Obama the Thug, Part 27

The consensus on the left and right is that Obama's first Oval Office address was a dud. When you're a hidebound leftist and you've lost Eugene Robinson, you know you're in trouble. But I'm sure my beefs are very different from his.

Like any conscious being with some ability to sensibly allocate his time, I didn't bother to watch the speech. But I did read parts of it. What annoyed me was the whining of this part:

"I've talked to shrimpers and fishermen who don't know how they're going to support their families this year. I've seen empty docks and restaurants with fewer customers - even in areas where the beaches are not yet affected. I've talked to owners of shops and hotels who wonder when the tourists will start to come back. The sadness and anger they feel is not just about the money they've lost. It's about a wrenching anxiety that their way of life may be lost.

Notice how he always falls back on the stereotypical community organizer's litany of disastrous effects and how the poor are suffering. This is exactly the way those petty thugs use moral intimidation to get their way with banks, mortgage lenders, city officials, etc. The technique is all Obama knows. He must have been a completely inept lawyer in the face of any judge who wasn't instantly impressed by the pity card.

But what truly ticked off me off was the sheer thuggery of this:

I refuse to let that happen. Tomorrow, I will meet with the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set aside whatever resources are required to compensate the workers and business owners who have been harmed as a result of his company's recklessness."

Notice the sheer lawlessness of his attitude toward BP. He will "inform" them they are going to do such and such, as if there are no laws to follow in the matter, only his dictates. Just as one example, there is a legal – albeit, perhaps foolishly low — $75 million cap on liability. Even ignoring that, there is simply no legal authority on the part of the Executive to force BP to establish such a fund.

Not surprisingly, BP preemptively caved on the threat.

"BP will set aside $20 billion to pay the victims of the massive oil spill in the Gulf, senior administration officials said Wednesday, a move made under pressure by the White House as the company copes with causing the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history."

As if $20 billion was nothing more than a reasonable, if stinging, rebuke on a company who has been a very bad boy and The One is merely wagging his finger at them.

You can just hear how this crisis is a wet dream for an anti-business leftist (but I repeat myself) who finally has a chance to, big time, stick it to da man.

Anyone who does not now believe that Obama is, in fact, a Fascist doesn't understand Obama or Fascism. Among other characteristics is creating a shadow govt. Michelle Malkin has the lowdown on that.

Finally, be sure to catch some of Kenneth Green's points at AEI about the speech, which outline well just what a dishonest demagogue the stick-figure stick wielder truly is. About the only quasi-positive thing I can say for Obama is that he is fairly consistent. He never lets a crisis go to waste.

[An irresistible update:

"Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America."

Right. That's why China is building about one major coal fire plant per month for the foreseeable future. Of course, they are investing in some 'green' technology: they have planned to build 15 new nuclear power plants in the next five years. That, of course, is one 'green' technology Obama almost never talks about.

So, once again the Thug-in-Chief also proves to be the Misleader-In-Chief.]