Ironically, the assertion is that he feels the heat over his statements that he doesn't know how Barack Obama feels — doesn't know whether Obama feels love for his country and doesn't know whether Obama feels in his heart that he is a Christian.
It's easy for me to see the simple accuracy of Walker's statement that he doesn't have access to the interior sensations of another human being's body, and I'm having difficulty understanding why Politico imagines it knows that Scott Walker is feeling heat.
Maybe MSM are feeling the heat as the kind of questions that used to generate heat aren't heating things up like they used to. They've been hoping to have some fun watching Republicans self-incinerate, after all these years dutifully admiring the cool character they call "No Drama Obama."
ADDED: "Scott Walker feeling the heat" resembles the schoolyard bullying that comes in the form of taunts like: "Oh, the little baby got his feelings hurt! He's going to cry! He wants to run home to mommy!"
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Meet the Press almost had a group orgasm this morning on this topic. It doesn't seem to be getting much traction except among DNC operatives with bylines. Too bad Hugh Hewitt is off the air in my area now. I'd like to hear him interview Chuck Todd again.
I predict Walker is scaring the daylights of the Democratic Party and their cheerleaders (Politico, NYT, NPR, etc.)
Walker represents Everyman and Everywoman.
HRC does not represent Everywoman and much less, Everyman.
All Walker has to do - stay on message and divide the democratic party.
His VP should be: Martinez from NM or Ayotte from NH.
Right or wrong, I think Walker is playing his game his way:
“You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”
Walker said such questions from reporters are reflective of a broader problem in the nation’s political-media culture, which he described as fixated on issues that are not relevant to most Americans.
“To me, this is a classic example of why people hate Washington and, increasingly, they dislike the press,” he said. “The things they care about don’t even remotely come close to what you’re asking about.”
They presumed to judge a man's character by his skin color. Now the presume to infer his character by his persona, which is uncharacteristically humble. The Politicos are treading in uncharted territory.
Soon Political (sic) will be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
Considering Scott Walker's religious background, I see his response as very natural:
1Corinthians 2:11 - For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
So yes indeed, he could never pretend to know where Obama is spiritually. If he had quoted scripture he would have gotten ripped a new one for that. But people who understand scripture know what his response meant.
So, in some ways, the MSM is being a useful tool. I think Walker won this one - the MSM is clueless on this.
In a few more weeks the Dems will accuse Walker of being a Christian Terrorist under deep cover as a GOP politician...a Milwaukean Candidate.
All they have to do is interview Garage with a blurred out face telling the inside story and showing secret router photos of Walker in a Hitler mustache framed by a white swaztika on a red flag.
Most people didn't know enough about him in a recent poll.
Seems like his persona is being defined by the media currently. That is rarely a good thing.
Walker's spokesperson has already walked it back. That was wishy-washy.
Over at Legal Insurrection, are 3 questions that should be asked of Hillary. However, I think it would be a hoot if instead Walker were asked to answer these:
1)Should Joe Biden stop touching women without consent?
2)Is Elizabeth Warren Native American?
3)Is it okay that Bill Clinton participated in vacations with a pedophile?
Three Questions All Democrats Must Answer
Well I'm putting my money where Gov Scott's mouth is. His direct non-answer answers causing heads in the media to explode? I'd pay admission to see that. Where do I donate to his campaign?
It won't be easy for the Walker haters. In the end, they might have to wheel out their big gun secret weapons. David Corn and Jimmy Carter's grandson.
Walker's spokesperson has already walked it back. That was wishy-washy
Walker punted on his punt? The spokesperson must have made a drafting error with this latest statement, because Scott Walker is too unintimidated to give into the media pressure that easily.
All the liberal media has to do is convince the low information voters that Walker did something wrong and it looks like they're off and running with their preferred narrative,
Walker said he doesn't know if Obama loves the USA or if Obama believes in Christianity. The Media contend that Walker has questioned Obama's love of the USA and Obama's Christianity. Walker has done neither. But the media know what they want....At some point this is propaganda.
"Where do I donate to his campaign?"
You see that "Shop Amazon" up there in the masthead?
Thank you, in advance.
The liberal media smell blood. The liberal dogs are off and running, looking for a kill.
What powerful American politicians vacationed at a millionaires island populated with little boys and girls for their pleasure?
Enquiring minds want to know?
The liberal scumbag dogs.
All this falls under the category of lack of foundation.
The Shadow had it right: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?"
Remember HRC is the nominee.
See NYT on her nomination.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/upshot/hillary-clinton-and-inevitability-this-time-is-different.html?
GOP can start with Walker/Martinez or Walker/Ayotte.
Now, rather than later.
I will say it again. Walker is blessed in his enemies.
How does Politico know what Scott Walker feels? They know because they and their like minded liberals in the media intend to provide the heat.
If you assume every journalist received straight "C"s in every class in college (you only need about a 2.0 GPA to graduate, after all), reflecting an intellectual laziness that manifests itself in real-world ignorance and grandstanding posturing, substituting words for deeds and looking for that "gotcha!" then this is one helluva long, run on sentence. -CP
The Obamamedia prefer Democrats who lie to Republicans who say, "I don't know."
I'd be all for this kind of crucible for presidential candidates if it went both ways.
That's a silly pipe dream. Hillary is hiding out and they are letting her dodge stories about pedophiles, foreign money, her own less than full throated endorsement of Obama's Christianity.
"her own less than full throated endorsement of Obama's Christianity."
Even lesser is Bill Clinton's deep-throated endorsement of Hillary's capabilities.
I am Laslo.
Governor Walker, unlike the Press, isn't a mind reader nor does he play one on TV. How could he possibly know if Obama loves America or is a Christian? If the Press wants to know about Obama's religious views, they should ask Obama. Or, they could talk to Reverend Wright who was Obama's minister for some 20 years.
MSM: [calling after Scott Walker] Oh, oh, I see! Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what's coming to you! I'll bite your legs off!
Romney was defined as a bad person because he had a binder full of names of women who would potentially fill important jobs in his administration. Any fair minded person would see that as a good thing but we know from their past bad behavior that the corrupt liberal media and the crooked Dems are not fair minded.
He sure is staying on message!
Good grief. It took one gotcha question to get him to trip over his tongue.
I know. He didn't. His response wasn't idiotic. He didn't appear to be playing to the "Obama's a secret Muslim" crowd at all.
His people are just doing damage control for the fun of it!
To feel the heat is not an internal thing.
I don't think that a deep analysis is even needed.
The deep route involves noticing that lots of words are markers in accounts rather than references to things. There are conventions about what a proper account is. Internal references are the worst offenders.
Wittgenstein pointed this out, as usual so quietly that nobody noticed the discovery:
575. When I sat down on this chair, of course I believed it would bear me. I had no thought of its possibly collapsing.
The funny thing is, I'll bet most journalists raising the issue think Obama is an Atheist and shares their disdain for the brutes inhabiting flyover country. This stuff isn't directed so much at liberals, as at folks who might vote Republican.
Walker/Martinez.
So far, Walker has played the media exactly how he wants. Let them ask their silly little gotcha questions. He will continue to ignore them and talk about what he wants to talk about, like a calm adult.
The guy has already been thoroughly vetted. There is nothing they have on him. That's why the pathetic and stupid questions about irrelevant crap.
I eagerly await the moment when he says that he "paid for this microphone." All things come full circle.
"Even lesser is Bill Clinton's deep-throated endorsement of Hillary's capabilities."
Because "Deep Throat" was a Seventies porn film about fellatio, and Bill Clinton has had a lot of experience with fellatio.
Thought I would explain that.
To clarify: fellatio is when someone sucks on a man's cock. Licking sort of counts, too. Monica Lewinsky sucked Bill Clinton's cock, it is on the record.
As far as I know, there is no record of whether Hillary has ever performed fellatio. Kissing another woman's genitals is not fellatio, it is cunnilingus, so I thought I would stop you right there.
I am Laslo.
The liberal media is yet another example of the sorry baby boomer generation.
So far, Walker has played the media exactly how he wants. Let them ask their silly little gotcha questions. He will continue to ignore them and talk about what he wants to talk about, like a calm adult.
Yeah, it's working out great for him. Why won't his people stop trying to walk this back?1??
He meant to do that!
You keep referencing "the simple accuracy of Walker's statement that he doesn't have access to the interior sensations of another human being's body," yet surely you know that what you are talking about is not at all a factor in his response, nor in the entire inane discussion this has been from the beginning.
I mean, just ask yourself what he (Scott Walker) would say if asked whether George Herbert Walker Bush loves his country or is a Christian. Or, did Reagan love his country? Was he a Christian?
If you truly think Walker would express some version of "how can I know the interior sensations of these other human beings?" then I have a piece of the Cross I will happily sell you.
But of course there's no way you truly think that.
Then you better get right after Hillary then, hadn't you Harrogate.
Except it isn't really about questioning Obama's Christianity, is it, at least "as far as I know."
"Scott Walker feeling the heat" loosely translated is "We desperately hope that Scott Walker is feeling the heat, or at least we hope that you think we have the power to turn up the heat on Scott Walker"
The problem Republicans have is they have no way to get through to the low information voter. It won't be long before I'll be hearing from people who are basically conservative regurgitating bad stuff about Walker, the stuff they've heard on TV or read on social media.
What this amounts to is that the press thinks we are in North Korea and Walker is the first to have stopped clapping for the Maximum Leader.
Those in Obama's cult can't see why anybody outside of Obama's cult would find this spasm of outrage over a simple ridiculous question as odd.
"Scott Walker feeling the heat" loosely translated is "We desperately hope that Scott Walker is feeling the heat, or at least we hope that you think we have the power to turn up the heat on Scott Walker"
Of course he's not feeling the heat! You can tell by the way he's standing by his response!
Oh. Wait.
just ask yourself what he (Scott Walker) would say if asked whether George Herbert Walker Bush loves his country or is a Christian. Or, did Reagan love his country? Was he a Christian?
What is the over/under on how many people are going to punt rather than answer that question?
Those in Obama's cult can't see why anybody outside of Obama's cult would find this spasm of outrage over a simple ridiculous question as odd.
Even those of us who dislike Obama's policies intensely and voted against him both times can see this for what it is.
And it's not funny because it's Walker. It's funny because it happened within hours of Althouse's lecture about how Walker stays on message and doesn't get sucked into dopey gotcha questions. And she can't simply say "Whoops. Guess I was wrong there!"
Why not? It's funny! It's not a big deal. Laugh at yourself, Althouse! Otherwise everyone else is going to do it for you!
tim in vermont:
Oh, did you have me confused for a Hillary champion? I am sorry if you "inferred" that about "the interior sensations of another human being."
Politics in third grade crayon is where we go with these sorts of questions and with people like Giuliani, which and whom only idiots think are relevant. But hey, there are a lot of idiots!
But yes. Hillary would also have given a different answer if asked about these other politicos I referenced above.
"Or, they could talk to Reverend Wright who was Obama's minister for some 20 years."
Yeah, but Obama never once heard any of his sermons. That was the first massive lie the press gave him a pass on, even before he was president, setting the standard for the next 6 years (and counting). That was my how-Obama-lost-me moment. I'll put my essay up against our host's McCain essay. If your public introduction to me is to blatantly and shamelessly lie to my face (and exhibit cowardice when taking about race) then you're not likely to get my vote. If you're the press aiding and abetting the lie, then you're not likely to get my respect.
If history gives us a clue, by this November, Clinton should be sustaining a Huge Lead in Democratic Nomination Race.
Even those of us who dislike Obama's policies intensely and voted against him both times can see this for what it is
Didn't you hear? There's a new litmus test on the blog: You either support Scott Walker 100% or you're a lefty libtard who worships Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
There is no in-between for this crowd; it has to one or the other in their mind.
Politics forces all of us to choose imperfect sides.
This piling on to Walker is forcing me, an atheist with strong libertarian leaning, to choose a side.
Politics is normally and properly a nuanced argument.
In this, and most cases to do with the US mass media, it isn't.
We are dealing with a structured, organized and centrally directed system. There is no messaging or behavior that will keep you out of trouble if the masters of this system have it in for you.
The only way out is to break the system. The only way to break the system is to attack it and keep on attacking it, relentlessly. They are public enemies.
Hillary Clinton is inevitable, we have to have a woman President and we all know that a Republican woman doesn't count. Even RINO women will vote for her. It will take an epiphany, only when something really bad happens will the liberal media and the people wake up.
Farmer: try another game, you aren't very good at the one you've been playing.
I'm having difficulty understanding why Politico imagines it knows that Scott Walker is feeling heat.
Let me try to clear up your difficulty.
1. The MSM, which includes blogs like Politico, operates as an arm of the liberal political establishment.
2. Walker is a credible conservative.
3. Therefore, Walker is toast.
They want Jeb Bush to be the nominee so Ms. Clinton will have someone dull to run against. Someone who can match Ms. Clinton's elitism. Someone, like Romney in the last election, who is as rich or richer than the Clintons.
Walker would be too much of a positive contrast to Ms. Clinton. They, the MSM, will give Jeb what help they can(and still keep what little credibility they possess) until if or when he gets the nomination. Joe Klein was singing Jeb's praises(albeit faintly) this morning on "This Week" about Jeb's recent foreign policy speech. Of course, after the nomination they'll gleefully billy-club poor Jeb 24/7 until the election.
It will be very amusing over the next 18 months as the national press finds out about Walker what the Wisconsin press found out over the last 5 years.
You can't touch this guy.
The more you try, the better off he is. And the most pathetic thing is that you can't help yourself. You'll keep trying and hoping that this time, dammit, it's got to work!
Nope.
The liberal media will not wake up, they are not a mass of independent agents. They are an organization.
Its like saying the communist party may wake up. No, it is centrally directed organization. Its employees do and say as they are told.
Yeah, of course what Walker has been saying is correct and proper, but a headline that says "Walker claims not to know if Obama is a Christian", in a context in which it's considered the height of bigotry to think Obama is a Muslim, can have an adverse effect on some low information voters (which is to say, most voters). If he wants to avoid answering such questions -- and he should want to avoid doing so -- he needs to learn to do so in ways that won't appear as headlines. "Don't ask me, ask President Obama" isn't perfect, but it would be better. I favor: "That's a totally inappropriate question! How dare you ask such a question?"
Politico will have to scramble for dollars when the president leaves office. He is their only reason for existence.
Another Walker thread and the lefties are out of the woodwork again.
"His people are just doing damage control for the fun of it!"
No, I think they are used to dumber politicians. They'll settle down as they realize he doesn't need help.
Walker as President? I'm still a skeptic.
But sometimes I judge a person by the nature of their enemies, and on that basis Walker is looking better and better.
==just ask yourself what he (Scott Walker) would say if asked whether George Herbert Walker Bush loves his country or is a Christian----
I asked myself, and I heard myself answer the democratic hitmedia is just trying to get Walker. If asked in the same prepared ambush, he would probably have said the same thing.
So what’s the answer? How does Hillary feel about Bill Clinton travelling on a jet to 'Orgy Island' with a convicted pedophile?
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/lawyer-blasts-claim-clinton-epstein-island-article-1.2101416
Nice link, Meade. Did down into it and there is a John Edwards sighting.
---"Walker claims not to know if Obama is a Christian", in a context in which it's considered the height of bigotry to think Obama is a Muslim---
Yabbut. Christians understand that we don’t know the heart of any man.
In many Christian churches, certainly mine and probably Scott Walker's included, it would be extremely bizarre to proclaim a public figure to be Christian. The farthest I can imagine any pastor at my church going about anyone might be, "I don't know him. It seems like he probably is, but I don't know." The assumption is that you could never really know that about another person and would only venture a positive assertion about someone you knew extremely well.
In fact, this morning's teaching at church mentioned, yet again, the fact that calling oneself a Christian doesn't make it so, and that God sees into the hearts of men.
Generally when a person claims to be a Christian (ie a believer and follower of Jesus), you take them at their word. Obama has stated he is a Christian.
OTOH, we are advised "by their fruits you shall know them". It is Obama's fruits that generate the skepticism.
It's the left feeling the heat because the long-simmering doubts about Obama are gaining traction.
The press is just jumping to their flying monkey role, hoping to show they can make a Republican candidate...
Feel My Heat
The heat will rock you.
The heat will roll you.
Baby don't you know, my heat will move your soul.
come on, come on, come on, come on.
love me today.
love me tomorrow.
all day.
all night.
you feel.
my heat.
feel feel feel, feel my heat.
They'll settle down as they realize he doesn't need help.
Either that, or Walker needs to fire some people who think they know better. As we saw with McCain and Romney, political consultant types don't know as much as they think they do and, if given a too free a hand, can really screw things up.
Given the obvious answers: "of course the president of the United States loves the country and of course he is a Christian"--it says something pretty remarkable about where we are as a country, that answering thus would play into a "hit media" strategy.
Actually, change that "probably is" to "might be." Really, I can't even imagine a teacher at my church answering that kind of question. They'd punt. Like Walker. (And probably mention that one has enough to worry about in oneself.)
"We love him for the enemies he has made" was a winning slogan for Grover Cleveland in 1884. Maybe it's time to dust it off for Walker.
The type of person who writes for Politico has no idea about what Walker is feeling, has no idea about the concerns of the working class, has no idea about the concerns of the middle class, has no concept of the real world, and has no idea that didn't originate in some campus room smothered in marijuana smoke.
Given the obvious answers: "of course the president of the United States loves the country and of course he is a Christian"
How are these obvious of anyone without seeing into another's mind? To say "of course" in these cases is absurd. That's not an intelligent answer.
It is a long process,this is just one of the earliest attacks. the standard goes something like- he has no foreign policy experience, lets look deeply into his religious beliefs, who is the mastermind pulling his strings,and so on....
We have all seen the monolith that the media has become ask these very questions of Republicans.
Reagan didnt talk to the media, he talked to the people. It seems Walker is doing the same thing.
This time the MSM is having trouble hiding the incompetence of their favorite people. It is becoming harder for people not to notice just how corrupt and incompetent the Government and Media have become.
Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that many of the commenters here were swearing up and down that Professor Althouse was determined to see Hillary elected?
I remember all the columns and television proclamations about "what a man of deep Christian faith" several past presidents received. I guess according to Freeman Hunt that was all ridiculous and finally we are talking about others' religion the way we should. And I am equally sure that we won't have a future president any time soon whose "Christian faith" won't be taken as a matter of course by all these current evaders.
The line of approach that some are taking on this subject is entertaining enough that it makes it less stupid that the whole subject exists in the first place.
"How are these obvious of anyone without seeing into another's mind? To say "of course" in these cases is absurd. That's not an intelligent answer."
People can be very revealing, we can judge them by their actions and the company they keep.
I remember all the columns and television proclamations about "what a man of deep Christian faith" several past presidents received. I guess according to Freeman Hunt that was all ridiculous
Yes.
If someone wants to write a feature about a candidate's actions that seem to indicate a deep faith, okay. To write a column proclaiming as fact the "deep Christian faith" of a politician is, indeed, absurd.
Well then I guess all these people magically happened to figure out the truth Freeman Hunt witnesses here, coincidentally during Obama's presidency. Amazing!
Heck, if we have really turned the corner and are about to call people stupid for offering to talk about others' religious beliefs or degree of patriotism in the political realm, then no one will be happier about that than me!! However, that's not at all what is happening and Freeman, why should we act like it is?
a future president any time soon whose "Christian faith" won't be taken as a matter of course by all these current evaders
Only an extremely credulous person would uncritically accept any politician's proclamation of faith as authentic.
"I don't know," is the correct answer.
Because "Deep Throat" was a Seventies porn film about fellatio...
Any biographers casting about for their next subject should consider
this intriguing life.
(link NFSW)
Has anybody asked Obama if he still thinks Bush is unpatriotic...since it seems important now?
This is all they have.
If Walker were asked whether Bush the elder or Reagan loved their country or were Christian, it is starting to sound like Freeman really thinks he would say "how can I know?"
That's pretty amazing.
Giuliani by this same logic is superhuman for knowing! We are seeing all sorts of metaphysical heights attained right before our very eyes!!!
The gotcha questions will end when the questioned asks a question instead.
Q: So, does Obama love his country?
A: Are Democrats going to condemn Biden for constantly groping women?
Q: Do you believe in evolution?
A: When are Democrats going to show concern that Bill Clinton rode many times in a pederast's airplane to an island with underage hookers?
etc
Heck, if we have really turned the corner and are about to call people stupid for offering to talk about others' religious beliefs or degree of patriotism in the political realm, then no one will be happier about that than me!! However, that's not at all what is happening and Freeman, why should we act like it is?
Are we talking about people generally or Walker specifically?
I thought we were talking about Walker.
If we're talking about people generally, yes, people twist and over-simplify and villify and deify, and fie on them for it.
But that's not Walker's fault.
If Walker were asked whether Bush the elder or Reagan loved their country or were Christian, it is starting to sound like Freeman really thinks he would say "how can I know?"
Do you think he would say, "Of course!"? That would be a stupid answer. (Though I could certainly see a politician offering it to score political points. Most of politics is really stupid.)
Giuliani by this same logic is superhuman for knowing!
Except that he doesn't know.
He would obviously say "of course."
And yes of course it's all about scoring political points. Giuliani scored a few himself even though he is no longer a politician. I wonder what points "I don't know"'scores? Wait, no I don't.
He would obviously say "of course."
And if he did, my first thought would be, "Typical, smarmy politician talk." I have that thought a lot.
Jindal also doesn't know. It's not just Walker. Heck, suddenly "I don't know" is the hot answer as it's not politically calculated at all but rather an expression of truth. It must be a Great Awakening we are coincidentally experiencing here!
"I'm having difficulty understanding why Politico imagines it knows that Scott Walker is feeling heat."
More faux surprise, right?
If Obama loves this country, he has an odd way of showing it.
Somebody said he is like a guy who tells his beloved: "Honey, I love you and want to marry you so that I can show you how to use make-up and dress smarter and teach you how to cook!"
I've got at least four people I'm watching for the primaries.
My #1 is Ted Cruz.
My #2 is Ben Carson.
At #3 and #4 are Walker and Jindal.
But I must say, if the media keep going after Walker, I'm going to end up liking him more and more.
Come on harrogate, call us racists, you know you want to.
Who is served by asking these kinds of questions?
Surely this is not the way people want our elections to be.
harrogate- how important do you find it to know what one politician thinks about another politician's religion?
Why do you think anyone would ask Scott Walker about Barack Obama's religion?
Personally? I don't think it matters at all. I think al this business of how patriotic he is or how Christian he is, represents some seriously stupid levels of America.
But I am hardly the target audience for this stuff.
Reporters and politicians have been making a big deal out of this stuff for a long time. Flag and bible waving works on a lot of people at the polls and sells copy too.
I mean, why is Giuliani a public figure appearing on television to "repeat" his assertions. Idiots eat this stuff up.
And the same idiots eat up "I don't know."
The MSM effortlessly manufacture tempests in all sorts of bizarre tea pots. The lefties then unleash upon anyone careless enough to play their indignant "ah-has!" and "gotchas!" Why, this thread is full of the same. The statist cheerleaders just don't like it when people say, "ain't gonna play; have a nice day." Prepare for a lot of this over the next two years as the real story, the one so delicately ignored by most of us, about the precarious fragility of the international financial system, starts impacting more and more. Mr. Walker had better be prepared for that.
But I am hardly the target audience for this stuff.
Are you sure? You really seem to want Walker to have answered this question.
Harrogate, do you know which politicians are Christians? If uour answer is "yes" please tell me how you know?
And the same idiots eat up "I don't know."
It seems as if the lefties had no problem with "as far as I know".
Tell us Harrogate, were you one of them?
"it says something pretty remarkable about where we are as a country, that answering thus would play into a "hit media" strategy. "
YES, It does but not how you mean it.
Yeah pretty sure I am not the target audience for that question since I would happily vote for a non Christian in a heartbeat if I agreed with their views on policy.
But I do realize that the actual target audience exists. Also, I read this blog and I think the whole "but he doesn't know what's in others' hearts" line is entertaining. So I'm talking about it.
Drago,
Thanks for asking rather than assuming. I truly appreciate it.
That was a very low moment for Hillary in that campaign. I was never terribly excited about either her candidacy or Obama's, but I liked her even less than before after she said that.
Richard Fernandez is usually worth reading and today he hits the nail squarely on the head.
What Giuliani had done was undermine Obama’s legitimacy. Because so much of Obama’s “power” comes from his special-ness that to question his patriotism is to strike at the basis for his governance. It was, as in a monarchy, tantamount to rebellion. The reason that similar remarks by Obama about George Bush’s patriotism evoked simple shrugs was because Bush was just an ordinary president, the latest in a line of politicians to occupy the office since George Washington.
But Obama is different. One cannot understand, for example, the vituperation vented by Dana Milbank at Scott Walker, calling him out for “cowardice”, arguing for his “disqualification” (yes those are the words) for the simple act of refusing to publicly repudiate Giuliani’s words about the president, unless one grasps this essential fact. Obama is different. The Obama phenomenon is founded so completely on his legend that to attack the legend is to undermine the very foundations of the tower on which he stands.
But this is not the first time the Obama myth has been directly impugned. The first major political figure to accidentally touch the Third Rail was Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has become an extraordinary hate object in the press, not because of any views he may hold on policy, but because Netanyahu had the temerity to disrespect Obama. Netanyahu must have been astonished by the charge of electricity that gave back on him.
This has the ring of truth to me.
Both Milbank's column and the WaPo editorial it spawned take the position that Walker KNOWS that Obama is patriotic but he is afraid to say so. The WaPo editorial adds in Walker's unacceptable answer regarding evolution. Althouse is correct on this one, Walker didn't give the answers he gave because he is afraid to cross some hypothetical Obama-hating, science hating base of the GOP, it was just Walker doggedly remaining on message.
Yeah pretty sure I am not the target audience for that question since I would happily vote for a non Christian in a heartbeat if I agreed with their views on policy.
But this isn't a question to someone asking if he is a Christian or non-Christian.
This is asking one man about another man's religion. Anyone who really cares how that is answered, as you seem to, is surely the target audience.
Texas Annie said...
"Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that many of the commenters here were swearing up and down that Professor Althouse was determined to see Hillary elected?"
Just wait until the election draws nearer and the campaigning starts. You'll see Althouse warning republicans to watch what they say about Hillary the Woman! You'll have Althouse tsk-tsking over republican men saying indelicate and ungentlemanly things to Hillary. You'll have Althouse goo-gooing over Hillary showing adorable surprise at how some new-fangled contraption, like a cappucino maker, works. We'll see pictures of Hillary riding in a tank and Althouse will declare her "Presidential!". Somewhere in some speech, Hillary will lapse into Negro dialect- "Ah ain't no wise tahred" and Althouse will declare her "Authentic!". It's still early, Tex. You'll see.
That was a very low moment for Hillary in that campaign.
ha! See? You are the target for these kinds of questions.
This is something you care about.
Just like Harrogate called it. Haley Barbour doesn't hesitate for one second to say Walker "is a Christian" but then goes on to say he doesn't know if Obama is or not.
Haley Barbour, the former Republican governor of Mississippi, said that Walker "shouldn't take the bait" on the so-called "gotcha questions" and said he missed an opportunity to pivot the issue toward Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor who was criticized during the 2008 campaign for inflammatory rhetoric.
"I think Scott Walker's probably just being truthful," Barbour said. "He is a son of a preacher. He is a Christian, and he may have taken that question the way I did the first time I heard about it: Do you believe he's really a Christian, or do you believe he just professes to be a Christian? I don't know the answer to that, either."
Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/todd-milewski/meet-the-press-panel-criticizes-scott-walker-for-not-answering/article_1b8ff96f-dd21-5324-9675-a06b543bc052.html#ixzz3SWonXArl
Just like Harrogate called it. Haley Barbour doesn't hesitate for one second to say Walker "is a Christian" but then goes on to say he doesn't know if Obama is or not.
Important! Thank you!
I care about the outcomes of elections. And I care what rhetoric the media and politicians all use as they jockey for donors and votes. I'm observing, here. I certainly don't represent a political demographic that Walker OR Obama OR the media seek to persuade. But I do have thoughts about how they target others
madisonfella:
Number of people surprised = 0.
Shorter harrogate/madisonfella: all republicans must think and respond in exactly the same ways.
It's not that they must. In this case it's that so very often, they do. Barbour and Walker each gave the regular response.
@Drago, they are assuming so because all Democrats really do think (if one wants to debase the term) in lockstep. So doesn't everybody?
Feel the heat,
pushing you to the side
feel the heat
turning it up ready or not
Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on
Some feel the heat and decide that they can't go on
some like it, some like it hot.
You guys got us Christians pegged.
Its all press manufactured bullshit and the usual suspects here are jumping right on board.
When GOP presidents are called racist war criminals and terrorists by Democrats, the press yawns.
So, why the fuck would I give a shit about the presses wadded panties and situational outrage over the Dems getting the same treatment from someone in the GOP?
And other than being a partisan suck-up, why would any of you?
The thirst is REAL
Usual leftist drivel from the usual suspects (You too harrogate). The WSJ has a nice piece for tomorrow about Walker on UW.
In Mr. Walker’s recent biennial budget proposal, he joined the national debate on higher education. The Governor and potential presidential candidate wants to extend a 2013-2015 tuition freeze at the University of Wisconsin for two more years, and then slightly reduce state aid in exchange for more independence for the system.
UW is now a formal state agency, which operates under the same regulations that apply to the rest of the bureaucracy on worker compensation, bonding for building projects, procurement, contracting and much else. Mr. Walker would spin off UW as a quasi-public authority that is out of this government saddle. He would also convert state aid that is now filled with earmarks for specific programs into a clean, inflation-adjusted block grant that UW could spend at its discretion.
Hardly the hysteria bait that the unions are heading for the fainting couches over.
This will make him look even better to average Americans who would like their kids to go to college but can't afford the present mess.
The guy is on a roll.
Perhaps we are looking for love in all the wrong places. Truman is quoted as saying the Roosevelt was the coldest man he ever met but a great president. I can see that, Roosevelt may not have love America, but I think he identified with America, he was America in some sense. I sense that Obama is also a cold man, but I don't think that he identifies with America, I feel that he identifies with his singular self. He is not a part of the whole, but the deity of a part.
I am about the same age as Obama. I went to a public elementary school. We said the pledge of allegiance every morning, and sang simple patriotic songs ("This Land Is Your Land" was a favorite). We read about the pilgrims and the founding fathers of the country.
On the fourth of July we watched a parade and celebrated with fireworks.
Does anyone think that Obama had this kind of upbringing? If he is patriotic, how and where did he learn to be patriotic?
Terry is raising the important questions!
Michael K, who nominates 16 of the 18 people on the UW System Board of Regents, who set policy?
Some freedom, when the Gov still appoints those who set the rules.
Given the obvious answers: "of course the president of the United States loves the country and of course he is a Christian"--it says something pretty remarkable about where we are as a country, that answering thus would play into a "hit media" strategy.
2/22/15, 6:05 PM
I have seen nothing in his words and deeds that wouldake me think any such thing.
He isn't Alexander Hamilton, but he'll do as a Ronald Reagan-lite.
I think Obama likes the country the way a lot of liberals do. They'll always be the ones saying patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
Interesting fact is that moby commenters on the other sites have been spinning that Walker is a liberal Jeb Bush place holder that plans Amnesty under their GOP business establishment masters.
Their proof is as silly as the theory of some commenters that a single word "socialist " in the name meant the Nazi party was left wing socialism.
They breathlessly point out that Walker is also one of the family names of all Bush Presidents so far. That proves that!
What's his view of half the country? Rubes who cling to their guns and religion
Thsts his real view on religion. If he attended a church for twenty years it wasn't to be religious. It was to make political inroads.
Jaut as Eric holder revealed that he was always for gay marriage, he just lied to get electd, aI think you'll find Obama's entire core is that way.
As for whether he hates this country. I would say he wants to take us down a peg.
Politico has a an agenda. And a narrative to go with it. There's your answer
Harrogate wrote:
"Terry is raising the important questions!"
So you have no idea how patriotic Obama or where he developed his patriotism.
Is mocking the questioner a favorite debate tactic of yours, Harrogate? I ask because you aren't very good at it. Very easy to see through.
So why is it Democrats advocate suspending elections? Why are all Democrats so afraid of free scheduled elections in the US?
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/27/north-carolina-governor-suggests-suspending-elections-to-spur-economic/
Hmm. I just read this whole comment thread. Harrogate and Farmer sound a bit panicky.
Walker gave the answers to stupid questions that I hope I would give. Implicit in these answers was, "Why are you asking me about this? If you are curious about this stuff, go ask Obama."
"Some freedom, when the Gov still appoints those who set the rules."
Good. As my old professor used to say, "fuck 'em. Nasty letter to follow."
Walker owes nothing to the U or to the teachers. They have burned their bridges. Now they will learn how most of America thinks of them.
Back in the day, Gov. Jim Thompson of Illinois was running for re-election against Adlai Stevenson III, and a story appeared in the Chicago papers saying that Thompson had called Stevenson a wimp in private. Thompson was asked about it, and he gave an answer in which he used the word wimp and Stevenson's name about eight times in the course of denying that he, Thompson, even knew what a wimp was. By the end of his answer Stevenson's name was thoroughly associated with the word wimp.
I look forward to further developments in the 2016 presidential race.
A good comeback by Gov Walker would have been, “I haven’t paid much attention but I recall Bill Maher asserting to Jon Stewart on air that he’s sure Barack Obama is a 'drop dead atheist’. So maybe you should find out why he formed that opinion.":
There is a purpose to how Walker frames his answers. He is very aware of who he is targeting and acknowledging when he gives those answers. He's not just punting, he's punting them inside the 20.
Q: "Do you think Obama is a Christian or muslim?"
A: "Neither. He worships himself"
There are already so many different Christian sects and groups, but it is evidently time to recognize a new one: the Democratic Church of the Rhetorical Christ.
This church welcomes all that know that Jesus would want them to be doing exactly what they are doing.
They understand that Jesus is OK with abortion, or any other cause they hold dear, because Jesus would want them to be doing exactly what they are doing.
They understand that Jesus is casual with his Biblical teachings, because Jesus would want them to be doing exactly what they are doing.
They do not need to understand about the Pharisees, for example, because Jesus would want them to be doing exactly what they are doing.
They do not need to worry about hypocrisy, because Jesus would want them to be doing exactly what they are doing.
They can be atheist without contradiction. They understand that Jesus is figurative -- but, if he WAS 'real', Jesus would want them to be doing exactly what they are doing.
Tithing is OK with someone else's money. This is because Jesus would want them to be believe exactly what they believe.
Open arms.
I am Laslo.
Best Laslo ever at 2:38am.
"Mark said...
Michael K, who nominates 16 of the 18 people on the UW System Board of Regents, who set policy?
Some freedom, when the Gov still appoints those who set the rules."
Another idiot response. Regents have staggered 7 year terms. So not only has Walker not appointed 16 regents, any governor has little control over the UW system. And Walker is proposing even less GOVERNMENT control, elimioating a lot of the issue the state has when doing contracts etc. It should save the UW tons of time and money.
Texas Annie said...
"Best Laslo ever at 2:38am."
Thank you. I'm going to be sad to see that one fade away.
I am Laslo.
Unless Althouse uses it to frame a 'what kind of Christian does the media expect Walker to identify' post.
One can dream.
I am Laslo.
Leave Scott Walker aloooooooone. He's a victim!
Laslo nails it at 2:38.
Shorter MSM to Giuliani/Walker:
"Leave Obama aloooone, he's my boyfriend!"
He is in year 5 and will serve 8.
At that point he will have nominated 16 of 18 regents.
Just stop, your being lame and a whiner. He won, so he gets to appoint them. That's how it works, whatever party is in office.
Your complaining about a bad selfie. What, are you really a 13 year old girl?
At that point he will have nominated 16 of 18 regents
And the Authority Board Walker wants would be in charge of faculty/administrator's salaries, not the legislature. All part of Walker's "small government" initiatives.
I had real hopes my 2:38 post would've started a great conversation of what it means for a public figure to declare themselves Christian. Is it truth? Cover? Self-delusion? Are the people allowed to interpret based on their own sense of what being a Christian means?
Having a hard time letting that one go.
I am dejected Laslo.
And the Authority Board Walker wants would be in charge of faculty/administrator's salaries, not the legislature. All part of Walker's "small government" initiatives.
Pushing authority to function down lower and closer to those being affected, from the legislature to the board that actually runs the universities, is consistent with small governance principles.
But, please, spare us all the situational sniveling. If a Democrat were doing this, you wouldn't be saying a thing. In fact, you'd be crowing about how a Democrat is actually adhering to small government principles and that the wing nuts should be supporting it.
Mark said...
He is in year 5 and will serve 8.
At that point he will have nominated 16 of 18 regents.
Apparently math is not your strong suit.
My math is fine. You didn't know about the staggered terms, or you hoped no one else knew or would check. I did. So sad too bad.
And to think that the governor has control over the UW because he appoints the regents is more stupidity. At best he has control over the base ideology of the regents he selects. To think there is any granular control is absurd.
Whatever Walker wants, I also think is a great idea. Great work sheep.
I had real hopes my 2:38 post would've started a great conversation of what it means for a public figure to declare themselves Christian. Is it truth? Cover? Self-delusion? Are the people allowed to interpret based on their own sense of what being a Christian means?
Rhetorical Jesus is genius.
The entire secular liberal/left in the Democrat party has relied in Rhetorical Jesus worship to be able to claim the mantle of "being Christian" for around 40 years now. I'm not a Christian and even I can I.D. the obvious hypocrisy and double standard.
Especially phony, pretend Catholics like Reid and Pelosi.
Whatever Walker wants, I also think is a great idea. Great work sheep
Whatever Walker wants, you will oppose. Which just means your a sheep from a different flock.
Great work, sheep.
Wait until candidate Walker announces during the campaign that he has a plan to tax college and university endowments, foundations like the Clinton's gimme more, and non-profits, including churches. It will be a thing of beauty to watch.
In post-truth America the rich will have their hands full defending why so large an amount of wealth skates by while the rest of the country has to pay and pay.
poker1one said...
Wait until candidate Walker announces during the campaign that he has a plan to tax college and university endowments, foundations like the Clinton's gimme more, and non-profits, including churches. It will be a thing of beauty to watch.
In post-truth America the rich will have their hands full defending why so large an amount of wealth skates by while the rest of the country has to pay and pay.
Ah.
I see you subscribe to the "Scrooge McDuck" theory of economics.
No SGT Ted I am not a 13 year old.
I suppose you said that of Althouse on her Scott Walker Twitter worship threw last week.
I am here with all the other adults on that medium, laughing at the worst selfie of 2015.
Expect to se that photo again and again and again.
Of course "I don't know" is an offensive answer to Progressive journolists ... the Progressive belief system assumes that leaders are omniscient, and therefore ALWAYS know.
Althouse - it's a narrative, plain and simple. Somewhere there is a current version of Journo-List and its spewing out gotcha questions and response articles like this. The GOP candidates continue to try and respond to the questions in earnest instead of just calling the questions what they are - traps. These are planned, coordinated attacks by the national press that the GOP can anticipate. At some point, GOP will either start preparing for these attacks (or even better, limit the enemy's ability to attack). But until then, I don't blame the MSM, I blame the GOP for failure to face and deal with reality.
It's just a stupid cliche the news media uses when they want someone to feel the heat of their displeasure.
Mark said, No SGT Ted I am not a 13 year old.
I suppose you said that of Althouse on her Scott Walker Twitter worship threw last week.
I am here with all the other adults on that medium, laughing at the worst selfie of 2015.
Expect to se that photo again and again and again.
So what are you plans for high school, dear?
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