The Nation's Pulse
Creepier and Creepier
Obama’s followers are in for a big letdown.
Down the street from my office a hip tavern-owner has hung three ginormous portraits of Barack Obama gazing watchfully down Kingshighway. The Warholesque likenesses are eerily reminiscent not so much of campaign billboards, but of the giant portraits of Mao and Stalin that were once fixtures in communist nations.
If the Obama campaign reminds you too of a mass movement of true believers I suspect it is because the candidate himself has encouraged this perception. Early in the campaign the Hopemeister heralded his arrival with this verbal trumpet blast: “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for!” Since then the terms most frequently associated with Obama and his supporters include “cultish,” “messianic,” “rock star,” “Kool-aid drinkers” and various combinations of the words Obama and robot. One wonders if the Democratic nominee hasn’t studied the works of Eric Hoffer and Hannah Arendt to learn what it takes to lead a successful mass movement of true believers.
Our mainstream media has been justly parodied for its blatant love-affair with Obama, most famously on Saturday Night Live. But who can forget MSNBC’s Chris Matthews’ unintentionally humorous gushing about the “thrill” running up his leg when Obama delivered his acceptance speech after a primary election? And, again, when Tweety (as he’s known in the blogosphere) told the New York Observer, “I’ve been following politics since I was about 5. I’ve never seen anything like this. This is bigger than Kennedy. [Obama] comes along, and he seems to have the answers. This is the New Testament.” Even two of our most erudite and cynical political observers, Christopher Buckley and Christopher Hitchens, have been unable to resist Obama’s siren call.
Hillary Clinton, who had more mature, if less exuberant followers, was early perplexed by the euphoria surrounding Obama. Last February the Clinton campaign sought to capitalize on the curious behavior of Barack’s backers and the weird vibes they were sending by attempting to portray Obama as an empty suit who appealed to the emotions, while Clinton was for those who had a brain, and couldn’t be swayed by empty slogans. It didn’t work.
Even some Barack supporters admit to being “weirded out” by Obama’s followers, particularly the way they refer to their leader in almost reverent terms, the way they rush the stage when he speaks reminiscent of the Beatles at Shea Stadium. For a while there was a rash of fans fainting at Obama rallies, whereupon comedian Larry David quipped, “Sinatra had the same effect on people.” Time’s Joe Klein admitted “[there is] something just a wee bit creepy about the mass messianism…of (Obama’s) Super Tuesday speech and the recent turn of the Obama campaign.” And Joel Stein suggested cause for concern in the Los Angeles Times. “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.”
Commenting on the “Helter-Skelter cult-ish qualities” of Obama’s followers, ABC News’ Senior National Correspondent Jack Tapper wrote: “Inspiration is nice. But some folks seem to be getting out of hand.” Kathleen Geier worried that “this sounds more like a cult than a political campaign. The language used here is the language of evangelical Christianity — the Obama volunteers speak of ‘coming to Obama’ in the same way born-again Christians talk about ‘coming to Jesus.’…So I say, we should all get a grip, stop all this unseemly mooning over Barack, see him and the political landscape he is a part of in a cooler, clearer, and more realistic light…”
Even James Wolcott of Vanity Fair found himself “increasingly wary of and resistant to the salvational fervor of the Obama campaign, the idealistic zeal divorced from any particular policy or cause and chariot-driven by pure euphoria.” But the award for sheer creepiness has to go to a Pyongyangesque video of a group of young children forced to sing a lame bit of doggerel called “Sing for Change.” (The Pyongyang mix is available here.)
IN HIS BOOK THE TRUE BELIEVER Eric Hoffer suggested two
necessary conditions must be present for a mass movement to
flourish: the believer must be frustrated and have faith
in some irresistible power. (Hoffer noted the Jacobins believed
in the irresistible power of Reason, the communists in Marxist
doctrine, and the Nazis in their Führer and his race
master race theories.) However to succeed, this power must be
joined with a faith in the future. “For the hopeful can draw
strength from the most ridiculous sources of power — a slogan, a
word, a button.” But fanning discontent can only take one so far.
If the true believers are to win, Hoffer said, it will be because
they know how to preach hope. Preaching hope pretty well sums up
the Obama campaign.
Hoffer’s ideas may seem at first blush to perfectly describe Obama’s followers, but while they explain the lockstop of their thinking, they do not adequately explain their ends. I suspect these young hipsters genuinely want to change the world in some vague, utopian, environmentally friendly way, and they have deluded themselves into thinking that Obama’s big government solutions will do the trick. They are in for a big letdown following if their candidate wins, but that’s all part of the maturation process.
About the Author
Christopher Orlet writes from St. Louis.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (41) | Leave a comment
Related Articles
More Articles by Christopher Orlet
More Articles From The Nation's Pulse
http://spectator.org/archives/2008/10/23/creepier-and-creepier
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Screwtape Talks Turkey
- The Great Train Robbery
- Hannah and Her Friends
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Appleby| 10.23.08 @ 7:03AM
Many people are beginning to believe that not only is Obama an empty suit, but also he is awaiting only the indwelling to become the antichrist. This is also seriously creepy. Hitler and Stalin and Mao did not inspire people to think this way.
Lamps filled and wicks trimmed, people.
Drudge Ette Obama (a blog)| 10.23.08 @ 7:43AM
Hoffer's True Believer stages: first come the philosophers, then the fanatics, then reasoned men is applicable to every movement, which makes his true believer application to Obama so interesting. Obama's followers are the fanatics attached to the promise of change, which can mean many things to many people and which is deliberately never defined.
Established liberals (Pelosi, H. Clinton, Ayers, Reid) are experenced fanatics who've found yet another "cause", which Hoffer noted was a characteristic of fanatics. Hoffer noted that fanatics don't change, they just find new causes to follow. Once the fanatical stage in one cause is passed, they pounce on another. Think global warming, PETA, green movement, high transfat foods...
The clean-up people are the reasoned men - the adults. The adults will have a lot to clean up once the Obama fanatics lose control of the movement, which is inevitable. The reasoned adults never understand the fanatics and spend much time wondering what fuels the fanatic. It's their psyche... their wiring.
I liken the reasoned men to the "The Forgotten Man" by William Sumner. Or the Silent Majority which finally wakes up and says, I have had enough of this foolishness.
This is why you see the Obama people (a.k.a ACORN) combing the college campuses, the streets, the poor neighborhoods, the groups of people who are frustrated by their own lack of adequacy, the self-loathers. Here is their source, the fanatics, who provide the foot soldiers to carry the leader or movement to power. None can really articulate specifics on why they believe. Not even Gen. Colin Powell sounded too clear on why he is supporting Obama while still regarding himself as a Republican. Powell sounded like a true believer fanatic when he described his reasons for supporting Obama. He did not sound like a man of reason, like his son, Michael Powell, who supports McCain.
Who will the reasoned men be? That remains to be seen. I gather they will arise out of the smoke. Men and women like Rep. Tom Price of Georgia, Gov. Jindal and Sarah Palin, and many more. Be patient, fellow reasoned people, our time is coming.
Grissie| 10.23.08 @ 8:52AM
The word creepy is to polite. Macabre, nightmarish, sinister, threatening much more discriptive synonyms. All reason seems to have been thrown "Under The Bus" by the Messiah cheerleaders. The bizarre support of this man is simply incredible. It appears the followers of this charletan must have been absent during the introduction to Socialism in History class. Moreover, what the throngs of cheering politically starved sycophants have ignored in their enthusiasm is the vague, incorrect, outward lies this man feeds his flock. The multitudes seem to be drunk on the give me, I deserve, platitudes.
It is a woeful state we face if this man is elected. The masses that he toted will be the first to whine.
Anne| 10.23.08 @ 9:50AM
Obama is a master dissembler who will destroy all that America is. Obama has no moral or ethical center, but uses any means to any ends to gain power.
Americas need to wake up!
"A nation can survive its fools and even the ambitious, but it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is formidable, for he is known and carries his banners openly against the city, but the traitor moves among those within the gates freely, his sly whispers rustling through the alley and heard in the very halls of government itself. He rots the soul of a nation; he works secretly and unknown in the night to undermine the pillars of the city; he infects the body politic so that it can no longer resist."
Cicero
A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have.'
-Thomas Jefferson
McCain loves America and has served her. He has proven his devotion through action.
Obama uses America and has taken all he can from her. He has proven his emptiness through his dissembling "words, just words."
McCain deserves the honor of the presidency.
Thomas| 10.23.08 @ 9:56AM
For months now, I have cringed each time I've heard Sen. Obama referred to as "an empty suit" or other such descriptions which belittle his capabilities. In fact, he is a utterly brilliant man who has been so stunning successful at gaining supporters and raising capital that he is, quite literally, on the very verge of orchestrating a socialist take-over of the American government. Grissie's adjectives are quite appropriate because those of us who embrace the concepts of constitutional government and individual liberty have rational reasons to fear this man's agenda.
Hopefully, all of us who post here are also doing so elsewhere. Posting here is merely "preaching to the choir" - preaching to like-minded individuals - when what we need to do is spread the truth word amongst those of his supporters who are even willing to listen. To roughly quote Chairman Mao Zedong of Communist China, a man more despicable than Hitler himself who nonetheless happened to be quite right on this particular point, "revolutions occur in the hearts and minds of the people". Thus, if we don't all seek to foster change in the hearts and minds of Obama's supporters, we can fully expect that the ideals espoused by his revolution will eventually subjugate and supplant those of the one that occurred in 1776.
Zama| 10.23.08 @ 10:17AM
We've given the GOP the bill of rights. If a slight tax increase if you're making more than $250,000 worries you more than that, well, that's your world. It's not mine. It's scary when it might take a democrat to restore our rights as the people. It's scary how the GOP has lots its way. Given Ron Paul, even given the good old Mac, I might have had faith. But all that faith is now with Palin. I have none left.
btenney| 10.23.08 @ 10:51AM
The faithful will be the first to become disillusioned.
The shallow minds that let them embrace Obama will soon tire of the new toy that fails to deliver all good things
Ayn Rand will become the "New Messiah. Thomas Sowell and Micheal Steel will be some of the new Leaders, of not only the Black community but all of America
The failure of the Obama administration in early 2010 will allow the sheeplike youth of America to reject the likes of Pelosi, Reid , Sharpton and Jackson.
Like Carter made Reagan popular, so will dissatisfaction with Obama give rise to the next generation of strong leaders.
The more Obama strongarms his opponents the sooner the electorate will neutralize his Administration.
I further predict that the Democratic party will reject the rhetoric of the Lunatic Left and become a responsible component of the Political process.
Grissie| 10.23.08 @ 11:10AM
Zama:
Sooner would I give the GOP carte blanche to all I have achieved than to a man spewing Marxist talking points to a bunch of Lambs being led to slaughter, and the loss of "Our Constitution" by left-wing nut jobs. As Glenn Beck says, "This should make blood shoot out of your eyes."
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
Thomas Jefferson
Alan| 10.23.08 @ 11:18AM
If you've read anything about him, listened to him or have experienced this yourself then you will know that Obama is person who is still seeking. He does not have any firm convictions other than those based on the foundation of his Socialist principles. Restless souls tend to toss their current beliefs aside when a convincing argument is made.
Been there, done that myself. This is not something you want a leader to be made of. Its rather clear that this is the case with Obama. Yes he is incredibly calculating, but even so you can see where is extremely influenced by his handlers and political machine.
Alan| 10.23.08 @ 11:55AM
btenney wrote:
"The more Obama strongarms his opponents the sooner the electorate will neutralize his Administration.
I further predict that the Democratic party will reject the rhetoric of the Lunatic Left and become a responsible component of the Political process."
This is already occurring. It has started with the disaffected and disenfranchised Hillary supporters. For the first time they are not seeing their party with "Eyes wide shut." You are seeing many of the PUMA's embracing the elements of the media that gave Hillary a fair shake. The DNC has swung increasingly to the left and it has taken this election for the vast majority of Democrats to recognize that this is not okay. All of the rhetoric in the world from the RNC (and moving to the center) could not accomplish what Dean, Pelosi, Reid and Obama have in the past year.
Regardless of this elections outcome, 2012 will be a historic landslide.
J Scott| 10.23.08 @ 12:26PM
Drude Ett Obama wrote: "Be patient, fellow reasoned people, our time is coming. "
I'm not sure the Republic will survive an Obama administration. Truly, this man and his besotted followers are a menace.
Spartuchis| 10.23.08 @ 12:47PM
I attribute the embrace of Senator Obama as some sort of Christ-like messianic figure to the desparation that many Americans--libs and conservatives alike--feel after eight years of utter dissapointments, after which people are more gullible, certainly, stupid, absolutely, and utterly fatigued. After a while you don't even have the stregnth to give a damn who wins. WHile I hope that his supporters will wake up once he is inevitably disrobed by the events of the day--and evry politician is, eventually--I also doubt it. I only hope that his administration doesn't encourage a rennaissance of reverse-racism, political correctness, and mindless cult-leader adoration.
I can't bring myself to vote for McCain because even if one likes the man personally, the Republicans simply do not deserve to win. The party needs to lose, and lose big, for its own good, and the ensuing forty years in the desert it is hoped will bring them back, like the banking industry, to basics.
weirdone | 10.23.08 @ 12:56PM
I started looking at Barak Obama the first time I heard on his candidacy. I got on the internet and looked at everything I could find about him. I looked at the Trinity Church site months before that became an issue; I also looked at his site, both sites since sanitized, and the people he had blogging for him and those he has associated himself with. I have read both of his(?) books. I came to the conclusion that he was a racist and a Marxist and that his campaign reminded me of the Flim Flam Man from the George C. Scott movie. I couldn’t make up my mind who he reminded me of more, Elmer Gantry, Jim Jones or Adolph Hitler. His campaign appearances had all the attributes of an old fashioned tent revival meeting or a Hitler Youth gathering, all that was missing was the torches. I expected to see him bring out the snake oil and the kool-aid at any time. It became apparent to me that the popular reaction to his candidacy was a purely emotional response, had no intellectual component to it and that his followers, like lemmings, would gladly follow him over the cliff. Nothing has happened to this point in the campaign to change my mind. The idea that to oppose Obama is in and of its self racist is ridiculous. I will admit that my opposition to Obama is based on color, not the color of his skin but the Brilliant Red of his Marxist philosophy.
McGehee | 10.23.08 @ 1:16PM
The greatest threat to someone riding the blind adulation of the mob, is the mob.
jhimmi| 10.23.08 @ 1:24PM
Liberals, blacks, and college students need Obama to make them feel included in the political process. Obama will very likely fail spectacularly, since he won't have a Republican majority in Congress to keep him in check.
The 'reasoned' men and women must use an Obama presidency as motivation to express their vision of true freedom - the freedom to fail or succeed, on one's own merits. The 'on your own' society, described in mocking terms by Obama, sounds like an exciting, exhilirating place. It's the America of my youth, and I want to go back there.
Zama| 10.23.08 @ 1:29PM
Grissie:
Obama is many things, marxist he is not. Heck, by world standards, he's not even nearly a socialist. The only country in the in the world that'd see him as a socialist is the US. Is he left of the GOP, yeah. And you're free to vote for McCain if you feel Obama is that much of a threat. But, honestly, believing that he's a marxist is as silly as calling "the new" McCain with Palin on the side a fascist vote (even if the whacko left might have such thoughts). It's just about as silly. Heck, and we're the party that has our own campaign managers spewing out McCartyisms. That certainly scares me, we're americans. All of us. We might disagree, but that's why we vote.
Personally, find Michele Bachmanns comments completely off the boat. She, and her ilk, are making the GOP more scary at the moment than the dems, and that's... insane. Get the GOP back on the ball, get rid of the religious nutters, defend our constitutional rights! Give us our freedom back instead of talking about anyone not buying the bandwagon "anti-american" because we're worried! Every other republican that opens their mouth now seem to go further towards "us and them". Didn't we learn under Bush that this cost us a house and a senate?
Obama has a history to the left, yeah, but his talks with Petraeus made sense, his way of questioning the Fed during the bailout sessions made sense, he's nothing if not intelligent -- and he's willing to reexamine his views when new information emerges. And he keeps going towards the center. And, yes, I believe that's where he'll go, even with dems everywhere. Do I trust him? Mostly, but I trust something else as well, he's got to reach across the isle, he's got to prove that he can do the job for us as well,¸not just dems. And I think think he'll do, and we'll be, okay. Which, sadly, is more than I now expect from the GOP.
You're free to have a different opinion though, even if we're never going to agree on how left he is. Seems like we'll find out though.
istanbruce| 10.23.08 @ 2:16PM
"Liberals, blacks, and college students need Obama to make them feel included in the political process." Exactly! Old, rich, white men have had a good run but it's past time to go. Look at the last 8 years!! Are these people the "reasoned ones" who will save amerika after Obama's done? Not only should you all shut-up (if you had a shred of decency or intelligence), but your right to vote should be taken away for abuse. Your team screwed up big and it's time to apologize. The sad thing is that Obama will be severely handicapped and too bush cleaning up after the "reasonable ones" to do much good and enact his programs. You people are seriously deranged!
Tom| 10.23.08 @ 2:32PM
Zama,
Socialist is defined by many things...but a large part of it is "Spreading the Wealth"...these are Barack's own words. Yes, Europe is further left of us and probably would not call Obama a true Socialist...but that could only be based on "the move to the center" that you eluded to. His history, his voting record, his past acquatances and associations, and his upbringing including Frank Davis and his mother's views, and what he wrote in his books belie that move. He is moving to the center only in his rhetoric in order to gain votes. Everything about his past says otherwise...just listen to the words of those closest to him...his wife, Pfleger, Wright, Ayers...
Bill Clinton was a centrist, Obama is not.
If a Republican had the associations and history this guy had he never would have made it past the first few weeks of the Primaries. The media would have disembowelled him/her. Just look at the Ayers thing...if McCain had worked as closely with say an Abortion Clinic bomber...don't you think the Washington Post and NYT would have made sure to bring him down...yet barely a word when it comes to their Obamessiah.
Finally, you have tried to throw in phrases that elude to you being a dissaffected republican...I'd say your comments claiming that the GOP has shredded our bill of rights counter that claim...only the far-left and extreme libertarians assert this claim...which is patently false.
Zama| 10.23.08 @ 2:56PM
The Ayers thing, Obama was 8 when it happened, they sat at a board with two republicans, one of which is a loose associate of McCains. Has the media failed to push it? I don't quite know honestly, I felt it about as interesting as the five. Wright is more of a worry to me, but less so than Palin. Her husband wanted Alaska independent as well. What I can't figure is why McCain had to pick her.
Any party supporting the Patriot act, and creating anything like the tight rope Bush has walked with detainees is certainly feels like a shredding of the BoR to me. How exactly did the Patriot act *not* it over? Some of our guys stood up, but the GOP didn't. We need to fight terrorists, but we should never trade our civil liberties while doing so! As for party affiliation? I'd like my civil liberties please, that used to be easy, it used to be a GOP trademark. Then they spent $1bn on social welfare. I don't have a party anymore, I just have to pick my evils.
James M. Farrell| 10.23.08 @ 5:00PM
The most heavily mesmerized of His followers are the under 30 crowd. They are the generation that has no adult recollection of the 60's or the God-awful 70's. They were largely schooled by leftover 60's radicals (Bill Ayers, etc.) and feminists who gravitated to teaching as a way of fomenting "revolution" via their young charges.
In short the young Obamians are utterly unprepared to scratch Obama's surface and look underneath. Not only will they be MAJORLY disappointed (not even THE ONE himself can live up to their utopian delusions) but they very likely will face serious employment issues for some time to come. Good luck, Gen Xers!! You're gonna need it!
weirdone | 10.23.08 @ 5:15PM
ZAMA
ZAMA
It never ceases to amaze me how willing the True Believers are to accept everything the focus of their adulation says. A couple of quotes come to mind, “There are none as blind as those who will not see” and “Don’t confuse me with the facts my mind is made up.”
Barak Obama’s father, the inspiration for his book was a Marxist, his mentor Frank Marshall Davis was a Marxist. His mentor in college, Saul Alanski was a Marxist, his friends Bill and Bernadine Ayers are Marxists. His “former” pastor the Reverend Wright is a Marxist. An early Official Blogger on his website, Sam Graham Felsen, is a Marxist. His statement “I want to spread the wealth around,” is right out of Marx. The iconography on his campaign posters is right out of the old USSR. Now why shouldn’t I believe he is a Marxist?
ben| 10.23.08 @ 5:47PM
Zama,
Your forgot to mention that Ayers had sole authority over the contract with U of I, and the hiring process for the CAC. That Ayers hired Obama to dispense his $160Million when Obama had no previous experience for the job. That Ayers referenced Obama in his book promoting revolution through early education. That Obama wrote a blurb endorsing this book. That Obama and Ayers served on the Woods fund board together - that makes 2 boards. That Obama launched his political career at Ayers house. That Obama met his wife michelle at Sidley Austin, a law firm with close ties to Ayers' family. That Ayers got his wife Bernadine Dhorn a job there as well. That Obama and his campaign have tried to dismiss their relationship. That they gave money to ACORN, La Raza and other socialist groups through both boards they served together on. What does ACORN have to do with education anyway? There may even be more to the Ayers Obama connection than this. They lived a quarter mile apart while Obama attended Columbia, and Obama rarely if ever talks about his time there. Add to this his Father, Wright, Pfleger, Khalidi, Al Mansour, Farrakhan, Davis, Klonski, Alinsky, Rezco, Pritzker, Johnson, Gorelick, ACORN, Gamiliel, La Raza, Project Vote, his voting record, his own statements, and his proposed policies and we've got quite a detailed picture of what he really believes. If you associate with Socialists, give to socialist organizations, commend and preach socialist views, and propose socialist programs, then you are a Socialist!
Big Elk| 10.23.08 @ 6:22PM
Obama The Racist mohammedan creates a Reverand Moon affect on the part of his cult followers. If Obama The Racist is elected he will hold mass homosexual weddings on the Green in DC, like Any Twosom Newsom of Frisco. Barrack Hussein Obama is a racist who surrounds himself with racists like farrakahn and ayers and the lowly racist reverand wright, and that satanist catholic priest pfleger, may they all rot in hell. Obama The Racist's followers are too stupid to figure out that Obama The Racist is racist against white people. Dumb white people. All of Obama The Racist's proposals are targeted against white people. Obama The Racist with the help of Reid The Mafia Bag Man, and Pelosie The Mafia Gun Moll will stifle free speech, assault our 2nd amendment civil right, and put political opponents in concentration camps. America needs a real American; not a black racist pig like Obama The Racist. An America under Obama The Racist will look like nazi Germany, another socialist state.
Quartermaster| 10.23.08 @ 8:24PM
Tom,
Clinton was not a centrist. He was a leftist, just somewhat moderate compared to the McGovern wing of the Dems.
For those who think the Obama can't destroy the country in a single term, you need to be more careful. Clinton couldn't do it because we were still running on the momentum left from a slight revival under Reagan. At this point, we have seen 20 years of a Country Club Republican who won't defend our country at the border, where it really matters, and a moderate left winger who was so much of a coward he couldn't make a rational move in defense of our country anywhere. Bush at least has fought the Islamists everywhere but here.
The momentum is gone and now it will be a very hard slog just to hold the line. Obama, like Clinton before him, is a physical and moral coward, much like the chickenhawks among the Neo-Conservative bunch who are willing to die to your last grandchild in defense of our country.
People, we are in deep trouble no matter which part of McObama is elected. Neither is conservative - Obama a Marxian-Socialist, McCain a moderate, and half insane, liberal. May God have mercy on this country that has abandoned the founding principles and the God who gave it to us.
Mickey| 10.23.08 @ 9:18PM
I laughed at Obama-is-antichrist stuff earlier. But now I'm beginning to wonder. The guy is just creepy, based on all the seriously dangerous people he's chosen to surround himself with. You don't hang around with a bunch of people you don't agree with. He could be the nation's first communist president. Yikes! And the stock market is freaking out because it sees a marxist Obama possibly becoming president. If you vote for him, you are part of the problem. Vote McCain/Palin for normalcy in America. McCain actually tried to pass reform to prevent the banking crisis before being blocked by democrats. Obama has no clue about the economy, based on the fact that he helped get us to this problematic point, by suing Citibank via ACORN to get Citi to make MORE bad loans! NO to this scary guy!
Weirdone | 10.23.08 @ 9:40PM
Quartermaster
Could not agree more. At no time during my long life did we need none of the above on the ballot more than now.
Diane Smith| 10.23.08 @ 10:03PM
I have concluded that Obama's appeal among those who are smitten and beguiled by his vacuity and toothsome smile have somehow come to think of him as the Tiger Woods of politics, able to shoot a hole in one on every hole and never break a sweat. (He's so cool - )
Woods is professional, genuine, has retained a certain humility, even as he remains the top of his game.
Obama is a (long pause while I search for a word) con man, capable of fooling the gullible, playing on the heartstrings of those who think the elctorate "owes" him the White House because he is black. If we are trying to assuage our "guilt" we should have found a descendant of a field slave - born in the U.S.A. As far as I know, no Kenyan has ever flinched under the whip of a plantation overseer. He has tried every tenuous thread to connect himself to the Civil Rights movement. Odd how he can claim his association with Ayers is of no consequence as what Ayers did occurred when he was "only eight years old". And yet he associates himself with events that occurred before he was born as though, somehow he marched in Selma! One wonders - if Charles Manson were released from prison today and showed up with a big contribution for Obama tomorrow, would his becoming a pal of Manson be OK, because what Manson did was so long ago....How about Sirhan Sirhan? Could they be compatriots, too> Is there a statute of limitations on heinous deeds? Apparently so, if you are Barry O. And that goes for all of his acolytes - the lemmings following him off the cliff.
Diane Smith
Tipster| 10.24.08 @ 2:27AM
Change? Okay, but from what to what - bad to worse? I am very sorry - but you can keep that kind of change - I don't need it. I know I'm going to lose a few more of you - I lost three last time - and I am sorry for that too - you're all precious - but we're getting close to the wire - and fate will soon be decided so on I must prattle.
Obamamania. It's absolute hysteria - I've rarely seen it this intense and widespread. Luckily though I was at my first McCain rally in New York the other night - outside the NYTimes headquarters just across from the Port Authority and I was mightily heartened - the small crowd - including a fellow Tipee - about thirty or forty of us at peak - was comprised I would estimate of at least forty percent non "white" Americans: Asians, blacks and Latinos - male and female of every age - small kids to senior citizens - completely committed and perfectly spirited - no anger - no frustration - just clear unwavering determination - I couldn't believe it. The guy leading us - who was no less than outstanding - was a Brotha' - and his sign read Democrats for McCain! I did a double take - and there were a few folks there with the same sign! I even met a cute little Jewish girl - the secretary of a local Republican Club! What a doll! She gave me her email address and thus my fervor for Johnny Mac has doubled! Maybe tripled even! I am going to PA with them on Sunday to rally the troops and the undecided in that "battle ground" state!
Okay, back to the serious side. The trouble is, with all you Left wingers and Obamatons who criticize the administration over this and that, my question, which I have still not heard an answer to is: where were you on September 12? After the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, hundreds of thousands of decent Americans swarmed the induction centers to take up arms - there was no debate - there was no doubt, there was only action. And so we defeated the fascist totalitiarians. But after 9-11, it was pretty damn quite - and I was right here - yeah, there was plenty of moaning and groaning and woe is me - but almost no one enlisted. That ïs, until Barack Hussien Obama got the nod to grab the ball - then they found the voice of their savior - and of his "spiritual" mentor - who called out to them: G-d damn America! So like that polite gray haired little old lady at the rally told me, and I fear she may be right, if we will it that way, He just may!
Don't let it happen - use your brain, vote McCain!
The Tipster
Alice Finkel | 10.24.08 @ 9:01AM
I am growing increasingly uneasy with the dissent being expressed here. Obama offers hope for change and change for hope. Can you people not find one small thing you are unhappy about? Yes? Then magnify that small thing until it occupies all your thoughts, drowning out everything else. Obama can fix the problem. All you have to do is believe. And obey.
Peace through submission. You will be assimilated. Even the red button below this comment form says "submit." Do you believe you are smarter or more significant than the button? Submit. Submit.
David Lister| 10.24.08 @ 9:42AM
Back before the civil rights movement, when the GOP had the high moral ground, before they absorbed the hate-spewing dixiecrats, the party was dominated by true conservatives. For example, Barry Goldwater's wife founded the Arizona branch of Planned Parenthood. What the GOP has become--an unholy trinity of pick-up truck Republicans, religious fundamentalists, and investment-club Republicans--is a cruel joke played out upon the very conservative ideals that the GOP was founded on. What we have now has been a wakeup call to two-thirds of this three-way alliance. The social conservatives and the investment club republicans are waking up to the realization that voting for candidates that represent the current theology of the Republican party is clearly against their self interest. And so Obama and a flood of new Democratic Senators and Congressman will be moving to Washington DC this winter.
I want to thank the hapless fools currently steering GOP policy for that. Come January, it truly will be "Morning in America."
Joe Schmuckateli| 10.24.08 @ 11:21AM
It's the Life of Barry
Here! I have his shoe! Follow His shoe!....
a scene from the Life of Obama:
Democrat: It's my right as a adult.
Obama: Well why do you want to be an adult, Democrat?
Democrat: I want to have an education/job/a house.
Avg Citizen: You want to have an education/job/a house?
Democrat: It's every adult’s right to have an education/job/a house if he wants them.
Avg Citizen: But you can't have education/job/a house.
Democrat: Don't you oppress me.
Avg Citizen: I'm not oppressing you, Deomcrat. You don't work. Where's the effort? how are you going to earn an education/job/a house? Are you going to show up?
--------[Democrat starts crying.]
Obama: Here. I've got an idea. Suppose you agree that he can't actually have an education/job/a house, not working, which is nobody's fault... not even the Republicans, but that he can have the right to have an education/job/ a house.
--------[This seems to satisfy him.]
Biden: Good idea, Obama. We shall fight the oppressors for your right to have an education/job/house, brother. Democrat, sorry.
Avg Citizen: What's the point?
Biden: What?
Avg Citizen: What's the point of fighting for his right to have an education/ job/ a house when he won't work?
Biden: It is symbolic of our struggle against oppression.
Avg Citizen: Symbolic of his struggle against reality.
Dorinda| 10.24.08 @ 10:49PM
A note to those who won't vote Republican because the Republicans need to get their comeuppance and once having been cleansed they will prevail in future elections: GET REAL. Do you really think that after The Red Menace known as Obama succeeds in his lust for this very powerful position that all it will take to clean up his mess and treachery is another election (if we are still a nation?). His poison will spread itself over the weakened organism of our government and will eat away whatever healthy tissue heretofore has managed to survive. There will be no turning back but a gradual accommodation to the loss of more of our liberties - much like what has been happening since FDR - another president who surrounded himself with comrades. I was listening to a radio broadcast several weeks ago and the host was interviewing a British author about a book she had written. The subject: ANTONIO GRAMSCI. Anyone ever heard of him? You should if you value your country and want to know what has happened to your culture. A brief synopsis: he was a communist jailed by Mussolini in the '30's. He wrote what is regarded as the seminal work on commuunist revolutionary tactics. His work was known as the 13 Notebooks. Essentially what he advocated was that to wage a successful red revolution you had to steal the hearts, minds, and soul of a country. Sure you could use force, but it would never last. You could drive your enemies to their death at the end of a machine gun, but what a better and more permanent achievement it would be if they jumped to their deaths OF THEIR OWN VOLITION. Why do you think we have cultural upheaval? Untrammeled immigration? The various "movements" which are all part of the red hydraheaded monster? What is the purpose of "political correctness" a term used in Chairman Mao's little red book? All these pieces are a web which has been drawn around the populace for many years, stealthily growing, tightening, and holding us fast in its grip. Bill Ayers, Obama's accomplice knows all too well about Gramsci and his tactics - that is why he stopped the physical violence and chose to do violence to the souls and hearts of little children in the inner city schools of Chicago. Obama hangs with old white leftists. Ironic for a man who talks about the undue influence of the white power structure and now he has become its slave. What we call the cultural wars in American are the visible signs of a population who are in the midst of having mass violence done to its principles, its beliefs, its traditions. Think about it. The Boy Scouts are treated as lepers and two men in love should marry. Did you ever think you'd see the day when you would have to apologize for your politie disagreement? And feel threatened? Ever wonder how these thoughts gained their currency? If all of you want to do something for your country, and yes your very lives, read Antonio Gramsci and understand the tactics of our enemy. Simply put their goal is this: every idea, every tradition, every institution, every American hallowed and honored custom which made this country great must be ground into dust under their hobnailed jackboots in order to destroy. Reverse the formulas for success. Haven't all of you seen this already? Saul Alinsky was a Gramscian Marxist. So is Obama. One other thing: we are better be more afraid for losing our country than we currently are for being called a name. Call me a racist, a zenophobe, a homophobe, a fascist, blah, blah, blah - these are WMD's - weapons of MIND destruction. I don't give a damn what you call me. And in the months to come should this very clever and duplicitous man enter the White House with the members of his movement behind him I shall welcome the opportunity to stand up and give the middle finger salute to anyone who attempts to silence me. May God have Mercy on thie once Great Republic.
Mark| 10.25.08 @ 12:54AM
Zama,
You speak in the same plattitudes based on "feelings" that the biased media has bathed themselves in. You have also latched onto the Obama theme of blaming everything on the last 7.75 years under Bush. Well, the Bush team did not invent the subprime loan, yours did. The Bush team did not run Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae into the ground, your team did - unde the leadership of Raines, Johnson, and Gorelick. The Bush team did not fight tooth and nail against investigative efforts into these corrupt home mortgage institutions, yours did, especially the congressional black caucus team members. And your naive dismissal of Obama's 20 years of idealogical alignment with socialists, communists, and racists was all just nothing more than tangential experiences while working the levers of the Chicago political machine, you may very well be in for a big let down if he wins the Presidency. His refusal to divulge his original birth certificate, and even his Columbia records, amongst other items should also be reason worry.
Wow| 10.25.08 @ 4:32AM
You do realize that the only group affording Obama this "Messianic" talk are his opponents, right? No one worships him as a savior. It is interesting that you would turn "We are the change we have been waiting for", a collective call for every individual not to support him, but to better themselves, which is definitely needed in America these days, into some sort of call to blindly accept whatever he says. I support Obama. He's made choices I don't agree with, but the vast majority of his decisions (yes, he has made many in his long legislative career) are in line with the way I want America to go, and it's obvious most of America believes in me. And no, he is not bringing socialism or marxism, and if you believe so I would ask that you go look up what those two descriptors really mean. The socialist party in America has actually come out and is pissed that people are calling Obama a socialist because he is so far away from socialism.
Dorinda| 10.25.08 @ 10:04AM
Hey WOW - they are DENYING he is a socialist to confuse and distract. They realize it is a dirty word so in order to get one of their own in - they deny he is one. DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THEIR TACTICS? They are MASTERS of DECEIT because they know that noone would buy their snake oil if is was packaged truthfully. Don't be so naive.
Marc Jeric| 10.25.08 @ 10:13AM
Imagine the cabinet appointments by our Abu Hussein of Kenya:
1) Secretary of state: Rev. Jackson (he traveled to Syria and Lybia);
2) Secretary of Defense: Rev. Farakhan (he knows how to mobilize the masses);
3) Secretary of the Treasury: Rev. Sharpton (he knows how to hide his money from the prosecutors);
4) Secretary of Education: Rev. Wright (he knows who is the villain in the world - us);
5) Director of the FBI; William Ayers (he knows how to pardon the terrorists);
6) Secretary of Energy: many canditates - Pelosi, Markey, Baxter, president of Sierra Club, Al Gore;
7) Attorney General: why, I have to step out on the balcony to breathe just thinking of it;
etc., etc. I will leave the other posts to the imagination of the readers.
Robbie| 10.29.08 @ 10:43PM
Wow! You people are creepy!
Grissie| 11.2.08 @ 6:51AM
As I have stated before, as Wierdone also stated, I have looked long and hard at this would-be presidential candidate. Fourteen months is a considerable length of time for study. I see nothing in this man that qualifies him to be perched in the Oval office chair. Period. Multiple bad judgement calls in the company he keeps and has kept his entire political rise, if it can even be described as such. He is an accomplished orator nothing more. He deliberately talks in circles with eloquence. Refuses to answer direct questions containing volatile content.
It would appear the masses who have cheered this phony forward may get exactly what they ask for. My complaint being I personally do not cherish being dragged along in an Obamanation.
wideright| 11.11.08 @ 4:53PM
If I were pitching a script it would be The Omen meets The Manchurian Candidate
The Obamen ?
The Obamanchrian Candidate ?
Where the truth lies I don't know - I do know I have an increasingly uneasy feeling about what is going on each and every day.