"Listen here, young man"
This week, the Republican Party of Tennessee has launched an ad highlighting Michelle Obama's speech when she told a UCLA audience that "for the first time in her adult life, she was really proud of her country." The ad featured retorts by private citizens telling the camera that they had always been proud of their country. Immediately, Barack Obama responded, telling the Republicans to "lay off his wife."
Sorry Senator, your wife is fair game, and I'll tell you why. She has chosen not to remain in the background or stand behind you with the adoring smile and remain silent. Instead, Michelle Obama has put herself front and center, just as Mrs Clinton did when her husband ran for president and just as Teresa Heinz Kerry did 4 years ago. Indeed, Mrs Obama has made a series of speeches featuring controversial and critical statements about our country, statements that should be taken into consideration by every voter. She has called our country selfish. She has challenged other candidates to match the "unique" qualifications of Barack as a one-time "community organizer". Furthermore, she has left little doubt that, as First Lady, she would be an activist in the White House, influencing policy that would affect all our lives.
Mr Obama, stop crying foul. The public is getting weary of the victim game, whether practiced by you, your wife or Hillary Clinton. We don't need "victims" in the White House. Now that the "magic" is disappearing and the cheers are dying down, it is clear that you are not handling adversity well. You don't handle hard questions well, and you complain when they are asked. You don't handle criticism well, either. How do you think it will be if and when you get to the White House? First, you cry when President Bush makes a reference to "those" who would negotiate with evil regimes, assuming he was talking about you-then you scream bloody murder when Michelle draws rightful criticism for her negative comments about our country. I won't even go into your pitiful handling of the Wright and Ayers controversies.
Mr Obama, if you want to be president, start acting like a big boy because that is what we need as our president.
Gary, please, are you saying that Bush is acting like a big boy? Are you saying we need a first lady like the Bush's wives? Barbara, who was full of venom, and Laura who sounds more and more like a Stepford wife with no thoughts of her own. Did you see the interview with McCains wife, who told that she took flying lessons and her husband didn't even know. Hellooooo!! What kind of a relationship do those two have? I can't wait to see a "real" woman with brain as first lady and I think Michelle Obama will be just that. I do not worry about her at all. No one says the right thing all the time.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think the two Mrs Bushs have been exemplary first ladies. There is no doubt about how they feel about their country. I really don't understand why you think that Barbara was "full of venom".
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I think that the furor over Michelle Obama's statements is a tempest in a teacup. Yeah, she put her foot in her mouth, and I even agree with you that she is fair game for criticism.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think that there are far worse things out there, like when Dick Cheney responded to the fact that most Americans are against this current war with a "So?"
Talk about contempt for the American public!
Well, I don't question Cheney's love for his country. I am not so sure about Mrs Obama. Don't forget her other statements about what a mean and selfish country is in the year 2008.
ReplyDeleteI just have serious doubts about both these people when I look at her statements and their associations.
How do we know how much people love their country, and just what does it mean? What about love for the people of the country?
ReplyDeleteTwo quotes from Barbara Bush, one after Katrina and one at the beginning of the Iraq war.
Maybe she is just arrogant and stupid.
"Almost everyone I've talked to says, 'We're gonna move to Houston.' What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas... Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality, and so many of the people in the arenas here, you know, were underprivileged anyway. This is working very well for them".
But why should we hear about body bags and deaths, and how many, what day it's gonna happen, and how many this or that or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it's not relevant. So, why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that, and watch him, George, suffer.
Why don't you question Cheney? How does that not sound like contempt for the American people?
ReplyDeleteI wrote a blog about this some time ago, and I realize that being a leader involves making unpopular decisions, but a response like that shows a total lack of concern. To me, that's much more telling than Michelle Obama's statement. Personally, I'm usually more suspicious of those who act overly patriotic. Last resort of a scoundrel and all that, ya know.
Ingrid,
ReplyDeleteI never heard those quotes from Barbara Bush before, so I don't know how to respond. I do know that what Houston got in return for their kindness and hospitality was a dramatic surge in violent crime from some of the refugees from New orleans.
It is not surprising that many of the refugees chose to stay in Houston rather than return to a devastated city with such an inept leadership and police force.
Lance,
ReplyDeleteYes, Cheney's response comes across to many as uncaring. I think what he was trying to say is that a president should not be guided by polls. GW clearly is not guided by polls. Clinton was.
It's not that I am a fan of Cheney, I just don't demonize the man like so many do. Same for GW.
Gary, if that's the way he put it, then that would be something else. As I stated in my blog about this issue, I could have respected it if he gave an answer along the lines of, "Sometimes, being a leader means doing things that are unpopular." While I'd disagree with him, I could respect that. Instead though, his response was beyond just "uncaring."
ReplyDeleteLet's be honest, if a liberal said the same thing, O'Reilly, Hannity, etc. would be all over it, and I suspect you'd have a blog post or two on it as well.
I think those were the words that he used after "so?". Are you sure you didn't just catch a sound bite that cut off the rest of his explanation?
ReplyDeleteNope. I originally saw it on The Daily Show, but then I went and watched the whole thing. It's been awhile now, but his comments immediately following the "So?" didn't make me feel any better.
ReplyDelete