Comments on: Barack Obama, the most vocal advocate for [fill in the blank] ever

By: Christine

Christine — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 18:22:49 +0000

“I’d call it hyperbole, except his exaggerations are not unintentional. He seems to really believe it.” Koolaid drinkers generally do believe the out-and-out lies they tell.
‘Gather ’round chillins, I got a tale to tell–and it’s true’. The audience is wide-eyed and open mouthed for the pablum.
It could be that the pablum is the problem, but us knowin’ that ain’t gonna Change nothin’. Only Barry Insane Obama can bring about Life’s constant…
As The Cos would say: Riiiiight!

By: meep

meep — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:49:42 +0000

I think it’s even worse than that, Ed. He likes to say he already said he was against something. e.g., “Obama reminded the crowd that he’d denounced his church’s praise of Farrakhan” He can’t bring himself to say “I denounce him”. He can only mention that he did it before.

Once or twice, no big deal, but do it a bunch and it’s creepy.

MamaAJ on April 12, 2008 at 9:46 AM

Reminds me of the Clinton tactic, when someone brings up a scandal relating to them: “We addressed that long ago… can we Move On(.org)?”

Seriously, though, it’s amusing to me that none of the people supporting him seem to realize he’s all talk. He’s never gotten =anything= of substance done. He’s only talked with people. He’s not proposed any policies, he’s not tried to hash out compromises with political opponents… he just has a universal “I understand” to trot out.

I used to say “I understand” often, too…. when I was 18.

By: TexasJew

TexasJew — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:46:01 +0000

how about “ending Affirmative Action”?

By: its vintage duh

its vintage duh — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:32:28 +0000

Obama supports civil unions but not gay marriage, because … he comes from a mixed marriage?

Well, he had said he opposed it because it was a religious issue, until people found out that the United Church of Christ, of which Trinity United is a member, supports gay marriage.

By: logis

logis — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:08:16 +0000

You have delinated what he [Obama] will not spend Capital on, but please give me your best estimate on what he would spend it on.
kflynn on April 12, 2008 at 9:29 AM

That’s a good question. So far, the empty suit schtick has been pretty comprehensive, but nobody goes through all the trouble of running for President unless he genuinely wants to do SOMETHING.

My guess is that what BarackObama wants most has to do with what he talks about least: being Commander-in-Chief.

Think about it: BarackObama knows that there’s no way in Hell he can even suggest, let alone implement, Sharia Law in America within his term. But when it comes to throwing a monkey wrench into America’s foreign policy, there’s no limit to what a President can accomplish.

By: jon1979

jon1979 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:05:44 +0000

“Pounding the podium on behalf of gays”

You sure you want to put Obama into that kind of imagry, Ed?

By: Dusty

Dusty — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:00:22 +0000

BTW, there was a funny reader e-mail over at The Corner calling Obama a political stem cell.

By: Dusty

Dusty — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:56:09 +0000

“I guess we could call Barack Obama a political capitalist.”

He sounds more like a political skinflint.

By: DaveS

DaveS — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:48:01 +0000

Right out of college he headed a “voter registration drive”. He’s all about creating the appearance of creating “awareness”, and that appears to be where it ends usually.

By: bluestater

bluestater — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:00:57 +0000

FTN

By: CK MacLeod

CK MacLeod — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:54:09 +0000

Possibly because TalkLeft (btw one of the rare actually readable leftish sites in the blogosphere) generally supports a hard-line on trade and Iraq surrender, Jeralyn doesn’t dwell much on how he’s been trying to perform the same acrobatics on those issues – letting advisers like Goolsbee and Power wink and nod in a more centrist direction, or hiding behind wriggly generalizations when confronted with the leftist red meat he tosses out on the stump. He’s in favor of precipitous careful withdrawal. He’s in favor of protectionist free trade. He strongly supports Israel and all of its enemies, too. He’s deeply patriotic and surrounded by anti-Americans, including honest-to-God unrepentant terrorist revolutionaries… not to mention his America-denigrating wife. He’s deeply involved in his Christianity and his church, but somehow missed his pastor’s ideological commitments. He hates special interests except for the ones bundling in the multi-millions for his campaign, and strongly supports public financing except in his own case. He believes American needs to repair its alliances, except with its allies. He understands the common people – whom he considers psychologically infantilized victims clinging to their retrograde religious beliefs, their guns, and their unreasoning hatreds. Pick almost any issue, and he’s come down on both sides – typically by pandering to whichever present audience or interlocutor, then resorting to feelgood abstraction, incoherent hedging, and bait-and-switch when pressed by someone else.

By: BillyRuffn

BillyRuffn — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:44:15 +0000

Begins to explain all those “Present” votes in the Illinois legislature, doesn’t it.

By: ReubenJCogburn

ReubenJCogburn — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:38:22 +0000

I’ve done more for anonymous blog commenters than any anonymous blog commenter in history. And now I’m going to take a nap.

By: ThePrez

ThePrez — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:29:46 +0000

He`s sounding more and more like a grade school kid running for student body president.

By: AZCoyote

AZCoyote — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:22:03 +0000

So Obama believes that he needs to carefully budget his political capital and prioritize his spending. He can’t spend his political capital irresponsibly on things like gay marriage or unfair sentencing guidelines, because then he won’t have enough capital left to spend on things that are more important to him, like universal healthcare or the Iraq war.

It’s good to know that Obama actually understands things like budgeting and the prioritizing of expenses. Perhaps he could take a moment to explain those concepts to all the “victims” of the housing downturn that he’s been promising to save from the consequences of their own irresponsible spending decisions. No wait, those people couldn’t possibly be expected to understand or apply such complicated concepts to their own lives. After all, they’re just a bunch of gun-toting, Bible-thumping, ignorant, racist rubes. Right, Obama?

By: adamsmith

adamsmith — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:17:34 +0000

Fauxbama. That’s all…

By: pueblo1032

pueblo1032 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:05:34 +0000

In Detroit in the 60s, we had a saying for a player like B. Hussein. “Downtown money spender, big womb bender, poor whores dream come true”. I haven’t seen anybody meet this description in over 35 yrs, but boy, does this guy….He not only can’t walk on water, HELL he can’t even tread water…

By: NeighborhoodCatLady

NeighborhoodCatLady — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:56:57 +0000

If Obama thinks the American people are bitter because their government doesn’t do anything for them, it’s time for him to look in the mirror and count up his “present” votes in the Illinois senate. It’s time for him to pull out his own resume and take a hard look. Ten years in state and national legislature, and what has Barrack Obama done for the American people?

A whole lot of nothing with a side of condescension, that’s what.

Barrack Obama: “I’m proud to be part of the problem.”

By: MamaAJ

MamaAJ — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:46:38 +0000

I think it’s even worse than that, Ed. He likes to say he already said he was against something. e.g., “Obama reminded the crowd that he’d denounced his church’s praise of Farrakhan” He can’t bring himself to say “I denounce him”. He can only mention that he did it before.

Once or twice, no big deal, but do it a bunch and it’s creepy.

By: slp

slp — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:46:11 +0000

Duh…

Excellent post, Ed.

Barack Obama, the most vocal advocate for [fill in the blank] ever,

but will not do anything because he wants to hoard his political capital.

So, Barack, on what issue are you going to use your precious political capital?

By: Ed Morrissey

Ed Morrissey — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:45:12 +0000

Tony, thanks — that was a typo, and I’ve corrected it.

By: Tony737

Tony737 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:43:55 +0000

Excellent post there, J-Dad!

By: Tony737

Tony737 — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:36:37 +0000

Obama supports civil unions but gay marriage, because … he comes from a mixed marriage?

Is this a typo? Is it supposed to say ‘civil unions but *NOT* gay marriage’ ?

So what if he’s mixed? What does that have to do with gay marriage? Apples and oranges.

By: JiangxiDad

JiangxiDad — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:32:06 +0000

Obama is the best thing that could have happened to the American people. He illustrates perfectly the need for the Bill of Rights– to protect Americans from their government. His attack on religion and gun ownership is classic. He also exposes as a lie the notion that a minority person cannot be a bigot or discriminatory. He makes perfectly clear why a novice cannot even be considered for the office of the President. He exposes the elite snobbery of liberalism, in a way the average person can see. He allows the media to be seen for what it is, a fawning festering swamp of liberal ideologues willing to say or do anything to hoodwink the American people. He exposes the Democrats as the party of identity politics only. Finally, he gives new life to Martin Luther King’s words about the content of the character mattering. Obama’s character has been measured, and has been found wanting. That’s how it’s supposed to work. Be proud today. America has done right to reject this man. His eventual nomination may be a bitter pill to swallow, but there are many positive and unintended lessons to learn from his continued presence.

By: Connie

Connie — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:31:05 +0000

Like I said last night…

Vote Obama! Get in touch with your inner victim.