Tag Archives: Michael Corleone

December 1, 2012 · 1:32 PM

In fiscal negotiations, Obama channels ‘The Godfather’

President Obama channelled the Michael Corleone of The Godfather in his opening fiscal cliff bid.

President Obama channelled the Michael Corleone of The Godfather in his opening fiscal cliff bid.

As a fan of The Godfather, I’ve been enjoying MSNBC commentators’ comparisons of the president’s fiscal cliff negotiations to The Godfather movies.

I was watching Melissa Harris Perry this morning and she also used the Godfather analogy to describe president Obama’s leverage in the current fiscal negotiations. (The relevant portion of the video link above starts after the 30 second intro from Ms. Harris.)

MSNBC

President Obama presented his fiscal cliff proposal to Republicans Thursday, calling for $1.6 trillion in new taxes, $50 billion in new spending to bolster the economy, and an elimination of the debt ceiling as we know it. In the way of capitulation, Obama’s first proposal offers exactly nothing.

Whether or not the president is taking his bargaining cues from Michael Corleone is still being determined.

For film buffs out there, Mr. Obama’s offer recalls Don Corleone’s offer to fictional Nevada Sen. Pat Geary in The Godfather Part II, in which Geary demands that Corleone pay him off for a gaming license. Corleone, stony and aloof, responds, “My offer is this: nothing. Not even the fee for the gaming license, which I would appreciate if you would put up personally.”

In this metaphor, Sen. Geary is John Boehner. And the fee for the gaming license is the federal debt limit.

Most of Obama’s proposal is nothing new. Several pieces, such as the expiration of tax cuts on the richest 2%, have been hashed out in the campaign and since. “This should not be news to anyone on Capitol Hill,” said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on Friday, in a decidedly abrasive tone. “It is certainly not news to anyone in America who was not in a coma during the campaign season.”

The White House proposal seeks to trim the deficit by $4 trillion over a decade. One trillion of that will come from the expiration of the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest. Obama also wants dividends to be taxed as normal income, and the estate tax to rise from 15 to 45 percent, which it is already scheduled to do if no action is taken.

Entitlements, a contentious point for Democrats and Republicans alike, will see about $350 billion in savings from the president’s plan, mostly coming from Medicare. The details of these cuts would be decided by policymakers in 2013.

The real surprise in all of this is the the White House’s proposal to give the president unilateral power to raise the debt ceiling, barring a two-thirds opposition from Congress. An even greater surprise might be that this policy was originally proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“The effect of this policy would, in general, be to finish off the debt ceiling,” wrote Ezra Klein on his Wonkblog Friday. “Republicans are laughing this off as a ridiculous, pie-in-the-sky proposal. But it’s actually a great idea—one that could do more to protect our economy than anything else in the debt deal. Even better, it would cost us nothing. Measured by its cost-effectiveness, it’s perhaps the best idea in American politics today.”

The president’s opening bid is bold. And though it may owe some debt to the Godfather, it’s certainly an offer Republicans can refuse.

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May 5, 2011 · 12:03 AM

President Obama,”The Godfather” Parallel And The bin Laden Take Down

I’ll start out by saying that the movie, The Godfather is one of President Obama’s favorite movies.

In the movie You’ve Got Mail Tom Hanks’ character Joe, types to Kathleen, Meg Ryan’s character:

JOE: The Godfather is the I Ching. The Godfather is the sum of all wisdom. The Godfather is the answer to any question. What should I pack for my summer vacation? “Leave the gun, take the cannoli.” What day of the week is it? “Maunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday.” And the answer to your question is “Go to the mattresses.”

You’re at war. “It’s not personal, it’s business. It’s not personal it’s business.” Recite that to yourself every time you feel you’re losing your nerve. I know you worry about being brave, this is your chance. Fight. Fight to the death.

I’ve always remembered those lines and quite frankly, I agree with Joe!

The other day CNN’s Jack Cafferty asked the question:

Here’s my question to you:  Historically, what does the killing of Osama bin Laden compare to? 

The following answer stood out because I had been noticing some Godfather parallels as well.

It’s the Godfather, Jack. First Saif Gaddaffiand some of his sons in a bomb blast in an upscale suburb, then Bin Ladenin a massive hit at a fortified mansion.. Moammar Gaddaffi is sure to follow, Mubarak may go away for a long time, and in this administration’s cinematic way, Ahmadinejad will probably get it in the bathtub.

I didn’t have that particular scene in mind but one can make the analogy between President Obama’s attendance at the White House Correspondents Dinner  and Michael Corleone’s presence at the baptismal ceremony,  after Obama gave order to take bin Laden out.

I heard MSNBC’s Chris Matthews compare the shots to bin Laden’s eye reminiscent of the “Moe Greene” execution in The Godfather II.  That was pretty far fetched, but so is this entire exercise.  But let’s continue…

Maureen Dowd saw what I saw as well:

No wonder the president’s top generals call him “a Cool Hand Luke.”

After giving the order for members of a Navy Seals team to execute a fantastically daring plan to, let’s be honest, execute Osama bin Laden, Barack Obama put on a tuxedo and gave a comedy speech Saturday night in a Washington ballroom of tippling journalists and Hollywood stars.

If we could have seen everything unfolding in real time, it would have had the same dramatic effect as the intercutting in the president’s favorite movie, “The Godfather,” when Michael Corleone calmly acts as godfather at his nephew’s baptism at church, even as his lieutenants carry out the gory hits he has ordered on rival mobsters.

So, what say you, readers?  Are there any parallels between The President’s actions this past week or so and  any part of The Godfather Trilogy?

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