RUSH: I mentioned earlier that Bob Woodward’s book is out and that it’s got a lot of unflattering things about Obama in terms of leadership. There isn’t much. Decision-making. There isn’t much.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Woodward was on Good Morning America today. George Stephanopoulos interviewed him about The Price of Politics. That’s Woodward’s book. “Your bottom line is that successful presidents like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton largely work their will, but you reach the conclusion that in this case, in this struggle, Barack Obama did not” work his will.
WOODWARD: Yes, simply because our financial house is not in order. This isn’t a budget issue or a credit rating issue. This is: Is the government going to have money to pay its bills? And, in the end, that’s the president’s job. Yes, it’s Congress’s job, too, but there’s such a thing as presidential leadership. Look, it’s quite obvious that Obama has a distance from these people. He doesn’t spend the time. He hasn’t built the relationships. And those human relationships matter. This book is a warning document. We are right back in the problem, and this can affect everyone in a very serious way.
RUSH: He’s talking about the debt deal last year. That’s what he’s talking about. There was no Obama leadership. He didn’t even know how to get hold of Boehner after the 2010 midterms! The debt deal comes up… Obama hasn’t cared about these guys. No bipartisanship, no cooperation. He doesn’t care where they are. He doesn’t care how to even get hold of them. The debt deal comes up, simply paying bills. Woodward makes it clear he’s not talking about credit rating issue or the budget issue.
It’s just simply paying the bills, and Obama was not showing any leadership on this at all. Stephanopoulos here is beside himself that Woodward is doing this 56 days before an election. Stephanopoulos says, “As you know, a lot of your critics have said the President was facing an implacable foe, the Republicans, on a crusade. What should voters take away? We’re only 56 days away” here, Bob! What the hell are you doing? “You studied this for a couple of years. What should voters take away going to the polls?”
WOODWARD: People have read it the other way and said, “Look, the Republicans are a brick wall,” which they are, “and it’s really hard to get around them. But, you know, World War II was hard to win, but President Roosevelt made sure that we won it.” And that’s what presidents are there for, and it depends on how you’re going to raise the bar and what your level of expectation is. And I think the public should have the highest expectation of their leaders.
RUSH: Oh, man, this is not going over well at ABC. (interruption) “Woodward is engaging in racism, here. There’s no question about it.” That’s right. It’s very clear. FDR, white president, won World War II. Obama, black president, can’t pay the bills. Racism! It’s simple. Here’s Woodward apparently unaware that this charge will be forthcoming. He’s just out there. He’s got his book coming out, and really it’s not favorable to Obama at all. And these ABC guys can’t believe that Woodward said this. They think he’s on their team. They can’t understand why Woodward would put this book out now (with 56 days to go) basically saying Obama phones it in half the time. Half the time he doesn’t phone because he doesn’t know how to phone. They’re beside themselves.
Diane Sawyer, said to Woodward, “[Y]ou’re delivering ammunition to the opposition.” She means: “Do you know what you’re doing here?” Here’s what she said…
SAWYER: Here, in an election year, there are going to be people who are going to say you’re delivering some ammunition to his opposition.
WOODWARD: I am not delivering ammunition. I am trying to describe what happened.
RUSH: So these people at ABC can’t figure this out. (paraphrased exchange) Diane Sawyer says, “Bob, do you know what you’re doing? You’re supplying the Republicans ammunition here against Obama! What the hell are you doing? Reeeecycliiiiiiing!” And Woodward says, “I’m not doing that. I’m just trying to describe what happened out there.” Last night on World News Tonight on ABC, during a report about Woodward’s book, there’s an interview. In this interview, Obama was talking about a speech that he delivered criticizing Ryan’s budget plan.
OBAMA: I was not aware when I gave that speech that Jack Ryan (sic) was going to be sittin’ right there. We made a mistake.
RUSH: Now, I’ll explain this. The point of contention, the bone of contention is that Obama’s a mean guy, that he was going to rip Ryan’s Medicare reform proposal budget plan to shreds. But he lied and invited Ryan to come over to this big moment where Obama’s making a speech about it. They lured Ryan there, as I understand it, with the idea that he was going to be treated not as an equal, but given some respect by Obama as somebody seriously engaged in trying to reform a problem, a situation and fix it.
And instead what Obama did, what really happened, was he tore into Ryan and tore into the plan with Ryan sitting in the front row. So they asked Obama about that and he said, “No, no, I didn’t know that Jack Ryan was going to be sitting there. We made a mistake.” Now, Ryan’s first name is not Jack. Jack Ryan is a character in the Tom Clancy books, the Hunt for Red October and all those books. This is Paul Ryan, vice presidential candidate with Mitt Romney. He’s from Wisconsin.
So Obama has now done the double insult. First he invites him and reams him or embarrasses him in the front row, or calls him out. Then when asked about it, he says, “No, no, I didn’t know Jack Ryan was going to be there,” and this is the nice guy? This is the guy the Romney camp says, “This is the nice guy”? Republican consultants say he’s a nice guy? He’s not a nice guy. He is a cutthroat, vicious politician. He’s not a nice guy. He’s not cool, calm, collected.
He’s a very cold guy, actually.
BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Jack Ryan was Obama’s original Senate opponent whose divorce records Obama sneakily uncovered and released and made public, forcing Ryan out of the race. Standard modus operandi for Obama: Clear the playing field. Not level it. Just get rid of your opponent. That’s what they’ve tried to do with Romney. That’s why all the character assassination ads against Romney. Romney is squeaky clean. He’s Mr. Clean and Pure as the wind-driven snow. Romney is a felon. Romney killed a guy’s wife. He’s this, he’s that. Romney is a Mormon. It’s the standard modus operandi. Obama clears the field. He tries to eliminate any opposition, not beat them. And Jack Ryan, in addition to being a Tom Clancy character, was actually the name of his Senate opponent in Illinois whose divorce records he unsealed. That’s why he had Jack Ryan on his mind.