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You are here: Home / What about the common courtesy of a reach-around?

What about the common courtesy of a reach-around?

by DougJ|  October 4, 20104:08 pm| 71 Comments

This post is in: Our Failed Media Experiment, We Are All Mayans Now

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That’s the only thing I could think of when I read this idiotic Kudlowism (via Oliver Willis):

Am I the only one who saw weakness when President Obama and his departing chief of staff Rahm Emanuel gave each other big, fat, full-bore hug following their speeches at the resignation event in the White House’s East Room on Friday?

[…..]

Why not just a dignified, stand-up, serious handshake? That’s what Reagan would have done. A strong handshake shows friendship, respect, and even affection. But a big fat hug seems to go over the line.

Will this kind of thing ever end? Will our failed media ever stop talking about hugs versus handshakes, about presidents’ manly characteristic, about male presidential candidates “lactating”?

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71Comments

  1. 1.

    Dave

    October 4, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    Yeah…and if Obama shook his hand Kudlow would say it was too “street” and why oh why isn’t there any humanity in the White House??!?

  2. 2.

    TooManyJens

    October 4, 2010 at 4:10 pm

    Will our failed media ever stop talking about hugs versus handshakes, about presidents’ manly characteristic, about male presidential candidates “lactating”?

    No.

    SATSQ.

    They’re simply too stupid and lazy to talk about anything that actually matters.

  3. 3.

    mikefromArlington

    October 4, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    Isn’t Kudlow gay?

  4. 4.

    trollhattan

    October 4, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    Gawd, somebody else resurrecting Reagan’s now-quite-dessicated corpse to score a Big Point. Hasn’t about half the country’s population been born since he left office?

    “Mistah we could use a man like Herbert Hoovah, again.”

  5. 5.

    noncarborundum

    October 4, 2010 at 4:14 pm

    I still wish we could have seen Giuliani square off with Ahmedinejad in a street fight. That would have been like way cool.

  6. 6.

    Albatrossity

    October 4, 2010 at 4:19 pm

    A manly hug…

  7. 7.

    El Tiburon

    October 4, 2010 at 4:20 pm

    Cue the McCain hugging Bush picture please.

    And for the love of God, can the right ever stop skull-fucking Reagan.

    Talk about embarrassing man-love PDA.

  8. 8.

    KCinDC

    October 4, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Interesting he had to go back to Reagan because Bush clearly was a hugger (though of course no conservative ever imagined anything weak about that). But I imagine someone will be finding photos of Reagan hugs pretty soon.

  9. 9.

    Blotto von Bismarck

    October 4, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    If Barack Obama insists on hugging, his advisers should encourage him to at least have the outside. Just as the President should be the one to terminate the hug, so America should be the only country to terminate relationships without repercussions.

    I don’t like the handshake. It allows the recipient too much freedom. I think that Obama needs to greet each person by handcuffing them, to show them that he’s the one in control of the debate.

  10. 10.

    Jim Crozier

    October 4, 2010 at 4:21 pm

    Why oh why didn’t he just settle for a terrorist fist bump instead?

  11. 11.

    El Cid

    October 4, 2010 at 4:22 pm

    President Reagan would have slapped him heartily on the back, and Dick Cheney would come around the corner to shoot him in the face, and then stuff him in the man-sized safe.

  12. 12.

    TheStone333

    October 4, 2010 at 4:23 pm

    Rahm would beat the shit out of Reagan. (And then tag Obama in for the elbow off the top turnbuckle.)

  13. 13.

    Erik Vanderhoff

    October 4, 2010 at 4:24 pm

    @Jim Crozier: That would have been awesome. And then Rahm could have raised his fist high and yelled, “Jewish rage!” and then shot the correspondent from Fox News.

  14. 14.

    cleek

    October 4, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    hug

    and

    hug

  15. 15.

    Ash Can

    October 4, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    I saw this when someone — was it morzer? — commented on this in one of the morning threads. Kudlow’s a bloviating horse’s ass. In many of those foreign countries that he says were watching this display, a hug in this context would be quite restrained. This, however, would likely never occur to him, since all right-thinking people around the world must surely see things exactly the way he sees them.

  16. 16.

    Turgidson

    October 4, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    @El Cid:

    Win.

  17. 17.

    Martin

    October 4, 2010 at 4:27 pm

    @El Tiburon:

    And for the love of God, can the right ever stop skull-fucking Reagan.

    No. Hugs are what gheys do. Skull fucking is seriously hetero.

    Someone really should come up with a Fleshlight/Reagan head combo and put the ads in Google Ad rotation over at the wingnut sites. I mean, if we had to put up with 3-armed Pam, I think they could handle a Skull-fuck Reagan sex toy.

  18. 18.

    licensed to kill time

    October 4, 2010 at 4:28 pm

    He shoulda smacked Rahm right in the kisser!

  19. 19.

    Zifnab

    October 4, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    That’s what Reagan would have done.

    Oh sweet baby Jesus, do these people even have a gag reflex anymore? Just tattoo WWRD on your forehead and save the column space for someone with something to actually say.

  20. 20.

    Ash Can

    October 4, 2010 at 4:31 pm

    @Martin:

    a Fleshlight/Reagan head combo

    I choose to believe that this was not a typo, and none of your so-called “facts” can dissuade me. So there.

  21. 21.

    jl

    October 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm

    @cleek: But those were manly man hugs. And with weird aliens (pointy headed professors and presidents of foreign lands), where Reagan had to follow weird foreign protocols. Kind of like when Bush danced to savage drum music in Africa on a state visit.

    And a handshake would have been stiff and weak, distant and cold, or as commenter above said, too ‘street’.

    And a slap on the back would have been to casual, and demeaned the office, something fit only for sports bar.

    Cheek kisses would have been too French. And a French kiss would have been… very interesting.

    Probably an surprise Obama resignation would have been just the right touch, in fact, the only right thing, in Kudlow’s view.

  22. 22.

    Mr Furious

    October 4, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    The bro-hug is the standard now and is perfectly acceptable, and it wasn’t even invented in the 80s…

    I’m sure Biden was in the wings giving Rahm the double finger-guns and a wink. Is that okay with these fucking media jackasses?

    Why don’t we dispense with the pretense of all of this shit being political analysis and just have Joan and Melissa Rivers cover the fucking White House from now on.

  23. 23.

    jl

    October 4, 2010 at 4:42 pm

    How about giving Rahm a wedgie? That would work for several political factions.

    Edit: “I’m sure Biden was in the wings giving Rahm the double finger-guns and a wink. Is that okay with these fucking media jackasses?”

    No, that is definitely NOT OK. Hope they didn’t get pics, or there will be another scandal.

  24. 24.

    cleek

    October 4, 2010 at 4:43 pm

    Remember, this is on global television. And it has to do with the very top of the United States government. Our friends and enemies were all watching.

    our friends and enemies who all live in countries where a male-male embrace is not considered the epitome of OMGwuttaFAGGort! ?

    i’m pretty sure they were all like meh.

  25. 25.

    pRick Sanchez

    October 4, 2010 at 4:46 pm

    WTF?

  26. 26.

    Kyle

    October 4, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    I’ve found that the only men who should worry about whether something is manly enough are those men who worry about whether something is manly enough.

  27. 27.

    pRick Sanchez

    October 4, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    Man, I love me some FYWP!

  28. 28.

    cleek

    October 4, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    Why not just a dignified, stand-up, serious handshake?

    dignity!

  29. 29.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    October 4, 2010 at 4:48 pm

    @Mr Furious:

    Why don’t we dispense with the pretense of all of this shit being political analysis and just have Joan and Melissa Rivers cover the fucking White House from now on.

    Because that would actually improve the quality of the analysis.

  30. 30.

    SpotWeld

    October 4, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    I think the current crop of right-bloggers”…Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks. “

  31. 31.

    Wile E. Quixote

    October 4, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    He should have given him a terrorist fist bump.

  32. 32.

    Arclite

    October 4, 2010 at 4:54 pm

    What are the odds on Larry Kudlow having a Larry Craig incident over the next five years?

  33. 33.

    jl

    October 4, 2010 at 4:56 pm

    Kudlow should try to get Obama on a small private boat, out in the water by a shoreline, of a lake, for a very private interview, Maybe Kudlow could get Obama to relax enough to explain his very unpresidential behavior.

  34. 34.

    Tonybrown74

    October 4, 2010 at 4:59 pm

    These are the same people whose lips were all a-pucker at Commander Codpiece in his flight suit.

    Apparently, worshipping GOP cock doesn’t make you gay …

  35. 35.

    jl

    October 4, 2010 at 5:00 pm

    @SpotWeld: And I think that they will be angry if any should be so bold and rude as to write them down an ass.

    Ossifer Kudberry, for example would be outraged to be writ down an ass, and rightfully so. Standards of civil behavior have fallen so low, you see.

  36. 36.

    morzer

    October 4, 2010 at 5:01 pm

    @Ash Can:

    Yes, it was me. And no, I didn’t get a DougJ reach-around either. Alas, the cruel fate of those of us who are not Jay Cutler!

  37. 37.

    John S.

    October 4, 2010 at 5:02 pm

    And for the love of God, can the right ever stop skull-fucking Reagan.

    In my household, we refer to it as humping Reagan’s corpse. YMMV.

  38. 38.

    Lukeness

    October 4, 2010 at 5:08 pm

    I’m trying to find Kudlow’s comments on the lack of dignity of GWB on this occasion: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1022718/Pictured-The-moment-George-Bush-chest-bumps-airman.html

    Can anyone help me?

  39. 39.

    djheru

    October 4, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    Rahm reminds me of Al Pacino in the Devils Advocate

  40. 40.

    Allan

    October 4, 2010 at 5:10 pm

    Am I the only one who saw weakness starbursts when President Obama and his departing chief of staff Rahm Emanuel gave each other big, fat, full-bore hug following their speeches at the resignation event in the White House’s East Room on Friday?

    Fixed.

  41. 41.

    DickSpudCouchPotatoDetective

    October 4, 2010 at 5:24 pm

    I hug you in effigy every day Doug.

    Don’t knock it.

  42. 42.

    Ash Can

    October 4, 2010 at 5:25 pm

    @morzer: Don’t feel too bad. Jay Cutler didn’t get any reach-arounds last night, either.

  43. 43.

    FlipYrWhig

    October 4, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    Psst! Mr. Kudlow! I heard some countries even have _girls_ running the government. Eeew!

  44. 44.

    GregB

    October 4, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    I am outraged by the these faggy leftists and liberals and their touchy-feely-huggy-pauncy ways.

    Signed, A Sturdy and Manly Conservative Man.*

    *(Taps foot on restroom floor while texting underage pages and requesting them to measure their penii while they are on the way to get meth from from the gay hustler and adjusting the two dildos inside of the wetsuit.)

  45. 45.

    birthmarker

    October 4, 2010 at 5:27 pm

    @cleek: Well worth the click, cleek, Exactly what I was thinking. Better a hug than kissing and holding hands like little girls. (No offense meant to little girls.)

    BTW, a repeat from this morning–if you can give to John’s ActBlue page, do so soon so the candidates will have time to utilize the funds.

  46. 46.

    someguy

    October 4, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    I for one am disappointed that this has taken us away from our politically vital discussion of Hillary Clinton’s hair, and Sarah Palin’s womb.

  47. 47.

    Tonal Crow

    October 4, 2010 at 5:30 pm

    That’s just point-and-laugh stupid. Even below Dowd’s earth tones-level stupid.

    The guy ought to be in a travelling freak-show.

    Oh wait, he is.

  48. 48.

    birthmarker

    October 4, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    @Lukeness: He looks pretty drunk.

    @GregB: Bwahahahahaha!!!

  49. 49.

    daryljfontaine

    October 4, 2010 at 5:38 pm

    It was lost in the wee hours of the early morning of the Open Thread, so I’ll just leave this video of Rahmbo and President Obama here.

    D

  50. 50.

    morzer

    October 4, 2010 at 5:51 pm

    @Ash Can:

    *nods*

    I think it’s fair to say he had a downer, and then another downer, and then another downer….

  51. 51.

    Zuzu's Petals

    October 4, 2010 at 5:57 pm

    Again, have to wonder if he was troubled by the weakness displayed when GWB hugged his departing chief of staff.

    Yep, really have to wonder.

  52. 52.

    West of the Cascades

    October 4, 2010 at 6:05 pm

    And GW Bush kissing and holding hands with a Saudi prince is … what?

  53. 53.

    Maude

    October 4, 2010 at 6:09 pm

    Ronald Reagan wouln’t have remembered who his chief of staff was.

  54. 54.

    WereBear

    October 4, 2010 at 6:10 pm

    @Zuzu’s Petals: No, I bet he was untroubled, there.

  55. 55.

    morzer

    October 4, 2010 at 6:11 pm

    All I can say is that we have to be very grateful that no-one ever saw Dubya and Lieberman smooching at the SOTU.. I mean, whatever would Osama have thought then?

    http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/images/blbushliebermankiss.htm

  56. 56.

    themann1086

    October 4, 2010 at 6:15 pm

    I literally cannot make fun of this. I’d call Poe’s Law if I didn’t know it was for real. We are so doomed.

  57. 57.

    DougJ is the business and economics editor for Balloon Juice.

    October 4, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    @morzer:

    Sorry! I couldn’t remember who pointed it out!

  58. 58.

    Cat Lady

    October 4, 2010 at 6:24 pm

    @Lukeness: Gawd that idiot was such an embarassment to endure for so long in so many ways. I forgot about that one. My personal favorite. Imagine Obama being caught doing this. Fucking frat boy psychopath, but Obama hugged Rahm. I don’t know how Obama keeps from calling in an air strike on the DC press corpse.

  59. 59.

    Zuzu's Petals

    October 4, 2010 at 6:29 pm

    @WereBear:

    Looks like it was a big, fat, full-bore ‘un too.

  60. 60.

    r€nato

    October 4, 2010 at 8:53 pm

    If Obama hugging Rahm emboldens the terrorists… I wonder what they thought when Bush actually held hands with a Saudi prince.

    Don’t even get me started on how the constant parade of prominent Republican politicians caught having gay sex, makes the US look like a nation led by effeminate butt pirates…

  61. 61.

    El Cid

    October 4, 2010 at 9:20 pm

    @Maude:

    Ronald Reagan wouln’t have remembered who his chief of staff was.

    Reagan would have stepped off the plane in Bolivia, and welcomed him to Brazil.

  62. 62.

    AZERTY

    October 4, 2010 at 9:44 pm

    Where were these sort of comments when Bush was photographed holding hands and walking with Saudi Prince Bandar?

    Oh, right. Bush was macho–and had the packet to prove it–but Obama’s gay.

    They’re so goddamned fixated on this shit, I’m really beginning to think they’re ALL gay.

  63. 63.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    October 4, 2010 at 9:51 pm

    @AZERTY:

    Oh, right. Bush was macho—and had the packet to prove it—but Obama’s gay.

    Did you mean “package”?

  64. 64.

    abscam

    October 4, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead: Sizewise, packet sounds about right.

  65. 65.

    Nutella

    October 4, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    @Just Some Fuckhead:

    Oh, right. Bush was macho—and had the packet to prove it—but Obama’s gay.

    Did you mean “package”?

    A packet is a small package. I think @AZERTY’s meaning was clear.

  66. 66.

    kathequa

    October 4, 2010 at 10:49 pm

    Why not just a dignified, stand-up, serious handshake? That’s what Reagan would have done.

    http://www.theonion.com/video/zombie-reagan-raised-from-grave-to-lead-gop,14385/

  67. 67.

    Michael G

    October 4, 2010 at 11:46 pm

    The #kudlowstrength twitter tag is seeing a lot of hilarious action right now.

    “Larry Kudlow punched my dad in the chest after heart surgery and told his heart to stop looking weak.”

    “Larry Kudlow carries hot coals at all times to throw in the faces of crying people. He does this barehanded.”

    “Kudlow is a beast. He can eat so much raw meat in one sitting that Chuck Norris’ Y chromosome prolapsed.”

  68. 68.

    Will

    October 5, 2010 at 12:35 am

    The first comment on Kudlow’s post:

    “Anyone who hugs Obama needs to make sure they still have their wallet. “

  69. 69.

    Blotto von Bismarck

    October 5, 2010 at 1:14 am

    @El Cid:

    Rahm had better fucking apologize afterwards, too!

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. To the Dogpilemobile! | The Constant Linguist says:
    October 4, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    […] I love because he adds a dash of Latin to his economics; here’s Oliver Willis; here’s DougJ, over at the always excellent Balloon Juice, who might deserve today’s “Best Post […]

  2. Real Manly Presidents Don’t Hug…Which Means The Deciderer is …. What? « The Inverse Square Blog says:
    October 4, 2010 at 10:32 pm

    […] Manly Presidents Don’t Hug…Which Means The Deciderer is …. What? Via Balloon Juice channeling Oliver Willis (update: whom, I now see, had the same thought) comes this gem from Larry […]

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