I’m torn about whether this John F. Harris article is terrible. On the one hand, it’s like a hall of mirrors…of stupid. It’s a reporter discussing all the things that he and his ilk could be saying about Obama…but aren’t yet. Harris proposes 7 narratives that Obama hopes doesn’t catch on, which, technically makes sense - I certainly hope that one of seven largely contradictory and largely unsupported narratives based largely on insider gossip and what seems like random interactions with people who may or may not be in the Obama Administration. The narratives are:
1.) He thinks he’s playing with Monopoly money
2.) Too much Leonard Nimoy
3.) That’s the Chicago Way
4.) He’s a pushover
5.) He sees America as another pleasant country on the U.N. roll call, somewhere between Albania and Zimbabwe
6.) President Pelosi
7.) He’s in love with the man in the mirror
So, Obama is a too-logical, frivolous narcissist who bullies people around as they push him over (particularly Nancy Pelosi), and he also hates America. QED.
What Harris wants this to demonstrate is the terrible position Obama has found himself in, having frittered away all of his goodwill with
the American people
the Washington press corps. What this actually demonstrates is that the Washington press corps literally makes shit up, and that covering the leader of the free world allows ample opportunity to take one interaction, one event, and spin it into the very definition of a presidency simply by focusing on it ad nauseum. The reason the media is so distrusted is precisely this - Harris has written what’s little more than an effective holdup note, letting Obama know that if he steps out of line there’s a myriad of ways in which he will be made to pay.
There should be some shame on Harris’ part for writing a story that’s basically admitting his job is sitting around throwing darts at a board, deciding what inane shit he wants to say today. However, I’m pretty sure he’ll be on MSNBC all day tomorrow, discussing the serious and deep import of all the ways in which Obama is losing at everything. And the best part is that it actually helps to cover up the actual issues with the Obama Administration, because Spock jokes are so much more fun to repeat for 16 hours a day on cable news.
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“There should be some shame on Harris’ part for writing a story that’s basically admitting his job is sitting around throwing darts at a board, deciding what inane shit he wants to say today.”
Throwing darts at a board requires some actual skill. John Harris throw darts at his office wall, which is covered with RNC press releases.