W

Via DeLong, an interview with the President that made my blood run cold.

Visualize it.

One of the interesting things about the presidency is people watch me like a hawk. They're looking at my moves. And if I'm going to be wringing my hands and if I'm all worried about the decisions I make are not going to lead to a better tomorrow, they'll figure it out.

And so when you talk to me today, I just want you to know I not only strongly believe in the decisions I make, I'm optimistic that they're going to work—very optimistic.
....
Lincoln—this is the place on the Oval Office wall where the President puts the most—the best President, and I put Lincoln here, and I don't think there's any question—now, people will have their—but I think he was the most influential President ever. And the reason why is because that in the midst of a difficult presidency, needless to say—the Civil War, thousands of people dying, with Americans killing Americans—he had a vision of a United States. It's conceivable this country would have ended up being two countries had he not had a clear vision, even though all around him was seemingly falling apart. He was a great President.

DeLong observes that this paranoid, self-justifying babbling about resolve in the face of criticism and trouble comes before the interviewer has even asked a question at all.

This man is President of the United States.