Obama Critic Tom Buffenbarger Gets An “I Told You So” Moment On Countdown

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by Glenn Davis | 10:35 pm, December 9th, 2010

» 16 comments

One of the most popular political videos of the last few days involves union leader Tom Buffenbarger stumping for Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential race, while saying Barack Obama wasn’t enough of a fighter to take on Republicans. Of course, in the wake of Obama’s compromise with Republicans on extending tax cuts, such criticism found new life, and tonight Keith Olbermann had Buffenbarger on his program to discuss how he thinks a Hillary Clinton presidency would have differed from Obama’s run so far.

Buffenbarger said that while he eventually voted for Obama in 2008, he never wavered in thinking he wasn’t enough of a fighter:

“I was hoping once [Obama] won the nomination…that Barack Obama would come out fighting for the people of America, the working people, the people who make this country hum every day, and I’m still waiting to see that Barack Obama.”

Olbermann then posed a “what-if” scenario to Buffenbarger, asking how he thinks things might be different for the union workers he represents had Clinton won the presidency. Buffenbarger responded that he’s “very confident we would have an advocate for the working people of America,” and that she was the right person to help craft fair trade deals and help avoid “the economic morass we’re in today.” And while it’s possible he’s right about all that, Olbermann’s question that prompted this response had it right – this is strictly a “what-if,” and speculating is easy.

Additionally, Olbermann then tried to eschew hypotheticals and ask Buffenbarger what Obama should do now: “Should he let tax cuts expire for your workers rather than keep taxes low for the rich?” However, Buffenbarger never really answered this, instead detailing how the expiration of the Bush tax cuts wouldn’t have much of an effect on the workers he represents, how paying taxes is a privilege, and that if everyone paid their fair share, “maybe we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today.”

Again, though, even if Buffenbarger’s right about all this, and about Obama, he’s again dealing in the “hindsight” Olbermann sought to avoid with his last question, and we wish he’d talked a little more about what he thinks should happen now, rather that what didn’t happen already. Video of the segment, via MSNBC, below.

Bush Tax Cuts, Countdown, Hillary Clinton, keith olbermann, President Barack Obama, Tom Buffenbarger

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Scott/654124552 Jonathan Scott

He was right, Keith was wrong and so was I.
http://gordonbloyershow.com gordonbloyershow

Obama is an empty suit and he always has been. He will go down as the worst president ever. NO contest.
This union thug won’t be happy next year and we are all better off for it. Olbermann will be luckey if he has a job after Comcast takes over.
ChiliPeppersFan

what kind of an evil bastard would say paying taxes is a privilege.
he’s just another elitist who expects paved roads and such.
tatboy

There fair share… does that include the like 30% that pay NOTHING, ZERO, NADA, ZILCH in taxes. Or the other people of this country that are takers of taxes… and not givers.
ChiliPeppersFan

of course now you can say hillary would be better, but could you imagine a president mccain?
and with mccain we would also get his financial advisor phil-i never saw a financial regulation i like-graham.
then we wouldn’t have gotten the bailout but instead double, or tripled down in iraq.
and if that didn’t bankrupt us, we would bomb-bomb-bomb iran.
timzank

tatboy said:
There fair share… does that include the like 30% that pay NOTHING, ZERO, NADA, ZILCH in taxes. Or the other people of this country that are takers of taxes… and not givers.

It’s actually 47% of households thay pay no federal income tax. It was about 33% until Teh One waived his wand and saved all mankind.
ChiliPeppersFan

i liked the part of his show tonight when he called, by name, all 41 republicans who voted against funding for health care for 9/11 responders.
when they say “don’t forget 9/11″ you can say “on 12/9 the fraudulent republicans forgot.”
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Scott/654124552 Jonathan Scott

ChiliPeppersFan said:
of course now you can say hillary would be better, but could you imagine a president mccain?
and with mccain we would also get his financial advisor phil-i never saw a financial regulation i like-graham.
then we wouldn’t have gotten the bailout but instead double, or tripled down in iraq.
and if that didn’t bankrupt us, we would bomb-bomb-bomb iran.

Yes as bad as Obama is McCain would have been much worse, the guy didnt know anything about the economy, he actually proposed during the 3rd debate to have the government buy up all the bad morgages from the banks, McCain proved he was the true socialist, and lets not even talk about Sarah Palin. Wow if anyone could get beat by milquetoast Obama it would be McCain.
Albert

I liked what Tom Buffenbarger had to say but I still haven’t given up hope with Obama. He just has to get rid of his advisers!
notsofast

how paying taxes is a privilege, ”

What an entire asshole he is.
Just4thefax

Fact: Democrats have a form of Buffenbarger disease!
TonyClifton

Jonathan Scott said:
Yes as bad as Obama is McCain would have been much worse, the guy didnt know anything about the economy,

Would you please list for me Barack Obama’s economic credentials?
sarainitaly

Olbermann Slammed ‘Racist’ Conservatives for Calling Obama ‘Arrogant,’ Hails ‘Nostradomus’ Dem Who Saw Obama’s ‘Nose in the Air’

Last January, when a number of white conservatives used words like “arrogant” and “cocky” to refer to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, MSNBC host Keith Olbermann asserted that they really meant Obama was an “uppity” black man. Olbermann: “When racist white guys get together and they don’t want to be caught using any of the popular epithets in use every day in this country about black people – and there’s a chance one of them, or worse still a white guy who doesn’t get it might wander in and hear the conversation, when there’s a risk even in saying ‘uppity’ or ‘forgetting his place,’ the racist white guys revert to euphemisms and code words. And among the code words that they think they’re getting away with are ‘cocky,’ ‘flippant,’ ‘punk,’ and especially ‘arrogant.’”

On Thursday’s show, reeling from disappointment that President Obama compromised with Republicans to prevent tax increases, Olbermann celebrated a former Hillary Clinton supporter as a “Nostradamus” because, during the 2008 presidential campaign, he gave a speech warning that President Obama would not fight hard enough against Republicans.

Read more
Penguin60

“how paying taxes is a privilege, and that if everyone paid their fair share, “maybe we wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in today.”

Everyone?, I wonder if that includes the people that don’t pay any? MAybe we wouldn’t be in this mess if we had a balanced budget? I’m glad he’s around to be able to tell me what I should pay. How about a flat tax?

TonyClifton said:
Would you please list for me Barack Obama’s economic credentials?

Don’t hold your breath for an answer, Tony.
lris

ChiliPeppersFan said:
of course now you can say hillary would be better, but could you imagine a president mccain?and with mccain we would also get his financial advisor phil-i never saw a financial regulation i like-graham.then we wouldn’t have gotten the bailout but instead double, or tripled down in iraq.and if that didn’t bankrupt us, we would bomb-bomb-bomb iran.

Great job, dude. The story is about a guy who said we shouldn’t have voted for Obama but should have voted for Hillary. That Obama isn’t strong enough to be president and how he thinks Hillary would be.

Yet you turned it around on everybody and changed the subject to McCain. Way to go, dude. And I don’t even think anybody noticed. Shhhh.
Pablo

ChiliPeppersFan said:
of course now you can say hillary would be better, but could you imagine a president mccain?
and with mccain we would also get his financial advisor phil-i never saw a financial regulation i like-graham.
then we wouldn’t have gotten the bailout but instead double, or tripled down in iraq.
and if that didn’t bankrupt us, we would bomb-bomb-bomb iran.

We wouldn’t have gotten the bailout that happened under Bush and that Both McCain and Obama voted for? Well, at least you’re right that while McCain might have tripled down in Iraq, Obama has followed the Bush plan in Iraq down to the last letter. He probably decided to do that after realizing how utterly and completely wrong he was about the surge. Every cloud has a silver lining, huh?