Is Obama Dumb Or Clueless?

I can't decide.

First, the case for dumb:

Remember President Monkeybush (see also "Bush-Monkey")? He was the 43rd president of the United States. He was a guy liberals didn't like for lotsa reasons they were always eager to tell you about. One was his "cowboy diplomacy," which ticked off countless valued allies of the U.S.

But Bush-Monkey's most egregious offense was stupidity. "The man is dumber than dirt," more than one learned liberal opined. Bush was so dumb, in fact, that a poster of "Bushisms," examples of his mangling of the English language, was published.

Why this guy was soooo stupid that not once but twice did he insult the leader of his own party by resorting to the same insulting figure of speech about the state the man hails from to exemplify wanton spending.

Oh, wait a minute. It wasn't Bush-Monkey who did that. It was Obama. . .  Monkey? Last year, when he was trying to impress upon voters how reckless was the behavior of those money-grubbing, bonus-grabbing fat cats who spend other people's money like — well, like Obama since taking the oath of office — he said, "You can't get on corporate jets, you can't go take a trip to Las Vegas or go down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayer's dime."

The dig at Las Vegas was not lost on the Senate Majority Leader, a Nevadan. Nor was it lost on Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman or Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons, both of whom were insulted by Obama's comment.

Look, the comment was unfortunate. There are a bajillion metaphors in English for spending money recklessly. And not all of them (viz., drunken sailor) need be offensive. For example, "spending like there's no tomorrow" or "spending like it's going out of style."

So which of those alternative locutions did Obama select for a speech last Tuesday in Nashua, N.H., in which he was trying to emphasize the dangers of uncontrolled spending? None. What he said instead was, "You don't blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you're trying to save for college." [Emphasis added]

This time Mayor Oscar Goodman wasn't merely insulted. He was livid. According to the AP, he said that Obama is no friend to Las Vegas and would not be welcome in the city if he visits. "I'll do everything I can to give him the boot," Goodman said. "This president is a real slow learner."

Now, the case for clueless:

This exchange between Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) and Barack Obama reflects just how clueless Obama is about the mood in this country and the damage his ideological intransigence is doing to his own party. As reported by The Hill:

She also took a swipe at Obama's White House, referencing a constituent who "fears that there's no one in your administration that understands what it means to go to work on Monday and make a payroll on Friday." ....

Obama responded by defending steps his administration has taken to right the economy and said "Moving forward, Blanche, what you're going to hear from some folks...[is that] the only way to provide stability is to go back and do what we did before the crisis."

The president reiterated that he would not return to past policies.

"If the price of certainty is for us to adopt the exact same proposals that were in place for eight years leading up to the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression...the result is going to be the same."

But Obama conceded that "Blanche is right that we sometimes get bogged down in ideology."

Getting stuck in ideology while warning of the risk of getting stuck in ideology, and failing to recognize the irony. Oh, brother.

And this:

If we don't pass this, he told the assembled Democrats, "I don't know what differentiates us from the other guys."

Continuing to push a wildly unpopular health care bill, which directly led to Democratic defeats in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts, all in an attempt to differentiate yourself? You are succeeding beyond your wildest expectations, Mr. President.

I mean no offense to the clueless.

So, which is it?  Talk amongst yourselves.

There's my two cents.