Condescension

John Podhoretz: "My sense of this summit is that President Obama is exactly as he always is — extremely intelligent, knowledgeable about policy details, so certain of the rightness of his views that he has no compunction about declaring the views of his antagonists to be merely politically convenient rather than substantive, startlingly condescending at moments, and even more startlingly long-winded when he gets going. As a result, he both looks good and bad in these settings — good because he's serious and doesn't appear to be a fanatic, and bad because of the condescension." From Taranto's Best of the Web, Feb. 26.

Liberals, of course, don't see Obama this way. They see a guy who is so much smarter, more virtuous and better than everyone else so of course he should appear this way and hog the TV time rather than listening. So why would that be condescending? I mean, are you paranoid if everyone really is out to get you? And if he stammers badly while groping for words, well, he's just waiting for the rest of us peons to catch up with his brilliance.

Although I'd have to disagree that he looks good, in any circumstance.

Petulent, rude, whiny, dismissive and sneering

And that was just their leader. Who cares about the color of his skin, it sure is thin. He shouldn't have skipped so many sessions when he was a Senator. Would've learned the rules. As Democrats droned on and on and on with stories of teeth, cousins and phone messages, McCain was rudely told to stop campaigning. Really, I was shocked. I'll take a cowboy's manners and presidential decorum any day over this stumbling grand stander. Clown in chief Reid claimed no one considered reconciliation! And Dick Durbin. Did he really say we should all just have the health care plan that federal employees have. Has he noticed how they get to pick and choose their "Cadillac" coverage from private insurers? The ones other Dems are calling rapacious crooks and want to destroy? Has he noticed their club is already a select group in wealth, education, race, and gender? There was really no reason for Republicans to show up. . . except they showed up the President and his party. And that they did.

Scrap the bill. Start over.