This line of thinking is also indicated in his take on Hillary Clinton - at first stating that she is a good, thoughtful Secretary of State and that he likes her and is friends with Bill, etc. He does this because at the time he is thinking of his current businesses and the need for political connections. Later when he needs to court a Republican Right wing that hates her and her husband he discredits her and belittles her. There is no strategic thinking beyond what is needed/wanted in the present, with no thought to what the consequences will be or where the tide of events will take him. He does have a very canny knack for pressing the right wing lizard brain buttons of generalized fear and hatred of the "other" though. Good times, good times.
@Jack: The NRA lobbied to prevent people from being stopped purchasing guns in the event they fail a background test. There was a huge amount of evidence this guy was a threat and unstable. Rules in other states and countries would have stopped him getting a gun so yes the NRA is to blame. Two other points - one: how much more confident was this kid with three guns one him than if he didn't have them? And he was shooting wildly so it's just luck more weren't killed by gunfire. Not really a great standard to base this on.
Finally, he was limited in CA to 10 round clips. This is something the NRA lobbied against. What if he'd had a lot more shots at his disposal?
This comment thread in which everyone decides that Obama can't do anything because it will alienate his political enemies says a lot more about why Democrats fail to achieve things these days than the fact of that opposition. Man up people! Fight the good fight for the sake of principle and you'll be surprised who comes with you.
This line of thinking is also indicated in his take on Hillary Clinton - at first stating that she is a good, thoughtful Secretary of State and that he likes her and is friends with Bill, etc. He does this because at the time he is thinking of his current businesses and the need for political connections. Later when he needs to court a Republican Right wing that hates her and her husband he discredits her and belittles her. There is no strategic thinking beyond what is needed/wanted in the present, with no thought to what the consequences will be or where the tide of events will take him. He does have a very canny knack for pressing the right wing lizard brain buttons of generalized fear and hatred of the "other" though. Good times, good times.
@Jack: The NRA lobbied to prevent people from being stopped purchasing guns in the event they fail a background test. There was a huge amount of evidence this guy was a threat and unstable. Rules in other states and countries would have stopped him getting a gun so yes the NRA is to blame. Two other points - one: how much more confident was this kid with three guns one him than if he didn't have them? And he was shooting wildly so it's just luck more weren't killed by gunfire. Not really a great standard to base this on.
Finally, he was limited in CA to 10 round clips. This is something the NRA lobbied against. What if he'd had a lot more shots at his disposal?
This comment thread in which everyone decides that Obama can't do anything because it will alienate his political enemies says a lot more about why Democrats fail to achieve things these days than the fact of that opposition. Man up people! Fight the good fight for the sake of principle and you'll be surprised who comes with you.