The American Spectator

Granny jan| 2.29.12 @ 7:36AM

No one has followed his faux, black accent more than me. The epicenter was a campaign appearance in 2007 in Aiken, SC. He might as well be wearing black face. Why no Republican ever used this video against him is beyond me? I wouldn't say there's no there there or that he's actually trying to put on a southern voice. His faux, black accent just comes out that way. He's just a despicable human being. I edited the original video for time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Le1IYB8f98

L. Ross| 2.29.12 @ 7:50AM

Just watched your video. Oh Dear Lord. Completely embarrasing.

JimH| 2.29.12 @ 8:02AM

I to have noticed this. It is not only what he takes for black speech, He tries to sound like a black preacher ala Wright or Jackson.

Bob K.| 2.29.12 @ 8:36AM

This is the first time I saw it. I was waiting for him to break out in a break dance!

Fredx| 2.29.12 @ 9:06AM

I think it's the other way around. The video shows his natural way of speaking. The Hahvahd accent is the phony one. That's the one he struggles (unsuccessfully) to maintain. Talk about true colors.

JimH| 2.29.12 @ 9:42AM

Considering how much of his formative years were spent outside the US or in Hawaii, his father an actual African, not a hyphenated one, his mother of mid-western heritage I believe it would take a linguist of Henry Higgins skill to figure out what his true voice is.

scotchieguy| 2.29.12 @ 12:06PM

You are 100% right. I am a musician, and a sound guy. I always notice speech patterns. The one thing I notice about Obama is his over-use of the letter "S" in his speech. When he says "sentences," he sounds like a woman, overly enunciating. I think this is to script. Whomever is pulling his chain thought about what Jackie Robinson went through. Just don't have him lose his cool or get mad, have his talk as white as is physically possible Remember, OJ Simpson took speech classes so he could better enunciate for MNF. Obama is a total fraud. I literally disbelieve 100% of every word he utters. At the same time, I am kind of fascinted that he is fooling most of the people most of the time, esp in the media. I can't believe people buy his BS.

Stan Redmond| 2.29.12 @ 2:31PM

Let's not forget his complete lack of reading skills. "Corpseman!" Reading someone elses teleprompter messages. Complete and utter fraud. A programmed robot. I would love to see what is put in his teleprompter. I would wager that his handlers spell everything F-O-N-E-T-I-K-L-EE for this turd of a man.

People here disagree when I still maintain my belief that he is truly a stupid man.

Jobe| 2.29.12 @ 2:50PM

Not so! I agree wholeheartedly! When he is forced to think, he comes up short. In fact, I am trying to recall whether there were debates among the democrats who sought the presidency back in 2007 and 2008. I do not recall debates similar to the ones that we are seeing among the republican hopefuls.

All I know is if you cannot pronounce corpsman, and you have traveled all of the 57 states (I wonder if he did so with John (Heinz) Kerry), you are not a very intelligent person. Add to that a flat refusal to release your academic record from grade school up through law school, and you have a moron.

Scott| 2.29.12 @ 3:17PM

How exactly does an unknown moron end up at Columbia and then President of the Harvard Law Review? That must be one hell of an affirmative action program.

tnart| 2.29.12 @ 4:09PM

cause he is black and yes affirmitive action.

Obama is the most succesful idiot ive ever seen, from day one reminded me of MR haney from green acres - full of chit!

Tommy928| 2.29.12 @ 5:48PM

No he is Chance from Being There 1979 movie.

Stan Redmond| 2.29.12 @ 5:35PM

He didn't accomplish anything on his own. His whole life he's been handed from one connected marxist to the next. He's been groomed like a Bonsai tree formed and twisted the way his handlers wanted him to me. He even admits he's an empty suit.

Jeanne Dougherty| 3.1.12 @ 4:27PM

I agree. Someone very early on realized he was the perfect one to be formed into the ideological front person at this time in history.
Didn't anyone pay attention to the fact that his social security card has a Connecticut numerical code---and he didn't live there? I wonder what date he obtained his SS card.

Don| 2.29.12 @ 9:35PM

Progressive, institutionalized affirmative action.

idalily| 3.1.12 @ 2:06PM

Believe it or not, Scott, a man can be educated at an Ivy League school and still be an idiot.

David Evans.| 3.2.12 @ 8:50PM

Allegedly, Tom Lehrer gave up on satire because you can't satirise self satire.

Jean| 3.1.12 @ 4:40PM

You're right - it is!

Jon| 2.29.12 @ 2:54PM

Count me as NOT disagreeing with you. He's a decent mimic as long as the teleprompter is functioning, but behind his eyes, all I see is "duhhhh..."

Cincinnatius| 2.29.12 @ 10:47PM

Jon: Look closer and you'll see what's really in his eyes is EVIL!

Scott| 2.29.12 @ 3:15PM

Classy.

Seth Berkowitz| 3.1.12 @ 11:43AM

Here's a tip. If a guy speaks publicly every single day of his life and his speeches are all televised, and the only fault you can find with his speaking a mispronounced word and a telepromter mishap, he must be a pretty phenomenal speaker.

In fact, isn't that one of the criticisms about him... all flash and no substance? So which is it? Does he disguise a lack of substance with his skills as a communicator or is he functionally illiterate? You can't have it both ways. I guess you can here, where everybody buys into the same silliness that you do, but you can't in the real world where people care about reality.

And speaking of reality... here's another tip. If a guy's been President three years and you even have time to discuss whether or not his speech patterns change depending on who the audience is (yes, it does, he's a politician, big deal) than he again must be doing pretty well on the things that matter.

BTW, before anybody calls me a troll, I'm actually just a guy who ended up on your email list and decided to read this column and comments. It's pretty hilarious, thought not in the way it was intended.

idalily| 3.1.12 @ 2:12PM

Okay, Seth, fill me in on the logic you employed here. You argue that because we have time to discuss his speech patterns, he "must be doing pretty well on the things that matter." Really? What does one have to do with the other?

And if you think the dismal economy, the high gas prices, the outrageous overreach of his executive orders, the joke that is Obamacare and his mispronunciation of corpsman (as CinC) means he's "doing pretty well", I'd hate to know your definition of doing badly.

skip| 3.1.12 @ 2:42PM

I won't call you a troll, you unintelligent and dishonest liberal, with nothing more to offer than emotional prattle devoid of reason and experience, just like every other liberal, offering any opinion on any social, political, economic, religious, or scientific issue, without exception.

bahmi| 3.1.12 @ 5:47PM

Obama is in bed with the media, who are we kidding here? He has fooled nobody in the media, they wink at each other all the time.

Stammon| 2.29.12 @ 10:38AM

Sho' nuff'

Mo' back!

Haddit| 2.29.12 @ 1:46PM

If it isn't the negro dialect it's his BS white boy Uncle Tom dialect.

Vantura Capitalist| 2.29.12 @ 4:16PM

The Obama Minstrel Show rolls on.

JimH| 2.29.12 @ 4:48PM

I guess the real question is can he speak jive?

Sally| 2.29.12 @ 6:14PM

This is a no brainer: Obama picked up that accent when he was pickin' cottin down in Alabamy as a college kid puttin' himself through Tuskegee where he was in the air corPSe training program. Ooops. Sorry. Maybe not.
Maybe he picked up that accent from his Mama who was a debutante from Savannah...oops, sorry. Maybe not.
I think he probably got it from his Daddy who was a share cropper way down South in Louisiana. No? Sorry 'bout dat.
So. The list of possibilities is endless just like the list of possibilities surrounding everything about this dude.....A big fat Zero.

George F.| 3.1.12 @ 3:05PM

I've noticed that this president will do anything and everything to retain power while the people who support him blindly continue to think he's a god in spite of everything he does that fails. When this country has gone over the cliff to bankruptcy and the people have lost all their freedoms and their future, these people will be staring blindly around them wondering what happened. And they'll still never accept responsibility for their part in the problems.

Socialism and communism don't work. They've never worked and won't work no matter who tries it because it's based entirely on false premises with no understanding of human nature!

If we don't learn from the past, we're doomed to repeat it. Even repeating it numerous times won't convince some people of the fallacy of their thinking. They're too blind.

Herb| 2.29.12 @ 7:39AM

Ben, you're back on message for once. Get off the it's-all-about-me stuff and hit hard at the perniciousness of the Left. You've done it before, you can do it again.

Joanne| 2.29.12 @ 8:53AM

I second that motion.

Skippy| 2.29.12 @ 4:44PM

Ben, I've been to Malibu and Beverly Hills.
Nice places but not relevent to most Americans.
My daughter is currently deployed to Afghan, so I support your support for our troops.
That said, you could do great things by continuing to write more about the challenges this nation faces and less about the challenges you face.
Fine article!

Sally| 2.29.12 @ 6:16PM

Third.
Come on home, Ben. We miss you.

L. Ross| 2.29.12 @ 7:49AM

One thing I have always appreciated about JFK's sound bites is that in no way does he ever try to sound like anything other than himself. An Ivy Leage son a privilege who was raised in New England. Don't really like what I know of the man, a degenerate on par with Bill Clinton who abandonded our allies in the Bay of Pigs and led us way to deep into Viet Nam trying to save face for France. But on the flip side, he never tried to pander with his inflection.

Bostonbornandbred| 2.29.12 @ 5:59PM

With all due respect, you are completely wrong about JFK's accent. The Kennedys had their own accent that sounds like no other accent I ever heard growing up in Boston - not Brahmin, not Irish working class or anywhere in between. I always thought it was their familial attempt to separate themselves form the hoi polloi of working class, immigrant Boston. Their private schools, Hyannisport, etc., etc. In fact, they are the uberphonies of American politics. The closest I have heard, tellingly, is none other than John Kerry. Hmmm..........

bahmi| 3.1.12 @ 5:51PM

Facts are errant. JFK was dead set against the Bay of Pigs invasion, but CIA went in under their aegis. And, JFK was against involvement with VietNam, LBJ was bullish on that deal. What happened next??

MachiasPrivateer| 2.29.12 @ 7:53AM

http://tinyurl.com/ybpgas5

The Real Thing!

Moe Blotz| 2.29.12 @ 8:00AM

How does Barry sound when speaking ebonics, the adopted tongue of the inner city ghetto? Bo Snerdley does a great translation for residents in da hood, if Barry could use a translator.

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 9:03AM

You mean the Official Obama Criticizer?

Funny stuff!!

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.29.12 @ 8:10AM

So Obama's fake accent is worse than Santorum's fake conservatism? Bueller, Ferris Bueller?

Pete| 2.29.12 @ 12:34PM

Ah, off topic don't ya all think.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.29.12 @ 1:11PM

No, that's precisely the point. Peter, Peter Bueller.

Haddit| 2.29.12 @ 1:48PM

I want Obama to do his Chinese impression next. The sorry so in so sends more money to them than enough but that's what communists do.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.29.12 @ 2:46PM

If Obama does a fake black accent how is that worse than Billy Crystal's black face?

Bill O. Wright| 2.29.12 @ 3:48PM

Ummm, Billy Crystal is a comedian, Barack Obama is the President of the United States. How about this as a rule: let's not vote into the presidency either one, or anyone who imitates people they do not understand for fun and/or profit.

W| 2.29.12 @ 8:31AM

Remember Jean Francois Kerry in 2004 in West Virginia asking "Can I get me a huntin lisenz?"

Or Hillary speaking like a southern black preacher before the NCAAP?

Fredx| 2.29.12 @ 9:08AM

No Oscar for YOU!

Al Adab| 2.29.12 @ 10:14AM

After three years it is clear that the man is an empty suit a show pony. Yet, 42% of Americans think he is doing a great job. Clearly we have become suicidal as a nation.

W| 2.29.12 @ 11:09AM

Al Adab
I think Obama is not an empty suit but a dedicated socialist intent on increasing and consolidating the power of the federal government. He ran promising to radically transform the USA and kept his promise. Obamacare, regulations, no drilling for oil, all designed to increase dependence on the government. He is an empty suit if we expect him to govern as a traditional president that believes in the USA, the constitution, and its traditons.

That 42% rating is interesting. Rasmussen, the most reliable poll, has Romney tied with Obama at 44%, Ron Paul beating Obama 43 to 41, Santorum at 43 to Obama 46, and Newt at 39 to Obama 52.
The Real Clear average has Obama beating all of them but that is distorted by the CBS/New York Times poll that has Obama up by huge margins. Maybe they poll the upper East Side and upper West Side.
Obama is at 42-46% which is not good for an incumbent. He can be beat by Romney and Santorum, and apparantly Paul, but Paul will not be the nominee. I think the Paul poll shows the strength of the economic conservatives despite Paul's foreign policy views.

Al Adab| 2.29.12 @ 12:06PM

We certainly hope you are right W. We can work toward that end. It still comes down to electoral votes and Mich is not in play there. It belongs to the DEMS and the Unions. The rest of us should look at the results of that.

W| 2.29.12 @ 12:45PM

We don't know if there will be some surprise after the conventions. In 2008 we have the Septmber crash of the stock market tied with the sub-prime problems. That killed McCain's chances. He was leading in the polls before the crash.
I think Obama will play some games with the price of oil. He has barred drilling and stopped the Keystone pipeline. Prices will now rise. After they rise he will ease up some regulations on drilling and give a tentative approval to the pipeline that he can rescind if he wins. That may reduce the gas prices to help his election.

I think he will also announce an earlier withdrawal from Afghna. He will do whatever it takes to win.

Skippy| 2.29.12 @ 4:46PM

I hope he does.
My little girl is there in that sh!thole.

W| 2.29.12 @ 5:25PM

Skippy
Hope your daughter is well, and we should leave now.

joe macke| 2.29.12 @ 4:31PM

Obama is concentrating on his base now. the 49_ % on welfare, food stamps edbs, the perpetuals on unemployment comp, ; his recently launched 'afro-americans for obama;' shows he is very concerned about the black vote which went over 93+in 2008, there are many black boters voicing their displeasure with obama' s close rich, white friends and wall streeters giving him big dollars.

. He is giving up trying to win over the non-socialist white, working class

sclarke| 2.29.12 @ 5:09PM

Not quite an empty suit... a massive ego in a suit.

Haddit| 2.29.12 @ 1:50PM

I'm surprised they didn't lynch her stupid "aint no ways tired" donkey. Too stupid to see her mocking them. The word "typical" comes to mind.

SK| 2.29.12 @ 8:43AM

And then there's Hugh Hewitt--droppin' his G's to relate to the great unwashed but forever reminding us of his Ivy League degree.

Lyneuss Fields| 2.29.12 @ 8:55AM

Actors are so good at recognizing the behavior of other actors. Thank you very much Mr. Stein.

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 9:02AM

So Mr. Stein,

My only question is: Where Have You Been?

This article is sooo 2009-2010. I do like, however, your description of this contrived accent he's devised for himself.

The kicker is, it will work. There are plenty of voting Mushheads who soak this disingenuous c**p up. Hence, the continued death spiral of our once great county.

Lisa| 2.29.12 @ 10:51AM

Ditto Bob; since we first met Obama I thought it curious that he didn't talk like someone who was raised by a White mother and White grandparents in Indonesia and Hawaii. I figured he cultivated the accent in the Saul Alinsky Community Organizing School's Dept of Deception.

Pete| 2.29.12 @ 12:36PM

Having lived in Hawaii 10 years, I can say that he has no Hawaiian inflections, no trace of Pidgin, no use of Hawaiian words. Not an aloha or a da kine. He obviously has no love for Hawaii.

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 12:53PM

He discovered the importance of speaking down to the audience during his days at Occidental College. I guess he figured if he donned a fedora, wore an opened-collar shirt, and had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth while spewing Down With the Struggle rhetoric only college-level freshman could appreciate, he could grow an audience; which apparently he did.

He continued this style while rallying disgruntled housing tenants in Chicago.

He can also modify this style by dropping his G's in order to sound Cracker Folksy.

Just like he once bragged 'I am whatever you want me to be'...

This sounds strangely similar to someone frequently mentioned in the Bible.

vtwin| 2.29.12 @ 9:05AM

It's not how he said it, or even what he said, it's what he did.

Obama saved the American automobile industry.

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 9:12AM

Ask the bond holders and people who work(ed) for AC Delco.

Oooorrr, ask those profitable dealerships operating out of red states that were forced to close up shop.

OOorrr, ask the tax payers of this country who've been shafted ten's of billions (and counting...) of dollars, never to be seen again. Poof!

He saved nothing. He knows nothing about the industry. He know nothing about bankruptcy law in this country.

vtwin| 2.29.12 @ 11:59AM

Without Federal funds there would have been no restructuring of GM and Chrysler and the assets would have been auctioned off boxed up and shipped to China.

I reiterate, Obama saved the American automobile industry.

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 12:14PM

reiterate to your heart's content but that wont take away the fact that he abused his power to "save" the auto industry and as a result tax payers will be on the hook for decades.

A LIMITED government infusion should have only occurred AFTER bankruptcy proceedings.

vtwin| 2.29.12 @ 12:40PM

Failed companies and unemployed workers don't pay taxes. Today GM, Chrysler, and the UAW membership are all paying taxes. And, with all do respect sir, "AFTER" is too late, to avoid liquidation a bankruptcy judge needs a viable restructuring plan on the table.

Skippy| 2.29.12 @ 4:50PM

Wrong!
GM will pay no corporate taxes for 10 years.
That's why their profits last week were record.
Mine would be too if I didn't pay taxes.

mnemos| 2.29.12 @ 3:26PM

I'm happy to hear you personally repealed Chapter XI of the bankruptcy law. Where can I find the details of it? Otherwise reorganization was available and liquidation was a scare tactic to protect union contracts at the expense of bondholders.

Skippy| 2.29.12 @ 4:48PM

They should have been boxed and sent to Red China.
Their cars suck and they spend like Democrats.

Lindy| 2.29.12 @ 11:54PM

Baloney. He didn't "save" anything, but he did steal my GM stock.

Stammon| 2.29.12 @ 10:41AM

Let me correct that for you;

"Obama saved the American automobile industry's Unions".

W| 2.29.12 @ 11:26AM

Chrysler is owned by Fiat. GM makes cars in Mexico. Ford did not ask for Obama's help and is doing fine.
Honda, Nissan, BMW, and Toyota all have US plants and did not ask or need any help from Obama.
Obama saved GM by giving it 50 billion. We got 15 billion back, and own shares in GM. The shares have to double for us to get back our oringal 50 bil.
And we had to borrow one third of the 50, or 17 billion, from China to save GM. Maybe we can give our GM shares to China.
Yes, this was a brilliant economic plan.

Al Adab| 2.29.12 @ 12:08PM

W:
You can't be right about that. This is America. The government would never own the auto companies or the banks or the insurance companies and would never take over the hospitals and health care system. That would be a tyranical socialist country wouldn't it?

POd Shareholder| 2.29.12 @ 12:54PM

Don't forget Obama allowed GM to carry forward their pre bankruptcy losses and exempted them from their first 15 billion in income taxes so GM won't be paying any taxes for years. Another one of those evil corporations.

vtwin| 2.29.12 @ 12:56PM

Nanjing Automobile, a Chinese government-owned corporation, was prepared to buy the assets of GM motors, as it did MG-Rover, out of bankruptcy.

"The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them." --Vladimir Lenin

W| 2.29.12 @ 4:33PM

Is it ok to borrow money from the chinese commies but not to have them take GM off our hands?

Purple Lips| 2.29.12 @ 11:30AM

"Obama saved the American automobile industry"

No, he saved union jobs (and with it, lucrative union campaign dollars) in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio.

In case you are not aware, more American autoworkers are employed by Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and BMW than Ford, GM, or Chrysler. And none of those non-union shops received a nickel of Obama's lute.

vtwin| 2.29.12 @ 1:10PM

The UAW supported Obama so Obama saved UAW jobs.
Wall Street supported Bush so Bush lowered taxes on investment income to 15%.

You dance with the one that brought you!

W| 2.29.12 @ 5:28PM

vtwin
You imply that only people on Wall street have investment income. There are many Americans throughout the 57 states that own stocks and mutual funds and benefit from the 15% tax rate.

Al Adab| 2.29.12 @ 5:32PM

W:
Let me tell you about what happened to my GM stock a couple years ago.

LMA| 2.29.12 @ 3:17PM

I don't even think he saved the union jobs so much as he saved the pension and retiree health benefits. Those are the costs that were really killing the auto companies.

Haddit| 2.29.12 @ 1:51PM

He saved the Unions. Get it right!!

Stan Redmond| 2.29.12 @ 2:39PM

No he didn't. He stole BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars and shored up the union coffers another couple years. GM still produces garbage no one is buying. If it was so great why are we subsidizing the volt?

Think of the automotive industry Obama DESTROYED with the bailouts. Clean out the deadwood and the underbrush that is GM and the UAW and make way for truly succesful companies to take over the market. NOPE, not a chance, Obama destroyed any competition that would have scooped up the factories and workers, OR allowed GM to restructure itself like any other company that enters bankruptcy.

Heck, my company could be "saved" with everyone else in the country forced to give me a couple billion. And I wouldn't even have to be successful. Problem is, I am successful and a target for derision by the liberal clowns who can't wait to get in my wallet. Only in a liberals mind is failure success.

W| 2.29.12 @ 5:31PM

Correct. Let us use the correct language. The American taxpayers gave 50 billion to GM, a poorly run company, to stay in business, and GM still had to file for bankruptcy to get rid of debt (stiff the creditors) and reorganize.

Jerry| 2.29.12 @ 4:11PM

How did he save Ford? An American company doing fine without government taxpayer bail outs.

Matthias the Prompt| 3.1.12 @ 5:30AM

Sure he did. He also "saved" us all from another Great Depression and personally and heroically dispatched Osama Bin Laden with a Bic pen because he is a trained ninja with impeccable penmanship.

Oh, the endless comedy of the terminally gullible...

idalily| 3.1.12 @ 2:16PM

Saved the auto industry? Yeah, that's why we're all tripping over ourselves to buy Chevy Volts.

David W| 2.29.12 @ 9:26AM

Why is the military being asked to share the pain and the union workers aren't? Perhaps it is to get them onto the Obamacare plan before it is repealed, so that the Democrats can say how terrible the GOP is for taking away the military's healthcare.

Stan Redmond| 2.29.12 @ 2:39PM

WHAT? You think democrats would be so sneaky? No...

Stefan Stackhouse| 2.29.12 @ 9:43AM

That may be good news. I always felt that the main reason why we didn't get a President Al Gore is because voters could never figure out which version of Al Gore was the real one. The guy obviously didn't have confidence and comfort in himself as he was, and that is always a bad sign to voters. If Obama is going down the same path, we could see the same outcome.

Al Adab| 2.29.12 @ 10:08AM

Romney did less well in Mich than he did four years ago. The GOP turned him down then as not conservative. Why reward him now simply to follow him to defeat in Nov? Mich will not give its electoral votes to the GOP in any event.

OregonBuzz| 2.29.12 @ 10:10AM

Sorry Ben, but unions are an anachronism. That's why only about 6% of the private sector is unionized. If it weren't for their intrusion into the public sector they wouldn't exist in practical terms. Consider that the union "work rules" book at Government Motors is 6,000 pages long. How stupid is that?

Louis Jenkins| 2.29.12 @ 10:14AM

We could see the same outcome, however, the newsmedia says Obama is in a world of hurt thanks to the economy, then they say he's in great condition thanks to the recovery. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, dazzle them with BS. We have before us the man of all ages, the man who can adapt, the man who is all things to all people. He is not to be trusted. That is the bottom line. Now, if only more people felt the same way we would be heads above the nearest competition (Obama), but of course we aren't. He plays the part so well.

Thanks for writing a column that makes sense to all of us, Mr. Stein. I knew you had it in you.

ncatty| 2.29.12 @ 10:15AM

When it comes to accents, Obama is no Maya Angelou.

Konnie| 2.29.12 @ 7:47PM

You do know that her real name is Maxine Johnson?

cuban pete| 3.1.12 @ 9:24AM

Marguerite Johnson. You were probably thinking of the charming congresswoman from California.

Art| 2.29.12 @ 10:29AM

I agree with Mr. Stein--but why didn't the freshman Senator suggest that the Senate increase their health insurance costs instead of the armed servicemen and women?

emilio lizardo, phD| 2.29.12 @ 10:41AM

So close on this one, Ben- never mind most of us picked up on the faux Obama accents years ago years ago, and some lamentable horseshit on the unions. But not nauseating, cloying and the view from atop the 4 Seasons or the back seat of the limo for a change

Appleby| 2.29.12 @ 10:55AM

Agree 100% - this is what we come to American Spectator to read, not the view from Upstairs at the Upstairs/Downstairs Club.

In one of Bob Dylan's old songs ("Subterranean Homesick Blues" I think) he speaks of a man running for office "Out in front of the steeple/telling me he loves all kinds of people...he's eating bagels! He's eating chitlins!" Obama is trying to be "one of us" without knowing what that actually means. (On the other hand, the elite press corps relentlessly mocked George W. Bush because he DID know that what the folks want to hear is the President, not a poor imitation of us.

Occam's Tool| 2.29.12 @ 10:59AM

It is good when you stick in the knife, Ben; not when you describe the palsied hand holding it.

Obama is a scumbag and a traitor. That is all ye need to know.

kw-37| 2.29.12 @ 11:11AM

As a Federal worker (unfortunately for Mr. Stein, I am not one of those "statistical clerks at Commerce" - I work for the military, but that doesn't fit into Mr. Stein's anti-Federal worker storyline), I pay over $4,500/year for my medical. The "warriors and their families" pay nothing for medical. Retired "warriors and their families" pay less than $50/month for their medical. Mr. Stein, your pro-military stance is commendable, but you have diarrhea of the fingers. Do a little research before you start typing.
We can debate whether retired military should pay anything for their family's medical, but comparing what Federal workers pay for medical and what military members pay for medical is absurd.

JP| 2.29.12 @ 11:35AM

When I was in the service 20 years ago, free medical for the servicemen and thier families was THE retention tool used to keep them in the service. Take that away and there isn't a reason for a married E6 with 8 years time in service to re-enlist. The mid-level NCOs carry most of the water for the services. Lose them and your back to the hallowed out, pot smoking incompetent military of 1979.

Al Adab| 2.29.12 @ 3:31PM

Coverage for active duty personnel of course. Additionally, no purple heart veteran should ever want for his home, his care, or work. His family should never want. That is a debt we DO owe and is why the organizations such as Wounded Warrior or Coalition to Salute Heros continually raise such funds as they do. More power to them.

JJC| 2.29.12 @ 11:38AM

Ben, so just what is it that you like so much about 'private' unions? Ruined American industries? Support for OWS? Quotas? Dues for democrats? Hatred for people like you and me? Its a puzzlement...

Anthony| 2.29.12 @ 11:40AM

"Can I get me here a hunt'n license"?

Haddit| 2.29.12 @ 1:54PM

Somebody said something about wanting to take him hunt'n. I guess Obama declined.

Clint| 2.29.12 @ 11:54AM

Yo My Homies, Bruuuuthers !

You Down Fo Da Struggle ?

Da Harvard Square Cambridge Ghetto Homeboys, Are Down Fo Da Struggle.

danshanteal| 2.29.12 @ 12:05PM

NICE JOB ON OBAMA. THE UAW MUST HAVE BEEN BOWING TO HIM FOR A CHANGE FOR THE TIDY DEAL HE GOT THEM.

Bob Miller| 2.29.12 @ 12:09PM

Lest we forget, William F. Buckley's accent was a gross contrivance, too. But at least Bill had something smart to say.

Jacob Morgan| 2.29.12 @ 12:55PM

WFB attended a boarding school in England in the 1930's and had a strong immersion into Spanish shortly thereafter (lived with Spanish speaking people in Arizona for a time before the war). Then off to Yale.

Anyone from that background would tend to have a curious accent. Not too sure that any part of it was contrived. At least I never heard him accidently drop or change the accent.

We need more people like him to yell "Stop", instead of just asking it to slow down a little, or have pity parties.

NotAmused| 2.29.12 @ 12:17PM

The thing about it is, when SOME of us meet up in heaven, some of us will have a lot of 'splainin 2o do Lucy! From a mixed person who knows what its like for the black side of me to feel ashamed & embarrased of the evil, corny, plain white side of me.

shipley130| 2.29.12 @ 12:22PM

Obama has always been a there man. Lying over there, apologizing over there. Distorting and torturing facts while he was there. He is a triple dog there.

Thomas F. Williams | 2.29.12 @ 12:27PM

If you are a federal employee you actually pay nothing. WE pay for you!

Haddit| 2.29.12 @ 1:56PM

Tell em again, they don't get it.

Nick| 2.29.12 @ 12:30PM

When Obama was running for the senate in 2004,someone commented on how his accent and voice changed depending on the group. If he was talking to a black church in Englewood,he sounded like Jesse Jackson. If he was talking to a group of students at Northwestern University he sounded like a professor.

skip| 2.29.12 @ 1:21PM

What I've been wondering for months is where is this 'Ehmurruhkeh' he is always mentioning?

Haddit| 2.29.12 @ 1:58PM

Does this elude that he is full of sheeeeeooooottttt???

Who Knows?| 2.29.12 @ 1:52PM

Ah, all you poor bastids!

I'm too old and I value my free time too much to spend it watching or hearing Obama.

It is SO VOMIT-INDUCING to even see his visage pop up so regularly on the conservative websites I frequent!

sclarke| 2.29.12 @ 5:21PM

I have to agree. I tear holes in my newspaper as I read to keep from feeling like I'm being watched by the jerk. And I mute the volume whenever his voice comes on the radio or TV. I'm soooooo over this fool.

Controse| 2.29.12 @ 2:40PM

News flash Mr. Stein. Their never was any there there. A convivial black guy with a big, bright smile is all he has ever had going for him.

Mike 3/505| 2.29.12 @ 2:53PM

"This is an outrage: asking the warriors and their families to pay more for health care while the statistical clerks at Commerce get away free? That's disgraceful."

This is all about the Left's continuing war on property and contract rights...as was the imbroglio over birth control and the bailout...outright theft of GM from the bondholders.

Intelligent Design| 2.29.12 @ 3:21PM

When the masses voted for Obama they thought it was simply marvelous to have a seemingly bright, young, half-black guy running for president. He probably appealed a lot to those who watch TV all day while collecting welfare benefits. But the guy is a national disaster. The most polite thing I can say about him is that he lacks common sense. Hopefully the voters will have more of it in November 2012 than they did in November 2008.

TJ O'Hara| 2.29.12 @ 3:24PM

Mr. Stein:

The problem resides with both Parties and our tolerance for the candidates from which they force us to choose. It is one of the major reason that that I am running as an independent candidate for President. I addressed your point more broadly in my most recent column for The Washington Times Communities ("Politics won't be a team sport when I'm President"). Here's an excerpt:

The Party candidates have already surrendered their ability to lead in return for their Party’s support. In turn, the Party shapes each candidate into the image it wants.

The campaign teams hire image consultants and makeup artists to make their candidates fit the image the Party wants to project. Have you ever seen so many potential “world leaders” in a pair of jeans and an open collar shirt with the sleeves rolled up? The scene begs you to believe the candidates are “just one of you,” they’re “in touch with the common man,” and they’ve got their sleeves rolled up because they’re “ready to get to work.”

Early in the process, a staff of pollsters is hired to collect data that is turned over to a team of political strategists. The strategists determine what you want to hear (rather than what you need to hear) and how it can be positioned in the best interest of their candidate. Then, they turn that information over to a group of professional speech writers, who create the sound bites and emotionally gripping passages that their candidate will read from a TelePrompTer. If the candidate reads well, he or she will be praised as “a great orator.”

As I have often said, “The difference between a ‘Leader’ and a ‘Reader’ is more than a letter.”

(You can read the rest of the article and follow my column at http://bit.ly/wlteeT)

Colleen McDonald| 2.29.12 @ 3:45PM

sad state of affairs; his vp kind of does the same thing; have to give credit to Billary, they don't share this fault

mobetta| 2.29.12 @ 3:53PM

Granny Jan: I watched your video. All I can say, is: Oy Vey. I am blushing for him.

Gretchen| 2.29.12 @ 3:57PM

Bravo, Ben! One of your best yet!!!

bcndblchsbrgr| 2.29.12 @ 4:06PM

True story but can't remember exactly when or where...last year TOTUS played a little joke on his boss. Gave him a few sentences with 'living' and 'working'. He was on fire dropping the g's. Then TOTUS threw up the word 'single' (used with either parent or mother). The President did manage to reattach the 'g' to the end of the word. I think the final utterance sounded something like "sinll...guh." TOTUS strikes again!

Dr. X| 2.29.12 @ 4:08PM

Why do conservatives act so surprised about this? Obama's into the fourth year of his presidency. There's a better-than-even chance he'll get re-elected. And it's been all 100% contrived bullshit since Day One. The campaign was all 100% contrived BS. His autobiography was 100% contrived BS.

The man's NEVER done an honest day's work in his life, and has NEVER accomplished ANYTHING. Of course his accent's fake!!!! EVERYTHING about him is FAKE!!!

And you know what?? It all WORKED LIKE A CHARM on the gullible idiots of the American public.

THAT'S what frightens me.

Paul in Colorado| 2.29.12 @ 4:11PM

Found this while thumbing one of my many books by H.L. Mencken, in this case Minority Report:

Roosevelt II came near being the purest demagogue recorded in history. Even more than Cato the Censor he devoted himself wholeheartedly to arousing fears and fomenting hatreds. His whole politics consisted in attempts to arouse class against class, people against people. There is no record, so far as I know, of him ever saying a word in praise of anyone except obvious frauds. Even when he undertook to defend this or that group he always did it by preaching hatred of some other group. His twelve years in office, far from leaving the American people united, left them cursed by bitter and irrational animosities, some of which will not be laid for generations. When he died they had more external enemies than ever before, and all those enemies had sound reasons for hating them. And inside the country he had impugned the common honesty of every really decent man, and set the mob upon him.

President Obama has some big shoes to fill, but you can't say he isn't making an honest effort.

Bryan Eggers| 2.29.12 @ 4:16PM

It's PRESIDENT Obama, not MR. Obama, you asshole.

Loretta Sue| 2.29.12 @ 4:52PM

Yeah, and how did you liberals refer to George W. Bush when he was President? Were you not fond of calling him "Shrub?" Yes, I do think so.

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 5:40PM

Beggers,

Save the phony righteous indignation. Personally, I like to refer to him as barry (lower g), The Dictator, or if I'm feeling gracious:

Jug Ears McKenyon.

How does that grab ya!

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 5:41PM

Correction:

That would be Jug Ears McKenyan.

Marco2| 2.29.12 @ 10:27PM

It's actually Asshole Obama, pig fart.

thomas smith| 2.29.12 @ 4:24PM

Show some respect, it is President Obama, not Mr. Obama. You may not agree with him but at least for another 10 months, he has the title.

Loretta Sue| 2.29.12 @ 4:53PM

Yeah, and how did you liberals refer to George W. Bush when he was President? Were you not fond of calling him "Shrub?" Yes, I do think so.

Bob Grant| 2.29.12 @ 5:43PM

Jug Ears McKenyan.

skip| 3.1.12 @ 11:19AM

He has a title reflecting his integrity and credibility:

'The prickly dithering idiot liar in chief of downgrade and really pathetic and despicable speeches who simply will not allow the half of Americans who don't pay any taxes to bear the burden of the other half of Americans who aren't paying their fair share'.

jb| 2.29.12 @ 4:35PM

So the tone and inflections of his voice are what characterize substance? Let's not concern ourselves with things like content or context. Bye bye Ben, you are fading fast.

Loretta Sue| 2.29.12 @ 4:51PM

So it's ok with you for a politician to use a fake accent? Do you not think that indicates the content is most likely as fake as the accent? Look a little deeper, pal.

jb| 2.29.12 @ 6:29PM

Most Likely? - is the content fake or isn't it? I know it's challenging, but go ahead try and use your brain. I could care less what he sounds like, I'll defend him against morons like Ben Stein any day.

Kathy Jenson| 2.29.12 @ 4:49PM

You said it exactly. I noticed he never speaks clearly when he is "ON" TV. "To" is no longer in his vocabulary. "Ta" is. And as soon as he hears the slightest bit of applause...wait for it... the preacher comes out! He says the same thing over and over again in different ways to pump up the applause, his adulations, and the photo op. It usually isn't hard because he only invites children and union workers.

Loretta Sue| 2.29.12 @ 4:50PM

Stein favors unions? What? That is not a conservative viewpoint. But I agree about our military receiving shabby treatment by this administration.

FiddlerBob| 2.29.12 @ 4:51PM

Obama may be able to be all things to all people, but he can never be a natural born citizen. His father was a British/Kenyan subject who was never a US citizen and never intended to become one. So, Junior was born of foreign parentage under British jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court has recognized and established as binding precedent in Minor v Happersett, that a natural born citizen is one born in the country to citizen parents. This has never been changed.

Mr. Obama used this definition as sponsor of SR511, too. So, even he knows that he's a complete fraud. He just doesn't believe that anyone has the balls to call his bluff. So far, he's be right.

So, while we're discussing all of Obama's failings and cussing about his trashing of our Constitution and destruction of our country, why don't we read the Constitution, enforce our laws, and kick the bum out of office. He's not eligible. He's not legal. Everything he's done and will do is null and void of any Constitutional authority.

It's way past time to get over our political correctness and throw the bum and all of his traitorous accomplices out of office.

jb| 2.29.12 @ 8:05PM

This is one sick site.

Tim the Enchanter| 3.1.12 @ 10:23AM

And proud of it.

John| 2.29.12 @ 4:52PM

Both Stein's "piece" and the comments here are deeply saddening.

You're all sure he's faking "sounding black." Except for those of you who think he's faking "sounding white."

Stein's convinced he's channeling a "store front preacher" AND a "southern cracker"; MLK AND George Wallace.

Out of touch.
Sad.
Pathetic.

The 2012 election is a forgone conclusion. And I guarantee it is not going to work out the way "you people" hope.

Loretta Sue| 2.29.12 @ 4:56PM

Are you saying you have not heard Obama repeatedly using a contrived Southern black accent? He does it all the time. The man does not have a Southern accent. He grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, and then he lived in Chicago after that. Where on earth would have have obtained the Southern accent he frequently uses? Listen to his speeches and conversations where he is not using a Southern accent, and then it explain why it suddenly appears out of nowhere when speaking before certain audiences. These are facts. And they indicate a fake. Deal with it.

Loretta Sue| 2.29.12 @ 4:59PM

Sorry for the errors. My comments should have said:

"Where on earth would he have obtained..."

"...and then explain why..."

Also, I would add that Hillary Clinton frequently does the same thing. Research it if you don't believe me.

John| 2.29.12 @ 5:05PM

Have you ever noticed a difference in W. Bush's accent depending on what region of the country he's speaking? How about Clinton? I haven't dug into it it, but I'm fairly certain you can even find video (or audio) of H.W. in the south, speaking with the rounded edges of a southern accent. Has anyone labeled them as an amalgamation of George Wallace and Martin Luther King?

I'm telling you, you all keep it up with the identity politics and you are going to lose. You are already losing.

NRH I| 2.29.12 @ 4:53PM

Santorum still might win the majority of Michigan delegates. They tied in number of congressional district wins and the 5th district is merely 0.1% difference in totals that might in final count and challenge put Santorum on top. If they split the at-large seats, the worst Santorum finished with in Michigan is half the delegates. http://www.detroitnews.com/art.....dyssey=mod|mostview

rhcrest| 2.29.12 @ 5:09PM

I wonder if Obama would say the word phonics as P honics if the word was placed on his teleprompter? The man is an absolute and utter moron. How in the name of God did he end up in the White House?

nick carter| 2.29.12 @ 5:32PM

funny accent, I remember Gerry Adams in the US before 9/11 changed things somewhat, now THERE was a funny accent, he must have gone to the same elocution lessons as Dick Van Dyke!

james | 2.29.12 @ 5:40PM

Let's be honest which Obama isn't. He a politician from Illinois where looking into the camera and telling lies is the only thing they know. Remember the last honest politian from Il was Abe Lincoln. Hopefully the American people can get rid of him soon.

J| 2.29.12 @ 5:43PM

I believe you may qualify for the Blowhard Guild.

Ben Silver| 2.29.12 @ 5:48PM

I heard this same pathetic "jive talk" when he campaigned in Philadelphia, a few days before the election, when he babbled on about his mother in-law's "sweet potato pie." I knew right then and there he was a real phony - what I didn't know was that so many of my fellow Americans were that gullible.

MTB| 2.29.12 @ 5:54PM

Thanks for the support, Ben, but the issue isn't why is the military's healthcare costs going up and the union civilians' is not. The issue is the promises made to us when we signed up. I based ALL of my career choices on where I was and what was coming. Had I known my government would renege on our agreement, I might have made different choices. This is wrong on so many levels. It's not about spending or deficits or anything like that. It's about ideology--Leftist ideology. Obama and as many dems as possible must go in Nov. And this monstrosity in the 2013 budget has to be summarily excised.

CMoffatt| 2.29.12 @ 6:07PM

So which is worse, Mr. Stein? Obama's speech patterns, or Mitt Romney parading across the country wearing blue jeans like he's Joe Working Class.

Derek Phillips| 2.29.12 @ 6:09PM

It's "President" Obama not "Mr," and I fail to see much of a point in your article other than to take some thinly veiled racist shots at him.

Goldwaterite| 2.29.12 @ 9:04PM

Didn't you get the memo?
Your race card has expired!

FiddlerBob| 3.1.12 @ 1:22AM

No, it's "Mr."

To be "President" one has to be a natural born citizen which Mr. Obama, by our laws and his own standards and admissions, is not. He was not born in our country to two citizen parents. His father was a British/Kenyan subject who never was and never intended to become a US citizen.

I fail to see much point in continuing this charade other than to appease the politically correct. So, I will never refer to mr. obama as "President". Nor will I respect any laws that he has passed, any executive orders he has issued, or any appointments that he has made.

Owen K| 2.29.12 @ 6:11PM

And so it goes with this narcissistic little man who pretends to be Presidential.

Tom| 2.29.12 @ 6:11PM

I'm a strong supporter of President Obama and I disagree with most things I read in the American Spectator. I like to come to conservative websites, read the articles, and then get involved in discussions with people who strongly disagree with me. Talking with people who disagree with you is the best way to clarify what you really believe. It is not unusual for me to find someone who can make strong arguments that make me question the things I believe.

Having said that, this is a sad, mean spirited column and the responses are also sad and mean spirited. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

Soljerblue| 2.29.12 @ 6:23PM

so -- your point is?

tjinmo| 2.29.12 @ 9:57PM

libs don't believe in anything....they have to keep their "principles" fluid to conform

idalily| 3.1.12 @ 2:26PM

Hey, we're just speaking truth to power, man. Truth to power. Isn't that what liberals were doing with Mr. Bush, Shrub, Bushie for 8 years? Go cry at the Kos or HuffPuff.

Ken (Old Texican)| 3.1.12 @ 4:25PM

Tom,
why are you a strong supporter of Obama?
What single thing has he done on behalf of Americans who EARN a living?

Skeptical Red| 3.2.12 @ 2:32PM

You are right. It seems that some of these people are trying to vent their impotent rage by invective. Did he sell us a bill of goods, or has he given us "change"? Is he a "fraud" in some special way that other politicians aren't? Does he abuse power in some way other politicians don't or won't? Is he a bigger liar than either Clinton?

The usual refrain is that he is incompetent, not very smart, and a gasbag. Well, it has worked pretty well for him so far. Barack Obama IS President and plans to be the next President by catering to the gullible souls who elected him. As for "incompetence", he has certainly stood America on its head, largely by being "stupid" enough to use power like a true Maciavelli.

If incompetence and stupidty are sufficient to gain the White House, half the people who post here should by rights be in the Oval Office. So clearly, Obama has something more going for him than stupidity and incompetence.

And as yet, I haven't heard him call anyone who dosagrees with him an "a**hole".

Soljerblue| 2.29.12 @ 6:22PM

Does anyone remember Hillary Clinton doing the same thing before the congregation of a black church in Selma, AL during the 2008 campaign? Condescension now, condescension tomorrow, condescension forever. As a conservative, I can relate -- after all, it's the crap we get from the GOP "elites" 24-7-365.

Matthew Roman| 2.29.12 @ 6:54PM

"Ultra-privileged background"? Yo Ben, I don't begrudge you your ax to grind, but that's a pretty stupid thing to say, isn't it?

Joe Nuts| 2.29.12 @ 7:03PM

Tom is a moron, no make that an ignorant, stupid ass retarded moron. Go support your leader in hell, which is where you and it will be soon.

William L. Gensert| 2.29.12 @ 7:30PM

Barack Obama is a dream. In 2008, the dream was hope and change. In 2012, it will be progress, thwarted by evil partisans and selfish greed. As Gertrude Stein said, "there is no there there." He needs enemies to draw attention from his lack of depth, for he is truly a mile wide and an inch deep. He is an illusion -- always appearing to be more than he is, always, more promise than reality. He is, and always has been, the sum projection of what others want him to be. Barack Obama doesn't exist, except in the hearts and minds of minions and sycophants.

Read more of my article: http://www.americanthinker.com.....z1noutvWyi

Matthew Roman| 2.29.12 @ 8:07PM

No thanks, William, but I will recommend it to my insomniac Father!

Pat Narcisi| 2.29.12 @ 7:40PM

It always reminded me a little of Foghorn Leghorn.

James G. Long| 2.29.12 @ 8:41PM

Obama is a malignant narcissistic psychopath. Psychopaths cultivate multiple personas suitable to dealing with their chosen victims: obsequious toward superiors. contemptuous and patronizing toward subordinates, cautious around those that may present a threat. It is entirely consistent that a psychopath should bow to the King of Saudi Arabia and drop his "g's" when addressing those whom he perceives a lower class of people.

We are in a strange new territory. We have never had a psychopath in the most powerful position in the world. Good luck to everyone.

Tim the Enchanter| 3.1.12 @ 10:28AM

Uh- Hitler, Stalin, Lenin and Mao come to mind...

Kerry| 2.29.12 @ 8:45PM

I have missed your style, Sir.

The Obama Timeline| 2.29.12 @ 8:50PM

Spot on, Mr. Stein. When I heard the speech the first thing I noticed was the phony accent.

John Shea| 2.29.12 @ 9:03PM

Mr. Stein thinks the guy who grew up with a single mother and knew actual poverty had the "ultra-privileged" background?

Is Mr. Stein lashing out in retrospect at his "Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers" daddy for making him settle for a Mustang rather than the Mercedes Coupe he coveted?

A similar childhood trauma to Obama's eating rice and beans while mom matriculated, no doubt.

idalily| 3.1.12 @ 2:28PM

Actual poverty? Yeah, right. Poor kids go to Harvard and Columbia all the time, dontchaknow.

Niniane| 2.29.12 @ 9:07PM

Obama will do anything and pander to anyone to get reelected. It was an absolute insult to any working man. We need a president who is admired for his education and wisdom, and this speech slapped many who have no degree from Harvard and showed that Obama has no class when his personal interests are involved.

Jack L in Phoenix| 2.29.12 @ 9:31PM

You know I love you. I've told you so several times. Don't expect you to remember me but you once wrote me some nice words about my son the baseball player at Univ of Redlands.
Anyway, that's not why I'm scribbling here. Because I love you, I will forget that you like public unions. American government will never balance its books at any level - municipal, state or federal - until we get a handle on the greed of the public unions. The answer to your Panetta question is that the 'statistical clerk' probably has a union that has held up the legislative branch for solid gold pay and benefits.
I think it's incorrect to say Romney was 'squeaking by' in Michigan because many thousands of Democrats voted for Santorum.
Ben, please take good care of yourself. I don't like reading about you being sick or injured.

javromk| 2.29.12 @ 9:47PM

It says in the Bible 'by the company they keep shall ye know them." (Actually, it doesn't say that, but it should!). The assortment of idiots, lunatics, racists, morons and fascists who have commented on your comment, Ben Stein, should make be a sobering experience for you.

Tim the Enchanter| 3.1.12 @ 10:30AM

It does say "By their fruits you will know them." A prophecy concerning California, I believe...

TJINMO| 2.29.12 @ 9:54PM

In other words, the pretender in chief is a shallow, arrogant liar

javromk| 2.29.12 @ 10:05PM

After reading Ben Stein's commentary, I went to YouTube and actually listened to parts of Obama's speech. While Obama is more animated than usual (elsewhere he often talks in a monotone), there is absolutely no validity to Stein's claims.

He doesn't drop his g's at the end of his "ing's" like some faux young Bob Dylan (actually, Bob Dylan was faux when he did that). In fact, he sounds identical in syntax and intonation to the Obama of his State of the Union Speech.

Stein's claims are utterly bogus. They are part of the whole bizarre phenomenon of trying to render Obama fundamentally alien, in this case not by claiming for him some phony Muslim identity, but by asserting that Obama is a man without any identity whatsoever.

All I can say is, hey, all you Obama haters: get a life!

Gallagher| 2.29.12 @ 10:34PM

Your leftist news buddies on MSNBC claim we hate Obama because he's black. But no, how we feel is a reflection his love for country. That is, Obama hates America and demonstrates it every time he opens is mouth. You should hate him also because eventually, he will turn on his own. It's how communists work. Here's a quote to chew on: "the Bolsheviks believed that Russia's discontented proletariat made that nation ripe for revolution. " He's bankin' on it.

jaime| 2.29.12 @ 10:50PM

and also because he is black

Allen| 3.1.12 @ 2:27PM

Romney-Rubio. The only way the Republicans can win.

John Shea| 3.1.12 @ 1:45AM

Another victim of the lamestream media. Don't you know Mitt Romney is the only authentic candidate in the race? He is a conservative who understands the hardships of the working man. After all, he's unemployed too!

Alex| 3.1.12 @ 9:40AM

Romney has the unique distinction among the candidates of having actually created a job WITHOUT the use of govt money. Well, maybe Paul as well when he was a practicing doctor.

Gallagher| 2.29.12 @ 10:27PM

Of course he adopts a new persona for each crowd he's lyin' to. And the suckup fools fall for it. I wonder how many personas Hitler and Stalin had?

jaime| 2.29.12 @ 10:49PM

why would you wonder that gallagher?

jaime| 2.29.12 @ 10:48PM

Dear Ben, your rant is tiring

The Bruce| 2.29.12 @ 11:21PM

It's no different from Hillary's "I ain't no ways taaaared" rant. It's utterly pathetic pandering.

Obama's adding or dropping of the Ns in his speech is no different. Harry Reid even commented on his ability to drop his "Negro" dialect. (But no liberal would dare call Reid a racist, right?).

Obama is no different than Sharpton, Jackson, et al. He's a race-baiting ass-clown that managed to BS his way into the White House, helped along with a bunch of guilty white liberals, as much as a bunch of RINOs that hated Bush and wanted to be "cool" and vote for the black man.

Pathetic. Hopefully in the future we can return to voting for someone based on substance, and not "style."

Jeanne Dougherty| 3.1.12 @ 3:04AM

Mr. Stein. Thank you for capturing and expressing the truth about the president. I have said since 2007 that he is like a hologram---if you reached out to touch him there would be nothing there!

Matthias the Prompt| 3.1.12 @ 5:23AM

I don't know who to feel more embarassed for whenever he resorts to using this lame, "working man"/pseudo-MLK imitation accent-- the president or the people who are actually taken in by the cheap hucksterism. The only thing more painful is watching Hillary try to do the same thing when speaking to a black audience. As transparent as Obama's act appears, 30 seconds of watching Hillary's version will make you long for the sweet release of death.

CFlyJuice| 3.1.12 @ 5:23AM

Well.... Harry Reid did say Obama can use a "negro dialect whenever he wants".... what's the news in that?

Matthias the Prompt| 3.1.12 @ 5:35AM

Harry also said he was "clean". High praise indeed.

HarryWho| 3.1.12 @ 6:45AM

Bueller. Bueller. Bueller..... Anyone out there listening? Bueller. Bueller. Bueller..... Anyone care what I'm saying? Bueller. Bueller. Bueller.

shane teton| 3.1.12 @ 8:13AM

Obammie is smart. He got Biden as his VP to make him look sorta normal by comparison. The two of them together though couldn't tell the difference between a lemonade stand and a jihad network.

Jim from Virginia| 3.1.12 @ 9:33AM

so Osama Bin Laden sold lemonade?

Jim from Virginia| 3.1.12 @ 9:32AM

Panetta, miltary health premiums and Senator Graham. a different view from Stein's: http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....ory_1.html

Tim the Enchanter| 3.1.12 @ 10:33AM

The Washington Post as a source? You're kidding, right?

shane teton| 3.1.12 @ 10:39AM

Osammy was barely a figurehead, let alone a network anymore. More lemonade stands have been busted than phony front organizations...It's not worth worrying about anyway.

Star| 3.1.12 @ 10:55AM

Yes, the dropped G's are dopey, the smile with gums exposed--but the worst is the FOLKS, FOLKS, FOLKS. PHONY PHONY PHONY.

ptsargent| 3.1.12 @ 3:07PM

Stein may love unions working in the strange world of Hollywood but back here on planet earth unions have wreaked industries and made the US uncompetitive in many fields. They are disappearing because there are so few industries left for them to wreak. Biggest case in point: automotive industry.

KansasGirl| 3.2.12 @ 11:06PM

Stein, where have you been?

hinckleybuzzard| 3.3.12 @ 11:20AM

The Usurper is half white, was raised primarily by a white grandma, and attended mostly upperclass white schools from high school onward. He has no idea what honest Black Americans sound like, because he never cared enough to listen to them closely. He has total ignorance of the workingman's world, White or Black, because of his disdain and contempt for people who actually work for a living. No wonder he can't speak like anyone real.

Andrew| 3.3.12 @ 7:03PM

The people Obama talks down to are as ignorant as he thinks they are because they elected him.

lk| 3.4.12 @ 11:53PM

Thanks for reminding me what a creep Ben Stein is.

Timely Renewed| 3.5.12 @ 1:30AM

The solution must go deeper than replacing this arrogant ideologue. In order to permanently return our nation to the founders' vision, we must restore the original constitutional limits on the federal government. Given the deep entrenchment of the special interests and Supreme Court decisions which sustain the unconstitutional expansion of federal power since the New Deal, we must use amendments to the Constitution to restate and re-affirm the original constitutional meaning and structure. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

strumndrang| 3.5.12 @ 10:55PM

It took some flagrant acts of investigative journalism, but I was finally able to discern some coherent facts regarding these reports: Obama’s promiscuous Mommie had out- of- body affairs with various foreigners, and then to make matters worse, raised her son's soulless husk in Hawaii, while little Barack's entire formative experience was an out-of-body state in-Kenya. This was done so he could nominally qualify to run for pesident as a "natural" born citizen. In fact, he could not have had a more unnatural upbringing if he had been serially abused by Jonah and Captain Ahab in the belly of a whale shark. This explains his sullen, stillborn disdain for Churchill (and any other British people), also the fact that he worships the ground that his crap-Daddy frequently soiled himself on. Well, the out-of-tree apple still doesn’t fall far from the um, tree, does it?

Obama first alienated me (and helped usher my nascient conservatism) in a campaign stop in Milwaukee in the summer of 2008 (?). Up to then his persona as known to me was wonkish, cerebral, and pragmatic. He had somehow shucked some U of Chicago economists to endorse him as someone who would craft sound policy. He really seemed to me a special person with a true post-racial mindset and world outlook. Then he came to Milwaukkee and tried to talk like some hip-hop fool! This told me two things: he was a typical pol, and he saw Milwaukee monolithically as a black underclass vote reservoir. Only later did Rev. Wright and his Church of the Poisoned mind solidify my notion of him as a counterfeit jack-in-the -pants.

QuietPro| 3.10.12 @ 2:26PM

Hey, Ben, i'm one of your "lazy, overpaid" Federal employees. I earn an Earth-shattering salary of 40,700 dollars a year. I know, I'm grossly overpaid. I'm doing the same job I did in the military just 3 years ago when I was regarded as a hero for going overseas......but now that I'm a Fed civilian, I'm overpaid and lazy. This little class-warfare snub of yours is disgusting. Why don't you regail us with yet another of your weekend getaways across country; spending and eating lavishly and living in areas I'll never get to live in? Oh, wait, silly me......I could jet off there anytime I want. After all, I'm over-paid, and have nothing better to do. Get over yourself, Mr. Stein.