Obama Pushes Back On David Brooks

One of the most depressing parts of this Sunday morning's political fare was the sad sight of Tom Brokaw flying halfway around the world just so he could dully recite Friday's David Brooks column from the New York Times at a Barack Obama who must have been wondering if the National Broadcasting Company bought all their airtime at wholesale prices or something that it could be so wasted. Many commenters and emailers had the same head-cradled-in-hands-moaning sensation at the sight of it, and today, you can all say that you have been of the same mind of this site's founder, who emailed me soon after, stating her own incredulous disbelief.

Brokaw read more or less the entire column, panning the Berlin speech on the air, and Obama basically scoffed, citing the fact that there are nine good reviews of his Berlin speech to every negative one. He goes on to point out numerous examples in the speech that undercut Brooks' central thesis, insofar as he can be said to have one.

Really, when you read the piece, you hardly worry about Obama. You worry about Brooks! That Brooks is no longer impressed with Obama seems to be, by and large, a function of his own boredom. But, even if we take him at his word (and in fairness, it's completely understandable to be bored by Obama), one worries that Brooks is replacing "being rapt with Obama's rhetoric" with blank-headed cynicism:

Much of the rest of the speech fed the illusion that we could solve our problems if only people mystically come together. We should help Israelis and Palestinians unite. We should unite to prevent genocide in Darfur. We should unite so the Iranians won't develop nukes. Or as Obama put it: "The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down."

As Obama goes on to point out, Brooks is a McCain supporter. Here's Brooks providing his best version of McCain's campaign slogan: "Don't hope for a better life!"

Worse, Brooks goes on to make some terrifyingly myopic conclusions about history:

The great illusion of the 1990s was that we were entering an era of global convergence in which politics and power didn't matter. What Obama offered in Berlin flowed right out of this mind-set. This was the end of history on acid.

Since then, autocracies have arisen, the competition for resources has grown fiercer, Russia has clamped down, Iran is on the march. It will take politics and power to address these challenges, the two factors that dare not speak their name in Obama's lofty peroration.

Of course, the autocracies that have arisen, the resources which have dwindled, the clampdown in Russia and the rise of Iran are just four of the malign things that happened on the watch of President Bush, as a result of his "my mandate is to project blunt American power into the world forever and ever" doctrine One of the reasons Obama went to Europe was to signal that this great delusion of the 2000s was nearing an end.

That's why so many people cheered!

Comments

[Davwbaird]

What a year. We truly have as a nation wandered into Wonderland.

[BrighterStar]

All Obama brings to the table politically is the ability to eloquently read empty rhetoric written by someone else. His experience is limited to less than three years in the senate, most of which was spent running for president. He refuses to tell the American people where he stands on important issues, probably because he wants to hide the fact the he is a radical left wing ideologue.

[waitforme]

He's obviously not a 'radical left-wing ideologue', because so many radical left-wing ideologues are criticizing him, daily, and for good reason.

His experience is not 'limited to three years'. His experience is the last 40 or so years, from perspectives in another country (invaluable, for a perspective on the U.S.) and being outside the continent (in Hawaii, an outsider's vantage point for looking at the crazy machinations of people in D.C. and all over the crazy continent.) He has obviously learned from all this, from his top law school top student experience, his years teaching law, his state legislative experience, basic in the learning of grass roots and state workings, his grass-roots organizing. He has a wide outsider's view also because he is seen as black, by everybody; by police, by taxi-drivers, etc. and given short shrift just due to his physiognomy -- he has this in common with every person of color. Being on the outside, looking in, gives a unique, realistic, special view on this systemic workings of this society. Women sometimes have this. All people of color have this. White men most often are not able to grasp this.

David Brooks has shown again and again that he lacks perspective and has a mean, downer streak which reflects a kind of disturbed malaise -- unfortunately he has been given a voice, far too often for the value of his comments.

[11907281]

Brooks just wants a president who will destroy Iran and let Israel rule the ME with an Iron fist

[bentenrai]

Since when is years of experience in the senate a requisite to become president?
What's next, you'll need to take a POTUS certification exam too?
I know talent when I see it baby, no need for certification, it just flows out. And that guy is near exponential when it comes to political talent. Doesn't hurt that he's mixed race and thoughtful.

[Ping]

This comment is pending approval and won't be displayed until it is approved.

BrighterStar wrote:

"His experience is limited to less than three years in the senate"

That makes Obama all the more appealing this election cycle.

[ebonyjsg]

Well McCain is supposed to have all this experience but the way he is running his campaign is dispicable, his judgment was wrong on going into Iraq! He has made so many gaffe but the media continues to ignore them and he has flip-flopped all over the place! Give me the inexperienced guy that has run a top notched, very tight, organized campaign, has shown great judgment on foriegn policy and has exemplified upmost professionalism! Give me the inexperienced guy! If McCain get's in office with all his so-called experience, we will be doomed!

[hardlyhikin]

We see what we want, don't we?
Don't like politicians? Oh boy, let's elect another one who's been part of the problem for 30 years. One of the things I complained about Bush in 2004 was that he was full of empty rhetoric.
Every so often, what the nation needs is someone who inspires us to be better than we are. after the last eight years we certainly need someone bright, intelligent and inspirational.

[suzyku]

Tom Brokaw literally "gushed" when bush was elected, he was an anchor at the time on NBC. From that moment on I lost respect for Mr. Brokaw and stopped watching him! So this does NOT surprise me, the sooner NBC gets rid of him as the moderator on Meet the Press the better, he's just another conservative jerk! David Brooks has been wrong much more often than he's been right and has had to retract many of his slanted articles when it was proven that they were inaccurate or just plain lies!

[lthuedk 1]

Katy Couric with XY chromosomes. When will Brokaw be moved to a 3-4 AM spot?

[Megaflow]

I still don't get the Republican's strategy lately, which was actually articulated well by Brooks (via Brokaw): "Things have gotten pretty bad over the last eight years, so we'd better keep the people in charge who made it that way!"

Does this make sense to ANYONE? And they wonder why they're down in the polls.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

You nailed it in a nutshell. Nicely put!

[dizmo4]

It seems the latest McCain strategy is to wait for Obama to articulate his position on a given issue. Then a few days or weeks later, take that same position his own and pretend he's had it all along.
The mainstream media doesn't bother to even question McCain on his ever changing positions.

[momof3inGA]

Exactly right.

[Russycle]

Jeez, Brokaw almost seems to be angry, is he a journalist or O's dad? I suppose that's why he loves McCain, grumpy old men need to stick together.

Will Ferrell's son in Talladega Nights was right, Tom Brokaw IS a punk!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMQTp9GBqdM , about 1:25 into the clip.

[barackobama4prez]

BHO owned this interview once again...

[Organic-Guy]

I find just about every news broadcast about the presidential election a "Head in Hands then Change the Station before i invent new profanity" exercise these days.

the constant, repetitive questions about how freeking wonderful the surge is and what a great guy Macinsane is for supporting it is truly appalling. all this talk about the media being in the tank for Obama is such bullshit. It's plenty obvious that they are in the tank and in the pocket of the Republicans,

Why is no one reporting on this? Oh ya. I forgot. All the major media outlets are owned by the corporations who are making billions off the war on terror.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

There was a study by LA Times that proved just the opposite here at HP just yesterday or the day before....

...but now I can't find it!

Hmmmm....

If I do find it I'll come back and link it. DO take note of the original Times headline, which implies the opposite of what the article says!

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-onthemedia27-2008jul27,0,6802141.story

DO note the headline. If one didn't reread it 3 times one might figure they had just proven liberal bias -> instead of the opposite.

It's getting so brazen it's sickening.

[nccp1870]

I was astounded that Brokaw, a reporter/interviewer we formerly could all listen to--regardless of our political leanings---had become so lazy. He sounded like a beginner at a local station, not one of the deans of late 20th century broadcast journalism. He acted as if he didn't know anything about international affairs or how they work.

As for David Brooks, he fell into the trap that the Republican machine had set for all reporters---Obama was damned if he went abroad, damned if he didn't, and he was further damned as uppity if he was well received ,or damned as inexperienced and unqualified if he didn't. Brooks has been writing and punditing long enough to know better.

Obviously, precise policy statements `could not and should not have been made by a Senator speaking at and to foreign citizens. Perhaps reporters need to look more closely at their own inner biases---the ones that I think they don't even think they have.

[nclayla]

It was a pretty sad interview. Although I had been eagerly awaiting it, I found myself unable to watch it all.

[SFkid]

I agree, it was like Brokaw was trying to find controversial moments the entire time. He had nothing positive to say about anything.

[nclayla]

Exactly - he was trying very hard to be probing and came across as just that - someone trying very hard to appear probing but not succeeding.

[HowietheScreamer]

Brokenjaw is a Repube.

[BeastOfYuccaFlats]

David Brooks: Ipecac in a suit.

[bongogirl]

Tom Brokaw should be ASHAMED!!! We all know that he HEAVILY FAVORED HILLARY in the primaries. Even so, Tim Russert would have shared a positive as well as negative response to Obama's speech in Berlin. It's so very clear that the NBC and others dislike Obama and want to see him fail. They often describe Obama's SELF-CONFIDENCE and his EFFECTIVE P0LITICAL SAVVY as ARROGANCE. I believe that it is jealousy. I hate to say this but the MSM is really SHOCKED that a man of colored can be so powerful and on task, and that Americans really likes him.

OBAMA '08

[yesenia]

It's funny how the msm corporate owned, right wing media throws so much dirt at him, yet he comes out clean. This man is very bright and it shocks them, in fact infuriates them.. I can't wait till November..

[SonnyBono]

After Tom Brokaw's first effort at replacing Tim Russert - I posted that Tom seemed to be phoning it in and just going through the motions. I would have been willing to give him more credit if he had done better this last time around but using the David Brooks version of logic? Well, at least he didn't quote Bill Kristol or Bill O'Reilly but he still has a few months to go before he passes the job to someone else so who knows?

[Pyott]

I'm honestly not sure why David Brooks believes he retains any credibility on the subject of international security, at this point. Like McCain, Brooks famously supported the invasion of Iraq, the single greatest U.S. foreign policy blunder of the past 8 years. The American people cannot be distracted from that one glaring little fact.

It's ironic that Brooks portrays Obama as so prone to delusion in his approach on foreign policy. For in 2003, like so many other American conservatives, Brooks was himself delusional in neglecting to objectively consider all of the possible consequences of the invasion.

Conservatives possess an antiquated over-idealized fascination with military strength and the need to 'stand firm'. They generally don't appreciate the extent to which history has demonstrated that war is only RARELY the genuinely superior instrument for eliminating the real source of a given problem -- and at the lowest cost.

By and large, conservatives and traditionalists think in simple, surprisingly limited terms. And one can see the signs of this inability to understand the wider universe of possible foreign policy endeavors through their choice of words. Examine Brooks' own use of language, from the lead-up to the war (emphases added):

"The president has remained RESOLUTE. MOMENTUM to LIBERATE Iraq continues to build. The situation has CLARIFIED, and history will allow CLEAR JUDGMENTS about which leaders and which institutions were UP TO THE CHALLENGE posed by Saddam and which were not."

[Ambur]

DirecTV viewers in Minneapolis had no audio during MTP for the entire hour Sunday morning. This morning KARE11.com said that a spokesman for DirecTV apologizes and that they fixed the problem as soon as they were aware of it, which by my watch happened to be 9:55 CST. Funny thing is, I contacted DirecTV about the audio problem and they responded back last night suggesting that in the future I could correct the problem by pressing the reset button on the back of the receiver.

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=520073&catid=14