Tina Brown: Obama 'Doesn't Like His Job'
By Mark Finkelstein | November 30, 2011 | 09:31
Recently on Morning Joe it was Jon Meacham suggesting that Barack Obama doesn't particularly like people and was in the wrong line of work. Today it was Tina Brown's turn, opining that PBO doesn't dig his gig.
Discussing PBO's ever-paltrier poll numbers, Brown opined that Obama "doesn't like his job." Video after the jump.
Note that beyond Brown's caustic comment, Jon Meacham makes perhaps the unkindest comparison of all, analogizing Barack Obama in 2011 to Jimmy Carter in 1979. Ouch!
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Tina, what has happened to this president, the president from hope and change? What has happened?
TINA BROWN: Well it's so interesting. I think that Obama doesn't like his job, actually. I think that he is genuinely of a professioral disposition in the sense that I think that he's interested in chewing over the pros and cons, and he doesn't like, he doesn't like power and he doesn't know how to exercise power. And I think knowing how to exercise power is absolutely crucial. He doesn't understand how to underpin his ideas with the political gritty, granular business of getting it done. And that kind of gap has just widened and widened and widened. And so that every time there is a moment, a window where he can jump in, like something like a Simpson-Bowles as well, he just doesn't do it. He hangs back at crucial moments when you have to dive through that window.
SCARBOROUGH: And regardless of your ideology, it is very safe to say, I think most people would agree: LBJ he is not, Bill Clinton, he is not, when it just comes to understanding how to make Washington work.
MIKE BARNICLE: It appears off of what Tina just said, you just said, it appears that you could make a case that Barack Obama doesn't like politics.
BROWN: Right. I absolutely feel that.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Well who would today? I mean, I think it's great that --
SCARBOROUGH: Oh come on. If you don't like medicine, don't be a doctor. If you don't like politics, don't put yourself out there to run the free world, Mika.
BRZEZINSKI: You know what? Politics today need to be changed.
SCARBOROUGH: Stop the apologizing!
BRZEZINSKI: I'm not apologizing.
SCARBOROUGH: You're apologizing. [Sarcastically imitates Mika's voice] Who would like politics today? You know what?
BRZEZINSKI: Who would?
SCARBOROUGH: He is running the free world. He better know a lot of people love politics. Bill Clinton loves politics. FDR loved politics. Ronald Reagan loved politics. Great leaders love what they do. So who would love politics?
BROWN: Isn't it really also about, well the other word for politics is just doing what it takes to get it done. Like, one of the things that's interesting about Obama is that he kind of, and I think he does believe in this, that his idea of being a transformative figure who can cross many persuasions and orientations and aisles. And yet when it is actually taken to reaching out and really bringing that in, and trying, I don't think that it really --
SCARBOROUGH: He doesn't do that.
JON MEACHAM: The analogy to 1979 is something we should explore a little bit more, for all the obvious reasons: a technocratic president who thinks he's really smart and perhaps above it all. And a slightly unsettled Republican field. Sounds somewhat familiar.
SCARBOROUGH: It does sound familiar.
There does seem to be an emerging theme, even in the liberal media, that this is a failed president with a personality and skills unsuited to the task before him. Does that mean the MSM won't rally around Obama in 2012 and savage the eventual Republican nominee? No. But perhaps we can say that "this was the moment when the rise of the MSM's oceans of Obama adulation began to slow." ;-)
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Comments
And I don't like the job he is...
Submitted by jawebster1 on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 9:35am.
doing.
Tina Brown, Celebutard at Best, Imbecile More Likely
Submitted by Motormouth KOS on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 9:42am.
This must be the new DNC narrative.
"Barry Blunder doesn't like his job..."
First stated by Tingles Matthews.
Then uttered by John Meachem, former NewsWEAK editor.
Now from the gaping cakehole of current NewsWEAK editor, Tina Brown.
I smell conspiracy! Maybe this is how they try to create sympathy for President Downgrade? Look at what all these nasty Republicans have done to Mr. Hope(less) and Change(less)!!!
Look at what that racist Tea Party has done to the Community Organizer!!!
It's all our fault, boo-hoo!
The Obamination... A crisis leading to a catastrophe..(please donate to MRC)
Motormouth KOS
Submitted by amyshulk on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:02am.
I think it's like quicksand, understanding and defining him, so they've rationalized his lack of leadership as "He hates the gig" rather than the reality they refuse to face - that he doesn't know HOW to lead like they are used to!
I will say he is brilliant on the sneaky stuff. First he plumps up all the "good" budgets, thins out the "bad" ones {think Pentagon} then when polar opposites in the fake committee fail, he sticks to 10% off across the board - his faves still get plumped, just not as much, while like Clinton, he decimates the military!
Ronald Reagan
A long-denied awakening.
Submitted by motherbelt on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:21am.
They're not rationalizing his lack of leadership. One cannot "rationalize" a lack of leadership by saying he doesn't like his job.
This is more like a long-denied awakening. It took a while, but they finally have to admit that this man was completely unprepared for the job he wanted and won. And that he never really wanted the job, just the position and title.
He is the personification of the adage Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
I totally agree, motherbelt
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 5:26pm.
He's discovered that being President is far more difficult than being Editor of the Harvard Law Review (his previous executive experience), and as many liberals like Brown are finally accepting is the fact that Obama is not the leader they built him up to be, and just as importantly, he never was.
But Brown and company will endorse Obama, telling us that with a 4-year Presidential internship under his belt, he'll be better the second time around.
motherbelt
Submitted by amyshulk on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 3:20pm.
Maybe they aren't rationalizing for *themselves* - maybe it's for for the audience, and they are thinking it's better than him being incompetent?
If it IS that they are *finally* clued in, I wonder if their pro/con list will have enough pro on it to get them out to vote? So if it's Mitt vs. Pres. Obama, the turnout will be low for *both* sides?
I really don't care at this point who gets picked - down ticket matters more IMO, since they are the ones who do the actual work!
Ronald Reagan
What he DOES like
Submitted by paulnashtn on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 9:42am.
Obama does not like his JOB but he sure LOVES the PERKS
Obama's job...
Submitted by adamsmith on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:32am.
Of course he doesn't like his job. It actually involves work rather than voting "present". He doesn't like people either as he's so much more superior. He believes his own hype, we're all inferior. The ego on this affirmative action anti-American malcontent is unreal. He will be the most hated President ever once the truth comes out....He should be exiled to his birthplace of Mombassa. Then again, they don't want him either. He'll be a Commie without a country. The only thing left will be for him to commit Hari Kari. I'd pay good money to see that on Pay-Per-View.
That's true
Submitted by jon_torlin on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 9:50am.
Yeah, that's true, he doesn't like being hamstrung by the Constitution, which is why he's been shredding it ten ways to Sunday and then some. He already did say he wish he could run the USA like China. He's already been acting like a dictator with no one with enough guts to stop him in his tracks and have him muslim a$$ removed from office.
So yeah, we know he doesn't like the job of potus, he's proved that with the lack of dignity he's shown that office. Not to mention our allies......and our enemies that he's become friendly with.(even if they were burning him in effigy over in pock-ee-ston)
-Jon
Well, isn't that special?
Submitted by KyWriter on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 9:57am.
Considering the accelerating number of people who don't like the job he is doing, the President should take his own cue and bow out. Of course, narcissist that he is, that won't happen, which is causing increasingly sleepless nights at the DNC. Reminds me of the old toast attributed to the DuPont family: "Confusion to the enemy," or words to that effect. I suspect that Team Obama meetings (including the media, which is most heavily invested in him) are using the term "worst case scenario" ever more frequently these days.
"Say what...?"
Submitted by helomech on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:05am.
You mean, I actually have to work at this job? Why can't I just 'organize' the masses? I don't know what to do with them after they're organized, but that's not my problem....that's what my hero Alinsky says to do!
Obama likes two things about being president
Submitted by ohio granny on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:14am.
The two things Obama likes about being president are the PERKS and destroying the USA.
The one thing that makes his heart pound in excitement is how much damage he is doing to this country that he professes to love. Goodness gracious what would it look like if he professed to hate it? Scary isn't it?
Hating your job.
Submitted by CarolinaJimbo on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:20am.
The times in my career that I really, really hated my job were when I was completely incompetent for the task at hand.
If the Dear Ruler hates his job, then why doesn't he just quit?
Submitted by Dave. on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:27am.
But I really don't believe he hates his job.
He is very rapidly destroying America as it was founded, and I believe he is loving every minute of it.
Eleven months hence, the incredible damage he will have done could very well be irreversible, and it may not matter who his successor is.
-Dave
then why doesn't he just quit?
Submitted by vrwc13 on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:31am.
...perks. And an incredible ego.
v
oh, he likes the job...
Submitted by misterbee241 on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:29am.
it's the work he hates.
What Work?
Submitted by Blonde on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 12:33pm.
I don't see any official work going on today....lots of fund raising, though.
12:00 pm The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing
12:40 pm The President departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews
12:55 pm The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Scranton, PA
1:45 pm The President arrives Scranton, PA
2:05 pm The President meets with a Scranton family
2:45 pm The President delivers remarks at Scranton High School
4:10 pm The President departs Scranton, PA en route New York City
4:55 pm The President arrives New York City
6:05 pm The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
7:30 pm The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
9:05 pm The President delivers remarks at a campaign event
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 109 (and Counting)
delivers remarks, repeat
Submitted by jon_torlin on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 2:04pm.
Good grief, if that's all he was doing, that makes him the most expensive delivery boy in all of history.
-Jon
Tina Brown and the MSM
Submitted by celator on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:32am.
Tina Brown and the MSM stumble around (as usual) trying to describe Obama's presidential behavior and performance. A far more interesting analysis is found in James Barber's Positive/Negative, Active/Passive matrix, from his books, "The Presidential Character" and "The Pulse of Politics" It's not a perfect instrument, but it's darn good and has some predictive possibilities. Barber looked at both character and behavior in US Presidents to come up with his approach.
Observing his character and behavior, Obama would be considered Passive-Negative--my opinion--for example (though he campaigned as an Active-Positive, which is why people were fooled). Woodrow Wilson and Lyndon Johnson would be Active-Negative. An FDR would be Active-Positive, etc.
At any rate, it's an interesting tool and might be useful to help us assess current candidates.
Here's some sources to draw your own conclusions on the idea:
http://www.amazon.com/Presidential-Character-Predicting-Performance-Poli...
http://www.talkrational.org/showthread.php?t=9310
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081117211817AAsqWCO
http://www.sparknotes.com/us-government-and-politics/american-government...
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2028198/classifying_john_adams_...
Great point
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:45am.
I'm familiar with the model and I agree with your assessment of Obama.
For once, I totally agree with Tina Brown
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:57am.
TINA BROWN: "Well it's so interesting. I think that Obama doesn't like his job, actually. I think that he is genuinely of a professioral disposition in the sense that I think that he's interested in chewing over the pros and cons, and he doesn't like, he doesn't like power and he doesn't know how to exercise power. And I think knowing how to exercise power is absolutely crucial. He doesn't understand how to underpin his ideas with the political gritty, granular business of getting it done. And that kind of gap has just widened and widened and widened. And so that every time there is a moment, a window where he can jump in, like something like a Simpson-Bowles as well, he just doesn't do it. He hangs back at crucial moments when you have to dive through that window."
This is a scathing but refreshingly frank assessment of the man. I just wonder why they didn't see this in 2010 when it was already quite evident.
The Dem's dilemma
Submitted by Galvanic on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 10:57am.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Well who would today? I mean, I think it's great that --
SCARBOROUGH: Oh come on. If you don't like medicine, don't be a doctor. If you don't like politics, don't put yourself out there to run the free world, Mika.
BRZEZINSKI: You know what? Politics today need to be changed.
And there you have the roots of the dilemma for the Dems. For poor Mika, Obama is the right guy and a really likeable guy with a neat wife and adorable children, but the politics are nasty today, so let's change the politics to make the Presidency more palatable for Obama.
Hence, the difference between Obama's popularity and his performance evaluation. The public likes him as a person, but they don't like his performance. Mika and friends want to lower the performance bar to make him more palatable for the voters. This is the racism of low expectations.
His job?
Submitted by retrocon on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 11:05am.
Simply stated, he wants to be king, he thinks he should be king, he hasn't figured out that the U.S. doesn't have kings. Since his supporters want him to be king, well, he will play the part begrudgingly. So, he plays golf and delegates all real work to his ministers -- equally incompetent ministers.
So, sure, he doesn't like his "job," after all, it's just "president."
wrong Tina,
Submitted by wizardjr on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 11:27am.
What he doesn't like is how long it's taking to destroy America. We deserve it you know. His father said so.
Mike Barnicle
Submitted by Hozeking on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 11:31am.
Did you catch this goof thinking that McConnell was the Senate Majority Leader and Scarborough's following slap-down? Tina (I have a British accent so I am smarter than you) Brown was laughing out loud...
Hozeking
Submitted by amyshulk on Thu, 12/01/2011 - 1:10pm.
Barnicle was trying to insert the journolist meme of "Well, R's don't *want* the D's to succeed - Rep. Mitch McConnell even said {out loud, gasp} that "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."
But he was working with last week's memo, poor dunce, and Joe *covered* for Barnicle.
I think the D's {and Joe etal} *finally* figured out that most of the country LIKE and AGREE with that statement and they were really reinforcing the idea instead of making the R's look bad, lmao!!!
Ronald Reagan
→ A common phenomenon
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 12:09pm.
It's common phenomenon among those in over their heads to not like their jobs.
WHAT JOB??????
Submitted by billb on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 12:52pm.
WHAT JOB??????
So basically,
Submitted by dave_worrell on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 3:07pm.
It sounds like they're saying he wasn't ready to be president. Why, oh why, didn't anybody bring that up before he was elected?
exercise power
Submitted by Tjexcite on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 3:32pm.
doesn't know how to exercise power
That is because he has never had too in any such way that would get people killed and cause them to kill others. What did he do in life to be the CiC in war. The WH photo that came with the UBL raid with him in the corner shows how much power he really has in a room.
I've often thought
Submitted by Lonevoice on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 4:28pm.
that he was MUCH more interested in RULING than in GOVERNING.
Presidenten', yer doin' it wrong........
Next October's surprise ...
Submitted by SoapyJohnson on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 8:02pm.
Obama has figured out the only way he can get re-elected ...
http://placeitonluckydan.com/2011/11/headlines-reveal-october-surprise-b...
Rush was right again
Submitted by Molecule on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 9:01pm.
Rush said a long time ago that BO just wants to *be* President, he doesn't want to *do* President.
(Not that he's capable even if he *wanted* to!)
Seriously, they can this?
Submitted by Radical1979 on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 9:08pm.
and he doesn't like, he doesn't like power and he doesn't know how to exercise power.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2011/11/30/tina-brown-obam...
He loves power and knows how to exercise it. Look at the czars and executive orders. What he doesn't like is having his power restrained, by pesky things like the Constitution.
For the record, malignant narcissists do NOT quit, they destroy.
Submitted by drsamherman on Wed, 11/30/2011 - 11:37pm.
Everything and anything that does not support their illusory self-superiority and aggrandizement is immediately rendered to dust, and usually we make a co-diagnosis of some degree of sociopathy in the more advanced cases of narcissistic personality disorder like Odumbo's. In the literature about narcissistic personality disorder, we older psychiatrists applied the adjective "malignant" to describe a more advanced case whereby sociopathy was incorporated into the diagnosis without reservation. Malignancy implies a degree of self-delusion that is not amenable to standard therapies, so we often used more intensive therapies for co-morbid (e.g. concomitant or accompanying) mood or dissociative disorders that are generally responsive to medication therapy. I still use the older terms, because quite frankly I am unable to discuss Ear Leader without those modifiers.
Another dimension of malignancy is the inherent property of wanton destruction in the construction of the patient's self-aggrandizement. While I generally refer these types of patients to the few select psychologists who actually are willing to work with them, the high co-morbidity of mood/dissociative disorders often makes treatment difficult. I end up chasing one drug therapy for depression/anxiety while I am chasing another for dissociative features. Makes treating malignant narcissists EXTREMELY difficult.