Robert Gibbs did something else no one has been able to do:

[ProSense]

Get everyone talking about what needs to be done, discussing the upcoming elections and the reasons the WH should be attacking the right, and denying that Obama is like Bush, in fact, denying that anyone ever said that he was like Bush, whose record the Republicans have decided to run on.

He shaped the debate.

Now will people actually take their own advice and ditch the Obama = Bush "strawman" and actually focus on attacking the right instead of Democrats?

[Forkboy]

1. Another brilliant chess move.

[ProSense]

2. Considering that

everyone is still talking with no end in sight, could be.

Think this will die down before Congress comes back from recess?

[Forkboy]

4. Do you feel this was a wise political move done on purpose?

[xultar]

3. Thats Spockified 3D chess in space to you Forkboy.

[Lindsey]

5. Great post, ProSense. Thank you. n/t

[Cleita]

12. Yeah, pawn kills Queen.

:eyes:

[flamingdem]

6. I agree. Better air the issues now and develop strategy. nt

[hulka38]

7. Do you ever consider that people resent your blatant attempts to manipulate

their views on these matters?

[TheKentuckian]

8. Delusional reaching and if the debate is about Obama not being Bush then the problems are massive

That bar can be passed by a pet rock with rabies and a learning disability.

[ProSense]

9. "if the debate is about Obama not being Bush then the problems are massive"

Actually it's delusional to claim that Obama is like Bush, but it happens. Some people bang their heads on that bar often.

[w4rma]

10. He galvanized "the professioinal left" against Obama's administration.

I would rather it have been focused upon Republicans, or even just the DLCers in the Obama administration. Wait, I don't think there is a single cabinet member or high ranking member of this administration who isn't either a Republican or a DLCer.

[ProSense]

11. The "professional left" was already galvanized against the administration

This isn't about them. There will be criticism from Maddow, Krugman and others, but they have not and will not turn against the administration.

[Hardrada]

14. Define this "professional left" for me?

Is it more lucrative than being a professional fascist which seems to be our current national vogue?

[ProSense]

15. Here's a good candidate:

here

"which is how so many people who should have known better voted for Obama"

"Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow are as bad as the right wing; they are all playing the same wing, nobody is addressing the institutional methods that are strangling us."

You can also do a google search and find this piece by Hedges: "Ralph Nader Was Right About Barack Obama"


I don't think Hedges is President Obama's base.

[jobycom]

13. Only if others drop the "Obama = Bush "strawman"" strawman.

I'm sure it's been said. But much more often, people have said "This policy is like Bush's," or "This is what we complained about Bush doing." That's a long way from saying "Obama = Bush." So if one strawman falls, maybe the other will?

I mean, honestly, you can see that "Now will people actually take their own advice and ditch the Obama = Bush "strawman" and actually focus on attacking the right instead of Democrats?" is an attack on Democrats, right? Maybe not the Democrats you love, but if you want to get past the fighting, you can't attack the ones you hate, either. That's what fighting is.

[benlurkin]

16. Yeah, brilliant fucking chess move.

The administration, via Gibbs, is slamming the base, the ones who worked their asses off to get Obama elected, by saying we are whiners because we want single payer health care and Gitmo closed (as we were promised repeatedly during the campaign). They said (via Gibbs) that we will not be happy even if Kucinich were elected.

Silly me, I thought they were basically telling us to fuck off and shut the hell up since we are such irrelevant drug abusers. Great way to get the discussion going.

[impik]

17. Na, it's a nice thought, but it won't happen

Obama = Bush is what sustain the professional left. They won't just leave it.

[smalll]

18. THANK YOU! You just solved the puzzle of why Gibbs said all that. And it makes sense!

One point the angry-at-Gibbs people have clearly had is, why the hell is he saying this? He must think it will help somehow, but how? But you have it -- it's NOT really about pissing off the left purposefully, or even a Sistah Souljah moment -- it's all just the opening salvo in the dichotomy that the Dems need to present in this mid-term election: Bush vs. Obama -- which do you choose?

Remember within the past week or so all the buzz about a poll which got written up as, "yes, the Dem numbers don't look too good this year, but the one bright spot out there is that Americans still much prefer Obama to Bush?" Fight on that! Even to the extent that Democrats and Republicans ALIKE don't believe (also from that poll) that if the Repubs take the Congress, that they would be so clueless to re-attempt Bush policies (which of course they would.)

Sorry my late-night googling skills are failing me at this point! But you nailed it!

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. He shaped the debate by presenting a triangular hole for us round pegs.

Gibbs attacked DEMOCRATS.

Next you'll post something saying that as long as Obama has a hammer, the round peg/triangular hole problem isn't really a problem at all, but a bonus.

[Solomon]

32. People here attack democrats all the time. What's your

point? Democrats always attack democrats.

[fogonthelake]

20. Since he is so close to the President, he articulated the

sentiment of the President and made it public. Yup, that is what he managed to do all by himself.

[moksha]

21. Bullshit. It wasn't brillance, it was a stupid move. He is hurting his own cause

by insulting the base. He is running off the party actives that get shit done at election time. There was not a bit of brilliance to it, despite you spin.

[Blue Owl]

22. Similar to Rahm's famous outburst, IMO

It seems obvious they think of progressives as an annoyance.

But hey -- someone's gotta be the steward of liberty and freedom, and fight against the complete corporate takeover of our government, and remind President Obama of the campaign promises he made.

[quiller4]

23. After his comments the volunteer calls at our local party headquarters tripled

so much for running off activists...

[moksha]

25. I don't believe you.

[Forkboy]

26. Sure they did.

[ProSense]

24. No, not bullshit

brilliance

[Forkboy]

28. I'll ask you again, and perhaps you won't run away this time....

Do you feel this was a wise political move done on purpose?

[ProSense]

30. Wait, if I agree with Gibbs, what do you think?

Read the OP again.

[Forkboy]

31. So the answer is, yes, you think this was a wise political move?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

27. Chess

[niceypoo]

29. Gibbs made a politically stupid statement at the worst possible time

2 months out from a midterm.