Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Obama's Big Diss. Not a Classy Move


Another primary, another win for the steam-rolling Senator from Illinois, Barack Obama. Nine straight victories. This time Wisconsin, where white men clearly can jump...through hoops, that is, to vote for Obama. He's got awesome momentum. He seems like he's getting the nomination sewn up more with each passing day, with each new contest. He's the great inspirational candidate. The agent of change. The politics of hope purveyor. So what does the annointed one do after chalking up yet another decisive win? Does he show any humility? No. Right smack in the middle of Sen. Hillary Clinton's concession speech he decides it's time to hijack the airwaves and pre-empt her with his victory speech. Buh-bye Hillary...it's ObamaTime. C'mon, Barack, show some class.

As an aside, the ever-entertaining and Hardball-throwing Chris Matthews of MSNBC did an interview Tuesday night with Texas state Sen. Kirk Watson, an outspoken Obama supporter. Matthews aggressively pressed Watson on three occasions to name one legislative accomplishment of Obama's while in the U.S. Senate. Three times. The poor shlemiel from Texas was rendered speechless. He kept falling back on the whole "inspirational" thing (which is starting to get real tired, by the way) and Matthews relentlessly pursued the answer to his question. Stammering, all Watson could muster was "I'm not gonna be able to do that tonight." Matthews replied, "Well that's a real problem, isn't it?" Yes it is, Chris, my thoughts exactly. Just wait until the Republican attack machine starts asking the very same question....

Now, one last word about Obama. The "plagiarism" issue that surfaced Monday. By and large, not such a big deal...unless you bill yourself as the icon of inspiration. The truly great inspirers get copied; they don't copy. His whole campaign is propped up by the inspirational factor. Kind of makes him look a little like a fraud when the words of inspiration are literally lifted word-for-word from someone else's speech. That makes him an actor.

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

i wasn't crazy about either hillary or obama. i worked hard for gore and kerry. think i'm gonna try to distance myself from this election...or just work for my congresswoman...it looks like another heart breaker to me. i keep trying to watch obama's speeches but i can't listen for more than a minute or two...it seems like vacuous blather...

Anonymous said...

Andy, I can name one---voting against the war in 2002---a war that you claim to hate so much. If you hate the war so much Andy---praise Obama for having the wisdom 5 1/2 years ago to vote against it. And Im not even FOR Obama----Im for none of them. Well, Im for Ron Paul who is truly the BEST candidate, but since Americans are the dumbest people on Earth and even dumber than most zoo animals, he's not doing well. Name one accomplishment of Hillary, other than staying married to a man that has cheated so much, they would have to hire 6 more investigative teams on the show "Cheaters"

Anonymous said...

I wonder why none of the pundits out there, nor the Obama idolizers, have brought up the support he gave to Lieberman in the 2006 Senatorial race. Ned Lamont was the anti war challenger who needed support from the likes of Obama, and yet he chose to support the most ardent supporter of the war in the party.

So much for sincerity, integrity and real anti war sentiment on his part. Let's get real.

Caro said...

>>voting against the war in 2002

Obama wasn't in the U.S. Senate in 2002 and therefore couldn't have voted either for or against the war. It's amazing how ignorant Obama supporters are.

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Caro said...

Andy, it looks like both Obama and Patrick got their inspiring words from another source--that most inspiring of characters, their chief political strategist, David Axelrod.
http://thephoenix.com/printerfriendlyB.aspx?id=54627

Carolyn Kay
MakeThemAccountable.com

Vleeptron Dude said...

Well, Hillary has a solid Senate track record about the Iraq War -- she was in the Senate, and she voted for it. Of course now she says "If I knew then what I know now ..." So our new commander-in-chief will say no to a war if she isn't fooled by a ton of transparent lies. She was fooled when it mattered. Senator Byrd of West Virginia wasn't.

Elsewhere in the Senate she's spent months trying to make sure our kids can't see cartoons having sex on naughty video games. These are her priorities in the US Senate.

When she's commander-in-chief, will she ever meet a war she doesn't like? She hasn't yet. Bill Clinton had the guts to cut his losses and pull our troops out of Somalia. I don't think Hillary will ever have that kind of political courage. She'll always see the jingo flag-waving votes in more war. She voted to ratchet up the anti-Iran frenzy last year. That's where the votes are -- threatening war against more non-Christian Asians.

Anonymous said...

Okay naive Obama supporters: You are either too young or choose to ignore recent history. We are being set up and you are going to feel the pain big time. Please forgive me, but no matter how many times folks say we are passed this, too many white men are not going to vote for Obama. We will be looking at a President McCain which means 4 more years of the Bush agenda. Nothing I say will change you, heart break will.

Anonymous said...

It sure seems obvious that the Republicans want to run against Obama. I feel sorry for all the naive Obama supporters. The Republicans are not going to just lay down and die, they are going to beat us big time. President McCain is going to carry on the Bush agenda.

Anonymous said...

Get ready, the Republicans have rolled out their game plan this week. It's national security of course. The thought of a President McCain totally disgusts me, but I've been around long enough to know that Obama will get beat in November. Thanks naive Obama supporters. You will not only feel pain, but you will be turned off to poltics for the rest of your life. Nice huh?

Anonymous said...

American want change. They want the war to end.

McCain and Clinton represent the same old thing. Obama represents change. Obama has a much better chance of beating McCain.

All this fear about the Republican's turning it on? Things have changed. People aren't listening to them anymore. Bush took care of that, with the help of DeLay, and Craig, and, of course, Dick Cheney.

If you pick Hillary simply because you're afraid of the Republicans you are making the same mistake Democrats have been making over the past 7 years.

Anonymous said...

Talk it up Ostroy. In a couple of months, you will be kissing Barack Hussein Obama's ass and declaring him the savior of the world.

I can't wait for Hillary's final nose dive. Will she try to take Barack Hussein Obama down with her ship or will she bow out with grace? I personally, don't think she'll go down with grace. Please excuse the pun, I understand the phrase 'go down' has been frowned upon in the Clinton quarters ever since her husband "did not have sexual relations with that woman".

Anonymous said...

Way too many of you folks are naive.

Who will count the votes? Think about it. How can you ignore recent history? Things have not changed that much.

Avedon said...

The truly great inspirers get copied; they don't copy

Well, no, any good writer or speaker will use a good line if they've heard it. The difference is, we give credit.

Anonymous said...

Who will be allowed to vote?

Who will count the votes?

Don't ignore recent history.

Anonymous said...

The Republican attack on Obama has started already, since he looks like our nominee. The problem is they are not "swiftboating" him but asking legitimate questions. GLenn Beck, and I, a Democrat, want to know how he can attend a church and support and agree with its minister who preaches hatred for whites. This is documented. The minister preaches hatred for white people. Jimmy Carter left his beloved Baptist Church because he could not listen to or endure its policty against women. Yet, Obama apparently listens and supports his church's hatred for white people. Michelle seems to support that point of view too. Beck asks why Romney's religion was a constant concern (one reason was its mean doctrine against blacks), while Obama is getting a free pass.

Why was "Obama" no longer "Barry" after his reunion with his father?

Anonymous said...

See post above: This is only the beginning of what the Republicans are going to do to Obama. They will fill the airwaves with hate (using his religion, name and in some parts of the country his race). And then many ignorant Americans will vote for McCain out of fear. We have not changed that much over the last 7 years. We have not really moved beyond race and religious ignorance.

Anonymous said...

Re: The two posts above:

It is not too late. We can still choose Hillary as a candidate. She may not be all that we would want, but she is a fighter, and what more can they say about her, (that's why they want Obama). There's nothing in her "closet" to be revealed and we shouldn't fall for Republican lies with all we know about her. And, she will be a competent and intelligent president. And to point out the obvious: she's all we've got.

Anonymous said...

9:56 probably meant why was "Barack" no longer "Barry" after his reunion with his father. since they are both first names. No matter, the point is well-taken. Did he then convert and become a Muslim? What is his relationship with his father today?

Vleeptron Dude said...

Ostroy wrote:

The truly great inspirers get copied; they don't copy.

=======

Not quite. The great and inspiring war speeches that made the English-speaking world adore and revere Winston Churchill (whose Nobel was in Letters, not Peace) were pretty much lifted word for word from Milton's "Paradise Lost."

An excellent education makes these plagiarism matters a lot more clear and transparent. Lincoln, on the other hand, was the genuine article. He reached back to English's past -- the King James Bible, maybe "Pilgrim's Progress" -- for style and the grandeur of simplicity, not for lifting entire paragraphs.

I've always been astonished by Biden's campaign-ending plagiarism. Did he think that only blind, deaf and illiterate Americans vacationed in the UK and watched local TV of Neil Kinnock's campaign speeches? This made the plagiarism itself a secondary matter: This guy proved himself just too stupid to be president.

Anonymous said...

the obama hate is strong here

white men wont vote for obama???

wonder how he trounced hillary in wisconcin

no....white republican men wont vote for either dem candidate

but they aint going to the polls, as shown by the repug turnout

give it up clintonistas...the race card wont work here

hillary and the clinton cabal are dead

there will be no queen hillary coronation come 09

Rick said...

caro said...

>Obama wasn't in the U.S. Senate in 2002 and
>therefore couldn't have voted either for or against
>the war. It's amazing how ignorant Obama
>supporters are.

I believe Obama voted for an anti-war resolution at the state level. He obviously coldn't vote against the AUMF per se, but he was "on the record" against the war.

Since going to the US Senate, he has sponsored or cosponsored 63 bills, including SJR23 which clarified that the AUMF nor any other bill includes authorization to attack Iran; S. 115, to roll back some of the tax giveaways to the oil and gas industries; S. 117 to increase benefits to veterans and require reports on the effectiveness of the so-called War On Terrorism; and numerous other bills to support education, veterans' benefits, election fairness, and improve health care. Look up his record at http://thomas.loc.gov/ before you talk about how ignorant others are.

Rick said...

P. S. As for Obama's church hating whites, see http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/church.asp where you'll find a thorough debunking of this myth. Of course the right wing is going to promote this kind of crap. Don't be fooled into going along with it.

Anonymous said...

Geez Andy, can't you even show the pretense of objectivity?

Last week when Hillary got whumped in the Potomac primaries, she got on stage in El Paso. Rather than give a gracious concession speech, she delivered a stemwinding whopper on national tv seeking to rally the troops in a key firewall state.

This time, Obama gave her the chance to be gracious when she got skunked in Wisconsin. She started out the same way, this time in Ohio. Obama would be a fool to allow her to continue her ungracious piggish ways. He was 100% right to come to the microphone and claim his victory - and get the spotlight off of a loser who doesn't know how to lose graciously.

Hillary is an embarrassment to herself as well as to the Democratic Party. It's time you face up to that Andy.

Anonymous said...

Ok Caro---I meant he was AGAINST the war when he ran for Senate----does it really matter? He was against it THEN and still is---thats consistency. Im NOT a Obama supporter---i said in the very same post, I support Ron Paul. Hes the most consistent, most conservative candidate running. Fuck Democrats----they LIED in 2006 when they said they'd end the war-----it was a big LIE! All theyve done in the past 16 months is give blank checks to Bush to continue in Iraq.

Anonymous said...

We really are a mosaic country, after all. We have a black man running who goes to a church where the minister preaches hatred of whites, and, who can't be elected president because so many white men are racists. We have a white man running who has a documented history of being a rabid racist against blacks. We have a woman running for president who hasn't got a chance because of the white male sexists and the racist black voters voting only for the black candidate. We have a white man running for president who was involved in a savings and loan scandal and who now faces the revelation of a past sexual scandal with a lobbyist. I wouldn't be surprised if every American voter stayed home on election day.

60 Minutes did a piece on the happiest people in the world who are Danes. Part of their happiness is the support and security they get from their government and the other main contribution is that they all pretty much see eye to eye on things. They all like each other and pretty much have the same values and goals.

DVSDen said...

Speaking of Classy, Hillary has had two losing nights in a row where she did not even thank the people who voted for her that night, well after she got out of Dodge. Last week, she was in TX giving a speech while getting shellacked in MD, VA, DC. Did she thank the voters and workers who came out in the snow and supported her? NO!
Did she thank the voters of WI? No, she didn't even acknowledge the state, and all her supporters can do is say that these 10 states in a row are small and don't matter. Nice stratgey people! No wonder the majority of Dems are leaving the Good Ship Hillary

Anonymous said...

I find it humorous that you are just now finding out that Hillary only really cares about her political aspirations. You expected her to thank you for your vote ? She looks down on you and wants to control you.

Anonymous said...

An anonymous poster at the the top pointed out that Obama gave Lieberman some financial support during his run against Lamont, and cited that as a reason to "get real" and support Hillary. Fine. The DNC also gave him money, but fine. BILL CLINTON CAMPAIGNED FOR JOE LIEBERMAN.

I hear Clinton supporters bring up these Obama donations for Lieberman all the time. Either they are ignoring, or actually don't know, that Bill and Hillary Clinton are long-time, close friends of Joe Lieberman--both then, and now. They campaigned actively for him against Ned Lamont--something Barack Obama did NOT do.

Anonymous said...

I can't figure out if the two above-bloggers who bash Hillary for not thanking her voters are sorority girls who really want to keep the their club's reputation for "being real ladies" accepted on a national scale , or, if they're men who are projecting their problems with women to Hillary. No matter it's scary. We're holding an election on the social graces required by the woman candidate to determine her qualifications, while Bush was able to sneer, lie, defy when asked about his cocaine use; and commit a list of other socially unacceptable responses. Is Obama "lady-like" enough for the tastes of these two bloggers?