Permit me to correct the New York Times.

By: Moe Lane (Diary) | May 6th, 2011 at 10:12 PM |

RESIZE: AAA

A few days ago, the New York Times made the following (somewhat bitter) comment, in the process of trying to pretend that we’re all racists over here on the Right:

[Obama's] administration took too long to find its footing on Egypt’s transition and in Libya, but it was not because, as the popular conservative blog RedState said, he is a “trainee president.”

(H/T: James Taranto)

A point of order, here: if you were to click on the link (post written by reader cmndr45*) then you will find that this was a diary, not a front page piece. This is a common error made by Old Media types, particularly ones who have difficulty adapting to New Media paradigms; the concept that there can be controllable tiers of of information dissemination privileges can be surprisingly hard to understand by those with insufficient mental flexibility. I note all of this because Old Media entities already are notoriously bad at telling writers on group websites and blogs apart: it’s best that we not allow them to start failing to distinguish between various levels of permitted access.

Still, perish the thought that we should have to wait several decades for the Old Grey Lady to get around to a correction, so here goes: President Barack Obama is in point of fact a trainee President with virtually no practical life skills, woefully inadequate inexperience, precious little in the way of a proper aptitude for governance, and – most annoying – an inherent unwillingness to change any of the above, or in fact partake in any sort of internal program of either self-discovery, or self-improvement. We have been saddled with him – at least until, God willing, January 2013 – largely because the news media (most assuredly including the New York Times) is largely composed of guilt-ridden liberals so desperate to conquer their own internal, racist demons that they jumped upon a cultist bandwagon that turned an inexperienced, frankly dull urban liberal academic into the understudy for the Messiah. And now that President Obama has in fact landed his first real job since, I believe, his teenaged stint at Baskin-Robbins, we (meaning, ‘the rest of the country’) are now forced to somehow teach him enough to keep the United States of America – and, by extension, Western Civilization – from going belly-up before we can put in someone who is actually competent.

I hope that this clears up any confusion on the part of the New York Times.

Moe Lane
Contributor/Site Moderator

http://www.redstate.com

PS: The above statement represents my personal opinion and statements on the matter, and should not be taken as the official position of RedState.com. Which you knew already, but the New York Times is confused enough as it is.

*Congratulations!

Tags: Barack Obama, the new york times

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES | LOGIN TO COMMENT | REGISTER TODAY

thatmrgguy

…Full time job correcting misteaks by the “Old Gray Lady.” But I expect it don’t pay much.
rickbull

Thomas Sowell has, for the past two years, almost constantly referred to Obama as the “rookie in the White House,” and I could not agree more.

Does anyone really need to know anything more about the NYT other than the fact that they actually PAY Paul Krugman to write opinion pieces for them.

I’ve seen middle school newspapers with better reporting.
blooch

“Dictator in Training Pants” reference. I can’t remember who said that…not that it matters to the NYT.
michael_j_lambert

I don’t remember who called our august president that, but I don’t think it was limited to a single person or occasion. I don’t think he intends to become a dictator, though that is mostly because the US is too hard to clamp down on and oppress.
blooch

and I think somebody threw it in his sig line for a minute, so you might say it was a singular comment in that respect. And I agree that President Probie does not intend to become a dictator, but mostly because he’s finding that any of the standard forms of executive leadership on a national level require just too darn much effort. The only reason he wants a second term is that he thinks he can put it on cruise control to play golf more often…that and maybe dump Biden for the second show.
Flagstaff

was used just today by Erick. He even spread the wealth by including House Republicans in a similar metaphor.

“Amateur Hour at the White House” has been in use here for two-plus years. The only thing that disqualifies if from being precisely correct is the fact that President Obama is paid to sit in his Oval Office pew, which, as the NCAA would be glad to rule, makes him a professional, or at least ineligible for amateur competition.

Also “the Boy President,” “the Callow Young President,” perhaps “the Great Pretender.” One could even include “Slave to the TelePrompTer” but that would be racially insensitive.

The Dumpster Media does have a problem with the concept of guest bloggers. As a holder of the “Third Worst Person in the World” appellation, I’m chagrined to report that the only name Keefums could remember was “Redstate” and “Red,” so my bronze medallion wasn’t properly personalized. How nice that he is gone, yet I’m still here.

—Flagstaff
aesthete

I doubt that most politicians would turn down an opportunity for more control over their fellow citizens’ lives at the expense of liberty (i.e., moving more towards authoritarianism). In that sense, they’re all dictators in training pants.
proof_positive

They don’t call her “Gray Lady” because there’s a rosy, healthy glow about her!
bobojake
rickbull

“the Boy President” to be racially insensitive, and very possibly offensive. And instead of “Slave to the Teleprompter,” you could use “Utterly Dependent on the Teleprompter,” and alleviate some of the “racial insensitivity.” And here is your photo for the caption “Utterly Dependent on the Teleprompter”:
Tbone

that he is trainable. I doubt that that is the case based upon his lack of progress to date.

Clinton pegged him as a coffee boy and that seems to be the most accurate observation Slick Willy has ever made.
blooch

Washington is concerned. Despite his storied reticence about becoming our first president, you have to figure that any of those first executives who had tasted the despotism of being a slaveowner might be tempted at least a little in that direction while in office.

On the other hand, maybe that slaveowning experience gave them some insight on despotism which tempered the authoritarian tendency, and which we thankfully will never have.
Flagstaff

But don’t point with THAT finger!
aesthete

in history who willingly relinquished power in an orderly fashion once they attained it: George Washington, despite being a slaveowner, was one of them. IMO, most of our pols are more Aaron Burr than George Washington — and at least you couldn’t say that Burr was a coward.
Flagstaff

It’s illuminating to study the relationships between slaves and their owners in ancient civilizations, although that’s not to say it has any relevance to how slaves were treated in more recent pre-revolutionary times or after.

Slaves during the Han dynasty in China were probably treated better than citizens of North Korea are being treated today by their totalitarian government.
blooch

something he should have grown out of at least before he rose to the national level.

He’s more than two years into his presidency, and these little tics and tells keep popping up which make it hard not to infer that he is either unable or unwilling to throw away some childish things and grow in office.
blooch

we’re–oops, RedState’s–over here giving nuance to slavery; )
Flagstaff

I followed the link to the NYT article. What scurrilous tripe.

To eliminate a lot that I could say, I’ll just skip to the final paragraph:

“There is still plenty of room for them to make politically coded attacks on Mr. Obama?s domestic policies that have nothing to do with real substance ? saying he is a socialist who is trying to redistribute wealth, for example. But if ? oh, if ? they now make the 2012 race about issues that really matter, such as rebuilding the economy and the future of the government safety net, the nation will get the campaign it needs.”

What is not substantive about political attacks on Mr. Obama?s domestic policies, when that attack is that “he is a socialist who is trying to redistribute wealth”? Call it what you will, that’s what he, himself, has said he’s trying to do. Is that insubstantial?

And, Dear NYT, be careful lest you receive what you ask for. I suspect that the last thing the Obama camp wants is to be challenged on his approach to “rebuilding the economy and the future of the government safety net” by a serious opponent who understands economics and taxes and furthermore is able to articulate that understanding in terms that even Democrat-leaning independents can understand.

It’s one thing to essentially ignore John McCain as you brush aside his pathetic attempts to point out that it’s impossible to add 40 million people to the ranks of those covered by health insurance without spending billions of dollars doing it. Starry-eyed voters, young and old, didn’t want to hear it. It’s now a new ball game. We have seen what The New God hath wrought, and it doesn’t match what he promised in his sermons on the mountains; we may now be willing to listen to factual arguments against the Hope for unicorns and pixie dust to Change our deficits into surpluses.
Flagstaff

But of course, that is nowhere near what I meant. So far, the language Taliban have co-opted “niggardly,” “calling a spade a spade,” and no doubt some other innocent words and phrases, from the language. Rather than allow the race-mongers to dictate their arbitrary rules of behavior and language to everybody else, I prefer to be right rather than careful.

History is history. I wasn’t aware myself of the non-obvious influences that the practice of slave-holding had on various civilizations of the classical period until I learned about them in a class. I wonder if that is taught in black history studies. Of course, most of the slaves I’m talking about were not black, so perhaps not.

Incidentally, it’s telling that the reference to slavery is what you noticed. The most important sentence in my comment was the one about North Korea. They are on the point of starvation for 6 million people there (25% of the population). Even the PDRK government is asking for our help to give them thousands of tons of food. It’s difficult to impossible to know, however, whether food sent there gets to the starving families, or if it’s siphoned off to just feed the wealthier people better. Where does Obama stand on starvation?

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/04/28/carter-n-korea-wants-guarantees-nukes/

Their ally, China, is meanwhile building a fence to keep Koreans from entering China illegally. I wonder how a fence will work for them, since it “can’t” work for us. Too much incentive to come here, you know. Maybe starvation isn’t as big an incentive as the opportunity to get construction work is.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8415490/China-builds-higher-fences-over-fears-of-instability-in-North-Korea.html

Ah, well, maybe we could send North Korea some ethanol to add to their gasoline. I hear it burns well.
aesthete

was almost certainly freer than the system in place in N Korea, and likely more bearable, as well.

Regarding the Chinese fence, they have something that we don’t: absolutely brutal standards which would have them shoot pregnant Norks trying to cross over, and the Norks themselves, who take it upon themselves to shoot the many Nork “citizens” who attempt to escape into China (and less commonly, into S Korea). I don’t think we really want to adopt either of those “solutions”.
Flagstaff

**I don?t think we really want to adopt either of those ?solutions?.**

But if not, are we really serious about national sovereignty? I’d actually feel better if the Federales were shooting drug cartel members as they try to leave Mexico. Instead, they give them letters to deliver to their family members in the States.
ohiohistorian

He is also in training as a man. As an example, look at the way he treated Debra Burlingame (http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/obama-burlingame-fox-911/2011/05/05/id/395342?s=al&promo_code=C364-1). He obviously is a man-child, not even yet ready to call a man.

Liberals and the media elected someone who is not even emotionally ready for governance, let alone trained. And the Gray Lady was one of the loudest in proclaiming him as a leader. Obviously, to correct Her mistakes, we have to start with replacing him, the Chosen One, and need to start now.
swamphermit

..consists of having parents who were Communists, being raised by maternal grandparents who were Communists, and then personally mentored by the infamous Communist Frank Marshall Davis…all before going to college. College years are a blur, since he hides them, but affirmative action was clearly involved…BTW, could Sara Palin hide her grades from MSM?

Then we have over twenty years as a member of the racist TUCC group, being mentored by – and friends with – the racist Rev. Wright. Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko show up during this time, and also a history of Obama’s Community Organizing work (lots of corruption in his past).

Basically, the “Old Grey Lady” ignored Obama’s actual past, and helped him to create a new one…
eddiethegeek

This “trainee” is so convinced of his own historic greatness that he concedes no need to learn anything. Call him narcissistic, call him self-absorbed (how many of his sentences since Sunday evening have lacked “I” as the subject or at least “me” as the object?), but please don’t call him a “trainee” because he simply is not.

Your point is spot on, though, in its description of this man’s life experience and the media’s complicity in his election. Still, it is a truly frightening statement on the American electorate that our nation could even conceivably trust its presidency to a man of this caliber. To ponder that thought for a moment leaves one rather dour and hopeless about America’s future, it seems to me.
Ausonius

If America had bothered even to skim through BIG BRObama’s books, they would never have elected him.

The last time I saw the statistics some years ago, book sales in America depend on about 10 per cent of the population. About a third never read books at all.

Half of Detroit is illiterate, and that is probably an underestimate.

The result is that sound bites and images fed the electorate: welcome to the dangers of Democracy in 21st century America.
johnt

eliminates doubt and it’s partner introspection, affirms moral superiority, casts opposition into hell, assists in the tenuous grip on sanity, & most of all, is the trigger that discharges the effluvia and lava of bile, aggression, and hate that is the foundation and framework of this thing called liberalism. Actually a disease that has traversed the ages under various disguises and excuses, but always at bottom the same.
aesthete

and strafing Mexicans with A-10s lies sanity. Drug cartel members are not the functional equivalent of starving North Koreans, neither in terms of organization, arms, etc nor in terms of moral worth. Non-cartel illegal immigrants are not saints by any means, but instituting a shoot first policy would be immoral. Building a wall, letting would-be immigrants apply for work visas, and the intelligent use of border security would be preferable to using violence as a first resort.
http://conservatoons.deviantart.com conservatoons

it implies a probationary period and an ability to get rid of him. I think a more accurate term is: “The Inept Nephew President.” This implies that he got a job he does not merit and that you won’t be able to get rid of him no matter how incompetent. All you can do is compartmentalize his damage.
Darin_H

less computer savvy than my 91 year old grandma.

Oh and she doesn’t own a computer, and just bought an answering machine last year.
renny

are those on the left who toss the pejorative around like a matador’s caped flourish, hoping to attract righteous anger from any direction.

I think the rest of the nation is inured to such bullying drivel. And I doubt the huge numbers of middle class whites–evangelicals who thought o was a guardian of the earth–stop those oceans from rising–and even Reps. who thought a vote for o was a vote for racial and political harmony–could be persuaded by any telepromptered delivery the next time around.

Even in the end, the death of OBL may be a negative for little o, due to his absolutely wolfish smirk, that looks a tad too sadistically satisfied. Chris Matthews calls it his “little boy grin”–is that a grown up assessment by a mature media expert? and does Matthews think “boy” is a racial slur? as the replacement of his usual “just bit into a bad lemon” pinched-faced visage with his gloating “I killed Osama and all my opposition with merely 6 Seals” leer is as repulsive as any political image on the ever-glittering tv screen.

It is now (and still was always) the economy, stupid. We need to find us Rep. candidate to mantra that to.
obviousliberal

They were just pointing out a differential in coverage.
swi2522

THE DECISIONS BY THIS ADMINISTRATION HAVE TO BE DONE TO PURPOSELY COLLAPSE THE ECONOMY
THIS IS NO LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THEIR POLICIES AND THEIR DEPARTMENTS
I STILL CANT FIGURE OUT HOW THE MSM THINKS THEY WILL BENEFIT IF THIS COUNTRY COLLAPSES AND ENDS UP SO SORT OF EUROPEAN SOCIALIST CENTRAL GOVERNMENT STATE
Flagstaff

Except in the case of the drug cartels. That’s why I specified them above. Cleaning up the northern Mexico drug gang problem has exceeded the capacity of criminal law enforcement. It really is a war, and wars do have collateral damage.

For the rest of it, Gary Johnson seemed to have a reasonable idea the other night, although I hated the way he phrased his criticism of Republicans (earlier), and I disagree strongly with him about the border fence. Another thing that was left out was the fact that the wall, fence, Maginot line, has to be complete BEFORE we even talk about the work visa improvement.

I wouldn’t expect the two northerners to have a clue, but Santorum made a decent statement that was at least close to the subject. Cain understands that the Arizona law that grew out of SB 1070 was a legitimate attempt to fix what the feds were ignoring.

My own solution for Arizona is to actually help the non-drug-related illegals get safely to Phoenix, then pay their way to wherever they want to go from there, outside the state. If we can’t arrest them, we should help them get out of the heat for humane reasons.
ceili_dancer

Stop shouting and punctuation is your friend.
rowdydfw

Always enjoy corrections that speak to facts and not fiction. Good job, Moe!
blooch

I guess since I made the segue from authoritarianism slavery, and we took off from that point, I’ll step back in for a minute.

You and aesthete have carried on a thoughtful discussion, bringing it full-circle back to authoritarianism, and thence to points beyond.

My comment, in this diary about the NYT seeing racists under every rock. and which I made only half-jokingly, was that our discussion, merely by its multiple references to slavery, would be quite a dog whistle to the keen ears at the NYT.
annas

BUT my belief that the American people are “teachable” is seriously challenged! Paul Ryan makes an honest attempt to solve the entitlement problem, Democrats scream that we will ” cause old people to die sooner,” the press puts that out, Ryan is vilified by the public! Unions declare Walker is killing peoples rights, the press puts that out, and voila Walker is vilified! Never mind unions are killing taxpayers with burden that is UNSUSTAINABLE and entitlements are going away altogether– -that would require some complex thought.
http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

Probably not because you can’t click links, though. Tsk, tsk:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/opinion/04wed2.html?_r=2

One of the subtexts to this argument is that Mr. Obama is not a true American, a thread soaked in the politics of fear and racial intolerance that runs through so much of the anti-Obama right.
blooch

of code words better than he obviously does. Then again, he didn’t call himself subtlyliberal.
johnt

This isn’t working out for them like they thought it would. Their wall of self praise & deception is breaking down. Too many problems, even failures as we head towards the cliff that leftism & Obama’s handlers, and the media wanted. Stupid America wasn’t supposed to notice, but now even the left has tremors of misgiving. Worst of all, The O is being judged by too many on the basis of what he does, like any politician. That certainly wasn’t supposed to happen. Hence racism.
When your egomania is centered on politics, & the politics aren’t panning out, it’s unbearable for the egomaniac.
gunslingr45

was the spew alert for that pic?

If ignorance is bliss, libs must be euphoric! I said that.
4suramcan

is spot on. Now, what does that say for the one who elected him, the ones who STILL support him. and the repubs who grovel at his feet.
Justin Spagnolo (standardcandle)

What I can’t figure is whether or not the POP I heard was coming from the heads of liberal editors and staff at NYT…

…or if it was the HOPE balloon popping as the air was suddenly let out of the “RACIST!” narrative…
rightwingmom52

I don’t know how I got on a potential subscriber list for the NYT, but I just keep marking the return envelope “Propaganda Machine for Liberals – Return to Sender” on one side and “God Bless America – Vote Conservative” on the other. I thought that sooner or later somebody there might be smart enough to figure out I don’t want their trash, but maybe not.
Flagstaff

It wouldn’t surprise me if Media Matters or the NYT does an internet sweep every day for certain words and phrases, sort of like Keith Olbermann looks for his name to make sure some still remembers him.
RDCook

Obama no cop or soldier
When examining his self-admitted history, Obama could not have been accepted as a law enforcement officer or have joined the military.
His self-admitted use of cocaine as an adult in college would have barred him from law enforcement. His self-admitted association with Bill Ayers, the unrepentant domestic terrorist would have disqualified him from the military. Oh yea, and there was that bombing of the Pentagon and a police station too by Ayers.
Now he is Commander in Chief and the boss of the Justice Department, the head law enforcement agency in our country. Reason has been sucked into a black hole!
swi2522

sorry i am shouting i get upset waching the country i love go down the drain

i pray the collapse does not create civil disobediance
rickbull

NT
gekster

It’s read at your own risk.

And as many things that Obama has screwed up, I wonder if he did THAT right.

RS

FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR

Permit me to correct the New York Times.

COMMENTS

ALL

COMMENTS

POPULAR

#RSRH

PICK YOUR STATE & GET LOCAL