# Here's the attempt to "Swiftboat' Obama **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 16, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685 "2012-08-16T17:12:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/121 "2012-08-17T17:00:54Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That should really be the beginning and the end of the discussion. We are talking about some of the least humble people on the planet- deeply egotistical people who want approval from everyone. The debate about credit here is basically just sour grapes, and while the Obama campaign probably can’t ignore it, they don’t need to take it seriously either. On the whole it is probably intended only for Republican consumption and comes from people who don’t want to give him credit anyway. If the president is responsible for everything that happens on his watch - and even if he isn’t - Obama has every right to take credit for ordering the raid. He never said he personally did it. He did make a tactical decision to focus on Bin Laden, he authorized this particular raid (which was a high-risk decision), and it paid off in a huge way. There really are two different issues. One is the amount of credit Obama rightly deserves. The other is the degree that anyone who is due credit can be seen as tooting his own horn. I think the first point is a bit overdone by both Obama and his supporter, but that’s to be expected. The President’s real problem here is the second. He appeared to be clamoring to make sure he got every ounce of credit, and then some, by emphasizing the role he played. That just doesn’t go over well. It’s the opposite of the humble, selfless, quiet, never-speak-a-word-about-it-themselves hero that Americans love. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/122 "2012-08-17T17:03:54Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > He appeared to be clamoring to make sure he got every ounce of credit, and then some Where? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/123 "2012-08-17T17:07:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Smith said the ad campaign pays no heed to political affiliation, and the organization describes itself as nonpartisan and says its focus is on protecting intelligence agents and special operations officers, not on politics. Yeah, right. (“Valerie Who?”) ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/124 "2012-08-17T17:08:40Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > This is the boiler-plate right-wing response all they way down the line. Hell, I’d be afraid of a copyright violation if I were you. > > Obama patted himself on the back? When? Where? See the quote offered already by **adaher**. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Obama didn’t give credit to the individuals who carried out the mission? Maybe you should refer to your next post where you quoted him doing precisely that. Maybe you should cite where I claimed he didn’t give the others credit. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Any president would have made the decision? Then I suppose people like Admiral McRaven are nothing but partisan liars, huh? One does not necessitate the other. I, and I think most others, believe that another President, Dem or Rep, would have given the OK to kill OBL if given the chance. Sure, maybe I’m wrong. Or maybe you are. ::shrug:: > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > He simply had to approve it? Like, what between “would you like sausage or bacon for breakfast” and “which set of cuff-links would you like to wear today,” he looked up and nodded his head and that was all there was to it? What did you think he did? That was his job, to approve it or not. It was not, “So, Mr. President, if you like this plan, we need you to put on this cape…”:rolleyes: > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I encourage you and the right in general to keep posting what you posted above in any and all arena you possibly can because it makes you look utterly ridiculous. What is ridiculous? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/125 "2012-08-17T17:08:57Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > The President’s real problem here is the second. There is no real problem for Obama here. There’s just something people who don’t like him are carping about. If you think it’s a serious problem, I’m going to say that’s wishful thinking. > [@](#): > > That just doesn’t go over well. …with people who already didn’t like Obama and wanted to give him as little credit as possible, or none, for this. That’s not a group of people he needs to be concerned with, but they don’t seem to realize that’s the case. From the day after the raid, Republican talking heads started trying to say he didn’t deserve any kind of credit, and that effort continues to this day with this video and the stories that Obama “only” approved the raid after Valerie Jarrett signed off on it. There’s no reason for the public at large to give a shit about any of this, and on the whole I don’t think the public cares at all. That’s not going to change between now and November either. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/126 "2012-08-17T17:09:14Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > Well, actually a whole flight suit, playing as if he were actually a pilot. (Yeah, yeah, he got credit hours from the Texas Air National Guard, but that flight suit stunt was the essence of undeserved self-puffery.) A lot of conservatives were also giddy about how he looked with his junk all framed by the straps. Giddyness and wide stances can make for a dangerous combination. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/127 "2012-08-17T17:12:40Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Where? You missed this, apparently… > [@](#): > > OBAMA: After meeting with my advisors, I proceeded to the Presidential Jetwhere I was flew us over to Afghnistan, fueling the copter on my awesomeness. There I briefed the Seals Team before deciding that I would lead the raid. After re-assuring some of the more nervous members of the SEAL team. Then I determined that we needed a contingency in case a helicopter crashed, which it totally did, so thank God I thought of the backup plan. Then I alone rappelled into the compound in Abbbottobad, shot two security guards, applied a Colombian neck tie to another, kicked the door down with my boot and said, “Osama bin Laden you are Osama bin Dead” where I then did a kill shot to the head. I then in the kindest way possible declined the amorous advances of the women there. Then I lit a big stogie and called in the rest of the team to clean up. I took no pictures because that would be not humble. > > Any questions? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/128 "2012-08-17T17:17:54Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Vote for Romney, because Obama wasn’t quite humble enough when bin Laden was killed! :rolleyes: To help his case even further, I’m sure one could dig up several clips of Romney attempting to mimic the Earthling humanoid quality known as “humility.” ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/129 "2012-08-17T17:24:01Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Where? (bolding mine) > [@](#): > > And so shortly after taking office, **I directed Leon Panetta** , the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al-Qaida, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. > > Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. **I met repeatedly with my national security team** as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, **I determined** that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. There is nothing incorrect in what he said, it just came off as “huh?”. I remember feeling it odd when he made the announcement. There really is only so much credit a President, or even a SEAL commander who did not go on the mission, can take. I mean, “I met repeatedly…”? Of, you mean you are doing your job? Gotcha. Now, I don’t mean to imply that Obama does’t deserve credit, he does. But he’s made people reluctant to give him more than the baseline he deserves. Again, people who point the spotlight on themselves get less credit in the end, not more. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/130 "2012-08-17T17:25:18Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > You missed this, apparently… No, I got your point. I’m saying it’s preposterous. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/131 "2012-08-17T17:25:41Z")
> [@](#): > > …several clips of Romney attempting to mimic the Earthling humanoid quality known as “humility.” “Jesus Christ, so this is grits? Looks like purée of maggot! People actually eat this shit? Anybody dumb enough to call this food will believe anything I say. OK. steel myself, take a spoonful, put it in my mouth, and swallow. Then smile, that’s the tough part. Stay focused, Willard. Remember: Hail to the Chief, Hail to the Chief…” ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/132 "2012-08-17T17:26:35Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > There is no real problem for Obama here. There’s just something people who don’t like him are carping about. If you think it’s a serious problem, I’m going to say that’s wishful thinking. I actually agree with this. I was making the point relative to the other one in my post. But in absolute terms, I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/133 "2012-08-17T17:26:36Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > But he’s made people reluctant to give him more than the baseline he deserves. He hasn’t made anybody do anything. This is about how people feel about Obama, not what Obama’s statements “made” people do or think. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/134 "2012-08-17T17:26:48Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > The President’s real problem here is the second. He appeared to be clamoring to make sure he got every ounce of credit, and then some, by emphasizing the role he played. This is so ridiculous, I can’t help but Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there over it. I suppose the strategy is to keep repeating the lie loud enough and often enough that it wll eventually become truth. That’s gonna be hard to do with something as well documented and as fresh in everyone’s mind as ObL’s death, tho. It really only worked against Kerry because the actual events were so far in the past. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/135 "2012-08-17T17:27:03Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > (bolding mine) > There is nothing incorrect in what he said, it just came off as “huh?”. I remember feeling it odd when he made the announcement. There really is only so much credit a President, or even a SEAL commander who did not go on the mission, can take. I mean, “I met repeatedly…”? Of, you mean you are doing your job? Gotcha. Now, I don’t mean to imply that Obama does’t deserve credit, he does. But he’s made people reluctant to give him more than the baseline he deserves. Again, people who point the spotlight on themselves get less credit in the end, not more. YOU are the one who is making a mountain out of a molehill, not Obama. He said he was doing his job. Big deal. Would you prefer that he humbly say that he didn’t do his job? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/136 "2012-08-17T17:28:51Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > No, I got your point. I’m saying it’s preposterous. Of course it’s preposterous, his whole statement is talking about the process that was gone through. It was a checklist of the steps taken, there is no trumpeting his role, we all know it is garbage. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/137 "2012-08-17T17:29:07Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > “Jesus Christ, so this is grits? Looks like purée of maggot! People actually eat this shit? Anybody dumb enough to call this food will believe anything I say. OK. steel myself, take a spoonful, put it in my mouth, and swallow. Then smile, that’s the tough part. Stay focused, Willard. Remember: Hail to the Chief, Hail to the Chief…” “God, look at these idiots in those stupid ponchos. Can’t you toothless NASCAR rednecks afford proper rainwear? You don’t see my buddies up there in the skyboxes dressed like that.” ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/138 "2012-08-17T17:30:09Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Of course it’s preposterous, his whole statement is talking about the process that was gone through. It was a checklist of the steps taken, there is no trumpeting his role, we all know it is garbage. Okay, so maybe I did miss your point. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/139 "2012-08-17T17:32:29Z")
**Marley** : There is no real problem for Obama here. I can just hear Kerry’s advisors saying the same thing… **Marley** , frequently, as with Swiftboating, the American voter chooses moronically (IMHO, of course). Where can I buy some of the confidence you seem to have that this isn’t going be a problem? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2012, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685/140 "2012-08-17T17:34:45Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Okay, so maybe I did miss your point. I probably should have said that this is what Right wingers heard… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heres-the-attempt-to-swiftboat-obama/631685.md?page=8)