It isn't Obama's fault that he fits a current dramatic niche.

The simplest way to put it is like this:  A lot of Americans are going around thinking what a shitty mess the country is in right now.  Even people who think of themselves as conservatives have this view of our situation.

As somebody way smarter than me* once said, better than this:  the masses like a story with a plot.  And this plot, at this point in the story, needs a hero to swoop in and save our asses.

To oversimplify, Barack Obama fits that hole in our minds.  So we tell ourselves he's the one we've been waiting for--some of us, like the host of that blog, are even speculating that he's been sent from above to save us!  The point is we're going to be saved!  Yay!

This is, frankly, irresistible.

So if that's the guy we want him to be, naturally his handlers are going to make him appear as that guy.  What else are they going to do?  Sure, he's going along with it--what the hell would you do in his place?

Sure he's being packaged.  That doesn't have to mean that the package is empty.

*G.K. Chesterton, right, choad?  I saved a quote of his that you posted long ago; but now of course I can't find it.

P.S.  Richardson was my pick, even though I knew he wouldn't make it to the convention.  If he's kissing up so he can be Obama's Veep then I'm fine with that, too.

It may have been Mencken, not Chesterton, that I was retardedly trying to quote, and choad is clutching his poor head right about now.  Gimme a break; it's nearly my bedtime.

G.K. Chesterton... H.L. Mencken... A.A. Milne?

benzene wrote:

whiskytangofoxtrot wrote:

That happened the last two times.  It happened with Reagan.  It seems we have a craving for a good story.

This is a more cynical time, and Barak Obama is black.  There is little chance that he'll be elected.  Polls up to election day may show otherwise, but behind the privacy of a voting booth there is going to be revolt.  America is racist to the bone (not to imply that we are more racist than elsewhere on earth).  At it's current state, Obama would be lucky to get the majority of any racial demo besides blacks.    He'll have to turn the county even further against Rebublicans and frame McCain as Bush III.  There has to be a measured anti-white bias in his message or he can consider Asians and Latinos to go status quo or stay away all together.  I am sure he considered this when formulating his response to Rev Wright's comments. 

At present, Barak is an empty suit.  He has a hell of a road ahead defining himself.   My most liberal cohorts are beginning to roll their eyes at his speeches.  His magic has the longevity a Backstreet Boy's album.  And, this is a campaign against John McCain, barring age, the strongest Republican candidate in 28 years. 

That is funny though, Georgette, that you go with the fat Mexican guy.  This ain't saturday night at the pub.

How do you explain the Democratic caucus and primary votes?  Do you think people are going to keep voting for him and then just somehow when it comes to the general election they're going to say, "OMG WTF I almost voted for a brown-skinned man!!!" and vote for McCain?

benzene wrote:

America is racist to the bone (not to imply that we are more racist than elsewhere on earth).

China has us beat, hands down...but then, they own our asses, now, don't they...

tojo2000 wrote:

How do you explain the Democratic caucus and primary votes?  Do you think people are going to keep voting for him and then just somehow when it comes to the general election they're going to say, "OMG WTF I almost voted for a brown-skinned man!!!" and vote for McCain?

Hmmmm.... mulatto or military draft.  Mulatto... or... military draft.... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

George Orr wrote:

They just don't seem to give a shit.

But George, you surround yourself with enlightened water table crackers who use italics in odd places and judge the durability of relationships based on their mates literary profile (this is in exception to the portly mexican men you bring home from the bars). I'm talking about blue collar democrats and everyone else. 

The man has rock-star status.  He's a gem on stage, and his prose is spot-fucking-on.  So far it's been enough to fill the stacks with those weird enthused people who actually go to political rallies. 

This is based on his superficial attributes.  The media giveth, the media taketh away. 

This is not to say the Obama is a media invention.  But without something else to back his candidacy on, his knack for articulate self-promotion will sustain him only for so long.

I'm just playing the odds.  In America, when a qualified white man and a qualified black man are up for the same job you better find a way to fuck that white man.

Last edited by benzene (2008-04-07 15:54:11)

phreddy wrote:

Benzene wrote:

At present, Barak is an empty suit.  He has a hell of a road ahead defining himself.

He's an empty suit to the public, but he has some inconvenient baggage stashed in there.  Apparently he hasn't always been a champion of racial harmony.  His book, Dreams From My Father is full of invective for, and paranoia of, whites.  In the book he discusses his method of manipulating white people:  "It was usually an effective tactic, another one of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied, they were relieved -- such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn't seem angry all the time."

The above quote is even more interesting when you know he's writing about manipulating his own mother when she asked about one of his friends who was busted for dope.

Because Clinton has so many of the same skeletons in her closet, Obama has not had his feet placed to the fire.  Remember the Swift Boaters?  Deeds and words come back to haunt.

You are aware that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are not only proven liars in general, but nobody has ever come forward who even served with John Kerry, like in the same boat, not just the same war, right?

Also leave it to you to not realize that the passage you're quoting is an indictment of both sides.  The only way you can claim Barack Obama doesn't support racial harmony is if you conflate it with the usual definition of "pretending race doesn't exist".

phreddy wrote:

...his professed stratagem for conning white people.

Wait wait wait.

Who here doesn't con white people?  Show of hands.

I do it on a daily basis.

It's fine for you to keep claiming that there's nothing there with Obama, but have you actually looked at their records?

Sponsored bills that became law and amendments sponsored.

Co-sponsored bills.

Looking through Obama's record you can see a consistent dedication to primarily a few things: Education, investment in technologies towards the reduction of carbon emissions, and reducing the influence of lobbyists on the political process, and support for veterans and families of those in the armed forces.  On clinton's side, we see the environment, trade issues, health and child care.  This is not a comprehensive list, but I seriously don't see where these allegations that Obama "hasn't done anything" or that there's nothing there come from.  Is there really something more to Hilary Rodham Clinton, or is it just fun to snipe at Obama because so many people seem to be enthralled?

On a side note, does anyone here really think that there is any chance that Hillary Clinton will get the nomination, regardless of who you wish was nominated?

Lurker wrote:

tojo wrote:

Education

FEH! Since when has teh darkies ever taken advantage of THAT?

It's not like I haven't been TRYING for the last 14 fuckin' years!!

The sad part is, the ones I have for the longest time and have the best attendance, have parents with their shit together who get better jobs and move away...