Obama and Clinton: two cynical losers

ScreamingEagle

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Jul 5, 2004
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April 25, 2008
Despite having all the trumps, the Democrats have squandered the chance of a lifetime
Gerard Baker

How do they do it? How do the Democrats manage to squander repeatedly and with such ease the chance of a lifetime? What inverse alchemy have they created that turns the gold bullion of electoral opportunity into the base metal of political oblivion?

Eight years of George Bush, an unpopular war and a recession have handed the Democrats their best chance, not merely of winning their first presidential election in 12 years, but of achieving a rare, once-in-a- generation transformational shift in American politics.

Four fifths of the American public think the country is on the wrong track. The President wallows in the highest disapproval ratings since polling began. The Republican Party has spent most of a decade bungling almost everything it touches, abandoning its principles and sinking into a mire of corruption, hypocrisy and incompetence.

And here we are, six months from a presidential election, and it is the Democrats once again who seem to be staring defeat in the face. It's like a soccer match in which one team keeps conceding a penalty in the final minutes only to watch as the opponents repeatedly boot the penalty kick high into the stands.

Hillary Clinton's solid victory in the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday has condemned the party to many more weeks of strife and sinking public esteem. There's a popular view among Democrats and the media establishment that the reason for the party's current disarray is that it just happens to have two most extraordinary candidates: talented, attractive, and in their gender and race, excitingly new. But there's an alternative explanation, which I suspect the voters have grasped rather better than their necromancers in the media. Both are losers.

The longer the Democratic race goes on, the more obvious it appears that each is deeply, perhaps ineradicably flawed.

Until about a month ago Barack Obama had done a brilliant job of presenting himself as a transcendent figure, the mixed-race candidate with bipartisan appeal who promised to heal the historic and modern rifts in American life.

But the mask has slipped. Under pressure in a Democratic primary, Mr Obama has sounded just like any other tax-raising, government-loving Democratic politician. Worse, he has revealed himself to be a member of that special subset of the party's liberal elite - a well-educated man with a serious superiority complex.

His worst moment of the campaign was when he was caught telling liberal sophisticates about his anthropological observations on the campaign trail. In the misery of their daily lives, he said, the hicks out there in the sticks cling to religion and guns and the other irrational necessities of the unenlightened life. His wife had earlier told voters that they should be grateful that someone of his protean talents had deigned to come among them and be their president.

The events of the last month have also revealed another side of Mr Obama that threatens to undermine his whole message. He is a cynic. He tells the mavens of San Francisco one thing and the great unwashed of Pennsylvania another. In defending his long relationship with the Rev Jeremiah Wright, he shopped his own grandmother, comparing the reverend's views (God Damn America! The US deliberately spread Aids among the black population) to his grandmother's occasionally expressed fears about the potential of being the victim of crime at the hands of an African-American.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has been busy shedding the final vestiges of shame and honesty in her desperate attempt to save her candidacy. She has abandoned any pretence of a message, and simply seized on every opening presented to her by her opponent.

Mr Obama's missteps with the working class of Pennsylvania have thus transformed Mrs Clinton from the bluestocking Wellesley graduate into the good old girl, hanging out there with the straw-chewing rednecks, embracing their values, their worldview and even their lifestyle.

Obliterate Iran! Here comes Osama bin Laden! I love duck hunting! I can do shots and beer at the same time! It's hard to know what's worse - expressing condescending views about the working class or pretending to be one of them. The Democratic campaign is simply disappearing in the enveloping vapidity of the candidates' making.

The economy's a mess; the US is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of seizing the opportunity to present a convincing vision of an alternative way forward the Democrats are fumbling. When they are not scrapping about each other's street cred they are falling back on the old verities of left-wing dogma: class warfare on taxes; irresponsible (and unredeemable) promises to pull out of Iraq in an instant; a protectionism that makes a mockery of their claims to want to restore America's standing in the world.

Amid this sorry spectacle of cynical opportunism and atavistic dogmatism, the Republicans have contrived somehow to select in John McCain the one candidate in their party who might actually have a shot at winning the election.

American presidential elections turn as much on the characters of the candidates as they do on the saliency of policies. Democrats, of course, think this is all rather crass. They think voters should confine themselves to the “issues”. But Americans understand their government a little better. They know the limits of presidential office and they understand the president's role as head of state is as much about leadership of the nation as it is about implementation of policy.

What they want is a man - or a woman - of character and record to inspire and lead them. That may be why the Democrats are in trouble.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article3811396.ece
 
This, too, shall pass. We'll be united this summer, if not sooner.

Despite the open civil war between the two Democrats, these "losers" remain statistically tied with or ahead of McCain. Factor in the blowout numbers in both Democratic fundraising and Democratic voter registration, and you will understand that a tsunami is heading towards McCain in November.

Scream all you want until then.
 
This, too, shall pass. We'll be united this summer, if not sooner.

Despite the open civil war between the two Democrats, these "losers" remain statistically tied with or ahead of McCain. Factor in the blowout numbers in both Democratic fundraising and Democratic voter registration, and you will understand that a tsunami is heading towards McCain in November.

Scream all you want until then.


Actrually, McCain is ahead, thanks. But I agree the libs will be united. Never fails. Never does any good either. You're outnumbered.
 
April 25, 2008
Despite having all the trumps, the Democrats have squandered the chance of a lifetime
Gerard Baker

How do they do it? How do the Democrats manage to squander repeatedly and with such ease the chance of a lifetime? What inverse alchemy have they created that turns the gold bullion of electoral opportunity into the base metal of political oblivion?

Eight years of George Bush, an unpopular war and a recession have handed the Democrats their best chance, not merely of winning their first presidential election in 12 years, but of achieving a rare, once-in-a- generation transformational shift in American politics.

Four fifths of the American public think the country is on the wrong track. The President wallows in the highest disapproval ratings since polling began. The Republican Party has spent most of a decade bungling almost everything it touches, abandoning its principles and sinking into a mire of corruption, hypocrisy and incompetence.

And here we are, six months from a presidential election, and it is the Democrats once again who seem to be staring defeat in the face. It's like a soccer match in which one team keeps conceding a penalty in the final minutes only to watch as the opponents repeatedly boot the penalty kick high into the stands.

Hillary Clinton's solid victory in the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday has condemned the party to many more weeks of strife and sinking public esteem. There's a popular view among Democrats and the media establishment that the reason for the party's current disarray is that it just happens to have two most extraordinary candidates: talented, attractive, and in their gender and race, excitingly new. But there's an alternative explanation, which I suspect the voters have grasped rather better than their necromancers in the media. Both are losers.

The longer the Democratic race goes on, the more obvious it appears that each is deeply, perhaps ineradicably flawed.

Until about a month ago Barack Obama had done a brilliant job of presenting himself as a transcendent figure, the mixed-race candidate with bipartisan appeal who promised to heal the historic and modern rifts in American life.

But the mask has slipped. Under pressure in a Democratic primary, Mr Obama has sounded just like any other tax-raising, government-loving Democratic politician. Worse, he has revealed himself to be a member of that special subset of the party's liberal elite - a well-educated man with a serious superiority complex.

His worst moment of the campaign was when he was caught telling liberal sophisticates about his anthropological observations on the campaign trail. In the misery of their daily lives, he said, the hicks out there in the sticks cling to religion and guns and the other irrational necessities of the unenlightened life. His wife had earlier told voters that they should be grateful that someone of his protean talents had deigned to come among them and be their president.

The events of the last month have also revealed another side of Mr Obama that threatens to undermine his whole message. He is a cynic. He tells the mavens of San Francisco one thing and the great unwashed of Pennsylvania another. In defending his long relationship with the Rev Jeremiah Wright, he shopped his own grandmother, comparing the reverend's views (God Damn America! The US deliberately spread Aids among the black population) to his grandmother's occasionally expressed fears about the potential of being the victim of crime at the hands of an African-American.

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, has been busy shedding the final vestiges of shame and honesty in her desperate attempt to save her candidacy. She has abandoned any pretence of a message, and simply seized on every opening presented to her by her opponent.

Mr Obama's missteps with the working class of Pennsylvania have thus transformed Mrs Clinton from the bluestocking Wellesley graduate into the good old girl, hanging out there with the straw-chewing rednecks, embracing their values, their worldview and even their lifestyle.

Obliterate Iran! Here comes Osama bin Laden! I love duck hunting! I can do shots and beer at the same time! It's hard to know what's worse - expressing condescending views about the working class or pretending to be one of them. The Democratic campaign is simply disappearing in the enveloping vapidity of the candidates' making.

The economy's a mess; the US is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead of seizing the opportunity to present a convincing vision of an alternative way forward the Democrats are fumbling. When they are not scrapping about each other's street cred they are falling back on the old verities of left-wing dogma: class warfare on taxes; irresponsible (and unredeemable) promises to pull out of Iraq in an instant; a protectionism that makes a mockery of their claims to want to restore America's standing in the world.

Amid this sorry spectacle of cynical opportunism and atavistic dogmatism, the Republicans have contrived somehow to select in John McCain the one candidate in their party who might actually have a shot at winning the election.

American presidential elections turn as much on the characters of the candidates as they do on the saliency of policies. Democrats, of course, think this is all rather crass. They think voters should confine themselves to the “issues”. But Americans understand their government a little better. They know the limits of presidential office and they understand the president's role as head of state is as much about leadership of the nation as it is about implementation of policy.

What they want is a man - or a woman - of character and record to inspire and lead them. That may be why the Democrats are in trouble.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/gerard_baker/article3811396.ece

What do you call McCain? That guy doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. Walks into a predominantly liberal area that's been depressed since steel went to shit and gives them a speech on what they can do for themselves.

I'm sure he made lots of friends. How about putting a tax on that cheap-ass shit they call steel from foreign countries tha tbrings it in line with the quality steel we USED TO get?

I used to could sit on the hood of my truck. If I did it now it'd have an imprint of my ass in it, and I haven't gained any weight.
 
What do you call McCain? That guy doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. Walks into a predominantly liberal area that's been depressed since steel went to shit and gives them a speech on what they can do for themselves.

I'm sure he made lots of friends. How about putting a tax on that cheap-ass shit they call steel from foreign countries tha tbrings it in line with the quality steel we USED TO get?

I used to could sit on the hood of my truck. If I did it now it'd have an imprint of my ass in it, and I haven't gained any weight.

They do not use steel to make vehicle hoods or sides or roofs. The frame might be steel. The rest is as thin and cheap as they can make it and still pass required safety inspections.

And it helps increase gas mileage as well. You want a steel car? Buy one from the 50's. Good luck on affording the gas bill.

As for Steel, personally I think if the Government is gonna keep bailing stuff out they should invest in infrastructure like steel production. They can claim it is for National Defense. Rebuild new State of the Art production facilities as well as Ship building and tank building plants.
 
They do not use steel to make vehicle hoods or sides or roofs. The frame might be steel. The rest is as thin and cheap as they can make it and still pass required safety inspections.

And it helps increase gas mileage as well. You want a steel car? Buy one from the 50's. Good luck on affording the gas bill.

As for Steel, personally I think if the Government is gonna keep bailing stuff out they should invest in infrastructure like steel production. They can claim it is for National Defense. Rebuild new State of the Art production facilities as well as Ship building and tank building plants.

I don't want to bail out anyone. I think it is the responsibility of the US Government to protect the interests of the US first instead of allowing foreign businesses to come in here and put our own out of work.
 
I don't want to bail out anyone. I think it is the responsibility of the US Government to protect the interests of the US first instead of allowing foreign businesses to come in here and put our own out of work.

Our Steel industry went to shit because it did not invest its profits back into modernizing its equipment AND the US Government paid for and gave Germany and Europe and Japan all new plants, state of the art at the time.
 
I don't want to bail out anyone. I think it is the responsibility of the US Government to protect the interests of the US first instead of allowing foreign businesses to come in here and put our own out of work.
You are raising a topic of great complexity. How can the US preserve and strengthen its most important industries, while simultaneously being the world's foremost advocate of free trade? A few years ago, I was traveling by car through northeastern Pennsylvania. I was startled to see on the outskirts of Bethlehem, PA., a vast industrial ghost town. It was enormous; a huge works of rusted metal hulking to the horizon. It was the corpse of Bethlehem Steel, once the number two steel maker in America and owner of steel mills, coal and iron mines, shipyards, and many other facilities. Thousands were once employed in the network of metal girders, bridges, buildings, stacks, and rail yards. It was cold that day. As I stood next to the Japanese car, a trail of smoke still rose skyward from among the ghosts. Bethlehem Steel: The Rise and Fall of an Industrial Giant: http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=945.
 
McSame consistently loses to Obama in every national poll I have seen, why do you think there is such a strong effort by the conservative MSM to have Clinton as the candidate.
 
McSame consistently loses to Obama in every national poll I have seen, why do you think there is such a strong effort by the conservative MSM to have Clinton as the candidate.

McCain loses by 4 points to both Hillary and Obama right now. Given that they're busy pounding each other, this should be of huge concern to the repubs...

which is why you're gonna see nothing by rev wright all the time. ;)
 
McSame consistently loses to Obama in every national poll I have seen, why do you think there is such a strong effort by the conservative MSM to have Clinton as the candidate.

Dude, what color is YOUR sky? Conservative MSM? GMAFB.

You lefties need to get your shit together -- YOU especially -- on this topic. Your accusation is nothing but partisan blather.

Why on Earth would conservatives NOT prefer Hillary to Obama? The simple fact is Hillary is more conservative than Obama. Duh.

Don't accuse others of pushing propaganda when you're doing nothing repeating the same old lie in each thread this topic is discussed.
 
Dude, what color is YOUR sky? Conservative MSM? GMAFB.

You lefties need to get your shit together -- YOU especially -- on this topic. Your accusation is nothing but partisan blather.

Why on Earth would conservatives NOT prefer Hillary to Obama? The simple fact is Hillary is more conservative than Obama. Duh.

Don't accuse others of pushing propaganda when you're doing nothing repeating the same old lie in each thread this topic is discussed.

They used to think Hillary would be easier to beat. I'm not sure they see it that way anymore.
 
McCain loses by 4 points to both Hillary and Obama right now. Given that they're busy pounding each other, this should be of huge concern to the repubs...

which is why you're gonna see nothing by rev wright all the time. ;)

Way to try and brush off an issue of acutal concern by claiming partisanship. Along with the other end of discussion accusation "racist," y'all think it justifies you not having to bother arguing the actual topic.

As far as Wright and Obama are concerned, Wright is EXACTLY what yoou have continually railed against if they were conservative preachers, and Obama EXACTLY what you have been fearmongering about where a Republican candidate and religion are concerned.

It's not a double standard. It's a complete reversal of standards based on nothing but politcal partisanship and it's about as obvious as daylight.
 
Way to try and brush off an issue of acutal concern by claiming partisanship. Along with the other end of discussion accusation "racist," y'all think it justifies you not having to bother arguing the actual topic.

As far as Wright and Obama are concerned, Wright is EXACTLY what yoou have continually railed against if they were conservative preachers, and Obama EXACTLY what you have been fearmongering about where a Republican candidate and religion are concerned.

It's not a double standard. It's a complete reversal of standards based on nothing but politcal partisanship and it's about as obvious as daylight.

Really? Has Obama traded my right to my body like McCain did for votes from nutters?

You saying that we should see ads of Hagee all the time?

The double standard is in the eye of the conservative.
 
Really? Has Obama traded my right to my body like McCain did for votes from nutters?

You saying that we should see ads of Hagee all the time?

The double standard is in the eye of the conservative.


i agree with gunny... there has definitely been a double standard from the dems on this issue of obama's preacher. <just sayin'>


ps i think springsteen may have got that quote from my grandmother... she use to say, "don't believe everything you hear and only half of what you see."

;)
 
This, too, shall pass. We'll be united this summer, if not sooner.

Despite the open civil war between the two Democrats, these "losers" remain statistically tied with or ahead of McCain. Factor in the blowout numbers in both Democratic fundraising and Democratic voter registration, and you will understand that a tsunami is heading towards McCain in November.

Scream all you want until then.


i don't think obama has a chance against mccain... i really don't... if the dems want to win they should get behind hillary and then the country can move forward with all of the issues concerning all american families. the obama campaign is only serving to incite racism and divisivness, imho. now they are even threatening to riot in denver if hillary wins the nomination, wonderful...

i heard the DNC might have a super delegate primary in june so the party can be united by the time of the convention in august... that sounds like a good idea to me...
 
This, too, shall pass. We'll be united this summer, if not sooner.

Despite the open civil war between the two Democrats, these "losers" remain statistically tied with or ahead of McCain. Factor in the blowout numbers in both Democratic fundraising and Democratic voter registration, and you will understand that a tsunami is heading towards McCain in November.

Scream all you want until then.


Recent polls show McCain is ahead due to the fact he doesn't have to be slinging mud at his opponents and seems more presidential. All of the fighting that the Dems are doing is just giving the McCain camp ammo to use when it comes time. Don't know how it will effect the election. My feeling is that McCain will win the White House and the Dems will solidify their control of Congress. That way, nothing will ever get done.
 
McSame consistently loses to Obama in every national poll I have seen, why do you think there is such a strong effort by the conservative MSM to have Clinton as the candidate.

Didn't know there was such a thing. Thought the MSM was yours and we owned talk radio.
 
i agree with gunny... there has definitely been a double standard from the dems on this issue of obama's preacher. <just sayin'>


ps i think springsteen may have got that quote from my grandmother... she use to say, "don't believe everything you hear and only half of what you see."

;)

You're entitled to your opinion, but the double standard has been the right's.. .in *my* opinion, of course. ;)

And if Bruce and your grandma were acquainted, it's certainly possible. Although it could well be that Grandma Springsteen said the same thing. :cool:
 
Honestly, I think that while there is animosity between Hillary and Obama, it will not be surpassed by the animosity between republicans and democrats. In fact, I will say that this lengthy struggle is propagated by the fact each candidate far surpasses that of the republican candidates, and both would be excellent choices for president come elections.
 

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