Cruz is probably best known for the recent government shutdown, the result of a particularly ill-conceived, unrealistic attempt to derail Obamacare. Did he really think that popular sentiment would be won when the media was inevitably going to blame the Republicans for the shutdown?
Obamacare has been a disaster in both conceptualization and execution thus far, but defeating it in the long run will require more adroit tactics. Cruz gives off the air of someone so narcissistic as to be unrealistic about what he can and cannot accomplish.
Barack Obama's self-satisfied look also reflects his personality.
Obama and Cruz may not have much in common politically, but they do seem to have a certain similarity of character.
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Agreed!
Almost makes me think of the song title "Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right..."
This is one of the things I absolutely hate and loathe about the modern media, John.
If I turned the cameras on you 24/7/365 they way they are on Obama, I could make you look like a saint, or a sinner or even a faggot. And that without even getting into photoshop or even more advanced trickery. The camera may not lie - but the monkey running it certainly may.
The repubs played this exactly right, IMHO. They are playing for the long game. In 2016 everyone will have been paying through the nose for Obamacare and they will be pissed right off with it. The republican election ads will be running photos like yours of Obama smirking like a prick alongside pictures of elderly WW2 vets being turned away from memorials to their fallen brothers in arms. The narrator will tell us that the repubs 'tried to stop Obama and stand up for America several times - hey, remember when we shut the gov't down...? Don't make the same mistakes with the Donks again, Americans!!!' In otherwords, all they have to do is play out the rope, make the right noises - and the Donks will hang themselves - with a little help from the cameras.
Glen --
You make a good point, there is a lot more editing that goes on with photographs than is generally recognized. And I certainly wouldn't put it past the mainstream media to do this sort of thing constantly. But if it were just one picture, I wouldn't draw any conclusions from it; but I've seen a lot of pictures of Cruz -- and Obama -- looking just awfully pleased with themselves. But no question, you're right about selectively using photos; I do it myself all the time.
I wish I could be as optimistic as you about 2016; I'd thought that Romney was going to win in 2012. The problem is, as the demographics of our country change, the likelihood of a Republican President being elected become increasingly slim. I sure hope you're right though.
Bending over to the enemy is never part of a winning longmarch strategy. By Nov 2016, the system will have been live for 3 years, and there's no way in hell it will get shut down cold-turkey, like they could have done here. The dems will simply pull out their Kryptonite -- i.e., a half-dozen sob stories from AIDS/cancer/diabetes patients -- and the repubs will simply shrink away from the fight. Instead, we'll get 537 "what we really need to do" proposals to pick from.
Also, they will never present any half-negative image of the Chocolate Caliphate, because that would seem racist, and possibly cost them the "family-values, church-going, naturally-conservative black vote" they so desperately covet. The demographic tipping point that John mentioned was also dumped on us by the republicans. If these traitorous fools are playing the long game, it's not us they expect to win.
Anon --
That's an excellent analysis, and your predicted scenario for 2016, unfortunately, rings all too true.
John--I have to admit, this guy does have a weird look. Sort of like a condescending attitude toward the world. Narcissistic perhaps. Good observation. Brian
Thank you Brian.
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