What is the matter with this guy?
“Nobody thinks that Bush and McCain have a real answer to the challenges we face. So what they’re going to try to do is make you scared of me,” Obama said. “You know, he’s not patriotic enough, he’s got a funny name, you know, he doesn’t look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills.”
He clearly wants to be attacked for his race, and he’s sick of waiting for it to happen, dammit. It’s a lot easier than responding to charges of inexperience, flip-flopping (accusations of which are coming from both the left and right), and naivety. He’s so wrapped up in his own caricatures of the Republican Party that he can’t bring himself to truly believe that he wouldn’t be attacked for his race — I mean, given that the Republican Party is stacked from top to bottom with racists and all. (To paraphrase Ann Coulter, here’s a little ‘inside scoop’ about white people: we’re not thinking about your race, buddy. We’ve got better things to do than to think about your skin color all day long.)
An Obama spokesman denied that the comment was related to race. But as someone in the Politico comment section noted: what was he referring to, then? Powdered wigs?
July 31st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
When in doubt, become a victim of hate and prejudice.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Alas! Alex and ACT agree!
You guys did a good job last night.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Here’s what bothers me about this quote:
Last time I checked, Obama wasn’t a president. So it follows that he shouldn’t be comparing himself to other presidents. Who does this guy think he is, anyway?
July 31st, 2008 at 1:08 pm
And obviously, it’s just always stupid for a black man to play the race card. Just in terms of simple arithmetic – when you are part of a group that makes up only 13 percent of the voting population, it’s best not to (without provocation) impune the motives of someone from a group composing 76 percent of the electorate.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:12 pm
This along with the bitter clingers quote is going to help push us over the edge in MI, OH and possibly PA.
I’m sure between now and November, he will give us a few more sweet quotes that reveal who he is, that we will then use to educate middle America about the real Obama.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:13 pm
#3 – yes that bothers me, too. The other thing is, that last time I checked, George Washington is the only president on the dollar bill. He must be talking about the dollar bills they use in the other 7 states.
Oh well, since BO believes he is the president, it must be true.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
These race bating tactics may work in the Democratic primaries (and they almost failed ever there – just look how close Clinton came), but these tactics will certainly fail in the general election. I think Alex is right by saying that Obama wants to be attacked on his race.
Also, I’d like to point out that Obama is essentially attacking McCain for something that McCain has not done and would never do:
“John McCain and his Republican allies will try to scare.. ”
Will try to? Will try to scare you because his name is funny and because he does not look like a president on a dollar bill? What a cheap low blow, politics as usual from the candidate of “change.”
July 31st, 2008 at 1:17 pm
The other thing is, that last time I checked, George Washington is the only president on the dollar bill.
beth,
You might want to look again.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Yet if a Republican says “Obama will not defend the US” the entire leftwing chattering class will have a collective seizure.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
and we were all worried about Hillary’s mental disorders and the likelihood of her living in an alternate White House… I think Obama has successfully proven that he is far more mentally unstable… What an absolute megalomaniac… Or I guess he’s a MegOBAMAniac… lol
July 31st, 2008 at 1:24 pm
What unbelievable narcissism. This from the guy that talks about appealing to America’s better angels – “Everyone that opposes me must be a racist!” He sure is eager to believe that half the country is prejudiced. Sad.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I’d love to see McCain throw this back in Barry’s face with a quip like this: “Senator Obama takes a dim view of the American public. I prefer to see Americans not as a people rife with racism and prejudice, but a honorable and fair people who will take a thoughtful look at both of our records and come to the conclusion that Senator Obama is ill-fitted to lead this great country, based not on the color of his skin but his political cowardice and inexperience.”
Kind of a run-on, but you get the point.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Win M, Obama’s supporters think the country is fundamentally flawed. No wonder he’s so popular in Europe.
Rasmussen poll in FL:
July 31st, 2008 at 1:39 pm
#8 – Aaron – now that’s a collector’s item!!
July 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
#12 – I LOVE this comeback, Win M. Quick, e-mail it to the McCain campaign.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
uhm, Since Obama and McCain served together in the Senate, I am sure Obama is aware that one of McCain’s daughters is NOT WHITE!
July 31st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I was so ticked off when I read that last night. But it wasn’t until now that I saw this whopper:
Plouffe: McCain has the racist vote anyway
Obama’s like school in the summer: No class
July 31st, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Golly, this guy is crazy and dangerous. I’m not making any promises but despite all Kristofer and sampo’s work to the contrary I just might have to pull the lever for McCain. Again, the chance is still at about 1% but that is 0.9% higher than it was before reading this article.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Shameless race-baiting.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:53 pm
#17, #18, I am confused, did Plouffe call me a racist?
July 31st, 2008 at 1:56 pm
#15 – Thanks, I appreciate it. I don’t know if the McCain campaign would take much notice, though.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:01 pm
“What a cheap low blow, politics as usual from the candidate of ‘change.’”
Boy, you said it. McCain is one of the dead last politicians that I would ever suspect of having a racist streak. As someone above mentioned, he opened his family to a non-white adopted daughter. (God bless him for that.) So glad Obama finds that worthy of being smeared with charges of racism. This whole episode just has me disgusted. All those folks who thought Obama’s ascendancy would heighten racial dialogue are being proved wrong: he’s doing everything he can to inflame racial tensions to his advantage. What a dramatic disservice to his country.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Here’s a comment in response an article in ABC online (dated 7-31-8) called, “McCain Campaign says Obama Is Playing The Race Card.” Read the comments. I always find it surprising to see what the “folks” are thinking when they feel free to be honest.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=5486705&page=1
I am sick and tired of Senator Obama, his campaign, and some of his supporters crying racism everytime someone dares to criticize him. I am a Black woman who will NOT be voting for Senator Obama in November not because he is half-white, (did everyone forget that he is not Black but Bi-Racial), but because I see him as a snake oil salesman who will say/do anything for votes. Now I know that this is what is expected of politicians, but isn’t this the guy who has billed himself as an “Agent of Change”? We have had one empty suit occupying the White House for almost 8 years, I don’t really think the nation can handle another 4 years of rhetoric, arrogance, and hubris! Senator Obama’s camp/supporters have tried to sell the nation on the idea of Senator McCain bringing a 3rd Bush term – I for one am not buying it! Senator Obama is closer to the ideals and standards of Bush than Senator McCain will ever be! And as far as the war is concerned, Senator Obama was not in the U.S. Senate when the vote was taken, so all of this talk about being against the war from the beginning is just that TALK. He has voted for every spending bill that has come up to continue funding the war since his arrival in Washington as the junior senator from Illinois. If this is something he feels so strongly about, why doesn’t his vote on this issue reflect that?While racism does exist in this country, so does sexism (just ask Senator Clinton) and ageism (consult Senator McCain on this one). I am sure that there are some who won’t vote for Senator Obama because of the package he is wrapped in, but that surely isn’t the only reason. He and his supporters need to grow up, get a life, and understand that it is not always about him. This election is too important for a neophyte full of nothing.
Posted by:
fwalker1209 9:24 AMMark As Violation
**************
I think the junior senator from Illinois just may be in trouble.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
i just got from reliable sources that Obama spits out falsehoods that are not exactly right.
for one thing, he is not really notan African- American. He is more of Arab- American descent ( i.e.
75% Arab , Muslim, that is. more importantly, judgement goes hand in hand with experience.
looking at his past and background he does not have much of an experience to tackle the big, big
gargantuan task of a US Presidency. The nerve of him to seek the job!
July 31st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
I hate to get off topic, but has anyone seen the Charlie the Unicorn skit on YouTube?
It just occurred to me that the Obama campaign is basically all about trying to get you to go to Candy Mountain.
“Candy Mountain…it’s a land of sweets, and joy, and joyness.”
And then you get there and you lose a kidney.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:12 pm
“Magical wonders are to behold for those who enter”
July 31st, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Barry Wobamanka is more like it… what a fruitcake
July 31st, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Letterman’s top 10 the other night… what’s funny is how true some of these are… If elected does ANYONE really think that Obama won’t press to get on Mt Rushmore and on the currency? Afterall, he is THE ONE that we’ve all been waiting for.
What a little little man… too scared to share the stage with a true patriot
Top Ten Signs Barack Obama is Overconfident
Top Ten
Proposed bill to change Oklahoma to “Oklobama”
Offered Bush 20 bucks for the “Mission Accomplished” banner
Asked guy at Staples, “Which chair will work best in an oval-shaped office?”
The affair with Barbara Walters
Having head measured for Mount Rushmore
Guy sits around eating soup all day
He’s voting for Nader
Offered McCain a job in gift shop at Obama Presidential Library
Announced his running mate will be Andy Dick
Been cruising for chicks with John Edwards
July 31st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Let me be the first to congratulate Senator Obama for finding a way for Senator McCain to motivate his base. Call 50% of the country ignorant and racist.
If Obama does this well with sensitive subjects, I am sure he will do just fine when he meets with Ahmadinejad, in person, without pre-conditions.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:30 pm
i just got tis info from very reliable source that Obama spits out falsehoods that are not exactly right. firstly, he really is an Arab-muslim- american, and not African-American.
Secondly, experience and judgement go hand and hand, and looking at his background, he has neither.
The nerve of him to seek the gargantuan task of the US Presidency!
July 31st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
#25 – Very true. Mitt Romney said something recently about the difference between Obama and McCain being “Sweet Talk vs. Straight Talk.”
July 31st, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Glo and Mort – What’s your angle?
July 31st, 2008 at 2:33 pm
US judge: White House aides can be subpoenaed
I don’t get this, courts found former legal council to the Bush Admin Harriet Miers must respond to congressional oversight? I strongly disagree with that.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:34 pm
#24, Glo: If you have proof he is Arab or Muslim, present it. Otherwise, that sort of rumor-mongering is out of line (besides playing right into Obama’s hands).
I really don’t care what his racial background or his religion is.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
*spelled counsel wrong in #33
I think the executive branch should have some level of operational autonomy, and to say that legal counsel to the white house can be brought under congressional oversight does serious damage to the power of the executive. In addition, this whole thing strikes me as utterly political, trying to set up congressional hearings for an outgoing administration in the lead up to the election.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Rick Davis is upset over this. Good catch Alex, this will go on for a while. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0708/Davis_Obama_camp_was_pushing_race_story.html
July 31st, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Hmmm … we have Glo spreading her nonsense and then Mort posting word-for-word the same stuff.
Kavon, it looks like you need to spray your house for trolls again.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:07 pm
#36 – I think this is going to get ugly. The “racist” attack is really all Obama has. If you read comments in the blogosphere by his supporters – paid and unpaid, this is always the attack line. “If you don’t support Obama, if you criticize Obama, you are a racist.”
This is a hugh mistake for Obama and will certainly backfire on him.
Even in his speech at Berlin he brought it up by mentioning that he didn’t look like other folks from America who had spoken there.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Barack Obama thinks Americans are dumber then a sack of bricks. He’s in for a terribly rude awakening; in the Democratic primary, the racially polarized campaign was OK for Obama, demographically. In a general election, it’s an absolute disaster. McCain needs to hit back harder then this. Nobody with a functioning brain cell would buy Obama’s “ok, I was just talking about the fact that…you know, I haven’t been in Washington for decades”. As if he hasn’t something almost identical a dozen times, sometimes explicitly referring to race. These are the types of moments when I get frustrated by John McCain; a halfway competent politician would ruin Obama on this quote. Hillary would send him scurrying. Bill would work up tremendous indignation, and this quote would be all over the 6 o’clock news for days, and Americans could judge for themselves. But, John McCain sends his campaign spokesman out there to say “boy, that’s low”.
July 31st, 2008 at 4:47 pm
#39 – Yeah, McCain’s never been good at structured, coherent campaigning, let alone structured, coherent pushback against this sort of attack. He needs to pick a precise, efficient reply – the one I suggested in post #12 wouldn’t be a bad start – and reiterate it in as many venues as possible. I don’t think the McCain campaign has internalized that haggard repetition is the key to winning campaigns. Reagan built a career by essentially reiterating three themes – win the Cold War, cut taxes, shrink the federal government – over and over and over. It seems like Mac has accumulated at least a dozen “central campaign themes” by this point, which isn’t exactly a portent of doom, but not a beacon of a good campaign. What worries me is that, looking backwards, I have trouble recalling a single instance when the candidate who mounted the worse campaign won. I might be wrong – ’92 might be the spoiler for that theory – but campaign organization is just as important, I think, as actual stances on the issues. McGovern, for instance, was definitely out there, but would likely have won at least ten states had it not been for some absolutely inept campaigning. (Tom Eagleton, anyone?) Boneheaded moves lose campaigns, and that has me worried. At least McCain hasn’t gone windsurfing yet.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:38 pm
This racism problem of Obama’s, along with him promising to support that school in Kenya with his name on it then totally abandoning the kids over there, overall I’ve had a bad day. America deserves better. I wish there were better to choose from.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Obama was wrong to invoke McCain, who has been as clean as a whistle on race. But some of his supporters, including posters on this site, are guilty of exactly what Obama was talking about.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:33 pm
42 — Who is guilty of playing the race card on this site?
August 1st, 2008 at 12:47 am
43 – nobody plays the race card. My impression is that nobody, nobody cares one pinch whether Obama is green or red, nobody that is except Obama, his preachers, Jesse Jackson, his rapper friend Snoopy Dog, his crowd. People cared more if McCain is old, Romney is Mormon, shoot, the evangels are still firing off letters saying they can’t tolerate Mormons. NOBODY’s crying but Obama. He stays up all night staring at his paper money, crying. Who knows. His imagination and delusions of grandeur, that he is being persecuted for things he can’t help has run wild.
August 1st, 2008 at 1:10 am
43 – nobody plays the race card. My impression is that nobody, nobody cares one pinch whether Obama is green or red, nobody that is except Obama, his preachers, Jesse Jackson, his rapper friend Snoopy Dog, his crowd. People cared more if McCain is old, Romney is Mormon, shoot, the evangels are still firing off letters saying they can’t tolerate Mormons. NOBODY’s crying but Obama. He stays up all night staring at his paper money, crying. Who knows. His imagination and delusions of grandeur, that he is being persecuted for things he can’t help has run wild.
So typical of a liberal to want to be a victim.
Of course, when they actually have enemies — like, say, jihadists — they do all they can to show ‘solidarity.’