March 9, 2018

Obama "is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows" that tell "inspirational stories."

The NYT reports. It sounds like — as Oprah transitions to presidential candidate — Obama is transitioning into Oprah-esque TV personality. Why not?! What else is he supposed to do? Write serious books? Who knows how much of his personal time he will put into his TV show, his books, his speeches?
“President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire,” Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to the former president, said Thursday. “Throughout their lives, they have lifted up stories of people whose efforts to make a difference are quietly changing the world for the better. As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories.”
The most inspiring story Obama could tell is his own story, by living it, going forward, as an authentic and ethical person.
In one possible show idea, Mr. Obama could moderate conversations on topics that dominated his presidency — health care, voting rights, immigration, foreign policy, climate change — and that have continued to divide a polarized American electorate during President Trump’s time in office.

Another program could feature Mrs. Obama on topics, like nutrition, that she championed in the White House. The former president and first lady could also lend their brand — and their endorsement — to documentaries or fictional programming on Netflix that align with their beliefs and values....
Things that don't inspire me: Using the woman for the food segment.
The deal is evidence that Mr. Obama, who left the White House when he was just 55 years old, intends to remain engaged in the nation’s civic business, even as he has studiously avoided direct clashes with Mr. Trump about his concerted efforts to roll back Mr. Obama’s legacy. It is also a clear indication that the former president remains interested in the intersection of politics, technology and media.
A clear indication of what? How can you have a clear indication of something as fuzzy as "remain[ing] interested in the intersection of politics, technology and media." The indication I see is that he's making deals for money and what he's putting into the arrangement, other than his name, is a complete puzzle. And the name for the proposed product — if you'd dare to speak clearly — is: propaganda.

I don't give a damn if Netflix cranks out political propaganda, but for this historically monumental figure — Barack Obama — to take his still-young life and to sell it to the enterprise of cranking out political propaganda... ah, but I know you're about to slam me in the comments. I'm not as naive as you're about to tell me I am, because I know what you're going to say when you haven't said it yet.
Mr. Obama has long expressed concerns about how the flow of information — and misinformation — has the power to shape public opinion.... He has seethed privately and publicly, about what he says is the manipulation of news by conservative outlets and the fractured delivery of information in the internet age. 
The news is manipulated in all directions, including in this NYT piece about Obama's proposed entry into the manipulation game. The Obama Show will only be another manipulation, in the direction he prefers. The only question is whether his people can make it something that won't expose him as a propagandist and media concoction.

125 comments:

MadisonMan said...

You might say that Obama is following a career path that is a mirror of Trump's. Maybe eventually Obama'll start developing property.

Trump: Real Estate -> TV Personality -> Politican.

Obama: Politician -> TV Personality -> Real Estate.

Charlie Eklund said...

“...as an authentic and ethical person.”

That is most certainly not a change that I, at least, can believe in.

rhhardin said...

Obama should talk about hunting meat, and Michelle about gathering fruits and nuts.

rhhardin said...

The zebra acted stupidly.

JML said...

I'm thinking I might be ending my Netflix subscription. I need to investigate Hulu. One major problem is they ALL seem bent on alienating half the audience in one way or another.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Community organizers gotta community.

I'm Full of Soup said...

JML:

Someone asked yesterday [maybe ACE] do big corps ever virtue signal for conservative issues?

tim in vermont said...

Mr. Obama has long expressed concerns about how the flow of information — and misinformation — has the power to shape public opinion.... He has seethed privately and publicly, about what he says is the manipulation of news by conservative outlets and the fractured delivery of information in the internet age.


“The problem with the internet is that there are no gatekeepers.” - HRC

Bay Area Guy said...

Potential Titles for Netflix Obama series:

1. "We Didn't Build That"

2. "If You Like Your Cable TV, You Can Keep it"

3. "I won!"

rehajm said...

He has seethed privately and publicly...

Seething politicians evoke bitter pills like Hillary. He's lucky he's pretty.

rhhardin said...

The only question is whether his people can make it something that won't expose him as a propagandist and media concoction.

He was there in 2008, with the estrogen cloud rallies. It's just that women didn't notice, and apparently still haven't.

rhhardin said...

The problem with the internet is that there are no beekeepers.

Danno said...

Blogger MadisonMan said...You might say that Obama is following a career path that is a mirror of Trump's. Maybe eventually Obama'll start developing property.

He'll be the "You Didn't Build That, LLC" developer!

tim in vermont said...

I am done with Netflix too. Even Spotify has started filling my phone screen with podcasts of “Things You Should Know” when all I really listen to is music. Of course all of these podcasts are political and left of center. Of course Netflix and Spotify don’t give a crap about old farts like me, but guess what? They are going to be old farts someday too, and the kids are going to be pissed at them for something or other too, counting the days until they die, which takes a surprisingly long time, longer and longer as medicine advances.

Hagar said...

Michelle dutifully went along with the FLOTUS advocate for good nutrition thing, but never showed much enthusiasm for it - or much else "political" at that.

Obama may go for a televangelist show, but put much pressure on Michelle, and she may go home to South Chicago and stay there.

AllenS said...

Well, what else could he do? Build houses?

tim in vermont said...

It has to be really frustrating for them that they spent a generation taking over publishing and the movie industry, and suddenly those outlets lost their monopoly status, and people suffering “false consciousness” and delusions of personal freedom still somehow have a voice.

I bet it makes them seethe! The best laid plans of mice and men gang aft aglay.

Kevin said...

What happens to all this when the second special prosecutor has finished his investigation?

Tank said...

Con man gonna con.

rhhardin said...

Yahoo mail has "your mailbox is empty. In the meantime here's a video you might like," and proceeds to play.

Always keep one message in your mailbox.

The U.S. added only 38,000 jobs in May, a sharp slowdown that could push back a move by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates

6/3/2016

tcrosse said...

They'd have to throw in some T 'n' A to get people to watch.

exhelodrvr1 said...

He doesn't do authentic and ethical very well.

WisRich said...

I'm sure the stories will be inspiring but boring, no-drama Obama will suck all the life out of it.

Kevin said...

Well, what else could he do? Build houses?

Clear brush? Help injured vets?

The whole “peddle influence for the Russians” route to wealth-building really fell apart when Hillary lost.

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

I would think this would make Democrats uneasy.

Obama might be able to bring discussions favorable to their politics, but the spotlight will be on him, in a most favorable light, leaving other Democrats competing with his memory.

Democrats will not be easily able to distance themselves from him, but if they hew too closely they will only look small in comparison, unable to forge an independent identity. All could be dismissed with a well-timed televised Obama shrug.

Unlike many ex-Presidents, he still looks young and vital. Not many will be able to compete with people's fresh memory of the charismatic President they felt good about voting for.

This is a reason why Hillary was important to them: she had (like it or not) her own identity and story, separate from Obama, and could own the stage and have Obama fade in the rear-view mirror.

By the time a Hillary presidency was done Obama would be -- at best -- a childhood memory for many voters, and newer Democrats would have a chance of growing in public stature: Hillary would be seen as old, her career at a natural end, and the look for 'fresh' would seem natural.

With Obama a constant presence on TV, this is moot. The oxygen in the room is his.

The Germans have a word for this.

Rusty said...

Should this idea come to fruition I know a handful of usual suspects that will watch it enrapt, bug eyed and slack jawed.
Like little birds waiting to be fed.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

...but I know you're about to slam me in the comments. I'm not as naive as you're about to tell me I am, because I know what you're going to say when you haven't said it yet.

Althouse prefutes her commenters.

tim in vermont said...

The FDR generation is just recently gone as a political force, think about that young liberals. We are going to live even longer than they did. By the time we have died off, you guys will have experienced enough of life to have it affect the views you so enthusiastically adopted in your ignorant youth. It’s inevitable. Can you really keep up a stubborn resistance to learning from life over decades of life events? Don’t answer that, you are still young and stupid and you will be less embarrassed later in life if you keep your mouth shut now.

tim in vermont said...

Game of Drones.

Fernandinande said...

"The most inspiring story Obama could tell is his own story, by living it, going forward, as an authentic and ethical person."

There are already plenty of fantasy shows on Netflix, and that one sounds pretty boring.

Obama can't play the banjo, can he?

Kevin said...

I would think this would make Democrats uneasy.

Why should he stop destroying the Democratic Party just because his political career is over?

Rusty said...

But somehow this is an apt thread.
The basically dishonest and unserious, progressive former president negotiates with a capitalistic company to massage his ego.
A ego filled, capitalist president is finally dealing with a cult leader the way he should have been dealt with decades ago.
With the left it's all about image.
But I got to tell ya, the image isn't pretty.

SDaly said...

Netflix needs to build some political capital, because it is actually a failing business -- burning through cash and kept afloat by shady accounting practices. Executives need friends in high places for when it all comes crashing down, although that didn't help Enron executives much.

Kevin said...

I hope the next Democrat nominee for President keeps asking herself, “What would Obama do?”

Rusty said...

"The most inspiring story Obama could tell is his own story, by living it, going forward, as an authentic and ethical person."
Oh. Fiction, then?

Bob Boyd said...

Working title: This Old Trope

Kevin said...

“Obama "is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows" that tell "inspirational stories."

Just as Trump is in advanced negotiations to denuclearize North Korea.

Bet they didn’t foresee those two stories occupying the same news cycle.

Humperdink said...

"Well, what else could he do? Build houses?"

Tony Rezko could be his banker.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Instead of Barack Obama appearing on everybody else’s talk shows and making money for them, he’s going to have his own talk show and make money off of his guests. I’ve always suspected he gave Michelle Obama the childhood nutrition issue to keep her Oprah tendencies in check, a nutrition segment on the show would continue that, and she probably thinks it was her idea. It will be dull television but it’s a genius move all around.

Heartless Aztec said...

Great post.

Rusty said...

The more I read-speaking of re-reading-that opening quote the funnier it gets.
Given the former residents track record of "negotiating".

Gahrie said...

In one possible show idea, Mr. Obama could moderate conversations on topics that dominated his presidency — health care, voting rights, immigration, foreign policy, climate change — and that have continued to divide a polarized American electorate during President Trump’s time in office.

In other words...pretend that he is still president.

the 4chan Guy who reads Althouse said...

I'm a bit surprised he hasn't done a 'secret' guest appearance on Saturday Night Live yet.

Cold open with Alec Baldwin doing Trump in that Alec-Baldwin-doing-Trump way.

Two or three minutes of reheated jokes.

Then Obama comes in. Rapturous applause, for minutes.

Obama nodding his head basking; Alec-Baldwin-as-Trump holding a terrified face like a freeze frame.

The applause finally dying down, Obama lobs a studiously-crafted one-liner, that won't really be that funny, but there will be more rapturous applause.

Alec-Baldwin-as-Trump will huff and try to reply, but Obama will shake his head. Another studiously-crafted one-liner that won't really be that funny, then he will turn his face to the camera and say "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!"

The media will fawn over it for the following week. The YouTube clip will blow up, which the media will then cover as news.

Like I said: I'm a bit surprised this hasn't happened yet.

The Germans have a word for this.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

There are all sorts of crapola shows on Netflix that I don't want to watch. Add the dancing Obamas to that list of shows to ignore.

Unless they force feed this dreck to my remote control, it isn't going to change my life in any way.

Rusty said...

He's going to be paying Netflix.
That's what a good negotiator he is.

Gahrie said...

I hope the next Democrat nominee for President keeps asking herself, “What would Obama do?”

Kamala Harris appears to be doing exactly that.

Darury said...

"The most inspiring story Obama could tell is his own story, by living it, going forward, as an authentic and ethical person."

I normally just lurk, but really, what in his history has demonstrated that this is remotely possible for Obama to accomplish? In his own words, he was "a blank slate". A Chicago politician and "ethical" really aren't two things that are compatible.

traditionalguy said...

Nobody wants to watch Kenyan Fairy Tales. So Hussein will have to stick with the Global Warming by CO2 Fairy Tale, and the Socialist Dictators are Good Government Fairy Tale, and the Muslims Love Americans Fairy Tale. But he is a great teller of lies, so he will sell something with that fake smile of his.

Fabi said...

He is articulate and bright and clean. No negro dialect.

gspencer said...

"that tell inspirational stories"

like,

"You didn't build that"

Lipperman said...

The yet-to-be-produced show has already been nominated for an Oscar award

gspencer said...

"Going through life on affirmative action is my inspirational story. What's yours?"

William said...

This will be great. There's an adage in the marketing world to the effect that "The dogs won't eat the dog food." It'll be fun to watch the dogs sniff around this dog food and reject it.

If Netflix does what I would imagine it'll do, it will hype the heck out of this garbage from the anointed one. When viewers watch it and see that it is as vapid and trite as Øbama himself, they'll wave bye bye.

And Netflix and Øbama will just sit there and look even stupider than they already are.

Americans were infatuated with Øbama and his glibness (give him credit for that) and his “perfectly creased pant(s).” But since he did absolutely nothing substantive during his eight LONG years in office except add to the division in our country, he's a has-been, nothing more than a blip on the presidential radar. He'll go down in history as the first Black president … and not much else.

He's always been delusional. To think that a meaningful segment of the population will be interested in his claptrap is laughable.

holdfast said...

“President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire,”

No shit? So Ben Rhodes will be writing it and it will just be a giant stack of lies.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Obama has a ghost-written life. He just cashes the checks. Which is great for him but you’d have to be an utter fool to think you’re ever going to get anything of substance from him.

DrSquid said...

Man, am I looking forward to that Michelle piece on nutrtion!! Talk about must-see TV!. That's appointment viewing there..Wow!!

I'm Full of Soup said...

I do note that Obama, Hillary, Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes have sent nary a Tweet since yesterday's NoKo news.

Darrell said...

Nonfarm payrolls increase by 313,000 in February vs. 200,000 est.

Hardin strikes out again.

Darrell said...

Name Obama's series "Bumblefuck." The Chinese will eat it up.

The Godfather said...

The Times contrasts Obama’s “presidency” with Trump’s "time in office”. Lets not risk normalizing the demon Trump.

Darrell said...

Getting Away With Treason--Ask Me How!

The Godfather said...

Obama has "always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire”, such as "If you like your plan, you can keep your plan".

LincolnTf said...

Makes sense, Trump is actively working to defuse an international crisis that has persisted for decades, while his economic policies are producing employment gains greater than we've seen in generations, and Obama is diddling around with internet chat shows. One is a serious man, the other is a preening pissant.

Temujin said...

I know Netflix is banking on people lining up again to swoon at the words of wisdom coming from His lips, but I think this time around the audience will be much smaller for this shit. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me after that, Me Fool.

I think that after 8 years of stunning sameness in everything he presented and every talk he gave, people will drift off to do something else. Only the most loyal believers in Unicorn Theory will stay tuned to what he has to present. He is, and always has been, an empty suit with a nice smile. A seemingly nice guy, with really not much to say.

But, hey- I don't blame him one bit for getting paid.

Henry said...

The former president and first lady could also lend their brand — and their endorsement — to documentaries or fictional programming on Netflix that align with their beliefs and values....

Netflix takes on the Hallmark Channel!

Henry said...

Please follow President and First Lady Obama on Spotify to listen to their carefully curated Muzak selections.

AllenS said...

How long do you think that this Obama Netflix love affair will last. I see ratings declining after every show. Where's the beef?

California Snow said...

I've long felt Obama could have done a lot of good by advocating more for fatherhood especially among blacks. He's been a good example of that and I can see a lot more black athletes on social media are being better examples of fatherhood and husbands (for exp. Lebron James) than they ever had growing up, but it never seemed to be much of an emphasis.

M Jordan said...

Obama has never had an original thought or creative idea. His gift is sensing the progressive zeitgeist and inserting himself into it. When he said “You didn’t build that” he was describing himself.

I guarantee you his Netflix endeavor will be worse than The View, Oprah, and DailyKos combined ... yet it will garner enough ratings for him to continue to see himself as brilliant.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"Another program could feature Mrs. Obama on topics, like nutrition, that she championed in the White House."
Michelle Obama has no training or demonstrated expertise on the topic of nutrition. In her professional life she was a lawyer and did community relations for a hospital.

buwaya said...

The properly paranoid evaluation of this is, as mentioned above - that its going to be so incredibly boring that none of its financial backers is doing it for any commercial reason. Nor is it going to be good political propaganda.

Therefore it is simply a mechanism for giving money to Obama.

Much like that ridiculous advance Bertelsmann (Penguin Random House) gave him, which they have no hope of making back.

A similar sort of in-the-open payoff as the country of Qatar giving Al Gore hundreds of millions for his cable channel. Which they ran as Al Jazeera for a year or so, on a shoestring, before abandoning it.

Sebastian said...

"The most inspiring story Obama could tell is his own story, by living it, going forward, as an authentic and ethical person."

Almost as funny as your comment on Michelle the other day. Thanks!

But the "inspiring" story has been told, by David Garrow--a story that inspires any reasonable person to stay far, far away from this fabricating schemer, a man so "authentic" he made up his own autobiography.

But dishing BS on Netflix is just about the best possible job for a guy who was always too lazy to do any real work.

Seeing Red said...

I’m not going to watch it.

Greg said...

Nope, not a narcissist, not even a little

TrespassersW said...

When he first ran for President, my then-high-school-age daughter had him pegged: "He talks a lot, but he doesn't say anything."

He hasn't changed a lick since then, so my expectations are pretty low.

AlbertAnonymous said...

“Another manipulation in the direction he prefers”. Indeed!

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

You're just envious because Obama was president and you weren't.

Darrell said...

You're just envious because Obama was president and you weren't.

Link?

Seeing Red said...

Why Netflix?

Shouldn’t it be on free TV so everyone can watch?

What about PBS?

Is there gonna be a movement to provide free or subsidized Netflix to the poor?

Darrell said...

I see ratings declining after every show. Where's the beef?

Should be "Where's the dog?" in Obama's case. Maybe "Where's the Wagyu beef?"

traditionalguy said...

If Hussein was serious about a Netflix series, he would sell his War Room Base in DC ( a few miles from the Whitehouse) and move his gang and Handler, Valerie Jarrett, to Los Angeles.

So this is like a money laundering deal wher a Pols books are only to be bulk purchased by a few rich givers. Thus it becomes his personel money and not campaign funds.

Whatever he does, he better do it quick before his arrest.

RNB said...

Possibly the Sy-Fy Channel.

exhelodrvr1 said...

Clearly the problem wasn't his policies, it's that we weren't ready for them.

Maybe this time, when he re-introduces them on Netflix, we will be.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

There's no link.

ga6 said...

Fables from The Hood...

Greg said...

If he wasn't a narcissistic dbag, he would do what other presidents have done - actively support some charities and try to make a difference that way. As some mentioned above - why not devote himself to reestablishing the value of the black family? That would require him to admit that institutional racism isn't the only cause of inequality so not going to happen.

tastid212 said...

Ignorance is Bliss, FTW! You’ve shielded yourself from any prebukes.

Charlie said...

A new Law & Order spinoff:

"Smidgen Of Corruption"

BarrySanders20 said...

This news alone should be good enough to bump him up to #3 best president all-time, as determined by leading presidential scholars and historians. And those other two, I will note, are not Nobel Peace Prize winners.

Ray - SoCal said...

Obama’s war room has not worked. Every time he’s attempted to attack Trump openly, Trump has hit back and Obama stopped.

Obama has always been more about image and entertainment culture, the show seems like a good opportunity for him.

Drago said...

"I Barack"....and just as accurate.....

Drago said...

RNB: "Possibly the Sy-Fy Channel."

Barack-Nado!!

n.n said...

Obama CAIRs.

Drago said...

Drago: '"I Barack"....and just as accurate....."

I should have clarified: "I Barack" as in "I Rigoberta" (not "I Claudius")

Ralph L said...

because I know what you're going to say when you haven't said it yet.

Jesus, what an IQ!

SteveR said...

Just like everything else with him — designed to stroke his ego. I can’t think of anything less interesting to me.

etbass said...

Keep it coming. This is the best thread yet.

Anonymous said...

The Obamas are so full of themselves, they probably think a whole lot of people are dying to watch this show. This will probably be the TV equivalent of It Takes A Village- a bunch of pompous, self-serving crap that no one spontaneously watches or reads. He should do like the Iranians and take all the money up front.

Now if they did a remake of Being There with Barry in the lead role, then I might check that out.

Anonymous said...

And I doubt any of the home folks will turn off Atlanta to watch Michelle sermonize about healthy diets or some such.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Maybe it is time to drop Netflix. Been customers for years, but they are no longer selling much of what we want to watch.

Inventory increasingly comprises drawn out telenovela plots gradually revealed a dozen hours of viewing, heavy use of computer graphics, and unimaginative disgusting dialogue.

A typical action sequence might be a car chase. Major time is profile view of driver's face showing a variety of grimaces, against a vertigo inducing backdrop of lights along the wall of the tunnel in which the chase takes place. Interspersed are half second shots of hands moving the steering wheel or gearshift lever, or of the engine instruments. Accompanying dialog, between grunts: "Shit! The fucking fucker is motherfucking going to fucking make us motherfucking crash! FUCK!"

tcrosse said...

I see the Obamas hawking kitchen gadgets on a shopping channel.

Rusty said...

AllenS said...
"How long do you think that this Obama Netflix love affair will last."
As long as Obamas money lasts.
I would like to sit in on that meeting.
"You know, Mr. President, that there are really no financial returns for the first cou...er...three or four seasons. Do you have any backers?"

Bob Boyd said...

I don't know...would you buy a kitchen gadget from Obama?

MadisonMan said...

An Obama-led Talk Show could be interesting -- but it should be late-night, on a major network. It would beat out all the others, because there would be a stampede from Hollywood to be on Obama's show, because he's sooooo dreamy!

The difficulty would be that Obama would have to listen to other people talk. Obama prefers to be the one doing the talking.

roesch/voltaire said...

I think Obama should do an Apprentice like show and troll Trump-- now that would be almost as much fun as watching he stormy weather show.

Rusty said...

I think it's the phrase. "Obama is negotiating" that I find so funny.

Gahrie said...

I think Obama should do an Apprentice like show

Obama's version would reward the contestants that waste the most money without accomplishing anything.

The competent contestants would be eliminated.

tcrosse said...

I don't know...would you buy a kitchen gadget from Obama?

I never bought anything else he was selling.

MadisonMan said...

I confess that, if my choices were listening to an Obama-led show vs. a Hillary-led show, I would choose the mellow tones and mellifluousiticalness of Barack H. Obama.

Drago said...

R/V: "I think Obama should do an Apprentice like show and troll Trump..."

LOL

Because obama is "sort of a god" to the lefties who can do anything at all, despite there being no evidence he can do anything other than being a popular figure on the left.

Forget the show. Why don't you just give him his Emmy right now? He can put it next to his Nobel prize.

William said...

There's a fine line between propaganda and art, and the Dem propagandists are the ones who get to draw it. I read the recent The New Yorker profile of Donald Glover. He's a sitcom star who writes his own show. This puts him in the same orbit as DaVinci according to the writer and to Donald.....,,You can bet that any show Obama produces or appears in will get rapturous reviews. Did you ever read Maureen Dowd's review of Obama's semi autobiographical novel, Dreams of My Father? Eat your heart out Tolstoy.

Infinite Monkeys said...

even as he has studiously avoided direct clashes with Mr. Trump

That's true, it's been mostly snide comments about Trump because that's so much more sophisticated than doing it directly. Or something.

What would a "direct clash" be like? Would he schedule a meeting with Trump to ask why he's changing things? I can't imagine a "direct clash" that would come off well for Obama. Regardless of what it was about, his time as president is over and he would just look whiny and weak.

cubanbob said...

MadisonMan said...
An Obama-led Talk Show could be interesting -- but it should be late-night, on a major network. It would beat out all the others, because there would be a stampede from Hollywood to be on Obama's show, because he's sooooo dreamy!"

Obama reprising Tom Snyder. Interesting. For about ten minutes.

Howard said...

C'mon Drago, an Emmy?. Even a Neanderthal like you knows that the Fresh Prince of Punahou would never accept anything less than an Oscar.

Rusty said...

"even as he has studiously avoided direct clashes with Mr. Trump "

Beta males avoid confronting alpha males.

grackle said...

I'm not as naive as you're about to tell me I am, because I know what you're going to say when you haven't said it yet.

Yes. And we know what you “ … are going to say when you haven't said it yet.” But what tha’ hell – it’s still fun anyway.

wendybar said...

How people were ever fooled by this guy is beyond me....other than all of his hidden past. You think you know him, but you really don't know anything about him. Be careful what you wish for. The last thing I want to watch is a man who is in love with himself talking about how great he is.

Jim at said...

I already lived eight years of The Obama Show.

Pass.

Howard said...

wendybar: Exactly. It boggles the mind that Drumpf can garner so much love from the duplorables.

Ann Althouse said...

LOL on “prebukes.”

Joanne Jacobs said...

The show sounds boring.

I'd like to see Obama go back to being a community organizer in Chicago, using his political skills, connections and fund-raising ability to tackle violence, unemployment, bad schools and family disintegration in low-income black neighborhoods.

After two terms as governor of California, Jerry Brown became mayor of Oakland. He did well there. And then was elected governor again.

veni vidi vici said...

It would be most inspiring if Obama & Wife went to their fellow Black man Clarence Thomas to obtain the name and number of the dealer who sold CT his camper-bus, bought one for themselves and commenced on an epic, weeks-or-months-long roadtrip into America, to get to know the country that he has just finished spending the past 8 years leading.

It would be good for the Obamas' souls, and might even make for some fantastic television if he decided to film it for Netflix.

One senses however that he's ever and too much the hollow vessel, such that outside the comfort zone of "his kind" of people (the right-thinking types he's long surrounded himself with), he'd be too consumed by impostor syndrome to venture forth.

Which is what would make it such compelling television -- and a compelling life story: he could surprise the nation with charm that rings genuine through and through!

Instead, Hollywood will likely settle for giving him a walk-on somewhere in Black Panther II.

richard mcenroe said...

"The most inspiring story Obama could tell is his own story, by living it, going forward, as an authentic and ethical person."
Fantasy is still a niche market...

richard mcenroe said...

Veni Vidi Vici -- Loved his cameo in Kingsman...

Rusty said...

Poor Howard. Still doesn't get it.
Never will I fear.
But the subject of this thread is still funny because you think Obama was a good president.