Relevant portion starts at 2:10.
This beatdown Obama gave Mitt Romney was outstanding:
BLITZER: Already, some of his surrogates, some of his supporters, are suggesting you’re not ready to be commander in chief, president of the United States.
Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said this. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: He has not accomplished anything during his life, in terms of legislation, or leading an enterprise, or making a business work or a city work or a state work. He really has very little experience. And the presidency of the United States is not an internship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Wow. That’s a strong statement.
OBAMA: Yes.
Well, the contest didn’t work out so well for Mitt Romney. I think he was making those same arguments against John McCain, suggesting that John McCain, as a senator, hadn’t done what Mitt Romney had done. And, yet, here we are, and there Mitt Romney is.
Mitt who? Didn’t he run for something and lose?
I love it.
Ugh
Mittens!
Kevin K.
I saw that yesterday. It was brilliant. The transcript doesn’t do it justice. It’s even better when you watch it (after the 2:00 mark) and see Obama casually laugh off the Romney clip before sticking the knife in.
Jake
You have to get the video. Obama handled this so easily, it was embarrassing.
Mitt’s such a tool.
Who
Willard! His daddy marched with MLK, so he said. Sadly (for him), Willard is no longer in the running. What’s he up to these days? Who cares.
4tehlulz
MCCAIN/ROMNEY ’08
Zifnab
BURN!
Yeah, its always fun watching the empty suit get a few holes punched in it. That guy really, really wants to be President. Or at least a Dick Cheney-esque VP.
Jake
I think this image pretty much sums up Romney’s candidacy:
nightjar
Mittster V. Obama
One, two, three, four,…
Mittster
No mas, no mas.
laneman
Oh. My. Gawd.
That, as Jake notes, is a true epic FAIL.
Krista
Yeowch. How you liking them sour grapes, Mittens?
Winghunter
I guess it takes one pandering empty suit to know another…yet, those capable of their own governance see both of them for who they are.
Obama had nothing to offer in response to such a true observation of Obama’s obvious inability to lead anyone. Obama’s only choice was to respond with a meaningless attack.
Barack Hussein Obama
http://bhobama.blogspot.com/
Wake up folks, we have freedom to maintain, not surrender.
Birdzilla
The demacrooks answer for every problem TAX and SPEND and and MORE WORTHLESS REGULATIONS and BURACRACY
4tehlulz
And SPELL CHECK. Don’t forget the socialist SPELL CHECK.
ThymeZone
Yes, the body language tells the tale. It says, “Blitzer, what a fucking idiot you are. If Romney’s little taunt is all they have today, I should start writing my inauguration speech.”
Cain
Ya know, here’s what I’m thinking.. after Obama starts bitch slapping McCain in the debates, in the ads, on tv, in interviews, whatever those Hillary lovers are gonna come back. I don’t know how you can stay mad when someone is trouncing the shit out of the opposition.
One nice thing about this is that Obama is very aware of party, he’s very careful about not pissing out the democratic voters and not attacking Hillary. But the gloves are off for McCain and his surrogates. He will pnwed them! I look forward to having a big fucking smile on my face for the next couple of months watching this contest.
Fuck you, republican party!
cain
JubJub
Good stuff. Here’s my dream scenario for Obama’s next visit with Wolf:
“Obama: It’s good to be here, Wolf. I just want to say one thing first–it’s a quick point, but it’s important. Not too long ago you guys put up a graph of the candidates and how much income they had reported on their taxes. You had Hillary and Bill with their 20 million or so, and you had Michelle and me and some other figures as well. Then you had John McCain, with apparently whatever change he had in his pockets at the time. It was misleading, because his wife Cindy, who is reportedly worth over 100 million dollars, has been responsible for a good deal of John McCain’s income–so much even that she lets him do things like use her private jet at a discounted rate to fly around in.
Now transparency in government is a value Americans hold dearly Wolf, and it’s a value the Republicans had in 2004–along with a significant amount of the media–when they all demanded Theresa Heinz Kerry release her private returns back then. The same standard applies here. I’m trying to run a campaign that lets the American people know this smoke and mirrors game that the McCains are playing is dishonest, and I’d like to say now that Cindy McCain must do what candidates’ families have all done: release her tax returns and let this country have the same information about John McCain that it does about me, and that it has about the President, the former President, and the John Kerry in 2004. And when she realizes she’s impeding the Democratic process and reveals this information, I’d like you to update that graph. Sound fair?”
I’d like to make the end game for this clear: the sooner Obama makes it clear that John McCain is being dishonest about his financial situation, the sooner he makes inroads into character, elitism, and government transparency. The precedent for this is so obvious that it’s an issue that no one would argue is fair. If McCain tries to claim that he’s different and above having this common information shared, Obama can tie him to Bush YET AGAIN by saying “He would be another President who wants to keep public information private and says he is above the rules.”
The Commander Guy
I have a feeling that we’ll have Mittens to kick around again. Maybe not in 08 as a VP candidate, but soon.
The guy is a serious douchebag.
joe
Man, if this guy was a Lutheran, we’d be looking at Obama kicking his smug hiney by 18-20 points in November.
ThymeZone
Romney:
Sure, the kid has a jump shot, those people are very athletic.
But has he been inside the temple, or built an Olympics?
4tehlulz
K-Lo pimps Mittens for Veep.
jake
Waaah! Obama is making an issue of Mittens’ loserness!
/Mittens Fan Club – K-Load, Pres, Sec. Treas.
Josh E.
Cold blooded.
Chris Johnson
I’m glad it’s still in character for Obama. I mean, it was an innocent enough remark, isn’t name calling or anything, and yet it’s relentlessly honest and in this case, the honesty works against Mitt because he’s fronting.
What I’d like to continue to see in Obama is that, unlike some of us his supporters, he is NOT all “yah, fuck you Republican electorate and the shitty leaders you handed us!”. He’s gonna take the adult angle, not put up with nonsense but he’s gonna remember that the people who are voting for nonsense are still entitled to representation- you TEACH them, you don’t round them up and shoot them, or throw them all in jail.
Remembering this helps Obama avoid making remarks that are too polarizing. He’s seemingly the last guy to write off anybody no matter how idiotic they’re acting, and we’ve had so little of that. For years it’s been all about who’s going to be kicked to the curb, written off, it’s winner take all and the loser gets hosed, and that isn’t a workable society on any level, economic, media or societal.
It’s fine that Obama can dismiss idiocy with a few telling remarks. Keep it up. I just don’t want to see venom out of him, I don’t want to see contempt or scorn no matter how bad his opposition is. It’s not necessary.
Chris Johnson
I guess I’m saying- and I hope he sees this advice somehow- Barack, don’t get sucked in by our confrontationalism. Just because your fans are frantic for you to defeat your opposition does not mean you should start reacting like a WWF wrestler. Transcend US now plz kthx.
Remember the job you’re applying for is to represent ALL the people, even though it’s not possible to obey all of them at once or even take direction from all of them at once. You can’t simply be the puppet of the electorate, so ignore the stupid ideas and do the right thing, but you are still working for the people you disagree with.
grandpajohn
Perhaps as someone who has been around for a while and has observed a hell of lot of stupidity during my years I shouldn’t be dumbfounded but I am. After listening to speechs and interviews such as this one How in the hell can any sane reasonably intelligent member of the lower and middle classes in america even think about voting for McSame and yet I know people who are being hurt by the results of the last 8 years, who will go to the polls and vote for more of the same.
Age has finally given me the perspective to realize that we will never be able to eliminate stupidity
brendancalling
winghunter:
Obama had nothing to offer in response to such a true observation of Obama’s obvious inability to lead anyone.
Yeah, other than winning his Party’s nomination for president through superior organizing and fundraising, no not much of a leader at all I guess.
You run along and play now, honey, the grownups are talking.
abiodun
Birdzilla:
“tax and spend” -check
“regulation”-check
“buracracy”-at least use spell-check
The electorate may have finally figured out that the repub. party is devoid of ideas, but empty rhetoric(while engaging in illicit and bathroom sex, and fathering children out of wedlock).
But maybe your “southern strategy” will pay off big time this time.
ThymeZone
Don’t mess with our BIRDZILLA.
nightjar
Fixt to honor the great BIRDZILLA.
TrueBlueMajority
this particular smackdown was even more satisfying considering that Mittens is still the favorite to be VP.
bring. it. on.
Dave_Violence
Did someone say “mittens”?
http://hometown.aol.com/mrhcihf/discography.html?f=fs
caleb
Shorter Obama:
“Hey Mittens?
…
Scoreboard.”
daniel rotter
“Obama’s only choice was to respond with a meaningless attack”.
Actually, it was Obama who was responding to a meaningless attack … and his response was fairly mild.
JohnTh
And Winghunter needs to keep listening for longer than 10 seconds. Obama opens with the quip (and it a good ‘un!) but then sort-of answers the question by saying that it’s the nature of the Presidency that the key quality needed is judgement rather than experience, and lists several examples of his sound judgement, all foreign policy-based.