Who thinks they have all the answers without knowing the question or the facts?

Wouldn’t it be just wonderful to have all the answers without really knowing the questions or the facts before hand?  It appears the we now have a replacement for the Great Karnak.  Okay, for those of you, including my kids, that didn’t grow up with this hilarious Johnny Carson character, I’ve included a youtube below so you can get the drift of the rest of this post.  For those of you that remember him, I’ve included the youtube below so you can get all nice and nostalgic and hopefully, be very afraid.

So, here’s my shot at the schtick.

The answer is:  the Great Obama.

And the question in the envelope?  Who thinks they have all the answers before knowing the facts or even the question?

I just made my post dinner, wine-thirty, rounds of favorite blogs.  No Quarter is always high on my list.  I did this right after speaking to my dad who lives in Seattle and is a true-red Republican, fox-watching, member of the greatest generation kinda guy.  Maybe it was because we were just talking about my evolving attitude towards Fox News, but we were discussing Britt Hume’s coming retirement, media bias, and the election.

My dad insists that Obama has some kind of personality disorder that is causing him to think that he is already elected president.

So, this interview was posted at No Quarter.  I started synthesizing all of these discussions into a more coherent framework since this is one of the occupational hazards of being a social scientist.

Does Obama really think it’s just a matter of waiting out a few inconvenient months?  Has he become the Great Carnak or is he exhibiting some kind of personality disorder?

Here’s the interview that got me thinking that maybe my Dad wasn’t all that off base.

The Answer is:  The Great OBAMA.

And the question in the envelope?  Who thinks he’s already elected president AND knows all the answers to the questions that reporters may ask and concerns that generals may have.

Transcript . Barack Obama ABC Interview . July 21, 2008

ABC’s Terry Moran: “And then we sat down with [Barack Obama] to talk about what has become an open disagreement between military commanders here and Obama, over his plan to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq on a 16-month timetable. Did General Petraeus talk about military concerns about your timetable?”

Barack Obama: “You know, I would characterize the concerns differently. I don’t think that they’re deep concerns about the notion of a pullout per se. There are deep concerns about, from their perspective, a timetable that doesn’t take into account what they anticipate might be some sort of changing conditions. And this is what I mean when I say we play different roles. My job is to think about the national security interests as a whole, and to have to weigh and balance risks, in Afghanistan, in Iraq. Their job is just to get the job done here. And I completely understand that.”

Moran: “But the difference is real. Commanders here want withdrawals to be based on conditions on the ground. Obama emphasizes his timetable, but he insists he would remain flexible. I’m going to try to pin you down on this.”

Obama: “Here let me say this, though, Terry, because, you know, what I will refuse to do, and I think that, you know “

Moran: “How do you know what I’m going to ask?”

Obama: “Well, then if I don’t get it right, then you can ask it again.”

Moran: “All right.”

Obama: “Is to get boxed in into what I consider two false choices, which is either I have a rigid timeline of such and such a date, come hell or high water, we’ve gotten our combat troops out, and I am blind to anything that happens in the intervening six months or 16 months. Or, alternatively, I am completely deferring to whatever the commanders on the ground says, which is what George Bush says he’s doing, in which case I’m not doing my job as commander-in-chief.”

There are two things I jumped on immediately.  One is that Obama presumed to know what the Reporter was going to ask.  The second is the all-telling “I’m not doing my job as commander-in-chief.”

My first instinct, was to think, this guy really does think he’s already got the presidency in the bag.  I thought the seal was over-the-top.  I really thought the entourage to Europe and the Middle East was a bit staged.  The acceptance speech in the stadium is outrageous!  The speech by the Brandenburg gate was trying to channel the Kennedy vibe.  Michelle’s even been known to deck herself out like Jackie.  But, sheesh, I’m beginning to gather enough evidence that I really think he MUST think he has this in the bag.  He’s already president in his mind.  It’s a done deal, in his mind.  He even thinks he knows what other folks want and are going to ask now.  I think that it’s gone beyond just staging Obama to look presidential and Kennedyesque.

The Answer is: The Great Obama

And the Question in the Envelope:  Who believes his own hype beyond the point representing sanity and the safety of our country?

UPDATE:  I guess even the candidate’s advisors think he’s already president too!

At a morning background briefing, reporters parried with senior advisers on the characterization of Obama’s speech Thursday in Berlin as a campaign rally. The outdoor speech at the Victory Column could draw thousands of people, similar to the size of Obama events in the United States.

“It is not going to be a political speech,” said a senior foreign policy adviser, who spoke to reporters on background. “When the president of the United States goes and gives a speech, it is not a political speech or a political rally.

“But he is not president of the United States,” a reporter reminded the adviser.

“He is going to talk about the issues as an individual … not as a candidate, but as an individual, as a senator,” the adviser added.

SOURCE:  http://dyn.politico.com/members/forums/thread.cfm?catid=1&subcatid=2&threadid=1059249