Who is the source of the "Obama is playing chess" magical thinking ploy?

[brentspeak]

Which PR or political flak do you think came up with that cockamamie spin?

[Thrill]

1. You

[lwcon]

48. What a perfect distillation of DU thinking!

There have been literally hundreds or thousands of posts at DU attributing chess-style mastery to Barack Obama. Yet the person who inquires into this pervasive meme is told s/he's responsible for it.

[KittyWampus]

52. either Obama is politically extremely skilled or he's the luckiest human to walk the earth

which is most plausible and which is really most akin to Magical Thinking:

1. Obama is extremely skilled politically and manages to prevail while maintaining a positive image
2. Obama is just lucky and over and over and over again, throughout his career, things just seem to work out for him

[PurityOfEssence]

69. Or that certain tactics work well up to a point

Being all things to all people is handy if you don't get called on it too much, and it's great for getting elected. Using this M.O. to lead is another matter.

There's an inherent paradox in the kind of character that gets one elected and the kind of character that successfully leads, and those who can chart those nether-reaches are the greats.

Being too needy of approval is a trap that serial appeasers fall into, and one need look no farther than Bill Clinton to see ruinous possibilities of this ilk.

[mkultra]

58. pervasive meme or common sense.

[Jennicut]

71. +1

Kind of obvious. I never think he is playing chess, just weighing every issue very carefully. Sometimes he is too cautious such as in this instance.

[ShortnFiery]

2. Unfortunately I fear that he's been intimidated by Darth Cheney, et. al.. No chess, just ...

that threats work on even GOOD people. :(

[Mike Daniels]

47. So, if he's too weak to stand up to a former VP how's he going to fare against Russia, China, etc?

You basically just admitted that Obama can be pushed around by anyone.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. I don't know.

But it probably wasn't the "Obama is just like Bush" trolls.

[spoony]

4. What I love is that they also use the

"he's only been in office for (X) months so it's too early to say" defence. And yet they're saying they KNOW he is playing a long-term strategy. How could they, since it's so early? Well, just 'cause, that's why. They just KNOW it.

[ThomCat]

37. I love how his defenders can apparently read his mind.

They can come up with all kind of really convoluted defenses for why he is really doing things that don't look good. They always know that his actions are really part of some super-wonderful strategy only he could think of. :P

[spoony]

38. Yeah, like intentionally going to court to lose

so he'll get his way and the photos will be released AND it won't look like he brilliantly engineered the whole thing, except he TOTALLY DID!!!111! :P

[Hawkowl]

77. Occam's razor

I find myself concocting these elaborate double reverse fake out strategies to justify Obama's mystifying lack of principle. Then I shake myself back to reality with the principle of Occam's razor. It's simply not plausible that Obama is this devious in a passive aggressive way. It is much more likely that Obama is simply timid or just plain screwing the pooch. If he doesn't start standing for something besides hope, and only hope, the likelihood of him becoming a one term president increases with each new equivocation.

[nichomachus]

41. The best one came yesterday

I posted an opinion on DU and someone answered "If you believe that, then you don't know Obama."

I responded that I was surprised to find out that the other poster was a confidante of Obama who knew him very well. I asked for more information.

The other poster responded "I know him as well as anyone. I pay attention."

Okay . . . .

[NYCGirl]

42. And how his detractors always know that the reasons he gives for doing something

are not really what he thinks.

[dionysus]

46. obama has "defenders" on a democratic message board? get the fuck out!!!

[ThomCat]

70. It's not the fact that they defend him that's odd or the problem.

If Obama's policies can be defended reasonably, go for it.

It would be really nice if things like his civil rights policies, free trade policies, economic stimulus policies, military spending policies, and policies on defending torture COULD be defended. But in my opinion you pretty much have to be a republican to like his policies in these areas because he's doing exactly what Bush did.

He has areas where he has acted like a democrat, but they're few so far, and they have had minor impact compared to the above areas where he's acting like a republican. :(

It's not the act of defending the president that's troublesome. It is implying telepathy or privileged personal information about what he thinks that is just really creepy.

[incapsulated]

5. I don't know but DU just *loves* it

Really it can be used for ANY decision he makes.

"Today, President Obama rounded up and barcoded every person watching Jon Stewart in the United States"

"OMG THIS IS GENIUS HE IS PLAYING THE GOP LIKE VIOLINS THEY CAN NEVER SAY HE IS TOO LIBERAL NOW!!"

"I LOVE MY NEW TATTOO, IT'S LIKE A REMINDER OF HOW MUCH HE LOVES ME"


Now, I voted for Obama and hope he does well even while I grind my teeth when he does things that I totally disagree with, like oh, recently. But this crowd on DU is starting to sound.... scary.

[polichick]

7. LOL - it really is surreal around here sometimes!

[ProgressIn2008]

14. Ye gods, brilliant, but in a way that makes me want a drink

"OMG THIS IS GENIUS HE IS PLAYING THE GOP LIKE VIOLINS THEY CAN NEVER SAY HE IS TOO LIBERAL NOW!!"

Sigh, yeah. Scary.

[Dragonfli]

6. Sounds like DLC rhetoric/spin - my guess - Rahm.

But it could be any number of the corporate purchased hacks the DLC has seeded the administration with.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. Not only is it over worked and tired

but any old patzer in the park can tell you that it ain't chess if you can not win the game. Checkmate must come eventually. The deal must be closed. It is an analogy best left for post victory discussions, frankly. Those who have not taken the rival king have not yet played chess well enough to be bragging about, really, you know?

[Forkboy]

9. It's not even current. It should be "Obama plays World of Warcraft while the rest of us play Pong."

Chess is so 19th century.

[LooseWilly]

78. I think you mean Warcraft, not World of Warcraft.

You know... he's gotta work with the economy, organize the armies, click on the targets... work some more on the economy...

World of Warcraft... he'd be out there fighting the Taliban in person.

And, just for fun, let's have the rest of us playing Civ... you know Civ I, the version with the little square pieces that move across a graph paper world... (Argh! The poor Arab swordsman is facing a small troop of elven {insert elven unit type here, as I doubt anyone would have Obama playing the undead...} !!)

[960]

10. David Axelrod's fingerprints are all over it.

[jefferson_dem]

11. Dunno. But his evil twin concocted the "that's not the change I voted for" simpleton slogan.

n/t

[mkultra]

59. yeah, that would be any of the various bigots that remain democrats.

[Dragonfli]

12. It is apt - In chess the pawns are sacrificed for the royal few

Most of us are just unlucky to be born among the pawns.

The DLC kings and queens depend on our sacrifice to win the war and collect the bounty of the corporate bishops.

They would probably say something like, "don't hate the player - hate the game!"

I have a problem with both myself.

[Lilith Velkor]

66. Ain't no game if ain't nobody playin.

That's my common retort to the "don't hate the player" shite.

Many thanks for explaining the "chess" meme. I knew something stank about it, and you clarified for me what it was.

[LooseWilly]

79. Ahh, but don't forget that a pawn,

if the poor bugger can make it to the far end of the board, can get himself (herself?) promoted...
I'm not familiar enough with the game to know if a promoted pawn is allowed any room for independent thinking though, or if it remains a black/white proposition...

[CBR]

13. JC...

[Tesha]

15. It's the same people who cheered-on the Democratic "dry powder warehouse" as the Democrats...

spent eight years doing *NOTHING* to oppose Bush.

Tesha

[islandmkl]

16. probably wasn't the same people that engineered the last...

20 years of Democratic achievements...on edit: short list = long list...

find the better, show us how you would achieve it, and then progress with your implementation...

Barack is not the 'perfect' guy...but you have no one in place to do otherwise...

and all the harping and handwringing (as opposed to legitimate criticism) gets nobody anywhere...

your foresight is remarkable, considering you will discount any hindsight...

[mkultra]

60. +1 Obama is the winner. Suck it up.

[Occam Bandage]

17. The fact that his political strategems often work despite critics claiming

that he is not directly dealing with the situation. It originated, of course, during the campaign.

[redqueen]

20. You know what, you're right!

I was thinking of it as a solely post-election claim... but you're right... it started during the campaign.

I'm sure someone will now say that it was a media-enabled / -manufactured myth... intended to dupe us all into voting for the corporate shill. That's how it went during the primaries, right?

[Occam Bandage]

22. The line originally had nothing to do with governing, of course. It was purely about

playing a sharper type of politics. I think it's somewhat ironic that people who dispute/mock claims of chess-playing tend to claim Obama is putting political advantage over good governance. The line is, after all, a claim that Obama is playing smart politics, without claiming he is playing politics to any particular end. If his goal is complete corporatism, and if he is successful at that despite convincing most Americans that he is a center-leftist, then he is in fact playing incredibly good chess and the line is completely appropriate.

Did you upgrade your Arsenal logo? It looks a bit different to me. Is that simply a failing of my memory?

[TheKentuckian]

31. I'd say he plays top notch politics

and there is every reason to believe with reasonably good intent. If not then he was so far ahead that we were screwed into the wall before anybody had heard of the guy. This man has not taken the life path, spoke, or voted as someone with very opposed goals.

Making the choices Obama has just as cover to be douche bag probably means he is the anti-Christ as a few loons believed.

I'll take the odds and keep an eye out.

[redqueen]

54. It's a new one yeah...

they're having a rough time of it lately. Unpleasant.

[grantcart]

18. One of the hundreds of thousands of bloggers who didn't believe that he

would get the nomination, didn't have a chance at getting elected and simply got tired of underestimating the guy and being on the wrong side of predictive outcomes.

[mkultra]

61. yup, sometimes people just have to embrace the truth.

[NYC_SKP]

19. I came up with that. You got a problem with it?

:nuke:

[foo_bar]

21. it was somebody on the Kerry campaign IIRC

Or he claimed to be on the campaign, said the rest of us were playing checkers while Camp Kerry was playing Star Trek Chess or whatever.

on edit: here's the post:

This is the first step. The next discussion we should have is about the one-dimensional responses to the Kerry-Edwards strategy. Some of you are playing checkers while Kerry is playing chess.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=612933&mesg_id=612933

[DemBones DemBones]

24. Yep, and Rove was supposed to be playing checkers while

Kerry was playing chess. :rofl:

[Occam Bandage]

26. He was, and Kerry was.

The problem was, Kerry was playing chess in the middle of a checkers game. In some environments a muscular straight-on approach works better, and in some environments it's smarter to outmaneuver your opponent.

[paulk]

23. same guy who came up with the

"change we can believe in" slogan....

[mkultra]

62. nevermind the fact that he keeps winning

Now thats change you can xerox.

[paulk]

75. ?

that's got to be one of the most nonsensical replies I've ever gotten.

[Name removed]

80. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Canuckistanian]

25. Probably some Chess Lobby flunky

Most likely ChessPAC, or something like that.

[TheKentuckian]

29. I don't care where you stand that's classic!

[MadMaddie]

27. Maybe you haven't noticed but President Obama has

out maneuvered ALL of his opponents.

But I suppose that takes absolutely no skill to do that...

I am not happy with a couple of actions he has taken but he still has accomplished more than any president in the last 30 years in such a short time.

I wonder...would you do a better job? Would you be able to negotiate
-Economy
(Bailout, Failing Auto Industry, out of control Credit Card industry, Failing Banks)
-War
-DODT
-Repairing the US standing in the world
-Torture

gasp......and there is plenty more that I haven't listed.
All at the same time?

It's okay to criticize, it's okay to disagree but to dismiss facts well...it's kinda of Republican isn't it?:rant:

[Hekate]

28. Bob Herbert, February op-ed, link. I saved it because hubby had already made the same observation...

... some months earlier.

Hekate

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/opinion/10herbert.html

February 10, 2009
OP-ED COLUMNIST
The Chess Master
By BOB HERBERT

<snip>
There is always a tendency to underestimate Barack Obama. We are inclined in the news media to hyperventilate over every political or policy setback, no matter how silly or insignificant, while Mr. Obama has shown again and again that he takes a longer view. <snip>
It’s early, but there are signs that Mr. Obama may be the kind of president who is incomprehensible to the cynics among us — one who is responsible and mature, who is concerned not just with the short-term political realities but also the long-term policy implications. <snip>

The simple truth is that most Republican politicians would like Mr. Obama to fail because that is their ticket to a quick return to power. I think the president is a more formidable opponent than they realize.

Mr. Obama is like a championship chess player, always several moves ahead of friend and foe alike. He’s smart, deft, elegant and subtle. While Lindsey Graham was behaving like a 6-year-old on the Senate floor and Pete Sessions was studying passages in his Taliban handbook, Mr. Obama and his aides were assessing what’s achievable in terms of stimulus legislation and how best to get there.

I’d personally like to see a more robust stimulus package, with increased infrastructure spending and fewer tax cuts. But the reality is that Mr. Obama needs at least a handful of Republican votes in the Senate to get anything at all done, and he can’t afford to lose this first crucial legislative fight of his presidency.
The Democrats may succeed in bolstering their package somewhat in conference, but I think Mr. Obama would have been satisfied all along to start his presidency off with an $800 billion-plus stimulus program. ~~~~ end

[asphalt.jungle]

30. that article is from this year

it originated on the campaign trail.

[Hekate]

36. Yes, which is why I noted hubby's independent comment from several months ago...

DH is a chess player himself; I am not. It seems to have occurred to several people (possibly even many people) independently.

Hekate

[brentspeak]

67. Bob Herbert has soured on Obama since then

[Hekate]

73. Just since February? I missed that, but then I have to go out of my way to get his columns. nt

[quaker bill]

32. Perhaps he is

just doing what he says he is doing. We already know that there was torture, that captive people were were subjected to all manners of mistreatment and some died as a result. Exactly what positive purpose is served by releasing more photos of it eludes me. I, as I expect most here, are already fully sold on the criminality of the previous Admin. More photos will not move me, as I am as fully there as I can get. Plenty of photos of this are already in the public domain to make the case. It is however reasonable to conclude that release of more images at this time will put the troops at even more risk than they are at already.

A rational cost-benefit analysis at the moment suggests little to be gained and perhaps something to be lost.

The chess move, if one is at play, is that the President would prefer his hand to be forced. If SCOTUS orders release, the President will release them. It won't be discretionary on his part, and given that they are as bad as speculated, releasing them is something you want to be forced to do. If they are as disgusting as advertised, it would be better to be able to say, "I thought the American People had seen enough of this, but SCOTUS has ruled and I must comply with the law".

Alternately, if the pro-torture argument gains actual political traction for the right, he still has the images in reserve. In the interim, having Cheney and the gang out there repeatedly attempting to justify their criminal actions is really not a problem. They are in effect casting their own concrete overshoes. If they are successful, they will have firmly cemented these images of brutality to thir party name, I don't see the problem in letting them carry on. Once the concrete has fully cured, then use the images to show explicitly what they have been justifying.

[DU GrovelBot]

33. ## PLEASE DONATE TO DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND! ##

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[zulchzulu]

34. It's not as if the "playing chess" is a new analogy in politics...

Surely you've heard the chess playing analogy before... it's something history buffs would attribute to Julius Caesar... or Ivan The Great... or just about any politician since 10,000 BC... maybe not chess then, but you get the drill.

[Still Sensible]

35. His actions may or may not be part of a plan

with the goal being to maneuver circumstance toward the outcomes many here want to see. On the other hand, his actions may simply be the result of political calculation. In any event, we won't be able to know if one of those views is accurate until events play out.

But calling someone's opinion that President Obama may be playing chess a "magical thinking ploy" is basically an insult IMO. For the record, I am not one that has opined that he is playing chess.

[pnorman]

39. I've been using that phrase pretty frequently here on DU, for the past few months.

And so have several others here, quite independently of me. I don't know about those others, but I don't even play that fucking game!

I recall all those yelps of "betrayal" outrage here, some going back to even BEFORE the Inauguration Ceremony, but by and large, he has delivered! And without even breaking a sweat! I've always regarded that phrase: "Politics is the art of the possible" as morally questionable, but I like the way he's going about it!

I judge O'Bama, NOT by the bleatings of the "purists" here, but by the howls of OUTRAGE from those Talking Rectums over at Faux News! He MUST be doing something right!

pnorman
PS: I too am a "purist" of sorts. In 2000, I supported Nader & LaDuke, over Lieberman & Gore. I offer NO apologies, but there's NO law against learning from one's mistakes!
On edit: Check out GinaMaria's Journal of Weekly Presidential Action Items: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/GinaMaria

[nichomachus]

43. "bleating" "purists" Pfft

right from the talking points fax . . . .

This is the new putdown -- even Obama used it (condescending prick). . if you're disturbed by him giving money away to the financial markets and insurance companies, covering up torture, screwing taxpayers, fucking over the GLBT community, and putting corporations in charge of our health care, you are a "purist."

Fucking sign me up. Purist Number One. And goddam proud of it!

[RufusTFirefly]

53. Haven't you read "Team of Rivals"??

Hiring all his enemies as his closest advisors and policy makers is absolutely brilliant! Brilliant!

So, don't get your panties in a twist over billionaire dollar bailouts, health care industry extortion, torture enabling, and war. He's the new Lincoln, I tell ya!

Barack Obama is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.

[dionysus]

45. excellent use of the word bleating

:thumbsup:

[nichomachus]

56. If the choice is between "ideological purist" and "ideological whore"

I'll take "purist," thank you.

[pnorman]

74. What a pleasant surprise!

I thought that my fellow "purists" would take me to task, for my (unapologetic!) support of Nader & LaDuke over Lieberman & Gore in 2000! (Whew!)

pnorman
PS: I've generally used the phrase "think 3 or 4 moves ahead of any of his opponents" rather than "chess player", since not being a chess player myself, that would have been presumptuous. But I'll gladly accept these feeble epithets, as though I had actually used that phrase. I'll also accept whatever those Talking Rectums at Faux News might hurl at O'Bama supporters, with PRIDE!

[berni_mccoy]

40. Nice Flamebait. If this was a Flamebait Forum, you'd be a winner.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

63. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

44. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Starry Messenger]

50. Serious answer: I actually think it was Chuck Todd.

I got curious and ran a search. The earliest reference I can find is an interview on Meet the Press during the primaries with Russert moderating.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22342301/page/7/

Meet the Press’ transcript for Dec. 23, 2007

MR. TODD: Which is what Clinton's for. So it really is sort of--you want to talk why Iowa is three-dimensional chess, it is the ultimate--I think it's more five-dimensional chess, if there's such a thing. But it is--look, you want to have Edwards and Obama look like they're muddying each other up. Yesterday they had this big spat over third party groups. Clinton, at this point, is now hoping to play what John--the role John Edwards was playing two weeks ago, which was, "Well, I'm standing on the sidelines just trying to talk about being president. Let these two kids fight in the schoolyard." She's kind of hoping for the same thing.

Quick note, though, on these third party groups. In the last--we're now 11 days?--pro-Edwards advertising is going to outspend now pro-Clinton and pro-Obama advertising in Iowa. That is a stunning thing, because you have this new third party 527 funded by the SEIU, and it is now spending more on TV advertising, frankly, than even John Edwards.

[cadmium]

51. Thom Hartmann I think was first. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

55. He's a politician. He's a lot like Bill Clinton. nt

[mkultra]

64. Bill was a skilled politician as well

Only truly realized by the masses post departure.

[Captain Hilts]

65. Yes. Bubba was pretty amazing. He did a pretty good job with a shitty congress, here's hoping

those skills and a more progressive congress get Pres Obama what he wants.

[mkultra]

68. werd

[nichomachus]

57. It doesn't matter how well you play chess

when the other guy knocks over the table.

Obama can "play" any game he wants. The other guys aren't playing -- for them, this is war.

[SIMPLYB1980]

72. It was me. I still think it's apt, especialy when the far left

get's in a tizzy before taking the time to think his motives through.

http://www.queenversusrook.com/

"But for every player with the Queen (Democrats) and a chance to win, there is a player with the Rook (Republicans) and a chance for a draw. The same analysis that created a winning repertoire for the attacker reveals the toughest defenses, and shows how most opponents even of Grandmaster strength make the attacker's job far too easy. Even more remarkably, this effort has uncovered several key positions where the defender can put up fierce resistance by entering tricky sidelines that have never before been analyzed, let alone recommended. Several of these methods involve objectively weaker lines of play that can be tremendously deceptive even to an experienced human chess player, and are virtually impossible to solve at the board."

[Bonobo]

76. When did you stop beating your wife? nt