Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Obama takes a swipe at Trump

“You get the politicians you deserve,” Obama said without mentioning President Trump. “And if you don’t vote and you don’t participate and you don’t pay attention, then you’ll get policies that don’t reflect your interests.”

The comments came during a discussion about leadership.

“The mark of a good leader is somebody who is able to empower other people,” Obama said. “So often we think of leadership as somebody at the top who is ordering other people around … but it turns out, for me at least, what made me understand leadership was when I could see somebody who thought they didn’t have a voice, thought they didn’t have influence or didn’t have power, and teach them how to speak up on the things that were affecting their lives.”

“Politicians can help guide policy,” he added. “But change is going to come from what people do every day.”

(Link to the whole thing)

12 comments:

Rabel said...

A British newspaper is reporting that he got $3.25 mil for those words of wisdom.

Amartel said...

Everything he says is true, just not in the way he wants to mean it.
We DO get the politicians we deserve. The GOP candidate in 2008 was horrible, destined to lose and the GOP candidate in 2012, while extraordinary in many ways, was not a fighter. We got what we deserved in return, good and hard.
The mark of a good leader is one who is able to empower other people. People lost power during the Obama admin; the government hive gained power. Now we the people are regaining some power, finally. And of course top down bossing is exactly what the Obama admin was all about, that's how the idiots who vote for it think of it. Exploiting the idiots, massaging their victimization and revenge fantasies, is how Obama was able to acquire his great powers.

edutcher said...

“You get the politicians you deserve”

Pissy never heard the expression "Many a true word is spoken in jest".

The country deserved the miserable pothead, but we've come to think better of ourselves and we found someone light years better.

Amartel said...

$3.25 mill. What is that per letter, I wonder. (Wouldn't have to wonder if he was a Republican, of course.)

Amartel said...

What a douche. You've really got to have blinders on not to see it.

Amartel said...

He claims that eating steak is contributing to climate change and that he has a smaller steak, so he can do his part for humanity.
No, really, it's what he says.
The struggle is REAL!!!

ampersand said...

I see Chauncey Gardiner is still his speech writer.

Leland said...

Just going to note that Amartel is on a role. Please proceed.

edutcher said...

Amartel said...

He claims that eating steak is contributing to climate change and that he has a smaller steak

But it's always Waygu steak, flown in from Japan. Nothing but the best in the fight to save the planet.

Now that he's talking without TOTUS, he may turn out to be the new Joe Biden.

edutcher said...

PS I think it's roll, rather than role, but, then, every time I see Rabel's avatar, I think he's a she.

Amartel said...

Barry thought about marrying TOTUS but, after much sole-searching (staring at the bottom of his shoe), rejected the notion as incompatible with his vocation for rolling around in Other Peoples' Money. TOTUS is not programmed for such things. It would be awkward and end in tears.

rcocean said...

I can't remember Obama doing any of that.

Anyway, Wall Street is paying him off for all the globalization, open borders, and bad trade deals.

Like the Clinton's he'll probably be worth $100 million in 10 years.