BaRocky

Less Spocky, More Rocky
By MAUREEN DOWD
Published: September 8, 2009

Maureen Dowd has made many movie allusions about Barack Obama before. Everything from Obambi to Spock. Now she returns to the Sylvester Stallone oeuvre to portray his as a punch-drunk loser.




She has used the action hero before, but with Obama's pit bull chief of staff.

If Obama didn’t have a knife-thrower like Rahmbo in the Oval, Democrats would be totally convinced that the president would fold in a heartbeat.

So her advice to Obama is to start running up those steps with the Bill Conti music in the background.

The president told students on Tuesday that “being successful is hard” and “you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.”

He should take his own words to heart. He can live long and prosper by being less Spocky and more Rocky.

And to prove she is no one trick pony, in addition to her Movies With Maureen® magic, Dowd has peppered this piece with nearly a dozen Crossword Clues©. See if you can find all these words:

ensorcelled
puerile
elucidation
scintillating
somnambulant
verities
mojo
Sisyphean
malarkey
demagoon
risible

Bonus points if you can figure out the one she just made up. Even a lug like Barocky should be able to figure that out.