In the L.A. Times, Joel Stein delivers the latest chapter in the Book of Obama:
Obamaphilia has gotten creepy. I couldn’t figure out if the two canvassers who came to my door Sunday had taken Ecstasy or were just fantasizing about an Obama presidency, but I feared they were going to hug me…
What the Cult of Obama doesn’t realize is that he’s a politician. Not a brave one taking risky positions like Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich, but a mainstream one. He has not been firing up the Senate with stirring Cross-of-Gold-type speeches to end the war. He’s a politician so soft and safe, Oprah likes him. There’s talk about his charisma and good looks, but I know a nerd when I see one. The dude is Urkel with a better tailor.
All of this is clear to me, and yet I have fallen victim.
Proof of that — or of Stein’s position on the political spectrum – is that Obama is not a “mainstream” politician at all. Obama was the most liberal member of the US Senate in 2007.
That fact makes the description of Obama by Stein’s mother all the more revealing:
“People are projecting an awful lot onto him,” Mom said. “Almost like what was that movie with, oh, the movie, oh God. That English actor, he practically said nothing. Oh shoot. He was the butler and everybody loved him and what he was thinking and feeling. Do you know the movie I’m talking about? You don’t.” Hers, of course, is the demographic most likely to vote.
But she’s right. Obama is Peter Sellers in “Being There.” As a therapist, she’s seen the danger of ungrounded expectations. “You feel young again. You feel like everything is possible. He helps you feel that way and you want to feel that way; it’s a great marriage. Unfortunately, the divorce will happen very quickly.”
The electorate, particularly the Democratic electorate, clamors for change and cooperation, even though history shows it to be a mirage. Obama’s record at the national level shows no evidence that he is the Uniter. It matters not to those in the throes of Obamania.
There will be growth in the spring.
It’s already though where you don’t need a metaphor to explain Obama. That’s what he is.
Heh. Indeed.
Update: Insta-lanche! He must have some way of detecting the magic phrase.
I love the idea that Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich are taking risky positions as well. The biggest risk they are taking is that someone might actually vote for them.
He was selected to run by Dick Durban. That tell you anything?
It occurs to me that Mrs. Stein’s comments on ungrounded expectations explain perfectly Andrew Sulivan’s feelings toward George Bush.
And now a rousing rendition of “Sweet Home Al Obama”
Wasn’t Joel Stein the guy who shat on the troops loudly and publicly and then admitted he’s never even met anyone who wore a uniform?
I am planning on voting for Obama just to find out for one day what it feels like not to be a racist/sexist/warmongering/bigoted/fascist/ReichWinger.
How long after the voting is over will I go back to being evil again?
LFFLR, only half of you will be that. Fuck Obama. Or better yet fuck the tards whose only comments regarding him are about changyness and dopey hopeyness. That works I guess for progs and other lefties, as maybe he is a better socialist than Billary. But would any true conservative vote for him? I don’t think so. The guy’s a lefty through and through.
It’s already though where you don’t need a metaphor to explain Obama. That’s what he is.
Metaphor Man. Times like these, I wish I could photoshop.
I thought the mau’dib thing – I think that was maggie’s insight – I think that’s really sort of apt. It’s a lot really like he just wandered in from the desert. Creepy. But if you remember the story the thing really was that the culture had been prepared so that for sure they would herald his coming. Way creepy.
I’m glad that Obama is getting such a great support. He is the only one who will unite this country and get us out of Iraq.
http://www.yourdecision08.com
Does that mean Obama will be coming to Asheville to stay at the Biltmore House just like Chauncey the Gardner?
Ospama?
Dear Gil,
When were you and your good-time buddies ever interested in “unity”…except when it was on YOUR terms? You still don’t get it, do you? Politics is, now, and forever shall be partisan. And if “Prince Charming” doesn’t know that now then, if he does ride into the White House on his Magic Pony, he’ll quickly discover that little fact once he tries to take away John Murtha’s earmarks, or is shocked to discover that his Kennedyesque charm is wasted on Al Qaeda, or if he’s bone-headed enough to try legalizing 12 million illegal aliens.
I guess it’s asking too much, but you might condescend to actually review Obama’s legislative record. If it were a Coen Brothers movie, it would be titled “The Man Who Wasn’t There.”
He is supposed to be uniting all of us, regardless of where we stand on the political spectrum, behind his leftist ideas. It reminds me of what Bart Simpson said: “Christmas is the time of year when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.”
I’m stealing that for my next have coffee with the liberal after work dealio.
Though the Obamessiah is certainly smarter than Chauncey Gardner, people forget that he would never have been a senator but for a bit of dumb luck. A couple of weeks before the primary he was 4th in the pols, when leaked divorce records showed that the favorite had an “Ike Turner” problem. Most of his supporters turned to Obama and, bam!, a star was born. (He caught a second, lesser break when the one viable Republican candidate also turned out to have a messy divorce file.)
Obama is the Dr. Phil of politicians. He is an empty box talking empty words about change and belief. The website says it best: “Powered by hope and supporters [suckers] like you”
Check out his health care position:
“My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be less”
OK, you mean Aetna and Cigna are paying more than the minimum break even to the hospitals? Who exactly would get less? Employees? Unlikely. Health insurance companies? As an industry their margins are only 2%. Drug companies? Could be, if they weren’t already hammered by generics. Obama is like cotton candy- tastes good, no substance behind him. “We’ll cover everyone for less money with better quality.” yeah, right and I have a bridge in brooklyn to sell you. It’s bigger and it costs less than all the other bridges for sale.
I see Obama as John P. Wintergreen,who was elected to the Presidency in the Gershwin musical Of Thee I Sing, on a platform of LOVE. In 1972, Carroll O’ Connor, a.k.a. Archie Bunker, played Wintergreen in a TV movie of the musical.
“My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be lessâ€Â
Your taxes, however, are going through the roof. We put the “fun” in fungibility.
Yes we can! raise your taxes!
I need to start some motivational posters or something.
Obama is conventional compared to the nutroots-pandering Kucinich, who actually submitted a bill to ban “psychotronic weapons”. Or Ron Paul, or Cynthia McKinney. Of course, “not crazy” is a low bar to clear.
Buzz: Obama got his state senate seat by disqualifying the other candidates. He lost bad when he challenged Bobby Rush. Yes, he got a huge break from Blair Hull’s divorce scandal. Though it may have been less that Hull slapped the woman than that he he married the psycho bitch _twice_. And there would have been no opening for the Senate if the crooked Illinois GOP hadn’t harassed Pete Fitzgerald into retiring.
Obama has a somewhat messianic charisma and people seem to like it. It appeals to women and the soft-hearted, the idealists.
Obama is the left’s version of Ross Perot.
An “outsider” who champions change (Reform) and is acting as a spoiler for the main candidate.
CHANGE! It’s what America needs, apparently. The details about this CHANGE? Not so much.
But he’s bound to wrap up the all-important panhandling vote with that platform. They love CHANGE.
Fired Up! Ready to Go!
Our time has come!
Yes We Can!
Talk about easy, all it took to bring down Billary was a few punchy apophthegms and a thesaurus.
He’s going to reunite the Grateful Dead! (I guess this means a laying-on of hands to the moldy carcass of Jerry Garcia. No word on whether the loaves-n-fishes trick will follow).
Isn’t Joel Stein the guy who wrote about how much he hates the troops and wants them dead? Er, yeah, he is.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein24jan24,0,4137172.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
Yeah, just another mainstream Obama supporter. His parents clearly didn’t spend any of that money developing his stunted character.
Gil: I’m glad that Obama is getting such a great support. He is the only one who will unite this country and get us out of Iraq.
What a hysterical line. Gil, one of the main reasons the country is not “united” is because Leftist weasels like you deliberately undermined the war effort to gain political traction. You guys voted with us to liberate Iraq and them stabbed us in the back at every opportunity. So don’t expect us to play “nice” if your nominee gets elected. You all deserve to be tarred & feathered and then air-dropped into Syria where you can experience true Fascism and true torture at the hands of your misunderstood “freedom fighters”.
Joel Stein: But when you volunteer for the U.S. military… you’re willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism…
Yah, thats why I was in Somolia providing armed escort to food & medicine convoys for starving Africans: American Imperialism. Cowardly Idiot. When was the last time ANY leftist risked his life for the principles he “claims” to believe in?
That reminds me of a FAQ page I found about Monty Python, in which appeared the question, “What would it take to get them back together?”
The reply: “Since Graham Chapman passed away in 1989, five bullets would probably suffice.”
I can’t help it. BHO (hey, I’m old enough to remember the press referring to presidents by their initials, i.e. JFK, LBJ, RMN – oh, never mind…) reminds me of the guy in the scene from Men in Black where Will Smith has asked “Why exactly are we here?” and a few lines later says “Boy, Captain America over here! ‘Best of the best of the best, sir!’ ‘With honors.’ Yeah, he’s just really excited and he has no clue why we’re here.”
Obama is Chance? That would explain a great deal about the Democrat Party these days. “Life is a state of mind”
I never thought I would one day agree with Bill Clinton. It was Bill who said “it’s all a fairy-tale”…hey that’s the only truth Bill has even uttered about Obama’s campaign.
Fuck Obama’s “messianicness”. He’s still too far left for most in here. I think that crap only works for progs.
“He is the only one who will unite this country and get us out of Iraq”
Bullshit, Gil. Plus what the hell does “unite” mean. Hell, to progs Bush was too conservative, even if he was only a social con. Other than that, the man was hardly a conservative. THAT was the divisivness that he brought? Guess what? I, among millions of others will refuse to “unite” behind a wannabe socialist whose seemingly only skill is the ability to bullshit the pants off an eskimo. So much for being able to “unite”. Find someone else.
Thus spake Mr “I hate the troops.”
what the hell does “unite†mean…
Peter’s #16 was brilliant really.
Stein’s mother is right: a lot of people are building castles in the sky with Obama, and the inevitable let-down is going to cause some very nasty hurt feelings to surface. It’s a political crush – we’ll see just how long it will last.
I like to watch.
Thanks happyfeet. I don’t know how I missed that. A perfect example.
Obama the uniter… Right.. he will make pro-lifers into pro-deatherschoicers, and taxcutters to taxraisers, conservatives into screaming liberals. Man made global warming skeptics in man made global warming taxers (the only purpose of global warming politics). Not in my life time.
@Gil: No matter how many times I hear it, surrendering Iraq to Iran and sundry other terrorist organizations via a US retreat smacks of defeatism (and stupidity) and hearkens back to the Vietnam era. Good luck with that.
For change to blossom in the garden of hope, it needs fertilizer laid on thick.
Comment by Toniqua on 2/9 @ 3:03 am #
Obama has a somewhat messianic charisma and people seem to like it. It appeals to women and the soft-hearted, the idealists.
One more from the netflix queue.
Lonesome Rhodes: This whole country’s just like my flock of sheep!
Rednecks, crackers, hillbillies, hausfraus, shut-ins, pea-pickers – everybody that’s got to jump when somebody else blows the whistle. They don’t know it yet, but they’re all gonna be ‘Fighters for Fuller’. They’re mine! I own ’em! They think like I do. Only they’re even more stupid than I am, so I gotta think for ’em. Marcia, you just wait and see. I’m gonna be the power behind the president – and you’ll be the power behind me!
First of all, Obama will have to survive the Clinton machine…but then?
If Obama’s the Democratic nominee we’ll see the “hive mind” of Reich-wingers get all in a tizzy about Obama**. Hate and “OsamaObama*” will be the mantra. (*a direct quote from el Rushmo) Soooo… McCain still has the edge, esp. if a convenient terrorist event crops up before Nov. But the best people in America are for Obama. Read his book and see the devastating analysis this very smart man has. Very impressive. Read Audacity of Hope first before you criticise. Add that the “nerd” is a Constitutional Law Professor at the mostly conservative U. of Chicago btw. His creds in defending and understanding the constitution are unparalleled.
The sloppy journalism and historical rewriting of rightwingers like Jonah Goldberg is hardly in comparison.
**(So don’t expect us to play “nice†if your nominee gets elected. You all deserve to be tarred & feathered and then air-dropped into Syria where you can experience true Fascism and true torture at the hands of your misunderstood “freedom fightersâ€Â.
ah yes, the “hive-mind” of the Right speaks!
okay, let’s have a comparison:
Osama-Obama: speaks about Bush’s compassionate conservativism solution to our health care cost crisis and our current situation:
“We know that our health-care system is broken: wildly expensive, terribly inefficient, and poorly adapted to an economy no longer built on lifetime employment, a system that exposes hardworking Americans to chronic insecurity and possible destitution. But year and year, ideology and political gamesmanship result in inaction, except for 2003, when we got a prescription drug bill that somehow managed to combine the worst aspects of the public and private sectors–price gouging and bureaucratic confusion, gaps in coverage and an eye-popping bill for taxpayers.” (pg 22-23)
one paragraph! He clarified and synthesized a whole decade of ‘compassionate conservatism’ and Big Pharma’s control over the govt. and also a bit of conservative reservation about big govt’s solution. btw. So what’s your beef? I suppose you support our 17 percent of GNP Health care system that is wildly regressive in it’s ‘tax’ upon our system? Our military budget has fallen to 4 to 5 percent of gnp in comparison whereas in the 50s the percentages were reversed. Maybe, one should point at the health care system in it’s extortionary powers over the consumer as a reason for the lack of funding to win a peace in Iraq and Afghanistan?
I will add that McCain can write well too (maybe w/ a ghost writer?, i don’t know).
Wipe you chin, dave, people can see you here!
data-idiot
Hate and “OsamaObama*†will be the mantra. (*a direct quote from el Rushmo)
That is a direct quote from Sen. Ted Kennedy, you imbecile.
But the best people in America are for Obama.
Because anyone that does not agree with you must be a bad, bad person.
JD….get a life. Rush has said Osama Obama several times. Apparently I monitor the hate speech more than you do.