# Stupid liberal idea of the day **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 20, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086 "2011-04-20T15:35:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 127
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2521 "2014-10-17T16:58:42Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > This my favorite post by you, ever. Understandable. It was only two letters long, which is about the limit of comprehension of the majority of posters on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2522 "2014-10-17T17:02:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > GWB appointed three AIDS czars. Guess how many were physicians? And that was complained about mightily. Does that excuse Obama’s stupidity in not appointing a doc in this case? There is this thing about those who don’t learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them… ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2523 "2014-10-17T17:04:44Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Understandable. It was only two letters long, which is about the limit of comprehension of the majority of posters on this board. Your anger makes you lash out incoherently too often. If you’d just open yourself to reality, you’d find out that your anger is based on myths and second hand stories. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2524 "2014-10-17T17:05:55Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > An unnecessary solution to an exaggerated problem. If we’re gonna have an Ebola Czar (and we don’t need one), it ought to be an administrator type, not a doctor. We already have doctors at the CDC, NIH, and elsewhere. The Ebola Czar is mostly about PR, and thus a political-type is appropriate. Need, schmeed. I’d take that job in a second, for the title alone. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2525 "2014-10-17T17:06:10Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And that was complained about mightily. I don’t remember any complaints. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2526 "2014-10-17T17:16:31Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, this one takes the cake. Every time I think Obama can’t do anything more stupid than he already has, he comes through for us. Ebola is a problem, and a potentially severe one. So who does he pick to head up the crisis? A political hack instead of a doctor. Which is, of course, why doctors run hospitals, not administrators. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2527 "2014-10-17T17:26:25Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > And that was complained about mightily. Does that excuse Obama’s stupidity in not appointing a doc in this case? > > There is this thing about those who don’t learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat them… And yet you keep hitting _Enter._ ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2528 "2014-10-17T17:56:14Z")
What’s stupid about Obama appointing an Ebola czar is of course not what **Clothy** is complaining about, but the fact that he did such a useless thing to appease critics who will never be appeased. Does anybody doubt that even if Obama appointed a doctor then folks like **Clothy** would just get different talking points from FOX or wherever? Which might of course be “Why did he appoint a doctor and not an administrator? It’s an administrator job! It’s not like he’s going to visiting patients!” ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2529 "2014-10-17T17:58:25Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > What’s stupid about Obama appointing an Ebola czar is of course not what **Clothy** is complaining about, but the fact that he did such a useless thing to appease critics who will never be appeased. Could be he did it with the purpose of demonstrating their inappeasability? The appointment is at worst harmless, and maybe Klain can do something useful, so it’s fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2530 "2014-10-17T18:00:23Z")
Its the “Obambola Virus”. Try to keep up, guys… ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2531 "2014-10-17T18:04:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > GWB appointed three AIDS czars. Guess how many were physicians? Four. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2532 "2014-10-17T18:06:02Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, this one takes the cake. Every time I think Obama can’t do anything more stupid than he already has, he comes through for us. Ebola is a problem, and a potentially severe one. So who does he pick to head up the crisis? A political hack instead of a doctor. He picked an administrator, you drooling retard; someone who has experience in managing people and logistics, which is exactly what this situation needs. The Ebola Czar is not being put in place to cure ebola. He is being put in place to coordinate the response to the spread of ebola. There is no shortage of understanding about how the virus spreads. Doctors know this stuff, and they also understand the precautions that need to be put in place in individual situations in order to prevent transmission. But the most knowledgeable ebola specialist in the world might have little or no experience in setting up the type of coordinated approach that this situation requires. A doctor’s focus is medicine, and while some doctors do have considerable administrative and management experience, that’s not generally their main focus. As long as the administrator in question is willing to listen to the medical experts, and to base his decisions on the best medical knowledge available, then it’s completely reasonable to have a non-medical person oversee this problem. As for Bush’s AIDS czars, the criticism of one of them, Randall Tobias, came NOT because he wasn’t a doctor but because, in a position where he was charged with arresting the spread of AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, he specifically ignored the consensus of the medical community and de-emphasized condoms in favor of abstinence. Doctors who worked in AIDS prevention had made clear that the promotion of condom use was the best way to address the problem and that, while abstinence works, it simply isn’t a realistic public health goal. So Tobias did precisely what a czar isn’t supposed to do: ignore the information provided by the scientific experts and substitute his own ideological preferences. And, for good measure, after all of his moral posturing about abstinence and faithfulness, he end up resigning after admitting to using the services of a Washington, DC, escort agency. I should note, by the way, that i think the whole response to ebola within the United States is media-hyped over-reaction. By all means do everything possible to contain it and prevent deaths in West Africa, and take appropriate precautions to stop possibly-exposed people from traveling, but the hysteria some people are exhibiting here in America is stupid. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2533 "2014-10-17T18:13:19Z")
I guess Obama should have taken a page out of GWB’s book and appointed a guy who was the commissioner for an Arabian horse association ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2534 "2014-10-17T18:29:02Z")
I don’t understand why they didn’t pick someone who has ebola. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2535 "2014-10-17T18:37:46Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I guess Obama should have taken a page out of GWB’s book and appointed a guy who was the commissioner for an Arabian horse association > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I don’t understand why they didn’t pick someone who has ebola. I’m pretty sure you can get ebola from sweaty horses. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2536 "2014-10-17T18:52:25Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > GWB appointed three AIDS czars. Guess how many were physicians? > > > [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > > > Four. Wait, are you saying that GWB appointed four AIDS czars, or are you saying that of the three AIDS czars GWB appointed, four of them were physicians? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2537 "2014-10-17T18:58:14Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wait, are you saying that GWB appointed four AIDS czars, or are you saying that of the three AIDS czars GWB appointed, four of them were physicians? I think it was the third option. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2538 "2014-10-17T19:25:35Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, this one takes the cake. Every time I think Obama can’t do anything more stupid than he already has, he comes through for us. Ebola is a problem, and a potentially severe one. So who does he pick to head up the crisis? A political hack instead of a doctor. If you’re this stupid in real life, I’d be surprised if you can hold a job that doesn’t require tools with long handles. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2539 "2014-10-17T19:25:35Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Well, this one takes the cake. Every time I think Obama can’t do anything more stupid than he already has, he comes through for us. Ebola is a problem, and a potentially severe one. So who does he pick to head up the crisis? A political hack instead of a doctor. Which wouldn’t have needed to happen had your lot not torpedoed his Surgeon General. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086/2540 "2014-10-17T19:39:43Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’m pretty sure you can get ebola from sweaty horses. :eek: Even if you wore protection? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=126) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-liberal-idea-of-the-day/579086.md?page=128)