Maybe it has something to do with leading the free world again
By Steve Benen Thursday Jul 24, 2008 8:30amConservatives, of course, were unlikely to praise Barack Obama’s speech before 200,000 in Berlin yesterday. But I found some of the criticism to be more misguided than usual. Here’s Ross Douthat, for example:
Yes, of course the Hitler comparisons are absurd, but I'd really like to know which genius on the Obama campaign thought it would be a good idea to have their candidate conduct a major campaign rally in Europe with three months to go till the election and their candidate, despite an incredibly favorable climate and a fumbling opponent, still clinging to a 2-4 point lead in the polls?
Overall, the overseas tour has been good to Obama, both for the obvious reasons and because making joint appearances with foreign leaders is a solid-enough way to build up his credibility as a potential Commander-in-Chief. But photo ops are one thing, Beatlemania-style rallies are quite another.... The Berlin rally probably won’t hurt Obama — voters aren’t really paying attention to anything election-related right about now, and it’ll be forgotten by the time the fall campaign begins in earnest. But it could do some minor damage, and it certainly won’t help him.
I think the photo-op point is largely backwards. When Obama shakes hands with Chancellor Merkel, U.S. voters get to see a candidate smiling alongside a world leader. It tells us that a German head of state is willing to politely greet a U.S. presidential candidate, which is to say, it doesn’t tell us much.
When Obama delivers a powerful speech about global cooperation on everything from counter-terrorism to climate change, and does so in front of 200,000 enthusiastic Germans, many of whom were waving American flags, it tells voters in the U.S. quite a bit. Specifically, that our allies are ready for the United States to lead again, and they’re captivated and inspired by one of the candidates seeking the job of leader of the free world.
Is it so hard to appreciate the notion that having an American president who enjoys respect and admiration abroad can help our standing in the world?
Whenever something is obviously good for Obama, the pundits always have to turn it into, "Can having 200,000 enthusiastic people in Germany waving American flags bad for Obama?"
The Germans will be disappointed if they expect the Dems to be much different than the GOP, the only difference between a Dem president and a GOP president is that what one does with rough-boot hard power, the other does with velvet-glove soft power. I'd like a president that would drop the hegemony idea, as we effectively ended that in 2003 when we invaded Iraq against the will of the stable and unstable parts of the world. It seems both Obama and McPapen think the hegemony still exists. They are fools to think so, and it'll surprise them.
Ich bin ein Berliner
Could also be that like a lot of people, they were happy to take off from work for a few hours and enjoy the outdoors.
They're just sore because Obama is so well liked, and all this harrumffing just makes them look like spoiled sports.
...to politely greet a U.S. presidential candidate, which is to say, it doesn’t tell us much.
Maybe her not having to fend off an unwanted backrub from an oblivious jackass tells us something. Maybe not. But then again, maybe so.
I am an American living in Japan has held the opinion that there are several primates that could do less damage as president than our current chimp.
Being out of the US, I get a different dose of the media opinions about Obama san.
It's quite difficult to judge what is BS and what is worth listening to, but in general I have been favorable but not in worship of Obama. (not that I am the worshiping type.. I do visit this site quite often!)
But this morning I watched Obama's Berlin speech.
No matter how cynical I tried to keep myself, it's just impossible to deny that he is one amazing man.
I'm sure the US media is turning it into the circus they always do, but as Bush always says "History will judge"
If there is any hope left in the world, Obama will be president soon and hopefully, he can deliver on the dreams he has put forth.
OK, back to my sake...
All you have to know about Obama's trip abroad is this, if McCain had made this trip and their was this much enthusiasm you wouldn't be hearing one single negative thing said by the mainstream media. Not one.
They would be saying that McCain was bridging the divide between our allies and restoring American leadership abroad with his "straight talk" way of making his points, and how much he belongs on the world stage and knows how to deal with foreign heads of state and just how gosh darn presidential he really is. And so on, and so forth. This whole thing would be seen as a positive.
Make no mistake, the mainstream media is his base, as the CBS interview that was "edited" for him shows. If Obama had made that mistake....and on and on it goes.
I take your point, but I think you give the U.S. public too much credit. Most folks just look at the pictures. That's what stays in their heads. Sad but true. So for both good and bad, the pictures from this trip will have a greater bearing on the perception of Obama than the substance. And no doubt mant GOPers will spin the Victory Column rally as Third Riech, and use the pictures to invoke that. I wish I had more faith in our electorate, but I after two terms of Bush, I don't.
It's just so refreshing to see a presidential candidate with intelligence who can speak and articulate his ideas - something BUsh and McCain will never have.
Unfortunately, to a lot of Americans being smart, articulate and attractive is a threat.
The GOP is fucking terrified. And they should be. Obama basically makes McCain look like a total asshole by speaking in front of 200,000 admiring people in Germany. The world already sees Obama as president. They want him to be our president. Why? Because they see him as not insane. They see him as reasonable, as intelligent, as flexible. They see him as someone they are willing to get behind. That's an incredible position to be in!!!
Jesus, America... Please don't elect McCain. The world would never forgive us. And with McCain, our foreign policy would be even more in the toilet than it is now (if that's possible).
Is it so hard to appreciate the notion that having an American president who enjoys respect and admiration abroad can help our standing in the world?
uh...that would be a yes....for them
To see the hypocricy and fear in their arguments. Just ask yourself what would they be saying if it were McCain drawing these kinds of crowds. Anywhere.
Their criticism smacks of sour grapes.
I think there is some candidate envy going on here. Sen. Obama doesn't need the press kissing his ass, he's making his progress with or without them.
The repubs are most likely jealous and envious when they look at their candidate and then at Sen. Obama. Their candidate is elderly, often "misspeaks" and has little to no personal appeal. The Dem candidate is young, well spoken, and the essence of charisma.
Nothing is going to change so all the press and the repubs can do is attack to relieve their deep down envious feelings.
Ich bin nicht einen George Bush!
Huzzzaaaah!
Simon White-Thatch Potentloins @ 11:
Well said and I agree wholeheartedly. The world is ready for a sentient being running things in America.
They brainwashed my great uncle
Brainwashed my cousin Bob
They even got my grandma
When she was working for the mob
Brainwash you while you're sleeping
While in your traffic jam
Brainwash you while you're weeping
While still a baby in your pram
Brainwashed by the military
Brainwashed under duress
Brainwashed by the media
You're brainwashed by the press
Brainwashed by computer
Brainwashed by mobile phones
Brainwashed by the satellite
Brainwashed to the bone
FYI
Rep. Dennis Kucinich will be on C-span at 10:00 (eastern time)
Judiciary Cmte. will be holding a "hearing on the executive power and the Bush Admin. The hearing is partly based on a single article of impeachment he brought against Pres. Bush, and on alleged misconduct and unlawful expansion of executive power."
Bob Barr and others will testify. Could be interesting.
Now back to your regular scheduled programming or commenting.
What's interesting is Americans let a stupid, drunk, druggie be President of the USA for two terms knowing he would bringing the US down while Americans did nothing and asked no questions when he lie to our faces. When 9/11 hit Bush sit in a chair looking stupid with the book My Pet Goat turned up side down. He even makes jokes about our dead troops, high gas prices and lost of homes. We watched as Bush did nothing for 5 days as the Katrina Storm victims begged for help. We've seen Bush/Cheney bring the US Treasury to a 10 Trillion dollar debt, still we do nothing. Now that Obama is running for President he is asked all the questions we should have asked Bush. Yes and McCain has shown he losing his memory and will allow the Bush Policies to continue. He doesn't know anything about the World conflict but Americans say he shows the Christian Values we love. Yes leaving his sick wife/kids for a younger woman and still having affairs today is what we value as Americans. Arizona citizens wont McCain removed as Senator yet he is high in the polls. Now we've seen how the polls work with the Primary in Iowa. Yes the polls were fixed and the voters showed how wrong the Journalist were. Other countries work together yet the US still hangs on to prejudice while telling minorities to give their lives in the Military for our country. Many minorities died as Soldiers yet McCain thinks he is the only soldier. Why do those who support illegal invasion never serve in the US Military themselves?
But
the kingMcCain says:"Cuss
the doctorObama! What do we k'yer for HIM? Hain't we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain't that a big enough majority in any town?"- Mark Twain, Huck Finn
McCain (and the media supporters) are coming across as whiney....petulant....." LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME....!" .......worse than our five-year-old grandkid's temper tantrum....
and yet, the so-called 'news' people give McCain the same level of support that is given to the current whiney, petulant, temper-tantrum throwing CIC....
We have already had eight years of this crap....and yet, Americans want more....because McCain is a 'war hero'.
ack.....
ramjet @ 9:
Never forget that George W Bush was NEVER elected as POTUS. He was appointed by his Poppy's
SCROTUMSCOTUS and FOXNoise and dirty tricks. Al Gore won the 2000 election.I don't get this msm "love affair" with Obama meme. Just wish someone would put in in perspective. Here is my shot at it....
You have two kids. One is a smart, handsome, intelligent and popular and yet you nitpick his every move constantly.
The other is an ugly little shit that throws temper tantrums and burned the house down and you ignore it, make excuses for him, and pat him on the head.
Who is the favorite?
Jackie @ 19:
Reason doesn't stand a chance against happy hour at Hooters or standing in a line for the next Ipod-Iphone.
jimmiraybob @ 6:
Excellent point.
If nothing else, it was nice to imagine a president who wouldn't cause us to collectively cringe at his boorish behavior. I realize Bush has lowered the bar to previously unknown depths, but Obama really showed it can be raised again.
on morning joe (blows) j.s. thought it was brilliantly snnarkie for McSame to go to a german restaurant. to me it just seemed pathetic but joe thought it would play so well with middle america. so very desparate.
Mick @ 22:
Bush was re-elected in 2004.
Is it so hard to appreciate the notion that having an American president who enjoys respect and admiration abroad can help our standing in the world?
Apparently for some, yes.
leader of the free world?
and what is that supposed to mean?
last time i checked the US was a country all to itself
is the US the leader of Canada, Sweden Denmark, Norway, England?
this phrase 'leader of the free world' is totally without meaning and lacks respect for the sovereignty of the OTHER countries that make up the free world
get a grip
"waaaaaaah, waaaaaaah, Obama kicked my dog, waaaaaaaaah, waaaaaaah"
~LAC, swampy, johnny, and harley.
goldenjoe @ 28:
Indeed, disgruntled libruls/hillary supporters and unhinged reich-wingers make quite a pair.
Many are called but few are chosen.
Barack is a leader.........McCain is a wanna be.
Apparently many people around the world feel his optimism.........McCain is a parot.
theWalrus @ 10:
Thank you! I was just about to post something to this effect. It is ludicrous, but the whole "vote for the person you'd rather have a beer with" meme points to the same thing: ABILITY IS BAD. TALENT IS BAD. INTELLIGENCE (and EDUCATED intelligence in particular) IS BAD. Having smarts & other talents all somehow equates to being "elitist," which for me is one of the great WTFs of the world.
ramjet @ 27:
Ohio was stolen by, once again, dirty tricks. Tens of thousands of Democratic ballots were found in a dumpster for Jeebus sake. They didn't even bother to cover their tracks that well. I realise what you are saying. In any case it was a close election. Nevertheless, Dim Son has NEVER won a clean national election and this fact should NEVER be forgotten - despite anything that loudmouth goomba Scalia has to say.
Brainwashed
I think the good people of Germany are just glad that our presiden... oops, our CANDIDIATE for president did not grab their chancellor by the neck and threaten to choke off her oxygen alll the while looking like a 14-year-old goof ball snapping some classmates bra strap.
This morning Joe Scarborough and his band of talking heads decided the reason McCain is rising in the poles is due to the economy and McCain's offshore drilling plan.
I really hate to think America will throw away the opportunity we have with Obama just for a fairytale cheaper gallon of gas. I hope this country isn't that shallow and selfish and short sighted.
2 to 4 point lead in the polls? Polls results are a direct consequence of the questions asked . You rig them by framing the question or questions. Example: Who is better to save us from brown skinned heatren terrorists? Experienced White father figure and war hero republican candidate John McCain or inexperienced black Muslim radical democrat with a foreign name Barak Obama.
First off I'd like to say that those polls a wrong. They have too be wrong. For the last 2 years I've been going to Republican sites. And McCain was the last one they wanted. And many still don't want him. Some have said they will vote for him but many have said that they'll stay home.
Now, with all of McCains own unpopularity in his own party, and Obama's popularity in his leads me to believe that these polls are skewed. It's either that, or the stealing of another election has already begun.
I honestly can't see how McCain can win this. After this last week, and the way he's campaigning. I just can't see him winning.
Not to mention all the previous weeks. Firing this guy and replacing that guy. Changing his mind on a number of issues.
Nope, I don't see it happening. Obama should be up by at least 10 points in the polls.
fatrobot @ 29:
Thank you!
The whole "leader of the free world" makes me cringe... The cold war is over, and the "evil empire" is long gone. I never understood why Americans, and I know generalizations are odious, who are for the most part greatly ignorant of the world around them.... how come they feel somehow entitled to lead something (the world) that they give two shits about.
The "American" century is over, some people should learn to move on. I have travelled the world, and I have lived half of my life abroad... and the whole notion that the world is somehow in pins and needles about this country, or that they lose their panties to follow America as the "beacon" of freedom and all that bullshit is ridiculous.
Mick @ 34:
Agreed. It's very dissappointing that it would even be that close - close enough to allow a stolen election. And the current poll numbers for Obama/McCain aren't very encouraging either. Our democracy depends on an informed electorate. We haven't had that for some time (sigh).
I think the right is terrified of the photo-op. They've spent years using photo-ops to convey a message that was actually the opposite of what was going on. I read somewhere that they did this to create a strong visual on the theory that most people watch the news with the volume down and the visual will over ride what is actually happening. See e.g., "Clear Skies," "Mission Accomplished," Bush in New Orleans, . . . They know the power of those images and are scared sh*tless that Obama has a great visual looking presidential in front of so many people.
On Dan Abrams last night some right wing clown was saying that Obama's trip "undermined the president of the United States." He never did say how, he just kept repeating it ala "he's an appeaser cause he appeases by appeasing." He said it would be true of any candidate, who shouldn't go overseas and do major policy speeches when not the president. He had no answer to Obama's status as a Senator, or that it wasn't really a policy speech at all. Finally, Ron Regan Jr. nailed him on McCain speaking in Canada. Lame response? That was on the same continent as the United States. Seriously. I think even he was trying not to laugh as he said it. Ultimately, it came down to being afraid of the visual: what really bothered him was all those people. Hopefully, someone can post the video, it was priceless.
mudshark @ 39:
Sadly, it looked like a slam dunk in 2000 and 2004 as well.
:(
LAConfidential@17 Do you ever have anything positive to say? ALL of your posts here are so negative. I'll bet you're great company at parties.
Mick @ 34:
If it makes you feel better about the fact that he had enough votes to be "stolen" then by all means go ahead.
But let's not live in denial OK. In both occasions, enough people voted for Bush as to have the difference between him and his Dem opponent be small enough to be easily "stolen." If that was the case...
And if it was indeed stolen, and people still did nothing about it... in neither case looks good.
Why are the polls so close... land lines.
I'm willing to bet that the majority of the cell phone users that are of voting age are Obama supporters or at least the numbers are more 60-40. You can't poll those people accurately.
Polls mean nothing now.
Considering how long it has taken for McCain to even make a dent into Obama's lead, goes to show that Obama doesn't have to have a super wide margin. Hell, the media doesn't want the election to be a landslide -- they'll lose potential ad revenue. It's in the media's best interest to keep this race as close as possible.
Sue @ 42:
what McCain in Colombia ??
oops, sorry, same time zone as the eastern US.
L.A. Confidential @ 35:
Let it go man... time to learn to move on. Seriously.
There's a much bigger story buried inside the McCain campaign's attempt to derail Obama. If true, it could rise to the level of a scandal we may be calling "Obamagate". Read more.
http://www.tagg-lines.com/2008/07/breakingpenatagon-used-for-dirty.html
If BillO can talk about body language then so can I. Each person Obama has met on his trip looked immediately at ease with Sen. Obama, as did he with them. They knew he wasn't going to try to upstage them or act like a fool. They looked to feel comfortable in his company. I'm sure it was a nice change for them. I'm betting some of those same people have dreaded their visits with bush.
pissed off patricia @ 37:
No one has accused that bunch of being right in the first place.
Karyn @ 21:
McCain is NOT a war hero.
He's a POW who made Anti-American speeches in North Vietnam. He said he was tortured and lied (proving, once again, that torture is not a valid form of interrogation), yet he still supports the illegal acts the GOP has committed.
He supports a war criminal, is ready to commit even MORE war crimes, is obviously mentally impaired due to age, and graduated at the bottom of his class at his military academy. He cheated on his disabled wife, and abandoned his family after they waited for him to be released from a North Vietnamese prison for years.
The GOP seems to deliberately look for morally bankrupt idiots to act as their figureheads.
It's time for people to wake up. The war criminals should be in jail, not in a government office.
Put these people in the trash heap of history.
How do you know that you've stuck a Repiglican? What it squeals. They hate the trip because it hurt them. Plain and simple. All the rest is churlish peevishness and concern trolling.
Left&Left @ 44:
C'mon L&L, this is a BLOG.
Speak freely, but cleanly. that's all we ask.
ThunderMonkey @ 51:
They are definitely Right, they just hopefully aren't correct.
Janet @ 23:
That's such a good analogy. It also sounds like my life as I was growing up. Only difference is my sister never burned down the house.
sulphurdunn @ 38:
Have you ever noticed they don't share with you the QUESTIONS asked for the poll????? You can come up with any kind of numbers you want depending on how you ask the questions....
Numinous @ 52:
... and then COMPRESS them down to a little, highly dense ball and drop it in the oil-slicked Gulf of Mexico.
pissed off patricia @ 50:
Obama doesn't walk around like he has a corn cob stuck up his butt like Bush....maybe thats why he's at ease...:)
We are watching the Neo-nut-bags unravel, they know they are going to lose and they are whining about it.
pissed off patricia @ 37:
"Rising in the poles"? I did not know McCain was a stripper.
J/K. Anyhow, the only reason why McCain is still a contender is because the M$M has cover every single gaffe that idiot comes up with. Which seems to be running at a 2 or more fuckups a day. It is interesting to see how the media, literally covers McCain's ass. And yet they are looking with a magnifying glass at Obama's every single movement looking for something that he may do wrong or could potentially do less than perfect.
It is time to move on from the traditional media, they have let us down and now they are nothing better than propaganda. They should be render irrelevant by us the citizens. Alas, I think most people feel more comfortable being lied to...
The Exotic, yet bitter Chico Hussein Escuela @ 47:
Exactly! The most irritating part was that Reagan didn't get a chance to come back with "what about London?" before Abrams ended the segment. Though, I guess the answer would be "they speak English there."
Barack Obama in Minnesota on June 3, on winning the Democratic nomination:“America, this is our moment. This is our time.”
Barack Obama in Berlin yesterday:“People of Berlin — people of the world — this is our moment. This is our time.”
Abraham Lincoln in Gettysburg: "Now the world will watch and remember what we do here."
Barak Obama in Berlin: "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here."
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Kevin Costner in 'Swing Vote': "America needs someone who’s bigger than their speeches.”
Keep in mind that most republicans see any foreign country as a nerd to be shoved to the ground and relieved of his lunch money.
So popularity outside of Butte-Hole Wyoming is a liability with them.
dennis @ 63:
Uh, it was Lincoln who said "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here," not Obama. Think those two are reversed.
Geez, that Lincoln, nothing to him really but a bunch of speeches.
It is better to see Chancellor Merkel smiling and shaking hands with a candidate than recoiling and pulling away from a president that had just groped her inappropriately. Perhaps a President Obama can restore our standing with our former allies alienated by the decider in chief.
The Dude @ 45:
Unfortunately, you're correct. And it is such a shame; Barack Obama is an inspiring orator and seems to be intelligent.
So how do they steal the election THIS time? Diebold/Sequoia will certainly play a part. I believe that the criminals who run our government will play the cancelled election/martial law card if they cannot steal the election in the usual ways. A regime change would mean investigations of numerous crimes. These cowards would rather destroy this country rather than face the music.
Oh well, see you in a FEMA camp somewhere soon!
Brian @ 7:
Sue @ 42:
I saw that segment and enjoyed the hell out of it.
pennis @ 63:
And your point is?
dennis @ 63:
To quote cheney, "So?"
ThunderMonkey @ 46:
In any case, I hope Americans continue to think the race is close! Seriously! What better way to get out the vote for Democrats than to keep thinking this is a close race? So let's hop to it!
I'm ok with this meme.
Less chance of them stealing this election too!
I'm already hearing how "there's a lot of illegals voting.... blah blah blah..."
Fu#%K it! We'll do it live!!
A close race it is!
Let's knock on doors, forward emails, contact new voters, and hit em all up with the dream come true of electing a sane, rational, and intelligent human being as the President of the United States: OBAMA!!!!
If I recall, the impromptu and unsolicited groping of the Chancellor of Germany at a meeting of world leaders didn't garner much mainstream press either, despite being captured on video. It is an uncomfortable thing to watch... and it says a lot about the lack of character of a man who would do such a thing. Not to mention, how can someone in his position not realize that the simple decorum of such a setting would be enough reason not to idly neck massage a foreign head-of-state uninvited... forgetting for a moment the utter lack of respect it showed on both an official and human level.
To Brian, No. 7: I agree that several kinds of apes could do a better job than our currant inhabitant of the White House, and I'm not being facetious. I'm serious and here's why: You could train a chimp to push a lever, one says "yes" and the other says, "no". You could ask the chimp a question: Should we invade Iraq? The chimp has a 50/50 chance of pushing the correct lever. George Bush has pushed the wrong lever every time. The environment, the security of the country, the education of our children, our foreign policy, our standing in the world, EVERYTHING this guy touches has turned to shit.
Mr Squirrel @ 73:
GAD! I still shudder to think of that. What a ****tard!
miss skeptic @ 74:
Bonzo goes to Washington?
Now I see how Bush fits into Regan's party...
i watched a McCain ad while having breakfast this morning. I'd actually vote for the guy if anything said in the ad reflected anything McCain has actually done or said he plans to do. Gotta love election season.
Dear marketing majors or poli-sci'ers:
Can a political ad ever be constituted as a false advertisement?
Even if you buy into the foreign policy philosophy of Henry Kissinger (as most Repubs do, including John McCain who has him as a top advisor) that America doesn't have friends/allies, it only has interests (paraphrased), it is clearly in America's best interests to be well-liked and respected around the world. It would even help were we to engage in another nefarious, militaristic debacle like Iraq (of course until the rest of the world came to its senses). And this is really the bottom line in this election. Only one of these guys can go overseas and have 200K+ people show up to see him, waving flags (that aren't burning) and feeling generally optimistic about future relations with the US. An Obama presidency not only makes sense at this time, it is absolutely critical! Your Ralph Naders and your Bob Barrs and most certainly your John McGramps just ain't gonna cut it. Obama has done more in a week to help restore the tarnished image of this country than any of those yahoos could do in the next eight years (or in McCain's case, as much time as he has left). It's time for Americans to finally get one right (particularly the fracturous left) and really vote in our best interests. If I were a European (where McCain is essentially polling in the singel digits everywhere), I'd be pounding my head that the numbers are so close here (actually, I am anyway) and I'd be ready to completely disown America if they elected Captain Bringdown McCain.
What really bugs me is all of the talk on the Corporate Mainstream Media about how the 'media is in love with Barack' because it is focusing so much attention on him. in my opinion, this is simply a ploy to either a) get people behind the idea of a 'liberal media', b) focus so much on Barack in hopes of catching him in a gaffe or c) focus so much on barack that they minimize (as they have been doing) the many gaffes and flubs of McCain and Co. Either way, the media is doing this BECAUSE of McCain and their attemp to shield him from himself in the eyes of the public.
By the way, here's a great article on the ineptitude of McCain:
Nun Ya @ 4:
Yes, because nothing says fun like fighting a massively huge crowd of a couple hundred thousand in the heat.
You know, only our mainstream media could turn that speech into a negative. CNN can't talk about it without glibly prefacing it with references to Obama being a 'rock star' or it being a 'rock festival'. All while studiously ignoring the sad fact that McCain has trouble filling a grocery store aisle.
But McCain's inability to get people to show up and stay awake through the non-sensical snorers he calls speeches is somehow turned into a virtue, while Obama's apparent world-wide appeal and superior speaking ability is bad?
And even here, people are knocking Obama for his ability to draw huge crowds
Once again, we're letting the horse shit they shovel define the conversation. And, once again, Jon Stewart seems to be the only one willing to talk about the reality of McCain's absolute failure of a campaign.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=177449&title=obama...
And the poll bullshit: enough already! From the MSM, you'd think Obama should drop out because he isn't leading by triple digits. No mention of the fact that McCain has been an American Senator for decades, has a nationally known name, is a supposed war hero, and he can't even seem to get 5 pts ahead of someone who was a virtual unknown until this campaign - and that's a negative for Obama?????
Let's start challenging McCain to show proof of his supporters. If the polls show Obama and McCain neck in neck, where are the McCain crowds?? Every McCain speech looks like not much more than McCain, a sedated Cindy, and 40 narcoleptics. They have to stick him in tiny spaces because that's all he can fill, and they never pull back the cameras and show the crowds BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY.
At this rate, the GOP convention will have to be moved to the local Denny's banquet room to look crowded.
Which we will be told is a horrible thing for...Obama.
My bad:
http://www.regressiveantidote.net/Articles/McCain_Melts_Down.html
Sam Spiro @ 79:
I think (speaking as a journalist) that Obama just gives you more to work with - whether you love him or hate him, there's just more content. Covering McCain amounts to 'McCain fucks up again...' It's the same old story. Obama offers more fodder - and then there is the added bonus that you can talk about how much you're talking about him, and whether or not it's a conspiracy.
200,000 Germans showing up for Obama's speech was just wonderful! The United States has always been the World's big brother! They could always count on us coming to their defense when needed! In Germany, we were idolized for so many years! I know this personally, from having lived there for 2 years in the middle 60's! We'd all but lost that respect with the Bush/Cheney gestapo! That turn out yesterday, was a symbol of the hope and relief our European neighbors are feeling in believing the World's nightmare is almost over. There just isn't any possible way that the republicans can't see that! I't scares me to death thinking that a single one of them could still vote for McCain! The entire World has seen through Bush and Cheney, but how do we get through to the rethugs?
Janet @ 69:
Gosh, it's not like he went to a foreign country and offered terrorists money and weapons if they'd make him look good on inauguration day - oh, wait, that was Ronnie Raygun.