You may have seen the anonymous interview floating around that begins
"A longtime Washington D.C. insider, and former advisor to the Obama election campaign and transition team, speaks out on an administration in crisis, and a president increasingly withdrawn from the job of President."
Most of the copies tend to be on obscure websites with a huge amount of advertising, so here's a link to it on Israpundit, which has mostly text.
Is this for real?
Probably not. It's very easy to make stuff up and post it on the Internet.
But, if it were real, who is your guess who it would actually be?
I'll put my guess in the comments.
Posts
43 comments:
Judging from the enjoyable brusqueness of the tone and from the Hillary-worship, if this were real, my best guess as to the interviewee would be Haim Saban, the Israeli-American Mighty Morphin Power Range mogul who is a huge donor to the Clinton wing of the party.
But, my guess would be that somebody just read some interviews with Saban to get into the right mindset, and then let himself go with the creativity on the theme of what a Saban type person would really have to say in private.
Come on, Steve...no way that's a conversation with a real insider.
Hell, it sounds like Jack of "Will and Grace" talking or a teenaged girl (same thing as Jack, actually.)
The only person just as awful as BH Obama as President is HR Clinton.
I do fear that the average Democrat voter might want to turn to her, never really saying to himself, "Hell, on the stump she was every bit as liberal as he, even worse, arguing for the single payer."
Speaking of the Clintons. Bill has lost weight, yes, good for his health, but is it me or has he really, really lost whatever physical charisma he might have had? Age, it does it to all of us.
"Democrat Party" = this is pure fiction.
I have no clue who this guy is, but it looks like the real deal to me. I mean, I'm sure there's plenty of writers who could write a fake interview with a gabby Jewish Washington insider that could get past my bs-detector but if it's fake, it's a really good job.
For instance:
"What scares you more as president – Sarah Palin or Barack Obama? (Hands to head) Oh boy. What a choice! People would kill me for saying this – actually you know what, there are more and more of us Democrats saying what I am going to say in one form or another… Sarah Palin understands America more than Barack Obama."
That sounds like an actual interview to me; I've seen lots of extroverted interviewees give that melodramatic reaction to a really juicy question, then preface their response with an "oh people aren't going to like this, but here goes". Likewise the back-and-forth over Michelle Obama where "the insider" resists (in a teasing sort of way) saying anything about her while the interviewer pokes and prods for every juicy tidbit he can wring out, looks pretty real to me.
And the diagnosis that Obama is basically lazy and uninterested in the job of president is not really "inside baseball" to anyone who pays attention, but it is after all true, and it's what I would expect a genuine, disgruntled "insider" to complain about.
On the other hand, I don't actually trust the interview because the subject appears to be one hell of a weaselly bastard, with an axe to grind too.
Yes: "Democrat" for Democratic [Party] is not something an adherent would say. Also there's the mistake about Obama's not having lost a race. This is bullshit, clearly.
Not sure what to make of that. Isn't Obama generally withdrawn? The quotes from Bob Woodward's book, Obama's War, which describe Obama as a "professorial" figure who assigns "homework" to his subordinates sound very believable.
The article originally appeared in the New York Times a couple of days ago. So I guess that means its absolutely true!
I think it is a GOP fantasy. A few clues:
"showed a candidate with increasing momentum as primary race after primary"
This is not an accurate account of the long battle with Hillary.
" He had never lost a campaign."
False.
"Sarah Palin understands America more than Barack Obama. Yes, she has a minority of our far left who hates her"
Palin understands blue collar and rural whites but they are not the majority. Most of the population lives in big metro areas and has never hunted. The left do hate her but after quitting her governorship only a third of the country takes her seriously. The use of the term "far left" several times is a clue a right winger wrote the piece.
Obama knew Biden from the Senate. He would not have picked him if he despised him.
"Bill Clinton was the very best politician of our time"
Clinton is a better campaigner but Obama is better at working with Congress which is why he got health care passed.
I think it is real, I think it is a low-level staffer no one has heard of who is a Clintonite, and upset at being out of the power structure (a theme in the "interview.") Something like Assistant Deputy Understudy to the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State. Yes they are that stupid. I've had meetings (me silent as a mouse, under threats haha) from connected Dem insider types in NGO-istan connected with a charity I was involved in. Yes that language and mentality.
NOT a major player though. Definitely not.
it's obviously fake
Let me add, the various themes that have played out in various forms in the Media (Fox News at least) and the National Enquirer are all there.
A President bored with everything but parties, fame, and rock star adulation? Check! Michelle Obama as combative, Klingon-Lawyer (per Ace of Spades joke) to the left of Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan? Double Check! [And that describes entitled-aggravated Michelle Obama to a tee.] A President just not that smart? Check. A President disconnected from the major desire of the populace -- JOBS JOBS JOBS? Triple Check. A President who fundamentally does not understand or is not interested in America? Quadruple Check.
After all, supposedly Obama *IS* a politician. If he thought "the banks were conspiring against him" on the economy, he could make a deal (that's the stupidest thing in the interview). There's always horses to be traded. But consistently, Obama has NEVER BEEN ABLE TO TRADE HORSES. Not once.
Quick name one big "deal" Obama got with major horse trading with Republicans? Ever in his life? That's the failure of the Chicago Way, eventually you get a player to big to threaten, who plays hard-ball against you. As the New York Mob did against Capone.
But ... small business does most of the hiring in this country. To stimulate employment, Obama would have to "deal" by lowering regulation, taxes, and spending like a sailor on military stuff (like ships/planes/tanks) to jump-start employment. A mini-WWII mobilization. Sure there's a credit crunch, but business won't borrow in the first place if there are no prospective customers.
Obama and the interviewer don't get it -- "big" institutions like GE or Citibank don't do much of the hiring, its small business who need people now and can't shift money over to India to chase cheap labor.
That's stupid enough to mark this guy as a real, legit, but small time Hillary staffer.
I recall reading "insider" things like this about Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky flap and, like them, I assume this one's a fake, based on some of the stylistic elements.
OTOH, how different do the descriptions of Obama's lack of interest in his job sound from some of the revelations in the Woodward book?
"Bill has lost weight, yes, good for his health, but is it me or has he really, really lost whatever physical charisma he might have had?"
I noticed it too.
The lack of the old Clinton charisma must be due to that new vegetarian diet of his. Does he get any fats now at all?
Definitely a work of fiction. Democrats never say "Democrat Party" or "far left" and wouldn't refer to another Democrat as an "ideologue". That said, everything in there about Obama is plausible.
It was Elisabeth from "The View." I know it.
Off topic, but, Eric Fischer's "Race and Ethnicity Maps" of US Metro areas, using census data translated into colored dots, are absolutely amazing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkingsf/sets/72157624812674967/
Oh boy, it's Hitler's Diaries all over again.
Aaron Sorkin wrote the thing - questions and answers. It's fiction. Libs love to play 'pretend'.
This is "plausible" in the original meaning of that word.
EVERYDAY IN THE WEEK I'M IN A DIFFERENT CITY
IF I STAY TOO LONG PEOPLE TRY TO PULL ME DOWN
THEY TALK ABOUT ME LIKE A DOG
TALKIN' ABOUT THE CLOTHES I WEAR
BUT THEY DON'T REALIZE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO'S SQUARE
HEY!
AND THAT'S WHY
YOU CAN'T HOLD ME DOWN
I DON'T WANT TO BE DOWN I GOTTA MOVE
HEY
STONE FREE DO WHAT I PLEASE
STONE FREE TO RIDE THE BREEZE
STONE FREE I CAN'T STAY
I GOT TO GOT TO GOT TO GET AWAY
ALRIGHT
LISTEN TO THIS BABY
A WOMAN HERE A WOMAN THERE TRY TO KEEP ME IN A PLASTIC CAGE
BUT THEY DON'T REALIZE IT'S SO EASY TO BREAK
BUT SOMETIMES I GET A HA
FEEL MY HEART KIND OF GETTIN' HOT
THAT'S WHEN I'VE GOT TO MOVE BEFORE I GET CAUGHT
AND THE IS WHY, LISTEN TO ME BABY, YOU CAN'T HOLD ME DOWN
I DON'T WANT TO BE TIED DOWN
I GOTTA BE FREE
OWH!
I SAID
STONE FREE DO WHAT I PLEASE
STONE FREE TO RIDE THE BREEZE
STONE FREE I CAN'T STAY
GOT TO GOT TO GOT TO GET AWAY
YEAH OW!
TEAR ME LOOSE BABY
YEAH!
STONE FREE TO RIDE ON THE BREEZE
STONE FREE DO WHAT I PLEASE
STONE FREE I CAN'T STAY
STONE FREE I GOT TO I GOT TO GET AWAY
STONE FREE I GONNA LEAVE RIGHT NOW
STONE FREE DON'T TRY TO HOLD ME BACK BABY
STONE FREE GO ON DOWN THE HIGHWAY
STONE FREE OH YEAH BABY
STONE FREE GOT TO GOT TO GET AWAY
STONE FREE BYEBYE BABY
If that's playing on the inner soundtrack of BO's mind, then this story, if not true, is pretty "truthy."
I was curious enough to find this follow up interview. Less about Obama and more about the dems. Reveals more about the "insider" and his motivations. Nudged me back a bit toward the agnostic camp.
Fake. As another poster pointed out, the annoying GOP locution of "Democrat Party" is an obvious tell. It's amazing that someone who managed to do a fairly convincing job of mimicking a Hilary supporter would make this sort of rookie mistake.
Otherwise, it's one of those "fake, but true" pieces. The stuff about Obama being detached politically but thin-skinned on a personal level rings true.
He also has a point about the GOP in 2012. They really don't have an alternative to Obama at this point. They'll romp in November, but what solid personality will they put up against Obama?
Whiskey, with his uncanny knack for being obviously wrong about a vast range of subjects when he isn’t being clumsily mendacious about them, thinks that this “interview” is real.
That settles the matter. Next subject, Steve.
As other commenters have noted, "Democrat Party" == fake.
My stepfather, an actual insider if a small one, growls like an enraged porcupine at this usage, which so far as I can tell is exclusively Fox News. What exactly is so offensive about omitting the "ic" I'm not sure, but it's like a purported interview with a Palin staffer in which we hear "teabagger."
Another tipoff is the bizarre non-channel. Real insiders have real channels. That said, as a fake it's not a bad fake. As with the Hitler diaries, someone clearly put some serious effort into it, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's actually quite a correct description of what's actually going on.
"What scares you more as president – Sarah Palin or Barack Obama? (Hands to head) Oh boy. What a choice! People would kill me for saying this – actually you know what" ...
That sounds like an actual interview to me; I've seen lots of extroverted interviewees give that melodramatic reaction to a really juicy question,
Actually, speaking as a journalist who has interviewed hundreds if not thousands of people over two decades, I can say it sounds not at all like an actual interview. In fact, that was one of the passages that immediately jumped out at me while reading the piece. It's fake.
Completely made up. Obama has succeeded in all his endeavors. You cannot make him "lose it".
Anyone endowed with half of Steve's wit and knowledge could have written this piece.
Americans aren’t a complicated people, and neither is Sarah Palin, so that probably works in her favor.
Does it define this candidate as well?
What exactly is so offensive about omitting the "ic"
While it's not on the same level as "teabagger", an obscene allusion, using the noun as an adjective is just sort of douchy and dysphonious. It says that the person using the term is a petty child.
I say this as someone who has no use for the Democratic Party in general.
He references Obama's great charisma on the campaign trail. I seemed to have missed that part! I saw this clown speak and I surely heard the screaming of the crowds but I couldnt for the life of me see what is remotely "charasmatic" about this guy. Recall that monstrous clip where he says his election is where the oceans stop rising...as people cheer??? The Stupid people of America(women,the young,the uninformed,minorities)elected him-he's one of them! The interview sounds fake,thats my vote! As for Michelle,it seems Presidents fall into one of two categories in re to sex: A)Like Truman,say, they're supposedly "happily" married and dont bother with "all that" or B)The marriage is a nightmare,and the Prez has outlets that vary in their level of bizarritude! (Like did W bang Condi?)Barry would seem to be in category B(My Lord! getting naked with Michelle??)But he seems so,uhm,"cerebral",that its hard to imagine him banging some cocktail waitress,like Jesse jackson Jr.(Heh heh to clarify,Jesse Jackson Jr got caught WITH the waitress,he himself was NOT a waitress. Far as we know! )
"Completely made up. Obama has succeeded in all his endeavors. You cannot make him "lose it"."
I see you haven't met Bobby Rush.
a president increasingly withdrawn from the job of President
When was he ever engaged in the job of President? For that matter, when in his entire life has Obama ever demonstrated any commitment to any job he's had? This is who he is.
Mencius Moldbug said,
"As other commenters have noted, "Democrat Party" == fake.
My stepfather, an actual insider if a small one, growls like an enraged porcupine at this usage, which so far as I can tell is exclusively Fox News."
No, it's not Fox News; it's a Rush Limbaugh staple although some Fox persons (Hannity and Ann Coulter, I think) have adopted its use. Of course, I wonder if Rush got it from Mark Levin? Whatever--didn't originate with Fox.
It drives Dems crazy. I really don't think the "ic" is a big deal either, but they sure do.
It took me a long time to develop a taste at all for Rush, but when it finally happened, I realized it was because I got a kick out of realizing just how much he drove PC libs crazy.
What is offensive about omitting the "ic" and saying "Democrat party"?
It's simple. Can no one here read English any longer?
Calling it the "Democrat" party means that it is NOT "democratic" as a matter of democratic principle or theory; but rather that it is a party of and for "Democrats", which is to say, of and for Party members.
You can have "democratic" ideals all day long (hello, teabaggers!) But if you're not a bona fide Democrat, then the Democrat Party says, "Fuck you, white boy!"
It's a perfectly accurate description, which is why it stings and "teabagger" is just hate-fuelled stupidity.
The Democrat party.
It's full of Democrats.
Study it.
Analyze it.
Defeat it.
The whole interview reads false to me. There is a contrived feel to it, a lack of authenticity. I see someone (a half good writer) sitting at his computer making this up. That's who's behind it.
Spengler!
"What exactly is so offensive about omitting the "ic" I'm not sure, but it's like a purported interview with a Palin staffer in which we hear "teabagger.""
I always thought the whole point was to accentuate the 'rat' at the end. You know, DemocRATS.
Obviously fiction, Steve. That you even entertain that it isn't makes me wonder about your book, too.
Calling it the "Democrat" party means that it is NOT "democratic" as a matter of democratic principle or theory; but rather that it is a party of and for "Democrats", which is to say, of and for Party members.
It's a perfectly accurate description, which is why it stings and "teabagger" is just hate-fuelled stupidity.
If you refuse to call it the Democratic Party, because you don't believe its members are democrats, it also makes no sense to call its members Democrats or to say that they belong to a Democrat Party.
How about calling it the Stupid Jerk-Face Party? That covers all the same bases as "Democrat Party" and avoids some of the confusion.
"Calling it the "Democrat" party means that it is NOT "democratic" as a matter of democratic principle or theory; but rather that it is a party of and for "Democrats", which is to say, of and for Party members."
Well, duh, we could figure that out for ourselves--still seems no biggie. After all, what voter, even the most stupid, doesn't realize that the parties serve their masters?
Of course it's fiction.
How can he lose it if he never - you know the rest.
Maybe. But you'd expect some references to Saban's obsession in an interview of this length. Obama's resentment toward several of America's allies, including Israel, is no longer a secret. Saban must have been biting his tongue if he spoke that much about Obama without broaching the topic.
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