Left I on the News

Back when we had Donald Rumsfeld to kick around, I named his unique brand of blather "Donsense." Barack Obama, although he still sounds like the highly educated person he is, is tending more and more in that direction if you actually think about what he says (rather than just listening and letting it wash over you). I'll propose the term "O-bla-bla" to describe it, but feel free to offer improvements in the comments!

Today's example (which he's said on previous occasions as well):

"Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future -- jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced."

Look, I grant that installing solar panels on people's roofs can't be outsourced. But the heart of every clean energy sector is manufacturing. What on earth would make Obama, or anyone, think that the U.S. will be better positioned (vis-à-vis China or others) at manufacturing solar panels, or windmills, or batteries, than it is at manufacturing steel, cars, toys, clothing or anything else? Can't be outsourced? Dream on.

Yesterday's bit of o-bla-bla was this:

"Here at home, we will strengthen our defenses, but we will not succumb to a siege mentality that sacrifices the open society and liberties and values that we cherish as Americans, because great and proud nations don't hunker down and hide behind walls of suspicion and mistrust."

Really? No siege mentality? This from the President of a country where you have to take your shoes off before you get on a plane? This from the President of a country where we'll soon be optically strip-searched as we get on planes (and, by the way, we can assume we'll be physically strip-searched if the optical strip-search shows anything; what else would be the point if not?)?

O-bla--bla.