A Lincoln-Douglas Debate? But Obama Just Isn’t Up To It
By MBolack and SusanUnPC on April 27, 2008 at 12:44 AM in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Indiana, North Carolina, Oregon, Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., William Ayers
When danger reared its ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Obama turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
- From Riverdaughter’s blog
Barack Obama is cowering in fear of another embarrassing debate performance. In contrast, a confident Hillary Clinton is petitioning Obama to honor the debate he reneged on in North Carolina (originally scheduled today) and challenging him to more debates in Indiana and Oregon.
Today, Hillary Clinton upped the ante, proposing a 90-minute Lincoln-Douglas style debate before Indiana’s primary. Obama is sure to refuse.
“[I]ndescribably stupid” is what Tom Watson calls Obama’s repeated refusals to debate in North Carolina or Indiana. In “All the Wrong Moves,” Watson observes:
For one, running and hiding from Hillary looks, well, like running and hiding from Hillary. It cements that growing perception in the press that she’s tougher, and that he’s a brittle political actor - all smiles when the polls are moving upward, quite another story in stormy seas. When you’re running against a beloved American war hero and the Republican attack machine, this is never a good posture.
Secondly, it leaves Obama’s terrible performance in the last debate at the top of people’s minds when they think of the two Democrats duking it out. For all the hand-wringing about the inane ABC News questions in the debate’s first half, it was Obama’s sullen and seemingly lost persona that was the Philly battle’s real story. …
Harry S. Truman, the same president who said, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen,” also said:
America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.
Senator Obama, move past your fears and face your opponent, or get out of the kitchen. It is Hillary Clinton who has both the “courage” and the “unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
That ABC News debate, held days before the April 22nd Pennsylvania primary, proved disastrous for Senator Obama, who was flummoxed and tongue-tied by tough questions about his questionable longtime associations with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers. And Tom Watson is spot on in pointing out that Obama’s refusal to accept more debates actually further cements the unfavorable memories of that last performance in people’s minds.
Since the debate and subsequent drubbing in the Keystone State’s primary, Obama has reneged on a promise to debate in North Carolina that would have been carried on CBS and moderated by a surely gentler Katie Couric. (Clinton spokesman Lanny Davis has intimated that DNC Chair Howard Dean abetted Obama in weasling out of the debate.)
In a preview of Sunday’s interview of Obama by Fox News’s Chris Wallace —
“Obama: No More Debates Before Next Primary” — Obama provided disingenuous excuses:
Asked why he was repeatedly “ducking” Clinton’s debate challenges before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, Obama said, as he has before, that he just wants to spend time with voters.
“I’m not ducking. We’ve had 21 (debates), and so what we’ve said is, with two weeks, two big states, we want to make sure we’re talking to as many folks possible on the ground taking questions from voters,” he said, so no debates.
“We’re not going to have debates between now and Indiana,” he said.
Typically, he exaggerated. In fact, there have been 21 debates, but only four debates that directly pitted him against Senator Clinton.
Saturday’s post at ABC News blog Political Radar, “Clinton Challenges Obama to a ‘Lincoln-Douglas’ Debate,” offers more details on the proposed Lincoln-Douglas debate:
Speaking in South Bend, Ind., Sen. Clinton said, “What I think the people in Indiana deserve is a real one-on-one debate, where Sen. Obama and I discuss [the] issues. Now I have accepted the debates that have been offered, and in fact Indiana has a debate commission which organizes this to make sure it’s fair and nobody gets any special advantages. I’ve said I’ll be anywhere, anytime in order to debate, because I think the people of Indiana — after having wandered in the wilderness of American politics for 40 years — deserve a break. Who knows, we might even carry Indiana in the fall if we start with a good debate right here.”
Clinton continued, “Unfortunately, Sen. Obama has not agreed yet, and he’s turned down every debate that has been offered. So here I have a proposition my campaign sent his campaign today. You know, after the last debate in Philadelphia, Sen. Obama’s supporters complained a little bit about the tough questions (awwwwwww heard in the audience). You know tough questions in a debate are nothing compared to the tough questions you get when you are president.”
Clinton challenged Obama, saying, “And they complained about the moderators asking tough questions. So here is my proposal: I’m offering Sen. Obama the chance to debate me one-on-one, no moderators. Just the two of us going for 90 minutes asking and answering questions. We’ll set whatever rules seem fair. I think it would give the people of Indiana — and I assume a few Americans will tune in because nearly 11 million watched the Philadelphia debate, and I think they would like seeing that discussion. Remember that’s what happened during the Lincoln and Douglas debates. Now we have had like four debates between Sen. Obama and myself.”
So what is Clinton really talking about here? We’ve all become so accustomed to the televised mass media-styled debate that a review is in order, via Wikipedia’s description of the Lincoln-Douglas debates:
The debates were held in seven towns in the state of Illinois: Ottawa on August 21, Freeport on August 27, Jonesboro on September 15, Charleston on September 18, Galesburg on October 7, Quincy on October 13, and Alton on October 15. …
Seven debates in 7 different towns in less than 60 days!
Each debate had this format: one candidate spoke for an hour, then the other candidate spoke for an hour and a half, and then the first candidate was allowed a half hour “rejoinder.” The candidates alternated speaking first. As the incumbent, Douglas spoke first in four of the debates.
Take a quick look at the text in “The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858,” posted at a National Park Service site.
Talk about detailed and wonky! There were no moderators. The crowd obviously shouted out questions. And the two men often took a cue from those questions, switched gears and answered them, right off the top of their heads. There were no speechwriters or earpieces available to help them out. There were no teleprompters. Yet the depth and breadth of knowledge that they displayed — and their ability to convey it — is mindboggling!
We’ve all watched, in debate after debate, as Hillary Clinton displayed the same breadth and depth of knowledge, an ability that even her most ardent detractors admit she commands.
There was also media meddling in the reporting of the original Lincoln-Douglas debates:
“Newspaper coverage of the debates was intense, as major papers from Chicago sent stenographers to create complete texts of each debate. Then newspapers across the nation reprinted the full text of the debates as published by the Chicago papers. Interestingly, newspapers that supported Douglas edited his speeches to remove any errors made by the stenographers and to correct grammatical errors, while they left Lincoln’s speeches in the rough form in which they had been transcribed. In the same way, Republican papers edited Lincoln’s speeches, but left the Douglas texts as reported.”
Sound familiar?
Now, what Senator Clinton is suggesting isn’t nearly as strenuous as the Lincoln-Douglas debates surely were.
“Senator Clinton believes deeply that political debates are a vital part of our democratic process,” her press release reads.
It is the American way to place our would-be leaders side by side to hear them articulate and defend their ideas; to challenge each other on their visions for the future; to answer the tough questions about their plans, their records and their judgments; and to celebrate their achievements.
“Senator Obama has declined the invitation from CBS and the North Carolina Democratic Party to appear for a debate at North Carolina State University tomorrow evening. Senator Obama has apparently declined the invitation of the Indiana Debate Commission to appear for a debate in Indiana next week. Senator Obama has not responded to Senator Clinton’s challenge to debate in Oregon.
Will there be no debates in other upcoming states? The American people, of course, deserve more. They deserve debates before casting their votes. They deserve debates just like the states who have participated in this invigorating process before them.
Surely Senator Obama wants open discourse about important issues! What does it say about him if he refuses?
Is it that he isn’t willing to take the risk, now that he is no longer guaranteed “a pillow” at these debates?
Or is it just that he’s chicken?
If he can’t handle the relatively soft, wonky questions that Senator Clinton will ask, how could he ever handle John McCain?
How will he hold up under the relentless attacks of the GOP 527s?
The ball’s back in your court, Senator Obama.
Show us… do you know how to play hardball?
If not, get out now. And give the Democratic party the one nominee who can take the heat and can handle the hardball questions: Hillary Clinton.
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By Sarah Palin (Release date: November 17. 2009)
That picture is creepy looking!
I posted this earlier:
Axelrod couldn’t help him either. I saw and interview with him last week, I think he writes the parts of Barrys speeches where he says um..um..ah.
That picture was the first thing I saw on this page and I burst out laughing. Hilarious.
It’s from one of Larry’s naughty friends. I love it!
I laughed, but it is still creepy looking.
I quoted “Wizard of OZ” last thread. Must be in the ither tonight.
I had him pegged as the scarecrow.
My sane half has more fortitude than I do. We were talking about the Obama supporters and she was reading through some CNN posts,after I said to her it is out of hand.
.
Frakkin A. This was an average post.
Ehemmm……Hope you guys are’nt accused of darkening the pic…LOL
Well, I had a hard time matching colors up so I said screw it and made it grayscale.
High quality satire….I salute you sir….
I was thinking he could pass as a woman, little make up, no ears at the top of his head…
Anyway, what our government faced during the civil war, what Lincoln had to deal with as President, was quite comparable, or even worse, than what we have to deal with, in terms of corruption, and loyalty today.
When the South succeeded, many from the Union wanted to appease them for, ahem “unity,” but Lincoln held firm, understanding the ramifications slavery would have on the future of the Union.
And the army was FULL of traitors, Stanton had to rebuild the whole force into a winning team.
And he did.
In fact, when I feel discouraged given the Matthews, and the Deans, and the Pelosis, I remember Lincoln and the American people had it even worse, politically, in their day.
Of course, they didn’t have to worry about nukes in the hands of MORONS, but I suppose there are some safeguards.
OT with all the crying wolf about racism where is the outrage about the sexism from the holier than thou Obamessiah?
now why would the obamessiah complain about something that’s so much a part of his core belief system?
He could at least pretend to give a shit?
good point. he pretends to give a shit about everything else, like poor people, white people, asian people, gay people, latino people, african-american people - yes, i said it, he’s only pretending about african-american people, too.
funny the only people he doesn’t pretend to care about are terrorists - could it be because they are the only people he does care about?
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat.
Oh bravely bravely brave
Obama.
Uh oh … this may turn into a poetry blog!
No. Monty Python (and the Holy Grail).
To take this to its conclusion:
Obama ran away
Bravely ran away away
When questions reared their ugly heads
He bravely turned his tail and fled
Brave Obama turned about
and gallantly he chickened out
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat
Bravely bravely brave
Obama.
(borrowed from “The Legend of Sir Robin.)
still cant stop laughing…lol
Here’s a great site from a very busy woman who is working her tail off to help Hillary. You GO HERE and find out all the different ways you can pitch in in the remaining primary states, no matter where you live.
Cool thanks I will bookmark it now.
That picture is a riot. I can’t even think to write I am laughing so hard. I feel sorry for Obama, well not that sorry, but his campaign is a mockery. What a pathetic man.
On a more serious note, Clinton is doing every right now, Bill is a little loose with the tongue, but otherwise the Clinton camp is hitting on all cylinders. The debate proposal is sheer brilliance especially on the heels of a poor performance in Philly that led to his withdrawal from the NC debate followed on Thursday last by the Indianapolis Star’s call for a debate in Indiana and now this. Obama is looking to run out the clock and it is apparent, or rather transparent. And that looks so unbecoming a CiC.
When Ol’ Bill gets his dander up it riles up the base…It’s alright…He’ll calm down in the GE….Man knows how to play this game better than any other democrat….and it’s helping her more than the msm would like to admit…
I just love it when Bill Clinton goes off script and his face gets red and he really gives an earful to the MSM or whatever entity is currently most in need of a big dose of truth. The saddest thing about political campaigns today is the way all candidates think they have to be so careful about every word coming out of their mouths that they end up saying nothing. And I understand that they do really have to be that cautious because of the gotcha nature of the MSM that focuses on everything but real issues, but it’s still sad.
Should ask Senator Obama if he is doing his Bert Lahr impression.
Well you’d have to search for him under Michelle’s bed…He’s hiding…Shapin up to be a good weekend for Clinton…..
He certainly can’t hide in his closet as there is no room in it with all the skeletons in there.
Bert Lahr just sat straight up in his casket.
My sense is that there has been a subterranean shift towards Hillary. Dowd today allows for the possibility that Obama is not inevitable. My sense is that she goes all the way.
On all three points you make excellent and may you be right!
My God,Dowd must have opened her Xanax bottle with her teeth while she was writing that.
I wonder which one of Gagodowd’s personalities wrote that piece…This has been an excellent weekend for the future Madame President….
Dowd is hedging. She can’t afford to be seen as irrelevant, out of touch, or ineffective - she might have to get a real job but all she knows how to do is gossip + sit on her ass and type.
isn’t it too late for Dowdy not to be seen as irrelevant, out of touch or ineffective? Can anyone remember when she ever wrote anything relevant? Snotty and snarky, yes. Relevant, no.
Just because the Dowdy one bashes Bush or Cheney once in a while in between constant attacks on Democrats as far in the rear view mirror as the eye can see, doesn’t count.
Dowd??!!! OMG! I best go read that. I usually have to wait till my meals are digested before I read her snooty tripe!
Larry, Michelle is going to get you and your little dog too for this.
Com’on folks, get those guitars (and lutes) out!
Bravely bold Obama rode forth from Camelot
He was not scared to debate, O brave Obama
He was not at all afraid to be grilled in nasty ways
Brave, brave, brave, brave Obama
/ Em - - - - B7 Em - / - - - - D - G - /
/ G - - - D Asus4 D - / Em D G - D - B7 - /
He was not in the least bit scared he’d be mashed into a pulp
Or he’d have his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken
he’d have his kneecaps split and his body burned away
And his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Obama
His head smashed in and his heart cut out
And his liver removed and his bowels unplugged
And his waffle eaten and his bottom burnt off
Metaphorically speakin’…
/ G - D - / / / /
Brave Obama ran away
Bravely ran away, away
When danger reared its ugly head
He bravely turned his tail and fled
Yes, brave Obama turned about
And gallantly he chickened out
Bravely taking to his feet
He beat a very brave retreat
Bravest of the brave, Obama
/ Em D Em - / Em - - - - D Em - / G - D - / Em - D - /
/ G - D - / Em - B7 - / Em D G B7 / / D - - - G - - - /
http://www.geocities.com/vortigernstudies/python_robin.jpg
(Wish I could get that link thingie to work!)
I LOVE it PMS!
Let us please leave him to his WAFFLES, shall we?
Isn’t a little odd, that in a presidential race rife with ‘identity politics’ and numerous defenses against gender bias, there’s such a strong need to paint Obama in the most emasculating language possible? I don’t understand the need for this! The man was born at a time the nation was just outlawing miscegenation laws. He faced racism down from the time he was born. He was the first AA editor of Harvard’s law review. He’s lived in places most of us have never visited, under conditions most of us couldn’t imagine. He turned down a lucrative SCOTUS clerkship to make 13,000 dollars a year, living in poverty.
Now he’s a ‘girly man’, a coward?
He’s held an unprecedented number of debates with Sen. Clinton (most of them covering no new ground) and he’s turning his focus to the nation’s REAL threat: the Republican party.
I’m applauding him for that.
Denni, you have drunk deep of the kool-aid draught, eh? Sing along!
I’m not a ‘kool aid’ drinker. I’m just a thoughtful Independent, but if it takes drinking kool aid to avoid making gender biased statements and to treat others with dignity, I highly recommend it.
I think you don’t have a sense of humor or irony and your argument can’t change the fact Obama is now acting like a coward.
I have a great sense of humor… I just don’t think it’s ‘funny’ to whine about gender bias and then engage in it. Just sayin’. I’ve seen more courage from Obama than any other candidate (enough so that he didn’t have to invent ’sniper fire’ to prove his courage). Just throwin’ that one out there.
By the way I am not using gender bias. And Obama is still a coward so nice try. Or is calling someone a coward “gender bias” to you? Obama is still a coward or do we have to use some PC term for cowardice now? Or did you mistake the cowardly lion with Obama’s face to be a women?
OK if it makes you happy Obama is intestinal fortitude challenged. Happy now?
obama has no courage or he would be out there demanding a time to debate. he would go on faux and say yeah he is a proud aa and liberal politican. he does NONE OF THAT. he sucks up to whoever he is with the exception of hillary. he has condoned sexist attacks and false race baiting charges. dang, honor? that is a word in the dictionary to him.
Hey I got called a c*nt no less than four times in this election season from you “thoughtful” people so screw you.
You are surprised? For example I would not call him a “pussy” but some might call him that because he is too scared to debate because his opponent is better. His past has no bearing on the emasculation. Did you forget he is running for president? This is the big leagues and you can’t misdirect or massage this to make him look any better. He is now behaving as a coward in the opinion of many so I guess you will just have to live with this.
It is this liberal pity, one of the most obscene forms of self-aggrandizement, that emasculates. Had he ANY experience of adversity, he would display more character. He is indeed the product of his generation, both white AND black: self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and entitled. Fuck sexism and racism, this is ageism.
Well she’s offering him a chance to have a real debate, sans bobble-head media types and he simply isn’t interested. Needs to spend more time with the “voters”.
If he is the nominee, and I hope not, then he has just given the real enemy, aka the Republican Party all the ammunition it needs to portray him as afraid of a “girl”.
And thus far, having listened to what’s coming out of the Obama campaign I was under the impression that they thought the “real” enemy was the Bill Clinton Administration, or the only two term Democratic Presidency in 40 years. Only one of the many reasons I loathe him, his surrogates and all his whiny little supporters.
Ok, 21 debates, what new info is to be gained? Works in terms of getting more press if your campaign is cash strapped, but it does little for the rest of the public. I’ve heard more than enough from both, at this point. The debates WON’T change the outcome, no matter how much some wish they would.
Why do people keep massaging the truth by using the 21 number? They have had only FOUR debates one on one. Obama is still a coward or to be PC intestinal fortitude challenged if calling him a coward is “gender bias.”
As far as the outcome is concerned unless you have a crystal ball you can’t claim to know what it is.
I double checked the definition of a coward and there is no “gender bias” attached to it. Women and men can be cowards.
Good for YOU.
Nobody proposed that watching or listening or thinking would be compulsory, did they, honeydear?
We demand better quality trolls! I think I read somewhere someone said something like that.
Better quality trolls — we keep asking, but the more they come, the worse they get. As pointed out in the post, Lincoln and Douglas debated seven times. One of Obama’s main talking points is that he is the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln, so why stop at four? His whining now sounds a lot like when he said “I’ve answered, like, eight questions,” and then exited stage left.
“I’ve heard more than enough from both, at this point.”
If you had been paying attention you wouldn’t be an ob defender.
Why are all you Obama supporters so afraid of another debate? As a resident of Indiana, I am all for it.I find it insulting that he cannot find the time to debate the issues and explain the propaganda he keeps dumping in my mailbox but he has all the time in the world to play basketball. Give it a rest. If your not interested….don’t watch. Eleven million people watched the last debate. Could you just imagine for one minute how much money we could raise if it were pay for view? We could probably pay off the national debt. The buzz amoung us Hoosiers is “How can this guy face the Iranians or that crazy North Korean if he can’t go toe-to-toe with Katie Couric?” I don’t know what you call where you come from, but here in Indiana, we call it chickenshit.
tell us,does your head hurt with memorizing and thing reposting obama’s commercials.
Denni….I call him a chickenshit for backin out of the debate and it won’t play well to the upcoming states….Nuff said….
Huh???? Wow!!! Must be a new flavor of kool0aid out there!!!
applaud all you like. i applaud those who deserve it. ole barry has used his status to his advantage more than any politician i have ever seen. he never even wrote for the harvard review, poster. he did nothing in the state legislature except find a supposed king maker to put his name of legislation worked for and he didn’t deserve it. he claims 90% of the aa vote and has never done one daxx thing for them. so save that faux applause.
Maybe he’s just decided that the best course of action for him now is to follow that old saying that it’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak up and remove all doubt.
I was born when they were still on the books in amny places, so?
Not so much.
He was the first one ever elected who never published anything, which may be more telling.
You’re right. I’ve never lived in a high-rise in Honoluhlu, or the diplomatic section of Indonesia. I can’t imagine.
Oh, poor guy. How’d it work out for him? Still poverty stricken? How about those tenants of Rezkos, the ones without water and heat? Did he share in, or ignore and profit from, their misery?
Wow. Typo land. My bad. Adrenalin induced vision blurring.
Anyone interested in exploring the truth level of Obama’s life story, as told in his books, do a Google search for “Kenneth Lamb Obama Arab-American Liar”. Lamb did extensive research, gives his own bio so you can judge for yourself his credibility.
It’s a very interesting read.
“The man was born at a time the nation was just outlawing miscegenation laws.” He was born in Hawaii, not Mississippi.
“He faced racism down from the time he was born.” He grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia, not Alabama.
“He was the first AA editor of Harvard’s law review.” Well, thats true enough, no doubt its a sign of all the racism he encountered.
“He’s lived in places most of us have never visited, under conditions most of us couldn’t imagine.” I’m assuming you mean Indonesia, where his step-father was an OIL COMPANY MANAGER and he lived in an upper middle-class area. You know, not all of the “third world” is quite as “third world” as you might imagine.
I’ll tell you, much as I despise Condi Rice she actually DID grow up under some of the circumstances you describe. Obama (who IS NOT descended from slaves) can make NO such claim.
Actually, he wasn’t the first AA editor. That honor was bestowed on a true AA some 60 years earlier according to the research done by Kenneth E Lamb.
Great now they can pummel each other into oblivion without having to blame a referee. Looks like we are heading for a situation where the semi-final is all where the action is at and the final an optional extra.(http://mangomood.blogspot.com)
Can we leave some of the cool stuff for D-Day please?
What would be great about a Lincoln-Douglas style debate, is that the press’ vacuousness could be side-stepped. The debate could indeed be about issues and platforms.
Elizabeth Edwards has an excellent Op-Ed in the NY Times today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/opinion/27edwards.html?ex=1367035200&en=5b6df10147f49a9c&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
Thanks! What is your read on this? She is going after the MSM and that always helps Hillary because of their well known bias against her.
I don’t think she likes Hillary. Probably too much alike in some important ways, but also because I believe Edwards hates politics, and Clinton lives and breathes it. I think she’ll remain neutral.
But I know she is disgusted with how we elect our President, and the emptiness of the press. She doesn’t want to see her issues swept aside under the patronage of HeathCareCorp. She may not like politics, but she is not afraid of the fight for right.
OK thank you!
Didn’t Elizabeth take Chris Matthews to the woodshed when John was still in the race? I believe whatever her feelings about Hillary Clinton, she truly loathes the media.
Great article. I don’t know or care whether she likes Hillary, but the public statements EE is making about health care proposals and the vacuousness of the media seem to indicate that she puts substance over personality or hype; and that is always a good thing for Hillary.
I vote for the action in the semi. And in real sports that is commonplace that the best action is not in the final round. I wanted to stay within your sports metaphor.
Obama and his followers should not worry about a lack of action in the finals — should the media, Dean and the DNC, and all his devoted followers manage to get Obama past the semis, McCain and Rove will have something for him, I suspect. But I don’t really think he’ll make it that far — that old fat lady he’s been ridiculing and denigrating his entire campaign is already warming up to sing his political swan song.
THIS IS WHY HRC MUST DROP OUT NOW.
people are beginning to catch on that Obama is worse than callow, he is fake: a confection put together by political consultants — the Potemkin Candidate.
and (snivel) it’s all her fault.
I like the way you put this and fat chance in hell she drops out of course.
a confection baked in the ovens of Southside Chicago hell.
The man doesn’t like questions.
Yes but more importantly he does not like answers. The truth is his worst enemy.
I forgot another classic:
What an exquisitely (and catastrophically) revealing incident. He is another Dubya with a titch more melanin.
Picture is too funny! Thanks for starting my day with a laugh.
Brack, brack, brack the sound a chicken makes.
The media really seems to like the idea of a Lincoln Douglas style debate…so do I. It sounds like a really exciting thing. Wonder what Brazile and her troupes will have to say about it…
Yeah, I love the photo!
Elizabeth Edwards was highlighting the health care issue because it is central to her priorities for Americans. She considers Hillary Clinton’s health care proposal to be the best proposal. So, while not exactly coming out and endorsing Hillary Clinton, she’s advocating a public discussion of the health care issue, which in turn does benefit Hillary Clinton–not to mention the American public.
The press won’t do it, because their narrative is more important to them than who the nominee is for the Democratic Party; moreover, they don’t give a damn about this country, they only care about the drama factor which enhances their bottom line, or so they think. They clearly haven’t gotten the message yet, even though the message is getting stronger every day: Mainstream Media is becoming irrelevant.
At least the commentariat, our self-appointed political epistemologists, are. They should pull the plug on their “opinion shapers” and direct it to news gathering operations. Probably, tho, trog fodder brings in more readers. There are more umbrage junkies than news seekers.
BO is proving to be quite the hot house flower. Hmmmm would that be a pansy? He brought gender into it, and now he’s getting beaten up by a girl?
Pansies are not hothouse flowers. More like an orchid. (this is a pun. anorchid means without testicles )
I thought you meant the variety of orchid that smells like carrion. Some bugs like the smell.
But as such, representative of what the Democratic Party has given us in the Cheney Regime: anorchy.
GAWD! Will there NEVER be anything interesting on this website again?! I am not sure why I keep checking, but I do, and all I find is this bottomless garbage heap of Obamasucksineveryway.com. I am preparing myself for President McCain, to tell the truth. It could be a worse nightmare than Bush.
And in the REAL world - MY world:
I arrived in Aleppo last night by train from Lattakia, and am already in love. This is my favourite city by far in Syria, though I have not yet seen Homs and Hama, and probably will have to miss them this trip - one month seemed so long at first, and now it is not nearly enough.
Train riding in Syria is generally not recommended, but the train between Lattakia and Aleppo is an exception. The ride on the express train is only about 3 hours, and through lovely, lovely country from coast, to mountains, to a huge agricultural plain, and finally into dryer terrain. I had taken snapshots of the plain from the mountains above it and on the train I was traveling through that very country, and taking pictures from the ground. Somehow that was exciting.
I stayed with friends in their house in the mountain village of Harf Al Mseitra above Jableh. Heaven on earth is a reasonably good description. In the village every house has terraced agricultural fields on the hillside below or above or beside it. Every morning I went down to the fields below our house where I found a couple of prime places to sit, and look out at the amazing views, and read, and think, or just listen to the silence. I hated to leave, and cried when I said goodbye to the place, but could not go back to the U.S. without some days in Aleppo, and I am glad I came here.
I like Aleppo so much more than Damascus. I am staying in a small hotel in the Old City - the only hotel in the Old City. Last night after settling into the hotel I wandered through the maze of the Old City for a couple of hours until half past midnight or so. Almost all the shops were shut down, and only a few people on the street, but I never worried about getting lost because Syrian people are extremely kind and helpful, and so I could reassure myself constantly that I was headed in the right direction just by asking anyone on the street, so when I wanted to go back to the hotel, I just asked directions to a nearby landmark, Bab Antakkia - the Antioch Gate (Aleppo was at one time the Byzantine city of Antioch), and readily received the information I needed, including the fact that it was awfully far, which was fine with me! This is also how it is in Damascus and everywhere in this country. No one should to be without assistance here if they need it.
I wish I could stay here forever, and maybe I will, though if we end up with McCain, Syria might become history as Iraq has under Bush, as I see the war mongers in the U.S. and Israel are still working to fabricate a story that Syria has some kind of nuclear facility. I guess that combined with Saddam’s WMD’s (which we KNOW he gifted to Al Assad before the U.S. invaded, because after all, he and the Syrian government were SUCH good pals!) make Syria as big a threat as Iran. Or something.
Will there even BE a world left in 2012 when “King David” Petraeus runs for President?
if you think Syria is the real world and you wish you could stay there, why don’t you?
A Syrian cab driver told me once unemployment in Syria is rampant, and this plays into the violence.
Do you think this is true, say, Middle Eastern violence arising from not only corruption, but also lack of social policy, investment in infrastructure, a government full of men who think like Dick Cheney’s?
And as long as you are there, what about Russian or Chinese influence in the city, do you see that as a factor, what other cultures are represented in Syria?
Very interesting to me, we just dont hear much on the news, and even if we did, I dont trust them…
“Isn’t a little odd, that in a presidential race rife with ‘identity politics’ and numerous defenses against gender bias, there’s such a strong need to paint Obama in the most emasculating language possible? I don’t understand the need for this!”
Well, someone’s not been paying attention.
If you look at the ways the Republican propaganda machine has managed to cling to power over the past decades, much of their success has been predicated on pumping up gender prejudice:
Did they not successfully paint Dukakis, Gore, and Kerry as “effete/pussy/ weaklings,” so to speak? Attacks on Edwards as “The Breck Girl,” on Bill Clinton’s haircuts? Gore’s color combinations? Kerry windsurfing? Dukakis in a tank looking like a Charles Schultz cartoon? Dean scream as evidence of hysteria?
Imus recently called Obama “more of a pussy than Clinton.”
This is what they do. Who is best suited to fight back successfully?
Looks like I will be having chicken dinner a lot! We have chicken dinners when we feel we need to honor Obama’s yellowness!!
My girlfriends and I drink a shot of CROWN ROYAL and cheer Hillary on. and we don’t even like whisky! But if Hillary can suck it up, so can we.
Everyone needs to make the Boston Globe article viral. It’s a MSM article about Ayres.
Just another example of how ob fails to take advantage of suggestions from Hillary to prove his talk about change. He will give up the energy companies and other “lobbyists” but he can’t give up the media. It’s almost like that movie in which I think it was Al Pacina offered but the starlet but she was just a CGI - sorry I never saw the movie but that image popped in my head as I wrote this. I wonder if McCain would accept such a challenge. Maybe Hillary should try that - go around ob and challenge McCain to a L-D debate. Now that is an idea!
Let’s see..
He refuses to debate Hillary
He refuses to allow a re-vote in Michigan
He refuses to address the truth about Rezco, Ayers, et. al.,
Obstructionist? You decide!
Now I have to go, Jamie Rubin is wiping the floor with Obama’s latest surrogate on Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer!!!
Can someone capture the video and post it? I missed this!
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/04/27/obamas_mainstream_friends/
thanks for the referral to the boston globe article. dang, the more i see of obama and his chronies the more i want to puke.
You reach more voters by appearing in a nationally televised debate.
Obama’s cowardly excuses don’t even pass the smell test.
[...] Comments wry on A Lincoln-Douglas Debate? But Obama Just Isn’t Up To Itwry on A Lincoln-Douglas Debate? But Obama Just Isn’t Up To ItReverend Wrong on A [...]
The World has DEFINITELY flipped on it’s axis!
I have proof!
I just witnessed Bill Kristol not only DEFEND but actually look like he ADMIRED Hillary on Fox News just now!
Did anyone catch it?
He actually looked SHOCKED after he blurted out a few things in her defense. The REST of the group also looked shocked but at the same time seemed to AGREE!!
She’s a FIGHTER! NO CHIT!
This was one of the only times I’ve seen true “off the cuff” heart felt reactions from that group! It was NOT scripted to come out like that! I am quite sure.
It was like a HUGE breath of fresh air.
And GOD help me but it came from FOX!
lmao! The world has flipped!
officially
lol
We need this video!
oh yes if you know how to get it you will be shocked!!
It just aired a few minutes ago!
Their round table.
Denni:
Obama turned down a SCOTUS job because he doesn’t have what it takes to be a real lawyer. He can’t think on his feet so appearing in court would be as difficult as debating Clinton.
In his years at the Harvard Law Review, he produced not one article, very unusual for a Law Review editor.
He was known as someone on the make not someone who produced. Not unlike his time in the Illinois Senate or the US Senate. He is an empty suit, full of ambition to rise but not to produce.
Obama wants to be President…not to do the work of a President.
excellent post and spot on!
Looks like we have a moment of huge opportunity for Obama. He can put to rest any supposed advantage HRC gets from all those who view Obama’s reluctance to debate by, well, grabbing the moment and doing a debate. Conversely, by not seizing the moment, Obama takes one more step toward his certain demise as a politician. Your move, Obama. Oh, and yeah, you’ll probably have to win the debate to get full advantage.
But think what winning the debate will accomplish. Too many people now have the impression Obama is an empty suit, all talk and no walk. Give us something to vote for. Obama?
Interesting take. But here is your problem: Obama’s team, so far, has out thought and out fought Hillary’s band of clueless backstabbers. If they conclude he does not need debates and instead needs to be going door to door, then he is writing off the supposed “too many people” who think he is an “empty suit” in favor of those he thinks might be persuaded in a more one on one atmosphere.
Hillary is seeking the free publicity and gravitas that comes with her being on the state with the person who is winning; Obama sees no advantage in giving her broke-assed campaign a free forum to take more pot shots at him, when he could instead be hitting the streets and gyms in Kokkamo, Columbus, and South Bend, Indiana. In other words, the Clintonian effort to distract from his strengths is neat, but has failed. If they want to shoot at him, they will have to raise the money and run the ads to do it on their own dime.
It’s always interesting that the Obamabots are so impressed with money. I thought Obama was so pure and delivering a “new politics — not business as usual” (or whatever tired cliche he uses).
You can spin any way you want B-Rob, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…then its a duck. He had a crap performance trying to think on his feet in front of 10 million viewers. He doesn’t want to face it again — and in not facing it he looks like he’s scared. He might be able to run out the clock on the nomination, but he won’t get any further than that.
Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cl uck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluc k,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck, Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cl uck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluc k,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck,Cluck, Chicken turd!
This is interesting. OK everyone here says that Hilary is obviously the best candidate, far and away better than Obama, its obvious, yada yada yada. Fine.
Then why all the kvetching about him refusing to do any more debates until after Indiana? I mean, given that she is so much better, isn’t he the one who needs to “block her sun”? Isn’t he the one who needs to take some of the shine off her aura? Doesn’t he need her to have the semblance of gravitas?
Hill-backers, one thing if clear: Hillary’s desperation to be on the same stage with Obama is the most telling sign of weakness. Did SHE need to be seen with Rick Lazio to show she was legitimate? No, Lazio needed her. This is simply the flipside. You can always tell who is winning and who is losing by who is whining the most about debates. Right now, Hillary is showing her weakness by begging Obama to come meet with her. Next I expect her to offer to do it by satellite!
If Obama sucks so bad, then why is he beating the crap out of Hillary? Hmm . . . if he is so obviously unqualified and still winning, what does that say about people’s comparative assessment of Hillary?
I’m confused, Obama has lost PA, OH, CA, FL, TX, MI, MA, NY, NJ…and on and on. Your definition of “beating the crap” out of someone is certainly different than mine.
True, he does well in deep Red caucus states and deep South states with large AA populations. The unfortunate thing about this is, those deep South states are also home to larger percentages of people who vote for Jesse Helms, Trent Lott and Strom Thurmond. And the deep Red states are, um Republican strongholds. But good luck with that strategy in the general.
My brain is still trying to wrap around a Democratic party that would nominate the guy that LOST CA, OH, PA, FL, MI, MA, NY, TX, NJ…..
B-Rob…Caput tuum in ano est….Obama is destined for the political wasteland….
Obama has a clear chance to pull away from HRC, which he clearly isn’t doing now, simply by asserting himself in a debate. Why doesn’t he do it, surely he is capable? Isn’t he? Some of you say its to his advantage to ignore another debate; but that sinking feeling you’re experiencing surely tells you otherwise. Of course, the people of Indiana understand why Obama won’t debate, they will prefer the candidate with the guts.
It does take guts. Guts she’s got. It takes juevos too and apparently he has none. It’s as if the harder the fight gets, the stronger she seems. He looks worn out and like he needs another vacation in the Virgin Islands. Bush took a lot of vacations too…hmmmm
Bushies=Obamabots
Rove always talked about “the math” Obamabots always talking about “the math” hmmm
today BO praised the Repugs AGAIN. The guy’s in love with Reagan. Good God almighty. He’s already hiding from challenge, there is no way he could hack the Presidency.
He changed his mind again today on capital gains. Guess he’s still trying to grasp that one. What a flop he turns out to be.
sorry for the typo I meant
huevos
He’s a coward and a liar. I switch the channel whenever I see his face on my tv screen. I cant stand the man.
This political hack named Obama
Wrote some PR line bout “Tell your mamma”
Koolaide sippin cult fans
For this bamboozlin man
Couldn’t prevent Pa primary trauma
BARACK HUSSIEN OBAMA WILL NEVER BE PRESIDENT. NEVER.