Casual dress, serious expression, lights, camera, (no) action

Michelle Malkin calls this amusing collection of photographs of Obama on his recent working vacation “The Paparazzi President at work.” Perhaps a better title would be “The Empty Suit President at work.”

In connection with which, be sure to read Joseph Kay’s September 2008 article at VFR, “The Empty Black Suit,” in which he wrote:

Conflating articulateness with high intelligence invites disaster, since the “smart style” is all too easily acquired…. The tip-off is usually the lack of tangible accomplishment, for example, a well-crafted research paper done with minimal assistance. Verbal ability and “white” style is decisive. Again, the fact that many whites, particularly conservatives, desperately want to believe the best, only facilitates the swindle. Perpetrators may even believe their own act since it goes undisputed. [Italics added,]

Thus, after decades of failed efforts to achieve racial equality, the market for black empty suits is booming. We’ve invested billions, perhaps trillions, to get blacks into high-level positions, and to demand a genuine demonstration of intellectual competence, not just mesmerizing appearances, risks exposing massive wastefulness.

By the way, I myself have previously disagreed with the description of Obama as an empty suit; for example, while many negative terms could be applied to the president who in an act of sheer will to power rammed through Obamacare, “empty suit” did not strike me as one of them. Yet as his presidency has, to all appearances, run out of steam and he keeps reverting to speeches, phrases, and policies that have already failed, as though he believed that their sheer repetition will somehow make them work this time, the empty suit image has become become more and more appropriate.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 04, 2011 05:08 PM | Send