President who once called for a 'new era of civility' now calls opponents 'crazies'

President who once called for a 'new era of civility' now calls opponents 'crazies'

Thomas Lifson

Remember when, following the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, President Obama sanctimoniously lectured the nation on the need for a "new era of civility"? Speaking before thousands in an arena at the University of Arizona, he solemnly told us:

At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do ... it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

Obviously, that was just so much hypocritical blather. Yesterday, in Nevada before a Democratic fundraiser crowd, the self-described "feisty" president was not at all interested in healing a nation deeply divided on his deal with the Iranian mullahs.

Obama declared himself ready for the challenges he faces this fall in dealing with a Republican Congress that disagrees with him on the budget, energy policy, education and much more.

Obama said that as he'd ridden to the fundraiser with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, they'd done some reminiscing and spent some time "figuring out how we are going to deal with the crazies in terms of managing some problems."

He didn't identify exactly who the two of them had defined as "crazies.

Multiplying the hypocrisy, the president pivoted from insulting his opponents to self-righteous invocation of higher principle:

But Obama spoke at length about his differences with the GOP Congress. And he lamented that "too often, our political debates are not about what's best for the country but what's best for the next election."

So how is it possible for a serious man to be so fork-tongued as to insult those who disagree with him while donning the mantle of statesmanship and civility? Actually, President Obama answered this question a couple of years ago: 

I actually believe my own bullshit.

Let's hope that when the billion-dollar fundraising for his presidential library and related monuments is completed, that aphorism will be engraved in stone above the entrance.