Reading The Pictures: Artful New Attack Meme: Obama's "Indecision"

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Are the Republicans and the media finally discovering a critique that hits Obama at the core of his personality?

If the subhead in the print edition of today's NYT story on the reassessment of the Afghan strategy is completely objective ("President Obama seemed to be searching for some middle ground"), McCain's attack yesterday, and the vicious if subtle use of language he used to frame the attack, is certainly noteworthy.

Mr. McCain told the president that "time is not on our side." He added, "This should not be a leisurely process," according to several people in the room.

A few minutes later, Mr. Obama replied, "John, I can assure you this won't be leisurely," according to several attendees. "No one feels more urgency to get this right than I do."

If you've been following The BAG for much time at all, you know a key motive for our existence is to watchdog the visual media when it comes to amplifying right wing narratives and lines of attack. I'm not saying that is exactly what is in play in the example above, but it is curious that McCain's coded attack on Obama (using the term "leisurely" while soldiers are dying to imply Obama can't make a decision) should coincide with a story that earned prominent play not in todays' Arts section (at least, not in the print edition) but in the National section.

And what was that story exactly?

It details the Obama's announcement yesterday that, by tradition, they had settled on 45 new pieces of art borrowed from Washington museums to decorate the White House residence. Now, I have no issue with the article itself but what I do find curious, however, is the one artwork out of the 45 that the editors settled on to highlight, a piece by Ed Ruscha feature in both the print and on-line editions of the story.

And then, maybe it's just an innocuous thing, but are people that dense that the caption ('I think I'll ... ' by the California artist Ed Ruscha. It deals with the subject of indecision.") need belabor the obvious?

...By the way, I wouldn't at all call Obama indecisive, but I do think he's vulnerable here given his tendency to, as he frequently says, "take time to get it right," and to use process (in many cases, extensive and time-consuming ones, as we've seen with health care) as both a philosophy and a strategy.

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(image: Ed Ruscha via NYT)

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Comments

[chlai88]

Bush shot from the hip in Iraq and got us crap. This is no time to shoot from the hip. We're in an economic downturn, the govt is technically broke, our economic house is leaky, problems plague us from North Korea to Iran to Afghanistan. Even Bush at the end is forced to tone down his cowboy rhetoric against Iran by allowing an intelligence report claiming Iran has no nuclear weapons. Every issue is related to every other issue. Taking the obvious easy way out is not what we should expect from Obama.

[mltaylor13pt1]

Never confuse thoughtful deliberation with indecision. After eight years of shooting from the hip and making decisions on the fly, this is a refrishing change.

[DevonTexas]

After eight years of the "decider" we have someone who actually thinks about the options and choses the right one.
Sorry, Reichwingers, if that is inconvenient for you but it will prove to be a much better route that will get us out of the wars you put us into.

[02bmw76]

The president's leisurely approach to financial reform has me baffled and unsure of his aspirations for foreign policy success. I thought Mr Obama garnered the trust of the international community by promising to get our soldiers home. Quit trying to rule the world. Take care of our own damn problems. I think the international community sees the US as completely audacious with regards to our foreign policy. Ironically it was us that bombed Japan twice with atomic blasts yet we have the audacity to police others on the construct of owning atomic weapons and the need for democracy. Whatever that used to be here is gone. The irony here to me is the fact that across the board we seem have a continuation of the previous administrations policies yet this guy can't get a break from the right. Nothing but a political posturing merry-go-round. However, irony is always at the front during a crisis. It makes it easier to call someone out for wasting time on useless things when there is a crisis going on that needs our undivided attention. Maybe the art will help sustain the delusions of grandeur.

[sparafucilli]

Enough shooting from the hip John Wayne style. After the hero walks off into the sunset those left behind still have to face the dawn and the destruction left behind.

[Arturo Hassan]

Guru Obama wants to fight a "Moral War" in Afghanistan?.. What the hell is that ?

[1088]

8 years without a strategy and reports from the Generals was left on the desk of President Bush for 3 months, without any criticism from the Media. Now President Obama wants to listen to different arguments of the issue in order to make the right decision. If that is indecisiveness, well Bush was a genius.

[Tolby]

Why should the president take time to get it right? He doesn't have the experience to know what to do. Hesitation breeds defeat. Mr. President, listen to the military. Quit giving speeches and talking to groups that mean zero in terms of our safety.

[Aaror]

Please tell me what job experience prepares you for being President? Every man who has taken the job, from Washington on, has felt the soul crushing weight of responsibility (well, except maybe Bush Jr.).
Nonetheless, Jefferson sent ships to battle Tripoli, Truman dropped the bomb, presidents without military experience have made military desisions without the "experience," to back it up. That is thier job.
Frankly I am not sure any General knows how to win in Afganistan, that nation has been breaking empires militarily for all of recorded history, most recently the British and the Russians.

[WorldofTomorrow420]

Yeah, listen to the military, Obama.........just like LBJ listened to Westmoreland. That worked out well. Clearly the military knows everything.

[jdevans]

Too bad George W. Bush didn't take time to get it right instead of going with whatever his gut told him. If he'd actually paid attention to the National Intelligence Estimate "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US" instead of saying "Now you've covered your ass.", we might not have had 9/11. If he'd paid attention to weapons inspector David Kay who said Iraq didn't have WMD, we wouldn't have invaded Iraq. If he'd taken the time to watch the news, he wouldn't have said "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job." And on and on...

I for one, am glad to have a president who takes time to get it right.

[MrVee]

Obama is not GWBush and is no teabaging wingnut. The republican play book for the last eight years is to pull some stunt hoping all the angles are covered leaving only one choice. That is how we ended up in Iraq. In cases like this, President Obama is not one to fall for those wing nut stunts. They can take their teabaggin' BS and shove it. Personally, I hope the president considers pulling the hell out of Afghanistan. We have no mission and any opportunity there might have been was squandered by BushCo and we are now seen as occupiers.

[dcdesignr]

Excellent point, jazzman. I was going to add a post along the same lines. Of course the Republicans will try to spin what progressives and independents see as maturity in Obama: weighing pros and cons, reflectiveness and a decent level of open-mindedness; as waffling and indecisive. The Democrats need only remind America how beneficial "The Decider" – with no lack of conviction in his beliefs – was for our country.

[terramartom]

OK then Mr President, time to pull the plug on Afghanistan period.
No more troops, no more talk, no more illusion, no more deaths!
This Afghanistan debacle was a failure from the start, put it to an end, and bring all the troops home.
Go after Al Qaeda with Special opts. and drones.
This false war has been a complete waste of lives and national resources, unless perhaps you are Wall ST., Banks, Halliburton, the Military Industrial Complex, Bush, Cheney, and all who voted for war and will make money from it.
This war, the Iraq war have never protected one American citizen, that could have been done another way.
Mr. President stop making war a profitable business!

http://www.richmonk31.blogspot.com

[Sundialsvc4]

Polite disagreement, sir.

The job of Commander is the loneliest job in the world; loneliest of all at the top. Likewise the job of CEO when you have two boards of directors to deal with and all of them are thoroughly corrupt.

In many and various ways, the dealers in Washington Power have held out red capes and fully expected Messrs. Obama and Biden to charge at them in induced frustration. But, they have not. This latest campaign is only the most-recent of those "red capes," and it might be a signal of growing frustration on the other side, too.

Our august legislators could do the right thing at any time, but to do so they would be turning against wicked people who have offered them a carrot ("we'll pay you millions of dollars a day ...") and a stick ("... or we'll ruin you, knife you in the back, AND take away the caviar from your fluffy little dog!").

Let us also never forget that, in our form of Government, ONLY the aforesaid "august legislators" have the actual power to do anything. The President can neither write law nor change one jot-and-tittle of the laws that have been written. This is by design.

I would not want to play chess with either of the Executives; nor would I play poker. They would greet you with an affable smile, but they will not blink.

No, they will not blink.

[jazzman]

The impetuous man who crashed three planes, suspended his campaign in the middle of the financial crisis, and chose the completely unqualified Sarah Palin to be his running mate should not be counseling anyone about making quick decision. McCain shows a complete lack of judgment when it comes to the quick decisions he has made.

[nomobull]

winner

[Cynth]

Bingo.

[Rogan]

Well spotted.