Seriously, Obama Thinks We're 'Not Paying Close Attention'?

COMMENTARY | In a transparently desperate attempt to gain the upper hand in the debt ceiling stand-off, President Barack Obama effectively grabbed senior citizens around the throat to use them as a political hostage. For a man whose use of the word "hostage" was so monotonously repeated by his entire administration and loyalists in the media about Republicans, you would think they would feel at least some small modicum of shame in threatening Social Security checks for seniors if Republicans don't give in to his demands. The most incredible part is that, even after the major 2010 midterm drubbing, Obama and his administration honestly believe no one is really paying attention to what they are doing.

Republicans: We want major spending cuts and "no new taxes."

Obama: Oh yeah? Well, if you don't give me what I want, I won't "guarantee that those checks go out on Aug. 3!"

Honestly.

Yes, Obama and his newest press parrot, Jay Carney, actually believe Americans "aren't paying any attention." We're just not smart enough to "sit around" our little kitchen tables "and analyze GDP and unemployment numbers." We're too preoccupied with trying to find a job or keep our houses from going into foreclosure or finding a homeless shelter to live in when we do lose our home.

It's the new favorite liberal threat: "Give me money or grandma gets it!" Or sometimes it's "the children." It all depends on their audience and recent poll trends. Of course, it's not like the current revenue that comes into the government pockets will suddenly vanish if we don't raise the amount they can borrow and spend.

So why threaten seniors? It's not like Obama can't cut things like shrimp treadmills and Jell-O Wrestling studies in Antarctica first. I mean, come on. We've already scrapped the space program. Besides, the "foremost mission" for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was a foreign relations thing to improve U.S. Kumbaya time with the Muslim world anyway, not research and development in aeronautics and space exploration.

During Obama's latest press conference, as I listened to him speak, I curiously found myself hearing two things: What Obama was saying out loud and what I knew he was trying to obfuscate as he read his carefully prepared distraction script.

Let's imagine what it might have sounded like if we could have heard both:

The President: "All right, with that I'm going to take some questions, starting with Ben Feller."

Ben: "Thank you very much, Mr. President. Two quick topics. Given that you're running out of time, can you explain what is your plan for where these talks go if Republicans continue to oppose any tax increases, as they've adamantly said that they will? And secondly, on your point about no short-term stopgap measure, if it came down to that and Congress went that route, I know you're opposed to it but would you veto it?"

The President: "I will not sign a 30-day or a 60-day or a 90-day extension (I want the whole enchilada even though). That is just not (really a smart or) an acceptable approach. And if we think it's going to be hard -- if we think it's hard now, imagine how these guys are going to be thinking six months from now in the middle of election season where they're all up (Of course, all the polls say folks want their representatives to vote against raising the debt ceiling and). It's not going to get easier (after I am voted out of the White House to keep raising the national debt). It's going to get harder (to keep convincing folks that I know what I'm doing because nothing I've done so far has accomplished what I've said it would accomplish). So we might as well do it now (while I've still got some time left to keep 'fundamentally changing the United States of America') -- pull off the Band-Aid; eat our peas (while my wife eats burgers, French fries, BBQ ribs and deep fried fat-cakes). (Laughter.) Now is the time to do it. If not now, when?"

"Chip Reid."

Chip: "Thank you, Mr. President. You said that everybody in the room is willing to do what they have to do, wants to get something done by Aug. 2. But isn't the problem the people who aren't in the room, and in particular Republican presidential candidates and Republican Tea Partiers on the Hill, and the American public? The latest CBS News poll showed that only 24 percent of Americans said you should raise the debt limit to avoid an economic catastrophe. There are still 69 percent who oppose raising the debt limit. So isn't the problem that you and others have failed to convince the American people that we have a crisis here, and how are you going to change that?"

The President: "Well, let me distinguish between professional politicians (like me) and the (ignorant) public at large (because, like them, you aren't smart enough to understand all of this complicated stuff the way I do). (Despite what the Gallup poll said, that the majority of Americans are paying close attention to all of this, and that News Max poll that said it's mostly Democrats who don't know enough to form an educated opinion). The public is not paying close attention to the ins and outs of how a Treasury option goes. (They aren't smart like me, so) They shouldn't. (Besides if they do, it's gonna be like when they started paying attention to what I was doing with Obamcare and my stimulus bill with all of those shovel ready jobs I got caught admitting never existed. Gosh, that was funny. Anyway)."

"They're (too busy) worrying about their family (to pay attention to how I'm going to hit them next); they're worrying about their jobs (because my policies have caused unemployment to skyrocket with no good outlook for improvement any time soon); they're worrying about their neighborhood (which is host to a bunch of those new homeless shanty towns they've named after me, Obamavilles). They've got a lot of other things on their plate (well, except for food, of course, because they're unemployed and losing their homes.

But me, I'm fine. In fact, I've set a world record in rounds of golf played by a sitting president that I can put next to my Transparency Award and my Nobel Peace Prize, even though both groups said I didn't really do anything to actually earn either one. But me and my family are eating good, real good in fact. Michelle just loves French fries and BBQ ribs and ice cream and those deep fried fat cakes she had in Africa. And we're going on lots of fun vacations at your expense.

Anyway, of course Americans are worried about the economy and unemployment. Look what I've done in just three years, not even three years. Just imagine what I'll do with another four! Dude, no kidding Americans are worried about what me and my administration is doing.) We're paid to (make sure you have to) worry about it.

"We keep on talking about this stuff and we have these high-minded pronouncements about how we've got to get control of the deficit and how we owe it to our children and our grandchildren (but you know we don't really care about that stuff. We're just making promises we won't keep just like we did in 2008). Well, let's step up (let's keep the facade going).

"Let's do it. I'm prepared to do it. I'm prepared to take on significant heat from my party (because I'm going to roll up my sleeves in another speech and keep pretending I'm going) to get something done (and then take off on another vacation or hit the links or the campaign trail). And I expect the other side should be willing to do the same thing (I mean, I'm going to be in serious trouble if they keep rejecting my ideas, I mean) if they mean what they say (and they keep insisting) that this is important."

"And let me just, Ben (obfuscate a little -- I mean, let me), comment on this whole issue of tax increases, because there's been a lot of (conflicting) information (that me and my administration have been) floating around there. I want to be (smoked) crystal clear, nobody has talked about increasing taxes now (except for me and my administration, repeatedly).

"Nobody has talked about increases (that we'll admit to, and we'll deny it, no matter how many YouTube videos or news clips you have showing us talking about raising taxes since I got here. We're talking about) --increasing taxes next year (next year, just like the way the devastating effects of my Obamacare thing won't hit you like a 2x4 until after the next election. We planned it that way, and with the new taxes I want to slap on American taxpayers so I can fund my re-election entitlement slush fund, it's going to hurt a lot worse because all this is gonna be hitting all you folks at the same time. Like Joe said, it's gonna be a 'big *expletive* deal.' Now,)

"What we have talked about is that starting in 2013 (after the 2012 election so, if I do manage to fool you folks into electing me again and everything that the Republicans and economists have been saying will happen, it will be too late for you to do anything about it just like there's not much you can do about the mess I've created since I was elected in 2008. So I'm just going to play a sort of shell game and say I 'inherited' the mess a few more times and make you think Republicans created the problem and I'm gonna insinuate) that we have gotten rid of some of these egregious loopholes that are benefiting corporate jet owners (that my administration gave them in my stimulus package) or oil companies at a time where they're making billions of dollars of profits (that they bundled and donated to my campaign back in 2008 -- Wait, what was the question?)"

You just can't make up this kind of tragic comedy.

The utter insanity of Obama's multiple overlapping versions of reality are really starting to reach a level of utter embarrassment -- or insult. I can't decide which just yet.

It's as if he really does believe we aren't paying attention, that we didn't hear or can't remember what he said yesterday, or the week before, that we've forgotten what he said during his 2008 campaign or in the multitude of speeches after his election. For a man who relies so much on blackberries and Twitter, you'd think he would be aware that we have access to technology too. We even know how to use it, and we have been paying attention, which is why most average Americans knew more about what was in his Obamacare bill than his Democrat Congress did when they voted for it and more than he knew when he signed it.

Perhaps Obama wasn't aware of what happens when you spend so much time talking; giving speeches, appearing on talk shows and news interviews, saying different things at different times to different groups of people in different places. Maybe he would like to believe that we haven't been and are not paying attention now. It would be his only Hope to Change his dwindling chances for re-election. In the end, it's as John Tillotson once said, "The art of using deceit and cunning grow continually weaker and less effective to the user."

Sources:

"Briefing by Press Secretary Jay Carney, 7/8/2011", The White House

"Press Conference by the President", The White House

Dennis Jacobe, "Americans Oppose Raising Debt Ceiling, 47% to 19%", Gallup

David A. Patten, "Newsmax/InsiderAdvantage Poll: Voters Don't Want Debt Ceiling Hike", News Max

Ralph Alter, "Sign of the times: Obamavilles", American Thinker

Erica, Werner, "Obama Accepts Transparency Award In Private", Huffpost

Lachlan Markay, "Obama Blasts Private Jet Tax Breaks Included in His Own Stimulus", Heritage.org

"Obama's Oil Spill", Fact Check.org