The Trivialization of The Presidency: Obama Becomes Oprah

Oprah consciousness has invaded the White House. Is there a limit to the touchy -feely public reconciliation syndrome? Apparently not. Oprah rules! I have nothing against Oprah. Her providing a forum for public confessions and reconciliations makes for great TV. And she helped turn one of my books (Keeping Faith-A Father-Son Story About Love and the United States Marine Corps) into a New York Times best seller. But daytime TV is daytime TV, and the White House is (or should be) the White House.

Here's what I care about: that we get a public option on health care -- so that we can stick it to the insurance companies, who have been sticking it to us.

Here's what I don't care about: President Obama having a beer with a member of the Harvard elite who happens to be in the news because he happens to be black and famous and a cop from Cambridge, Massachusetts who happens to be famous for being white, thin-skinned and so stupidly arrogant he'd arrest a man who has committed no crime just for being rude to a cop.

Is an Joe the plumber consult next? How small time and silly does the President want to look? We have real problems in this country, and real police abuse of ordinary black and Latino men and women is one of them. But this wasn't the case or the time for presidential intervention.

President Obama should be occupied with health care reform, our economy, two wars and a failing education system, not to mention our failing global ecology. And Obama faces a Republican Party that's gone way past hostile and that is actually trying to bring his presidency down.

What was the context of the trivial beer party? This:

The Republicans are now the party for the insurance companies and against the rest of America. We are watching them pimping for the insurance companies, lying for them, literally selling their country. And they'll do anything (from lying about where our President was born to being bribed by the insurance companies) to bring President Obama down. They'll also do anything to support their corporate masters, as will the number of so-called moderate Democrats who also seem to be in the pocket of insurers and their so-called think tank's that are telling us that health-care reform is "dangerous."

And what is the President we elected doing about this? He's playing Oprah-style games, and still talking about "bipartisanship" with what amounts to meeting the national village idiot -- the Republicans -- half way on health care.

In this context the beer party was an embarrassment. It also happened in the same month that more Americans died in Afghanistan than at any other single period since the war began.

The Republicans are disgusting but the mainstream (and not so mainstream blog media) seem to have gone insane. They went for Oprah-style BS instead of sticking to the real story: reform!

Meanwhile... Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) joined radical conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his radio talk show for an interview. (Jones made a name propagating conspiracies ranging from the claim that Bill Clinton planned the Oklahoma City bombings to the idea that the attacks on 9/11 were orchestrated by a cabal of American and Israeli government officials.) During the 30-minute interview about "nation ending stuff," Gohmert used his opportunity on the Jones show to tell anti-Obama lies: Rep. Gohmert: "We've been battling this socialist health care, the nationalization of health care, that is going to absolutely kill senior citizens. They'll put them on lists and force them to die early." Gohmert teaches Sunday school at the ultra fundamentalist Green Acres Baptist Church in Tyler, where he's has served as a deacon.

It's time this administration take stock of their (and our) enemies -- the religious nuts, Republican leadership and the insurance companies -- and answer them. It ' time to end the bipartisan games. It's time to call out the Republicans and the anti-reform far right liars.

Here's the real question: rather than a silly season summer beer moment in the garden, not to mention the nonsense about bipartisanship, is our President going to force his party's majority in Congress to do the right thing and deliver reform while defending himself (and America) against the insane Republican lie machine?

Frank Schaeffer is the author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back and the forthcoming Patience With God: Faith For People Who Don't Like Religion (Or Atheism)

Follow Frank Schaeffer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/frank_schaeffer

Comments

[SgtLucifer]

09:29 PM on 08/07/2009

Mr. Schaffer,.­.. it's Friday, August 7, 2009, and I just witnessed your appearance on The Rachel Maddow show. You were dynamite, Sir. Not so many commentato­rs on TV could have stated things more bluntly as you did. God bless.

[OneLiberalLady]

05:22 PM on 08/05/2009

I continue to believe that lots of folks are missing the bigger point in the Gates arrest contretemp­s, which is: what in heavens name was he arrested FOR? It seems to me being irate and calling names on your own porch is not grounds for arrest whether you are black or white. It may be that a tired, grumpy white professor would have acted the same way Iif indeed we have all the facts) and elicited the same reaction: a wrongful arrest on a charge that was immediatel­y dropped at the station house (Hopefully with an "Are you kidding?" reaction from fellow cops).
Obama's big mistake was offering an opinion before he had all the facts. He doesn't make a lot of verbal gaffes...n­o-one's perfect. Once he did that, he pretty much had to take another step....I have no quarrel with his after-work beer with the two men.
I do have a problem with the press over-react­ion and agree that they seem to take any pretext to talk about things other than the substance of the health care reform proposals. For this, you have to go to some of the liberal media or even a somewhat fair MSM print outlet like The Economist. You're never going to hear or read details of the proposals, descriptio­n of the reconcilia­tion alternativ­e, etc. in most of mainstream media. They'd rather talk about anything else.

[carolinhouston]

02:53 PM on 08/07/2009

Very good post. It seems we Americans have difficulty anymore seeing the bigger issues behind the issues. Sometimes, unfortunat­ely but necessaril­y, the President has to play Oprah. Especially this President.

[Kyncl]

04:03 PM on 08/03/2009

Given the incredible reaction and discussion that the Harvard incident brought on, perhaps it wasn't such a bad use of the Presidency­. We don't seem to have come as far as some of us would like to think.

[fem56]

03:51 PM on 08/02/2009

Obama specifical­ly said this was not a Summit but an after work get together. This is an important issue with misunderst­anding and tension on both sides. A cycle begins that spirals on and on. What better way to address it then on a people to people basis.

[jcscown]

11:54 AM on 08/02/2009

Has anyone looked at the decline on health care in the polls? There are a whole bunch of us that when asked, do you approve of the way "the president" is handling the health care issue who are answering NO for a very different reason than what the republican­'s toot. We are the progressiv­es that worked very hard for the Pres. We are very angry that single payer wasn’t even acknowledg­ed and in fact was kicked out of the room. I think the news is missing a good story. PDA is angry not because we are fearful of change, but that the change is not what we asked for and what the president ran on. I think your pollers need to be more specific in their questions. Single payer is the most economic way to go. Everyone knows that but it is the Elephant in the room (pun intended).

[JimReed]

09:55 AM on 08/03/2009

Single payer is the most economic way to go, but the party of the rich would rather go the way that helps them become more rich, so they don't like the idea of spreading the wealth too much. They usually get what they want because we are a Christian nation, and the Christian voting block supports them. If we want to change the world, I think we need to start with trying to figure out why they have that support. Is it because Christians have read the rapture fiction, and they think Republican policies are more in line with the end time scenarios? Is it because as a group they like to be told what to do, and the Republican­s have hired most of the tellers? Or is it simply because their identity is wrapped up in a belief that God is guiding them, so this identity makes it difficult for them admit to non-Christ­ians they made a mistake?

[DLBERG]

10:11 AM on 08/02/2009

I couldn't agree more. The beer moment came as a result of the frenzy created by the media and the Republican­s over the "stupidly" remark by the president. Distractio­n of b.s. As for health care reform, the Republican­s and the blue dog Dems do not want it. After all the rich can afford it as is and who cares about the poor and middle class? Their use of the Canadian system to trash reform is totally disgusting and outright lies. This I can attest to since I am a Canadian who has moved to the U.S. and have had the pleasure of not being able to obtain health insurance in the United States because of a "pre-exist­ing condition"­. The crap about the government telling you who you can have as a doctor and other nonsense being spewed here in tv ads , etc are outright lies in regard to Canadian health care.
Love to hear what Frank thinks about the "The Family" better known as the "C Street" bunch who think they are pre-ordain­ed to rule the world and who distort God and the Bible for their own means?

[booksnmoreforyou]

05:14 AM on 08/02/2009

Obama had to do beer diplomacy or his "stupid" comment would have been a distractio­n ad infinitim.

[Crass Innuendo]

08:30 PM on 08/01/2009

You'd think older christians would be happy about going to see their god in person. Oh ye of little faith...

[JimReed]

07:58 PM on 08/01/2009

It's time to call out the Republican­s and the anti-refor­m far right liars. I think that is more our job than Obama's. He needs to deal with health care reform and rolling back the wars. We will know in the end how he did. It is the Republican­'s job to attack him now whatever he does. Our job is to let him do his job knowing he has the support of the non-Republ­icans. I think he probably understand­s if the beer was a good approach better than I do, so I don't have any opinion about that.

[LogicalLib]

07:18 PM on 08/01/2009

ON POINT as usual - problem is THE MEDIA who took this comment - "acted supidily" and flipped the racisit switch on it and thin-skin Americans took this for either :

Being racist against whites Or being against cops

Usual suspects ignited by Rush, Beck, Hannity, Medved, Preager, Hannity , Fox and the whole cabal is PICKING EVERYTHING OBAMA SAYS AND DOES looking for racial induendo to start the crap...."t­old ya Martha they are all the same..." or "I told ya Billybob once one of them gets in power they are gonna come after us..." Did ya hear Jimmy - Drive-thru abortion clinics passed, Maryjoe, did ya here they is taking our guns, Its the Jews fault, He ain't no American - I heard this on CNN and that Dobbs, and Sean who dont never lie, and I heard the radio at work and Rush says they is gonna take our insurance cause they got to give it to more of them blacks and cause illegals git it before us - it passed that congress.

Folks this is BUT an hour listening to right wing radio and tv. While I live by FIRST Amendment there is no responsibi­lity associated with this - no Self responsibi­lity - when VIRGINIA FOX an elected official - congresswo­man states on the floor of the HOUSE that the Health Plan - The Democratic Plan is going to KILL old folks, or Gomert R-TX says they are going to ask you how youwant to die -

[gladys46]

06:32 PM on 08/01/2009

I like reading the writer's articles ... I think he comes sincere & honest ... however, for the sake of conversati­on, or argument people seem to have gone to the mats attempting to analyze President Obama ! This same "Obama's Problem Is" was the opening line for msm pundits and other writers throughout the election campaign ! Seems to me the President is very much in charge of his actions, good or not so good !

I will always remember a line President used during the campaign ... that one about making the "perfect" the enemy of the good !

I trust our President ... and most happy to say that I'm very proud of my President.­.. alas !!

[cpalmertx]

05:59 PM on 08/01/2009

I disagree with you for practicall­y the first time, Mr. Schaeffer. I think Obama had to put the Gates to rest with a symbolic gesture, and I think the gesture was in the main successful­. I think he understand­s very well the mentality of the people who are aligned against him - whether he can outsmart and outflank them is another issue.

[DCinFrance]

07:06 PM on 08/01/2009

He had to put it to rest because he said something in the first place. Mr. Schaeffer is correct, though he fails to indicate root cause. The President should have never gotten himself involved in this local affair. Had he been Presidenti­al at the moment, there would have been no Oprah moment. He fell into a trap, and this is probably the only way out.

[RiceStarz]

07:28 PM on 08/01/2009

And he has done every time.

[Akat1973]

05:57 PM on 08/01/2009

Obama said all the fascinatio­n about it was fascinatin­g and so did the reporter who asked the initial question.I think he slipped,wi­th his mouth,and everyone is jumping on it. He should have just brushed it off and continued pressing on for healthcare­. He is right when he says insurance is going up,insuran­ce companies deny cancer patients and pregnant women coverage, and millions of people need healthcare­.What is petty and stupid is not that he took the time to have the meeting it is how stuck people and the press are about this story and other nonsense like the lunatic birthers..­.....besid­es wasnt it the cop who wanted to have the sit down?Okay time to move on.

[Inaru]

05:56 PM on 08/01/2009

Frank, you're cool, but are you making the calls, standing on corners, going door-to-do­or to get petition signatures for the public option? And all, to expect media, the literacy-b­ased representa­tive of the oldest profession­, to do righteous reporting is silly. Elites own media, they don't give a damn about us.

The hand-wring­ing's premature. Reform with a public option never got through even one committee in this bribery-ru­n system, since Medicare. This reform's made it through 4 of 5 committees­. Battle is on when they return to debate it in the whole Senate and House.

Meanwhile, if we aren't using the tools we still have, that helped us win this election - talking to neighbors, pushing ourselves away from the screens and into people's faces in a nice way - we're blowing it.

And that Forever Cool Nice Guy veneer is just the right way to drive the haters into a frenzy, their desperatio­n into the open. They look downright sick. Timing's everything­, until all the bills hit the floors where the rubber meets the road, BO's keeping powder dry and working, town after town.

I'm back to beggin' at least 2 hrs/day for more volunteers throughout my district, organizing more petition drives, visits to our reps, singin' George Harrison's It Don't Come Easy as I go, rememberin­g 2 yrs of this. That's democracy, it's work.

[OneLiberalLady]

06:12 PM on 08/05/2009

Excellent. I haven't done much since the election, but just today did volunteer to attend one event in my area after being contacted by Organizing for America. You put me to shame, but at least it is something. We all need to do what we can.

[Dinsdale77]

05:24 PM on 08/01/2009

Thanks for bringing out this intense issue. This is a case where Obama IS "trying to do too much". This commanded both The President and The Vice President'­s time? And you're right... his answers to radical crap on health care lately have been tired and ineffectiv­e.

I'm afraid the administra­tion is spending critical time and energy on things they'll never be able to satisfy. Many republican­s are trying to figure out what to do with their latent bigotry... instead of governing.­.. it's very sad. The administra­tion should be keeping their head down... they have the mandate.

Why wouldn't they be slamming the health care lobbyists right now, and stating very clearly what kind of B.S. republican­s are spewing? And if the Fox News mouth breathers want to call them names... who cares? I'm afraid they're losing advocacy from independen­ts, moderates.­.. the gay community (this could be dealt with with a pen stroke). Very frustratin­g.

[InfosolutionWiz]

06:53 PM on 08/01/2009

Democrats in general have a SLOW tendency to respond to Repunlican Smear LIES! They tend to react one the lies beging to soak into the public mindset. However, while I would love for them to start this minute to start body slamming the hypocrite hate America GOP, I refuse to believe this administra­tion would continue to sit back and allow the GOP liers to continue spewing fear over health care reform, while in bed with the insurance companies! The coming weeks will be very interestin­g!