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Chris
06-26-2014, 08:31 AM
Let's elect the most boring man alive!

The Case for a Boring Man (http://www.nationalreview.com/article/381267/case-boring-man-kevin-d-williamson)


As I was lunching with a few conservative political types earlier this week, the subject turned, as it does, to the 2016 field. When the name of a highly regarded former governor came up, the judgment was unequivocal: “He’s just so . . . boring.” That was not intended as an endorsement.

It should be.

Barack Obama has been anything but boring. “May you live in exciting times” may be a fake Chinese curse, but the wisdom communicated therein is real. Thought experiment: Consider the presidency of Barack Obama from the point of view of the sort of person who is likely to support such men. Having vanquished George W. Bush, he has now given us: a military mess in Iraq complete with the deployment of U.S. troops and a mission that is probably unachievable; the continuing disintegration of Afghanistan and its reversion to a jihadist safe haven; an economy that is shrinking significantly and probably is dipping back into recession; a defense and intelligence apparatus that is abusing its powers and the trust of the American people in ways that are not obviously related to defeating terrorist plots; millions without health insurance; millions out of work; corruption in our public institutions, ranging from the IRS to our universities; a self-aggrandizing political elite that is busy enriching itself through the vulgar exploitation of political connections while incomes for ordinary Americans stagnate or decline; etc. There has been a great deal of excitement, but if you voted for Obama because you were angry about the wars, the surveillance state, and the economy, things aren’t looking any better at all.

The most boring president of the modern era probably was Dwight Eisenhower, whose administration was marked by relative peace, prosperity, and confidence in the effectiveness and integrity of our institutions. The most boring president ever surely was Calvin Coolidge, who pinched pennies and kept at his plow, more or less leaving the country free to go about its own business, which turned out to be an excellent economic program. Our most exciting recent presidents? John Kennedy, who was privately corrupt and publicly inept; Richard Nixon, who was privately corrupt and publicly corrupt; Bill Clinton, who combined the worst features of Kennedy and Nixon, adding a distasteful dose of sanctimony to the mix.

...I myself don’t have a 2016 candidate, but I’ll say this: I don’t want an exciting one. I don’t need to be inspired and don’t desire to be awed or ruled. I want what has been missing these past years: a responsible, sober, honest, predictable federal government, one that recognizes its own limits — constitutional and epistemic — and under which the president is not a hero but a steward.

Yes, give us a boring man!

Peter1469
06-26-2014, 08:39 AM
That runs counter to our immediate gratification society. That is why we elected Obama for Hope and Change with no evidence that he could provide it.

Chris
06-26-2014, 08:47 AM
It is counterintuitive, to elect a boring man if you want prosperity and peace, an exciting man if you want trouble and turmoil. People tend to want government to do something, anything...and that's what they get.

Archer0915
06-26-2014, 08:50 AM
The failure is not that of Obama it is of the people. All our leaders are put up there by the people (well the ones they let us choose from) and that shows the stupidity of the popular vote.

Senators and the president were never meant to be populist leaders. The actual states controlled the government, not the other way around.

Spectre
06-26-2014, 08:54 AM
But it's the kind of 'exciting' that gets voter attention that is so infuriating...

Obama was elected as a pop cultural icon. When people vote for politicians, they vote for what they hold in the highest esteem: celebrity and glamour.

That's why the Clinton presidency was such a watershed: his was the first presidency that was based on Hollywood-ish, celebrity appeal rather than political considerations, even of the lowest, most populist kind.

Archer0915
06-26-2014, 08:57 AM
But it's the kind of 'exciting' that gets voter attention that is so infuriating...

Obama was elected as a pop cultural icon. When people vote for politicians, they vote for what they hold in the highest esteem: celebrity and glamour.

That's why the Clinton presidency was such a watershed: his was the first presidency that was based on Hollywood-ish, celebrity appeal rather than political considerations, even of the lowest, most populist kind.

The people should not be voting for president. We have a democracy (mob populist rule all about "ME" and no republic.

nic34
06-26-2014, 08:58 AM
Sanctimonious...The word of the day.

Mainecoons
06-26-2014, 09:00 AM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Irrelevant, as usual. The refuge of a weak mind that can't address topics.

Spectre
06-26-2014, 09:01 AM
Sanctimonious...The word of the day.

Bigg wurd for nic...:grin:

midcan5
06-26-2014, 09:48 AM
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight D. Eisenhower

From everything I have read about Dwight D. Eisenhower he was hardly boring. He put the neocons of his time in their place, he put America to work, and he continued the policies of the New Deal. Good man, I even have a note from him from grade school days.

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid." President Dwight Eisenhower

"The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present–and is gravely to be regarded." Dwight D. Eisenhower

"President Eisenhower describes his administration's political philosophy as 'dynamic conservatism,' then as 'progressive, dynamic conservatism,' then as 'progressive moderation,' then as 'moderate progressivism,' and then as 'positive progressivism.'" William Manchester, quote from 'the Glory and the Dream,' great narrative history - read it.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist....We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Dwight D. Eisenhower

Chris
06-26-2014, 10:12 AM
"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight D. Eisenhower

From everything I have read about Dwight D. Eisenhower he was hardly boring. He put the neocons of his time in their place, he put America to work, and he continued the policies of the New Deal. Good man, I even have a note from him from grade school days.

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes that you can do these things. Among them are a few Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or businessman from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid." President Dwight Eisenhower

"The prospect of domination of the nation’s scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present–and is gravely to be regarded." Dwight D. Eisenhower

"President Eisenhower describes his administration's political philosophy as 'dynamic conservatism,' then as 'progressive, dynamic conservatism,' then as 'progressive moderation,' then as 'moderate progressivism,' and then as 'positive progressivism.'" William Manchester, quote from 'the Glory and the Dream,' great narrative history - read it.

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist....We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Dwight D. Eisenhower



What you describe is a boring president. Not one full of himself.

Chris
06-26-2014, 10:59 AM
Another way to understand the point of the OP is you want a president who is not all drama, always in the news with this or that intruge, this or that scandal. You want a president who quietly goes about his job.

PolWatch
06-26-2014, 11:22 AM
'What you describe is a boring president. Not one full of himself.' <-- not possible today....24 hour news reporting, computer, etc, etc. No matter how personally boring a president might be...today he lives in a goldfish bowl...

Chris
06-26-2014, 11:30 AM
'What you describe is a boring president. Not one full of himself.' <-- not possible today....24 hour news reporting, computer, etc, etc. No matter how personally boring a president might be...today he lives in a goldfish bowl...


You have a point there. The media certainly sensationalizes it. And the people buy into it. But an exciting president plays to it though while a boring one plays away from it.

TheInternet
06-26-2014, 12:07 PM
That runs counter to our immediate gratification society. That is why we elected Obama for Hope and Change with no evidence that he could provide it.

And without any specifics as to exactly what it meant. It was so vague that it appealed to stupid people who could believe it meant what ever they wanted it to mean.

Blackrook
06-26-2014, 07:51 PM
Obama has to be in the news constantly. Today I heard him make a comment about the World Cup. Why can't he just shut up once in a while and not always make himself the center of attention?

Refugee
06-26-2014, 08:01 PM
Obama has to be in the news constantly. Today I heard him make a comment about the World Cup. Why can't he just shut up once in a while and not always make himself the center of attention?

Constant attention is what people vote for. For every ten stupid comments and mistakes Obama makes, people will remember the one that made sense and they'll vote for that. Come election time, the one with the biggest smile and offering a tax cut is the one people will vote for. (Or change you can believe in). People fall for it every time, it's universal.

Alyosha
06-26-2014, 08:03 PM
Bigg wurd for nic...:grin:

Behave! nic34 saw Hendrix live. He's been at the feet of greatness, it rubs off.

Peter1469
06-26-2014, 08:05 PM
Really, the only people that get elected anymore are narcissists. The American voter is her own worse enemy.