Ya' know how employees will chatter away about the boss when the boss isn't around? Those chattering employees are oh-so-sure that they know more than the boss and are happy to explain to fellow workers, whenever the boss is out of earshot, how they would do things differently and how the boss is clueless and so forth. A common dynamic.
Last night's hour long Obama press conference was like a situation where behind-the-boss's-back chatter was captured and presented in question form in front of the boss. "Reporters", like the AP's Jennifer Loven, NBC's Chuck Todd and Chip Reid, ABC's Jake Tapper, Fox's Major Garrett and CNN's cocky ass, Ed Henry……all critics of Obama's administration….found out last night that the boss is the boss for a reason.
Jennifer Loven's probing question, "why do you think the public should sign on for another new, sweeping authority for the government to take over companies, essentially?"
Obama…."keep in mind that it is precisely because of the lack of this authority that the AIG situation has gotten worse."
Loven wasn't satisfied…."But why should the public trust the government to handle that authority well?"
The Boss…."as I said before, if you look at how the FDIC has handled a situation like IndyBank, for example, it actually does these kinds of resolutions effectively when it's got the tools to do it."
Loven's assumption in her question is an old-failed-policy conservative assumption. She assumes, because Republicans and conservatives assume it, that government, as Father Ronnie used to say, "is the problem." A knowledgable "reporter" would know that the FDIC, for example, has used it's authority recently to calmly takeover 2 failed banks per week on average…all without major incident.
Boss Obama, without malice, calmly corrected the chattering "employee", Jennifer Loven, who should have known better, but sadly….didn't.
Next up, NBC's Chuck Todd. Todd, for a few days previous, was taking online questions for Obama from his readers….so he would, you know, be prepared with the most galactically profound question of the night.
Todd…."Why, given this new era of responsibility that you're asking for, why haven't you asked for something specific that the public should be sacrificing to participate in this economic recovery?"
Obama…."First of all, it's not true that we have not asked sacrifice from people who are getting taxpayer money. We have imposed some very stiff conditions. The only problem that we've had so far are contracts that were put in place before we took over."
Todd follow-up…."But you don't think there should be a specific call to action that you want the American — I mean, this is — you've described this as an economic crisis like nothing we have seen since the Great Depression."
Obama…."the American people are making a host of sacrifices in their individual lives."
Todd's question was not some deeply thought out question with profound insight….it was the typical Villager 'I'm smarter than the boss' question, and in this case, it was entirely out of place. Todd was challenging the Boss with Village wisdom. If the Boss claimed that things were really bad, and didn't ask all Americans to sacrifice, then, maybe it wasn't really so bad after all. Todd's cluelessness concerning already-suffering and sacrificing Americans losing jobs, homes, health care, etc. was more than obvious in his question.
Jake Tapper and Chip Reid both posed gotcha style questions trying to make Obama look like he was trashing his own campaign plans and promises. Read those and the Boss's answers in the full transcript.
But the winner of the night's "employee chatter" award was Mr. Ed Henry of CNN.
Henry….."So on AIG, why did you wait — why did you wait days to come out and express that outrage? It seems like the action is coming out of New York in the attorney general’s office. It took you days to come public with Secretary Geithner and say, look, we’re outraged. Why did it take so long?"
Obama…."Well, it took us a couple of days because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak. (Laughter.) All right?"
Ed Henry's stupid question encapsulated the nutty Villager focus over the last week or so. Padders, like Henry, have been trying to create some Obama administration 'scandal' over AIG employee bonuses….how outraged everyone should be over them….and how Obama, somehow, didn't act quickly enough, or wasn't sufficiently outraged.
Boss Obama demonstrated why folks like Ed Henry aren't the boss. Obama dismissed Henry's silly Villager question by answering in common-sense, non-Village, words. "I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak."
You know, unlike you Village Knee Padders….Ed.
Or, as Molly Ivors over on Eschatonblog.com put it this morning….
"In honor of Ed Henry, who now carries his ass in a brown paper bag."
