Dear Obama, Enough With The Voltaire!

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of this line frequently used by Obama and other pols: “America can’t afford to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

Obama usually uses this Voltaire paraphrase as an excuse to disappoint progressives yet again.

The original Voltaire quote is “The perfect is the enemy of the good,” translated from the French, “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.” (The literal translation actually should be, “The best is the enemy of the good.”)

This brings me to my latest double limerick:

Dear Obama, Enough With The Voltaire!
By Madeleine Begun Kane

There once was a guy named Voltaire,
A Frenchman whose wisdom pols share.
They say, “Perfect, though fine,
Is hardly divine
When it blocks the essential. So there!”

Dear Obama, this line is just guff —
An excuse for not doing enough.
So instead of excuses,
Fight right-wing abuses.
Voltaire is annoying. Hang tough!

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13 Responses to “Dear Obama, Enough With The Voltaire!”

  1. Realist says:

    Ignoring the folks for the Bourse:
    For a White House so far off their course,
    Philosophical Spam
    “I think, thus I am”
    Is putting Descartes ‘fore the horse

    So now that their bluff has been called.
    No wonder recovery’s stalled!
    If wisdom were hair,
    You’d think that they’d care
    the people don’t see OB’s bald!

  2. madkane says:

    Haha, Realist. I think that’s my favorite of yours so far. :)

  3. Nate Levin says:

    A dissent from the pragmatic left:

    The man speaks good sense on TV
    But lefties still must disagree.
    “This prez is no dream!
    Compromise makes me scream!
    I won’t blend ideals with reality.”

  4. Blue says:

    I believe you’ve outdone yourself with this ‘couplet’ ;)

  5. Mad Kane says:

    Thanks Blue! I had fun with that one.

  6. Linkmeister says:

    You folks are amazing. All I’m capable of is sputtering with rage, and here you are being creative.

  7. Mad Kane says:

    If I didn’t write stuff like this, my rage would completely overcome me.

  8. Veralynne Pepper says:

    Beautiful, Mad! I’m with Linkmeister, personally, so I envy your ability to use this outlet. Vent on!

  9. Mad Kane says:

    Thanks very much Veralynne!

  10. HAHAHA . . . I didn’t know you use SeededBuzz as well. :)

  11. madkane says:

    I’m pretty sure I found out about it from a post on your blog. :)

  12. will sampson says:

    Hey, as a college student I am currently reading Voltaire and heard Obama had made a reference to it. As I went looking I quickly found you are the only person on the internet that made the connection, or was smart enough to mention it. Few things to add- you seem fairly intelligent and it’s nice to see a politically aware (progressive) person out in the world; you must be from Cali or the East coast ha-ha. Ponder this though, isn’t it nice to have a president who doesn’t think Voltaire is the guy to invented volts, not to mention he quotes him. Hope you enjoy my banter I certainly liked your. Did you consider publishing the poem?

  13. madkane says:

    LOL! Thanks very much, Will! I’m glad you found and enjoyed my Voltaire verse.