In response to requests to explain why the USA has intervened in a civil war in Libya, the President asserted that the reason was to protect American interests. He followed that up with a smorgasbord of campaign style patriotic platitudes. He did not present any evidence to prove his contention that American interests "were at stake."
His speech brought to mind Lord Byron's snarky assessment of a Wordsworth poem: "I wish he would explain his explanation."
The progressive radio station in the San Francisco Bay area cut away from the speech before the "God Bless America" ending.
In California, the speech was heard live at the end of the work day right before the start of the evening commute hour.
It seems to this columnist that the President's "whole lotta nada" speech will not assuage his Republican critics nor will it satisfy the skeptics in his own party.
In the morning preceding the speech, this columnist wrote up some additional material in anticipation of the speech. Here are our expectations for the speech:
There is a very vulgar colloquialism which accurately describes the challenge facing the President in his speech delivered on the night of Monday, March 28, 2011, but we won't quote it verbatim. Bush's successor has "soiled the nest" and will attempt to use his (alleged) eloquence and charm to convince the Democrats who voted for him to forgive and forget his war crimes record, just as he has done with and for George W. Bush.
The best indicator of the most likely result of President Jackass' attempt at a Myth of Sisyphus task was contained in an article for Esquire magazine written by Norman Mailer in response to an appearance by Madonna on a late night TV show. In it, Mailer made the assertion that Americans will forgive a celebrity any transgression so long as it doesn't involve a "going against type" aspect regarding the celebrity's public image.
Mailer pointed out that Andrew Dice Clay, who was known for making caustic remarks, fell from grace when he apologized for one of his quotes. Conversely, since Americans expected scandalous behavior from Madonna, Mailer (accurately) predicted she would quickly be forgiven the appearance on the Letterman show which was marked by repeated use of the "f-word."
If Mailer's theorem is correct, the President's attempt to convince his supporters that he is still the same old hero worth of their love and campaign donations will fall on deaf ears. Rather than preaching to the choir, it will be as warmly received by the rank and file Democrats as would be accorded to a missionary's attempt to proselytize to a gang of inebriated members of a famous motorcycle club. The challenge facing Scheherazade pales in comparison to the task that the Democratic Party's choice has chosen for himself (and his legacy).
The President, very early in his term, suggested that he would be comfortable with being a one term entry in the history books. It's a very good thing that he feels that way because his supporters might soon have to interpret his previous remark as a self fulfilling prophesy with a dash of the "be careful what you wish for" aspect to it.
George W. Bush often used America's Free Press to help substantiate his newest "Black is White" lie. The press would dutifully relay an endorsement of the fallacy and the public would be left scratching their heads. Is the media doing a good job of spreading the "war for humanitarian reasons" oxymoron or are they being skeptical?
There is an old journalism tradition for writing two diametrically opposed stories in anticipation of a binary choice event. The most egregious example of the danger of such a practice came in the news photo image of a triumphant Harry S. Truman holding up a copy of the Chicago Tribune that featured a headline proclaiming: "Dewey Defeats Truman."
With that in mind, this columnist wrote a preliminary draft of this version of this column on the morning of Monday, March 28, 2011. It is possible that, like the forgiving wife of an abusive husband, Democrats could respond to the Monday night speech with the political version of "make-up sex" and welcome the President back into their good graces with open arms. We won't waste the time and energy needed to do the keystrokes for a column comparing the President's speech to the first appearance of the Beatles on live TV in the USA.
The Democrats may be dumb, but this columnist's pre-speech opinion is that the Democrats can't be that stupid.
The Democrats who voted for the incumbent wanted a viable alternative to the Bush Dynasty and not a carbon copy of Dubya.
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