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-Short Attention Span Theater-

Obama's biographer reveals ex-president fears for his legacy after 'tone-deaf preaching' harmed...

2024-11-10

[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Barack Obama and his wife Michelle have been slammed by his biographer for 'talking down' to voters in 'tone-deaf and clueless' preaching that harmed Kamala Harris' ill-fated presidential campaign.

Just another straw. She broke her own back without any need for outside assistance.

The effect was so bad that – combined with Donald Trump's victory – it is likely to reduce the 44th president's political relevance to 'Bill Clinton levels', David Garrow said in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com.

Ouch. He got Bill Clinton on the backswing with his scalpel.

'People do not want to be talked down to, no matter who they are,' the 71-year-old Pulitzer Prize winner said.

Since when does the opinion of garbage people matter? Oh, right.

'I thought it was tone-deaf and clueless for them to preach as they did,' he told DailyMail.com.

Dear, dear Barry always did have a solidly tin ear.

'I would expect that perception will be shared by lots of people. If so, I think it reduces their relevance to Bill Clinton territory.

Let them be bitter together, along with their bitter celebrity pals, as they all discover what happens to an expensive lifestyle when the money stops rolling in.

Garrow wrote the 2017 biography Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama. He won his Pulitzer for an earlier book on Martin Luther King.

He predicted that the Obamas will now largely vanish from the political scene to hang out with celebrities on Martha's Vineyard.

Garrow said Tuesday's electoral rout has left Obama, 63, 'nervous' about the impact Trump could have on how he is seen by future generations.

He will be seen fairly, which is what he ought to want. He worked hard to get the ideas he championed a fair trial, so now it is indelibly proved that everything he fought for is an abject failure. He’ll be in high school civics textbooks for generations to come, next to Lysenko as an example for how not to do it. Most people learn best from painful mistakes, so he can be proud that he was a really good teacher.

'He has been and remains extremely concerned and nervous about his historical legacy,' he said.

'That has certainly taken a big hit with Trump once again triumphing.'

One of the major pillars of Obama's political legacy is the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which brought health insurance to millions and outlawed denial of coverage for pre-existing conditions. Obama has been intensely aware of Trump's repeated attempts to repeal the law. Trump issued an executive order in 2017 aimed at rolling it back, but failed to push the plan through Congress. He called the act 'lousy' and said he was working to replace it during his presidential debate with Harris in September.

The biographer and historian added that he believes the disastrous election result for Democrats means they will no longer want the Obamas front and center in future campaigns.

'The conclusion for Democrats is that they've got to dispense with these people from the past, including Hillary Clinton too, and move to a new generation of figures who are not in the AOC club at all,' he said, referring to left-wing firebrand Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Who are these new generation figures? The older generation preferred minions to mentees.

But the writer predicted that Barack still has enough 'star-power' to pull in large speaking fees – such as the $400,000 he was paid for a single 2017 speech by Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald, according to the New York Times.

'I'm not sure that would necessarily decline. He still has the celebrity factor of being an ex-president,' Garrow said.

In certain circles, anyway. No longer the ones that move and shake, unfortunately for his amour-propre.

The author said he expected the Obamas to 'continue to hang out with celebrities and live on Martha's Vineyard', the millionaires' playground island off the coast of Massachusetts.

'I certainly expect them to be spending less time in Washington after early January,' he said.

The power couple will be keeping themselves busy with their business endeavors including their TV company Higher Ground Productions, which was behind the movies Leave the World Behind and Crip Camp – which credited one or both of the Obamas as an executive director – the Barack-narrated documentary Our Great National Parks and the Michelle Obama Podcast.

I’ve not heard of any of them, but at the moment we’re watching British and European police procedurals and middle-period Dr. Who.

Former First Lady Michelle, 60, is also lending her personal brand to a fruit drink PLEZi, marketed as healthy and for younger kids.

She surprised shoppers at Costco in Livermore, northern California in September when she showed up promoting the drink, which has eight grams of sugar per can and 45 calories.

Garrow said Obama will not be playing puppet-master in the Democratic party, and he believes the former president was not involved in Joe Biden's ousting in July – but only because it would have made Biden dig his heels in.

'Before Biden withdrew, I said that if he had the impression that Barack was pushing him to get out, that would backfire, because Biden has had very sore feelings going back eight years now, that he didn't think Barack sufficiently respected him,' Garrow said.

'I think the "credit" for that goes largely to Nancy Pelosi.'

Posted by:Skidmark

#12 Are we supposed to be grateful about Obamacare after Government Health Care and The Holy Science killed about two million Americans from 2020-2021?

Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2024-11-10 20:26

#11 ^ Oblahblah

Posted by: Frank G 2024-11-10 10:45

#10

What US presidents would look like today. This is really fascinating. pic.twitter.com/GQqeX8KQMG
— Bill Mitchell (@mitchellvii) November 9, 2024

Posted by: badanov 2024-11-10 10:30

#9 History will not be kind to you Obumble

Posted by: DarthVader 2024-11-10 10:25

#8 Barry is the tangible equivalent of the results of pissing on an electric fence; describing it ain’t the same as experiencing it….

Posted by: USN, Ret. 2024-11-10 10:14

#7 His legacy is Trump.

Posted by: Super Hose 2024-11-10 10:08

#6 ^5
Obamas have a beach house in Hawaii also.

FWIW, Al Gore also has a beach house. It is in Montecito CA.

Posted by: Lord Garth 2024-11-10 09:50

#5 "hang out with celebrities on Martha's Vineyard"
That's until the Gerbil Worming sinks it.
Oh, Riiight.

Posted by: ed in texas 2024-11-10 08:43

#4 we’re watching British and European police procedurals

a new series, 'Operation Undercover'

Posted by: Skidmark 2024-11-10 07:00

#3 Proverbs 6:16-19 (KJV)

16 These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Posted by: Procopius2k 2024-11-10 06:55

#2 Eastwood described him accurately in 2012.

Posted by: Airandee 2024-11-10 06:34

#1 Never underestimate Barry's ability to fuq things up.

Posted by: Cured Romantic 2024-11-10 00:17

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