I Think I'm Smart - Therefore I Am

I Think - Therefore I Am

Or In Obama’s Case

I Think I’m Smart – Therefore I Am

Holman W. Jenkins just coined the term “Smug Obliviousness” in relation to Obama and compared it to Trump’s “pragmatic streak” in his Wall Street Journal article “Trump’s Charm of Not Being Obama”.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/trumps-charm-of-not-being-obama-1480723697 .

As far as terms go it ranks right up there with “Irrational Exuberance” coined by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan warning of the “Dot Com Bubble” which burst and markets tumbled.

I love catchy terms or phrases because and here is another one “brevity is the soul of wit”; initially coined by Shakespeare.  But in his day and age “wit” meant wisdom.

 

With “Smug Obliviousness” Mr. Jenkins captures the aloofness of Obama’s outlook on his policies and their effect on the economy even to his own detriment.  The sense one has that President Obama feels that he alone has the answers to the world’s problems and his “obliviousness” to the reality of the situation.  

Jenkins then compares that to President Elect Donald Trump and his “Pragmatic Streak” which is based totally upon the reality of the situation.

In this article Mr. Jenkins shows what was obvious to the pragmatic Trump yet beyond the reach of President Obama --- Reality.  The rust belt was/is ready to boom and all it needs is infrastructure such as pipelines for example.  

The low gas prices have companies chomping at the bit and with the idea that the President Elect will be pipeline friendly, the companies are starting to spend that pent up money.  

I like this article, I think it is fair to both sides, it is what journalism should be, “Just the facts mam”, giving both sides hell when they don’t comply.

 

The businessman Trump instinctively saw buildup of demand and what it would take to tap into it and I’m assuming his pipeline/energy policies will let that demand be met.  That is probably one of the things that is behind his “Making America Great Again”.  That practical grasp of reality is what most of the Washington Establishment doesn’t see or doesn’t want to see.

That streak of Conservative pragmatism was evidenced in 2014 when Dick DeVoss told “Mother Jones” reporter Andy Kroll in his article: "So the lesson to others is: Be prepared. Invest in the infrastructure necessary to leverage an opportunity when it presents itself."  Too bad President Obama was oblivious to the obvious.  

By the way that article, http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/01/devos-michigan-labor-politics-gop is an excellent study of one of the financial powers and their motives on the Republican side in Mi.

Local.

Taking this to a local level, I just got a call from an old radical like myself wondering why I wasn’t opening his important emails he’s been sending me.  He told me he has an app and I think he called it e-mail monkey which tracks who opens what emails.  

Ask me once fine.  But it took me several tries of my basically telling him it was not any of his business what email I was opening and especially why I wasn’t opening them.  He then went into a talk about how I should set up my email account so the important emails like his would be at the top.

    

I remember this guy from the early days of the Tea Party and he was a go-getter a real activist.  We don’t see each other much, he lives in Ottawa County.  He’s worked long and hard for “the cause”.  I have a lot of respect for what he’s done.  

He’s a better organizer than me.  I bring his phone call up because it is indicative of what I see happening on both sides of the isle. 

The phone call I got was from someone who hates the idea of government “spying” on people.  What was he doing seeing if I opened my email without my knowledge?  Not a big thing but add the lecture about how I should set up my email differently and what do you have.  

Well to me it indicates that even those who swear by the slogan that power corrupts fall into that trap as easily as those they oppose who they say have gotten corrupted. 

There is a term for that and it is self-righteousness.  He would have been one of the first to call it that back in the day but now I wonder.

Our local tea party group here for example loves to make secret plans as they try to unseat those in power because among other things those in power make secret plans.  

You see my frustration.  It seems like they are feeling lost because they have lost their prime person they attack – Obama and need someone or something to complain about instead.  They have started their own bureaucracy and need to be careful not to fall into the same trap they are fighting against. 

On a larger scale I see this in the growing opposition to some of what Trump is doing by conservatives.  They built a “complain machine” and seemingly it has to keep complaining.

There sorry for the rant.

Oceana County Convention coming up Wed. 12/6/16 at 7pm at the Pentwater Community Center. 

Also the monthly meeting of the Oceana GOP will be next Tuesday at 6pm at the Hart Community Center.  There will be no Feb. meeting.

Regards, Bob Carr
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