# Sununu: The President is "lazy" and "not that bright." Who believes this? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 4, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728 "2012-10-04T18:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [October 4, 2012, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/21 "2012-10-04T21:00:47Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Obama is far from stupid. His problem is a deeply ingrained socialist (small “s”) ideology. He cannot entertain that a good solution to a problem exists that falls outside his word view. A contention which you will now back up with numerous facts… ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/22 "2012-10-04T21:42:50Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Obama is far from stupid. His problem is a deeply ingrained socialist (small “s”) ideology. He cannot entertain that a good solution to a problem exists that falls outside his word view. Then I take back what I said above. Obama’s greatest weakness is his failure to live up to his ideological beliefs. Look at him - he’s been in office for four years and he’s done nothing to advance socialism in that time. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/23 "2012-10-04T21:43:56Z")
[Why Obama is the Least Efficient Anti-Christ Ever](http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/why-obama-least-efficient-antichrist-ever/) > [@](#): > > But even knowing that he couldn’t accomplish everything, it was like Obama wasn’t even trying at any of his duties as the ruler of hell on Earth. When he should have been breaking his covenant with seven nations and declaring himself God within their temples, instead he bought a dog. When he was supposed to be searing his mark into the hands and foreheads of his worshipers and executing anyone who refused the brand, he was off singing Al Green songs at the Apollo. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/24 "2012-10-04T22:59:41Z")
Who cares what Sununu has to say? He’s a washed-up has-been, a charisma-challenged, jowly-face moron who knows he will only get attention if he makes such repulsive statements as he just did about Obama. So I ask again, who cares what he thinks? ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/25 "2012-10-04T23:06:55Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Who cares what Sununu has to say? He’s a washed-up has-been, a charisma-challenged, jowly-face moron who knows he will only get attention if he makes such repulsive statements as he just did about Obama. So I ask again, who cares what he thinks? Because unless I’ve been horribly mistaken all this time, he’s an official representative of a major Presidential candidate? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/26 "2012-10-05T00:20:08Z")
**John** Sununu? GHWB’s one-time Chief of Staff? When I read the thread title, I figured this was a zombie from 2004. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/27 "2012-10-05T00:22:32Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Obama is far from stupid. That’s a very generous thing for you to say about President Obama. I’d like to say the same thing about you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/28 "2012-10-05T01:33:54Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Obama is far from stupid. His problem is a deeply ingrained socialist (small “s”) ideology. He cannot entertain that a good solution to a problem exists that falls outside his word view. Yeah…That’s why the central pillar of his health care overhaul is an idea from Heritage Foundation from about 20 years ago. Those damn socialists! I think what you are suffering from is a problem known as “projection”. (Look it up.) Conservatives have gone so far down the road of elevating ideology over science, fact, and evidence that they have trouble understanding those who don’t. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/29 "2012-10-05T02:12:24Z")
I can’t stand Obama but he’s definitely not lazy. You can’t be lazy and run for President, willingly going through month after month of sleep deprivation, handlers, watching every damn word you say and kissing babies in 50 states. He’s also not stupid. He managed to get himself elected President out of nowhere on no record and still has half the country eating out of the palm of his hand after 4 years of more failure than success. And he’s been married 20 years to the same woman and they appear to actually have a real marriage and still love each other. He did \*something \*smart along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/30 "2012-10-05T02:13:19Z")
At least Sununu didn’t call Obama “uppity”. Yet. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/31 "2012-10-05T02:37:56Z")
“The President likes loose shoes, tight pussy and a warm place to shit.” ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/32 "2012-10-05T02:42:07Z")
Interesting how quickly you guys are to assert racism. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/33 "2012-10-05T02:48:59Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Interesting how quickly you guys are to assert racism. It’s not as interesting how quickly your guys are to spew it and then deny it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/34 "2012-10-05T02:50:38Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Interesting how quickly you guys are to assert racism. Yeah, it’s just a coincidence, when [Newt Gingrich speculates](http://nation.foxnews.com/newt-gingrich/2012/09/26/gingrich-obamas-part-timer-not-real-president) that Obama has rhythm, needs a lot of sleep, and likes to play basketball. ---
**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 5, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/35 "2012-10-05T03:24:03Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Interesting how quickly you guys are to assert racism. Interesting how hard you pretend it’s not there. ---
**Author:** ![Enkel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/df705f/32.png) [@Enkel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enkel)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/36 "2012-10-05T04:03:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But by pointing it out, the Republicans risk an anti-racist backlash of people voting for Obama to distance themselves from accusations of racism. Didn’t Will just point this out as some sort of fear of firing a black guy? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/37 "2012-10-05T04:33:10Z")
> [@badger5149](#): > > The type of investments and size of investments he made into green energy would lead any sane person to question his logic. [Not the way you seem to think, it wouldn’t.](http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/04/politics/fact-check-green-energy/index.html) > [@](#): > > **The facts:** > > The Department of Energy proudly touts that the 2009 stimulus authorized $90 billion “in government investments and tax incentives to lay the foundation for the clean energy economy of our future.” > > But not all that money has been spent, and not all of it – in fact, not even half of it – is being directed to upstart green businesses. > > Part of 2009’s much larger $787 billion stimulus package, this money went toward things like the weatherization of more than 770,000 homes and cleaning 688 square miles of land formerly used for Cold War-era nuclear testing. > > Many individual companies did benefit directly. The government website that tracks stimulus spending lists 27,226 individual awards under the “Energy/Environment” section, totaling just shy of $34 billion. > > The Department of Energy this June specified “33 clean energy projects” of a larger scale as part of its “loans program.” Of those, financing had been “closed” on 20 of them. The intent was to promote new technologies and approaches, not necessarily old ones. > > There are also other things such as high speed rail and smart meters – which are listed elsewhere, under “Infrastructure,” as part of the same overarching stimulus legislation. Accounting for things like that, a report from the Brookings Institution non-partisan think tank this April tabbed the total green stimulus spending at $51 billion. > > Then, there’s the matter of whether half of those companies that have gotten money “have gone out of business.” > > A few recipients of the government funds have hit hard times. The most well-known of them is solar panel maker Solyndra, which received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. Two years later, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. > > Still, it is unclear where Romney got his figure that “half” those businesses are no longer operating. > > The Energy Department cites several success stories like one of the world’s largest wind farms in eastern Oregon, massive solar power plants in Arizona and grants to Ford to produce fuel-efficient cars. > > In fact, of the 28 funded projects – involving 23 companies – listed in a 2012 congressional report, only four involve businesses that were either sold or are not in operation. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/38 "2012-10-05T04:34:34Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Obama is far from stupid. His problem is a deeply ingrained socialist (small “s”) ideology. He cannot entertain that a good solution to a problem exists that falls outside his word view. He’s about as much a socialist as you are, more’s the pity. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/39 "2012-10-05T04:45:46Z")
> [@Enkel](#): > > Didn’t Will just point this out as some sort of fear of firing a black guy? I don’t know. I haven’t read the George Will column people are referring to. But I think race could be an unexpected issue in this election. I think there may have been some voters who voted for Obama in 2008 in order to prove that they weren’t prejudiced and that America could elect a black president. But in 2012, it’s going to be “been there done that”. Having proven we can elect a black president, there’s no milestone involved in re-electing a black president. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728/40 "2012-10-05T13:12:03Z")
I don’t necessarily agree there’s racism afoot. (Surprise, surprise, eh?) It’s obviously absurd to say Obama is either “not bright” or lazy. I may have a bias towards the study of law, but I think any fair-minded person understands that you cannot attend a top tier law school, and make Law Review, and be anything other than very bright. Similarly, you can’t be lazy and win the Presidency, at least not in the modern era. If you could, Fred Thompson would have made it to the White House. But I think it is possible to describe someone as lazy and not mean to describe their general disposition, but rather a specific time. My wife may hint darkly at my laziness, but she doesn’t think I’m a lazy person as a rule… just that there’s mulch in bags to be spread but also football on TV, and I’m making the wrong choice. In other words, if Obama chose not to prep hard for this debate, someone might say that was “lazy” without meaning Obama’s entire life reeked of indolence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sununu-the-president-is-lazy-and-not-that-bright-who-believes-this/636728.md?page=3)