Rahm Emanuel is very good on Face The Nation

[Wetzelbill]

Right now he is doing a good job of respectfully denouncing Rush Limbaugh, saying that he's wants Obama to fail etc. The more we correlate the GOP with Rush the better it gets for Dems.

I like Bob Schieffer, but he's a consistently weak interviewer. This is definitely status quo type material, but Rahm is hitting his talking points well and putting forth the idea that Obama is a man with a vision, he campaigned on that vision and is now implementing it.

Above all, I think people see a basic competence with this administration. I have issues with some things they do, I know other DUers do, I know many Americans do, but contrast that to the previous 8 years and you see a group of people and a leader who are qualified and capable. I used to wake up wondering just what Bush was going to screw up that day or if he was going to do something crazy like start another war etc, with Obama you, at least, know they aren't going to do something like that. Obama seems to be getting a wide berth with people because we know times are tough and he inherited a mess and he's competently going about solutions. At least he has that vision as I noted before. That's better than what the other side has and what we had for 8 years.

You see this vision taking shape, and that the Obama administration is working, Rahm points out the Ledbetter legislation, the stimulus, the budget etc etc. Those are some solid accomplishments so far.

[sandnsea]

1. I love what they're doing with Rush

and how they just keep shoving the loons of the party to the forefront. Perfect. The sensible part of the party is either going to have to step forward in a big way, or go into the dustbin permanently.

Oh Green Party - this is your chance to come up on the left and really change the dynamics of the country permanently. Where Are You???

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Me too - and the thing is, that it's not incorrect. GOPers really DO love Rush

And he really DOES get their party mobilized. So why are they pissed off when we point out that Rush Limbaugh is the leader of the GOP?

[Callalily]

2. Yes, I watched him too.

Very articulate and stayed on point.

I agree with you on Bob Schieffer's interview techniques. He should come up with some valid questions, nor the same old rhetoric.

[NRaleighLiberal]

3. It took 8 years to break this country. It's going to take more than a few months to fix it.

Funny that this very elemental point gets lost so easily.

It actually took longer than 8 years to break it, since Nixon, Reagan and Bush the elder all contributed mightily to the damage.

[Wetzelbill]

4. over 30 years of framing the debate in a destructive way

and then implementing destructive policies. It'll take some work that's for sure.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. Yes! He called Rush the leader of the GOP :)

And he is!

[Wetzelbill]

9. It's a brilliant move

because Republicans so resent the media and "libruls" because they perceive others are looking down on them etc, that by saying Rush is the leader and he essentially offers nothing, it makes the hardcore folks rush, no pun intended, over to him even more. And if the GOP digs in and becomes the party of only Rush Limbaugh they'll keep getting crushed in elections. He has no appeal other than with an ever narrowing demographic.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

10. Do right wingers really perceive that we look down on them?

I get the feeling they don't. I mean, even when they are caught doing things they disapprove of, they refuse to resign, support one another, etc. Wouldn't they want to dismiss those people from among their midst that are bringing their name further into the deep recesses of bad reputation? I mean, if they really think we look down on them and don't like it, I mean lol

[DevonRex]

11. I don't think they do realize it. My side of hte family is all RW and

they're so full of themselves that they don't give a thought to how they're perceived.

[Wetzelbill]

15. not in that sense no

But if you notice anti-intellectualism is predominant in the party by Republican elites. All of those guys go Ivy League schools or at least to college too. But with the masses, like the type of people Limbaugh has as a core demographic, they always feel somebody is looking down on them. They feel like they are better than those people, but they still resent the idea that somebody in New York or San Francisco thinks they are a dumb yokel. Resentment is a big tenet of the Republican Party, they always cultivate that divide and pump up fake "everyman" imagery.

It's why Palin or Joe The Plumber plays well with this core group. To them, people don't have to have book smarts to be smart and people don't have to live in a big city to be productive. Notice the code words Republicans use, they think from the "gut", or they like people from the "Real America" or they say things like: "I don't know how people do it in Hollywood/New York/San Francisco/Washington but around HERE we...." etc etc.

Part of it also is racial and goes back to the civil rights era and has evolved into other areas like say with women's rights. They want working class people to believe that elitist liberals want to take all their money and give it to people who don't deserve it. And they want these people to believe that liberals think they are stupid because they can't understand why things like tax cuts don't work and why "welfare" is good. It's all framed in a way that is simple but effective and is made to portray Dems as being people who make the simple into something complex and think you're dumb for not understanding it, when really it's Dems who don't know what they are talking about because they are all rich and out-of-touch and they wouldn't sit down and even have a Budweiser with you. Republicans cultivate anti-intellectualism so that they can seem like the good guys, simple down home folks who are fighting for what the rest of us fight for. Palin is a great example, she's even more popular with this core constituency precisely because most people think she's dumb. It's a badge of honor to be made fun of by the media and liberals, they use it to cultivate the idea that they somehow connect with regular people and have simple solutions to all of these problems that too smart liberals just can't see.

I have a friend who is a Republican. He gets extremely defensive when I'm talking to him about politics and he makes a point and then I tell him why he's not totally right or why he's wrong. He specifically gets defensive when I ask him to define something or if he knows what something means, for example he's talking about tax cuts and I asked him if he knows what it means to "stimulate" the economy. He immediately started saying: "See that's the problem you guys act like we're dumb etc." Well hell, I don't think he's dumb, he's not, but when somebody doesn't know what they are talking about or even know a basic principle, you have to ask. I was getting confused because he couldn't understand that spending stimulates the economy, he couldn't grasp that so I asked him that question. He's said things like that before, he sometimes perceives that I think he's dumb, but I don't. I just know way more about politics and policy than he does. He knows more about what he does for a living etc, than I do. He was in the military, he knows more about that than I do, but I don't feel like he thinks I'm stupid because I don't know those things. But inside, because of what's been drilled into his head about intellectuals and politics, he sometimes lets his frustration out and it's based on nothing. Just his own perception. And I should say he's a Fox News listener too.

It reminds me of when Andy Kaufman got into pro wrestling. His character was always saying things like he was from Hollywood or New York and all those hicks were stupid, they don't use soap, etc. He was a total jerk and he wrestled women and acted like a weasel. It was hilarious, a great joke. But all those people in the crowed hated him. They hated that he thought he was better and smarter and they just saw a ratty weasel who looked down on them and didn't understand their values. That in a nutshell is what the Republican Party has tapped into for decades. They want people to think that way about us and some definitely do.

[donco6]

7. If your car develops an expensive problem, you're not walking out with a cheap invoice.

That's just the way it is. I think most people realize that. The Republicans whining about how much stuff costs are sounding more and more petulant to the general public.

[Wetzelbill]

8. good point

Precisely right I think.

[backscatter712]

12. And all the bobbleheads were saying "Obama shouldn't take on Rush!"

What, were you afraid of getting a tongue lashing from Jabba the Hutt? And you thought you weren't going to get one if you followed Mommy's bad advice of "Ignore them and they'll go away!"?

The real fact is that the strategy of making the GOP synonymous with Rush Limbaugh works. It plays to the GOP's weaknesses: inflexibility and groupthink, and makes the GOP frontman a person who while sometimes is clever and witty, is notorious for intolerance, extremism and classless bad behavior. The more Rush flaps his oral sphincter, the more we win!

GO RAHM!!!

[MasonJar]

13. Bob Schieffer is a golfing buddy of the Bushes; he has often leaned

GOPer in his journalism.

[Thrill]

14. Anyone see Orszag on This Week? George was just spewing RW talking points

It was pathetic. And for Orszag who isn't a politician, he was doing a great job. I was disappointed in George

[Cash_thatswhatiwant]

16. i don't care what anyone says, i LOVE rahm.

[Wetzelbill]

18. I like him

I'm heavily critical of him though. But yeah, he's a good guy to have on your team, I'm more progressive than he is and don't subscribe in the Third Way bullshit when it comes to actual policy. I think we often give too much up when we don't have to. But about I agree with Rahm 9 out of 10 times, and the guy has a fantastic work ethic and gets things done. Like I said, he's good to have on our team.

[NJCher]

19. Rahm's personality type--ENTJ

This week my college classes were doing personality profiles. In the Myers-Briggs, Rahm is what they are now calling the "field marshall."

I noticed this because when I did my profile (hadn't done one for 20 years--wanted to see if I'd changed), I had the same make-up as Rahm.

These people are natural-born leaders and their execution of any type of plan or strategy is beyond parallel (with the exception of myself, of course :) ).

Others in this category are Bill Gates,Hillary Clinton, Napoleon, Carl Sagan, Golda Meir, Edward Teller, George Benard Shaw, and General George C. Marshall

Here are the their strengths:

Genuinely interested in people's ideas and thoughts
Enthusiastic and energetic
Take their commitments very seriously
Fair-minded and interested in doing the Right Thing
Very good with money
Extremely direct and straightforward
Verbally fluent
Enhance and encourage knowledge and self-growth in all aspects of life
Able to leave relationships without looking back
Able to turn conflict situations into positive lessons
Able to take constructive criticism well
Extremely high standards and expectations (both a strength and a weakness)
Usually have strong affections and sentimental streaks
Able to dole out discipline
(above from:http://www.davenevins.com/personalities/types/entj.htm )

Something very interesting was that practically all my students were "Guardians." I was the only Field Marshall in the room.


Cher

[Odin2005]

22. LOL, I'm almost the same type, INTJ

I knew there was something I liked about him!!! :rofl:

[NJCher]

24. 50/50

I actually go back and forth--can be ENTJ and INTJ. I'm pretty much 50/50 on the extroversion/introversion aspect. For example, today I took another version of the profile and I'm INTJ today.

It's kinda' nice. I like it. Do you like being an INTJ, Odin?



Cher

[Odin2005]

25. Well, us INTJs make up 1% of the population, which is kinda cool.

:evilgrin:

[firedupdem]

17. Rahm did do an excellent job. He hit all the right points and made

sure to back up the reasons for everything.

[pink-o]

20. Just watched it online. Here's the link:

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/03/01/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4836756.shtml

Hopefully, this will put to rest all those who believe he only knows how to yell and swear. Rahm is calm and articulate all the way through.

I can't help but feel that it's partly an old Anglo prejudice that has people freaked out about Rahm's temper--we Jews where our hearts on our sleeves, we are the opposite of the Anglo idea that you sweep bad things under the rug and never speak of them, that you suppress every uncomfortable issue until it eats away at you and your get an ulcer or some kind of cancer. Jews over-analyze and navel-gaze and worry themselves into neurosis, but we don't suppress. And it can get us in trouble with "polite" society!

[CatWoman]

21. thanks, Pink-o

:hi:

I missed it this morning.

[Jennicut]

23. The fear of Rush by liberals and Dems is lifting. Obama calling him out

really has lifted his invincibility and no one is scared of old Ruhsie anymore. He is just a pathetic blowhard with no real solutions to the problems we are facing.

[Better Believe It]

26. I was not impressed with Rahm's speaking style which was just short of being a whisper

Sorry.

But, I wish he had more presence and charisma.

I hope he doesn't appear on TV very often in the future.

[seaker]

27. I liked the part at the end when he said he had fun.

[Cha]

28. There is such a vast

difference in ObamaTeam and his enemies who are trying to bring him down that if they didn't have the corporatemediawhoredom pumping them up.. they'd have to put out an SOS to have themselves scraped off the bottom of the cesspool.

[grantcart]

29. Just out of curiousity who were you looking at for COS?

I was thinking that Jacobo Peterman from Seinfield would be an excellent choice.

[cooolandrew]

30. Yeah the administration is really going places and Rahm highlighted that well.

[marshall]

31. Rahm knows how to talk and say just what he wants to say

And leaves very little room for questions.