Roger Ailes, the President of Fox News Channel, the station where those who watch know less than those who watch no news at all, has the gall to say that Barack Obama is “lazy”, and that Joe Biden is “dumb”!
This man is delusional, when one could say that a lot of the Republican Presidential contenders of 2012 were “dumb”, including Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Rick Santorum, and Herman Cain, as well as President George W. Bush, who showed no evidence of any intellectual thoughts crossing his brain, far different than his brother Jeb, who comes across as very intelligent and perceptive. How much better off we would have been if Jeb Bush had been President, instead of his brother!
And as far as “lazy” goes, what about George W. Bush being on “vacation” multiple times more than Obama, and NOT reading the intelligence information while at his ranch for weeks on end in late August and early September 2001?
And to call Joe Biden “dumb” when he is one of the most outstanding US Senators in American history, and has played a major role in both foreign policy and constitutional matters for the past 40 years, and is in many ways the most active Vice President in American history, more than even Walter Mondale, Al Gore, and Dick Cheney were, shows that Ailes and his channel are just out to character assassinate our leaders, but intelligent people well know that Fox News Channel has no validity, no credibility at all!
Oh well, must I always correct you Ron? This is getting to be a habit, but he goes, once more. Last week on CNN’s Starting Point, the panelists called out host Soledad O’Brien for missing context surrounding Fox News head Roger Ailes‘ reported belief that President Obama is “lazy.†O’Brien introduced the brief segment by reading off quotes from Zev Chafets‘ new Ailes biography, in which the Fox chief calls VP Joe Biden “dumb as an ashtray,†Newt Gingrich “a prick,†and President Obama “lazy.â€
The quote about Obama, as O’Brien read it on the air:
“Obama’s the one who never worked a day in his life. He never earned a penny that wasn’t public money. How many fund-raisers does he attend every week? How often does he play basketball and golf? I wish I had that kind of time. He’s lazy, but the media won’t report that.â€
What she did not read, however, was the next part of the excerpt, in which Chafets wrote:
“He noticed my arched eyebrows and added, “I didn’t come up with that. Obama said that, to Barbara Walters.†(What Obama said was that he feels a laziness in himself that he attributes to his laid-back upbringing in Hawaii.)â€
After O’Brien called the “lazy†comment “not nice,†conservative commentator Will Cain and CNN reporter John Berman jumped in to provide context for Ailes’ comment.
“Everyone’s latching on to the fact that he called the president lazy,†Cain said. “Roger Ailes did go on to say that ‘I’m only quoting from the president directly.’ He talked about an interview that President Obama gave to Barbara Walters where he said, ‘I grew up in Hawaii, which is pretty laid back’. Roger Ailes wasn’t coming up with that on his own. And he made a point of making that.â€
“Okay, so the ‘pretty laid back’ to ‘lazy’ is a little bit of a leap to me,†O’Brien pushed back.
“Barack Obama used the word ‘lazy,’†Berman jumped in.
“Oh, interesting. I didn’t know that,†O’Brien said.
“He did. Barack Obama said he feels a laziness in himself that he attributes to his laid back upbringing in Hawaii,†Cain continued.
“Hmm. Interesting,†she replied.
So Ron,I guess you should get in touch with the POTUS himself and denounce him for calling himself lazy! LOL!
See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUCyq-c-cP0
*As I always try to do I back up what I write with either a video or an official link source.
Ok, Juan, I stand corrected on Ailes and Obama, but his comment on Joe Biden is uncalled for, as I pointed out. Of course, you will disagree, but I feel Biden has been an outstanding Senator and Vice President, and were he to become President someday, he would be an excellent President.
I also think that just because Obama jokingly said he was lazy did not mean Ailes had to repeat it, as god forbid, he would never admit that most of the GOP field in 2012 fit the description of being “dumb’, along with Bush himself and Sarah Palin. Note I am not putting Cheney in that category, or Romney or Ryan or Jeb Bush. And George W was a very “lazy” President, on vacation and out of touch at crucial moments, because he never had to earn his own life, being backed up by Daddy, unlike Obama and Biden, who did not have the advantages of a privileged childhood and adulthood.
And by the way, I found references on Ailes and Obama, just contradicting the ones you had. I do NOT make up my entries, Juan. But I accept what you have explained, never claiming to be perfect, but also realize this is a blog, which means I express my views of events. This is not an official news source, and neither are your views “official”!
Ron: When I talk about official source I mean IRS, Labor Department and Census among other official sources. I try to cite them especially when you talk about the rich not paying their fair share, immigration, debt, GDP, deficits,spending or healthcare. In that case it is not my opinion but official government data. Now regarding Biden, Bush , Palin and whatever, it is a matter of opinion and frankly Biden has shown himself to be incredibly stupid in some instances. That doesn’t mean I don’t consider him smart,but in the following sense. He was smart enough to get elected and reelected to Congress for decades thus never really holding in his life a real job, that is in the private sector. He has lived off the money of American taxpayers for decades, all his life, and in that sense he is smart, and those who voted for him and those of us who contribute to his salary are in essence the real stupid ones! Of course he is not the only “smart” politician in Washington that lives off the taxpayer. He is just one more in the “ruling class”.
My god, Juan, you are constantly so cynical and sarcastic! Is that the way you are with everyone? 🙂 LOL
Not at all Ron, but lets say I have been around and when it comes to politicians, especially the ‘professional politician”, well,lets say I don’t trust hardly any of them. And If I happen to, I just “trust but verify” , even if they are Republicans, or conservative/classic liberals. That is why I just don’t understand people voting to give them more and more power of us as if they were special.
I can understand what you are saying, and I, myself, have been disappointed by some politicians I once admired. But as a scholar and professor, I have taught, lectured, written about, and thought about politicians my whole life, and I identify with those who have similar beliefs and value systems. And although they should not be seen as “special”, I am drawn to support those who come across as genuine and sincere, but with a growing realization that one needs to have a healthy dose of skepticism, and should not see politicians as worthy of being “worshiped”
Then we agree! LOL!
Imagine that, hahaha 🙂 LOL This is becoming dangerous, isn’t it? We have to keep up our reputations! 🙂 LOL
Hello Professor,
You can see this aspect emulated quite, and too often from comments from others of the same kind of mindset. Too often you can see where many just parrot the Rush Limbaugh’s and Fox’s Programming rhetoric for discussion tactics. Rhetoric targeted for those of “less than†high school proficiencies. So Roger Ailes, the President of Fox News Channel, tries to give validity, and just propagates this short coming even more.
Hello Juan,
I want to first state that your comments of differing views are quite welcome but much like the comment, “Engineer, please stick to engineering if you happen to be one,†in doing so, you committed TWO pitfalls of Freshman English 101, “Logical Argumentation†in this one opening countering statement!!
As many of my and the Professor’s readers know well, I work in both Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, PLUS, I demonstrate quite well an impeccable competency in the English language. I have even been a guest on radio programs to discuss the aspects of countering incorrect conservative statements. I should also state that I have 150 year family legacy of belonging to the Republican Party and have worked on many projects with the former Moderate Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest from the 1st district of Maryland.
This is the first chance to reply but I would point out that right from the start you utilized the major pit falls of “Divertive Argument†plus the most egregious pitfall of “Nihilistic Statementâ€, which is a viewpoint that refers to a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths. Yes a perceived statement of fact to support your argument that was not based on any research of fact to support said statement.
As any Freshman English Student would know, from this opening statement, you negated any validity of any comments you tried to put forth. Anything else stated afterwards now has no merit or validity.
It does not take long for this mindset to expose its short comings. I hope you understand that I am trying to help you to present your comments in a better aspect. Sincerely. 🙂
Thanks, Engineer Of Knowledge, for your support, and as always, I appreciate it! 🙂
Well Engineer ,good for you! I sincerely congratulate you on your personal achievements and on your pedigree! But I believe I was referring to you assertion that in Mississippi slavery was still the law. If you believe that, well you are entitled to believe anything you want! Peace be with you!