Saturday, December 29, 2007
Pity Barack Obama's poor grandmother
So, Barack Obama actually thinks this is going to help him with the voters in Iowa:
"It's that experience, that understanding, not just of what world leaders I went and talked to in the ambassadors house I had tea with, but understanding the lives of the people like my grandmother who lives in a tiny hut in Africa," Obama, D-Ill., told a crowd of would-be voters in Coralville, Iowa, on Friday.
Barack -- may I call you Barack? -- this is not going to help. Apart from the absurdity of claiming that the housing conditions of one's grandmother amount to foreign policy experience, no Iowan who has been as successful as Barack Obama would let his grandmother live in a "tiny hut."
Somebody ought to take up a collection for the poor woman.
34 Comments:
By 
, at
Sat Dec 29, 05:02:00 PM:
Why is it that the most "compassionate" among us,eg., Obama, Al Gore, etc., always have someone of lesser means that they don't care about. For Barack, apparently it is his grandmother; for Algore, it was the family living in the rental house on his estate whose toilet wouldn't flush. I guess that it's easy to solve all of the world's problems when you can just tax everyone else to get the money - a little different if YOU need to take some personal responsibility.
Al's "massive" charitable contribution total of $300 while VP also comes to mind.
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 05:02:00 PM:
My dad married a Mexican and retired in Mexico. I visit him. Does that make me a foreign policy expert?
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 05:09:00 PM:
He could have Oprah build her a village.
By 
Nancy Reyes, at
Sat Dec 29, 05:17:00 PM:
Kenya newspaper reports she had a brick house in a larger family compound. This would be middle class.
LINK.
There is no report if he sends money home to help them with things like school fees.
My problem is that for all of his talk of "Kenyan roots" he has visited there twice before 2004. He never lived there for an extended period of time so knows little or nothing of Africa...
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 06:09:00 PM:
I'm a life long republican, but feel I could vote for Obama in a general election. My party, who has left me, put nobody in the field that makes me want to go out and vote for them.
Barack is a liberal, but the magnitude of the office should bring him to the center. He's not a psychotic Clinton, I could never vote for that bitch.
Ron Paul supporters please stay away. A libertarian will never be elected president.
By mockmook, at
Sat Dec 29, 06:19:00 PM:
"I'm a life long republican, but feel I could vote for Obama in a general election. My party, who has left me, put nobody in the field that makes me want to go out and vote for them."
IndispensableDestiny, please enlighten us to which Republican/conservative principles the GOP is moving from and OBAMA IS MOVING TOWARDS.
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 06:56:00 PM:
"life long republican" Bwahahahaha, Kids, can you say astroturf? I knew you could!
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 07:12:00 PM:
Sorry guys, you're wrong, it's not a matter of experience. What matters in solving America's problems (here and abroad) at this point in time are fundamental values, not his ability to execute them. Barack is no fake, and his humility is absolutely essential and completely absent in any other presidential candidate. Like Barack's grandmother, some of my in-laws in a foreign country live in conditions that I find appalling, but after you get to know them, realize it's less a reflection on their means as it is an artifact of my perception as an American. Living and working abroad, and most importantly, having children there, made me realize how profoundly Americans misunderstand their place in the world. Barack knows that place.
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 07:32:00 PM:
Squealer,
With all due respect, a grandmother is different than an in-law, particularly a distant one. If kinship, as you imply, is something only Americans can understand then shame on the rest of the world. But I doubt they are really as lost to the value of family as you imply.
BTW, Mr. Obama himself was saying it's a matter of experience when he said, "It's that experience, that understanding,...". If he is wrong on this then what does that say of his "fundamental values"? o_O
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 08:34:00 PM:
My dad married a Mexican and retired in Mexico. I visit him. Does that make me a foreign policy expert?
No, but we have openings for you either in the Border Patrol or as an immigration advocate. Former pays better but the latter lets you work in air-conditioned comfort. Let us know.
By TigerHawk, at
Sat Dec 29, 08:35:00 PM:
Anon 6:56 -
Actually, Indispensable Destiny is not astroturphing -- I've known him since he was 20 or so, and he always was pretty conservative and pro-defense. Indeed, I remember him cheering aggressively for the Brits during the Falklands war.
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 09:08:00 PM:
My brother-in-law married a Peruvian. Can I b e Secretary of State (or Commerce)?
BTW, I am a life long Democrat and I can't imagine voting for anyone who's grandmother isn't living in a hut in Africa. It limits my choices sometimes.
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 09:49:00 PM:
" Somebody ought to take up a collection for the poor woman. "
Man, that's actually a great idea. Watch for a Dem candidate to do just that if Obama continues to lead in the polls. Or some blogger can do it to highlight what a neophyte Obama is.
Les
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 10:02:00 PM:
The vast majority of Americans are one click from the Old Country, and have or remember their grandparents who came here for the freedom and opportunity promised by this great nation. Or heard the stories of life during the great depression, or lived through WW2 when FDR sent so many men and women to battle that 300 thousand Americans died.
There are almost 7 billion people on the earth, 300 million of whom live in the USA. That means that most of the remaining 6.7 billion live a shitty life, and want to be here. The remaining few like where they are because they control the oil money, corruption, etc.
All of this adds up to Obama and the rest of the politicians sucking up for your vote are just clowns. I long for the day when we have a real debate, without a single prefed question, and real people asking them, and asking them until they get a real answer. Not bums like Edwards telling you he's green because he's in a lux bus run on ethanol, or telling you what men of they people they are.
Obama's grandmother living in a shack is just pathetic. Just as pathetic as if Kerry's or Edwards' relative was living in a Maytag box but couldn't hook a room in one of their 10's of thousands of square feet ... or perhaps a ride on the "family jet" or "family SUV" ...
By , at
Sat Dec 29, 11:50:00 PM:
"and his humility is absolutely essential and completely absent in any other presidential candidate"
Oh, the humility that drove him to declare a run for President as a junior senator with no executive experience? That humility? For Christ's sake, he wasn't even elected *senator* until 2004. He had a whole, what, 2 years on the job before he began his campaign?
For comparison, a fresh recruit in the Army would be a Private First Class (if they don't fuck up) after about that long.
He needs a bit more humility, and a 1st class schooling on international affairs. If he actually makes it to the Oval Office, foreign powers are going to eat him alive because he's not up to the job.
His multiple gaffes about foreign affairs in just the last 10 months ought to be strong enough evidence of that, not to mention his domestic ones. The Hillary campaign might be shooting themselves in the foot, but they've still been dancing circles around Obama.
By Mystery Meat, at
Sat Dec 29, 11:59:00 PM:
Read Obama's book "Dreams of My Father." It is worthwhile and you will be surprised by his depth of knowledge. He knows quite a bit about Kenya, actually. I agree that it's a mistake for him to make a big deal about his grandmother's circumstances when he has the means to help her.
I'm with Thomas P.M. Barnett. The boomers have got to go!
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 01:49:00 AM:
dont forget, Obama wants to give Africa 200 Billion in foreign aid, when he becomes president. Its a gift to them to bridge friendship between the world and us. What about giving that money back to the tax payer!!! Take care of home first.
By Gary Rosen, at
Sun Dec 30, 02:58:00 AM:
"and his humility is absolutely essential and completely absent in any other presidential candidate"
Sincerity is everything - once you can fake it, you've got it made.
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 10:02:00 AM:
Hey Mockmook, perhaps you are too young to understand what it's like to support a candidate for his ideals, rather than just the best of two evils. I haven't felt that way since Reagan, a candidate I supported, raised money for and voted for with full faith and confidence. I drove miles out of my way to kneel before his tomb.
It's not a matter of Obama or any other candidate moving towards, it is a matter of the party of my father leaving me behind. I will not roll around in the shit that our candidates debate on. So, don't ask.
TH: Thanks, and God Save the Queen.
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 10:45:00 AM:
"It's not a matter of Obama or any other candidate moving towards, it is a matter of the party of my father leaving me behind."
So the solution is to vote for the party that is even farther from the party of your father. Got it.
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 11:39:00 AM:
Buzz, don't be a fool. The solution is to step back and take a look around. I'll fight for my party in local and state wide elections. The former more likely to lead to success than the latter.
But, faced with a bunch of idiots one may wish to take a risk on something new. Please, give me a reason to support any of the candidates. I'll listen.
By Christopher Chambers, at
Sun Dec 30, 12:09:00 PM:
Indespensible, don't sweat these idiots. They still think Joe McCarthy was some sort of patriot, that Torquemada was a true Christian warrior, and the South was justified/should have won the Civil War. Fact is the GOP has been captured by folks like that, with the usual shadowy undercurrent of even more dangergous individuals who have pretty much sold this country off to the highest bidder, and of course don't you dare tax them at a higher rate than a poor teacher making $30K and giving standardized test after standardized test to comply w/NCLB (after the "faith-based" tutoring "company" gets it's handout from Uncle Sam...and they're in line behind a lot of open palms in the military sector).
Obama is change. We need change. This is the 21st century and we are running out of time on so many lines, all converging on the same point: destruction through insouciance. That awful combination of ignorance and smug arrogance. Give the brother a chance. Oops...sorry, he's not your "typical" presidential hue, etc. And isn't this what it boils down to? It always does, not matter how much these fools shuck and jive and deny.
One point however, Indespensible, on which I must disagree. As much as I hold the national GOP in utter contempt (and I used to work for John McCain back in 2000, before he became a zombie), local politicians make me retch. Here, it's not a party issue. In my opinion ALL local politicians are crooks and worms. They are beholden to either rapacious developers, NIMBY types or book-burners of the right or left. I have not met one, Republican or Democrat, who has NOT fallen into one or mixed categories. That holds true even on the gubinatorial level, at least in MD and Va., and even with the much-lauded new (well, not so new now) Mayor of D.C., Mr. Fenty, who is Corey Booker lite, and Barack Obama extra-lite.
Frankly I don't understand why Tigerhawk is so adverse to our new tan JFK in the White House. What a better PR boon for Princeton than having the Secret Service guarding a Reunion tent as Michelle and Barack dance and swill cheap beer, or march in the P-rade. Christ if there's a problem, vote him out in four years. That is our system, after all. The one you laud as the finest int he world, right? Oh, I forgot, we have to keep this revolution of wingnut paradise and hedge fund paramountcy and cheap Chinese money floating an economy and utter denial over inconvenient truths (our ecology, our healthcare "system," etc.) going and going...
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 12:56:00 PM:
I must concur with mockmook. Going from Reagan to Obama based on conviction does seem odd. Especially if you can't articulate a reason clearer than 'well, look at them!'
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 01:28:00 PM:
yeah, how much damage can a truly bad president do in just one term ? guffaw. it's not like we are still paying for jimmy carter's failings, 25+ years later...oh wait, never mind.
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 02:25:00 PM:
CC, I didn't have to finish your second sentence to identify who had posted this comment.I shall contradict myself, waste my time, and respond to some of what you posted.
“They still think Joe McCarthy was some sort of patriot ”
McCarthy subverted Anti-Communism by making unwarranted, undocumented accusations against many individuals. Was Anti-Communism justified? I grew up in a small town: 27 graduated from my elementary school class. I knew too many people in my hometown who had fled either Communists and Nazis to answer no to that question.
“that Torquemada was a true Christian warrior”
Given that the Democratic Party most likely has a higher proportion of Roman Catholics than the Republican Party, your reference to Torquemada is rather amusing.
“the South was justified/should have won the Civil War”
As a child with Northern and Southern roots, who has split his life between residing in the North and South, I will speak for just myself. While I had a great-great uncle who was the son of a slave owner and lost his life in the Civil War as a Confederate Colonel, the family attitude towards the issue was one of shame. I didn’t find out about him until I was in my twenties. At an early age I knew about the family member who had lost his life at Harper’s Ferry fighting on the side of John Brown. I and most people cringed when Trent Lott made that bonehead remark about Strom Thurmond. The Republican Party did itself no good when it reinserted Lott into a position of leadership.
As regarding Senator Obama, I have taken some online quizzes to compare my points of view with the presidential candidates on various issues. Invariably Obama is at the bottom of the list of presidential candidates with whom I agree. Obama reminds me of John P. Wintergreen, the presidential candidate in the Gershwin-Kaufman musical Of Thee I Sing, who ran on a campaign platform of Love.
While I voted for McGovern and Carter, for over 20 years I have had little or no trust in Democrats conducting foreign policy. Perhaps this is a consequence of my having worked overseas. After I compared liberal platitudes on foreign policy with reality on the ground, and also after I conducted extensive library research, liberal platitudes on foreign policy didn’t come out very well.
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 03:35:00 PM:
I'm a life long republican, but feel I could vote for Obama in a general election. My party, who has left me, put nobody in the field that makes me want to go out and vote for them.
Uh huh. In another medium, I believe individuals of this type are known as "seminar callers."
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 04:00:00 PM:
Wow, I have learned two new terms today, "astroturfing" and "seminar caller." Somehow, I do not feel fulfilled by this new knowledge.
Ok, what you dicks that jump down Chris's throat and now mine don't understand is that there is something in politics other than party. Yeah, I am a Reagan Man, and yeah, I detest our current crop of candidates. What is there about that that you cannot comprehend? Are you simply stupid?
When my party presents me with several bowls of dog shit to eat, I'll look around for better treats. So for my sin of turning from the party to look at those on the other side, I get the same dog shit thrown at me.
Fuck it, I am sick of guys like Trent "build me a new highway" Lott. Sick of Bill "lets diagnose a vegetable via video" Frisk. Oh yeah, there's that dick from Alaska and his bridge. And believe me, I didn't need to know that moving my feet and tapping in a rest room stall is a signal to queers.
So now, please, tell me what candidate on the Republican side I should look at. Otherwise, shut the fuck up.
By mockmook, at
Sun Dec 30, 07:36:00 PM:
IndispensableDestiny,
All you say about Obama is he makes you quiver in a womanly way.
But, he is for CHANGE. He must be Great!!!
But seriously, please list the policies that Obama advocates that get you so excited.
And, you want recommendations for Repubs: McCain, Giuliani, Thompson.
BTW, this may shock you, but there are numerous examples of sketchy characters on the Dem side too (Clinton, Clinton, Kennedy, Byrd, Jackson, Sharpton, Jefferson, etc.).
Finally, would the great Obama approve of your gentle inclusiveness: "you dicks" "shut the fuck up"
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 07:45:00 PM:
"Shut the F*** up" is a pretty snappy come back. Glad to see someone take the rhetorical high ground on behalf of Barack Obama.
I think he (Obama) is a personable, intelligent man, but I really don't want him to be my President. Comparing him to JFK is an interesting choice, considering the Foreign Relations SNAFU's (Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, Berlin Wall crisis, deepening involvement in Viet Nam, assasination of Diem, etc.) attributable to "Camelot". Unless you're a professional Kennedy apple-polisher like Ted Sorenson, those three years were not the most stellar in the last century; and his legacy (the Foreign Policy team: Rusk, McNamara, etc) to the following Johnson administration created more of mess.
Reload. Try again.
-David
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 09:25:00 PM:
You guys are something else. Never did I say I would vote for Barack Obama. All I said is I would take a look. My wife doesn't care if I drool over the young soccer moms in the supermarket, so just leave it at that.
Mockmoot was kind enough to give me three choices. I am currently a Guliani man but there is something with his health that he is not saying. My mom brought it up during Christmas.
McCain? Well, my good buddy Chris supported him, so he must be good right? I can't stand the guy. If he pledged vouchers for boxes of 30-06 cartridges to defend the border, I may have another look. No, that will not happen. He is firmly for the reconquista.
Thompson is a disappointment. I looked forward to his running, but in doing so he's as exciting as his character in "Hunt for Red October." I suppose you didn't know he was in that film, that's my point. I'm not looking for an exciting candidate, just don't give me one who would perform better in a casket.
Sorry for all the vulgar language, but it really gets me going when somebody implies I am not a true blue conservative. Remember, youngins, the media used to paint republican states blue on their maps.
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sun Dec 30, 09:49:00 PM:
"Remember, youngins, the media used to paint Republican states blue on their maps."
I remember that. I guess the Democrats got tired of being called Reds.
By , at
Sun Dec 30, 11:29:00 PM:
DEC-Phantom strikes! :)
(lighten up. This isn't Daily Kos where people get bonus points for vulgarity and profanity.)
The Republican field is what it is.
Someone will emerge as a strong candidate, even if the Republicans have a brokered convention. Huckabee is a joke and will not be much of a presence beyond the South Carolina primary. The media (re: Democrats) would LOVE him to stay in the race, as he would be "easy pickins" come the General Election. As to Fred, there was a so-called reporting story linked by Drudge today that was, uh, quite factually challenged. So we can't exactly trust the Fourth Estate to level with us about what the R-candidates actually say.
As to the Democrats, despite much media bellowing, Hillary Clinton still has this pretty much sewed up. They (the media) would only like us to think there is a real horse race, that somehow Hillary has struggled gamely through. She would have to commit a series of terrible mistakes to lose the vote in major primaries such as New York, California, Ohio, Florida, etc. Sure, Barack might win Illinois and a few other states, but nothing is going to stop Mrs. Clinton's march to the nomination. The Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary are pretty meaningless at this point; they are excercises in media overkill. Small constituencies that can be analyzed to death.
Fred Thompson was also the part of the Minority Counsel during the Watergate hearings, just as Hillary Clinton was part of the Majority Counsel.
For all you youngins'.
-David
By , at
Mon Dec 31, 02:47:00 PM:
Yes, everyone by all means read Obama's book. You'll see that the sorta white mother and grandparents that loved, nurtured and raised him didn't matter a s&^t when compared to the father that was only a sperm donor, abandoning his son and "wife" for his other collection of wives back in Africa.
Ain't race politics grand!
By , at
Wed Jan 09, 02:14:00 AM:
i happy if u can vote obama..:)
