ADDED: Thanks. Names of people. Names of states and cities. A paean to Hillary Rodham Clinton. The big fight in the primaries has made us stronger. Change! Young people! African Americans! Numbers! Inspired a nation! You didn't come out for me or Senator Clinton; you came out because you know we can't afford to keep doing what we've been doing. Let us begin to work together! Chart a new course for America.
AND: John McCain is a hero. I respect his service. But... he's not as independent as he'd have you believe. He's just more George Bush. "Change does not begin with a war that should never have been authorized."
AND: Change. Change. Change.
AND: We believe in you — someone yells out. Si, se puede — yells some guy.
AND: "This country that we love..." Oh? Did you think he was an America-hater?
AND: We believe in you — someone yells out. Si, se puede — yells some guy.
AND: "This country that we love..." Oh? Did you think he was an America-hater?
AND: This was the moment...
AND: "God bless the United States of America." What? Did you think he'd say "God damn America"?
MORE: A CNN commentator notes that he did not talk about being the first black candidate... and he did talk about Hillary as the first woman to get as far as she did. This compares to CNN's hours of talk all day about the historic nature of his candidacy. He really didn't speak about himself at all, they say. Well, yes. That was very smart of him!
ADDED: JeffreyRosen Toobin speaks of "the deranged narcissism of the Clintons." Why didn't Hillary step back and let all the attention come to Obama? He's won the nomination — he says — it's not even close. [Correction: Sorry for the Rosen/Toobin mix up. I confess I have a terrible time telling the 2 legal Jeffreys apart.]
ADDED: Jeffrey
पोस्ट्स
१०० टिप्पण्या:
Magenta? Rula Lenska, those colors don't look right to me. It's THE COLOR PURPLE.
My mother always turned up the saturation too high on the color TV.
Make sure you view this speech through the RW distortion field. Remember, Obama is stupid. That there's nothing there--he's vacant. That he can't speak without the prompter. And that he wouldn't be there except that he's black.
Alan -- No one has said Obama is stupid. Certainly not here. He's obviously a highly intelligent person and a gifted orator.
He does seem to make some silly statements when he is off script. It's amusing that you can disagree with that while simultaneously arguing that Republicans are trying to "distort."
Anyway, come on, dude. Say something interesting. Your comments border on trolldom.
And that he wouldn't be there except that he's black.
It's sad that the first (semi)black candidate from a major party is such a poor candidate. Lots of sweet words, lots of style, and so little substance. America's fairly stupid so we will probably be stuck with him for 4 years.
I was just echoing what Rush Limbaugh says about Obama. I didn't say this blog was RW.
But having said that, I have read commenters here call Obama "stupid."
ABC cut him off when he started saying bad things about McCain.
The international symbol for a radioactive hazard is a yellow and magenta sign.
Alan -- I have never seen anyone here suggest that Obama is stupid. Except you.
Dim that last bright Ray of Hope...
And vote for Obama.
"It's time to refocus our efforts...on climate change and disease..."
"tough direct diplomacy"
"Legacy of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy..."
WW II, Atom bomb, Vietnam, Bay of Pigs.
"Renewing our commitment to science and innovation..."
Obama is for NASA?
"John McCain has bee taking a lot of time about tallking about taking trips to Iraq but maybe if he visited-"
Iowa...
McCain has been to Iowa-had the guts to NOT support ethanol subsidies.
Maybe if John McCain went to Pennsylvania...
He's been there.
You got your arse kicked there Obama-in the Democrat Primary.
AA said: "He's just more George Bush."
You may now consider yourself officially brain dead - and a sucker for cheap, stupid lefty talking points. Sad. Very sad. Is it age related, Althouse?
P. Rich -- I don't think that's what Althouse said. I'm pretty sure she is reporting what Obama said.
They just have no idea how they're going to run against him, do they? Their entire strategy is predicated on running against Bush, yet he isn't on the ballot. That means that they must either (a) get a new strategy or (b) claim that the GOP nominee -- whoever that happens to be, even if it's someone who makes the strategy look utterly ridiculous -- is running for "Bush's third term." They have no ideas for (a) leaving them to grit their teeth and cling grimly to (b).
"Those thoughtless Republican fucks! If only they'd nominated George Allen, our 'Bush III' campaign pitch wouldn't seem so totally preposterous!"
Steven, the second commenter on this entry called Obama a moron.
Hey, folks. He didn't say anything. (I did like the emotion, however.)
Peace
AA said: "He's just more George Bush."
No, P. Rich, that WASN'T Ann Althouse saying. That was Ann Althouse pointing out a specific piece of SEN. OBAMA's speech, a specific point he made.
Did you read the post? Don't get "added" and "and" after "And now: Obama!" and an initial observation as Obama prepared to speak?
It's called setting up a post in reference to event on which you're going to follow up, a post you're going to update.
Which AA did.
Tell me, p. rich ... what the hell is YOUR lapse attributable to?
My mother always turned up the saturation too high on the color TV.
Really?
Brit Hume-is quoting him as saying time for us again to be the world's last best hope?
You have got to be kidding me.
My Gawd the military , the Iraqis are-
screwed, screwed if this guy wins, and so are the victims of terror the world over.
The Youth Vote reach out and blow that light out.
Now-Juan Williams
"John McCain I respect John McCain's accomplishments even though he refuses to acknowledge mine."
Well...really Obama the community organizer, and state senator who accomplished what?
A record of voting present?
If McCain did poorly against the content of this self delving speech-we are in deep trouble.
Alan is right about Rush.
7 machos is right about this post. I'm summarizing the speech.
She's reporting on how "vacant" Obama's flowery speech is.
Lets forget what he said, and how he performed, during the debates with Edwards and Hillary. He's vacant.
Seven Machos said...
"Alan -- No one has said Obama is stupid. Certainly not here. He's obviously a highly intelligent person and a gifted orator."
I register my continuing dissent on the latter point. I don't think he's a "gifted orator" - I think he's a purveyor of the hammiest, schlockiest bullshit you could hope to encounter, and he gets away with it for the sole and sufficient reason that he is feeding audiences red meat. The leftosphere will acclaim anyone as eloquent if they bash Bush and the war. He's as much a "gifted orator" as Zig Zigler; a trite mediocrity. When he leaves the teleprompter, he's a lot more likable, but suffers from a problem of being excessively revealing about what he really thinks, as this campaign has demonstrated.
Are you saying that Althouse is calling Obama vacant? Rigidly neutral Althouse? Where is the part in Althouse's commentary about vacant?
Alan -- You seem to see a lot of shit that is not actually, you know, factually there.
Simon -- Obama gives a good speech. That's why he is a gifted orator.
I have read that Abe Lincoln actually had a tinny voice and couldn't speak at all. The content of his speeches, though, was obviously amazing. Bush's speeches are terrific when you read them. I'm not talking about substance. I'm talking about style.
Does this damn whining-
Obama-
John McCain I respect John McCain's accomplishments even though he refuses to acknowledge mine."-
sound Presidential to anyone?
Bueller?
Imagine if Hillary said that?
Weak!
What are Obama's accomplishments after law school?
Other than waaay more taxes and surrender in Iraq, 'zactly what does Obama stand for?
7,
"What are Obama's accomplishments after law school?"
He stole the nomination from the inevitable Clinton. :)
I think it's fair to say that Obama earned the nomination with a very good strategy.
I dunno
Somehow hes' going to refocus America, erh turn the page and fight disease.
Just don't ask him how in the hell he's going to ramp up the disease research and development whilst promulgating universal health care-
damn it!
Look he beat -just barely- supposedly according to the "media" the politican with the highest negatives in history.
According-Zogby or Gallup or whoever the hell did the polling.
So he's been barely able to fend Hillary off.
The candidate the media told us had the highest negatives in history!
So either Hillary's negatives weren't that bad or Obama really isn't all that...
1- Rula Lenska!
2- I had to switch it off ten minutes in. I now know the pain anti-Bush people have felt all these years. Even at his Bubba worst, I didn't mind listening to President Clinton. But Obama? Knowing what I know he's been listening to for 20 years, for him to suddenly pull his grandma from under the bus in his first few sentences...that made me sick to my stomach.
Ann quoted:
"Jeffrey Rosen speaks of "the deranged narcissism of the Clintons." Why didn't Hillary step back and let all the attention come to Obama?
3- Because, maybe just maybe, the Clintons deserve it this time.
This was a hard-won battle on HER side. This might be her national aspiration's swan song, and she deserved her last 30 minutes of wilted glory.
Instead, Obama just had to sit pretty in the sidelines, content today with throwing in a cheap shot at McCain:
"John McCain has spent a lot of time talking about trips to Iraq in the last few weeks, but maybe if he spent some time taking trips to the cities and towns that have been hardest hit by this economy -- cities in Michigan, and Ohio, and right here in Minnesota -- he'd understand the kind of change that people are looking for."
Oh really. Why don't you ask the people of Kentucky, W. Virginia, Puerto Rico and all those other states you barely visited, about their opinion, Mr. Obama.
Obama has 5 months of undiluted attention coming to him. The media are already falling over themselves to cover his every word (you'll note ABC/and local Fox affiliates cut live to his speech).
Can't HE have let HER have one final hurrah? Or rather, the pundits? Toads.
Cheers,
Victoria
I'm thinking it'll be Chris Matthews as VP. And Keith Olbermann as Secretary of State.
They already are, in an un-nominated sorta way.
Seven Machos said...
"Simon -- Obama gives a good speech. That's why he is a gifted orator ... I'm not talking about substance. I'm talking about style."
I know what you meant, I just don't agree. I've seen many of his speeches, one of them "in the flesh." He's mediocre at best, in terms of style, IMO.
Obama isn't stupid, but he's never been tested. There's only one instance I know of where the MSM pressed him on something, and almost all the questions I'm aware of regular citizens asking him were stupid and/or a setup.
What that means is that if a regular citizen who's familiar with pressing people - such as a trial lawyer or similar - asks him something that throws him off his script, he's going to wilt.
If anyone wants to do a public service, call him on this lie or ask him one of these.
Then, upload his response to Youtube and prepare to be famous.
Obamas is indeed Gaffes Galore, even tonight his remarks about McCain is just complete lie and he said it with a straight face!
a blog dedicated to Obama Gaffes
www.obamasgaffes.blogspot.com
www.obamasgaffes.blogspot.com
Magnificent. Consider it blogrolled.
BTW, another howler tonight was that he said there were 54 hard-fought fights:
Tonight, after fifty-four hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end.
Not 54...56.
50 States plus American Samoa, Democrats Abroad, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
Wait, wait, sorry! That should be 57 States plus 6, so man, you know, the guy is exhausted. Cut him a break and get him a waffle.
P.S.: Since I'm being all bitter clinging to my guns here, did anyone see Michelle give Obama a knuckle "high five" as she left the podium?
All together now:
Not Ready For Prime-Time.
From Obama's speech -
At this defining moment for our nation, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified field of individuals ever to run for this office.
Yeah. A silver-tongued guy 2 years in national office, a former First Lady claiming it was "equivalent" of being President what with the sniper fire and all..Add in a crazy Vegan, a crazy ex-Senator, two 30-year inside the Beltway hacks who failed in other runs, and Slick, the trial lawyer and 1-term Senator.
A verifiable 2nd convocation of the Founding Fathers showed up for the 2008 Democratic nomination, Barack....
I honor that service, and I respect his (McCains) many accomplishments, even if he chooses to deny mine.
He already said you give soaring, pretty speeches. What else constitutes your "many accomplishments" Barack? That students nominated you as editor 20 years ago as a compromise candidate? What of your "many accomplishments" has McCain omitted?
I won't stand here and pretend that there are many good options left in Iraq, but what's not an option is leaving our troops in that country for the next hundred years..
We are losing! Down to our last options, none good! It is desperate times like this, that I The Obama, have yet again been proven vindicated in my superior judgment because I was too smart to join the military knowing that defeat is imminent and we must run our asses out of there, ASAP.
to recruit an army of new teachers and give them better pay and more support; to finally decide that in this global economy, the chance to get a college education should not be a privilege for the wealthy few, but the birthright of every American.
We have the highest public school education costs next to Switzerland and rank near the bottom of educational attainment in advanced nations that have 25%-70% larger class sizes than in America, suggesting that more teachers is not the answer - motivated students and parents are.
Why must every American child have a chance to go to college as a birthright, when other advanced nations find that 15-25% max of their population is suited for true college-level and focus instead on graduating HS students, and arming many of the 80% that don't go with cramming the equivalent of 2 years more learning than American students get in 12 years, or putting them on a solid footing for a skilled trade or craft job? Up to 40% of American minorities don't graduate even HS and are tossed on the street with minimum skills at getting a job and advancing in a career.
But what you don't deserve is another election that's governed by fear, and innuendo, and division.
No more of the Bush lied, deserted the military, murdered mother's children in Iraq, condemned the homeless to starve to death, shredded the Constitution, tortured innocent people, and committed black genocide in New Orleans???
Wow, Barack will be an improvement!
I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations.
Then the BS artist says this:
I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal
Oh, yes, Black Messiah! Through your divine powers as President of one country and the magnificence of your ghost-written speeches we all see you, the Messiah, commanding the sick be treated and the jobless get jobs for the first time as your holy aura slows the ocean rise and causes the planet to heal..
Great slogan for 2008 - Vote The Obama Messiah In, For HE Will Heal The Planet.
And HE commandeth the Waters Be Still, and Stop Rising, Saving His Flock..
But he will do it all so humbly and charmingly, always aware of his own profound humility, limits.
Obama is the metaphorical child of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. A promise from our founding not yet fulfilled, "That all men are created equal."
A great day for our republic, regardless of who is president come November.
VB,
You know I love you... but I think you may be wrong about the MO fist dap. I am 35, and especially this year I have learned that I am old. When I go on iTunes, I don't know the names of any band. When I hear "the kids" talk, I have no idea what the hell they are saying, etc. I don't know how old you are, but look... Obama is banking on da youth coming out in huge numbers. We have all heard this before and have all seen under 25's stay home but this time could be different. All this to say that if you are turned off by MO's "casual" nature, you probably weren't going to vote for BO anyway. But some late teen / early 20 something might think that's cool. I remember what a beating it was to listen to Bill Clinton go on MTV and act like he was your older frat brother coming back to the house to hang out... but it worked on a lot of people, and it could, I emphasize could, work in November.
Metaphorical child? Come on. This is just silly. Politics is factual and real.
I add here, apropos of not much, that the obits attributing his defeat to racism are already being written.
Obama! He's my swooner lover boy dreamboat!
He has all the solutions.
He is different, you know. And he’s going to help us all be different too
Because every child deserves to be above average, and Obama's just the guy to make that happen.
Because all the things that America accomplished so far - things like feeding the world, and donating more money abroad than any nation around, and enabling the highest standard of living in the world's history, and protecting the free world for 50 years - these ugly memories are all behind us now.
Change in on the horizon with Obama
Pay no attention the clearly established fact there are now fewer wars in the world than in any time before, and that the wars that do exist result in fewer deaths per war than at any other time in history.
Pay no attention to the fact that Internationists are calling this the most peaceful and prosperous period for the entire world in the history of the world.
Pay no attention to the fact that after WWII there were literally a handful of democracies in the world, and now there are multiple democracies on every continent.
And don't keep reminding us about how America has brought technology and innovation to the world that has now caught on in India, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and is raising their standards of living beyond what was once imagined. (And is also fueling world demand for oil that is raising the world price!)
No! Today is the day we stop doing what we've been doing, and make a change for the future. Today is the day that Obama will start to lead us out of our ugly and troubled past.
And you were here to hear Obama say it, with his very own anointed mouth, you lucky slob!
If we were romans we would consult the mystics, we'd look for signs in the heavens. We'd sift through chicken gizzards.
Today is not the day to nit-pick policy differences. This day goes in the history books.
Seven,
I see your bet and will raise you this: If Obama wins, the Right will be writing obituaries praising the death of racism. "Racism is dead in America, otherwise, Obama wouldn't be president..."
"John McCain I respect John McCain's accomplishments even though he refuses to acknowledge mine."
Oh no he didn't!
And they call Clinton narcissistic!
And they said Bush was snippy!
And they called Nixon paranoid!
And they thought LBJ was thin-skinned!
Jesus, on this night of all nights, he really said this? Wow, I'll have to run this by my Obama-loving family members. Icky-goo.
Blue Moon! There you are. I hadn't seen you for a while, so howdy back. :)
Thanks for the "fist dap" correction. Coincidentally, I just argued your point but instead about McCain's appeal to his own demographics.
He doesn't need to be dynamic like Barack. And Barack doesn't need to be dignified like McCain.
They are prisoners of their demographics now, made easier because they are both being genuine.
For a change...
Ann:
If you were watching CNN, I think you mean Jeffrey Toobin not Jeffrey Rosen.
Toobin's commentary is consistently annoying -- if you want to know what the style snobs think and aren't looking for substantive political analysis, though, he's your guy.
They used to say Bill Clinton was a great speaker, but can anyone remember anything of his trite and banal speeches? "The era of big government is over" (another lie) is the only phrase that comes to mind.
"I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
RJ
What a man/woman/it you are. I'll bet AA feels sooooo warm and safe with you around, the great protector, jumping into the fray to fight injustice, right wrongs and drool stupidly in between superhero escapades. Note she changed her post to better differentiate quotes.
Words to you, Pookie. Piss off. No one asked your opinion. To Ann, apologies if warranted.
My favourite Bubba quote, Ralph:
"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what's right in America"
That's beautiful.
Vb,
Yeah. It's early, but I see it this way. For those who do not get really fired up about policy, they will have to decide if they want a change agent, who may give them buyer's remorse about this time next year, or do they want a steady hand who won't blow your socks off and may be "boring" but is less risky? Do they want a torrid affair or want to be married? Style and symbolism and excitement or subdued, solid, and predictable? I think BO needs to show a little more command and JM needs to show that he's not going to bomb Iran on Groundhog Day '09. In a way, I think McCain is vulnerable to the charge that he is too much of a maverick, and Obama is vulnerable to the charge that is safe and predictable like a socialist law professor with tenure.
Clinton's speeches weren't trite. They were wonderfully oozy. That New Covenant speech he gave in 1992 was perfect for the moment. The man can speak off the cuff without notes better than any politician I have ever seen.
His problem was that he spoke in the moment, to his audience, without regard for any long-term goals. His gift for immediacy was also his downfall as a president. Certainly, he wasn't a failure but he was mediocre precisely because he couldn't extend his gift for language to meaningful, world-historical policy.
For that, you have to look to Reagan.
Lets forget what he said, and how he performed, during the debates with Edwards and Hillary.
You mean "badly"? He came off poorly in relation to Clinton in every one of the debates. He only does well when he has a prepared speech (e.g., tonight).
He's vacant.
That's about the size of it, yeah.
Notice how he keeps repeating "change, change, change"? That's a meaningless word. Saying "change" tells us nothing about what he wants to change, how he wants to change it, or what he wants to change it to. It is just a political inkblot test -- his followers look at it and imagine what they'd most like to see there.
Yes. I have been saying this for months. Change into what? I mean, besides utopia, in case that doesn't work out.
"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what's right in America"
RR: Government is not part of the solution, government is part of the problem.
Obama stole the "Change" mantra from the 92 Clinton campaign, which must rile the Clintons.
Ruth Anne, I was thinking of set speeches. "I didn't inhale", etc, and even "Miss Lewinsky" were (I assume) off the cuff.
Rev,
I mean this both seriously and tongue in cheek -- anyone can offer policy prescriptions. Obama is unique because he is, more than any candidate I can remember, offering himself as the change. You don't vote for Obama because of policy - you vote for him for him. Policy is for Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell to work out while Obama stays above the fray -- occasionally calling a penalty or talking to the team captains about fair play, or, to mix this metaphor even more, appealing to the audience like the chorus in an ancient greek play.
YMMV as to whether this is good or bad. I'm going to vote for it, but I can see why others would not.
Change the party in power--that's the sublimiminble message. To Obamites, the Clintons were the party in power, Bush in the general.
"Obama is the metaphorical child of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings."
What, the bastard child of a Master's seduction of his slave? Geez, I'm thinking there's more than argon in the Ultimate Wine Saver.
Hitchen's book on TJ posit a different relationship. Since no woman white or black had full dominion over her own affairs at that time I suppose there were no relationships borne of love until women's suffrage?
There is a large difference between Obama's actual parents and the relationship between TJ and SH.
It was illegal for Obama's mother and father to be together, since miscegenation laws were on the books until 1967. There was no problem with TJ living with and taking Ms. Hemings to France among other places where slavery did not exist.
and it's Ultra Wine Saver btw.
A man may yet become president of a country that, at the time of his birth, states in the union would have thrown his parents in jail for being together.
I think I'll vote after all even though it's absurd. By mail. I need to get rid of all those those 1 cent stamps. Plus, Colorado voter registrations are used for jury pools. I want to do that. The Denver County Courthouse is just a few blocks away. That's going to be cool.
High school pep rallies always embarrassed me. All that yelling and contrived excitement about a high-school sport team was annoying. I couldn't stand it. My friends and I ditched them all. We hopped in the car and took off. Never went to a single game, and was never even once questioned about it. If I was quiet and sufficiently cautious, I could approach invisibility. This side of politics is like that. When I hear someone say affirmatively, "blah blah blah the next president of the You-Knighted-States!," I feel like I could barf.
Obama is hammering away at the theme of McCain being just another Bush because he knows it plays well with the people who'll vote for him. That would seem proof that he actually is stupid and so are the people who repeat that theme. It's so stupid it hurts my ears to hear it. If these people actually believe that, then they're too stupid to even have a rational discussion. Bush is a singularity as is every single other president. It's not possible to have another Bush any more than it's possible to have another Washigton. Then to suggest someone is the next Kennedy is even stupider still. It's like high octane stupid. Why so many Democrats favor these comparisons is utterly beyond me. I know they cannot possibly be that dense. It must be meanness or laziness, wishful thinking, imagination, poor communication skills, penchants for the fallacy of analogies, something, I don't know what. It's pep rally talk. I feel like hopping in my car and speeding off. Find a quiet place and consort with someone rational far apart from the madding crowd.
For the record, I don't believe Obama is stupid. At least not so stupid as to think McCain is another Bush. Nor vacant. But I do believe he's shrewd and that he lacks discernible values other than whatever it takes to get himself elected. The thing is, there's a big broad middle out there that doesn't make nearly as much noise as the ones yelling in front of cameras and making all the noise. These quiet people vote in large numbers and have a tendency to hang up on pollsters so they're less frequently counted, and far less accounted for by the so-called opinion makers, except for when being counted actually counts, which is why the poll citing pundits are always so stunned. Pondering all this and communicating it is a step out of character for me, therefore my real self insists I concentrate on a bowl of homemade chicken broth in order to refocus, retune and find my center.
Obama is unique because he is, more than any candidate I can remember, offering himself as the change. You don't vote for Obama because of policy - you vote for him for him.
It sounds like we're in agreement about the nature of Obama. We just differ in whether his nature is a good or bad thing.
Cults of personality seldom work out well. The reality of the matter is that while you may *vote* for Obama, as President he's going to have to actually come up with policies. If he decides to just wing it, he'll get chewed up like cheap meat in a sausage grinder.
Obama, full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Heaven help us all if he is ever elected president.
I have noticed that Obama has grown fond of saying that he "loves" America. I would think that he has had to teach himself to say that he "loves" America; oh yes, that "L" word was a recent addition to his political lexicon. A man does not sit for 20 years and listen to "d*** America" and "Ameri-KKK-a" and convince me that he loves this fair land. He does not remain silent when the beloved is impugned and derided only to take umbrage when he is slighted. That is not love which does not defend the beloved.
As for Obama's race, that is immaterial to me; I've lived in countries governed by black, Indian, and Asian men. Politicians are politicians the world over. It might seem a big thing that one of the political parties in this great land has a black (is he really?) candidate. However, the color of his skin means nothing and the content of his character everything. Show me Obama's friends, and I'll show you the man. Well, we know who his friends are; thus, his character augurs disastrous changes ahead for this fair land. Once, back in the 1930's, a nation was seduced by a man who sought to change the political, social, and economic realities of his country. He changed it all right. Sieg heil!
Of greater significance than Obama's color, too, is his political ideology and the direction in which he will take this country. He is a Marxist communist who demonstrates no understanding of capitalism, market forces, individuality, or the role of the individual in the shaping of American society and the economy. Worse yet, even though he is reputed to have taught constitutional law (and he was not a professor), Obama demonstrates no genuine understanding of or regard for the Constitution. Given his Marxist and radical inclinations and associations, one can expect that if he is elected the Constitution, like the Flag, will be used to light bonfires. His friend Ayres, at whose altar Obama genuflected, saw fit to trample on the Flag, to regret that he had not done more to bomb, burn, and kill. Obama remains his friend in spite of Ayres's desecration of the symbols of Obama's new-found beloved. Since his ignorance of American history is on a par with his ignorance of capitalism and the Constitution, it is hard to imagine that Obama would lead this country down any path other than that which the early Puritans discovered is the road to ruin.
Of equal significance is Obama's absolute absence of achievement. He has no management training or experience; sorry, a law degree is not enough. He has never been a governor. Sorry, community activism is not enough. What has Obama done? What legislation has he pushed for and brought to fruition that demonstrates his concern for this country's welfare? None. Forget about the chunk of legislation in his name in Chicago; they were the bills of other men and Obama was given the credit. As for his time in the Senate, sound and fury before the cameras, otherwise, nothing that is in accord with the well-being of this land.
Obama can talk—if he has a written text. When he speaks extemporaneously, his windbaggery is astonishingly stream of consciousness. He says whatever pops into his head, however absurd it is, knowing that his hearers will swoon because, after all, the messiah has said it. When he is not attempting to make his unreflective audience swoon, Obama is often whiny. I have yet to hear him give utterance to anything substantial. Even his speech on Wright and race was risible. The sum of that speech was this: the fault lies not in our hearts, dear rubes, but in America. If Jeremiah Wright is a racist, blame America.
So, we come to a pass this night. Many are happy and excited, swept up in the "first black" syndrome, too drunken on race and novelty to require substance and specifics, to ask hard questions. Too elated to consider the life-threatening global issues which confront western civilization, many are rejoicing in race when race in and of itself can achieve nothing and the man on whom their dreams rest has achieved nothing.
It is a fearful time. I don't argue for a white presidential candidate; instead, I argue for a presidential candidate who knows something and who can do something without destroying this country and its foundation. As one of the unpersuaded 10%, this is not a euphoric time; this is not a time to note historical firsts. Too many lives may be sacrificed if the historical first is elected and follows through on his promise to weaken us militarily and economically.
So, for Obama's "change we can believe in," all I have to say is this: "timeo socialistos marxistos et dona ferentes."
I am, as a Democrat far more excited about Obama than any Democratic nominee we've had in years.
In 1984, I wanted Hart (that was four years before Hart turned out to be a flake), but got Mondale. In 1988 I didn't really like any of the candidates but did end up doing some work for Dukakis. He's probably the closest to a candidate I could believe in until Obama. In 1992 and 1996 I voted for Clinton, but I never really liked him. He won, but as a liberal I've always been suspicious of the DLC folks. In 2000, I voted for Bill Bradley in the primary and actually didn't settle on Gore until two weeks before the election (I actually was buying that 'uniter not a divider' stuff and came as close as I ever have to voting Republican for the first time ever in a Presidential election.) In 2004 like most Democrats I felt we got stuck with a lemon (though admittedly Howard Dean destroyed his own chances, nobody else had to do him in after the Dean Scream.)
This year I was originally for Richardson (having met him personally several times and sat down and discussed issues with him.) But once he dropped out and I started paying attention to the alternatives, Obama really did sound like the kind of candidate I can support because I believe in him, not just that he's better than the alternative (as has been the case.) I'm actually excited about going out and working for him in the fall.
Make sure you view this speech through the RW distortion field. Remember, Obama is stupid. That there's nothing there--he's vacant. That he can't speak without the prompter. And that he wouldn't be there except that he's black.
I think I see why Obama fans and Obama skeptics are talking past each other.
No one who is paying attention thinks Obama is stupid. When it is said that he's an "empty suit," that phrase is not synonymous with "stupid." A very intelligent person, a straight-A student at Harvard can be an "empty suit." The "empty suit" charge reflects more on his leadership style, his policy agenda and his campaign.
I liked him and am depressed that I don't like him as much anymore. I wanted to be able to vote for the same guy my parents and my many liberal friends were voting for.
But his handling of the Rev. Wright controversy demonstrated to me his empty-suitedness. Everything he's done with regard to that threat to his candidacy has been passive, tactical and immediately discarded when new facts emerged. It's insulting to my intelligence that he would say he never heard Rev. Wright make these comments, then a few days later make an "eloquent" speech in which he admits he did hear Wright's controversial comments; then a few weeks later after Rev. Wright exposes the nation to his rhetoric does what he said he could "never do," and disavows him; and then quits the church weeks later when it becomes clear that the whole church is infected with Wright's style of radicalism.
It not only looks dishonest, it appears so weak. He takes a stand and then abandons it soon thereafter. And knowing the Rev. Wright issue was looming for over a year, why didn't he prepare a response he could stick to. That's what other candidates do. It was such a sign of inexperience.
He's doing the same thing now, trying to weasel out of his statement about meeting with the leaders of Iran, Venezuela, etc. with "no preconditions." It was a pretty strong declaration, but now he's trying to slide away from it. If he was going to back away from such a bold commitment, he never should have made it.
He's setting us all up to be disappointed when we find out he either doesn't have convictions or doesn't have the courage of his convictions.
The phrase "empty suit" doesn't connote lack of intelligence. It connotes weakness.
Obama was disqualified from serious consideration by anyone with even a modicum of sense the day he threatened to unilaterally invade a nuclear-armed ally of the United States in order to attempt to arrest one old man.
Yes, I am saying that you, the person who considers Obama to even be qualified to retain his Senate seat, have not even a modicum of sense.
Sure, he's a new JFK. The JFK of the Bay of Pigs, the JFK who almost started a nuclear war, the JFK who escalated our commitment to Vietnam. A major danger to the safety and security of the United States the moment he steps into the Oval Office.
Yes, even if he gets surrounded by smart advisers who stop him from even thinking such idiotic nonsense ever again. Because the day he's elected, the stuff he's already said will render relations with Pakistan ten times more difficult than they already are. Instead of electing him, why don't we just bomb a few mosques in Islamabad? It'll have the same effect.
"I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.."
Yes, generations from now" the children, the wee children!! - will learn:
Beginning June 3rd, the Obama Messiah begins to command the waves to calm, then receed. And Mother Earth weeps with joy that a man as good as Obama has come to heal it with his rapturous followers.
The most delicious thing was right before the paragraph where he spouted this tribute to the sheer glory of himself and his saving the planet and being praised for that and curing the sick and ensuring all had jobs and commemorated for generations to come, the BS Artist said this in his speech:
I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations
Obama! Obama! Black Messiah! We are not worthy!
Rush walked back his claim that Obama was stupid. He revised it as that Obama was the first candidate educated entirely by indoctrination.
I myself stand by the claim that Obama is stupid. Every word he says says it.
".......this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.."
Somebody ought to tell him this is King Canute's line.
In a way, I think McCain is vulnerable to the charge that he is too much of a maverick, and Obama is vulnerable to the charge that is safe and predictable like a socialist law professor with tenure.
Blue Moon, I think you're on to something with both these characterisations.
Personally, I think Obama has good intellectual genes inside him and a natural self-belief. This has gotten him a long way, especially on the heels of affirmative action.
(he latter's help perhaps showing when under duress, such as allegedly not knowing who Gordon Brown was, or his continued confuzzlement about geography, etc.
That Americans are not sharp at geography shouldn't be any kind of retort by Democrats. Remember, he's being packaged as a SMARTER guy.
Speaking of packages, I'm wondering just how much Obama can retool himself in the near future, now that campaign '08 has truly begun.
Will he don a cowboy hat again?
He looked ridiculous, like JFK looked like an Irish store detective back in the day.
Is he going to hang out at a ballgame, knocking back a few brews and eating some 'dogs? Perhaps throw out the first pitch like Kerry.
Oh, BTW, Obama is a lefty...no, really. He apparently fools his oncourt basketball opponents since they don't know he's got a sweet left hook shot.
How about donning some hunting gear, and taking out a few squirrels as humanely as possible, so his supporters don't freak, and Brigitte Bardot doesn't jet over and break parole?
Seems to me that "maverick" is a quintessential American trait, which anyone of us can relate to, given the opportunity.
Whereas a safe and predictable socialist professor with tenure needs a WEE bit of a tweaking to be able to sell.
We'll see.
Cheers,
Victoria
I was calling him stupid long before anyone else had the guts to (granted, not here). I have been vindicated over and over since.
People, try actually listening to the utter garbage and vacuous nuttiness that comes out of his mouth. Dumber than dirt, and gets a total pass for it. Talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations.
If Obama picks Hillary for VP, then he is stupid.
Peg, I believe Obama is quite intelligent.
But some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual would believe them. Obama is that sort.
He's a handsome, smooth, nonthreatening university elitist schooled in identity politics, with blue state socialist beliefs intermixed with anti-American and racist animus. He lacks integrity, it appears, having insufficient courage of conviction to defend his church or his doting grandmother.
From a conservative's point of view, the question is whether or not the Constitution will survive the FDR-like onslaught of collectivist policies forthcoming, or will we sink into the quagmire of Europe, increasingly statist and controlling, and wholly unable to defend itself?
Big government expanded relentlessly under the nominal conservative Bush. Just imagine the degree it will rteach into your pocket and your lives once a 1930s or 1960s-style overhaul is cemented in place. I fear the original American experiment is dead. The involution has begun, and we are becoming the nation our Founders warned us about.
Fascism with a happy face.
Make sure you view this speech through the RW distortion field. Remember, Obama is stupid. That there's nothing there--he's vacant. That he can't speak without the prompter. And that he wouldn't be there except that he's black.
Funny you say RW distortion field. Seems to me those sentiments were being echoed by Hillary herself, Ferraro and Bill.
Project much?
Alan: Make sure you view this speech through the RW distortion field. Remember, Obama is stupid
There are different kinds of intelligence Alan.
Unfortunately you have little of any of them.
Blue Moon said...
"In a way, I think McCain is vulnerable to the charge that he is too much of a maverick...."
So you reject the spin that McCain is running for Bush's third term, then? You can't coherently push both the narrative that McCain is a maverick and the narrative that he's Bush-McCain III.
"Policy is for Nancy Pelosi and Mitch McConnell to work out while Obama stays above the fray -- occasionally calling a penalty or talking to the team captains about fair play, or, to mix this metaphor even more, appealing to the audience like the chorus in an ancient greek play."
You can't seriously believe this. YMMV as to whether it would be a good thing to have a President who was what you describe, but you can't seriously believe Obama is such.
For all of Obama's rhetorical ability on the stump, he has handled impromptu press conferences badly and is demnstrably gaffe prone. That however is irrelevant, IMO.
The biggest problem I see for Obama is that his strategy of winning caucuses is not going to work well in the General--thats decided by popular vote; Hillary's comment about winning the popular vote--esp in the battleground states--is on target, I believe.
Further, Obama has put out a track record of left of center positions to win the Democrat core. He now has to tack back to the center to win the general. I think he has his work cut out for him. He will have the advantage of a "lewinski media," but I don't think that will be enough to overcome his own shortcomings.
(I noted that he pulled his grandmother out from under the bus last nite by dedicating his nomination to her....WTF?)
What is this bullshit about McCain as Maverick? Do conservatives have to do this every election cycle? First Bush was mythologized as rootin', tootin' ranchin' cowboy pilot hero, now McCain's a "maverick"? Feh.
"Maverick" is MSM-speak for RINO, usually indicates a social liberal and big government type that favors the military and is willing to give the finger to conservatives. That is, acceptable to centrist Democrats, albeit begrudgingly and lacking a better choice.
It's mostly a high-five for giving the thumb in the eye to the GOP.
Pogo, it's a myth. He's not a social liberal.
Sure, he's a new JFK. The JFK of the Bay of Pigs, the JFK who almost started a nuclear war, the JFK who escalated our commitment to Vietnam. A major danger to the safety and security of the United States the moment he steps into the Oval Office.
I get it. Obama is a new George W. Bush.
Then why do Republicans not all embrace him?
The Democrats have a black guy running for President and a lot of ignorant people are boasting that this day is somehow a great moment in history. If they'd been taught anything about American history they might remember January 23, 1972. Go look up Shirley Chisholm. She was black AND a woman and she beats both Obama and Hillary by 36 years. But in 1972 the Democrats preferred George McGovern to Chisholm. Strangely enough in 2008 the Democrats have found a mixed race guy who talks just like George McGovern.
Beth, as Pogo's comment illustrates, when conservatives refer to McCain as a "maverick," they aren't trying to "mythologize[]" or otherwise lionize him. It isn't intended as a compliment. To be sure, I agree with you that he isn't a social liberal, but he is regarded by the party as a loose cannon, as a bit of an Anthony Kennedy - someone who likes to be liked by the media and buys into positions that the base thinks are wrong.
FWIW, I think McCain is, if not a maverick, then at least heterodox, and more centrist than the GOP as a whole, and as much as it may madden some of the base, that is his saving grace this election. For example, KLo approvingly quotes Bill Bennett's whine that McCain is "tougher on Bush and Rumsfeld than he is on Obama." It is imperative that McCain put clear water between himself and Bush, and I don't see what's hard for Kathryn to grasp here: many conservatives are repulsed by Bush because they think he failed by selling out conservatism; many independents are repulsed by Bush because they think he failed, period. Demonstrating that he isn't Bush III is McCain's route to victory (whether that makes him a maverick, a loose cannon, heterodox, or anything else), which is precisely why the dems are so intent on painting him as Bush III.
try actually listening to the utter garbage and vacuous nuttiness that comes out of his mouth
Aside from leftist idiocies, he may be tailoring his rhetoric for his audiences. Remember Gore's slow speaking style? (Mercifully abandoned for his acceptance speech, which also wasn't interrupted by applause, a great improvement over everyone's SOTUs).
Simon, you say quite reasonably that McCain has to differentiate himself from Bush to get elected. So it makes sense to paint him, positively, as a "maverick." It's a much nicer term than heretic. It's manly and bold, all western and rawhide. Of course they mean it as a compliment, even if a grudging one. It's part of the campaign mythology. He's not Bush! He's a maverick! When he's not hugging and kissing Bush, he's boldly not being Bush!
What is this bullshit about McCain as Maverick? Do conservatives have to do this every election cycle? First Bush was mythologized as rootin', tootin' ranchin' cowboy pilot hero, now McCain's a "maverick"? Feh.
The MSM has been calling McCain a "maverick" ever since he first clashed with Bush after the 2000 election. It isn't anything new.
And as Pogo and others have pointed out, Republicans don't consider "maverick" a compliment.
And as Pogo and others have pointed out, Republicans don't consider "maverick" a compliment.
I'm betting the GOP will happily cooperate with that MSM maverick myth in this election; it will benefit them in making the argument that McCain doesn't represent four more years of Bush. For better or worse, McCain's the Republican nominee, so they'll change their tune to fit the situation.
they'll change their tune to fit the situation.
More likely they'll swallow hard, roll their eyes, and pull the lever, lacking any better alternative.
He's more of a Ford Maverick, i.e., an apellation perhaps more ironic than descriptive.
McCain hasn't toed the party line on a lot of things, most famously campaign finance, which began before the 2000 election, IIRC. There was something pretty big in the 80's too, but I can't remember what--Reagan's Lebanon deployment? Then there was normalization with Vietnam in the early 90's. He's earned the appelation, so he might as well use it, cuz he won't get much enthusiasm from the bulk of the GOP.
I'm betting the GOP will happily cooperate with that MSM maverick myth in this election
Beth, the millions of Republicans who call McCain a RINO aren't part of some extremely clever nation-spanning Rovian conspiracy to join forces with the MSM and foist a Bush clone on the unsuspecting public. They call him a RINO because they actually believe it.
You're right that many or most of McCain's beliefs, especially on social issues, are in step with mainstream Republican thinking. But the main thing that earns him the "RINO" and "maverick" labels isn't ideological. He gets called that because he's got very little loyalty to the Republican Party. When Republicans disagree with him on something -- e.g., McCain-Feingold -- he tells Republicans to go f*** themselves. That's what makes him a "maverick". A party-line Republican wouldn't have done some of the crap that earned McCain his MSM accolades.
it will benefit them in making the argument that McCain doesn't represent four more years of Bush.
The only people silly enough to fall for the "four more years of Bush" line are people who never would have voted for McCain in the first place. McCain is notably to the left of Bush on torture, Guantanamo Bay, global warming, immigration, and health care, and to his right on economic issues. You can argue he'll be better or worse than Bush, but saying he'll be the same is, like the "100 years" meme, just another dishonest Obaman talking point.
For better or worse, McCain's the Republican nominee, so they'll change their tune to fit the situation.
That's what tends to happen, yes. Democrats had better hope something similar happens on their side of the isle, too, or McCain's going to cruise to easy victory on the votes of disgruntled Hillaryites. :)
He's more of a Ford Maverick
Better than a Ford Probe, I suppose.
But the main thing that earns him the "RINO" and "maverick" labels isn't ideological. He gets called that because he's got very little loyalty to the Republican Party. When Republicans disagree with him on something -- e.g., McCain-Feingold -- he tells Republicans to go f*** themselves. That's what makes him a "maverick". A party-line Republican wouldn't have done some of the crap that earned McCain his MSM accolades.
Who's f'n kidding whom here? You wrote the following two sentences, one right after the other (read 'em, and if necessary, read 'em again):
But the main thing that earns him the "RINO" and "maverick" labels isn't ideological. He gets called that because he's got very little loyalty to the Republican Party.
If loyalty to a Party (the Republican Party or the Democratic Party--and I was tempted to u.c the "t's" in both "the's"--but resisted) as an outraged first principle ain't ideological, in accordance with your very framing of the issue, then what the hell is?
One more time, read what you wrote. And yes, I read the rest of what your wrote. But it's not nearly as impressive as you think it is. Why that is ought be as obvious within that "rest" as was the "ideological" implication, and conflations, embedded in the part on which I chose to focus.
A party-line Republican wouldn't have done some of the crap that earned McCain his MSM accolades.
Sweet jumpin' oblivion. You ended up reminding me of Jane Hamsher, of all people, in her infamous call-out of Elizabeth Edwards last September.
Well-freakin'-heh.
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