…Obama would say privately that the first task of an American president in the post-Bush international arena was “Don’t do stupid shit.”
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The president did not understand how “Don’t do stupid shit” could be considered a controversial slogan. Ben Rhodes recalls that “the questions we were asking in the White House were ‘Who exactly is in the stupid-shit caucus? Who is pro–stupid shit?’ ” The Iraq invasion, Obama believed, should have taught Democratic interventionists like Clinton, who had voted for its authorization, the dangers of doing stupid shit.
Comment, #2: It was controversial with me because of its emphasis on passivity. If it had been "Don't do stupid shit, do smart shit" it wouldn't have been controversial (with me). It puts the emphasis on inaction. Of course Americans don't want their president to do stupid shit but they want their president to do, to act. In my family, one of my brothers used to jokingly yell at our dad when dad was too cautious or indecisive, "Dad, do something, even if it's wrong!"
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The president did not understand how “Don’t do stupid shit” could be considered a controversial slogan. Ben Rhodes recalls that “the questions we were asking in the White House were ‘Who exactly is in the stupid-shit caucus? Who is pro–stupid shit?’ ” The Iraq invasion, Obama believed, should have taught Democratic interventionists like Clinton, who had voted for its authorization, the dangers of doing stupid shit.
Comment, #2: It was controversial with me because of its emphasis on passivity. If it had been "Don't do stupid shit, do smart shit" it wouldn't have been controversial (with me). It puts the emphasis on inaction. Of course Americans don't want their president to do stupid shit but they want their president to do, to act. In my family, one of my brothers used to jokingly yell at our dad when dad was too cautious or indecisive, "Dad, do something, even if it's wrong!"
