Barack Obama Elected President!

[Wales2004]

For some reason the irrational reactions over Obama seem a whole lot worse. There they actually insinuated that Clinton himself did something....even if it was merely them stitching events together to make the conclusion they wanted. Obama is a "terrorist" because of something that Bill Ayers did when Obama was a child. They know it's ridiculous. With Clinton they wanted to paint him as unworthy but not someone to be feared. There's a huge difference between painting Obama's policies as something to be feared and painting Obama himself as someone to be feared. It's not that he should be feared for his policies but for who he is and the association game just kept them from coming right out and saying what they could not.

CNN repeatedly showed a marquee of a church in Witchita, Kansas that reads: "America, we have a Muslim President. This is sin against the Lord! Ex 20:3" This, for those who don't know, is the third commandment that reads "Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Me."

[GoldenDogs]

Well, friends... you collectively don't strengthen your argument when people like Ryan suggest I'm a Klan member.

However, I'm hardly the only person who is made to feel uncomfortable with the noticeable correlation between Obamalove posters and the world's most beloved dictators.

http://nicedeb.wordpress.com/2008/05/28/wh...-style-posters/

Somebody posted those interesting comparisons way back in May.

In the meantime, even Obama lovers are a bit uncomfortable. This person, http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/blog/brad_brevet/?p=169 , says:

Secondly, if you read this blog often you know I am an Obama supporter, but all the overwhelming support and cult-like following is starting to scare me. Such as these little girls and their song and Obama Girl. I think Obama is a good candidate for change and I love how he is saying he is tired of old school politics, but really, we haven’t heard a ton of specifics yet. All this support is just a little weird in my mind.

I feel the same way as that guy. And we're still waiting on specifics (except for the things Obama is backpeddling on, like how to handle Gitmo detainees, torture, etc.) We'll see how much "HOPE" we'll have when we see how little "CHANGE" we actually get... Sorry, people, I'm just skeptical and not buying it.

[JackPeyton]

omg.

this thread...

is the best [!@#$%^&*] ever.

[Greg's GL]

OK, so I'm jumping into the fray a few days late, but here goes.....

There was a "leak" this morning on the Early Show that HRC will be Sec of State. I can't say I'm thrilled with his choice, if it does turn out to be so....

Brian - IRT supporting GWB. I did initially. Was I thrilled about it? Nope. But I got behind the man, especially after 9/11, because that's what you do to better the country. However, when he started demonizing the GLBT community and prolonging the Iraq war, he lost my support.

I wonder. How could you stand behind a president that did such things? And how can you possibly think Obama will be worse? He clearly has one of the most inclusive platforms in years.

I'm waiting with bated breath, buddy. Fill me in. Still waiting on that email too.

Well, the fact is that GWB was not elected in 2000. He wasn't "re-elected" in 2004 as a result. Was I pissed off at the outcome? Sure. But I still supported him until HE chose not to support ME. End of story.

Umm....wait a minute. You feel the same way as that guy? So you do think Obama is a good candidate for change? Funny how I've never actually seen statements like that from you before in this forum. Hmm. Really, Brian. It appears to me that your arguments against the man shift like sand on a beach. So which is it? Or is it just that he's a popular Socialist Marxist Terrorist Bogey Man all rolled into one? Com'on man.

What's the problem with having a President-Elect that is popular? (I told y'all it wasn't gonna be close, BTW) Are we that jaded as a nation that when we don't have a President that is divisive and controversial then something is wrong? Ugh. I think it's great that the man has so much support. Maybe he can actually get something done in Washington, unlike the past 8 years of GWB that accomplished nothing. And he had 6 years of Republican leadership Congress and still couldn't get anything done.

Here's an article about HRC Sec of State. Looks like they're reviewing Bill's dealings before feeling secure enough to offer her the job. And they should, IMHO.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27779809/

[Greg's GL]

Can't say this is surprising in the least. "Fair and balanced" indeed.

Fox News Blames Stock Market Woes on Obama

[GoldenDogs]

As I have stated here many times, I had not been very pleased with W the past few years and had been extremely disappointed in him. Obama will be worse, Greg, because he has also promised the moon and the stars and won't be able to deliver on even three-quarters of it. When a supporter states that she no longer has to worry about her mortgage payment and putting gas in her car, that makes me think she's either been drinking to much Kool-Aid -- or she has gotten something from Obama's message that should not have been transmitted to the public. And before you throw out the 'ol "All politicians do it" thing -- remember Obama's "CHANGE" slogan...

And, as with Wales and her situation on issues... I'm glad for your fair and balanced position. I hope that worked well for you. But I clearly wasn't discussing your reaction specifically. Are you denying that there was a lot of hate directed at George W. Bush and his posse even BEFORE the election? Honestly, Greg, that verges on ridiculous. Hatred from the left flows forth just as freely as from the right... and W's policies absolutely did. I don't need to tell you that.

We both know you're far sharper than that, my friend. You know precisely what part of his statements I was agreeing with, particularly in obvious context to the theme of my post. Please don't play that game with me.

Nothing at all... However, last I checked, I could disagree with the man's policies without being one who, according to Ryan, is pulling my hood out of my closet. Do you agree or condone use of that sort of statement against me, Greg? If that statement is something you are willing to overlook, particularly after our email exchanges, then we probably don't have much to talk about at all.

And as for Obama's popularity... You said it best yourself -- the vote was close. Obama's supporters are not legion, they are simply fanatically and frighteningly obsessive. I can provide more evidence of it that if you wish...

And I haven't watched a damn soap all year.

[Greg's GL]

Well, I didn't see the supporter you mention above that's going to shirk their responsibilities because of Obama's election. Clearly, she is an extreme example, isn't she? Or are you claiming this type of attitude is prevalent with supporters of Mr. Obama's? I haven't seen anyone in this forum that supported Obama making these kinds of statements. I don't believe in taking that position at all. Regardless of whom is president, individual responsibility shouldn't be sacrificed and that is now what Obama's message of "Change" is all about. It's not about handouts. Remember that McCain is the candidate that made the proposal to buy up bad mortgages.

There's no denying that a lot has been promised over the last 2 years of Obama's candidacy. However, the financial meltdown that happened last month was not predicted (in it's severity) by anyone. But there are some things that Obama can change because of it - extended unemployment benefits (which I fully support), tax cuts for the middle class, etc. Will he be able to deliver on all his promises? Probably not. I'm not looking at this with rose colored glasses, buddy. When is the last time an incoming president faced the problems that Obama does? Some would argue not since FDR. He will have to prioritize and use his discretion on which issues should be addressed first and he has stated that the economy is that priority. I really don't believe that a majority of Americans look at him as some messiah that will miraculously change this country in a year or even one term, but he can put us on the right track.

Agreed. There are just as many extreme leftists as there are extreme rightists. No argument there, and I don't think that I claimed that the right has a corner on that market, did I? There was some hatred directed at GWB before the election, just as there was against Gore.

See....I thought I could get'cha with that one. I thought you might see through my sarcasm...

Brian, Brian, Brian. You know how much I enjoy chatting with you. I sense a little hostility in this post toward me and I hope I'm wrong. Of all people, I thought you and I could discuss our differences in a friendly manner, can't we? I hope so!

But to specifically address what you said here. Yes, you can disagree with a man's policies all you want. Do I think you're a racist? Absolutely, unequivically not. I don't condone, nor have I ever supported, someone being called names in this thread for whom they support. No one should have implied you are a KKK member at all. It's laughable. And shouldn't be tolerated. I think the majority of people in this forum would agree with me, Brian, on that matter.

BTW, I said the vote was not close.

I hope we're still friends my man. If I said anything to upset you, I sincerely apologize. I think you're awesome. You know that, right? Even though you voted for McCain!!!

[Wales2004]

I'm not interested in finger pointing but I do like to look out how people possibly arrive at certain conclusions whether or not they are meant to be taken literally or figuratively.

You posted a picture of an example of what you see as over the top Obama love (Jay subsequently identified the location as Chicago which is where Obama has lived for years) and you compared the joy of the Chicagoans to the enforced worship/reverence of a dictator. And you seemed to see nothing wrong with that stretch in comparisons.

The question is, if Hillary Clinton were the President elect and women all over the country hailed her as the greatest thing since whatever the greatest thing is to you, and her likeness was plastered all over New York, and some people talked as if she were here to save the entire world, do you think you would feel compelled to draw the same comparisons you are now drawing to what you perceive as the adoration of Obama?

This is neither here nor there. I can get in my car and drive down to Oakland and get thousands of people to agree with me that the Raiders are the best team in football and that doesn't make it so. There's opinion which all of us have and there's fact which we are all hard pressed to refute. If I think you operate on a faulty premise to begin with then I will draw the same conclusions of anyone else operating on the same premise.

I think a lot of people (and I do mean a lot) are prone to exaggeration and amplify things way more than necessary because it gives them a sense that whatever they think or feel is then, that much greater. I could sit down and convince myself that a lot of things are larger than life and then trouble myself over it because I may need to live in a constant state of worrying to feel I'm really living. Now, I'm not going to try to negate someone's feelings because I'm not in that person's skin so I don't know what it feels like.....but I don't want anyone to think that I should hyperventilate because they think something is ultra important when I don't think that too many things are that serious.

If this was written in May, did you check back to see if that person is still waiting for answers or are you assuming you're both on the same page in that regard? Are you seriously trying to place a person's ability to hope on one man?

I have for the longest time found it strange that people have high expectations of politicians. In order for any single politician, on any level of government, to implement major change that person would have to have assigned positions to that whole layer of government with which he or she has to work. A dictator can easily do it and if you truly want Obama to practice the the politics that you attribute to him then you might get that radical change. Given that he has to work with individuals in Congress that are not all gong to agree with him or each other then you will get whatever change on which they can compromise.

[Roman]

1. Thank you for describing GWB in such clear terms. It is greatly appreciated.

2. I actually find it hilarious how much your hatred of one man has consumed you. You must spend nights thinking of jokes that you feel are so funny to blast "The One" that you can't sleep at night.

3. Maybe some would actually get to know you if you didn't have such a bigoted slant on this man.

As for your horrors on electing "The One", I know they pale in comparison to the horrors soldiers' families have had to live with since that complete moron lied this country into a futile war, or almost bankrupted our national economy, or wiped out civil liberties with illegal wiretapping, of circumvented the Constitution to his own whims, or let the Bin Laden family go one week after the attacks on 9/11 (Funny how you don't call Bush out for "Palling around with terrorists"), etc., etc., ect.

And what is sad is your comments. It is a beautiful thing that the American people voted bigoted and racist talk like this down.

And now, the rest of us will support Comrade Obama & His Nubian Army as we march into a GLORIOUS period for America!

I thank you.

PS: I did not call YOU racist, I said your comments were. Keep that straight when you reply, please.

[Wales2004]

I have to recognize when something is hilarious and this is hilarious to me.

[Roman]

The DP has decided to keep Joe Lieberman in his chairmanship.

[Greg's GL]

All for the best, really. It would have looked kind of petty for the leadership to force him out because of the election.

[Roman]

As we predicted before the election, Barack Obama's victory has loosed a flood of hatefulness from the racist right in America. Digby yesterday had a detailed post laying out some of the cases that have erupted so far. From an AP report:

Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

In rural Georgia, a group of high-schoolers gets a visit from the Secret Service after posting "inappropriate" comments about President-elect Barack Obama on the Web. In Raleigh, N.C., four college students admit to spraying race-tinged graffiti in a pedestrian tunnel after the election. On Nov. 6, a cross burns on the lawn of a biracial couple in Apolacon Township, Pa.

The election of America's first black president has triggered more than 200 hate-related incidents, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center – a record in modern presidential elections. Moreover, the white nationalist movement, bemoaning an election that confirmed voters' comfort with a multiracial demography, expects Mr. Obama's election to be a potent recruiting tool – one that watchdog groups warn could give new impetus to a mostly defanged fringe element.

I talked to the SPLC's Mark Potok this morning, and here are his observations:

I think there's something remarkable happening out there. I think we really are beginning to see a white backlash that may grow fairly large. The situation's worrying.

Not only do we have continuing nonwhite immigration, not only is the economy in the tank and very likely to get worse, but we have a black man in the White House. That is driving a kind of rage in a certain sector of the white population that is very, very worrying to me.

We are seeing literally hundreds of incidents around the country -- from cross-burnings to death threats to effigies hanging to confrontations in schoolyards, and it's quite remarkable.

I think that there are political leaders out there who are saying incredibly irresponsible things that could have the effect of undamming a real flood of hate. That includes media figures. On immigration, they have been some of the worst.

There's a lot going on, and it's very likely to lead to scapegoating. And in the end, scapegoating leaves corpses in the street.

According to that AP piece, neo-Nazi Web entities like Stormfront have seen a serious spike in business:

One of the most popular white supremacist Web sites got more than 2,000 new members the day after the election, compared with 91 new members on Election Day, according to an AP count. The site, stormfront.org, was temporarily off-line Nov. 5 because of the overwhelming amount of activity it received after Election Day. On Saturday, one Stormfront poster, identified as Dalderian Germanicus, of North Las Vegas, said, "I want the SOB laid out in a box to see how 'messiahs' come to rest. God has abandoned us, this country is doomed."

That theme comes popping up a lot:

Grant Griffin, a 46-year-old Georgia native who is white, expressed similar sentiments. "I believe our nation is ruined and has been for several decades, and the election of Obama is merely the culmination of the change," Griffin said.

Last week Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass created a bit of a stir by relaying the story of a Chicago teen who decided to try an experiment in tolerance by wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "McCain Girl" to her high school, where Barack Obama was widely favored as a hometown hero. She got something of an ugly reception -- mostly she was told she was stupid, while some fellow students went so far as to tell her she should die.

While it's not terribly surprising -- passions often run high during political campaigns, and people say and do stupid things in the process, on both sides of the aisle -- it should go without saying that this kind of ugliness does not reflect well on the supposed liberals venting it. If nothing else, it makes them look decidedly illiberal in their intolerance.

However, the flip side -- the violence-laced, vile hatred emanating from Obama haters around the country -- is already dwarfing this intolerance. Yet you have to wonder if Kass and the right-wing pundits who made the teen's story a cause celebre will even bother taking a look.

[Greg's GL]

I will never understand how anyone could hate another simply because of the pigment of their skin. It's beyond comprehension.

Years ago, while walking with a girlfriend of mine and her son down the street - they were black - more than one car passed by yelling racial slurs. Assholes. It boggles the mind.

[Ryan]

I didn't suggest you were a Klan member. I simply made an observation about the racist, bigoted comments that were posted that reminded me of some things things that Klansman say.

*shugs*