Why I Hate Obama-speak

Every time Obama speaks, it aggravates me. It's not because of his method of speaking or speech itself: he's a great public speaker who's clear, eloquent, and polished. It's also not because he uses a teleprompter obsessively, is very good at not straying from whatever canned message or pitch has been written for him, and dodges answering any probing questions with real information: most politicians have perfected these arts, and they have become so ingrained in our political process that they are as expected as they are unhelpful in conveying actual information. It's obviously also not because he lies: most politicians lie, usually very well, and Obama can state even laughable, preposterous fallacies without even breaking stride, but again, that's expected, normal, and uniform in today's politicians. No, none of these things are the reason Obama's speeches really get to me.

See, Obama comes across as a smart guy, and every once in a while you get a semi unscripted remark which seems to imply an understanding of what's actually going on, or what the actual correct course of action would be. Then, in his speeches, you get peppered remarks targeted directly at his detractors and their objections, assuring the American public that Obama stands for things which would actually be good for the country (smaller government, private industry, freedom from government control) which he is clearly and obviously opposed to in his actions. Then, behind these statements, he very clearly and methodically advances his own agenda, seemingly entirely disjointed from his statements and personal observations and insights. This is why I really hate his dishonesty, while the dishonesty of his predecessors and colleges is more tolerable.

Take, for example, today's GM announcement. In it, Obama stated the government would back GM warranties, the current leadership is being removed and replaced with government leadership, contracts will be renegotiated, and the government will preserve the US auto industry (by implication, GM) at any cost. Then, in the same speech, he assured the American people that the government has no interest in running GM, and shouldn't be running private businesses! In the same speech! Now, obviously the second part is correct: it would likely be an unmitigated disaster having the government trying to run GM while wasting billions every month in perpetuity, and the government absolutely should not be running private businesses in a non-socialist country. However, it's equally obvious that that's exactly what is happening, it's exactly what they just announced, and you've have to be a brain-dead moron to see that's not exactly what the Obama administration is doing with multiple industries: banking, auto, energy, etc, etc, etc. It's the gall of saying something which is blatantly false, and just inserted into the speech to counter critics, while at the same time doing the exact opposite thing in plain sight, which is just like a slap in the face to every thinking person in the entire country.

You can see the same pattern in most of Obama's speeches, from banking regulation, to foreign policy, to bailouts, to social policy initiatives. Over and over, it's "pay attention to what I'm saying not what I'm doing, and don't think about it." It's insulting, it's aggravating, it's arguably fundamentally more dangerous to America than any other threats, foreign or domestic, and it's why I despise Obama-speak more than that any other politician.