Obama: Come to think of it … might be easier to be president of China

First of all, we don’t have audio or video so my guess is the White House will soon claim President Obama never said that he’d rather be president of China, or that he was mis-quoted or taken out of context.

From the New York Times article on balancing the needs of the United States and the support for people in the Middle East.

How Mr. Obama manages to do that while also balancing American interests is a question that officials acknowledge will plague this historic president for months to come. Mr. Obama has told people that it would be so much easier to be the president of China. As one official put it, “No one is scrutinizing Hu Jintao’s words in Tahrir Square.”

Other than the fact Tahrir Square is in Cairo and not in China, there will be plenty of discussion on this purported statement by Obama.

From Ed Morrissey at Hot Air.

As such, yes, it’s easier to wield power, which was exactly Friedman’s point and why he was an idiot for making the case for enlightened despotism over representative democracy. Making power easier for government to yield was the exact outcome that our founders feared, which is why they wrote the Constitution and ratified it 222 years ago.  Enlightened despotism is still despotism, and the “enlightened” part depends entirely on whether the analysts fall in or out of favor with the despot.

And since the “president” of China doesn’t give a damn about the freedom and liberty of his own people, no one really gives a damn what he thinks about the freedom and liberty of others.  Most see that as a feature of being President of the United States, not a bug.

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit.

Of course it would.
Then he could just slaughter those disruptive Gadsden flag-waving tea partiers.
Is that what he’s talking about?

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

12 Comments

  1. Don Lombardo on March 11, 2011 at 7:20 am

    Now one knows why Liberals love Castro, Chavez, and the glamorous old Soviet Union. Fellow Travelers All.



  2. GdavidH on March 11, 2011 at 7:27 am

    It always makes me chuckle when these lib journolists call this presidency "historic" while the history is still being written. I actually think they will be proven correct, but not for the reasons they think.

    I'm sending this line form Ed M. to everyone I know:

     Enlightened despotism is still despotism, and the “enlightened” part depends entirely on whether the analysts fall in or out of favor with the despot.



  3. Cliff G on March 11, 2011 at 7:31 am

    You think that this is problematic?  Part of your politics of mass destruction; and because of it, it puts you deep in the world of fantasy……

    …."Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."

    THINK about it.  And while your at it, could you have a HEART….please.

    "Peace, Love, and Freedom"

    CLG



    • Dimsdale on March 11, 2011 at 9:27 am

      ??????



    • GdavidH on March 11, 2011 at 10:27 am

      What are you talking about?

      Paste the wrong cut did you?



  4. NH-Jim on March 11, 2011 at 10:05 am

    {Say it ain't so, Barack!  Well, if the Times says it's so, it must be the truth!}

    To relish the feeling that it is <a title="NYT Course of Pragmatism" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/world/africa/11policy.html?_r=1&quot; rel="nofollow">easier to be the leader of China…… well, I guess that could be true since it's easier to <a title="Frontline: The Tank Man" href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/&quot; rel="nofollow">massacre dissent than to listen to it.

    I do not see a pragmatist or an ideologue approach to the Middle East from our president; I see vacillator.

    A senior administration official anonymously said, “There is a desire for Obama — not the American president, but Obama — to speak to their aspirations,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But, he added, “his first job is to be the American president.”

     

    And, the biggest part of that job, Mr. President, is making decisions.  Decisions that are based on what is best for our country and not your global appeal/stature.  Need some guidance?  Read this about <a title="Harry S Truman – by Robert Dallek" href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Truman-Presidents-President-1945-1953/dp/0805069380/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299873620&sr=1-1&quot; rel="nofollow">Harry S Truman.

     



  5. Plainvillian on March 11, 2011 at 11:01 am

    If China will take him, I'll contribute to Mr. Obama's relocation.



  6. Tim-in-Alabama on March 11, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    If Barry were president of China, he could have the T(iananman)-Baggers crushed by tanks instead of wasting time with ineffective slander.



  7. RoBrDona on March 12, 2011 at 5:28 am

    Absolute Totalitarian Rule = Soetoro Wet Dream, as Delusional Indoctrination = Cliffie



  8. Gary J on March 12, 2011 at 6:46 am

    PV I am with you,I'll give 3 weeks allowance to get him there with a no return policy………..



  9. TomL on March 12, 2011 at 8:36 am

    He must think the President of China is actually in charge. 



  10. Steve M on March 12, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    Why are you so rude? Never mind, don't bother answering … you won't get the opportunity to anyway. If you have not figured it out by now Gary, you're no longer welcome here. Don't come back.



Square-Obama smirk 1

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