OBAMA Schools GOP: " Allowing Cameras To ROLL Like That Was A MISTAKE."

[Segami]

BWAHAHAHAHAHA,.." Obama assumed the role of responsible adult to the GOP children.":rofl:

President Obama traveled to a House Republican retreat in Baltimore on Friday and delivered a performance that was at once defiant, substantive and engaging. For roughly an hour and a half, Obama lectured GOP leaders and, in a protracted, nationally-televised question-and-answer session, deflected their policy critiques, corrected their misstatements and scolded them for playing petty politics.


White House officials told the Huffington Post they were absolutely ecstatic. MSNBC's Luke Russert, who was on the scene in Baltimore, relayed that a Republican official and other GOP aides had confided to him that allowing the "cameras to roll like that," was a "mistake."


So effective was the president that Fox News cut away from the broadcast 20 minutes before it ended.


It was the type of performance that Obama's supporters have long demanded and that his own aides have been eager to deliver. The question-and-answer session at the end wasn't initially supposed to be broadcast, but the White House pressured GOP leadership to bring the cameras in. They knew the optics it would generate, a source with knowledge of the planning relayed. Hours before the event began, Republican leaders finally relented.

What resulted was what one Democratic strategist described as, "amazing theater" -- certainly for cable news. Standing on a stage, looking down at his Republican questioners, Obama assumed the role of responsible adult to the GOP children, or, at the very least, of a college professor teaching and lecturing a room full of students.


more

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/29/obama-goes-to-the-gop-lio_n_442331.html>

[Arkana]

1. In the big chair, you're gonna have good days and you're gonna have bad days.

And President Obama just had a GOOOOOOOOOD day.

[eleny]

2. He "Wiped The Floor In Baltimore"

[madokie]

21. From what I've seen so far he sure did

I think I also see a determination that I wasn't sure of before. Damn sure am now though. He's playing them like the chumps they are

[Mithreal]

97. There are plenty of chumps on both sides.

I don't want to see any more bipartisan talk until the losers on the right face facts, Dem ideas won. President Obama was made to look like the chump all too often in 2009, this better be a good year for him.

Go watch Grayson.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x429301

[DisgustedInMN]

87. Yes, he did!

President Barack Obama to the GOP:

You have been served.

Now, that's the man I voted for.

[Political Heretic]

3. I like it.

See I can say upbeat things sometimes. :)

[eleny]

5. Me too

:D

[unapatriciated]

37. me three

watched, liked it.:thumbsup:

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

84. Watching it now, it's great to see!

[jgraz]

4. "Fox News cut away from the broadcast 20 minutes before it ended"

How the FUCK do these assholes keep their broadcast license??

[Qutzupalotl]

14. ...tacitly admitting they can't handle the truth. nt

[madokie]

22. thats what needs to be taken away from that too

[deacon]

32. and admitting they're not a news outlet. n/t

[SemperEadem]

101. ***DING DING DING*** We have a winner!!

The lie has been given to all that squawk a few weeks back about how their daytime shows are news and their night time shows are opinion/bs/time-filler.

[Enthusiast]

82. And THAT is a fact.

But we already knew it. Nice to have our view validated. There is reality, then there is the pretend world of the GOP and Faux Noise.

[JuniperLea]

15. They won the right to lie, remember?

They can't be held to the truth because it infringes on their rights.

[Zoeisright]

20. Good question. They're on cable, so I don't think some laws apply.

Otherwise they wouldn't be on two seconds with their lying.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

41. They don't need one. It's cable.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

69. By being on cable. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

71. They won a court case that ruled they didn't have to be truthful

about reporting the news. So they've just extended that to "If you can't distort the truth, then take your ball and go home."

[NoFace]

79. I remember when Bush did this exact same thing. Face down a room full of opponents.....um, right? NT

[Art_from_Ark]

85. Nearly every time bu$h went on a state visit

he was shit-faced in a room full of opponents.

Does he get any points for that?

[SpiralHawk]

86. Remember how all of AWOL Bush's appearances were tightly screened and

controlled. Nothing ever happened - save a flying shoe or two -- that was not scripted by his puppetmasters.

[surrealAmerican]

99. If by "opponents" you mean hand-picked audiences ...

... asking pre-screened questions, which he answered with frequent flubs, sure.

[SemperEadem]

102. fool me once, shame on... ... .... ...... huh.... shame on.. uh.. me?

One of the top 5 EPIC FAIL moments.

[BR_Parkway]

6. I always thought it was awesome the way the Brits do their question

and answer of the Prime Minister - I do believe our own Mr Obama would be perfectly suited to go up against that - I always wanted to see Shrub in that situation - he'd have been crying and hollering for his bottle (of Jack, of course)

[HuckleB]

8. Exactly.

You beat me to it.

[ecstatic]

12. Yep. That's what it reminded me of too nt

[BrklynLiberal]

16. That is exactly what happened when a very intelligent young Irish reporter had the NERVE to ask Bush

pointed questions and follow up when pres shit-for-brains tried to skirt the issues.

There was a whole brouhaha made by * over it. I think he went crying to Cheney....

http://articles.sfgate.com/2004-07-01/bay-area/17432904_1_white-house-transcript-george-w-bush-iraq
→Iraq
WORLD VIEWS: Irish journalist riles Bush over Abu Ghraib missing WMDs; world absorbs the 'shock of decapitation'; Arab analysts dissect Washington's calls for Arab 'reform'; and more.
July 01, 2004|By Edward M. Gomez, special to SF Gate

On the eve of his departure for the European Union-U.S. summit in Ireland late last week George W. Bush gave a sit-down interview to Irish TV journalist Carole Coleman in the White House Map Room. (Radio Television Eire; video clip may not work with all players)

Unlike American reporters who lob softball questions Bush can field with prepared rehearsed answers Coleman performed as most European broadcast interviewers normally do -- in a naturally engaging intellectually rigorous conversational manner. However Bush bristled at Coleman's questions and interviewing style about which the White House (which posted a transcript of the session on its Web site) later "lodged an official complaint with the Irish embassy in Washington." (Times; subscription required)

[Leftist Agitator]

56. How in the world did I miss this?

God, it reminds me of the colossal embarrassment I felt as an American to be represented by Bush.

No matter what else, at least I don't have to be ashamed of President Obama.

[Mopar151]

73. Yep, a cringe-free president!

I knew from his first couple of press conferences - he must have been a tough teacher! He schools everybody in these situations - and they can come out with a little gold star, or parked in the corner with the dunce cap.

[Solomon]

18. Ditto. They can't handle a real engagement. They can

only argue through their echo chamber, propaganda, etc. And that's because, they are wrong.

I've been waiting for this, face to face, not through the media, but face to face.

I know how bad he's been wanting it.

[defendandprotect]

34. Those questions have to be submitted 24 hours in advance...but not sure to whom?

[SemperEadem]

104. Prime Minister's Question is pure comedy

Tony Blair was better at it, but Gordon Brown can backhand with the dirty gauntlett, too. David Cameron "contre-temps" well, too.

[HuckleB]

7. Obama should propose a US version of Prime Minister's Questions.

He would thrive with that...

[ncteechur]

31. Eventually they would be as disrespectful as Parliament is (and Joe Wilson)

[librechik]

9. looking forward to the clips (if the Pukkkes don't "accidentally" destroy them"

:rofl:

[tavalon]

98. We live in the age of you tube and bit torrent

This isn't ever going away.

[tanyev]

10. Guess who's not invited to the next GOP retreat?

:rofl:

[unapatriciated]

38. Didn't know he was invited, thought he crashed it.

Might have gone better for them if they offered him a drink.

[Blue Owl]

11. Karl Rove ain't creatin' teh realities no more...

No scripts. No talking points. No softballs. No framing.

Just the raw, unfiltered, toxic sewage that is the GOP, sledged out for all to behold.

[ecstatic]

13. That's funny-FOX cut away?? Hilarious! nt

[Toasterlad]

17. Key Word Here Is "Theater"

Why people are still impressed that the man can TALK never fails to amuse and disgust me. When he actually DOES something, then you can cheer.

[opihimoimoi]

19. I'm cheering cause he did something The GOP never did...bring Sanity into the ROOM

[Hippo_Tron]

27. Theater is required to get shit done in a democracy in the television/internet age

The only thing that congress listens to besides organized money is strong public opinion. If you want strong public opinion you need to shape that public opinion and the way you do that is through theater.

[deacon]

35. Absolutely. They GOP staged so much the last year you'd think obama created the economic disaster.

n/t

[Enthusiast]

83. Hell, with help from the M$M nearly

half the country has bought into that fabrication.

[Go2Peace]

43. George Lakoff has some great books on the importance of framing the debate

and the importance of not using your opponents frames as well. This is VERY important work. I hope it is a foundation that will be used to them move policy to where it needs to be.

[Go2Peace]

42. I am critical of the President's policies. But this is significant. Taking control of the debate is

an important component. I believe if he continues in this direction it will become apparent to him that he does not have to be afraid to take more progressive stands. I believe that the President may (re)find his voice through this experience and rediscover his roots.

THIS gives me hope.

[Rebel Scum]

111. I agree.

Unfortunately the Dems let the GOP and the astroturfers control the health care debate last year. I like you hope he's re-finding his voice.

[Zix]

80. Hear, hear. This is past the stage of being repetetive and becoming nauseating.

[drm604]

94. Repetitive and nauseating?

Yes, we've seen the President facing Republicans like this hundreds of times, each time more nauseating than the last. :sarcasm: :eyes:

[DFW]

23. That's "teaching and lecturing a room full of dimwitted students"

The real star of this event is whoever convinced the Republicans to let the cameras in.

That's like convincing an abstinence-preaching church lady to take the lead role in a porn film.

[Z_I_Peevey]

49. I honestly think the GOPpers fell victim

to that old Hollywood malady "believing your own publicity."

Wowie.

[DFW]

74. There's a line from Ingemar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"

...one of his best films, I thought, from the 1950s, where one character tells another that he has it easy because he "actually believes his own twaddle." That pretty much perfectly describes this situation.

I think that at least some of them have figured out that this time they overestimated themselves and underestimated their adversary.

It won't happen again.

[Nay]

91. Exactly. They believed their own propaganda, and thought Obama

was going to fall before their invincible truthiness and smarmy-ass 'questions.' Hey, Pubs, just cuz you are dumbasses doesn't mean everyone else is. And yes, there is such a thing as an intelligent person who can rip right through your crap.

[Blue Owl]

24. Somehow I wish

Bobby Jindal could be standing in corner of the room wearing a dunce cap.

That would be the little cherry on top of this delicious sundae schooling.

[harun]

25. Wow, we need to do that EVERY WEEK!!!!!!!!!

[deacon]

36. I hope he realizes that he must jump in front of them weekly to squash their bullshit. n/t

[ourbluenation]

26. Can you imagine * doing something like this with the dems? Oh please.

:rofl:

[gratuitous]

30. That occurred to you, too?

Meanwhile, I'm sure the participants at the Waco Economic Summit are still waiting for Chimpy to get done reading the reports of the proceedings so he can get back to them with his brilliant ideas on how to fix the economy.

[Union Yes]

28. 'Twas a thing of beauty! knr nt

[JNelson6563]

29. totally awesome!

they thought it was going to go much differently, no doubt. This is thigh-slapping funny. :toast:

Julie

[Lebam in LA]

33. OH MY GWAAD

I just watched it and he was great. I have been really mad at him and would even watch the SOTU.

Every person in this country needs to be made to listen.

My hope is back (a bit)

[immoderate]

39. My immediate thought was, "The Republicans don't want this."

I can't believe they didn't know what would happen. Barack nicely stomped all over them. Uncle Remus would have crafted a nice story about this.

--imm

[Go2Peace]

40. The President is discovering that taking control of the Debate and populism WORKS

This is excellent. I applaud him for taking it on and hope he continues in this direction.

Now the Democrats and the President need to do the same thing with policies. Don't shy away from the "debate". Go out and win it, fight and make a strong case, move forward and take charge of the dialog. Progressive policies beat the shit out of centrist compromise and is the only way to really strengthen the country and get us moving forward again.

[lib_wit_it]

81. Yep. The truth *will* set us free, if we can get the truth out there over the RW din of lies.

[Bluebear]

44. Thank you, Luke Russert, for making that known!

[rucky]

45. He should do this every week.

on Prime Time

[GinaMaria]

67. That would be the best reality TV show ever....n/t

[wisteria]

46. The Republican's are playing this like they won the argument.

They say they were able to prove they are not obstructions with no ideas.

[Segami]

48. Next time any repuke decides to repeat the same old talking point that Obama needs a TelePrompTer

and can't speak without one better think twice before they end up dining on their own shoe. This event reminded me of the TV game show ' 1 vs. 100 '. LOL! Lets hope that today's spectacle is Obama's way of serving notice to all that he is shifting political gears from here on end.

[DallasNE]

78. "I Want To See The Math"

That dismissive statement summarized the Republican proposals. Now let's see if MSM starts to ask the GOP to see the math rather than simply being a mouthpiece for the GOP talking points. In fact, MSM may be a bigger loser in this go-around than the GOP because it exposed them for their dim-witted coverage of issues. At least Fox News understood this and cut away from coverage rather than becoming further embarrassed by the onslaught.

[Fuzz]

47. I watched this afternoon and was so happy I did. This tactic sure backfired

on the republics for sure. He did handle them and made them look petty.

[abelenkpe]

50. Oh...Dont say that

It wasn't a mistake. It was great. I was hoping once everyone got past the pointing fingers stage that more policy debate would happen. I was looking forward to more televised meetings in the future. It would be great to see one with the dems too. I hope they continue.

[varelse]

51. This cheers me up no end

:)

[RedCloud]

52. Rope a dope works again!

[Harry Monroe]

53. "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!"

[stevietheman]

54. Perhaps we need regular Q&A like this, similar to how the British Parliament does it. n/t

n/t

[jwirr]

55. It took a while for them to get enough rope to hang themselves. He

has played this very coolly. He could not have done this much earlier and had the same impact. Good going, Mr President.

[warpigs]

57. Repubs fairytale theories

They should do more of this. A recap;

Repug asks a question that lasts for 5 minutes, spewing talking points and no real question. Obama goes through each talking point and factually explains why each is factually incorrect and then discuses what the Dems have done regarding the issue.

Basically, they Repub approach is:

Health care for all can be had without spending more.
Budgets would be balanced if they cut taxes more.
They have all kinds of ideas and bills for each issue (but for some reason did not pass or even vote on any when they had control of house, senate, WH)

The more I listen to the Repugs the more I think of fairy tails. Their only solutions are painless for everyone. That is the road they are taking - the road of no pain or sacrifice - and honestly that is why they win elections. Who would you vote for - someone one who will cut taxes and reduce the deficit or the person who would raise taxes and increase the deficit? Obama caught them on this in the last question where the last year of Clinton we had a surplus and during the W years they passed tax cuts, Medicare D and 2 wars and reduced tax rates. that's why the debt rose so much - only a moran would think differently.

But that is why they get the votes, because BS sells. Hard work and reality solutions are orphans.

[walldude]

58. Wow, the guy I voted for showed up...

Bout damn time... if he keeps this up I'm going to run out of shit to bitch about, and won't that be a damn fine day! Now on to Medicare for all!!!

[DainBramaged]

59. Was working today, JUST finished watching, it was wonderful

The Pukes will regret this for years to come. And FAUX cutting away before it finished was PRICELESS.

Kudos Mr. President, well done.

[Historic NY]

60. Well that was the best 66.42 minutes I've spent in a while.

[groundloop]

61. And there were some here that doubted this was a good idea

All I got to say after watching is DAMN ! ! ! !

[tpsbmam]

62. JUST watched my recording of it.....t'was a thing of beauty. I agree.....

the guy I voted for showed up. Please, President Obama, let your SOTU speech & your Baltimore "defiant, substantative & engaging" (& eloquent) performances guide your response to all of the bills now in play in the Congress. All of the substantial praise I watched during MSNBC's "President's Question Time" with Matthews/Olbermann/Maddow commenting was earned. Commenting and adding additional FACTS contradicting the Republican bull shit lies & rhetoric.

Oh, and edited to add a big K&R

[invisible]

63. Well done, President Obama!

Well done, President Obama!

[Zambero]

64. So much for "Obama can't cut it without a teleprompter"

It was never accurate to begin with, but at this point it sure looks like Sean Hannity will be forced to scrap that claim once and for all.

[The Midway Rebel]

65. Bust Their Balls Barry! eom

[djp2]

66. Obama needs to begin monthly..

sessions with Congress, similar to Prime Minister's Questions in Britain. He is great at the back and forth.. In Britain it is in the House of Commons, the equivalent in some ways to our House. Allow questions form both parties and the independents.. The REpugs could put a different leader up each month if they want. The House leadership should make this an open, monthly invitation to Obama to come regularly, like the Second Tuesday, etc. and if the REpugs refuse to show up all the better, at least Obama is making himself available...(Make it a "Rule"(like the stupid Senate "Filibuster", which is not Constitutional...) in a bid have it carry over to future Presidencies)
This could be done with a Joint Session instead, or alternate monthly with the Senate, but I think the House would be a better place.

Dems need to make this a regular function of Congress..Could you imagine Bush doing this once a month?...It would be enough to make him run and hide in the "bushes". Start with someone with Obama's brains and try to compare the future Presidents with him...

[Reterr]

68. YESSSS~!!!!!!! More of this please!!!!

THIS is why I am a Democrat "bounce:, :bounce:, :bounce:.....!!!!
Dems need to talk like this more. Man that was awesome. This is "plain talk/straight talk etc." Not telling people you understand their concerns because you drive a pick up truck a la "downtown scotty brown" :eyes:....

Gobama :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:...We had been unhappy about many of the president's economic policies (with regard to the management of the bailout) etc. but this is what we need to see more of...
No more blank cheque concessions to the anti-science, anti-environment, anti-common sense, conspiracy mongering, racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-education/intellect, faux populist, moronic, religious fascists of the GOP!

[Boudica the Lyoness]

70. The GOP are so caught up in their own bullshit

that they probably thought they could teach Obama a thing or two and make him look like the idiot they make him out to be.

[Major Hogwash]

72. I've never seen anything like it in 40 years of watching politics.

Obama literally kicked their asses every time they tried to lie about healthcare or anything else.
Obama took them to school today.

Talk about a teaching moment!!

[Mopar151]

75. Only thing I've seen that was close

Was'nt very pretty. Sometime in "91 (IIRC) C-span televised a Senate hearing on healthcare. The Scotch fumes were comin' outa Teddy K like heat waves in the desert, and Moinahan, sittin' next to him, had a nose like a stoplight. Hammered. THEY WERE THE ONLY 2 GUYS ON THE PANEL WHO COULD ASK A LUCID QUESTION!

[Politicub]

88. That was incredible - watched the replay on Cspan last night

The GOP reps seemed full of slogans, while President Obama was there to talk about solutions. He refused to go down to their level of useless sloganeering

I hope more people see this and understand he is working for the American people. The GOP clearly is not.

I knew our President had a deep grasp of the issues, but just wow - it was nice to see the professor Obama in action. I'm feeling a tinge of jealousy for those who had the privilege to be in his law school classroom.

[Beartracks]

76. Was "a mistake"?

From the viewpoint of the GOP I'm sure it was. The GOP prefers to manipulate appearances so it LOOKS like they are winners -- presumably because ACTUALLY winning is too hard, or, given their positions, impossible. TRUTH has a well-known liberal bias.

[yurbud]

77. that's the way to coax out the moderate Republicans: remind them they should be embarassed by their

party.

[big david]

89. checkmate, 40-love

and with a little follow through we should be able to win this game

[Krashkopf]

90. THAT was masterful! Do it weekly on FOX!

The President should scrap the "weekly radio address" and, instead, sit down, once a week, for a 1/2 hour unscripted question and answer session on FOX!

He has NOTHING to fear from the intellectual weaklings on the Right.

[spicegal]

92. Our president was truly amazing! Love that man.

Don't know of too many presidents or politicians that would have done what he did, and done it so incredibly well. He truly is the adult in the crowd. The Republicans sound like whining children. What he did was hit them with a huge dose of honesty. He named and shamed their tactics. Now, if only the media and the Dems would follow his lead, we might get somewhere in this country.

[Doctor_J]

93. GOP: Truth = mistake

:rofl:

Can't wait to hear hate radio spin it Monday. Oh wait. I never listen to those lying traitors.

[drm604]

95. That was the most satisfying thing I've seen in a long time.

:applause:
I love the way he called out Frank Luntz. "I like Frank, but...". In fact, he did that the whole way through. He'd point out that he liked a guy, ask how his beautiful family was, etc., before indirectly calling him a smarmy liar who's more interested in politics than policy.

[drm604]

96. Now we need our Democratic Reps and Senators to start doing the same thing.

Every time they throw out talking points as questions, they need to be called on it.

Every time they practice politics instead of leadership, they need to be called on it.

Every time they throw out baseless inaccuracies as "facts", they need to be called on it.

[Overseas]

100. K&R. I enjoyed watching it. //nt

[CLANG]

103. Here's the link to then entire 85 minutes.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/president-obama-takes-questions-gop-house-issues-conference

[Gregorian]

105. If by "mistake" you mean "BEST THING EVER!".

More of this kind of mistake.

[wouldsman]

106. I wish Bush would have done this!

Can you imagine G W Bush in a room full of Democrat Congresscritters taking questions and having to respond without help of script, prescreened questions or teleprompter! That would be hilarious. Do you suppose CNN would have cut it short?

[Plucketeer]

112. Welcome to DU!

Yes, the wife and I were musing over that VERY SAME SCENARIO as we watched Obama play with the crowd of hand puppets last night. Ol Dub would've asked to "phone a friend" with the first question. "Uhh, Dick? I'm in a spot here...." LOL!

[davidwparker]

107. I saw some of this last night on Keith and Rachel. WOW! was all I could say.

I hope this does turn into the UK's equivalent questions to the Prime Minister.

WOW!

[stubtoe]

108. self-delete

wrong thread! *blush*

[Joe Chi Minh]

109. Both true to type, in other words. Sometimes children can get over-excited and

it all ends in tears before bed-time, and that's what happened. It's a mistake to expect adult behaviour from children, they have to learn boundaries; in this case it was the hard way, but they are a particularly rambunctious wee brood, and that's normal for them.

[SlingBlade]

110. Yep. Obama displayed his UP MOST displeasure

That'll teach those mean old republicans :)

[RoccoR5955]

113. It was a mistake because they were PWN3D! n/t

[ProgressiveEconomist]

114. LINKS to text transcripts of individual R smackdowns are at URL

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7604374 ,

in a GD thread.

[patsimae]

115. Finally, after eight long years

We have a leader with a strong intellect and a command of policy.

[pleah]

116. K&R