December 17, 2013

"We really didn't care for a PR pitch about how the administration is trying to salvage its internal health care tech nightmare."

Said an unnamed tech company CEO about a meeting with Obama that was supposed to be about the problem of government surveillance. 
'He basically hijacked the meeting,' the executive said. 'We all told the White House that we were only there to talk about what the NSA was up to and how it affects us.'

44 comments:

campy said...

Well, I hope that racist is ready for his IRS audit.

rhhardin said...

Marissa Mayer was stupidly overdressed.

At Google she was on Armstrong and Getty to hawk some new Google search feature, contrary to what she was offered to A&G as.

So she was describing this and that search, and A&G said they just tried "Marissa Mayer naked" and didn't get anything.

A&G reported getting an outraged and scolding email from her people quickly afterwards.

So: overdresses and has no sense of humor.

A 2-fer.

Original Mike said...

"'He basically hijacked the meeting,' the executive said. 'We all told the White House that we were only there to talk about what the NSA was up to and how it affects us.'"

Somebody's getting coal from the IRS this Christmas.

MadisonMan said...

Jay Carney is pictured at the link.

I'm sorry, but whenever I see him, I think of the General Mitchell's quote from MASH:

This is a press conference! The last thing I want to do is answer a lot of questions!

What a rudderless administration this is.

rhhardin said...

Obama is tone deaf. What else is new.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Incompetent, woefully inexperienced, arrogant, leftist, did I say arrogant? That is what sane people see when they see or hear Obama.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MadisonMan said...

Marissa Mayer was stupidly overdressed.

Disagree! When you visit the president, you put on your best clothes. I said much the same thing in this very famous althouse post.

SteveR said...

"Great website you got there Mr. President" Said no one at the meeting.

Larry J said...

Obama is the classic punch line:

"Enough about me. Tell me, what do you think of me?"

Obama doesn't give a damn about how the NSA policies are hurting US tech companies. He's probably too stupid to understand. All he sees is that his glorious reputation is being damaged by the Obamacare rollout (and that's just the portion of this goat's breakfast that's visible to the public).

tim in vermont said...

We don't much care for him either, but we don't give him zillions of dollars despite the fact.

Wince said...

"Hands on the table, Joe: Vice President Biden was seated next to one of the meeting's few female participants, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer."

Priorities.

richlb said...

During his press conference to defend Obamacare in October, the President channeled an infomercial pitchman, complete with 1-800 number. This time he was like a time-share salesman.

Virgil Hilts said...

Too bad we couldn't have someone like this guy as president:
http://reason.com/blog/2013/06/07/on-nsa-spying-sen-obama-wouldve-disagree

Paul said...

This comment has been removed by the NSA.

This comment has been removed by the IRS.

If you like your comment you can keep your comment, PERIOD.

And what difference, at this point, does it make?

Man,Obama and his whole regime are one for the books, just not sure which books it should be in.

Maybe they will just hit the reset button again. Sort of like Matrix reloaded.

YoungHegelian said...

As I was laying in bed this morning and heard NPR discuss that the President was meeting with the CEOS of Google, Yahoo, etc to discuss "How to improve Federal IT" I knew this was a fucking disaster in the making. For one thing, of the companies listed (Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Netflix, Twitter, Apple and Etsy), only Microsoft has any real Federal business (and its products are huuuuge in Fed IT, but all Fed services go through MS partners).

No, these companies wanted to talk about how their forced marriage with NSA is damaging their overseas business, but The Won wanted to blather on about totally useless nonsense to all involved.

If I was one of those CEOS, I'd be so livid I'd be frothing at the mouth & the Secret Service would have had to drag me away.

George M. Spencer said...

Would you just please leave the man alone? Please, Professor. He is about to go on vacation. A well-deserved vacation. He is doing the best he can. The very best. The world is so complicated. We are at peace. The stock market is up. There is meat in the grocery stores, is there not? Some may choose Dinty Moore. Some may choose Chilean sea bass, a fish. Some may choose to be vegan and dine on fungus. This is America. In Syria, Professor, people are being thrown into ovens. Fiery furnaces, ala the Old Testament. The lights go on when you flick the switches. Does not your home have heat? Does not your home have heat created by solar power, not the combustion of your political enemies? You are comfortable, are you not? Do you have a television? A dog? Enjoy them. Both. There are many channels. Your dog, I trust, is without fleas. Please leave this man, our President, alone. His happiness is our happiness. If you are not happy now, Professor, when, oh when, will you ever be happy? He is happy. You be happy. Thanks!

Unknown said...

And these jackwads pushed harder than anyone (except Hollywood) for obama. Just don't know how you can be so successful, and to have success you must be able to evaluate people, but have such a hole in their evaluation of someone who had never ever, ever done anything.

traditionalguy said...

Obama propaganda follows the latest Physics discovery that what Tea Party Red Necks say is Truth is actually a 3-D hologram projected from eternal 2-D Obama codes. So relax and enjoy your brief time here ruled by the Won who holds the 2-D codes in his hands.

That is a perfect revival of Gnostic Religious Cults. Glory of Rome here we come.

David said...

As has often been pointed out, the President gets to set the agenda.

For the next few weeks his agenda will be a vacation in Hawaii.

Hope he enjoys it.

rhhardin said...

Higgs Field would be a good name for an airport.

YoungHegelian said...

@T Rellis,

...have such a hole in their evaluation of someone who had never ever, ever done anything.

I don't know where you live, TR, but I live in a very liberal area. Until you've been around these folks for a while, you have no idea just how profoundly shaped their world is by white liberal guilt.

PB said...

what a clown - asking executives from organizations that are actually accomplishing something to fly across the country so he can beat a dead horse and get a photo-op.

Bob Ellison said...

Up to what is the NSA?

Strong is the force with this one.

Bob Ellison said...

I do a good Yoda, btw. Submit your requests.

Michael K said...

Interesting how we depend on foreign sources for news about our country, as opposed to pravda.

mccullough said...

Too late for these tech folks to distance themselves from Obama.

You bought him, you own him.

Big Mike said...

@MadMan, kindly give a warning in the future. I followed your link but I'm at work and the link was blocked as "Adult Material." I just know an Email was generated and sent to my boss.

May your entire house be buried in coal when Santa comes a week from tonight.

MadisonMan said...

It was the 'Let's take a closer look at those breasts' kerfuffle in 2006.

I guess I can see why some bot might think it's adult material. But that never occurred to me.

Anonymous said...

Hey Hegelian, if you're in DC it's tough to get your progressive street cred

Hipster Williamsburg, many fiefdoms in academia, Hollywood, Madison, Vermont, Boulder, Seattle, Portland, the Bay Area all offer fast-track programs..

Diogenes of Sinope said...

Obama is a Sociopath.

Obama's talent is destroying, we can debate if his destructive actions are purposeful or accident consequences of ideology. Now the tech industry realize their worldwide market is being destroyed by their cooperation with US government spying. Who will buy US technology when it is known these companies actively work with the US government to put your data at jeopardy? And Obama's answer, is let me, Obama, tell you, US tech industry executives how you will help me.

Anonymous said...

McCullough, it's never too late to walk out of a meeting and realize what you're dealing with

Bob Boyd said...

Everyone of these execs got their Junior G-man badge right after 9/11. They've been happily building the surveillance state ever since.
Now the cat is out of the bag suddenly they've got a problem with being police spies. But Obama's got his own problems, that's what he cares about and he's letting them know it.
Its all for the good of the country of course.

Sam L. said...

What he wants means nothing; what Obama wants is everything.

Michael said...

Why is it that our news comes mostly from English newspapers. And I include The Guardian.

Michael said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Carl Pham said...

Useful idiots belatedly discover their thirty pieces of silver are electroplate.

pm317 said...

"'He basically hijacked the meeting,' the executive said. "

Heh.. healthcare PR pitch was what was on the teleprompter. Besides, he could show his supporters that he was pretend 'consulting' the best IT minds on the problem du jour. It is all about keeping up appearances with him and his WH.

pm317 said...

What St. George said...is

Obama wants to just eat his waffles



Anonymous said...

He's always the smartest person in the room-why did he invite all those stupid CEOs?!?

gk1 said...

It is hilarious listening to these rubes in silly valley finally wake up. But what did we expect from a bunch of corporate suck ups? I think they are finally feeling the heat from foreign competitors for bending over for Uncle Sammy so readily.

Michael K said...

"Marissa Mayer was stupidly overdressed."

I wonder how good she is at writing code.

Christy said...

Absurd to brag about improvements in the O-Care website to the very people who would recognize the bs. He does believe his own bull; I doubted that before.

Fr. Denis Lemieux said...

'Man,Obama and his whole regime are one for the books, just not sure which books it should be in.'
The Road to Serfdom suggests itself. 1984. Vanity Fair. Ship of Fools. Confederacy of Dunces. Etc.