Milbank Cites Professors Praising Obama's Intellect Without Mentioning They Contributed To Him

April 27th, 2011 11:20 AM

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote a love letter to President Obama Tuesday wherein he cited three college professors praising the intellectual capacity of the current White House resident.

Unfortunately, nowhere in his piece did Milbank mention that two of these academics contributed to Obama's campaign in 2008:

When I covered George W. Bush’s White House, my job was made easier by the simplicity of the subject. The president had a few defining mantras — Cut taxes! Rally the base! Terrorists hate freedom! With us or against us! — and most of his decisions could be understood, even predicted, by applying one of the overarching philosophies.

With President Obama, there is no such luxury. [...]

Seeking a template to understand the enigmatic president, I consulted three leading academics in the fields of psychology and behavior. With their help, I put Obama on the couch and came away with a reasonably coherent diagnosis: There’s too much going on in the poor guy’s head.

Makes you want to suggest Milbank wipe the drool from his chin, doesn't it? Fortunately for him there were professors in waiting just dying to go along with the gushing and fawning:

“What distinguishes Obama particularly is the depth and carefulness of his thinking, which renders him somewhat unfit for politics,” said Jonathan Haidt, a professor of social psychology at the University of Virginia. “He is a brilliant social and political analyst, which makes it harder for him to play hardball or to bluff.”

Let's look at Haidt's FEC report:

HAIDT, JONATHAN
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22902
U. OF VIRGINIA/PROFESSOR

OBAMA, BARACK
VIA OBAMA FOR AMERICA
04/14/2008 200.00 28991063053

HAIDT, JONATHAN
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22902
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA/PROFESSOR

OBAMA, BARACK
VIA OBAMA FOR AMERICA
08/19/2008 200.00 28933236101

So, the professor that claimed Obama is "a brilliant social and political analyst" donated twice to his campaign in 2008. Let's continue:

“If the logic of a threat doesn’t make sense, it can still work if [your opponents] think you will be in the grips of an emotional reaction that’s not under your control,” says Robert Frank, an economist at Cornell University who specializes in behavior and emotion. “With Obama, it doesn’t seem there would be any emotional reaction that is not under his control.”

Here's Frank's FEC record:

FRANK, ROBERT
ITHACA, NY 14850
CORNELL UNIVERSITY/PROFESSOR

MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION
08/12/2004 225.00 24971684705
09/03/2004 650.00 24971684705

OBAMA, BARACK
VIA OBAMA FOR AMERICA
12/25/2007 500.00 28930540570
01/09/2008 500.00 28930636292
04/30/2008 500.00 28991058731
07/31/2008 700.00 28932577143

So Frank not only gave $2,200 to Obama, he's also given money to MoveOn.org.

Boy, those sure are some impartial sources of information, Dana.

Why didn't you just ask Malia and Sasha how smart their daddy is?