Mr. President, are you kidding? No really, are you? Is this a joke?

Also, I remember reading that Kerry might have been worse (the awesome "the devil you know" argument).

For a variety of reasons, I think it's a distinct possibility. It's kind of hard to prove until I finish up my time machine, but a decent case can be made (e.g., PNAC needed an excuse to invade Iraq, PDB ignored, utter incompetence of the Cheney Administration, and dumb luck spring to mind).

And which moments would those be, Arjun? Could you point to one? Anything close to this? I didn't think so. George Bush, Jr. is an incompetent fraud in way over his head. Anyone who cannot or will not see that is a Republican.

No, I am not a Republican. I do consider Bush's first six years to be riddled with incompetence though. But my point stands: there are definitely some the questionable perceptions about President-elect Obama among liberals. I voted for him, but I remain skeptical.

2. while this is not a mutually contradictory possibility, i also believe he declines all responsibility for everything

3. imho, bush ***never*** actually quit drinking

4. rock on

Would you rather he more subtly avoid the question by putting a few clever phrases together, general ambiguous statements and finish off by quickly sliding to the next question? - Arjun

No. I expect him to state and explain his position. He works for us. We deserve an answer on that especially when he claims to be so confident about privatization being the way towards greater government efficiency. How can he be so sure, if he does not know what he is talking about? Asking the secretary is not leading; that's following.

I'm all for being skeptical, but being universally cynical of all things Obama is just as lazy/unproductive as being universally approving of him. It just has the added negative of making you a party-pooper.

There I said it.

I'm not sure what was worse: that he didn't have an answer or that he had an answer he didn't want the public to know.

Exactly, Exactly, Exactly!!!

As Ed showed in the video he linked to even when he tries to be serious & deflect the question he's awful. People were laughing at that sovereignty answer in the background. As a nation you can't have your president look like a fool.

But beyond that, one of my main problems with him doing this is that it is his M.O. He did/does this kind of stuff all the time.

That is, it would be hilarious and witty if it was in a movie and HE WEREN'T REALLY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! Fuck! fuck! This so epitomizes... man that pisses me off.

How can he actually fail so completely to take the office seriously? I take my own job more seriously! (and I could do a lot better.) In all honesty. I've seen this plenty of times in the past and it still leaves me at a loss for words. The question cuts to the core of a very central issue in the conduct of the war in general and in fact, to one's whole perspective on foreign policy, on sovereignty, and on the rule of law! Some of these contractors have killed people with impunity before. Some have been killed, and they (not just the military ones) are still in the hundreds of thousands over there, plugging holes in our military which is too small (since we dont have millions of soldiers in our standing army) to occupy Iraq. How could he not even have thought about who is, you know, in charge of these guys running around doing whatever? It really is 'whatever'! They can, if they want, be like American warlords loosed over foreign citizens in their own country!

I can't even do anything more than sputter incoherently at this point because I could really write a book about how and why this has all been so fucked up. Sorry. It's very representative of a worldview which is so wrong, worse than wrong because it is no view at all, it just results in unthinkingly bringing seas of death and humiliation to foreign people for ends which are not even achievable and which don't even benefit....

Okay. I'm just gonna slowly back away and breathe. It's almost over.

Yes. I would much prefer that. I want a leader who sounds smart even when he doesn't have an answer, as opposed to one who sounds dumb even on the rare occasions when he does.