President Obama’s recent invocation of executive privilege in the “fast and furious” dust-up on Capitol hill has some conservatives trotting out their Nixon metaphors.
The President is lawless. He has contempt for congressional oversight, for transparency. And more.
But all this gives him too much credit. Mr. Obama is not Nixonian in his behavior. He’s not even Jimmy Carter-like in his failings.
He’s more like “South Park’s” Eric Cartman.
Consider…on the same day the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Arizona immigration case, the ill-named Department of Homeland Security informed Arizona officials that it was further reducing its immigration enforcement efforts in the state. It could have been a huge coincidence. Long planned cutbacks, and whatnot. Except Arizona is the only state facing such reductions, so there’s more petulance here than anything else. It’s best summed-up this way:
Or what about the demands the President’s lawyer has made of groups like Crossroads GPS to disclose its donors…a theme picked up by House Democrats, who are demanding the NFIB disclose it’s donors? Both have opposed the President on political and policy grounds — the NFIB in particular as a party to the health care lawsuit that will be decided this Thursday.
That could give rise to dark talk of Nixonian enemies lists, but it seems more like a case of the President demanding people “respect his authoritah“…which seems to include the power to over-ride credit card security measures that would verify his own donors.
And like Cartman, Mr. Obama’s “friends” aren’t afraid to call him out. Old Clinton hands like Lanny Davis say he’s a bungler. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has become the President’s “antagonist.” And let’s not forget Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who’s candid critique of the President’s Bain Capital attacks landed him on the naughty list.
Sounds a bit like Stan, Kyle and Kenny.
If it’s true, then, that the President is like South Park’s most annoying child, then perhaps we should emulate Mrs. Cartman’s approach to showing him who’s boss:
