A song for Senator Obama to be sung to to the tune of Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable"
Unelectable, that's what you are Unelectable, your past is just too bizarre That whiff of smug that clings to you Your mentor has become the big issue Never before have you been more, Unelectable, in every way And forever more, that's how you'll stay That's why, Barry, it's incredible That you've become so unelectable. Super delegates want a winner, Not you.
Wow. Reverend Wright. How many groups of people can you insult? All of New England, Texans, Italians, Jews.
The same people who were defending Wright two weeks ago - WRIGHT IS RIGHT! - are now calling him a nut-job. Senator Obama says Wright is not the man he met twenty years ago. Reverend Wright is apparently a Power Ranger and has morphed before Obama's eyes! These are the same people who said Reverend Wright was taken out of context. Since he's repeated everything he said in those You Tube moments the argument has been proven incorrect.
Senator Obama said a month ago: "I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community." We are supposed to accept that he's had a change of heart. Is he now disowning the black community or is he a typical politician reacting to polls?
Senator Obama has said repeatedly that it's not just being ready on day one. It's having the judgement to do the right thing on day one. Senator Clinton voted for the war so she has bad judgement. we are not supposed to remember the climate of the country at the time or that her decision was based on bad intelligence or that she is a Senator from NEW YORK. We are supposed to take the giant leap that Senator Obama sat in church for twenty years, never heard Reverend Wright make any of these "controversial" statements and now, only now, realizes what a mad man Wright is. The same man he disinvited to his coming party because of his "controversial" statement he prayed with in the basement before announcing his candidacy.
What I LOVE is that Huffington Post, Cheetos and all the proud defenders of the Great One are now saying that we need to talk about ISSUES!! Which one? Hope, Change or Bosnia? They also know that Senator Obama is a good and honest man who has been hoodwinked by a man who is milking his fifteen minutes of fame. You see, they know Senator Obama better than Reverend Wright who has known him for twenty years. So when Wright says that Obama is just saying what he needs to say as a politician to get elected we're to believe that Wright is lying because his followers know him better!
The problem is that now his followers are too entrenched in their fantasy to see who he really is. Like Julia Roberts, they want the fairy tale. They cannot accept that maybe their hero is more than a little flawed.
So they excuse everything. He does poorly in debates. No More Debates! Looking down his nose at working class people - well, we're smarter and he's just telling the truth! Screwing Florida and Michigan - they broke the rules! What if it were their states? Running ads in Florida which broke the rules? Hillary was there on election day! (For a victory speech - not to campaign) Keith Olbermann saying that someone should take Hillary into a room and only he emerge? Keith is a God! Ayers. He's just a neighbor. Ayers is more than a neighbor? I'm waiting to see how they spin that. Rezko? He never did anything for him! Plagiarizing speeches? They're friends and share the same views. Randi Rhodes? Free Speech!
They're so invested they can't see that his stock has fallen like Bear Sterns. Keith Olbmerann, Huffington, Rich, Dowd and Matthews are not the Fed and there won't be enough credit available in the general election to bail him out.
Senator Obama needs to get a big coop (how fortunate that Rezko sold him back land for an extra big back yard), because the chickens have come home to roost.
At the core of Obama's current problems is a fundamental lack of true faith. We are witnessing the downside of leadership based on "hope." Odd as it may sound "hope" can never lead to real change. If one hopes for change, and does nothing to affect change one has, by definition, a false hope.
Change takes faith and action. By having faith and taking action the result will be a sense of hope. But hope can never be in the lead and is never at the core of true leadership.
False Hope is Not Change. I repeat what I have said here before: Real leaders inspire FAITH, not hope. FDR inspired faith in people which gave them hope. He did not hope the Depression would go away. He poetically told the country to be fearless. JFK put it squarely in our laps, Ask not what your country can do for you - hope - Ask what you can do for your country - faith. In one transcendent line in one speech he put forth the difference between faith and hope. Even Reagan, who I did not support, lead with an unwavering faith. Reagan did not present himself to the nation as a man who hoped the West would prevail over the Soviets. He presented himself as a man who knew we would. Carter is the counter point. A man who ran on change and hope, was elected, and as President was never able to inspire faith.
I know I am a skipping record but, especially this year, it bears repeating: Hope is a result of faith, not the other way around. Leaders who ditch their past when it is convenient or claim an ignorance so broad it defies rational sensibilities can never inspire faith. In fact, they are not leaders. The center of our culture is not a tribe, or a specific geography, but is our collective idea about of how people should govern themselves. This country, more than most, needs leaders that inspire faith.
Hope is an idol worshipped by the foolish. It is the refuge of the thoughtless and the lost.
Obama is a liar. He stayed in that church for 20 years. He listened to Wright for 20 years. Wright said nothing new yesterday. Obama is lying to save his fraudulent ass.
Obama went after Wright and "repudiated" him today because he poll numbers are falling in N.C. End of story. Any tall tale from Obama now about how surprised he is by Wright is BULLSHIT. Barack Obama has no integrity. Zero. Obama cannot be trusted to walk the dog, much less run the country.
CNN said Obama looked "hurt". Good God. What's next- Keith Olberman brings him a blanket while Huffington rubs his shoulders, and Ducky at the Cheetos blog plays patty cakes with him to cheer him up? THIS MAN CANNOT BE PRESIDENT. Obama is poison. By taking deception and deceit to new levels Obama now represents the opposite of hope. He represents a contempt for the process that rivals Nixon.
Total electoral college votes of states where Obama won the primary or caucus: 197. Of this total, the number of electoral college votes in states he will have difficulty or find it impossible to defeat McCain in a general election: 125
Total electoral college votes of states where Clinton won the primary or caucus: 284. Of this total, the number of electoral college votes in states she will have difficulty or find it impossible to defeat McCain in a general election: 62
Number of states Obama has won: 26. Combined population of those states: 98,585,000 Of these states- the number that have gone Republican in the last two general elections: 15
Number of states Clinton has won: 17. Combined population of those states: 148,460,000 Of these states - the number that have gone Republican in the last two general elections: 4
There is one Democrat in the race that can beat McCain. MSNBC poll: Clinton 50 McCain 41. Far out ahead of Obama when matched against McCain. Most important note: When pitted against McCain, Clinton now wins among independents, 50 percent to 34 percent
I am loath to link to my hometown paper at this point - the LA times being, in essence, an embeded Chicago owned/Pro Obama paper - but they uncovered yet another apparent ethical lapse by Baby Jesus Obama. It seems Obama was working for a company named Killerspin (You really can't make this stuff up.) while a part time state senator in 2000. In fact, Killerspin provided Obama with 90% of his income the same year Killerspin was lucky enough to get a $50,000 grant from the state for a "table tennis event." The grant came at the prompting of Obama, who wrote a lovely letter on state senate stationary on Killerspin's behalf. There is nothing illegal about any of this. But, like the magic money from Rezko to expand his property, it begs all sorts of questions about who BHO really is. Mr. Barry has spent huge amounts of time and money promoting the idea that he is above all the nitty gritty of common politics. He is the Transformer. Or so he says. Yet, at every turn there is another pile of bones in another barely closed closet.
As for BHO running away from more debates - the reason is now clear. Obama not only lied about his relationship with William Ayres - he did it on a massive, almost Soviet, scale. From MyDD: Obama has been breathtakingly misleading about his relationship with William Ayers. In the past Obama described Ayers as an "acquaintance."This is bullshit. It turns out Obama worked for Ayres for 8 years. Not with. For. Any follow up on Ayres during a debate would surely corner Barry with the lies he's told about his relationship to the Weather Underground bomber. Uppity, who writes regularly at No Quarter once commented on this blog that "time was Obama's enemy." Indeed with every passing news cycle Obama is revealed as a man of bad judgement propelled by his talent as a speaker, a media hungry to attack a strong female candidate, and a large battalion of overgrown infants and neo-sexists at places like the Huffington Post and that blog the color of Cheetos. The GOP and Fox, after spending months kicking back enjoying the attacks on Clinton, have finally awakened to the inherent danger of allowing Obama to go unvetted. Afterall, one McCain health scare, and the devil you don't know can win.
Imagine what the GOP will do with that nugget in the fall? We are down to 2 degrees of separation between Barack Hussein Obama and Saddam Hussein. It may not be fair to make the leap. But they will. And contrary to the League of Infant Voter's whining (oops I mean the DailyKos's whining) - national elections are not the 3rd grade spelling bee. Fair matters less than perception.
We already know what they will do with Obama's 20 year relationship with Rev. Wright.
How is it that this man has accumulated so many connections to so many unpleasant types in such a short career? Makes your head spin. Like a fast paced game of table tennis.
I've heard a lot about "What's The Matter with Kansas" this campaign. I'm as guilty as anyone else of wondering about someone driving a Yugo with a Bush bumper sticker. Why vote against your economic best interests?
But what I've learned in the epic battle for the Democratic nomination is that Kansas doesn't have the problem. The Democratic Party does. Having been on the receiving end of smug, self righteous, condescending comments I now know how Kansas feels. Cheese Stakes anyone? The assumption that anyone voting for Senator Clinton shops at the dollar store (which we'll all be doing soon enough), drives a pick up truck, swills beer and shoots guns while reading the bible is bigoted.
When Senator Obama made his comments about "bitter" voters it wasn't elitist. It was obnoxious. You don't reach people by talking down to them. Which is why both Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan (who I still abhor) were so good at what they did. Bill Clinton was always the smartest person in the room but he never made anyone feel stupid. That's a tough thing to pull off.
The whole "Kansas" thing is paternalistic. We know better. Really? Howard Dean? You know better? I knew as soon as you pulled the plug on Florida it was going to be disastrous. Any fifth grader doing a report on the Electoral college could have told you the same thing. Daddy made a big mistake! But we're supposed to trust you with your fifty state strategy.
Interestingly enough, I think voters are voting for their economic best interest when they vote for Senator Clinton. The Recession hand writing is on the wall. Obama offers platitudes of hope with no substance. Senator Clinton is wonkish to the extreme and people pulled the lever for her in states hard hit by the economic bust. I don't know if she can pull us out of the mess we're in, but I do not believe that anyone else could do better.
Some clips here of a Kunstler talk on oil. It is low quality, I admit. But he hits on important points. It now seems clear the world peaked in oil production in May 2005. "Peakists" have long made predictions about what would follow this moment: 1. Real estate would crater. 2. A large run up in oil prices - NOT connected to any one event. 3. Rapid food price rise and then a food crisis starting at the bottom of the world economic scale and moving up... The clips below are not about these events in particular but he lays a ground work of sorts for what's next. Enjoy. Really. Kunstler is a dandy public speaker. Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3: There is no discussion here about current politics - BUT in this clip Kunslter hits on what he calls the "Jiminy Cricket" syndrome to explain our denial about the oil predicament. I also think it explains much of the Obama campaign - all we have to do is "wish upon a star"...
Part 4: Americans and getting something for nothing:
Before the above question is dismissed out of hand read the linked article. It lays the groundwork for some deep journalism that clearly needs to be done. Obama's rise is largely unexplained - or explained away. If any other candidate of either party had ongoing connections with someone like Ayres the media would have vetted that relationship. In this case it has not.
It is highly unlikely that a 30-something second year lawyer would have been plucked from relative obscurity out of a left wing law firm to head up something as visible and important in Chicago as the Annenberg Challenge by Bill Ayers if Ayers had not already known Obama. Read the whole piece. Ayers, of course, had long held what the left once knew as "maoist" politics - a view of the world that was opposed to Russian style bureaucratic communism from above, instead supporting sending revolutionary cadre to "swim among the masses like fish in the sea" or attempting to establish guerilla foco as romantically theorized by Regis Debray and carried out with disastrous results by Che Guevara.
During the debate, Obama seems to have told outright lies about his relationship to Ayres. And: As it turns out, there are other ex-SDS types around the Obama campaign as well, including Marilyn Katz, a public relations professional, who was head of security for the SDS during the disaster in the streets of Chicago in 1968. She is close (politically) to Carl Davidson, a former president of SDS, who heads up a group called Progressives for Obama. Davidson and Katz, it appears, were key organizers of the anti-war demonstration where Obama made public his opposition to the Iraq war that has been so critical to his successful presidential campaign.
I have problems with Senator Obama. Rezko, Present votes, lack of experience, unwillingness to answer questions, Reverend Wright, equating his grandmother to Reverend Wright, Ayers, how he won his State Senate seat, his wife. His race is one of the few things I like about him.
But I have more issues with his supporters. If you go over to ObamaPost the commenters call anyone who doesn't support Senator Obama racists. It doesn't matter what you're argument is - you are a racist.
I don't like Obama's health care plan. You're a racist.
I have questions about how Obama bought his condo and his home. You're a racist.
I do not understand how he could sit in that pew for twenty years. You're a racist.
Run an ad featuring Reverend Wright. You're playing the race card.
Obama lost in Pennsylvania because all of Senator Clinton's voters are racist. (And stupid, drunk and gun toting as a bonus!) That's really going to get Clinton supporters to vote for Obama in the General if he wins the nomination.
It's an effective way to end the conversation. Not so fab at uniting which is what he claims to have the ability to do. Just because you shout louder doesn't make you right. A mob is still a mob. To tell your opposition that they're racist and that's the only reason they're not supporting your candidate is to alienate them forever. It's not going to pull them into the fold when you need them back.
What should have been a race showing how far we've come has pushed us WAY back.
Women and blacks are both considered minorities. Blacks because they are and women because of the way we've been treated. Both groups have had to fight to get where we are.
Senator Obama has benefited from the advances; Senator Clinton helped create the advances. I would love to know if he checked the box stating he was black on his application to college. Same with Michelle. Is that racist? No, it's not, thank you very much. But I would be curious if they benefited from their race to get accepted.
Young women don't remember a time when abortion wasn't legal. They don't know about coat hangers. Older women who went out and protested for the right to choose no longer have the need. Who's going to continue the battle? The right to control our bodies has been chipped away. Parental notification, having to have a sonogram, lack of clinics have eroded the options for women.
The Civil Rights Act passed. The Equal Rights Amendment didn't.
I do not believe that Obama supporters are all sexist. It's too bad they don't offer us the same courtesy.
Snobama is melting. When Clinton lost Iowa gleeful posters at the Obamington Post announced that "inevitability" was all she had and now that was gone. Well, after winning every major contest since - including, always including, Florida and Michigan - she has a lot more than inevitability. I commend BHO for his smashing victories in Utah and Kansas and the like. When those states matter to the Democratic nominee he will matter again. Until then he's the guy who won Democratic contests in Republican states. Axelrod glibly stated that working class whites haven't voted for the Democratic nominee in a long time anyway. True enough. Then again, Democrats usually lose national elections, too - so David's point was??? Since 1968 Democrats are 3-8. That doesn't even get you invited to the half time show at the Papajohns.com bowl.
All Obama had was his "transformational aura". That is now gone. Now he's now a guy who makes you queasy because he hangs out with a lose confederation of terrorists, slumlords and loco preachers. As I've said six zillion times before on this blog - Obama has had ample chance to fill in his blank spots for voters. He is unwilling to do so. I happen to believe that he believes he should not have to. Grand speeches that lead to nowhere and back again are all he thinks he should have to do. To hear him is to love him. That should be enough for us ruffians. Let him eat his waffle. He answered "like 6 questions" about Rezko! Golly! He doesn't have to debate in North Carolina because debates are so common. Sometime after Wright exploded Obama's aura transformed into soot.
He wasn't defeated in Pennsylvania. He was destroyed. Philly was the only reason he stayed within 10% of her. Rural Democrats and Democrats in Pittsburgh walked off the Obama bus in droves. Those numbers are worse then they appear. In many counties Clinton won 70-30%. Pennsylvania is not only needed by a Democrat in a general election - it is almost an assumption going in, just this side of D.C.
A Democrat who can't convince Ohio and Pennsylvania in a primary is a Democrat who is going to lose in November. Period.
The DNC and the media are hell bent to shove Obama down our throats. Other than a certain rabies like quality emanating from Howard Dean and Donna Brazile there is no reason Michigan and Florida can't be enfranchised right now. Obama took his own name off the Michigan ballot. No one forced him. Florida had a free and open election. (Odd as that may seem...) Dean just has to quote Dr. Rice and say "mistakes were made", seat the delegations and move on.
The super delegates are being blackmailed with the race card. It really is as simple as that. If our guy is not your choice we will... fill in the blank with real or vague threats. Caving to this blackmail will be the end of the Democratic Party. Obama's campaign is poisonous.
Not so much. If that is your rallying cry you've got bigger problems than losing Pennsylvania.
Doesn't it prove the point that his supporters are not interested in knowing any pesky facts about Senator Obama? They want to live the dream! If he has to answer questions on his record or his policies won't that spoil the image?
No more, men, into the breach! And can't I just eat my waffle?
Question: What do Barack Hussein Obama and Osama bin Laden have in common?
Answer: They both have friends who bombed the Pentagon.
That's a little joke from over at No Quarter. It is funny, and has the added bonus of being true and edifying.
It pretty much sums up the fall campaign if Little Lord Obama is the nominee.
Months ago I had a few friends tell me I was being too hard on Obama on this blog. Looking back, I think I was not nearly hard enough. Back then I was only reaming him because he had no business being President. My rants were based purely on his breathtaking lack of experience - all still true - one Obamite telling me point blank that his time as a neighborhood watch captain, or what ever it was - is the same as being governor of Arkansas for 12 years. That was my first inkling that his most ardent fans had taken leave of anything the rest of us might call "reality." Back then I simply said Clinton was the better candidate and Obama's "machine" in the media and blogs was irrational and unfair. It was not until later that I realized they were nuts. The support was not based in reality. It was only after a few conversations immediately descended into me being called a racist that I gave up on rational conversation with Obamites.
The Obamites are sliming us all with a collective infantile belief that this man they love, by the simple virtue of his being present, will transform us. What he had done or planned to do is of no consequence to them. The end of the road for me with man himself was the moment in the New Hampshire debate when he told Clinton she was "likable enough." At that moment I realized that not only were his hard core supporters commit ed to the delusion - but that he was also an active participant and believer in the Obama Messiah narrative. He was not just a talented, somewhat misguided, candidate anymore. With his snotty dismissal of Clinton he became dangerous in my mind. Sadly, all my fears have been proven true.
Obama believes his glowing press. It's worse than that - he seems to think a glowing, compliant media is his birthright. An inquisitive media confronts his heretofore insulated ego. It is why being asked direct questions about Ayres is so upsetting to him. It was not anger we saw from him at first, but surprise. His utter lack of maturity is what is so dangerous.
Protect and Deflect. Other than in the debate, he took no questions in the 2 weeks leading up to the Pennsylvania vote. When he botched the debate he signaled to his supporters, via his middle finger, how they should react. Blame ABC. Blame her. Protect and deflect. Confronted with his association with Wright he gave the illusion of confronting it head on. The result of the speech on race had the effect of negating any intelligent conversation - not inviting it. He still has not explained his relationship to that church with any authority or commitment. Or even in a way that makes sense. He was there, he wasn't there. Wright is a crazy uncle, and he's my mentor. Race is the biggest issue in American life, race doesn't matter.
This is all a game to protect his ego. During his Nuremberg rallies in which thousands scream their adoration he is in his element. When he's asked a simple question while forcing a waffle down in a diner he is a snotty brat. It is all fodder for fun blog posts until one thinks about what it means to have a President with no capacity to deal with unpleasant confrontations. What are we getting with a man who says and seem to believe "to know me is to love me"? Russian Oligarchs and Iranian mullahs must be cackling with glee at the prospect of President Obama. It is doubtful he could hold massive "Got Hope?"rallies in Red Square to get through his term.
At the end of the Obama nightmare - and there will be one - I believe the first order of the day will be the evisceration of the lethal and irresponsible media. Olbermann and Huffington should be put on a rickety skiff beyond the horizon for starters. We need to wash our hands of the mindless and misleading elements in the "entertainment as news" media complex. We must demand fair and objective information or democracy is dead, dead, dead.
Secondly, if there is a Democratic Party worth having any longer, Howard Dean and Donna Brazille should be put in the stocks on the Washington Mall for a week. Dean is an anti-leader and Brazile is his henchwoman. They have destroyed the party of Jefferson, Jackson, FDR and JFK with a level of stupidity usually seen only in battery chickens. Or, worse, they are not stupid at all. They know what they are doing. Either way a week of tomato chucking at those two will, at least, restore some emotional balance.
With or without Obama I am not hopeful about the next four years. Countries get the leaders they deserve. Wayward Supreme Court justices chose Bush over Gore and we went along with it. Now superdelegates are being blackmailed with the race card to shove a megalomaniac front man down our throats. We are so unconscious about how far we have fallen in the Bush years that the next President will have a job that will be quickly seen as incompatible with democracy. Of the 3 candidates remaining only Clinton has the brass balls to stare down the oncoming tsunami and not wreck what is left of the Republic in the process.
In case you forgot why the GOP is aching for Obama in the fall:
Oh and weenie Barry can't handle any more debates.... he cancelled the one in N.C.
hmm wonder why cuz- the Little Prince got his ass kicked in by Hillary during the last one. He even got his cult members to chant "No more debates" - for no other reason than it seemed to make their LORD and GOD pleased. Next they'll be sacrificing a virgin from the village for him. A mob is a mob is a mob....
I know I am correct on this assumption: the Obamites are just this side of violence. I bet we'll see a violent eruption from their side before this is over. They are not committed to a candidate, they are worshipping a false God. They just don't know he's false yet.
It's time to talk about Rice. Doesn't Condi look divine? I feel I can almost smell her. And her knees are much smoother than I expected. But, alas, this is not the Rice I pulled out of the grab bag today. While we are all keenly interested in Hillary rising (congrats on the Keystone State blowout of Ugly Barry) and other notable things like Jessica Simpson's "Boobs across America" tour.
We need to get serious:
Food is an issue across the globe now. So is overpopulation and Peak Oil. All of these things are connected. But food,food,food, is concerning me most today. We are in for a shock as prices keep on rising - and I looked into my Crystal Coconut and read the tea leaves. This is the advice I got that I can now pass on:
Beware of shortages in the USA! Stock up on non-perishables! Gorging on all you can eat buffalo wings at Shakey's is not stocking up! Eat Less Beef! Don't mix metaphors! Take Public transportation once a week! If Eric Roberts comes to your door dressed as a milk maid and asks you to help him "churn his butter" - don't let him in! Orange chicken is not a fruit! Buy a bike now! Tivo South Park! Go to the library today and check out a book on gardening. Vote for Hillary! Study Peak Oil Theory and get a handle on how oil, food, and housing are interconnected. Create a goddamn back up plan for your entire life. Think about collapse.
and on that happy note the coconut crystal ball went dark.
If this was a race between Hillary and Obama in a general election the race would have been called by now. See pic. Clinton's states are blue, BHO's red. She already has the needed "270 votes". Obama has proven again tonight that he cannot carry a big state outside his home state. This is a disaster for Democrats in the general election. And many of BHO's wins are in caucus states and are inherently undemocratic and misleading. Super Delegates need to think long and hard about choosing a almost certain loser in Obama. At least 13 of the states Obama has won are sure to go GOP in the fall. Only 4 Clinton states will probably go GOP.
don't buy any to the crap the Obama Machine and the media is spewing. If she wins by 25% or .01% it is a VICTORY in yet another large state. She should stay and fight on.
If Obama pulls it off...well then...we stare into the abyss.
PA is voting as I type (badly)...so a break from politics is in order. I am a sucker for world war 2 vets. I love listening to them. Love what they did. Love how humility always seems to be the guiding principle in their lives.
Today, France will give the National Order of the Legion of Honor to actor Charles Durning at their consulate in Beverly Hills. He is a wonderful actor as we all know. I did not know that he landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day and was one of the few to survive the Malmedy massacre...
According to No Quarter USA as of today - if Florida and Michigan are seated - Clinton is behind Obama by only 9 delegates. Yes, you read that right: Hillary is currently 9 delegates behind Obama today and will likely be ahead tomorrow. Also here: a fine analysis of why Obama is a disastrous choice for Democrats - the upshot - he can't win. He has yet to carry a large state other than his home state.
"Why can't I just eat my waffle?" he said, when asked a foreign policy question by a reporter at the Glider Diner.
Because you're campaigning for President while you eat that waffle, numb nuts. Duh. The man-child from Illinois has not taken a single question from reporters in 10 days.
Obama is up to something in PA. The Obamites and MSM (surrogate Obamites) are setting up an expectation game that Clinton must be sure to counter. The important thing to remember: if Clinton wins she should stay in. There is no "margin" that means she won but really "lost". That is "in the tank for Obama" media bullshit. With the Obamamedia it's always over "if- she doesn't win by this much or that much. I am sure if she wins PA the media say "she won, BUT if Clinton can't win Guam's Primary.... and so on and so forth. Besides Obama out spent her by millions. It should be close given how much money he's spent in PA. So Hillary: A victory is a victory is a victory.
And the nominees for unconscious SEXIST OF THE YEAR are... 1. Chris Mathews - The goofball on Hardball who is utterly unaware of his mommy issues, which ooze nightly from every pore in his face. 2. Frank Rich - for his high flying ability to find yet another intellectually bankrupt reason to attack Senator Clinton. The ex - theater critic thinks the Obama show should not have to be bothered with the female competition. 3. Ducky, the king pin of the DailyKos - for transforming his liberal blog into a neo-Rockefeller, neo-Stalinist attack Hillary machine - no small feat. 4. Keith, the frontrunner - One barely needs to repeat his qualifications for Unconscious Sexist of the Year. The snotty, nightly attacks on Clinton, the use of "slut" and "ho" to describe female celebs, the bug eyed "special comment" about Ferarro... 5. The sublimely unconscious Ms. Huffington - for using her divorce cash to re-create herself for the 43rd time - now as the Left's very own Phyllis Schafly. The Huffpost attracts nasty Obama cult members like hungry dogs at a junk yard. They routinely call Senator Clinton a "controlling bitch" and gleefully re-write her history. Her assault on powerful, self confident women is all the more enticing because she is so good at pretending to be one herself - when not lolly gagging on David Geffen's yacht.
John's post on Ted Kennedy got me thinking about the SUPER delegates who support Obama.
I wonder how much of their support is because they believe in his policies and how much is resentment towards the Clinton's.
Donna Brazile - possible the worst campaign manager ever. Is she angry at the Clinton's because she believes it's President Clinton's fault Al Gore didn't become President? (I won't say he lost the election because he didn't.) Is she jealous of the fact that President Clinton had two terms?
Howard Dean-a loser. Unfair to be booted out of the race because of the scream? True enough, but losing Iowa was really the reason he gave up his bid. Does he resent that Senator Clinton lost Iowa and came back? Or is he like Ms. Brazile and is jealous of the only Democrat who won two terms since FDR?
Ted Kennedy - one thing I'll give him is he is not hypocritical enough to suggest that Senator Clinton should abandon her campaign. And as much respect as I have for President Carter he was beatable. Obviously. But Ted Kennedy couldn't do it.
John "Windsurfing Madness" Kerry - TWENTY KNOTS - HOLD MY CALLS! Let the Swiftboaters go unanswered for way to long and then once it had started to fade brought it right back into the spot light. Could not have run a worse campaign from a phone booth in Yankton, South Dakota with no change. Of course he comes out for Obama, they're cut from the same cloth. He must wonder, how did I lose to that schmuck and how did Clinton get to win?
Gary Hart. Nursing old resentments because the super delegates "gave" the nomination to Mondale. In actuality, he had less pledged delegates than Mondale but he had won the last contests so he argued that he had momentum on his side and should be the nominee. Odd, that he would support Obama.
Tom Dashle - blames President Clinton for making him Minority Leader.
Nancy Pelosi. Please vote this woman out. Right now she is the highest ranking woman in Washington. She doesn't want to give that up.
Huffington and Dowd - also don't want another woman to do better than them
Olbermann - who knows? He's lost his mind and his viewers and neither are coming back.
You can blame President Clinton for a lot. I was angry about the blow job because it was wrong and it diminished the good that he did. But the way all of the people above talk about him now you would think he lost, like them.
I'm supporting Senator Clinton, whether she is on the ballot or not. I am not afraid of a strong woman.
Ms. Michaux and Ms. Prigg may be among the "bitter" people Mr. Obama was talking about -- a teacher, Ms. Prigg has no health insurance and says she may lose her house because her salary won't cover the monthly mortgage payments.
But both women said they're sticking with Mrs. Clinton.
"I felt back in the 1990s when the Clintons were in, I lived pretty good, and now my life is going down the tubes, like everyone else's," said Ms. Prigg. "When I met her in Pittsburgh eight years ago, I told her, Hillary, no matter what you run for, anyone who stays with Bill deserves my vote, and she loved it."
"I feel like I AM Hillary Clinton," she said. "Strong women are all Hillary Clinton."
Thank you very much Ms. Prigg, I couldn't say it any better.
Let me say this here because the MSM won't. If Clinton wins Pennsylvania by 1 vote she should stay in. There is no "margin" she needs to win by to justify her on going campaign. The idiotic Howard Dean, who is apparently an ego with a body attached, should shut his pie-hole. He's run the DNC into a ditch. Ditto for the very unwise and biased Donna Brazille - whose claim to fame is she ran Gore's campaign in 2000. A campaign in which Gore lost his home state. You go, Donna! Ted Kennedy's campaign in 1980 is instructive. From wikipedia: In 1980 Carter was still able to maintain a substantial lead even after Kennedy swept the last batch of primaries in June. Despite this, Kennedy refused to drop out. On the platform on the final day Kennedy, for the most part ignored, Carter. The delegate tally at the convention was: Jimmy Carter - 2,129 Ted Kennedy - 1,150 14 others - 66 Teddy K. refused to drop out with a deficit of 979 delegates. This was against a Democratic incumbent President. Clinton now has a 140 delegate deficit against BHO. 4 more super delegates threw their support to Clinton this week. Bet you didn't hear about them on MSNBC.
I have been saying for a while now that Obama has unleashed a dangerous cult on the American scene. I mean it. There is a true darkness behind the Obama Phenomenon. A darkness born of a deep pain and disconnect in the American psyche. Obama has exploited this pain to create what can only be called a mob. It is akin to the collective mob mentality we often see on the Right - but it is more dangerous. The Right comes together and attacks when it believes its world view is being threatened. It is often scary and ridiculous but it is based in beliefs - however misguided many of us think those beliefs are.
Obama's mob has no such underpinnings. It is purely a personality cult manipulated and directed from the top. When he needed them Bush used encoded words to coach his gang in the electorate. Obama throws the bird and insists he did not. But any fool can see it. Obama smiles and talks "hope" then launches into character assassination. His minions lap it up. There is a collective insanity going on in our midst. I will not stand around saying nothing about what is evolving. We are electing the first post 9/11 President. Those wounds have not healed in large part because the country was mislead in the aftermath of the attacks. We still do not understand what happened and why because our leaders and the media would not allow a real conversation to occur. It was hijacked.
Replace "strength" with "hope". The hijacking is being repeated.
Obama has his brown shirts at the ready. Their petulant response to Ferarro's innocuous, but truthful comments and defense of Rhodes calling the former first lady and first female major party VP candidate "fucking whores" is a perfect example of how clear this mob is when they set out to defend their 'leader". The pathetic self created fury at ABC for asking Obama fair questions in the recent debate - the type of question that Clinton has fielded all year - is another example. The difference is Obama's cult has a media apparatus at its disposal. What many otherwise decent people don't see in Obama is clear to those of us who have passed on the Kool Aid. He is promoting himself and himself only. He now has power over large numbers of people who will do whatever he says. Kim Jong Obama. If this were not true then why is a question about William Ayers so upsetting? Why couldn't he give a straight answer? It may seem harmless now - but it is clear when he feels threatened he will - and can - unleash his cult. Happy mob yesterday, angry mob tomorrow, but always a mob. The time lag between "Got Hope?" stickers and pitchforks is short.
The level of delusion and mindlessness of his followers is both heartbreaking and horrifying. An otherwise harmless blog called, with a Red Chinese Cultural Revolution creepiness - the "courage campaign" decided poor baby Jesus Obama was treated badly by ABC in the debate. Having said nothing about any of the media insults and degradation directed at Clinton for months they decided poor Barry needed a protest at ABC to make him feel better. I commented on that site and post my fury below. Please go there and tell them what you think of the cult's latest stunt.
How can you call yourself progressives? Where have you been since January? Senator Clinton has been raked over the coals for sport by Olbermann, The Dailykos, the obnoxious - and bought and paid for Huffington Post. the moral midget Chris Matthews. where were you?
"pimped out Chelsea" where were you?
Rhodes: Clinton and Ferraro are "fucking whores" where were you?
We have seen sexism that approaches evil directed at clinton all year. Rhodes engaged is hate speech for FUN. Yesterday Obama flipped Clinton off for the amusement of his childish cult.
There is no courage in what you did today. There is only petulance. Obama was asked to answer for some basic TRUTHS about his life. FINALLY. And he choked. That's all that happened. I am to the left of most of America in my beliefs and any thoughtful progressive knows that what has happened in this race is bigotry directed at women - pure and simple. Obama has run a toxic campaign of race baiting and bait and switch that has USED progressives to ensure victories for a member of an old chicago boys club. The cult that has sprung up around Obama is dangerous. And many of us intend to see it defeated. Obama has torn the Democratic party in half with his campaign of bullshit roasted over a fire of "hope"
You should be ashamed of yourselves. I will do everything in my power to see that he loses to McCain which now seems likely.
Why didn't you protest before while Clinton was - is - being attacked unfairly? And her family? My God - you've all lost your minds. you can't see the obvious because you love an imaginary figure called "obama". Obama got what he deserved in the debate.
RSVP for the flag-pin protest against ABC on Friday from 4-7 p.m. in Burbank!
Did you watch ABC's prime-time character assassination of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton?
Americans are still shaking their heads in disbelief at what they witnessed, sarcastically speculating whether ABC News decided to launch an early roll-out of the Republican "swift boat" campaign.
First off, BULL SHIT adding Senator Clinton to your header. Bull Shit. You never cared that she was attacked on every other debate.
Second - what the FUCK? For people who complained that the debate wasn't about issues how about protesting the fucking war? How about protesting the erosion of our civil liberties? No, your man's feelings were hurt so, whah, let's protest.
Third - what do you think the great messiah is running to become? President of the Oprah Fan Club? My GOD, if getting "grilled" for forty-five minutes is the worst thing you can imagine wait until he meets with the leader of countries who hate us. What are you going to do then? Hand out cookies at the fucking Russian embassy because Putin was mean to the great one?
Fourth - don't you people have jobs? Who can get off on Friday on short notice to go and protest someone not inviting you to their birthday party? Oh, that's right, I forgot, it's just Clinton supporters who work regular jobs, you are sooooo much better than us.
Finally - FUCK YOU.
Really, FUCK YOU.
Senator Clinton won the debate; Senator Obama did not. Get over it.
During the first 867 debates when Senator Clinton was tag teamed and piled on there was no outcry that it wasn't "fair." Well, that's not exactly true since we who support Senator Clinton were talking about it but it never got any traction.
Senator Obama was actually questioned on the only thing he's running on - his character - and ABC News is the devil. The Probama crowd screamed and howled until they got everyone's attention to change the subject from, wow, Senator Obama hangs out with a terrorist to poor Senator Obama, that's trivial, we need to talk about issues.
Move on means nano-seconds. I read that Senator Obama had answered questions adnauseam on Reverend Wright. Really? Has he ever answered why he sat there for twenty years? More importantly, has he ever been asked? Do we know why he canned Wright for his coming out party - what the statements were that he never heard but made the good Reverend too dangerous to be there for his announcement?
That's in the past - move on.
His arrogance, his house, his "present" and non votes on controversial issues, his association with Hamas, legitimate questions for a man who wants to be leader of our country must not be asked.
How do the Barackis think they are going to win the general when they continue to alienate people who support Senator Clinton? Sure, he told them and us that he had our votes but she wouldn't get his votes. But at least 28% will not vote for him and that was back in March, I'm sure the number is much higher now.
It certainly doesn't help Obama to continually denigrate President Clinton's tenure in the White House. If you're under twenty-five perhaps the only thing you remember is the blow job but if you're over thirty-five you remember a pretty great economy, the first two term Democratic President since Truman and a man who was smart, had a handle on the issues and worked with Congress. President Clinton went through EIGHT YEARS of what Senator Obama couldn't handle for forty-five minutes.
Obama is like buying a home during the hot market on interest only. The assumption that the value will always go up and that you'll be able to refinance has lead to foreclosure now that the bubble has burst. You could have gotten a lovely fixed rate mortgage with under 6% interest but you got caught up in the game. And now you have no equity and no house.
As a former Democrat - it's official - I'm Independent - I've seen this guy before. Mike Dukakis, John Kerry, George McGovern. Granted, the marketing is better, but the outcome will be the same.
He will be eviscerated in the General because a man who wilts under forty-five minutes of tough questions is not qualified to be President
Hope and change have gone out the window for Obama and, since he got his ass kicked in last night's debate, he decided to get vengeance by flipping off the Principal at his high school graduation. Clearly, the other kids love it. He is an appalling embarrassment. Listen to the crowd react when he gives Hillary the finger and you will know how dangerous the Obama mob is. He starts with "hope" but he can turn them ugly in an instant. They are dangerous. I have been saying it for weeks.
And yes, he gave her the finger. Only the Obama mob and other idiots will make excuses for this brazen, arrogant, cocky behavior. He is a punk and he must be stopped.
A lot of stuff that Obama doesn't want Pennsylvanians to think about were the subject of fairly detailed questions. Obama's supporters are already blaming the "establishment" -- that is, the powerful institution of the mainstream media -- for the tone of the debate. This sets up a blowback scenario wherein his supporters will rally to his defense and lash out at the media very loudly. But Obama's going to be the next president of the United States, maybe. The most powerful person in the world. And questions about his personal associations, his character, his personal beliefs, his statements at private fundraisers -- the answers to these questions tell us a lot. Sometimes the questions are unfair (( -- nothing about Colombia and Mark Penn -- )), but this ain't Pop Warner; the artificial distinction between politics, personality and policy doesn't exist in this league, and if you're uncomfortable with it, then change the rules or don't run for office.
My favorite comment, possibly, ever!
It was Gerorge Steph and Sean Hannity ganging up on Obama on behalf of Hillary.
They all showed true their true colors.
The idea of Sean Hannity doing anything on behalf of Hillary is just too funny.
Full disclosure - I couldn't watch the debate. Ugh. But it would appear that Senator Obama didn't fair so well. And to an Obama supporter that must be someone else's fault. So how do you explain a poor performance?
1. Blame Senator Clinton because she's never been the one getting tough questions. 2. Blame the media for daring to ask tough questions of Senator Obama. 3. Complain that the media is not focusing on issues - HA!
Oh, it's just too delicious.
I have to add a comment on "bittergate". It's not elitism. It's arrogance. He and Mrs. Obama focus on how "mean" we are as a country and they are the ones who will restore greatness and give us hope.
I did not watch the debate tonight but by all accounts Hillary cleaned Obama's clock. He was, at long last, asked about his friend the terrorist, William Ayres.
An ongoing fascination I have with the Snob-gate story is the ongoing cluelessness of the Obamites. None of them seem to understand why Obama's remarks in San Francisco are so offensive to so many people. They truly don't get it: including the man himself. Obama did not say he was wrong, merely that he did not say it very well. What he said was, in essence, Marxist. The masses are stupid but needed. If they were not stupid they would not use guns and religion as an opiate. Obama has yet to refute this sentiment. His supporters are befuddled that everyone can't see the inherent wisdom of Saint Obama's remarks. Tom Dashle, a man who as minority leader lost his seat in South Dakota, defended Obama's remarks forcefully. Instead of responding to the basic class-ism Obama put in play the Obamites react with an indefensible defense.
Sensing that Ohio and Pennsylvania may now be lost in November to Mccain, Obamites insist they can make it up with Virginia and Colorado. All I can say is - they think we're the stupid ones. Even on the off - very off - chance Obama could win Colorado and Virginia the electoral college votes would still leave a 19 vote gap. They can't even do simple math. (Hey Arugulas - there is a calulator on your Iphones). Floridians are rightfully livid. There is no reasonable argument against seating all those delegates and counting all those votes. It is a heist by high end criminals to steal millions of votes.
The 1952 election looks like it may be the go to template here. War hero vs. egghead. The egghead loses. In 1952 young people were over the moon for Stevenson and his edicts issued from on high. 2004 is instructive as well. I doubt, to this day, Kerry understands why the windsurfing photo op was such a debacle. Gee, doesn't every one in Scranton windsurf? BTW: Morianna Huffington approved the piece from David Geffen's yacht in the South Pacific. Nice work if you can get it.
It is increasingly impossible to imagine "President Obama". I have no idea what is going to happen anymore. I have assumed it was over for Clinton about 45322 times since January. And onward she marches. The misogynist (read: almost all) media, the Wrong Rev. Dean and the spoiled elites have been after her with the long knives since last Fall. She still has a brutal fight ahead if she is going to pull this off. I have some hope now - but not much. She has conducted herself with stunning tact. Despite the Obamite horsecrap about her "throwing the kitchen sink" she has hardly laid a glove on him - to mix the metaphors. I respect her restraint but I do not like it. Obama is a very strong candidate, until you get to know him. If she really would "do anything to win" she would have dropped the Wright bomb in January. She did not drop it at all. If she really would "do anything" Obama's state senate no shows, his pals, the terrorist William Ayres, and the slumlord Rezko would have been on everyone lips in February. I promise you, Boone Pickens, is salivating at the prospect of dumping millions this Fall into the project of ensuring we know who Obama really is.
As Lynne in Lakeland said to me on the phone today: You can't win a general election with a coalition of African- Americans and people who buy brie.
One last note: I am fed up with being called a racist every time I post something critical of Obama. I know plenty of other who have had it with this Obamite meme as well. Frankly, the only thing left remotely intersting about BHO is his bi-racial background. The rest is errant, dishonest nonsense: a life populated by bombers, slumlords, and lies. I am sick to death of being threatened by the "you're a racist!" verbal rifle butt. I am not a racist. Anyone who thinks a white voter who opposes Obama is by default a racist is, in fact, a racist.
Besides all you Obamites: stop being such wimps - come to the actual fight. Stop cowering behind rhetorical straw men. Let's slam it for our candidates on merit, in the real world.
Oh yeah, you can't do that since you don't live in reality.
L.R. can't keep up with ALL the Obama nonsense. Please head over to Taylor Marsh and No Quarter USA for up to the minute info. Both sites are calling BHO on the bullshit and taking no prisoners. Obama's smug remarks in San Francisco may have been a real game changer. The great image is from No Quarter.
I see no reason to be polite about it. The Obama campaign is divisive and nasty. The assholery from Obama is now officially relentless. The idiotic excuses and "blame Hillary" at all costs from Obamites like Huffington and the tactless, mindless Olbermann have become rancid.
Obama, you talked down to a vast swatch of American workers from your smug mountain top in San Francisco. Admit it. Quit dancing around the truth. Tell your goons to stop repeating "He just told the truth." It is revolting that so many people think what you said was "the truth." You know nothing about working people. You know nothing about religious people. You sucker punched an entire nation with your plagiarized speeches. Your mentor, Rev. Wright is a hate filled hypocrite who spews resentment and calls it Christianity.
I've said it a thousand times before and I say it again: You are a fraud. You said last summer "To know me is to love me." That is your biggest lie to date, Senator Obama.
Sunday you joked "Who does she think she is, Annie Oakley."
Wow. I keep saying "wow" because I can't get my mind around what a first class snot you are turning out to be. Yes, Barry, Senator Clinton is very much like Annie Oakley.
Read this letter from a 33 year old African-American woman.
The tone of your campaign has become overtly nasty. The message of "hope" has been overtaken by the true message of your overreach: Vote for me, because I am better than you.
Does us all a favor and find an excuse to quit the race, and take your Prius driving, Arugula chewing, "I refuse to put my hand over my heart", Weather Underground hugging, 60's rejects with you.
Also: Does anyone know if this nugget is true: On June 15 2005 obama bought his $1.65 million mansion without a mortgage. CASH. But nowhere does he say how he managed to put together this kind of capital- given his salary and his wife's salary. Any advances from his writings were subject to taxes and would not have made such a lump sum possible. Obama's tax record do not give any answer as they show no large sums of capital or stock holdings that could explain the source of the money. AND the questions about Obama continue.... BTW his book "the Audacity of Hope" came out in Oct. 2006
My My My the Obamites are losing it. I have reports from the field that the Obamite commenters are in full melt down mode on most blogs. I don't dip too deeply into the rampant pro obama media and blogs anymore. Life is too short to be bothered with childish fanatics. The most important political take away from Obama's idiotic remarks and weak explanation is this: More than likely, HE JUST LOST PENNSYLVANIA TO MCCAIN IN THE FALL. The road to Obama actually being in the White House just got much narrower. Florida is out of reach and Ohio looks bad. West Virginia should be put squarely in the GOP column now. I would even say he'll have to do some explaining in Massachusetts. A lot of voters are not going to take kindly to him when reminded of Wright and his San Fran gaffe in tandem.
D.C. and Illinois are probably still safe for Barry.
The list of proofs that Obama is an arrogant, entitled brat is now longer than ever. There are many ways to look at Obama's latest offensive remarks. Let's look at a few:
1. The man is a political fool. The remarks to San Francisco are a violation of politics 101. In 1984 Gary Hart said on the eve of the California and New Jersey primaries to a group of California supporters that they where lucky whereas "he had to go back to New Jersey". Mondale promptly kicked his ass in New Jersey and that was that for Hart. Obama did him three better in Pennsylvania: he insulted gun owners, all religious people, and said in essence to white voters that they were bitter toward anyone "who was not like them". Nice. Especially coming from a man who has gotten quite a lot of white support. Gratitude is not the Obama family's long suit.
2. The statement is just wrong. Pennsylvania is above the national average in income and has made a small, but real come back since Billy Joel's Allentown defined it. This is largely because of the hard work of Pennsylvanians. Read this to get the low down.
3. The statement itself is a compendium of all the latte liberal nonsense that loses election after election for Democrats. One can easily imagine Dukakis opining in a similar way. One can hardly imagine LBJ, FDR, or Bill Clinton being so breathlessly condescending. both because they were politically smarter than Obama and, frankly, they weren't brats.
What he said:
Pennsylvanians were "bitter" and "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations"
Wow. Really where to begin? It is an astounding list of insults. The most offensive being that religious people are, in fact, religious to the degree that economic hard times have befallen them. I suppose if one spent 20 years in the "Our Lady of Perpetual Resentment" congregation one might think of any religion not full of anti-American, anti-white clap trap was merely a bromide and sedative. The subtext here is: the faithful are being taken for a ride and are therefore stupid. Obama is saying that the religious "cling" to Catholicism, and the Quaker faith, and the rest out of empty headedness and fear. This statement is appalling and, as a religious person, very hard not to take personally.
He started the nonsense with: "They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by - it's true that when it’s delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism."
I can only repeat this truism about the Obama Entitlement Express: when it works for him he says "race doesn't or shouldn't matter" When it looks like things won't break his way it's because he's black. The sentiment here is clear: If I lose it is because they were skeptical because I am a "46-year-old black man named Barack Obama". HE can't possibly imagine losing because the people wanted someone else. He still seems stunned that he can campaign in a state and then lose. As he said last summer "to know him is to love him."
The sentence assumes that Pennsylvanians inherently should trust him - why? - I guess because he showed up - and that skepticism is wrong in any case. The idea that voters might ask him to prove that he can deliver never enters the equation for him. I've noticed time and time again that the one question he and his supporters can never answer is "Why should we choose you?". One gets a response, but never an answer.
Let me add: His entire "pitch" is premised on the most basic level of cynicism: people will go with whoever makes them feel good regardless of who they actually are or have been. This is why the speeches are so good and the content of the campaign and its leader are so empty.
I have nothing much to add about "clinging to guns" except it is classic latte liberal foolishness. Gun owners are not particular clingy types in any case. Again: Obama just doesn't get it. In his world people "cling to guns". In the gun owners world it is their right to have them. The reason liberals like his San Francisco audience cannot ever win this argument is because their premise is always gun owners are hicks. Having a reasonable conversation about the 2nd Amendment is off the table immediately. I do not own a gun. I am for much stricter gun control laws. But knowing a few gun owners who are hardly hicks I chafe at lefty remarks like Obama's. Obama telegraphs his contempt for gun owners. I can only hope they respond in the voting booth.
I hold out no hope that the MSM will treat his remarks fairly. The ability to deny facts on the ground when you've invested so much pie in the sky is astonishing. Olbermann will probably make the blogger at the Huffpost the "worst person in the world". Matthews must be in a cold sweat about how to spin this to his fellow Quaker Staters.
The damage is done. Obama has again proven himself to be an effete, entitled, numbskull.
I thought that Senator Obama's lastest foot in mouth statement on Clinging to Religion would disipate like everything else negative about him.
I was wrong.
Michael Goodwin of the Daily News calls him Snob-ama in an op-ed today.
There are thousands of articles on the Google and as JM pointed out yesterday CNN spent quite a bit of time covering the Bad News Barr-y.
No Quarter has part of the video up of Senator Obama's speech at a fundraiser in San Francisco. His supporters may say he speaks the truth but if you watch just the little bit of the speech he is calling small town people racist. Period. He says when the "pitch" is that government can change the fact that it's delivered by a 46 year old black guy named Barack Obama that adds another layer of skeptism.
You see, they're cynical, racist and bitter. And I wonder at the word "pitch." Is he in advertising? By the way, the crowd titters appreciatively at his remark. Oh, isn't he just the funniest? Mocking small town people in big industrial states at a fund raiser where the price of admission was $2300?
I find it interesting, too, that the Reverend Wright said that "Hillary doesn't know what it is to be black man" yet Senator Obama can put himself in the shoes of a small town (assumingly white) person and tell us exactly how he/she feels. In John's post below when he is agonizing over the price of arugula, you know he feels their pain!
Senator Obama seems to spend a lot of time explaining himself. On this he started out defending his remarks and when that didn't work he now says he regrets them. Like his fab speech on race. He never explains why he was sitting in those pews for twenty years.
Oh, Keith, congrats! You've topped your own list! Get out the confetti and balloons.
Now, I could be wrong, but I searched the MSNBC site (as I no longer watch Countdown) and I found no mention of Randi Rhodes being named a Worst.
You did, however, name Elton John one for saying the reason Senator Clinton is behind:
in part at least, because of prejudice against women. I never cease to be amazed at the misogynistic attitudes of some people in this country.
Isn't that just horrible! How could Elton John say that there is sexism in America? That is deserving of a mention on Mr. Olbermann's list! Sexism, misogyny, never. Now get back in the kitchen and make some cookies, ladies. Mmmmnnn, snickerdoodles!
Then I saw that on a story about Paris Hilton the title was A Slut and Battery. Wow, thanks a lot for that. I don't particularly care for Ms. Hilton but I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't find fault with Ms. Rhodes when you use the same language yourself.
Please go over to Correntewire.com to find more ways to spend your time now that you don't watch Countdown!
Oh, and KEITH OLBERMANN, TODAY'S WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD!
Go on, put the quotes below on the google - they are all true.
And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations. Barack Obama
The point I was making was not that my grandmother harbors any racial animosity, but that she is a typical white person. Barack Obama
For those of you who are just weary of the primary, and feeling kind of ground down or that it's like a Bataan death march, I just want everybody to know that the future is bright. Barack Obama
There are people in the party who are very concerned about this turning into some kind of a Bataan Death March. Obama goon, David Axlerod
In this country, racism is as natural as motherhood, apple pie, and the fourth of July. The Obama family pastor, Rev Wright
For the First Time in My Adult Lifetime, I Am Really Proud of My Country. Michelle Obama
I asked Obama if she thought that her husband, as the Democratic nominee, could take John McCain. "Oh, yeah. We got him," she replied.
This is my favorite:
Anybody gone into Whole Foods lately and see what they charge for arugula? I mean, they're charging a lot of money for this stuff. Barack Obama - on a farm in Iowa.
You are likable enough, Hillary. Barack Obama
Every place is Barack Obama country once Barack Obama's been there. Barack Obama (except, California, Texas, Ohio, New York, Florida, Mass., Rhode Island, Tennessee, Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New Mexico....)
The freshman senator told reporters in July that he would overcome Hillary Rodham Clinton's lead in the polls because "to know me is to love me."
Barack is one of the smartest people you will ever encounter who will deign to enter this messy thing called politics, Michelle Obama
It will light upon you, You will experience an epiphany. And you will say to yourself, I have to vote for Barack. I have to do it. Barack Obama
READER ALERT! THIS IS A THIRD STAGE SMUG ALERT! I intend to link to a piece on the Huffington Post. Should you decide to click it is entirely possible your head will be filled with gooey, drippy, condescension. You are warned!
Onward. A few weeks ago I expressed some interest in what would happen to Obamites as their leader was slowly stripped of his messianic veneer. Both the facts of his life and his campaign's conduct and dissembling would lead inevitably to some rough cognitive dissonance and the most delusional would have to make mental room for the truth, or splinter. Marcy Winograd is having her breakdown moment now.
One the main pillars of the BIG OBAMA LIE was that he was RFK redux: a great hope for expansion and inclusion. The facts, told a another tale: looking at how he's won previous campaigns and his attitude toward Florida and action in Michigan were and are decidedly exclusionary and anti-democratic. This week Obama's peeps purged a whopping 900 people from the California delegate candidates list. That is the list of folks who put their name in the hat to be elected as Obama delegates. This has a left a rump group of candidates that do not include many of Obama's most committed volunteers - including poor Ms. Winograd. Whose left? The biggest bundlers (people who collect a lot of dough). Ms. Marcy expresses surprise at this action. Of course, if she had actually judged the man by his actions and not been sucker punched by the Mystery Date Tiger Beat bandwagon she would not be surprised at all. Obama heaving the phone bankers, precinct walkers, and Farmer's Market tablers overboard is the opposite of surprising. The man's "grass roots" campaign is funded largely by corporate donors. Most of his victories took place in caucuses that are inherently exclusionary.
She's not quite to anger at her messiah yet - but she'll get there. She's "sad": How very sad, indeed, that the Obama campaign has chosen to slash and burn its list of supporters, as this purging policy projects the wrong image,
Notice here that the concern is with the "image" this projects. Odd that this should surprise her. Image being all that has ever mattered to the Obama campaign.
Yes, Marcy, Obama is just another politician rewarding his biggest money grabbers. To the living - that's us out here in the real world - this has been obvious for quite some time, sort of like "the sun is in the sky" and "Dinner is a meal".
Oh poor Marcy. See she: picketed a Hillary Clinton fundraiser in Hancock Park and was quoted telling the Los Angeles Times. "Hillary Clinton led us to war. She is not the kind of leader we need."
Ah yes, the deconstruction of this gem is too easy.
She "picketed" - read: I am committed, darn it! I remember the 60's! That's the time before the 70's when Bobby Kennedy ran!"
"Hillary Clinton fundraiser in Hancock Park." Read: Clinton had a fundraiser in a RICH neighborhood. See! I am not afraid to picket the rich!
And the kicker: was quoted telling the Los Angeles Times. "Hillary Clinton led us to war. Read: I am important and willing to lie. That might just be the Obamite tag-line. It has the added benefit of being shameless. See in the real world Clinton voted for the authorization to use force after bring briefed by military and civilian officials who lied. But who cares if one can't name a war Clinton "lead us into." Facts, like fleas, are annoyances.
She ends before lilting into her self made abyss with this doozy: Perhaps there's still time for the Obama campaign to reverse itself... She can't quite let go of her fantasy candidate. That would mean actually seeing the pile of deceit she has supported so fervently.
Ah, these folks are in for it. The turbulence as they land back in reality is going to be rough.
P.S. I see on this page a story headlined: Richardson Almost Backed Clinton, But Campaign "Really Ticked Me Off".
Do we really need to read more? Governor Toad went against the majority in his state, refused a call from the President who made him, and chose a Presidential candidate because he was "ticked off."
A number of factors have driven this blog toward its harsh criticism of Obama and his campaign. 1. His supporters. 2. The Candidate. 3. The media bias. 4. The stupidity of Howard Dean and the DNC.
Tonight I will write about the first reason:
His supporters
I have been upset by his supporters for a good, long while. In the olden days - before Keith Olbermann blew a cog and it became clear the media was going to massage Obama and attack Hillary shamelessly - it was, in fact, only his supporters who bothered me. I was still open to the man and what everyone kept repeating was his "transformational" message.
It was his supporters that began the end of any romance I might have had with Obama. As early as last spring any good words for Hillary on message boards at places like the Huffington Post were quickly and viciously attacked by swarms of Obama fans. Often they amounted to "our guy is better" and "it's time for a change" - both are fair enough assessments if you feel that way. Then -with ample coaching from the writers on these blogs - the comments turned overtly hateful toward Clinton. Again - if one must come up with reasons - this too seems within bounds for blogs. They are the Left's answer to Talk Radio - and the "callers" had much pent up frustration with the war and everything else. If you can't stand being hated you had better not get into politics. I still believe the comments then were contextualized by an overriding desire for a clean break. This is another sentiment I don't adhere to (there are no clean breaks in history, believing there are or can be is a delusion) but it is a legitimate impulse. Every leader is a reaction, in some measure, to the one before. Besides, Obama has proven he will not be a "clean break" with his wavering on the war and support for its funding as a Senator. So the "clean break" Obama seems to represent is another amorphous illusion based entirely on - wait for it - HIS RACE. The honest answer would be: If he wins I won't be embarrassed by our President anymore. That is what they were saying.
Then Obama fans became a mob. I am not sure exactly when. For me it may have been one night not long ago that I posted this on a large liberal blog: Can anyone tell me why they think Obama would be a better Democratic President than Clinton? The comment conversation was flying that night but I got no bites - so I wrote it again. Soon the roof fell in. I used my last name (Smart) so the obvious insults were first. Then the long knives came out on Hillary. It was no longer dislike or even hate - it had solidified into mindless fury. "Bitch" "Liar" "Murderer" and the cute, yet smug as shit, "Billary". Bitch and Billary are insults based squarely in sexism. Sexism exists in America. Everyone with a brain knows this. What was startling is the glee and unconsciousness these liberals - men and women - indulged in rampant gender hatred. One person did write a long list of BHO's "accomplishments" - fine - but even if true (many were not) they simply were no comparison to Clinton's, so it hardly answered the question. I was, of course, told I was a Republican ("troll" in the Americablog vernacular)so I should go directly to hell. I am not a Republican - but even if I was I asked a legitimate question. The nastiness kept up. I have done this on other blogs at other times and the result is the same. No answers, just bile. Insane, baseless attacks. The cognitive dissonance between the "message of hope" these Obama supporters said they adhered to and the crap being thrown on the walls of liberal blogs was obvious to anyone who could reason. Thank God, a backlash began. The Daily Kos was boycotted by pro Clinton writers. Taylor Marsh said, in essence, hold on a minute! No Quarter USA is doing fine work on the Obama cabal and its deceits.
Still, the Pro Obama wing of the "Democratic" party became nastier and more strident. ( I use quotes here because I have come to believe that except for African Americans, Obama's support among rank and file Democrats is clearly a "Deanite" rump minority and does not represent the Democratic Party's values and voters. Final voting tallies will support this.) Again, "nasty" and "strident" are not deal breakers for me. This became the deal breaker: beyond the amorphous slogan "hope" and the fallback slogan "change" there is STILL no intelligent rational for Obama's support. No centering issue. No "New Deal". Nothing. The speeches are not part of the campaign. THEY ARE THE CAMPAIGN. The "uplifing" race speech has inspired us indeed- to stop talking about race and by default stop talking about Wright and his influence on Obama. But that's where that "major" speech ended.
The more strident the Obamites become, the more this lack of policy ballast becomes clear. Which is why attacking Clintonis the rational for supporting Obama. Arianna Huffington was first out of the gate here. She began the slow, smug burn of Clinton in 2006 - or before - for reasons I strongly suspect are about her psychological make up. I saw her on the campaign trail for her ex husband in 1994 when he ran against Diane Feinstein. The contempt for any strong women beside herself was evident then as it is now.
But for me the show stopper and final straw was Olbermann's idiotic rant about Fererro. More than Chris Matthews smarmy sexism, it defined the lack of reason, fairness, decency and proportionality that are the Obama supporters currency. That "special comment" was the moment I realized that Obama fever was a sickness that had spread far and wide. The fact that the Wright tapes broke the next day and Keith busied himself with excuses for BHO drove the point home.
As Lynne wrote about this morning: The Obama sickness's main symptom is an utter and complete inability to see reality clearly. Whether it be an obvious, and harmless, observation about race to a small newspaper, or the snide dismissal of the last Democratic President, or even the disconnect between Obama's statements about Iraq and his actions regarding the war as a U.S. Senator. Reality DOES NOT MATTER to Obama's supporters. The clear antecedent here is Cheney/Bush and WMD's.
Thought experiment: Compare what they said about Ferarro with the excuses they fling about BHO's 20 year tenure in his church. I think Obama can and should go to any church he wants to for 20 or 200 years. I also WILL NOT BE TOLD THAT IT DOES NOT MATTER what went on in that congregation. I will not check my brains at the door for Obama's or Olbermann's convenience.
Or try this: Randi Rhodes verbal vomitting is being excused under the banner of "freedom of speech" - as if anyone said she did not have the RIGHT to say what she said. She does. Now imagine this: Rush Limbaugh is speaking to a crowd of the like minded and says "Obama and Jesse Jackson are a couple of lazy spooks." Would anyone DARE make excuses for this based on "freedom of speech"? Of course not. There would be hell to pay.
Yet the Obamites march on - calling themselves "liberals".
And before anyone screams "unfair!" I say bullshit. THEY ARE THE SAME REMARKS in spirit and intent. Calling 2 women "fucking whores" and calling 2 black men "lazy spooks" is directly analogous in this society given its history. To say that the long fight for women's equality is less important in this election year than the long march away from chatel slavery based on race is bullshit. On a stick. If you think not it is because sexism is more deeply imbedded than racism. Period. "Whore" and "Bitch" still get thrown around with ease. This is not because they are less hateful - they are simply still acceptable.
So the beat goes on.
Say this to an Obamite: Rezko - the answer is "does not matter"
Say: He lied about his law teaching resume: Does not matter.
Say: He lied about the Kennedy family and the Selma march: Does not matter.
William Ayres: Does not matter.
Race baiting in South Carolina: Doesn't matter, she deserved it.
20 years in that church: Get over it! We have to get past it. We're not going there. He made a speech...etc, etc.. (again the SPEECH is what is held up as absolution. Not the reality of 20 years in that church and overtly lying about his presence there.)
Bosnia: OH MY GOD SHE'S A LIAR!!! She has problems with the truth. Usually ending with "controlling" which is code for bitch.
Xanax is a marvoulous drug. It directly obliterates one thing and nothing else: anxiety. There are a few side effects: drowsiness, and memory problems. Obama is the Xanax candidate. He relieves his supporters of their fears and all they have to do is take a dose. But once the drug wears off nothing has changed. The problems that caused the anxiety remain.
Finally, I can only assume that Obama's supporters cannot answer the simplest question - why him? - because they cannot afford to. They know, and we all know now, there is no answer. He's not better on the issues, he loses on the leadership front (he has shown no ability to lead without a large crowd and a teleprompter. There simple is no comparison between the 2 candidates on leadership. ) there is no contest when it comes to work ethic, and there is nothing in his history, once vetted, that indicates an ability to follow through and achieve stated goals. His experience - and there is some - adds up to mayor not President.
He can't win a campaign based on reality. His supporters know it so they avoid it.
One PS: whether it is now or in the fall - Rev. Wright and his connection to Obama will not go away. This is the defining event in this campaign. It defines him. He even says so. In print. The media has put up a protection shield around Obama and Wright- but it will be broken. If anything proves the unfairness of the media and the free ride Obama has gotten it is the Wright tapes.
