UPDATED Shields: I’m ‘Nostalgic’ For A ‘Manly Man’ President Who Will ‘Kick Some Tail And Ask Questions Afterwards’
UPDATED Shields: I’m ‘Nostalgic’ For A ‘Manly Man’ President Who Will ‘Kick Some Tail And Ask Questions Afterwards’
UPDATE: Shields contacted ThinkProgress and kindly informed us that his comments below were intended to be sarcastic. We regret our error in misinterpreting his comments and for questioning his motives. Shields told us that his comments were meant to disparage those who consistently argue that more war will solve America’s problems and that his statement was directed at co-panelist and right-wing neoconservative Charles Krauthammer, who, according to Shields, was displeased with the remark. With a deeper appreciation for his wit, we extend our sincere apologies to Mr. Shields.
Since reports emerged last month that top commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley McChrystal asked President Obama for upwards of 40,000 additional troops to continue the war there, the right wing has been attacking the President for taking time to make a decision on his new strategy. “It is absolutely unconscionable,” Liz Cheney said yesterday on Fox News, that Obama “is denying our troops on the ground in Afghanistan the resources that they need to prevail to win that war.”
Also during that time, Obama has made reflective gestures to those who have fallen in the wars he is now running, paying tribute to returning war dead at Dover Air Force Base and making an impromptu visit to Section 60 at Arlington Cemetery on Veterans Day to commemorate Iraq and Afghanistan war casualties. Yesterday on Inside Washington, during a discussion of Obama’s upcoming decision on Afghanistan, syndicated columnist Mark Shields scoffed at Obama’s demeanor, wishing instead for a “manly man” in the White House:
SHIELDS: We have a president of real intellectual horse power who is cool, detached and analytical and if anything you can watch the emotional side of him emerge in this whole process. … There’s an emotional aspect, the comforter in chief as well as the commander in chief. Both roles. And I think it makes me nostalgic for those days when we had a manly man in the White House who could say, “Let’s kick some tail and ask questions afterwards” you know? That’s what we really need instead of any reflection.
Watch it:
Shields’ rhetoric is eerily reminiscent of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman’s justification for the war in Iraq, who in May 2003 argued that after 9/11, the U.S. had to invade in order to “burst” the terrorism bubble:
FRIEDMAN: And what they needed to see was American boys and girls going house to house, from Basra to Baghdad, and basically saying, “Which part of this sentence don’t you understand? You don’t think, you know we care about our open society, you think this bubble fantasy, we’re just gonna to let it grow? Well, Suck on this, okay?” That Charlie is what this war [in Iraq] is about. We could of hit Saudi Arabia, it was part of that bubble. Could of hit Pakistan. We hit Iraq because we could.
Of course Saddam Hussein’s Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and after nearly 4,400 U.S soldiers dead, 32,000 wounded and nearly $1 trillion spent, the U.S. still has well over 100,000 troops stationed in Iraq.
127 Responses to “UPDATED Shields: I’m ‘Nostalgic’ For A ‘Manly Man’ President Who Will ‘Kick Some Tail And Ask Questions Afterwards’”
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Okay, no more “Trick or Treat” candy for the fat kid.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:33 pmYet another pasty, overweighted conservative who equates masculinity with bombing the shit out of a country that doesn’t deserve it.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:34 pmA manly man who sends others to do his fighting and dying. Yeah sure, you’r a manly man!
November 16th, 2009 at 2:35 pmEnn@2, Wow. You beat me to it.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:35 pmShields: I’m ‘Nostalgic’ For A ‘Manly Man’ President Who Will ‘Kick Some Tail And Ask Questions Afterwards’
– - Shields, yet another member of the 101st Chairborne Division, wants Chuck Norris as president.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:36 pmThere is nothing tough about a bully. They are weak and cowardly. The only thing MORE cowardly are the psychophants that suck UP to bullies. This tendency is just sickening and should appal any decent human being
November 16th, 2009 at 2:36 pmYeah, that’s just what our country needs now after 8 years of that exact same thing. Hey Shields, if you want a “manly man” go move in with Dick Cheney and all the souls of the dead who haunt him.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:36 pmWhere was that other manly man, Bush. Oh that’s right, drunkenly avoiding war. Where was the manly man Cheny, oh that’s right getting deferments. Where was the manly man, limpballs. Oh that’s right, he had a boil on his ass. Where was that many man O’Reilly? Where was that manly man, Tancredo, oh that’s right, he got out of fighting by admitting his mental illness.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:40 pmBush was a manly man? I always thought of him as a bully, cowardly and condensending. When he tries to flee the reporters questions in Japan and he made an idiot out of himself when the doors were locked, pretty much told me he was cowardly. The fact he grabbed Andrea Merkel from the back and pracically groped her, told me he was a condensending bully. Manly man? I think not.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:40 pmThe hardest question Shields has to answer each morning is:
Which boot? How much spittle?
What an authorita craving cretin.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:42 pmReally, who let in the guy with the delusion of grandeur and super-imperialism?
As far as I can tell, bullying your opponents will only get you in hotter water. Let’s just try a little cooperation and pacifism for size, hmm?
November 16th, 2009 at 2:43 pm. And I think it makes me nostalgic for those days when we had a manly man in the White House who could say, “Let’s kick some tail and ask questions afterwards” you know? That’s what we really need instead of any reflection.
Spoken like someone who has never had to see his friends die on a field of battle, a true chickenhawk, just like the rest.
RIP
November 16th, 2009 at 2:45 pmSGT Stephen R. Sherman
C CO 1-5 IN (STRYKER)
KIA 3 Feb 2005
Mosul, Iraq
The Bush-vs.-Door bout was in China, not Japan, P.D.
Unless there was a rematch?
November 16th, 2009 at 2:45 pmThat’s what we really need instead of any reflection.
No, what we really need is gutless fat *ssed scum like you and yours getting the beatdown of your life from the families of those who have paid the ultimate price in wars cheered on by your spineless, unaccountable pontificating.
Shields is nothing but another worthless piece of sh*t in a long line of tough guy chickenhawks.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:46 pmThis seems quite out of character for Mark Shields — who is no conservative, by the way. If anything, he may have been expressing some frustration over how long the deliberation as been going on but I don’t think he personally supports the idea of sending another 40,000 troops over there.
In some ways, his wish for a tougher Obama is like mine. The President’s “coolness” and ability to remain unruffled can work against him. Every once in awhile, he does just need to call “bull-sh1t” on something . . . and I have a few ideas about where he could begin :)
November 16th, 2009 at 2:47 pmimpulsive [?m?p?ls?v]
adj
1. characterized by actions based on sudden desires, whims, or inclinations rather than careful thought
2. based on emotional impulses or whims; spontaneous
3. forceful, inciting, or impelling
Now THAT is a real symptom of a real mental disorder, Mr. Shields (and you too, Ms. Coulter).
November 16th, 2009 at 2:48 pmPurple@13, LOL! you are right. All I remeber was that goofy look on his face. When MSM got a hold on the story they pooh-poohed it and said, ‘I could have happened to anyone.’ When I saw it, I thought, ‘What a wimp!’
November 16th, 2009 at 2:48 pm2 Thoughts:
1. Shields makes me nostalgic for those days when we may yet have journalists worth of the name.
2. I can’t help hearing the ditty for the t.v. show, two & 1/2 men: men, men, men, men manly men wu hu hu oh oh…
November 16th, 2009 at 2:49 pmDid Shields explain exactly what our reason is for being in Afghanistan? Bin Laden is long gone, the Taliban -if watched closely- not much danger to us.
So? why are we sending our people and our treasure over there?
You know, even Bruce Willis, John Wayne, Indiana Jones and all the other make-believe Heros do NOT “kick ass first”. They are usually exceedingly provoked.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:49 pmSo in other words, this dufus Shields is longing for the days of GWB?
Wow. I had no idea until now that the words “manly” and “braindead” were interchangeable.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:52 pmWhat happened to Mark Shields?
I don’t think that remark is characteristic of him at all.
WTF??!
We’ve had enough of the “manly man” who was really a chickenhawk, a social oaf, and an illiterate, cowboy-buffoon.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:52 pmI’m with you Tom on MY President needing to get up in somebody’s ass every once in awhile, but we both know as soon as he does the “Angry Black Man” cry will be shouted out from every corner of the country, even his so called “supporters” will all of a sudden “fear” him and call his mental state into question.
RIP
November 16th, 2009 at 2:52 pmSGT Stephen R. Sherman
C CO 1-5 IN (STRYKER)
KIA 3 Feb 2005
Mosul, Iraq
Get over it, fools.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:53 pmSo Bush is a manly – man So swamping spit and doing the tongue drilling with the king of Saudi makes you a manly man.
Being a COWARD makes you a manly man then i rather have the MAN we have now.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:53 pmThe Chineese “Mystery of the Locked Door” episode could only have been made better if Bush had been holding a fake platter of turkey.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:53 pmThis guy fits right into the whole Wolfiwitz, Rummy, Cheney crowd.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:54 pmThese arm chair generals are so loose with the lives of others. How eager would they be if it was required that they have at least one immediate family member on the front lines? I doubt that they would be quite so quick to engage in an endless military conflict which is enriching big business, which happens to support the GOP.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:54 pmYehbut Chucky Norris got his azz whupped by Bruce Lee
November 16th, 2009 at 2:55 pmI agree, ToF. The “angry black man” thing is a huge limiting factor for him and I suspect that’s why he shies away from it.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:56 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Mark ’shields’ himself from reality.
Pat Tillman was a ‘manly man’, Mr. Shields. Look where it got him.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:57 pmNew Rule: If you didn’t serve but could have, you have no reason to comment on military matters.
SW@27, I think these guys really believe they are the ‘Masters of the Universe.’ They believe they are above common men. You see it in the whole ‘C-Street’ mentality. The fact Liz Cheney is trying to jockey her father Dick into the 2012 Presidential bid is nothing less then astonishing. These people all have one thing in common, they lack empathy.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:58 pmI watched Inside Washington over the weekend. Mark Shields was being sarcastic.
November 16th, 2009 at 2:59 pmSlappyBeggerino
Shields has NEVER been far left. My GOD you are stupid. It doesnt matter how much you beg. There is no pity for you here. You are like a crackwhore except without the dignity or self respect
November 16th, 2009 at 2:59 pmIf “kicking some tail and asking questions later” is the characteristic which defines a “manly-man” and is the quality to aspire to, wouldn’t Saddam Hussein’s actions in his northern providences qualify?
November 16th, 2009 at 2:59 pmSHIELDS: There’s an emotional aspect, the comforter in chief as well as the commander in chief.
Why is it always the children crying the loudest about a “Democrat Nanny State” are the Authoritarians needing a daddy figure to lead them?
November 16th, 2009 at 2:59 pmPLC
Bang, ZOOM, that ones outta here
November 16th, 2009 at 3:01 pmepsom_salt says:
————————————————————–
I watched Inside Washington over the weekend. Mark Shields was being sarcastic.
========================================
Thanks for clarifying that. I am sure that David Brooks wouldn’t be so silly as to make a statement like that after eight years of the Bush Crime Family.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:01 pmI’ve been wondering about the “C-Street” philosophy. Apparently they tell their marks that “God wants them to be powerful politicians”; therefore they can do anything they want, no matter how wrong because god is on their side.
But what about the Progressive powerful politicians? What about President Obama? Obviously, god must have meant them to be powerful too.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:02 pmepsom_salt says: I watched Inside Washington over the weekend. Mark Shields was being sarcastic
Perhaps. Many of us here post sarcastic, troll-like comments and forget to identify our snark. It is dangerous to engage in dark snark (unidentified sarcasm) in the current political climate. There are too many who will identify with it.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:03 pmExactly! President Obama needs to don a flight suit, make a landing on an aircraft carrier docked at Long Beach and declare Mission Accomplished…
geez.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:04 pmooops, PLC..
geez
November 16th, 2009 at 3:04 pm/snarkeriffic
Maybe I’m not interpreting his statement incorrectly, or maybe I’m over-analyzing, but don’t his remarks seem a little sarcastic? From what I gather about Shields, he is mostly liberal, and these remarks simply don’t align with other remarks and statements he has made. I would surmise that he is taking a tongue-in-cheek jab at our most recent President’s inability to think logically and make rational foreign policy decisions.
But then again, I could be totally wrong.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:04 pmI know, I know… C-Street is just a distilled version of Christianity’s Worst Precepts. But still! I mean, really!
November 16th, 2009 at 3:05 pmEugeneDebs says:
PLC
Bang, ZOOM, that ones outta here
Good. I’m too old and out of shape to run the bases.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:05 pmWhat we need is another unintelligible imbecile who gets plastered viewing the Olympics ………
November 16th, 2009 at 3:05 pmDoes that mean Shields has a Man Crush on former President Clinton?
I mean, if by a criteria of manly man-ness we are comparing the situation in Afghanistan, then the last 8 years we had no manly man in the White House.
In fact, the kick tail and ask questions later never happened.
Oh sure, we started out in Afghanistan looking for the perpetrator of 9/11, but became sidetracked with the lying game of Iraq.
That’s quite indecisive.
And according to Shields, not manly man enough.
Whatever.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:06 pmmanly man in the White House??? Like Jeff Gannon, that kind?
Who knew that ‘doing Jeffy’ was a manly thing to do.
who could say, “Let’s kick some tail and ask questions afterwards”
Yeah, that worked out sooo well for us, you know, all the lives, money, respect lost because of NOT ASKING QUESTIONS BEFORE crap got rolling down hill.
By the way, why isn’t Bush and Cheney on trial for WAR CRIMES?
November 16th, 2009 at 3:06 pmLooks like Slappy took off in a hurry, calling this idiot ‘Left’ is beyond dumb.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:06 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
Yeah, let’s ask questions afterwards! Cause asking questions before s so, you know, boring. And girly.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:10 pm/snark
@30, slappy has abandoned any pretense of making a basket, ever.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:11 pmSlappyBastinado says:
Good morning hows that illegal wood splitting bus going for you?
is it called slaphappy`s manly mens wood?
November 16th, 2009 at 3:11 pmThis comment threw me for a loop, being he’s a life long democrat. I met him at an Obama rally roughly a week before the election. He was very kind, and excited to see Obama elected.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:11 pmFirst off -
If any troops are sent – they won’t be sent til the start of next year.
If Obama had made a decision last month – the troops wouldn’t be sent – til the start of next year.
There never was a plan, by either the military or anyone else to send them over before then – that was known all along. We sent reinforcements over there just after he was inaugurated as I recall.. and the idea was to evaluate at the one year mark to decide if we were sending even more.
so.. that being the case — what was the reason again for immediately making a decision? Wouldn’t it be proper to use this big gaping window of time to consider your actions first?
November 16th, 2009 at 3:11 pmWhy do all these conservatives want a daddy to watch over them?
November 16th, 2009 at 3:14 pmWhat a stunted and adolescent world view…
P.D. says:
calling this idiot ‘Left’ is beyond dumb
And so is SlapHappy.
I’m convinced that SlapHappy is just a parody troll who posts random words and sentences to see how they mesh.
It’s better than the alternative.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:14 pmOf some poor unmedicated soul who’s sense of reality is skewed by politics, who posts drivel that has no comprehension, and is the only one laughing.
You know what.. after rewatching it – I can see the sarcasm now… it is really hard to decipher though…
November 16th, 2009 at 3:15 pmDear Mr. President:
They used to die for Bush’s lies;
Now they die for yours.
You lie; another sucker dies.
It is the way of war.
Every U.S. fatality from Iraq and Afghanistan should have on his/her memorial stone: “Here lies another sucker who died for lies—for NOTHING.”
November 16th, 2009 at 3:16 pmThank you for the demonstration, RUCerious!
November 16th, 2009 at 3:16 pm#52….ITS RAINING….no wood for you today. Use your own!
November 16th, 2009 at 3:16 pmSlappyBeggerino
You are always stupid and pathetic. IT is just sad to watch you beg us to pity you when even YOU know we dont CARE anymore. Chomsky is far left. Zinn. Shields was at best three of four ticks left of center. Dont you get yet that you arent clever? You are ALWAYs stupid but never more stupid than when you do those old jokes that would make a four year old cringe and say you were a moron THINKING they make you look clever. Face the reality that you are a moron and are ALWAYS going to be a moron then get on with your life. Stop parading your pathetic stupidity, stop begging us for our pity stop embarassing the other crackwhores with your humliating compulsions
November 16th, 2009 at 3:16 pmNeedless to say, if Obama acted like a manly man who kicked tail and asked questions afterwards, Shields and the entire Right would be calling him a mad-dog and a war criminal.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:17 pmNote to SlappyBasturd:
November 16th, 2009 at 3:19 pmYou is stupid, and Debs is never going to feel sorry for you.
tony and lido
Perry@62, Yeah, their hypocricy has no bounds doens’t it? Just like Obama bowing to the leaders was AWFUL! But they had no problem with Bush kissing and holding hands with the Prince did they?
November 16th, 2009 at 3:19 pmSlappyBeggerino
It is Monday. No pity for you today. Look somewhere else.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:20 pmIf Shields was going for subtle snark, he should avoid it in the future. He lacks the signature at the end of the delivery.
But it is past time for a fact finding mission to Afghanistan. The President should load up a plane with Kristol, Krauthammer, Rove, and all of the other chickenhawks and send them over for a couple of weeks. Send them in country, embed them with some front line outfits. Feed them MREs. Let them get up close and personal in their assessments.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:20 pmIf the GOP wants a Manly Man to be president , they merely need to nominate Barbara Bush for 2012 ………
November 16th, 2009 at 3:21 pmI hear there is a guy with a tire iron in Florida who attacked a Greek Orthodox Priest without provocation.
Is that manly enough for ya ??
He shot first and asked questions later. How would YOU like to have him as a next door neighbor ?
November 16th, 2009 at 3:22 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
This comment has been voted down. Click to read.
jimi13 says:
It’s called Authoritarianism (ooh, big scary word ending in ‘ism’). It’s one of the basic traits of Republicans and the God whorshippers. They’re just lost without a daddy figure.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:28 pmSlappy, I am sure that bit of self evaluation probably needed to come out but everyone already knew that about you.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:28 pmSlappyBastinado says:
——————————————————————————–
November 16th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
As opposed to “do’ers” like you adore , Limbaugh and Beck ; 2 moronic liars ……..
Good call , Stupid Bastardino ………
November 16th, 2009 at 3:29 pmDang typos: worshipers not whorshippers.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:30 pmSlapHappy says:
#52….ITS RAINING….no wood for you today. Use your own!
That is SO wrong on so many levels, I don’t know where to begin.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:31 pmRufus Leaking says:
——————————————————————————–
November 16th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
More unintentional hilarity and unintended zaniness from RoofofHisAnusIsLeaking ; the GOP/Bush leg humper believes he’s qualified to prattle on about “comedy” and “wit” , when there isn’t even 1 GOP/Conservative comedian that’s even remotely amusing …….
November 16th, 2009 at 3:32 pmJust re-read this post and this time was struck with how juvenile (sorry for the insult all you juveniles) it is for a political leader to act like a testosterone fueled, insecure juvenile. “Ya, we’re going to kick some ass.” Well, Mr. Shields, that’s what GWB/Cheney/Rumsfield did. How do you think that worked out for the USA? Stick to your comedy routine. At least people can laugh at you and you think that’s good.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:34 pmGreat. We need more armchair patriots who mistake war movies for reality. These people have never been to the front lines to see what the soldiers on the front line think about the war. It is time to ship them to Afghanistan for a month on the front line. Maybe we can get Olberman and Maddow to challenge them.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:37 pmI am grateful that his time for retirement is certainly imminent and younger people will take overe these jobs who are not so war hungry and instead want to build coalitions as we have a lot of repair work to do in this country.
The GOP Party of No and Fear are unable to govern and when one does try to Govern and accomplish things for the American people like healthcare, raising the minimum wage or continuing unemployment benefits, they continue to “huff and puff” and spew fear in the air in hopes that people will continue to stay depressed and afraid thereby immobilizing and paralyzing them to do anything at all. Now the GOP are huffing and puffing about the Obama Decesion of having the terrorists being tried in open court in New York. Of course, we should bring these men to Justice, this should have been done a long time ago. GOP are just mad and angry that they could not accomplish this very basic task of holding these terrorists accountable for their acts! I would not even be surprised if Team Obama finds Bin Laden, something Bush & Co. were also incapable of doing. Would this anger the GOP also? Probably!
As far as Obama bowing to the Japanese the Bible teaches us in Matthew 20:26 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant.”
November 16th, 2009 at 3:41 pmSlappyBeggerino
You dont have to work so hard to show how incredibly ignorant and staggeringly stupid you are. Chomsky has never done ANYTHING? The man who won a Nobel Prize for science? Who CHANGED the science of linguistics? It was CALLED the Chomskyan revolution. My GOD you are the stupidest organic being in the universe, perhaps next to Hannity. He has made a LIVING you unbelievable MORON teaching at MIT since the 50s. This is why you usually just try to be clever, I mean you fail and still come off as an unusually stupid begger but when you TRY to make an actual argument it exposes how ignorant and delusional you really are. The marching moron society wants their membership back. They say you are so stupid you make morons everywhere look bad. You really dont know ANYTHING at all do you? Havent you humiliated yourself enough for today? Is this a NEW way to beg us to pity you showing that your knowledge level is shallower than the skin of a soapbubble? It wont work. We already KNOW you are stupid and pathetic we just dont CARE anymore
November 16th, 2009 at 3:42 pmAnd we all know how well shooting first and asking questions later has worked out for our country. These people are not only fools, they are dangerous fools.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:45 pmRufus
The fact YOU are so stupid you agree with another of the most ignorant human beings imaginable doesnt mean anything is going over our head. SlappyBeggerino is a moron. So are you. You THINK he is funny because you are a brainwashed fool who has been programmed to think anything you dont understand that attacks the left is comedy. You are sad, stupid, and a punkass troll. That is your sad fate. Thanks for sharing though I do love to laugh at morons as stupid as you
November 16th, 2009 at 3:45 pmEight years after someone they praise as a “manly man” decided to act and ask questions later. Now a real man is required to ask hard questions and to get real results just to clean up the mess.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:48 pmThis was a real disappointment to me. For years I’ve tuned in to The News Hour with Jim Lehrer every Friday because I liked to hear what Shields would have to say in response to whichever conservative he’d been paired with. Lately, the show’s been a big disappointment in general – Lehrer’s clueless “we’re above reproach” reaction to criticism, Judy Woodruff’s clueless (and relentless) conservative slant, and the rest of the gang’s clueless dancin’ with the corporation that brung ‘em has put me seriously off my feed. But still, I hung in there on Fridays. Now my Fridays are free.
Sheesh. Manly? I never, ever saw Bush as manly. I saw him as giant walking chip-on-a-shoulder with delusions of grandeur enhanced by pathological immaturity.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pmHeh. Opinions are like a$$holes – everybody’s got one.
The thing is, these wingnuts not only *have* a$$holes – they ARE a$$holes…which explains their ridiculous opinions.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:51 pmUm – I watched that show, and even though it was early in the morning, I think he was being sarcastic; Krauthammer sits on the same panel and I thought Shields was poking him a little.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:57 pmI think it’s time for us to stop responding directly to Slappy. He is just here to derail, get attention, or both. I suggest we either talk about him or totally ignore him.
November 16th, 2009 at 3:58 pmTOM FRIEDMAN (R-Israel) says, “And what they needed to see was American boys and girls going house to house, from Basra to Baghdad, and basically saying, “Which part of this sentence don’t you understand? You don’t think, you know we care about our open society, you think this bubble fantasy, we’re just gonna to let it grow? Well, Suck on this, okay?” That Charlie is what this war [in Iraq] is about. We could of hit Saudi Arabia, it was part of that bubble. Could of hit Pakistan. We hit Iraq because we could.”
I’m sick and tired of spending trillions of dollars, fighting a dozen wars, killing millions of people, and watching America go down the sewer for a small group of greedy, land grabbing, religious fanatics in Israel.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:05 pm84. mparker8 said:
Eight years after someone they praise as a “manly man” decided to act and ask questions later. Now a real man is required to ask hard questions and to get real results just to clean up the mess.
————-
Quite agreed. And may I add that even his own party is turning on that **ahem** “manly man” as not being good for the country.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:07 pmSounds like what Shields (whom I’ve never even heard of before) would probably benefit from a visit to a certain airport bathroom in Minnesota.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:09 pm*
I tend to agree, Powkat. I haven’t seen the whole clip so I’ll reserve judgment but I think it’s safe to say, based on his body of work, that Mr. Shields is not advocating going off half-cocked.
BTW, I still like the Newshour, relatively speaking. If nothing else they do feature reasoned discussions without yelling and such. Usually they do a decent job of balancing depth and decorum.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:11 pmYes. Thanks to the gentleman who pointed out Shields was being sarcastic. My god, with this kind of political company sometimes it’s embarrassing to call one’s self a liberal.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:37 pmuraniumwilly
I didnt see it but if there was this much confusion his ATTEMPT at satire wasnt very good. Knowing Shields I can believe it was satirical. Remember the right has made satire particularly hard to detect since they say things all the time that any normal human would THINK was satire but they MEAN it.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:40 pmAnd Shields was supposed to be the liberal to Gigot’s conservative on the MacNeil/Leher news hour.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:40 pmHmm. Seems as if Shields is turning into a ripe ol’ turd in his old age.
But, I’m confused. Is this nostalgia for Bush, or Reagan, or Nixon?
Still, pretty amazing that the News Hour bills him as the liberal in his weekly get-together with the Villagers….
November 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pmIt’s kinda obvious why Shields isn’t a General and Obama is considered a hero when it comes to destroying pirates.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:47 pmCalm down everybody, Mark Shields was being SARCASTIC in his comments about the “manly man.” Perhaps in the clip it didn’t come across. He was lauding the President for being both analytical and emotional and then turned sarcastic. Shield, BTW, is a former enlisted Marine, and has proudly spoken of that fact.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:52 pmWho is doing these transcriptions? Whoever it is I really suggest a refresher course in his or her ESL courses
November 16th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Mark has lost his memory as he never saw combat nor had to be in a postition to decide on soldiers lives. So easy being a side line quarterback. Obama is looking out for our troops while Mark is selling the beans. Just think Mark never gave no thoughts to honoring out dead troops when they come home. Mark got out of the Military to make sure he didn’t get sent to Vietnam. It’s nice to call yourself a Military man when you served during times of Peace. Mark was born in 1937 which clears up his memory lost.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:57 pmShields was being ironic?
Right.
Well then he has proven, unequivocally, that irony is, in fact, dead if not yet interred, with the corresponding stench of decay.
November 16th, 2009 at 4:59 pmHey, jackie, you want Irony?
I enlistred in the aif force to get out of being sent to viet nam and, guess what?
You betcha…Just in time for TET…
Life’s a funny thing…
November 16th, 2009 at 5:01 pmhmmmm,
November 16th, 2009 at 5:08 pmI would sooner believe that Shields was being sarcastic than not – but if his sarcasm was so subtle as to fool most people, then he will have to clear up this matter.
His remarks seemed so uncharacteristic to me, but he is usually not so unclear when using saracsm.
He is getting on in years and is not as clear as he used to be. Yes, he was a marine and has represented the liberal bastion on PBS since the 80s. He’s earned his stripes, is wise and deserves our deference.
November 16th, 2009 at 5:19 pmhe was being sarcastic.
get a clue.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:03 pmDidn’t see the original, just the clip, but I interpreted it as Shields’ sarcasm, nothing more.
November 16th, 2009 at 6:34 pmHe really longs for a manly man? Wasn’t the last guy we had a manly man? He seemed to me more like a swaggering buffoon who was good at proliferating a John Wayne foreign policy. Shields apparently believes in the myth of American exceptionalism. Although Mom, Apple Pie and God are right Chevrolet still got is ass kicked.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:17 pmMark Shields is not a conservative! He’s worked with a number of Democrats over the years and is a well known political historian with a sense of humor. While I was surprised by his comment about a “manly President”,I assumed that it was a bit tongue in cheek, based on what he said to start, and knowing something about him.
It is good that we have a President who is intelligent, thinking, knows enough to ask good, hard questions and to think about where this country is headed. Geez the last one took us into the ditch and didn’t even seem to notice or care. He and his sidekick also were incompetent war fighters, according to Paul Eaton, retired General:
The record is clear: Dick Cheney and the Bush administration were incompetent war fighters. They ignored Afghanistan for 7 years with a crude approach to counter-insurgency warfare best illustrated by: 1. Deny it. 2. Ignore it. 3. Bomb it. While our intelligence agencies called the region the greatest threat to America, the Bush White House under-resourced our military efforts, shifted attention to Iraq, and failed to bring to justice the masterminds of September 11.
The only time Cheney and his cabal of foreign policy ‘experts’ have anything to say is when they feel compelled to protect this failed legacy. While President Obama is tasked with cleaning up the considerable mess they left behind, they continue to defend torture or rewrite a legacy of indifference on Afghanistan. Simply put, Mr. Cheney sees history throughout extremely myopic and partisan eyes.
November 16th, 2009 at 7:27 pmJust wait. We will be stepping up the war in Afghanistan. Obamaski obviously never read about LBJ and Vietnam. … here we go again. …
November 16th, 2009 at 7:27 pmMark Shields yearns for “Manly m[e]n”? Who wouldda thunk it….
Cheers,
November 16th, 2009 at 8:27 pmA “manly man”– Shields shows himself to be a homophobic, sexist pig. And how the hell would he know what that is, name-calling, smearing bully that he is?
November 16th, 2009 at 8:51 pmOofda is correct. Mark Shields is a well known left-leaning commentator. Here he is clearly being sarcastic. The “ask questions later” part of the statement is an indication.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:23 pmJeez, people reading this blog need to get a grip. I thought the sarcasm was pretty obvious. Maybe some people have totally lost their sense of humor; go watch it again if you’re one of them.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:24 pmGood grief, has the art of sarcasm gone out of vogue? Shields is one of the good guys – in addition to being a former Marine. One view of that clip and it is clear that he was taking a not so subtle poke at the struting and chest thumping of President “Mission Accomplished.” Maybe more importantly, who is the nit-wit who posted this in the first place? Do you homework!
November 16th, 2009 at 9:45 pmI feel really stupid. I just watched the clip, and it’s obvious that he’s being sarcastic. (Doh.) Okay, so I can still watch Lehrer on Fridays.
Sorry, Mr. Shields.
November 16th, 2009 at 9:50 pmGranted, I did not have the benefit of watching this as I live in New England and it isn’t carried here I do know and I can say for a fact, that Mark Shields was trying to zing Krauthammer and all the others who fawned over Bush and Cheney for the last 8 years.
I have watched Shields for over twenty-five years and he was being very sarcastic but it was lost in its delivery. He slaps Brooks around every Friday night on The News Hour and he has been VERY respectful and supportive of Obama.
November 16th, 2009 at 10:43 pmThis is my first time here. Cannot believe how big a miss this was – not seeing the sarcasm – and how deep into the comments before anybody picked it up. Who IS Ben Armbruster???
November 16th, 2009 at 11:10 pm.
Because nothing says “Bring ‘em on” like Mark (pantie) Shields’ refill of Viagra.
.
November 17th, 2009 at 12:38 amI’m pretty sure Shields was clearly trying for some snarky sarcasm there satarizing warmongers like Cheney who have described Obama as “dithering” etc. about Afganistan. Calm down everybody.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:04 amWatch Inside Washington online. Multiple episodes are available. It doesn’t look like this transcript is quite ready. http://www.insidewashington.tv/
Mark Shields’ opinions are nothing if not well-informed. http://www.creators.com/opinion/mark-shields.html
November 17th, 2009 at 3:09 amMr.Duke says:
Just wait. We will be stepping up the war in Afghanistan. Obamaski obviously never read about LBJ and Vietnam. … here we go again. …
Your concern about Vietnam was 6 years too late…
November 17th, 2009 at 3:26 amYou morons obviously don’t know anything about Mark Shields. He was being SARCASTIC.
November 17th, 2009 at 3:45 amI cannot believe that so many people, including Think Progress, thought that Sheilds was being serious. Sketchartist is right, of course, he was MOCKING the Bush-Cheney approach. He was being sarcastic. How the hell can you see the previous comments about Obama, which were complimentary, and not see it that way, even if you were just reading the words. But if you saw it, as I did as it was broadcast in DC Friday night, you surely should know he was mocking Bush. I thought it was great. Anyone who knows Mark Shields’ work could not make such an idiotic mistake.
November 17th, 2009 at 10:14 amGreat Caesar’s Ghost! What is the matter with you people – Mark Shields would never say something like that except as an exercise in irony. Sad to see how easy it is to go over the heads of ANY audience of ANY stripe with a little subtle humor.
November 17th, 2009 at 1:16 pmWow, this is neither a good post nor a good thread to show for the liberal comunity. I’m a little bit ashamed for thinkprogress.
Just because obviously most of you don’t know Marc Shields you have been more than ready to believe he was one of the Kristols. Shields is around for a long time and is one of the last decent pundits on television. Obviously people of his stature don’t get prime time shows on FOX or MSNBC, these days, so that everybody here could check to see what they’d have to think about him.
And thinkprogress: Maybe you should watch whole shows before judging anyone for 2-minute-clips.
Sheesh..
November 17th, 2009 at 1:32 pmfrenchfries says
November 17th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I’m a little bit ashamed for thinkprogress.
____________________________________________________________
I’m not. When TP screws up (which isn’t that often), they own up to it and do their best to make it right. More than I can say for William Kristol, Bill O’Reilly, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Fox News in general, etc. — all of whom have been caught reporting false rumors, stuff twisted out of context, drivel they just made up, and outright lies, and they NEVER apologize or correct it.
Well, OK — Sean Hannity admitted to a “mistake” when Jon Stewart caught him reporting Bachmann’s tea party with incorrect footage. But that’s rare, and only because he was backed into a corner.
November 17th, 2009 at 2:03 pmWow! I’m relieved! I couldn’t believe that Mark Shields, who has always been of the liberal bent, would have said anything that stupid. The fact that Think Progress was fooled makes me feel better about the complete and utter gullibility I displayed in a knee-jerk negative response to a previous posting here regarding a “conservative” who duped a crowd into shouting “Down with Columbus” and pretending to want to force out all “foreigners” as illegal immigrants. Glad to know I’m not the only one who’s asleep at the keyboard sometimes!
November 17th, 2009 at 2:47 pm