "SWATting" swarm back on Memorial Day.
The Moderate Voice: The Traitors in Red
"Republicans in Bizarro World"!! Catch it while you can!!! There is really no limit to the lengths that they will go to for the Willard/ Lyin' Ryan ticket! They are a wounded, cornered animal and that makes them particularly dangerous. Anyone thinking that Obama has this election all sewn up is VERY sadly mistaken. We already know that they are going to do everything in their power to steal this election. Their playbook is full and their bench is deep. The onslaught is coming so be ready to strike back at every duplicitous utterance that falls from their venal and vacuous lips!
Don't believe everything you hear from The Republicans, especially Dick Cheny. You have to do the math. Do your own investigation and research before accepting the campaign B.S.
Hello McFly
Don't believe everything you hear from The Republicans, especially Dick Cheny. You have to do the math. Do your own investigation and research before accepting the campaign B.S.