Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Obama’s Fading “Hope“: America May Be Too Sick To Elect a Black Man For President


Obama appears to be damaged goods, and may be done. You could probably stick a fork in him at this point. Or does he have enough miracles left to overcome the nations attempt to swiftboat his campaign? And yes…this has now become more of a national effort. Everyone seems to be getting in on the act.

That's one of the many reasons why I lost interest in this circus filled election season.

Hillary's race baiting campaign has done serious damage to Obama and his hopes for the nomination, especially in the context of the General Election. Even if Obama somehow stops the bleeding enough to win the nomination, the General (s)election will be a different story. Obama will have to garner a broader range of support in the General Election as compared to the Democratic nomination contest...and it's going to be a steeper hill for him to climb in the General to accomplish that mission.

Clinton has taken race, Rev. Wright, etc...& has tied it around Obama's neck with a ball & chain. It is going to weigh on him not only for the remainder of his campaign...but for the rest of his political career. Obama was naive to think that his attempts to run a race neutral campaign would somehow stop Whites from attacking him using race, ethnicity, and religion as weapons. They simply couldn’t resist. Obama was essentially put in a situation where he had to apologize for being Black. And people wonder why I hate being a Black man? I don’t know of any other ethnic group in this Country that has to apologize to the wider society for their race…..or has to apologize for comments made by other members of their ethnic group, the way that Obama had to. These developments have been breathtaking, although not surprising to me considering we live in one of the most racist Countries in the World. But this is why I had to step back from politics…the madness was becoming too absurd to tolerate.

I never thought that either Clinton or Obama were very electable from the beginning.... and now they are even more unelectable... That is especially the case for Obama.
Everything that I had predicted earlier on seems to be materializing. The media has duped Democrats (by steering voters like sheep) into nominating two marginal candidates....and by playing up issues of race, etc. And it has been all about ratings for the networks the whole time (from the time that the Obama/Clinton matchup was first introduced and played up as a possibility 2 & 1/2 to 3 years ago until today).

An example of the damage done to Obama can be seen in polling data...and it is showing in a big way. Whether it holds or not remains to be seen...but the negative results seem to be holding a month after the Rev. Wright nonsense. Obama had been leading by wide margins in Indiana on a consistent basis over several weeks. But after the negative racist gutter politics of Clinton.... the poll in Indiana has flipped the opposite way...with Clinton now enjoying a nice lead; although Obama has been able to improve his standing in Indiana in the last few days. There was an initial swing of about 15-20 points from Obama to Clinton within the span of two weeks. As if that’s not bad enough, new polling from Puerto Rico shows that Clinton enjoys a healthy double digit lead there as well. I was a little surprised by the Puerto Rico poll considering the rocky relationship between the Clinton administration and the island in the late 1990’s.

But Hillary’s support among blue collar White voters in Indiana, Kentucky and Pennsylvania says a lot about the impact of playing on the fears of White Americans, xenophobic Whites in particular. Hillary always had race as a built-in advantage.

At the end of the day... I don't believe that Obama is electable in a General Election....and he probably won't win. He may not even win the Democratic nomination now that Florida and Michigan are probably out of the picture (at least for now). This will leave the decision to the so-called Superdelegates. Losing the nomination may be an act of mercy for Obama and his followers. Some polling is beginning to show that voters would support McCain over Obama...and Clinton over McCain in key matchups (again...Hillary Clinton’s dirty racist campaign has started to pay off). Clinton is likely to finish strong in the remaining contests on the back of her race baiting & scorched earth campaign...and this may make the Supercrooks... or the "Superdelegates" doubt Obama's chances.

To put it plainly....America is too sick to elect a Black candidate to the Presidency of the United States. Sick meaning- too racist, xenophobic, ignorant about politics & basic civics, ignorant about Democracy, nationalistic, controlled by fear, manipulated by the media, uninformed about other cultures & the experiences of others within the borders of this Country...let alone in Countries thousands of miles away, blind about religion.... Etc. And this is essentially why I am noticing that the vultures are starting to gather for Barack Obama…waiting for a nice meal from the political remains of a man who started out with grand hopes but was soon consumed by the disease that is American Politics….a disease fed by a twisted social culture. In some ways, America is as sick today as it was 40 and 50 years ago. And Hope was never going to change that in my opinion. This is why I always said that Obama needed more than Hope to win the nomination and a General Election… I knew that he would face this racist onslaught. He needed a kick ass, cut throat campaign staff that wouldn’t take any bull……but this is something that Obama doesn’t seem to have unfortunately. To say that David Axelrod has been a wimp may be an understatement.

In the end, race & how comfortable voters personally would feel having a beer or having dinner with a particular candidate may prove more important than the candidates positions on actual issues. In American elections... this personal "feel good" test tends to carry the day over all else. This is what American elections have come down to....and it has been this way for quite some time. Whites will always be more comfortable with candidates who look like them, despite the fact that they may actually have more in common as Americans with the minority candidate (the guy who is barely a millionaire…and a fairly new member of that group). This phenomenon is part of the reason why George W. Bush still won re-election despite losing 3 straight debates to the cosmopolitan guy from the Northeast. Rural White Americans preferred George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan because of how well these men wore their boots and their cowboy hats...more than any plan they offered or policy that they supported. We are seeing a similar situation with Obama, and his ethnicity highlights this phenomenon that much more.

Americans consistently vote against their own best interests, even in election years when they claim to want change. If you recall….2004 was a “change” election year…but when it came down to voting, Americans chose the same cast of characters….largely out of fear and because of the impulse to choose the familiar. The same thing is happening in this election cycle. Americans will likely choose what is familiar and “safe”. Choosing something different requires voters to put in more work….requires them to think more…requires them to have a grasp of the issues. But for many voters, this is too hard, and they look for any excuse to pull back and retreat to their old patterns of choosing the most familiar. This is how issues like Gay marriage, guns (I am pro-gun by the way), religion, immigration, war, race and class, often trump more pressing everyday issues that all voters should be concerned with. This is partly what Obama was getting at when he made the comments about small town America. But he wasn’t blunt enough with his comments. If he could have gotten away with it, what he should have mentioned was the fact that race and racial prejudice are working against him in many parts of rural America, and rural Pennsylvania and Indiana especially. That’s what he wanted to say but couldn’t. Xenophobia and racism are huge issues in this campaign. And the fear mongering from Clinton and McCain are a testament to that fact. If these were not big issues, then Clinton & the Conservatives would not be working so hard to highlight and exploit racial & social differences for political advantage.

It is amazing how the media has been able to twist Obama’s comments around to have a completely different meaning or connotation than what was intended. Hillary Clinton is allowed to tell one bold faced lie after another with very few lasting consequences, yet Obama is vilified repeatedly for telling the truth. Obama is attacked relentlessly for comments that he didn’t even make regarding his former Pastor, or for comments made by the obscure Louis Farrakhan (support that Obama never sought & comments that he probably didn’t know about ahead of time) yet the media does nothing to hold John McCain accountable for actually seeking and accepting the endorsement of a known bigot and religious hate monger John Hagee. This is why I get the urge to strangle those who say there is no media bias in favor of these rich white candidates. Clinton in particular has had the media advantage from the beginning, long before she even declared her candidacy.

The media tries to create its own reality in order to boost ratings. They desperately want the Obama comments to be overblown into a huge new controversy. Even though a CNN Poll out today showed that 76% of viewers did not find Obama’s comments offensive at all. A majority were actually in agreement with Sen. Obama. Yet the corporate media continues to twist his words and then overplay those twisted words, hoping to influence voters in Pennsylvania, Indiana and elsewhere who may not keep up with the daily news and who would therefore be ripe candidates for this kind of manipulation. Meanwhile, while this manufactured news is being promoted, the media seems to ignore actual confirmed news surrounding Clinton’s chief strategist Mark Penn, and his support of a Columbian Trade deal, while she is in Pennsylvania slamming such deals. It’s the same kind of disingenuous behavior that we saw from Clinton in Ohio and that we have seen throughout her campaign.

What really bothers me is the assertion by Clinton and McCain that Obama is some sort of elitist and is out of touch. This is coming from a woman who reported making over $100 million dollars, and has been the biggest recipient of corporate lobbying money out of all of the candidates. This is also the same woman who has been in the White House, in Governors mansions and in corporate board rooms for upwards of 35 years straight. This is the same woman who defended corporations against consumers and even defended a wife beater in a brutal domestic violence case when she was a hotshot attorney, as a way to promote her career. And now she claims to be a feminist. Give us a break Hillary! And John McCain is not far behind. His entire campaign is virtually run by lobbyists. But Obama is the elitist? A man who started out in a job that paid about $15,000 a year and wasn’t born into wealth. A man raised by a single mother. A man who lived on Food Stamps as a kid and doesn’t know what it feels like to have $100 million.

If that’s not bad enough, Hillary is now claiming to be Annie Oakley…a pro-gun politician. Unfortunately Americans have a very short memory and will fall for that unmitigated foolishness. Those of us who have been paying attention know about the war on guns that the Clintons waged in the 1990’s. Now she wants gullible voters to believe that she is actually pro-gun. It’s another chameleon act by Clinton…. changing her colors to fit the current environment. We saw the same nonsense with NAFTA. And there have been similar embellishments in terms of her foreign policy (3am crisis) experience….which all turned out to be a very large bucket of Bull.

The media circus of the past 2 months has taken both Democratic Party candidates off of more meaningful topics, such as what they plan to do to save social security, what they plan to do about healthcare, what they plan to do about climate change and the environment, what they plan to do about energy independence & getting gas prices under control, what they plan to do to create jobs and to make the U.S. more competitive in the new global economy, what they plan to do about the cost of living and stagnant wages, what they plan to do about corruption in Washington D.C., what they plan to do to repair U.S. relations with the rest of the World, what they plan to do about the growing racial and social class rift (the new emerging caste system in this Country), what they plan to do about the cost of higher education and out of control student loan burdens, and the list goes on & on. I have not heard anything over the past several weeks about substantive policies and plans of the respective candidates. I have only been bombarded with replay after replay of the latest trivial comments from one of the 3 Senators.

We have entered an era where we can now count on good people to be swift boated, no matter how good their message might be. The new tradition calls for election seasons that are turned into pure entertainment. Americans, fed by the corporate media machine, sit around to see who has made the latest gaffe, rather than seeking meaningful substantive information. This is why the American electorate tends to be less informed than voters in other Democracies. We are becoming a "gaffe" and 10 second soundbite culture. This, in part, is what will decide elections from here on out. Meanwhile, the same cast of characters will win elections over and over again, and nothing will change for ordinary Americans. The Well of American politics is now permanently contaminated. If JFK were to run for the office of President today, even he would be swift boated. So we as a nation are in this perpetual funk, and I don’t see how the cycle will be broken. As long as the nation has a corrupt Two- Party system that is controlled by big money, a largely disengaged uninformed public, and a corporate media that controls & shapes almost all public opinion, then nothing significant will change in the lives of ordinary Americans. Fear, ignorance, racism and xenophobia will continue to rule the day. Only a reformed, regulated political system with a real multi-party Democracy (more than 2 major Parties) will be able to change the status quo. Americans make up one of the most ill-informed and manipulated electorates of any modern nation on the planet, which is why we will be dealing with this kind of nonsense for the foreseeable future.

The Obama experiment, so far, is proving that despite all of the Senators attempts to run a race neutral campaign and to represent a new generation of minority politicians who want to transcend skin color, White America still could not resist using race as a weapon against him. Thus America is once again failing to move beyond its racist past. This will insure that America will remain one of the Neanderthals in the community of nations. Technologically and economically strong…sure. But socially, it is still too sick to move ahead…still stuck 2-3 generations behind.

I'm quickly moving towards a "shelter in place" bunker mentality.... more of a survivalist mode... gathering everything that I need for "SHTF Day" (whenever that day comes)...when the House burns down. That includes clinging to my guns, just like Whites in small town America. I am realizing that I can do nothing to stop the inevitable demise of this country.... that an Empire descending from grace is just a natural thing...and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. I can do nothing to impact (not in a meaningful or significant way) the politics of this Country... especially in a Country where there is no real Democracy to speak of. Yes, my cynicism has returned….in fact, it never went anywhere. I have always been cynical and skeptical. This Country has not given me any reason to be otherwise. And it’s not a blind cynicism….it is a justified cynicism.

One positive that could come out of a Democratic defeat in November….sort of a silver lining to the dark storm cloud of a McCain victory… is that such a Democratic defeat may be what the Country needs. It wouldn’t be a completely negative experience. Perhaps this would be the spark that the Democratic Party would need to finally implode, which would be a good thing, forcing the Party to clean house from top to bottom, starting with Howard Dean. Perhaps this would cause the Party to refocus its vision, mission, and strategy for the future. The current cast of characters give me nothing to be excited about.

But those changes would only be superficial. What we really need is a complete fundamental overhaul of the entire political system in this Country. I know… not likely, but that’s the only way to restore public confidence in politics. There has to be a change in the way that the nation chooses Presidents and other elected officials. Public financing of campaigns, where all candidates are on a level playing field, and enjoy a truly impartial media, is the only fair framework for future elections. Maybe a Democratic loss could convince enough people (fed up Democrats and independents) to form a separate political Party. And I would love to see Conservatives and Moderates do the same. Both Parties should split into 2 or 3 different groups in my opinion. A true multi-party Democracy (more than two or three major Parties) is the only way that all Americans can feel that their interests are being represented. You need more than two corrupt political Parties to represent the needs and interests of a diverse group of 300 million people. No other major industrialized Democracy has that kind of Party ratio in terms of political representation. You only see that kind of ratio in dictatorships and communist Countries. Voters need choice when they go to the polls… they have had to choose between the Demon and the Devil for too long. Until there are fundamental changes to this Countries political landscape…. nothing will fundamentally change in the lives of Americans.

21 comments:

SM Kovalinsky said...

First, I agree 100% with your fine and eloquent analysis; all that you are saying has the ring of truth in it. Your thinking is sound, clear as a bell, and firmly rooted. But I cannot help feeling still that there is some profoundly hopeful meaning in the appearance of Barack Obama on the historical scene, here, in this hour. . . I have always felt that he represents some judgement; he appears to me to be a walking refutation of the past 2 decades, and he moves through this present political scene like a foreign figure. I think he will BE the split. He will wind up splitting away from the Democratic party and running as a new party, one that inherits and surpasses the old and that spells the death of our senile Democratic party. I think this is inevitable, and will be fulfilled. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. And if I am right, then all that is happening to him now is perfectly positioning him for his destiny. . .

Toure Zeigler said...

I just as sickend by the media coverage and their use of semantics in deflecting the real and truthful intent of his point.

But it's too early to just give up and believe there has been too much damage done. This is nothing compared to the Rev Wright incident in retrospect. At this point the media and establishment is just searching for ways to discredit him. But next week there will be a new controversy.

As much as the media try to blow the Rev Wirght issue up, Obama still surged. In fact most polls I saw, most people by a large margin did not find Obama's comments offensive.

But I am disgusted at how the media has played put their own connotation to what he was saying when they fully know what his intent was and he later described the intent of point. And no is even arguing that point but they are so wrapped up into the semantics of "cling" and putting their own spin to it

rikyrah said...

AI,



I'm feeling you, but you know, I'm gonna hang in there with Obama. Just going to ride it out.

Anonymous said...

while i am not confident that the dems can win this election, for a number of reasons (which i have held for a number of months) i am not as pessimistic as you about Obama's chances.

the fact is he is under merciless attack from the GOP and GOP Light/Clinton Tag team..nevertheless i think he will get the nomination and may even be able to skewer McCain and win this thing.
maybe.
the longer the Clintons work at lynching him, the less chance he has.

Anonymous said...

http://fromtheleft.wordpress.com/2008/04/13/gore-carter-to-endorse-obama/

what happens if this is true?

Anonymous said...

WOW ! Hillary's Religion (cult?) 'THE FAMILY' Very Scary !
Prays To Jesus For The Elite To Rule The World !

(Where's The Media On This ?????)

The media has repeatedly aired the short clips of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's rhetoric in attempt to discredit and smear Barack Obama. But what's even more interesting is the fact that the media never discusses Hillary Clinton's religion, which is extremely telling and even frightening. A closer look into her 'religion' gives one a clearer picture of why she is the way she is.In a recent article by Steven Brandt many truths about Hillary's religion, called ' The Family' will make you shudder. The question is....where's the media on this one ?

Brandt writes, "You don't choose your family, but you choose what church you want to attend." said Hillary Clinton, to reporters and editors of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Tuesday the 25th. This is an interesting choice of words, since -- while we mostly hear about her Methodist upbringing -- Hillary Clinton has chosen to associate herself with The Family (also known as the Fellowship), a very conservative, fundamentalist organization started by Abraham Vereide...

"...an immigrant preacher who in 1935 organized a small group of businessmen sympathetic to European fascism, fusing the Far Right with his own polite but authoritarian faith. From that core, Vereide built an international network of fundamentalists who spoke the language of establishment power, a "family" that thrives to this day. In public, they host prayer breakfasts; in private they preach a gospel of "biblical capitalism," military might, and American empire. Citing Hitler, Lenin, and Mao, Doug Coe, the Family's current leader, declares, "We work with power where we can, build new power where we can't."

This quote is taken from the book on The Family by the same name which will be published in May... a book which claims to

"...dramatically challenge conventional wisdom about American fundamentalism, revealing its crucial role in the unraveling of the New Deal, the waging of the Cold War, and the no-holds-barred economics of globalization. The question Sharlet believes we must ask is not "What do fundamentalists want?" but "What have they already done?"

A long article was written about Hillary Clinton's participation in this organization last September in Mother Jones, and The Family, itself, was the subject of an extensive article in Harper's in March of 2003. And on March 21st, The Nation published an article on Hillary and The Family by Barbara Ehrenreich that was published on The Huffington Post and CBS News' web site.

The Family avoids the word Christian but worships Jesus, though not the Jesus who promised the earth to the "meek." They believe that, in mass societies, it's only the elites who matter, the political leaders who can build God's "dominion" on earth. Insofar as The Family has a consistent philosophy, it's all about power - cultivating it, building it and networking it together into ever-stronger units, or "cells."...wrote Ms.Ehrenreich.

Is it possible that Hillary's participation in this fundamentalist group -- which apparently preaches the "gospel of military might" -- would help explain her vote in favor of authorizing President Bush to attack Iraq? Is it possible her pro-NAFTA stance during her husband's administration comes from its embrace of "the no-holds-barred economics of globalization"? Is it possible that the sense some get that Hillary feels entitled to be president comes in part from this group's belief that "it's only the elites who matter"?
I encourage any reporter covering Hillary's campaign to ask her about all this.

At a time when so many people are wondering what sort of effect the Rev. Wright's sermons may have had on Barack Obama, I think it's only fair to ask what sort of effect The Family's fundamentalist mission has had - and continues to have - on Hillary Clinton. We know that George Bush engages in truly fundamentalist thinking. There is no person or new information capable of challenging his belief that what he already knows is right. Is Hillary Clinton like this in some way? I am not sure.

But the opinion I have formed from this is that - while Hillary Clinton may be considered a Liberal by many - on the inside she is a deeply Conservative person... possibly as close to being a Republican today as she was when she was a young woman supporting Senator Goldwater. This helps explain, to me, why she and John McCain are such good friends. They are both drawn to the use of military power and free market capitalism... and to taking money from lobbyists. The other opinion I have formed is that those who say there are no policy differences between Hillary and Barack haven't taken into account how their religious differences might impact the policies they would actually seek to implement as president.
(end of article)

So now a few things make more sense about Hillary. In review, she's in a kinda power-hungry cult which is actually run by her fellow Republicans which she is secretly one of ! It also makes sense why she could care less about detroying the Democratic Party. Also, beware of her claim to work toward ending the Iraq war. That is another great lie that she is telling. If you listen to her claims she commonly repeats ' I will start getting troops out within my first 60 days '.....How many ? 3....1000...10,000 ? Don't be fooled. Hillary has no desire to end the war. She'll bring 5 troops home then say that she kept her word.

The media should be called out for not exposing this cult. Problem is, they would also be revealing the truths about their fellow Republican's plan and prayers to 'rule the world' by any means. So it's up to us, regular Americans like you and I, to help spread the truth in spite of the media.....For The Re-Birth of America !

Greg Jones

WHY ISN'T THE MEDIA EXPOSING THIS ?????
SHARE THIS EVERYWHERE !!!
Visit: Blacks4Barack.org

Anonymous said...

Geez why don't stop covering this then! Nobody needs to be subject to your negative thinking. Regardless of how this race turns out Hillary is toast. She has no idea she is damaged goods. Obama's candidacy is God's way of telling people to wake up. Whether enough people listen or not is up to them. It's not just that's he's a Black man running for office. He expects the best from people and for them to reach their highest potential. He wants a clean campaign and a healed gov't. This has seriously become a spiritual battle for the soul of America. So it's still up in the air. It was NEVER going to easy. Evil wants to be victorious - big surprise. You do a great disservice by saying it's effectively over for him. Wait until PA votes at least. Just because YOU don't believe and have this blog doesn't mean you should use it for border-line nefarious purposes by spewing this crap. There's a ABC/WSJ poll released an hour ago that was discussed on the evening news that said Obama's approval rating is the highest it's been AND that both Clintons' are at their lowest. It also stated that people think the campaign is too negative and she will say anything to get elected. SO THERE! Again, Obama may not win...but he may lose. It's up to us. How about urging readers to engage in a course of action that might help the campaign? Put your energy into something productive. And when everyone who is sick of the status quo really exhausts themselves with trying then we can say we did our best and have to leave it up to God. It's funny how it's the Afro-centric blogs that are always the naysayers and I understand it's due to history, but it kinda kills me that it was white people who were quicker to support Obama. I will close out, but also add that if Obama had been white and engaged people this way and was trying to enact the sweeping gov't changes he has up his sleeve the same people would still be trying to get rid of him. So in many ways it's beyond his racial identity.

Anonymous said...

quick correction - "he may not LOSE"

SM Kovalinsky said...

Although I would word it somewhat differently, I do agree with the above posted remarks in the main. Even if my idea of Obama as being destined for being the former of a new party turns out to be erroneous, I still believe Obama is far stronger than your pessimism would allow you to believe. Whether this has anything to do with your history as an African American I cannot be certain (if it does, then certainly I understand and sympathize) --for my part, I think highly intelligent, ethical and concerned persons tend to become pessimistic about the circus of the American political scene.

Andre said...

AI, I share in your...uh...angst (not sure if that's the appropriate word for the day, but I'm still feelin' you.). The legitimacy of Obama's candidacy may be a little too much for an unelightened America to fathom right now. Still, I'm ultimately with Rikyrah: I'd rather see Sen. Obama stick it out until everything has completely withered away; instead of jumping ship when things only appear to be "fading."

On a somewhat related note, I thought you might get a chuckle out of Hillary changing her tune about Obama's electability. She's probably up to more sleazy politics, but it was nonetheless interesting to see her openly say something...well...nice about Obama.

AI negative about Obama; Hillary positive about him?! Has the world taken a turn for the surreal or is it just me...?! *Joke*

Anonymous said...

You don't know me, and this is the first time I've ever commented here, but your words sadden me. It seems to me that not trying is a sure-fire recipe for losing. It seems to me that cynicism is lazy and comfortable, because if you don't think that change can come here and now, you'll never be disappointed. And you'll never work for that change, because you're afraid of being disappointed.

And that saddens me because all it takes is for the virus of cynicism to sweep through the country to kill the possibility of real change.

That's why only 50% of eligible voters actually bother to vote. That's why people disconnect from politics.

Hey, I get it. People don't want to put their skin in the game and take the risk of heartbreak. I understand how terrifying that can be. I understand the awesomeness of the powers ranged against us.

But change is not going to be easy. The spearhead for that change, Barack Obama, is not perfect. His policy positions aren't perfect. Sometimes he's too tired to be effective. Sometimes he falls below his own high standards. Sometimes his tactical vision is off.

That's no reason for us to not step up and work our friggin butts off. Change should never be about just one figurehead. Change should be about the people.

So, if you want to check out of the race, hey, I understand, and I empathize with you, dude. But that just means I'm going to work harder to man those phones and get the word out to my neighbors and workmates. Some of them may laugh at me and call me naive -- or worse -- but at least I will have tried.

Because I know this moment, when all the forces of the establishment are crystallizing against us, is defining moment not just for America, but also for me.

Brian said...

Susan,

Thanks for your comments.

Glad to see that folks are still optimistic. I guess i'm the type who likes to expect the worst...so when the worst comes, it's not as much of a let down. While I consider myself a forward thinking progressive, I am also a realist.

I think the debate on Wednesday...the day after I made this post... was in a way vindication for what I wrote.

Brian said...

BC Planning,

You were right on the money when you wrote that the media seems to be searching for ways to discredit Obama.

That debate on Wednesday was a circus...complete with Clowns & all.

I agree that Obama has been holding up somewhat well. He has even been able to bounce back in the polls.

However, there has been permanent damage done to his image. A candidate like Obama cannot afford any sort of permanent damage, because he is already starting off with a deficit. He does not enjoy the kind of priviledge that a white candidate enjoys. And with the election race being so tight, he can't afford to have permanent dents in his armor.

Clinton understands this very well, which is why her strategy has been to provide just enough doubt in the minds of voters to cause them to switch or to stay home on election night. The seeds of doubt about Obama are already planted in the minds of many White voters. Clinton understands that all she has to do is remind voters about Obamas...his former Pastor & Church he attended in Chicago, etc, etc..

Unknown said...

Racebaiting...
figures.

SM Kovalinsky said...

Obama will prevail; though all nay-sayers and race-baiters have their way, yet he will prevail. He is marked for it, his destiny will not desert him in the 11th hour.

Hillary08 said...

Obama is the one trying to play the race card to get in. This is not about color at all. Wake up people, we need someone with experience. I wouldnt vote for him if he was white. That is as bad as saying that this is sexist because Hillary is female. Im sick of the race whining. Our country cant afford another one with no clue. Hillary 08.

SM Kovalinsky said...

Your point is extremely well taken, and yet I cannot agree with your perspective. Obama is a "black man", but he is a great deal more than that. He is, at this juncture in American history, a badly-needed force: for blacks, whites, all classes, both genders. He is eloquent, charismatic, uncanny in his intuitions, deeply unifying in all his basic premises, and above all, he is youthful and fresh. There is nothing of the 3rd rate about him. He is simply a dynamic force, and one for which anyone who has seen the mishaps of the last 3 decades, and has suffered in agony over such, ought to be grateful for, in the extreme. God bless America; God bless Barack Obama.

Anonymous said...

I must say you are using a lot of reverse phsycology on this one.

Obama was the one who brought dirty politics into the race. He start right off Blaming people from the starting point. Continued it through his whole campaign. It is like Blaming is a game to him. He does it long and strong constantly.

When in actually not many thought about race until he brought it up and rev wrights coming into the picture.

Obama was the first to bring race into the campaign. That was his doing and his choice. He continued to yell racist at every corner. Then rev wright came along.

Obama does not have the background, the history nor the experience to Be President. Al though many Black Americans do not seem to think he needs any. The put forth his goal and agenda has little to do with being a world leader.

Obama lacks the wisdom that comes with years and experience in the field. Some day he might make a great leader. But I agree with you presently is not the time. With a split party the odds of either winning in November is not good. The democratic committe and party does need Much work. they have proven that.

Rev Wright continues to be his achilles heel. As long as he is associate with him or the church and the teachings wright has instill in that particular church, Obame will have that weak spot.

Obama's advisors did him an injustice Not having wright keep his silence though the campaign. Reason for that, is wrights bulletins, other sermons and speeches Show his own personal racist feeling. But leaves obama wide open for wright as a mentor, His best friends and confidant. Obama knew how the rev thought and felt and beleived. Being close friends for 20 years, That is to much all over to keep it hid from friends that close.

Lying about it was where obama turned the tide.

Obama has great restraints but can he keep from lying anymore? Can he or his wife keep from speaking out in haste if a subject comes up.

If you lie, you have to build trust back up by actions not words. Which is another Obama down fail. He says a lot, Great speeches, He needs more than that. He needs positive actions. He needs to tell the truth no matter how much he does want to.

Rhetoric can only be used for so much. Then you have to come to terms with honesty and truth. With the people you want to trust you.

SM Kovalinsky said...

Not sure if that comment was partly aimed at my own, or more so at the post proper. Yet the above words bring me up short, and give me pause. But then I recover. There can be no doubt that the time is ripe for Obama's high rhetoric and charisma. Yes, the Reverend Wright is an embarrassment of sorts, but that can be dealt with (and there is much to the Rev. that can not be argued with, if one takes a very liberal view of his oratory and takes into consideration the generation he represents). For my part, I like that Obama is not quite right for the job: He will use intuition all the more, and in that sense my trust of him increases, and is profound. Many will not trust him, many will actively denounce him as they did FDR before him. But I wager it will not matter.

Unknown said...

As usual, you are holding Clinton responsible for the MSM. Obama will lose on his own merits (or lack thereof). What election map does he hallucinate? Then, when he loses (because there are not enough red states that will turn blue for him, you so-called progressives will blame Clinton. You all sicken me.

SM Kovalinsky said...

He will not lose. It is time for him, and he will prevail. It is a Clinton camp delusion that she alone could win. Obama will win out over McCain; there is nothing to fear. His victory, of course, will only be believed when it has ocurred. To Obama: En avant! Go catch up with yourself, and do us proud.