April 14, 2008
Tripping Over the Silver Tongues (Bob Franken)
Let's tell it like it is. The ongoing question in this campaign is which candidate is going to make the next stupid comment.
It's unfortunate to use that harsh word, but how else do you describe the clumsy, tellingly elitist construct of Harvard's Barack Obama as he felt the need to describe working-class people? After all, shot-and-a-beer alienation can be too remote for the wine-and-cheese non-working class to comprehend. Maybe it was just a matter of time before the smooth talker tripped over his eloquence.
How else do you characterize Hillary Clinton's ordained-by-Yale belief that common folks are so gullible she can get away with fabrications like Tuzla?
As for John McCain, one would think that with all that experience, he'd manage to stop being so mixed up about al Qaeda's role in Iraq, or lack thereof.
I haven't even gotten to the embarrassingly nasty and destructive comments from highly placed surrogates, spousal and otherwise.
Nor have I mentioned the various pundits who regale us with one ridiculous or poisonous commentary after another. They're somewhat different in that they aren't seeking your vote, although we can elect whether to watch or even pay attention to them.
The campaign is a long one, which would be terrific if the politicians used all the time to debate the huge issues that make this a vitally important election. Instead, we are forced to witness small-minded bickering between candidates who are so frazzled that they have gone from articulate to absurd sputterance.
We in the media are delighted to fan the sparks of controversy to make sure the ratings, circulation and unique hits stay up.
Come to think of it, the pettiness might be a good thing for all of us to witness. This way, we can get over the notion that any of the candidates matches the superhuman image his or her operatives and propagandists try to create.
All we have to do is listen to the dumb things they inevitably say. They're good reminders that our aspiring supreme leaders are just as flawed as anybody else. They are not remarkable, even if they believe they are. They're not even as glib as they think. Obviously.
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It a crying shame that this BS is incessantly covered while Bush's Confession of involvement in Allowing Torture to go virtually Unreported.
Comment by Donaldd — April 14, 2008 @ 11:38 am
Bob;
After hearing the pundits and hearing what Obama said, I think it is high timne that ya'll get over yourselves. What Obama said about small town America is right and quite a few people of those small towns backed him up. Check out "FOX" noise's interview with a couple of folks from PA and you'll see what I mean. I find it funny that Clinton, whose between them made a $109 million can say something so stupid or McCain and his wife who is worth over $100 million and owns 8 houses can call Obama elitist when he just paid off his student loans. You folks are going to have to get better than this.
Comment by Mike Coleman — April 14, 2008 @ 12:06 pm
Bob Franken writes 'How else do you characterize Hillary Clinton’s ordained-by-Yale belief that common folks are so gullible she can get away with fabrications like Tuzla?'
Hillary And Elmer Fudd , Hunters All.
We have all been exposed to the story about Hillary Rodham being named after the conqueror of Mt. Everest. The reason for this was to give her the confidence to triumph over metaphorical mountains. What isn't known is that her middle name, Dianne is a tribute to the mythological Roman goddess of the hunt, Dianna. So it would make perfect sense that she would be a hunter: Or, was it done so she would be a teller of myths?
Comment by james d granata — April 14, 2008 @ 12:11 pm
You're right, Coleman. Obama didn't make a whole lot of money running that community center in Chicago did he. But I'm sure he got some awesome experience doing it.
Comment by John Simmons — April 14, 2008 @ 1:45 pm
Obama's statement wasn't "stupid" . It was expressing who he really is, his disdain for common people, and his hatred for the real America. When you want to "change" something so desperately, you HAVE to hate it. Associating with terrorists, listening to Rev. Wright's hate mongering, assuming that the only reason "typical white people" are weary of young blacks is because of their own prejudice, wanting to transfer money outside the country to "fight poverty" to the tune of a trillion dollars, fighting for Islamic causes, having a wife who just drips hatred for anything white and traditionally American, these are all symptoms of menace, a silent death threat to this country. Keep this man from meaning and safe America from destruction.
Comment by Igor R. — April 14, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
Igor;
Are you stupid or pretend to be one here on the Hill. I would like for you to prove your post #5 with links to his speeches and public appearance because without them, what you just posted is a "LIE". I know that you are afraid of an intellegent African American but lying to prove a point is not Kosher. So to make sure that you don't get the troll of the year award, back up everything you said with links so that we can assess your truthiness.
Comment by Mike Coleman — April 14, 2008 @ 3:37 pm
Mike Coleman, do you think Condi Rice or Clarence Thomas are "intellegent" African Americans? Do you think we, Republicans are afraid of them? What we are afraid of, is Obama's ability to dupe those who are stupid enough to misspell common words into propelling such dangerous operative and his thugs into the White House given his shadow background and ideology. Come to think of it, having an IQ or literacy test before granting a right to vote is not such a bad idea…
Comment by Misha F — April 14, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
What's wrong Mike, you've never heard of his campaign calling his relationship with the two Weather underground terrorists "friendly"? You've never heard of his "typical white person" comment? You've never heard of his bill that will wind up transferring 900 million dollars to the UN for fighting poverty? You've never heard of his wife being proud of her country for the first time only after Barack became a front-runner? You've never heard of the "Halal food act" sponsored by the state senator Obama? You've never heard of his comment in San Francisco calling pretty much all traditional rural values something the hicks cling on out of desperation? You've never heard of his campaign commercial describing his plans to gut multiple military programs? You've never heard of his plans to withdraw from Iraq immediately, actually by now if he could? You've never heard of his plans to raise all important taxes, from regular income to capital gains? You've never heard of him campaigning for his Sharia-imposing cousin in Kenya, long after he made universal Sharia a part of his platform?
Mike, this is all common knowledge. You just need to pay attention and not be so quick to call those telling the truth liars.
Comment by Igor R. — April 14, 2008 @ 5:09 pm
having an IQ or literacy test before granting a right to vote is not such a bad idea…
great Idea, you have my vote. I guess I must be an elitist pig wanting people to have the intelligence to understand the issues and how to work the spell check.
Comment by james d granata — April 14, 2008 @ 5:11 pm
Igor and Misha— what stupidity…repeating the MSM's need to have material and glossing over the lies, dirty politics and debasing the people of Penn of your candidate..Shameful and pitible and to be expected from clinton supporters…'Lay down with Dogs and get up with Fleas–in this case much worse.'
Comment by Bink1 — April 14, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
Bink, me a Clinton supporter? You have no idea how funny that is! For months I was badgered for my "mysoginism" towards Hillary! My term of endearment for her was " a forked-tongued snake" just in case you're curious.
Comment by Igor R. — April 14, 2008 @ 6:53 pm
Bink1 - I do want MSM to focus on Obama like a laser beam, with maximum power. It's a defining moment in our country's history and the Presidency is under a threat of being hijacked by a slick, dangerous man connected with anti-American thugs. Next thing you know, b.Hussein would be hosting Hamas puppet show from a Rose Garden with a Nobel Prize winner (Jimmy Carter) doing narration with his folksy Georgian accent…
Comment by Misha F. — April 14, 2008 @ 7:22 pm
McCain can't figure out the differences between sunnis, shiites, taliban, al qaeda, persians, and arabs; yet Igor is ready to kiss his toes and make him president. Yet Igor has a problem with Obama referring to down and out people as being bitter. That is some suspect, strange, marxist reasoning.
Comment by Lester — April 15, 2008 @ 5:10 am
Lester, choosing the lesser of two evils isn't an example of marxist reasoning, but calling it that indicates desperation.
Comment by Igor R. — April 15, 2008 @ 2:14 pm
Misha;
As you would want the media to focus on Obama, let us focus on your man McCain. In the past few days, he has made some outrageous statements and made a fool of himself. The media has mostly given him a pass but why don't we see if this is the man we should put in charge of our nation's defenses. Read this article:
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/03/irans_helping_sunnis_or_shiite.php
Watch this clip:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/senile-mccain-does-not-know-shiite-shia-from-sunni/1511769982?icid=acvsv4
So Misha, should we trust a man who can't the difference, or a man who told the truth but said it wrong? Knowing you from your post, you're going with McCain.
On Sunnis and Shias;
Comment by Mike Coleman — April 15, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
Mike and Lester, why don't you learn something useful:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/11/14/wiran214.xml
Iran 'is training the next al-Qa'eda leaders'
http://pajamasmedia.com/xpress/michaelledeen/2007/01/02/the_time_may_have_come.php
…official of the al Quds unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, a particularly vicious group. He was carrying documents, one of which was in essence a wiring diagram of Iranian operations in Iraq. That wiring diagram included both Shi’ite and Sunni terrorist groups, and was of such magnitude that American officials were flabbergasted. It seems that our misnamed Intelligence Community had grossly underestimated the sophistication and the enormity of the Iranian war campaign.
Certainly, Barack Hussein Obama has an "unfair" advantage over McCain in understanding the Sunni/Shia distinction. His father was a practicing Sunni Muslim in Kenya. His cousin Raila Odinga, with whom Barack campaigned and certainly had a chance to discuss the Sunni/Shia differentiation, promised the Sunni Muslims of Kenya that if elected he would institute Sharia Law, and even though not elected, he is empowered to do it even as we speak.
Indonesia, a country where Barack learned the Koran, is certainly a Sunni country, as is Pakistan where it has been recently revealed he visited but never quite explained why.
As you can see, Barack is expected to be particularly well versed in the Sunni issues. If elected, he may even exceed expectations while fighting Iran because of the well known Sunni/Shia animosity. Barack of course is a self-professed Christian, but I expect him not to be as strong on the Christian issues, as he listened for 20 years to a guy who claimed that Jesus was black. Overall though, we have a strong expert on the religion of the Middle East, a lot from personal experience, certainly stronger than McCain.
On the other hand, if and when the time comes to wipe off the Iranian nuclear installations from the face of the earth, I expect McCain to hesitate a little less, so I'm choosing this former Navy pilot, an American hero who chose to be tortured rather than leave his comrades behind, and the son and grandson of American admirals to the Chicago community organizer and the son of a radical Kenyan Muslim with Marxist leanings, contradictory as they were.
Comment by Igor R. — April 15, 2008 @ 6:57 pm
And what do you say to this, you two Obama-twins:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120821715478214431.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks
In a recent interview with a newspaper in Qatar, an Iraqi Sunni insurgent vented about Iran's support for al Qaeda in Iraq. "We found Iranian [currency] at an al Qaeda headquarters that we uncovered," Ahmad Salal al-Din told Al-Arab, as translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. "We have also captured Iranian weapons, not to mention audio and video recordings containing announcements by al Qaeda fighters that they had received training in Iranian military camps and that al Qaeda wounded were being transported to Iran for medical treatment."
Comment by Igor R. — April 15, 2008 @ 10:05 pm