My latest in PJ Media:
Pearls are being clutched more tightly than ever on the Left, as passages from hard-Left “journalist” Bob Woodward, published in the Washington Post, show the loutish President Trump daring to utter a few critical words about his sainted, brilliant predecessor, Barack Obama. “I don’t think Obama’s smart,” Trump is quoted as saying. “I think he’s highly overrated. And I don’t think he’s a great speaker.” Why, how dare Trump tell the truth about the Left’s favorite naked emperor!My new Rating America’s Presidents: An America-First Look at Who Is Best, Who Is Overrated, and Who Was An Absolute Disaster features three presidents on the cover, next to each of the three segments of the subtitle. Next to “Who Is Overrated” is a photo of none other than Barack Hussein Obama, who did a great deal to earn the honor.Start with the politicization of the government. The IRS targeting of conservative groups on Obama’s watch was a prelude to many more revelations about how the civil service had become a corrupt and compromised stronghold of the Left while he was president. Obamacare gave the federal government a huge role in health insurance and, not coincidentally, caused more trouble than it solved. Millions of people lost plans that were working and had to pay more for other plans, or in fines for not having insurance, than they would have paid previously. And the federal government continued its seemingly inexorable advance toward control of every aspect of citizens’ lives.
Shortly before Obama was elected in 2008, he said, “When you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.” In December 2013, he said that the fact that some people made much more money than others was the “defining challenge of our time.” He believed not in equality of opportunity but equality of outcome, which could only be enforced by the state powers exercised in socialist states. He didn’t make America a socialist state, but with Obamacare and more, he put it firmly on the socialist path, as both Mexico, because of NAFTA, and the People’s Republic of China drew millions of jobs out of the U.S.
Obama’s foreign policy was just as disastrous, although in Iraq the responsibility was not wholly Obama’s. While Obama repeatedly took credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden, efforts to find and kill him had been going on for years before he became president. If anything, the raid on bin Laden’s hideout, which was just down the street from a major Pakistani military installation, highlighted the failure of both Bush and Obama to reevaluate and reconfigure America’s alliance in light of the new realities of the global jihad. Pakistan may have been an ally during the Cold War, but it certainly was not by the twenty-first century.
There is much more. Read the rest here.
Jack Cade says
Obama–unqualified and ineligible.
mortimer says
Obama was the first token black president. A team behind the scenes guided him and told him his every move. He was groomed as a front man and performed the job very well as an actor walking on stage reading his lines for the Deep State. His presidency is considered slightly above average. But that was because he was an agent and prop of the Deep State. Obama was a charmer and loved by people who know nothing about how the world operates at the top. Obama is not evil, but he clearly was not a man who had the knowledge and experience required in this top position. It’s fair to say Obama is somewhat over-rated.
mgoldberg says
He might be ‘considered’ above average but he was amongst the worst of Americas presidents. He was an appeaser, who wanted to spread the wealth, but helped empty america of its ability to engage manufacturing and he said as much with his admission that americans would have to get used to having less. He was an appeaser with his apology tours, and he helped create the violence in the middleeast because he was determined to give it away to the have nots from the haves. Giving the Mullahs 150billions, giving them a path to nuclear weapsons, and berating those who doubted the sobriety of this. Obama was painted as the caring progressive who could not be criticized because he cared, but it was all gossamer globalism. He annointed the racial hatreds currently arriving by emptying out the
depts of the government with his hand picked leftists and globalists. the Deep state has always existed and many presidents have had to deal with it. But he and his clique actually ran the entire program to overthrow Donald Trump with all those failed russia conspiracies, impeachement conspiracy bits and he himself was a failure that being black cannot hide though they teflon him as untouchable.
Leonard says
Obama used Lawfare to do his work. Most Americans do not recognize legalese when they hear it, nor do they understand how he used Executive Orders instead of votes. If he was aided along the way, it was through mentorship, and those mentors remain enemies of the American people, and our unique way of life.
We forget that Obama was an outsider, his formative years were in Indonesia, and his attachment to Islam was instilled in their schooling system.
Rev G says
Well, Trump being that honest is just another reason to re-elect him
somehistory says
If one r”rates” o on the question of his value as a person, or a “leader” of the free…or any other…world, he would be in the minus column, if the one rating is honest.
If he is rated on his devotion to islam,, he comes in very high as one so devoted.
his lack of social skills ( calling those who do their jobs, “stupid” an insulting Christians, lying like an old dog, and sending busts back to the givers), he’s a slouch.
, his honesty, his integrity, his overall personality, he’s dishonest, has no integrity, and his personality stinks.
He said he would “fundamentally change America. He worked at that as at no other task and he’s still doing it.
Anyone who is willing to tell the truth about this “over-rated” arrogant idiot, is doing the deluded a favor.
Paul M. Wilfred - Okafor says
Yes, President Trump said the Truth and it’s only him that has the audacity to do so, as Obama has infiltrated the minds of American elites with his evil and forced them into comatose. Of his many atrocities, including the murder of unborn babies, destruction of traditional family values, promoting and encouraging terrorism, etc, the worst is his removing a progressive Christian president of Nigeria, president Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 and imposing on that nation a terrorist Jihadist man, Muhammad Buhari who has sent tens of thousands of Christians into mass graves and still doing so and working so hard to islamize the most populous black nation on earth of over 200 million people having effectively destroyed their economy and made that nation the poverty capital of the world. The legacy of Barack Hussein Obama!
Bezelel says
He insulted me with his “white rural Christians clinging to religion and guns” while he supports rural taliban clinging to islam machineguns and rpg’s opium, child brides, yada yada. obamud is the absolute worst to hold the office. He was not eligible and I remember him saying the Constitution is flawed. He deserves GITMO for the rest of his life and not be allowed to even bury him in U.S. soil.He openly hates this country after it gave him everything. Arrogant ingrate narcissist psychopath.
RichardL says
what? Trump understated things? For the first time! 0Bama is the dumbest person ever to enter the White House. I am including people who collect the trash here.
Dave from San Antonio says
0bama has always been ‘overrated’. He was overrated as a ‘community organizer’ and ‘overrated’ as President. He was ‘overrated’ on the world stage, too.
eduardo odraude says
Obama himself knew it, at least part of the time. When he won the Nobel Peace Prize, he seemed a bit incredulous, and asked what for.
curious george says
I’m not sure “won” is the right word for Obama getting the Nobel Peace Prize, as much as it was a gesture by the “global elite,” rewarding him in advance for implementing their goal of “fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
He and his family have certainly prospered since he was elected POTUS, his combined worth with Michelle Obama is somewhere around $70 million.
https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/presidents/barack-obama-net-worth/
tim gallagher says
curious george and eduardo, I’ve heard a few references to Obama’s getting the Nobel Peace Prize, from commentators out here in Australia, when he had just got into office as President, and had done nothing. One said that he seemed to get the prize merely for breathing. I was thinking that he got the prize merely for being black and winning the Presidency. Would that be an accurate assessment of why he got the prize? It sounded completely undeserved, getting the prize when he’d done nothing to deserve it, but those prizes do seem like a bad joke when you think of some of the winners of the prize.
Keys says
tim gallagher – From the Nobel Peace Prize Committee:
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2009/press-release/
“English
Norwegian
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.
Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.
Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”
Oslo, October 9, 2009”
A preposterous statement !
curious george says
Keys,
Thank you for the information.
It does seem to be truly Orwellian. We are living in a world “turned upside down” where black is white and white is black.
tim gallagher says
Thanks for the information, Keys. I must say that, being in Australia, I didn’t take all that much notice of Obama. I am a fairly conservative person and tend to find politicians on the left have the wrong types of policies. My impression of Obama is that he is a really smooth talking salesman type, a silver tongued salesman, sort of like a successful car salesman or some such type of person. Just a really smooth, presentable salesman but with no real substance.
gravenimage says
Yes–Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when he had barely taken office was obviously absurd.
gravenimage says
Shock Horror: Bob Woodward Says Trump Called Obama ‘Overrated’
……………
So *this* is Bob Woodword’s big “expose”? Good grief–just pathetic.
curious george says
With the left, the issue is never the issue, it’s the narrative that matters. They like to create a lot of clutter to confuse the matter, and to increase the noise to signal ration so they can drown out the more reasonable voices.
They are experts at “deflection and projection.”
James Lincoln says
curious george says,
“They are experts at “deflection and projection.””
Yes, that is one thing that the Left excels in…
gravenimage says
True, curious george.
eduardo odraude says
Obama is a bright man, but also ridiculously overrated. I suspect not a few liberal whites are secretly more racist than conservatives and feel guilty about that racism, and to compensate for that and to conceal it, they shower someone like Obama with absurdly overblown praise (“he has the highest IQ of any president in history” — people making such statements should consider the line “the lady doth protest too much, methinks” from Shakespeare). By worshiping Obama, some guilty whites try to expiate their guilt, virtue signal, and make up for their hidden inner racism, which they have failed to overcome at the root. Since they fail to overcome it at the root within themselves, they obsess or pretend to obsess about racism’s alleged presence in every nook and cranny of society right down to the subatomic level, and idolize or pretend to idolize someone like Obama. It is a mostly self-centered operation and in an ironic way is racist, because the idolization has so little to do with the actual Obama, the individual with his actual virtues and flaws and character, and has so much to do with the inner conflicts of some guilty, liberal, racist whites. To the white liberal feeling ashamed about harboring an inner racism, Obama is not really a human being, he is really just a sort of cipher by means of which they seek to compensate for and escape their own inner psychological contradictions.
curious george says
Interesting comments
Maybe his “brilliance” should be credited to Valerie Jarret?
I think of him more in the line of the “consummate con artist.
While strolling through the local flea market I stumbled on a t-shirt that read; “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullsh*t.” He seems to be an example of that t-shirt.
E T says
George, do you ever talk to the man in the yellow hat? he could fix this world, I am certain.
Keep on the sunny side.
gravenimage says
🙂
curious george says
E T & gravenimage
I’ll take that as a compliment.
The late Tommy Lasorda, former manager of the LA Dodgers, was once asked why he rarely complained? He replied;
“Why complain, 90% of the people don’t care, the other 10% are happy you have the problem!”
James Lincoln says
eduardo odraude says,
“I suspect not a few liberal whites are secretly more racist than conservatives and feel guilty about that racism, and to compensate for that and to conceal it, they shower someone like Obama with absurdly overblown praise”
Sounds like the psychological defense mechanism of “reaction formation”.
eduardo odraude says
Yes, similar to reaction formation. From Wikipedia:
“In psychoanalytic theory, reaction formation (German: Reaktionsbildung) is a defense mechanism in which emotions and impulses which are anxiety-producing or perceived to be unacceptable are mastered by exaggeration of the directly opposing tendency.”
Perhaps the most classic example of which is the Hamlet scene in which Queen Gertrude is watching a play and one of the actors is grossly overacting, causing Gertrude to say “the lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
Again according to Wikipedia, the Shakespeare line is used by people today “to imply that someone who denies something very strongly is hiding the truth.”
gravenimage says
Most here have–understandably–focused on it being true that Obama was terribly overrated–which I certainly agree with.
But it is also likely the case that many presidents have felt that that the immediate previous holders of that office–even members of their own party, in some cases–were overrated. I may or may not agree in every case, but I imagine that this is enormously common. (Of course, there are also those who have admired many of their predecessors).
In other words, this is a big nothingburger–hardly some shocking revelation.
Rufolino says
Yes, gets “bombshells” a bad name, like other non-revelations.
When I see the description, “bombshell”, from the Democrat media, I yawn these days…
eduardo odraude says
Yes, it’s as if they have never heard the story about the boy who cried wolf. Perhaps we should update the story and have it that half the town falls again and again for the boy crying wolf, and each time they fall for it, he earns huge sums of money because he cries wolf on television and his ratings permit him to get huge advertising revenues — until finally even the part of the town that always fell for him stops paying him much attention…and in the end it turns out that the “wolf” the boy was pointing to was in fact only a faithful dog, while the “sheep” the boy pointed to turned out to be, if not wolves, at any rate wild and hungry dogs.
gravenimage says
Agreed, Rufolino and Eduardo.
abad says
Hussein Obama is probably the best reason ever to do away with Affirmative Action and Diversity Hiring(TM).
gravenimage says
California is putting “affirmative action”–that is, unfair racial bias–on the November ballot. It will probably make an ugly return here given the insane tenor of the times.
eduardo odraude says
If there is going to be affirmative action, it should not be based on race, but on economic background. It seems ridiculous to me for universities to require Asians, even if they come out of an economically poor background, to get a higher SAT score than blacks, even if the blacks in question come from a middle class background. Yet that has apparently been happening. I don’t think this is a difference of genetics, either, but rather a difference of culture. People of Far Eastern background often have a tremendous work ethic when it comes to studying. Whereas descendants of slaves (not all blacks, of course, are descendants of slaves) in the US have until recently often looked on studying as “acting white” and tended to reject it. But that insane rejection of study is increasingly being discarded these days.
gravenimage says
Exactly, Eduardo–I agree with your analysis.
And now–even worse, if possible–the University of California plans on dropping the SAT altogether–so things will be even less objective than before. Very disturbing stuff.
Kepha says
Here, you have pointed out one of the biggest fallacies about our national dialogue on “race”. We declare the children of West Africa’s emigrating middle classes who arrive due to their parents’ choices and possibly some educational and economic capital to be “disadvantaged” simply because they are the same color as enslaved people of three centuries ago. Due to skin color, we assume that the children of Hmong hill farmers from Laos or the traumatized peasantry of NW Cambodia are as likely to succeed as the children of “brain drain” ethnic Chinese immigrants from Taiwan or the politically disgruntled parts of the Mainland.
The diversity peddlers are perhaps the most shallow and destructive species of “administrator” ever to walk through the halls of American agencies and institutions. It is a job I would refuse.
gravenimage says
Spot on, Kepha.
Dina Jevdevic says
But,but!, he allowed trannies gender change for free! Isnt that a huge accomplishment?
Chrissie01 says
What is easily forgotten is that Obama was racist. His book “dreams of my father” has the subtitle “A story of race and inheritance”… contains quite a number of weird remarks on “whites”…Of RACE? I thought it was just a social construct?
BTW:
He is NOT the offspring of any slave. He is an immigrant, and not one from an underprivileged background.
I very much like that one statement in the article.
Not making opportunities equal, but results…
That sums up Obama’s mindset as well as the mindset of BLM.
Kepha says
Frankly, the most sympathetic character I encountered in that book was his Indonesian stepfather. As for the O himself, I could sympathize with him in his childhood; but as an adult, he parlayed the accident of being the same skin color as the descendants of slaves–when he was raised a child of privilege if ever there was one–into a flim-flam game of speaking for historical victims. The man was a mountebank of the first order.
abad says
And since Obama believes in equal outcomes he can move back to Kenya where he was born.
Turn his home country into a Socialist one.
gravenimage says
+1
terry the least of the less says
The most over-rated scam artist ever! Second only to Nimrod!
Chrissie01 says
one more thing: this “shock – horror” thang is an under-the-rug attempt to dominate the narrative.
BEWARE: they do it all the time.
When anyone slanders Trump without evidence, it is just fine & daily routine.
When Trump says, Obama, the “nothingburger” (thumbs up) is overrated, they start hyperventilating.
What double standard!
Sam says
Again?, you people are really stupid and filled with hate.
I personally don’t give a crap about who gets into the white house, Republican, Democrat, independent, communist and whatsoever, all have the same goal, which is to enhance the “elites”string, destroy the great America (happening), enslave humanity and start the N.W.O … etc etc(happenong)….
Now, take a look at your foolish hateful opinions, all of you call and agree with Obama’s “unintellgence” , badness and stupidity, so my question to you is”
Obama was elected twice, naturally this means, more than % of the Americans did so, do you consider them to be stupid enough to 2 elect an “intellegent” president? Orrrr, is it just the natural behaviours which is having unique and different point if views when making a decision on life?aren’t humans like thumb marks, which is, there are no similar two on this unive4se, each is 100%unique ?
Sorry, again, it’s tough to use a smartphone … just understand and give a civil answer.
eduardo odraude says
Why did Americans elect Obama? Basically, we wanted to heal the racial divide and racial history of this country, so even though he was a Democrat, even some Republicans and many right-leaning centrists voted for him. He had a number of characteristics that at least on the surface made him seem acceptable: he went to Harvard, was editor of the Harvard Law Review, and was a lawyer who taught constitutional law. Few voters looked into the details closely — what was his view of the Constitution? Was he really a top legal scholar as one might think from his elevation to editor of the Harvard Law Review? How bright was he? Basically, he had exactly the background to become the first black person who at least on the surface appeared like a fairly safe choice for a daring move: the election of the first black president. Unfortunately, he turned out to be pretty left-leaning, perhaps secretly radical, even if he was pragmatic about getting to his radical goals. He was not quite the centrist many people hoped for. While I would have preferred that the first black president be someone like Thomas Sowell or Larry Elder, Obama’s election, did show that the US had in large measure transcended racism (regardless of what today’s maniacal woke movement hysterically claims).
Chrissie01 says
after your post, I read the comments again. I found a lot of annoyed reactions, well expressed and intelligently explained. I found irritation and even infuriation.
What I didn’t find was mad anger or threats of violence.
So what’s the big deal?
The only really caustic and scornful comment is yours.
And besides:
We do not need your teaching. We are literate and able to find suitable sources.
gravenimage says
“Sam” wrote:
Again?, you people are really stupid and filled with hate.
…………………..
How is opposing the horror of Jihad terror–which this site focuses on–hateful and stupid? Of course, an apologist for the savagery of Islam would say that.
More:
I personally don’t give a crap about who gets into the white house, Republican, Democrat, independent, communist and whatsoever, all have the same goal, which is to enhance the “elites”string, destroy the great America (happening), enslave humanity and start the N.W.O … etc etc(happenong)….
…………………..
The idea that every president has been out to destroy America is a statement beyond bizarre. In fact, many presidents–and not only the best–have defended America and her civilized values. (Values that “Sam” here wants to see destroyed. Who can forget his lauding Hitler and the Fascists here just recently?)
More:
Now, take a look at your foolish hateful opinions, all of you call and agree with Obama’s “unintellgence” , badness and stupidity, so my question to you is”
Obama was elected twice, naturally this means, more than % of the Americans did so, do you consider them to be stupid enough to 2 elect an “intellegent” president? Orrrr, is it just the natural behaviours which is having unique and different point if views when making a decision on life?aren’t humans like thumb marks, which is, there are no similar two on this unive4se, each is 100%unique ?
…………………..
Most Americans considered Obama to be all about some sort of vague “hope and change”–foolish, but not actually evil.
More:
Sorry, again, it’s tough to use a smartphone … just understand and give a civil answer.
…………………..
Funny–“Sam” here said that no one here was able to understand what a great guy Hitler was–and he blamed that on his having to use a smartphone. (Never mind that he never said how it was exactly that using a smartphone makes you laud Fascism). Any way, he said he’d explain it all just as soon as he was out of the hospital and back on his laptop–yet here he is, still on his phone, and with no explanation of the greatness of Hitler in sight.
One might almost think that “Sam” here is long on excuses…
James Lincoln says
The reason that Pres. Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize has more to do with the recipient’s worldview rather than any specific accomplishments, most notably in the case of Pres. Obama.
It may have also been given to influence Obama’s behavior after the fact – to justify *to himself* the validity of the award (“earned” after the fact) – but I speculate…
The Norwegian Nobel Committee is made up of prominent Norwegians who share a particular worldview. It prioritizes globalist organizations over national governments and boosts ideas like arms control and environmentalism, etc…
https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2009/press-release/
gravenimage says
+1
Giacomo Latta says
“When you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”
Basketball excepted, apparently.
OLD GUY says
Obama the token president was nothing more than a puppet who’s strings where pulled by the wealthy far left. Any reason to think Biden is anything less. This wealthy far left is not just here in America, it’s from China, Russia and the EU. these elite have plenty of fingers in the pie. They mostly support their vision of a worldwide rule rather than individual countries. Their view puts control of the world in the hands of Europe or the Chinese. The EU. sees itself as that new world order ruler, China has their own plan of domination both become a dictatorship that controls the economy and will enslave millions. These people will stop at nothing to gain and keep control.
Spiro says
Obama was over rated
Really !!!
That’s Woodward big scoop wow
I’m impressed
We’ve known that since the 2008 election since Obama did nothing but screw up the country for others to fix
If possible
Kepha says
+1