Tuesday, May 14, 2013

DO ALLEN AND VANDEHEI HAVE TO MARRY BEN BRADLEE NOW?

From "D.C. Turns On Obama" by Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei, published this evening by Politico:
The town is turning on President Obama – and this is very bad news for this White House....

Obama's aloof mien and holier-than-thou rhetoric have left him with little reservoir of good will, even among Democrats. And the press, after years of being accused of being soft on Obama while being berated by West Wing aides on matters big and small, now has every incentive to be as ruthless as can be.

This White House's instinctive petulance, arrogance and defensiveness have all worked together to isolate Obama at a time when he most needs a support system....
This is a pretty good cover version, but I preferred the 1998 Sally Quinn original:
With some exceptions, the Washington Establishment is outraged by the president's behavior in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.... people want some formal acknowledgment that the president's behavior has been unacceptable....

THIS IS THEIR HOME. This is where they spend their lives, raise their families, participate in community activities, take pride in their surroundings. They feel Washington has been brought into disrepute by the actions of the president.

"It's much more personal here," says pollster Geoff Garin. "This is an affront to their world. It affects the dignity of the place where they live and work.... Clinton's behavior is unacceptable. If they did this at the local Elks Club hall in some other community it would be a big cause for concern."

"He came in here and he trashed the place," says Washington Post columnist David Broder, "and it's not his place."
The irony of the Quinn piece is that the two living Americans most admired for their work in D.C. politics are both named ... Clinton. If we extend the definition of "D.C. politics" to include D.C. political journalism, that's still true. (Sorry, Bob Woodward. And Ben Bradlee.)

At this moment, it's hard to imagine that Barack Obama will leave office as widely admired as Bill did in 2001 and Hillary did earlier this year. But I hope it happens, just so Allen and VandeHei can choke on it.

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:04 AM

    Ain't buying it eh?

    I see your point. But, I think these guys got too arrogant.

    You know? Like Bush?

    Just sayin'

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  2. They hate that Obama is better than them and he knows it, and he knows they know it. They hate that he makes them look like petty clowns who eat up right wing talking points and perpetuate the myth of "both sides do it."

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  3. Anonymous2:33 AM

    Their piece presumes that DC courtiers in the press would ever line up behind a Democratic president being barraged with accusations. I don't believe that has ever happened, at least not since FDR.

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  4. Incompetent people always hate those who are competent.

    These same clowns all loved W, at least in the early days.

    Not only 'cause he gave them stupid nicknames, or 'cause they felt they could have a beer with him - but that when the moron forgot to put the beer in the fridge at his ranch with no animals, they could all laugh when he opened-up his warm cans for them, and it sprayed warm beer all over them.
    And then they all sat around drinking together, while he sipped his warm non-alcoholic beer, watched the fridge go up in flames and nearly burn the house down, while they all kept drinking and laughing and trying to top one another's stories, until they all got so drunk, they pissed themselves, and passed out.

    W, was just like them!

    Good times... Good times...

    Useless fucking assholes.

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  5. Eyup, the peasants, the pissants, always flail at their betters.

    Insufficiently evolved, less than - call it 3/5 - human.

    No fear.

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  6. "Obama's aloof mien and holier-than-thou rhetoric have left him with little reservoir of good will, even among Democrats."

    Even among Democrats!

    More quality Some People Say journamalism from our friends at Tiger Beat on the Potomac.

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  7. In order for "DC is turning on Obama" to make any sense you have to believe that DC was okay with Obama to begin with.

    ReplyDelete