Quick Roundup 535

Obama Glimpses Self, Lashes Out

In the face of a heckler Tuesday night, Barack Obama demonstrated a very thin skin by dropping everything to make a direct response:

"I hate to say this, but ... if he wants to demonstrate, buy a ticket to a guy who doesn't support his point of view, and then you can yell as much as you want there," Obama said. Williams' group interrupted another Obama speech earlier this year, in Los Angeles.

Obama told Williams to "read the newspapers." "He said do it faster," the president said. "It's like, come on, man, I'm dealing with Congress here. It takes a little bit of time."

Notice Obama, consistent with his usual antipathy for freedom of speech -- and yet also understandably (for the moment) annoyed about being interrupted -- reacting by counseling the heckler ... to interrupt a speaker who disagrees with him instead.

And notice his plea that working with Congress is difficult -- as if the jobs of the physicians and CEOs he constantly orders around aren't, such that his kibitzing is actually hard work or will handle their jobs better than anything they they might come up with.

This heckler got to him, possibly twice. Why?

Perhaps, for a moment, Barack Obama was made to look into a mirror, psychologically speaking, while off-guard. And perhaps, seeing himself as he actually is for an instant, rather than as he pretends to himself to be, he didn't like what he saw.

Very interesting. Too bad the President's opponents are so busy running away from the very principles they need to oppose him effectively that they will squander the opportunity such a weak opponent presents.

But then, the fact that this guy is President in the first place speaks volumes about them.

I will note that, aside from my psychological speculation, Obama's response demonstrates a fundamental failure to grasp the role of communication in a free society that we have seen before.

I, Also

LB reminds me that I've been missing out on Objectivist Roundups lately. She links to the last three.

Stephen Green Fumbles at the Goal Line

I started out pleasantly surprised to hear "Vodkapundit" make the following point regarding "states rights: "Individuals have rights; governments have powers."

Unfortunately, his implication that the state giveth rights, and the state taketh them away is no way to defend individual rights, which the state can only violate, fail to protect, or recognize and protect.

The below is an excerpt from a George Will column that Green expresses agreement with:

The simple fact is that in 1964, we, as a nation, repealed one widely-exercised right -- the right of private property owners to serve on public accommodations whom they want -- and replaced it with another right, that is the right of the entire American public to use public accommodations.

In the end, Green does more harm than good, conceding as he does the moral and political premises of those who would have the government violate our inalienable rights.

New Mexico Sits Out

Sylvia Bokor calls for the head of her state's Attorney General in the Albuquerque Journal:

The petitions were presented to the attorney general during the May 12 meeting. Then the case against the health care law was made: It violates individual rights. It forces Americans to buy a product. It violates the First, Fourth and Tenth amendments. It is replete with "mandates" that increase near-total control of American lives. It interferes in the relationship between doctor and patient. It will cause a decrease in medical practitioners, research, innovation and quality of medical service.

In response, the attorney general stated that other than the anger of New Mexicans against the health care law, he was not sure why the petition committee was asking him to file suit; he did not know what the petition committee wanted; he did not know why they had asked for this meeting.Bokor calls for Gary King to be replaced.

This is the first time I have found myself able to agree with the word, "replace" in the context of the recent passage of ObamaCare.

Goalkeeper Scores

I'm eagerly anticipating the start of the 2010 World Cup in June and have been following the American and English national teams as they prepare for the first round.

In the course of catching up on news for the American side, I came across the above amusing video of its former goalkeeper, Brad Friedel, scoring a late-game equalizer during a professional match.

-- CAV