Conyers to Obama: You won’t shut me up

When last we left you, House Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers was openly complaining about having to always save Obama’s “can” on the healthcare “reform” issue even though, in Conyers’ eyes, President Obama wasn’t giving true “reform-minded” folks like him much in return. Well, apparently word got back to the President about Conyers’ remarks and as a result, the President personally called Conyers in an attempt to shut -, er, um, talk through some of their disagreements. How did Conyers respond to the gesture? Blabbing about it to The Hill:

According to the lawmaker, the president picked up the phone several weeks ago to find out why Conyers was β€œdemeaning” him.

Obama’s decision to challenge Conyers highlights a sensitivity to criticism the president has taken on the left. Conyers’s critical remarks, many of which have been reported on the liberal-leaning Huffington Post, appear to have irritated the president, known for his calm demeanor.

Conyers, the second-longest-serving member of the House, said, β€œ[Obama] called me and told me that he heard that I was demeaning him and I had to explain to him that it wasn’t anything personal, it was an honest difference on the issues. And he said, β€˜Well, let’s talk about it.’”

Sitting in the Judiciary Committee’s conference room two days after Obama delivered his speech on Afghanistan, the 23-term lawmaker said he wasn’t in the mood to β€œchat.”

The WH’s response to The Hill’s interview with Conyers? No comment (via Don Surber).

What this highlights more than anything is the President’s uber-sensitivity to criticism. To the politically disconnected, reading about President Obama “reaching out” to a selective critic makes him look like he’s putting forth a sincere effort to “bridge differences” but in reality it’s all about Obama’s penchant for wanting to either bring in line or mute any critics and/or criticism that has the potential to both seriously embarass him and derail his liberal agenda. We saw this all during the campaign with whisper campaigns, false accusations of racism, and legal threats, and we’ve seen it multiple times this year as well, mostly against conservative critics. But lately the adminstration has been hitting back hard not just against liberal critics, but also liberal friendlies who appear on the evil critical-of-Obama Fox News cable outlet. Not even that is acceptable anymore to our celebrity President.

Carol Platt Liebau asks rhetorically:

Incidentally, has anyone else noticed that the only time the President seems ready to stand up and get tough is when someone attacks Himself?

You betcha.

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