The Gipper And The Guilt-Tripper
Dave Price
There's a dark undercurrent implicit in Barack Obama's rhetoric, and it may cause him problems in the general election. Every time he talks about "hope" and "change," there's the unspoken assumption America is an awful place that badly needs to be fixed. His wife was just a little more explicit when she talked about being proud of America "for the first time" as she watched her husband run (can anyone imagine Nancy Reagan ever mouthing such narcissistic, unpatriotic nonsense?).
That may play well to unhappy Dems in the primary, especially the guilty rich who support him most strongly, but the general election is a different story. People are going to question those assumed flaws and Barack's solutions to them.
The difference between Obama and Reagan is that Reagan said America was great, a "shining city on a hill," and could be greater yet, while Obama implies America is awful — but if you vote for him, there's hope we can change it!
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I think you're misreading it here. The hope in Barack's oratory is based on the bedrock belief in America as a place which is great, which generates hope and allows for change.
And Nancy, for her part, like everybody else in the public light, has boned a few lines as well.
Michelle didn't bone those lines. She said exactly what she meant to say; in fact she used that line more than once. It was red meat for primary Democrats, who are generally not happy with this country.
Here's an example of how great Obama thinks America is:
"I’ve heard from seniors who were betrayed by CEOs who dumped their pensions while pocketing bonuses, and from those who still can’t afford their prescriptions because Congress refused to negotiate with the drug companies for the cheapest available price.
I’ve met Maytag workers who labored all their lives only to see their jobs shipped overseas; who now compete with their teenagers for $7-an-hour jobs at Wal-Mart.
I’ve spoken with teachers who are working at donut shops after school just to make ends meet; who are still digging into their own pockets to pay for school supplies.
Just two weeks ago, I heard a young woman in Cedar Rapids who told me she only gets three hours of sleep because she works the night shift after a full day of college and still can’t afford health care for a sister with cerebral palsy."
good post, even so
but those stories are all about regular Americans who are still out there struggling despite tough conditions. He's not making any judgment about the American people, merely the state of our economy.
Whether she boned them or not, I think the point remains that >90% of the population is going to accept her explanation, move on, and forget it even happened (and that's assuming they knew in the first place). There's no reason not to expect that both Obama's message will change to be in tune with what's needed for the general election, and that his wife will be more consistently on message as she gets more practice.
I still think you're fundamentally misreading how people are responding to Obama's message. If America was truly an awful place, there would be no hope.
There wasn't -- until Obama!
I think the Obama as savior bit is dopey, too. But I still say it will help him in the general.
the image of Obama as savior doesn't originate from him but from his supporters.
I think Obama's rhetoric looks particularly bad to you because you don't agree with the underlying assumption that poverty is a major problem that the government must deal with. So to you it looks a bit like a smear on America to claim (dubiously, in your view and mine) that America is filled with all this horrible poverty.
Now, if the importance of having the government fight poverty was self-evident to you (i.e. if you were a Democrat), you wouldn't think that merely pointing this out is in any way an insult to America.
Of course we all lose our tempers now and then. Dean freely admits to being imperfect in this regard, which is why regulars to this establishment will generally be cut more slack than people who we don't know very well.
Still: behave like an adult, or go find somewhere else to play. Thanks.