Ten reasons why Barack Obama will not win the 2008 presidential election — and none of them have anything to do with his middle name.
Yes, I know it’s only August, and only a simpleton or clairvoyant would offer a post-election analysis about how Barack Obama blew the 2008 presidential race.
Needless to say I’m not clairvoyant. The jury still seems to be out — at least in some people’s minds — about whether I’m a simpleton, though. But, I won’t use any innate foolishness I possess as the basis for offering a judgment about the outcome of an election that’s still three months away. Rather, I’m going to do what any good political analyst should do; analyze the present situation and offer a (hopefully) informed assessment well before the trends I detect become so manifestly obvious that everyone will claim they too “knew” the outcome months in advance.
So here’s my top ten list of reasons why John McCain, despite running one of the most turgid and uninspiring campaigns in modern electoral history, will succeed George W. Bush as the 44th President of the United States.
Reason #10: Racist white voters will not support Obama
No, this isn’t a condemnation of white, Southern, toothless, gun-toting Republicans. It’s an observation about the rank and file of the Democrat party. Whether it’s angry older white women who feel that the election was stolen from Hillary by an upstart younger black man, or just your average Joe Six Pack union worker who made it clear in the Democrat primaries that Bill Clinton was speaking for him when he floated his racist trial balloons on Hillary’s behalf, the so-called party of the average guy has repeatedly shown its true colors; pure white, not half-white.
This shouldn’t be much of a surprise. A former Grand Dragon of the Klu Klux Klan is now the respected Dean of the Senate Democrats. Any effort to break the cycle of black poverty and illiteracy through welfare reform and school vouchers has been repeatedly opposed by Democrat party officials who prefer their constituency to be completely dependent on the largess of their white elected leaders, rather than even the tiniest bit self-sufficient. Even Democrat fellow travelers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are less interested in bridging the divide between blacks and whites than they are in filling their own pockets with money from guilty white liberals and blackmailed corporations. Al Gore may have invented the carbon credit scam where his companies profit by selling hypothetical indulgences to hypocritical environmentalists who want everyone but themselves to change their lifestyles, but he doesn’t hold a candle to the organized race-for-hire politics of Jackson and Sharpton. The Democrat party is about preserving racial politics, not ending it, so it comes as little surprise that those who live by that sword may also die, at least metaphorically, by that same sword.
Take away the small cadres of limousine liberals and idealistic youth who will vote for Obama to assuage their guilt over being born wealthy and white, or just think it would be really, really cool to have a Black Guy in the White House even though it’s not all about skin color, and you have the naked face of race-based politics rearing its head in the Democrat party. The “Bradley Effect” is alive and well among Democrat voters, so named because they have a distinctive habit of lying to pollsters about their support for black candidates, only to act differently on election day. When their decisions actually count, all their progressive, liberal pabulum goes out the window as they reach for the lever and vote for the white guy like they did repeatedly in California, Chicago, New York and other cities. It’s why Obama needs to be 10-12 points ahead of McCain in the battleground states on November 4 — not statistically tied like he is today — or he’ll end up losing the election by double digits.
Reason #9: Europe loves Obama
Fresh off his triumphant tour of the Middle East and Europe, where he found time to exercise at the Ritz but not visit wounded American soldiers, Obama held a rally in Berlin and a lovefest in France to show the world that he is the better man for the job of President of the United States.
Actually, it wasn’t so much the presidency of the US that Barack was auditioning for, but Chief “Citizen of the World,” to cite from his own speech. Unfortunately for Obama, as more than one commentator has pointed out, Germany, France, Russia, China, Pakistan and other nations that he aspires to impress don’t have any electoral votes in the upcoming election. The McCain campaign’s effective mocking of Obama’s celebutard status — comparing public acclaim for Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton to his 200,000 Berlin groupies — only reinforces the point that Michael Medved made during one of his broadcasts. To paraphrase that observation, “Remembering back to the last time this occurred, there’s something a little disturbing about 200,000 Germans chanting their support for a charismatic leader in the streets of Berlin.”
It’s no mystery to anyone, other than the mainstream press, why the Obama Magical Mystery Tour failed to elevate him in the polls back in the US, even after the President of France gushed shamelessly over “Dear Barack” during his recent visit to Paris. Americans by and large dislike the amoral, appeasing, self-interested and shallow Europeans (or Euro-weenies in today’s vernacular), and aren’t particularly interested in emulating their lifestyle or adopting their values. Paris is a beautiful city and a wonderful place to visit, as is London, Rome, and the rest of Europe. But just because one likes French food or admires Italian architecture doesn’t mean that we want these yahoos telling us how to live our lives and whom to vote for.
Besides, what “Europe thinks” isn’t particularly noteworthy in and of itself, particularly when it comes to assessing life in the United States. Despite what the European rabble dislike about the US, and despite what our own press tells us the governments of Europe dislike about the US, the facts on the ground tell a different story. The trend in Europe since the Iraq war in France, Germany and Italy has been to throw the anti-US governments out of office and replace them with friendlier pro-American governments. As far as the people themselves of these countries are concerned, we can take our cues from sources other than Berlin rock concert attendees and disgruntled Muslim protesters marching through the streets of London. These same people who allegedly hate us will like us just fine — regardless of who our president is — when they need the US to pull their chestnuts from the fire as we’ve done so many times in the past.
Reason #8: The press loves Obama
Twenty to thirty years ago, when the Internet was but a dream in Al Gore’s fertile mind, cable TV was still in its infancy, and all the news was controlled by the Big Three TV networks and The New York Times, this Obama press mania would have been a problem.
Well, maybe. Somehow, despite the mainstream press’ antipathy for Nixon in 1968 and 1972, and Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, “the wrong guy” still managed to get elected. Today, with the media monopoly all but gone and the influence of these opinion-shapers visibly diminished, it makes it even harder for the liberal press to control the agenda. Whether it’s fake Bush military records being exposed by an Internet blogger, the declining circulation of most major newspapers, or the utter irrelevancy of former giants like CBS News, the public is no longer required to accept the Pravda-like party line about evil (or stupid) Republicans and courageous, progressive Democrats. In fact, if it wasn’t for the alternative media that publicizes their reporting to show how silly and superficial it is, many people today wouldn’t even know what the New York Times said, or hear the latest inanity coming from the mouths of Katie Couric or Matt Lauer.
Americans have always had a built-in resistance to the elite, privileged class telling them what to do and how to think. When the mainstream press universally describes the election of the presumptive Democrat nominee in inevitable terms, the country’s collective bulls*it meter goes full tilt. Because we have conservative talk radio today to help set the record straight, and independent news sources like Fox News and The Drudge Report to give us the other side of the story, we no longer need to be afraid that our opinions are out of the mainstream. Instead, many people have come to understand that it is the mainstream media that is non-representative of majority thought, and as such anything the MSM says is now more likely to be filtered through a prism of fact checks and bias-alerts instead of being accepted unabashedly.
In short, the more the mainstream press tells us there is only one conclusion to reach, the more we all feel compelled to seek and do the opposite. All of which is bad news for “The Anointed One.”
Reason #7: Gas is $4/gallon
Never mind that it costs more to fill up the average car in Europe than it does in America. Americans don’t want to drive a golf cart with an AM-FM radio like they do in London, or squeeze themselves into a tin can on wheels like they do in Paris, Berlin and Rome. We’re not looking to justify $9/gallon gas by riding in a cardboard box that gets 40miles/gallon, so that the cost of filling up a mini-Cooper in Europe is equivalent to filling up your SUV in America. This is America, and we don’t give a rat’s rear end what they do in Europe and why they do it. If it makes sense on its own merits we’ll adopt it — and undoubtedly improve on it. If it can’t pass the common sense test, then no amount of high-minded preaching by the self-appointed elite will turn a bad idea into a good one.
And while we’re on the subject, let’s not forget the hypocrisy of Al Gore and other liberals who decry the high price of gasoline as a failure of the Bush administration; all of whom have been advocating $4/gallon gas for years in an effort to force Americans to abandon their cars and turn to mass transit. Trains and busses are great in a place like New York City, which is a densely populated island the size of DFW Airport. But in Texas, Wyoming, Arizona, or even a lot of the East Coast itself, mass transit is impractical. On occasion, and for specific tasks like commuting to work in an urban environment, mass transit may be great. But in a nation the size of the United States with a lot of distance between points even when it’s a “local” drive, we still need our cars. Paying four bucks a gallon is nuts when we have plenty of domestic oil reserves that are off limits thanks to our Democrat friends in Congress, regardless of how good it will be for “the planet” in Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi’s distorted view of reality.
One day we’ll all be driving solar powered wind mobiles, and the cost of a barrel of oil will no longer be an issue. (Actually, one day our great-grandchildren will be doing this, since new technologies don’t arise with the snap of a finger because Nancy Pelosi wants to demagogue the issue.) But until then we need oil; and not just a three-day supply from the Strategic Oil Reserve. Or, a nation-wide program to check the air pressure in our tires as Obama suggested, and thus supposedly alleviate the need for any further drilling.
There’s plenty of oil in ANWR that’s off limits because Democrats don’t want to risk potentially spoiling a pristine, 80-below-zero landscape the size of a few football fields. They’d rather have you pay through the nose to fill up your gas tank, and hopefully be pissed off enough at Bush to not elect John McCain. But as one person on the street said in a recent TV interview after she was shown an actual picture of ANWR while filling up her gas tank, if drilling there will threaten the local wildlife, then put all the animals in a zoo and pump the oil so my gasoline bill will be lower! The same goes for drilling offshore the US coast. China is going to drill 60 miles from the US coastline on behalf of Cuba while Nancy Pelosi “protects the planet” by preventing the US from developing these same oil fields, so we can buy this oil at a premium from the Chinese.
People aren’t stupid. They may be lazy and ill-informed at times, and willing to save the environment when the cost to them is $2.15 a gallon of gas instead of $2.05. But crank that cost up to $100 a tank-full, and you can almost hear their collective cry of “screw the polar bears!” Obama and the Democrats have turned a deaf ear to this outrage, lamenting only that the price of gas went up “too fast”, instead of “too high.”
Economic issues will drive the 2008 election. However, the people will not blame Bush and McCain for their misery, but rather Obama and Pelosi who have done absolutely nothing to alleviate the pain.
Reason #6: We’re winning the war in Iraq
There’s only one problem with declaring the surge to be a failure before the first new troops landed in Iraq; declaring a civil war to exist in a country that has reconciled many of its ethnic and religious tensions; and advocating an immediate withdraw because the “war is lost” when all indications point to the fact that the bad guys have been essentially defeated: you look like an idiot when you try to tell the American people that you were either (a) right all along despite the fact that you were obviously mistaken, or (b) never really said what the videotape actually shows you saying as you try out your latest round of “what I really meant by saying the surge wouldn’t work” explanations.
As George Patton once said during another time of war, Americans love a winner. The Democrats and their allies in the press have been trying to persuade the country for the last six years that Iraq is another Vietnam. It isn’t, and never was. Obama won his party’s nomination by asserting that he was always against the war, that he’d pull our soldiers out of Iraq regardless of the facts on the ground, and that he’d talk to dictators and enemies of the US without preconditions.
Well, a funny thing happened as events in Iraq improved following the surge. Americans began to once again support the war effort in increasing numbers. Many of the formerly dissatisfied — like myself — weren’t advocating withdrawal as the media wanted to interpret our unhappiness. We wanted to escalate our involvement to bring it to a successful conclusion. Even during the darkest days in Iraq the country wasn’t clamoring for a Vietnam-like exodus with helicopters hovering over the rooftops of downtown Bagdad. We wanted to stay and fight, and win!
Finally, more than a few Americans see little reason to sit down and chat with the leaders of Iran, Al Queda, or any other people who hate us, particularly if there is nothing immediate to be gained. We recognize that not all people share western values, and some people cannot be trusted. Better to have these petty despots fear us than admire us for our willingness to drop by for tea and cookies.
Obama aspires to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States. Most people in this country appreciate the very real threats that exist in the world today, and are more than a little uncomfortable with his dangerous naïveté when it comes to assuming that mantle of authority.
Reason #5: Obama’s friends and supporters
Reverend Wright, Louis Farrakhan, William Ayers, Ludacris, and Tony Rezko. Any one of these associations would have sent the media into a death-watch feeding frenzy if they were even indirectly linked to the Republican Party nominee.
And yet, while the press continues to make excuses for Obama, the American people are starting to take a long hard look at the man about whom the terrorist group Hamas said, “We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the election.”
In the real world you are known by both your friends and your enemies. In Obama’s case, his friends seem to have several things in common with America’s enemy Hamas: from damning America for its policies and actions, to spewing race- or religious-based hatred, to blowing up government property and killing innocent civilians, to saying stupid and idiotic things in support of his candidacy, to simply being a crook.
With friends like these, Obama doesn’t need any enemies.
Reason #4: 57 States, and counting
Every candidate makes gaffs. Some mangle their words. Others momentarily conjoin similar sounding words (Iran/Iraq). Some even put an “e” at the end of “potato.” Thank God I have spell check on my computer.
If you’re a Republican, this means you’re an idiot. Bush (take your pick — 41 or 43) can’t complete a coherent sentence. Dan Quayle was, and still is, a national laughing stock for his famous misspelling. But Barack Obama can speak about a “bomb” that fell on Pearl Harbor (confusing it with Nagasaki), think he’ll be President for “eight to ten years,” or most famously of all lament that he hasn’t yet visited “all 57 states” and, well, we’re supposed to understand that the guy was tired or having an off day, so give him a break.
The painful fact is that, like the anchors who report the mainstream news, Obama is a good reader and public speaker. Give him a teleprompter with a prepared script by one of his many speechwriters, and the man can turn a captivating phrase. But give him a microphone in an unscripted setting, and he’s as dumb as the proverbial box of rocks.
We can accept personal flaws — and even the occasional peccadillo — in our leaders. But we can’t accept outright stupidity. It’s the reason the nuclear peanut farmer Jimmy Carter lost to the B-movie actor Ronald Reagan. The press in 1980 had little love for the supposedly mentally challenged movie actor who won the Republican Party nomination. But as it turned out, the American people saw that Reagan was no dummy. And even more to the point, they had absolutely no love for retaining the professed super smart White House incumbent who gave us long lines and gasoline rationing, hyper-inflation, American civilians held hostage in Iran, a “national malaise” blamed on the American public, and the boycott of the Moscow Olympics as a substitute for any coherent foreign policy.
Obama is a train wreck waiting to happen, from his tax-happy domestic proposals to his third-grade grasp of international relations. McCain’s recent ad showing him as just another media-created celebutard has resonated with the public because, like so many things that tend to hit home, in addition to being witty and funny, it has the added advantage of being true.
Reason #3: One Messiah is enough for most people
There’s something disturbing about a person who equates his inevitable ascendency to the Office of President of the United States with shimmering light, epiphanies of the spirit, and a command over the world’s oceans.
Now, no one seriously believes that Barack Obama seriously believes that he is the actual messiah. But most people who don’t believe they are the product of the Second Coming avoid speaking about themselves in messianic terms, and therein lies the problem. Whether it’s the serial fainters at his rallies being handed the serial water bottles to revive them, the religious-like metaphors he embraces to talk about a new beginning for all mankind that will arise from his election to office, or the just plain creepy way a number of his supporters liken him to a biblical figure, none of this wears well with the majority of the American public.
We’ve been conditioned by decades of liberal-speak to automatically avoid anyone who wants to mix politics and religion. Google “Obamassiah” and you get a few hundred thousand hits. Google “McCainassiah” and it asks you if you actually meant a different word.
Obama runs the very great risk of alienating the voting public by mixing the presumed inevitability of his election with the pseudo-religious undertones he creates through his own words and actions. Americans don’t want to elect a pope any more than they want to elect a king.
Reason #2: There’s no there, there
Exactly what the hell is “change,” except the coins I get back after giving the coffee shop attendant five bucks for my $3.95 frappuccino?
There are only so many times a candidate can repeat a platitude like “change” before the voting public will eventually require him to define what he means. The problem is, every time Obama tries to put some flesh on his pronouncements he runs into trouble, like he did recently with his on again/off again support for an undivided Jerusalem. After being raked over the coals by Jews and Arabs alike for his equivocal statements, Obama fell back on his best Rodney King impersonation and answered all further questions with his own version of can’t we all just get along? That may work well in Hollywood or the vacuousness of TV news, but Americans normally demand a bit more than empty rhetoric and slogans from their prospective leaders.
Reason #1: 2012
If Obama wins the 2008 election, he’ll undoubtedly run for re-election in 2012. That means Hillary will have to wait until 2016 to make another run for the White House. She’ll be 70 years old — or just two years younger than John McCain is today.
If the Clintons have any desire to return to power, and make no mistake about it power is the only thing the Clintons care about, then Barack Obama cannot be allowed to win. Therefore, except for the surface-only gestures to aid Obama in his presidential quest, Hillary will do nothing to soothe the hurt feelings of all those disenfranchised women invested in her candidacy. Neither will she sing Barack’s praises to the racist Democrat voters who might give Obama a fresh look if she earnestly supported his candidacy. In fact, expect the race-bating whisper campaign to continue that Bill Clinton made famous throughout the Democrat primary process. (All this presumes, of course, that Bill really wants his wife in the Oval Office looking each day at the alcove he and Monica squeezed into when the former President was experimenting with a new use for his cigars, and won’t play a double game himself to sabotage Hillary’s prospects.)
A McCain victory in 2008 not only puts Hillary back in the game in 2012, it gives her “I told you so” bragging rights to help lock up the nomination. The only thing standing between Hillary and the White House is Barack Obama. And that is a very dangerous position to occupy, as the literal and figurative bodies of all former Clinton opponents can testify.
McCain wins in November
Put these ten reasons together, and I contend that even an inept campaign by the current Republican nominee can capture the White House.
The only thing stopping a McCain victory now is an unlikely decision in Denver to take the nomination away from Obama and give it to Hillary. That, of course, could theoretically help Hillary gain the Oval Office, but it would eviscerate the Democrat party in the process. Obama could be 20 points behind McCain at the time of their convention and any decision to treat him like a normal candidate — that is, take away his nomination (think Robert Toricelli in 2002 or Thomas Eagleton in 1972) — would be decried as “racist,” and throw the Democrat party into chaos.
So, even the worst case scenario still has a silver lining.
Phil, I would like to agree with most of your points, however the woeful level of American education suggests that the Omessiah will win due to the Goebbels school of journalism followed by main stream media. Remember if you tell a lie enough times people will believe it and all we hear is the Omessiah coverage. Beyond the media is the Democrats guilt trip attempting to cast a vote for anyone else as racist and our rank and file of the democrat party would not want to be called racist.
Further beyond these points comes the "none of the above" vote which I and many others are following this election. The immigration stance of both candidates forces me to a vote for Michael the Mouse as a much better write in candidate.
Mickey: Two things about your first point. Propaganda works best when the media has a complete monopoly (which it no longer has), and reality doesn't get in the way. $4/gallon gas has exposed the true agenda of the Left, and this will have an impact on the people's decision. You're already seeing Obama's support decline in the polls as a direct consequence of this.
As for "none of the above", I strongly oppose McCain's immigration and global warming stand. But the choice in November is between the Democrat and Republican candidate only. Everyone else is a side show. Voting 3rd party or staying home will only help the opposing philosophy ala Nader in Florida in 2000.
In November I will participate in the voting process. I will not be voting for McCain, though. I will, however, be voting against Obama. Since my only effective choice is between the Dem and Rep candidates, the lever I pull to vote against Obama will be the one that casts my ballot for McCain.
Going third party or staying home is a waste of time, as I discussed before in http://www.intellectualconservative.com/2007/12/10/why-vote-for-a-winner/
Take care, Phil
Dr. Phil,
I thought with the level of your education, you should be able to come up with more interesting arguments on why you thought McCain will win 2008 Election. Apparently, you are not looking at the real issues on the ground, and that may be because you’ve been sampling your books too much instead of sampling people’s mind. The fact remains that Americans are tired of the Republican Party.
With your PhD, you should know by now that this election is not about Barack Obama or John McCain or their associates, it is about the Republican ideas and attitudes towards America’s future versus Democrats’ empathy, change of policies and directions and America’s future. People have broader mind than to shallowly base their decisions on all the points you made above. The truth and the absolute truth is that Republicans were given eight years to run the country and they’ve succeeded in almost ruining the country. One of the purposes of democracy is to be able to pick between the past and the future through election.
Americans are looking into the future and they know that, RIGHT NOW, the Republican Party is not positioned for future. I strongly know that if Sen. Obama losses in November, it wouldn’t be because of all your stated points but it would be because of more compelling issues.
However, Sen. Obama will not loss because he is still the best among the current presidential candidates. Not to say too much, I think age, health and intellectuality would be part of numerous elements to consider.
Above all, you should know that age, experience and education do not necessary equal wisdom. Wisdom is always a gift and it is a divine gift. Regardless of age or experience, some are gifted than others and I think Sen. McCain is not all that gifted
Phil:
I'm seriously considering writing to the Democratic leadership and encouraging them to hold the no-drilling line.
Sedona: I second the notion. Stupidity is the one gift that keeps on giving, and the Dems have a seemingless endless supply.
[...] Why Obama lost the 2008 election Even though this is written with obvious bias by a staunch member of the U.S. Right Wing there are still some frighteneing points to be made. I hope Americans are not this stupid but the way things seem to be going in the last week or so I'm not so sure. Intellectual Conservative Politics and Philosophy [...]
Sam:
My level of education is just fine. Can’t say the same about yours, though, whatever it might be.
Elections may be about ideas. But they are also about issues, feelings, get out the vote strategies, media coverage, biases, and a host of other issues. They are also about people making incredibly stupid, inane comments to support Barak Obama’s candidacy under the guise of offering a supposedly cogent response to an essay I wrote.
By the way, I’m sure McCain is staying up nights anguishing over the fact that you don’t believe he is “gifted”. That will weigh heavily on all our minds as we go to the polls in November.
Phil,
Unfortunately, your education does not match your intelligence. If with your PhD, all you could come up with is this piece of trash, then shame on our education. November will be here soon and my fingers are crossed. BTW, Sen. Obama has achieved more than you will ever accomplished. So come November, he has nothing to loss except you. Dr. Phil.
Sam: Your assessment of me as not gifted will weigh heavily on my mind as well. I'm not sure how I'll be able to face the world tomorrow, but I'll try.
By the way, this is about the level of analytical thought from the Left that I expected when I wrote the essay. Every notice how the people with a limited education and no experience in politics are the first ones to tell you that you have no understanding of politics and are educationally-deficient, rather than engage in a real discussion?
Hey guys chill out, you sound like a bunch of babies in a sand box. Obama will loose the election because even though the vast majority of the electorate is ignorant, they get it when it hits their wallets. Now it's up to McCain to drive home the message that Obama=higher taxes=loss of jobs=less money to be squandered on those that the left wing Marxists pander. Had Bush not acted like a Democrat and vetoed bills that were laden with pork when the Republicans held both the Senate and House, we wouldn't be having this debate. McCain advertisements need to explain simple economics to people, that done he wins hands down. http://www.jcscuba.com
McCain should pick a VP who is able to articulate the above message. Any chance he gets thats all he need to talk about.
It's unfortunate that the vast majority of voters are so ill informed and get their sound bites from the not so msm. They are working their buns off trying to make a better living while Obama will pick their pocket with new taxes. If you believe only on the first $250,000, then you probably believed George HW Bush when he said no new taxes, a Slick Willie Jefferson when he said he would not raise taxes on the campaign trail the proceeded to put in place the largest tax increase in history.
Phil: read your sentences again and correct yourself. With your PhD, your Anglo-Saxon prose is horrible and shameful. People like you make the world to laugh at us. I wonder what John Admas is thinking in his grave right now.
Phil: read your sentences again and correct yourself. With your PhD, your Anglo-Saxon prose is horrible and shameful. People like you make the world to laugh at us. I wonder what John Adams is thinking in his grave right now.
Sam: One of the tests of a person’s class (or lack of it) is to point out typos in an email or, in this case, the comment to an essay. I’ve never found it necessary to do this to make my points, but the superior, sanctimonious people on the Left seem to think this is a good substitute for actually offering a reasoned judgment on a given issue.
It’s why you pointed to my obvious typo in Comment #9 (“every” instead of ever), and why I didn’t make fun of your illiterate non-typos in your previous remarks. But since you raised the point —
Comment 3: “People have broader mind …” (should be “a broader mind”, or “broader minds”)
Comment 3: “I strongly know that if Sen. Obama losses in November …” (should be “loses”).
Comment 3: “However, Sen. Obama will not loss …” (should be “lose”).
Comment 3: “Regardless of age or experience, some are gifted than others …” (you left out the word “more”, as in “more gifted”)
Comment 8: “… then shame on our education.” (“our” should be “your”)
Comment 8: “BTW, Sen. Obama has achieved more than you will ever accomplished.” (It’s “accomplish”, not “accomplished”; or “have accomplished” if you want to keep the sentence structure essentially the same.)
Comment 8: “So come November, he has nothing to loss except you.” (Once again it’s “lose”, not “loss”).
Comment 10: The second president of the United States was John Adams, not “Admas”.
And by the way, John Adams is dead, so he isn’t thinking anything in his grave “right now”, or at any point during the last couple hundred years.
Phil: Actually I thought a man that has a PhD and has written many books should have enough intelligence to know that all your stupid points are irrelevants. Also, for all the above stated comments, thanks for correcting me but you should be more worried about yourself and your comments than mine, because you have more to defend with your PhD. I will add all the above words to my vocabularies. So thanks Dr. Phil
Sam,my pleasure. You are the gift that keeps on giving.
jcscuba — your comments just popped up. Sorry I didn't see them sooner.
I too think that who McCain picks is critical for same reasons you expressed. I think, given his age, he's a one-term president. His VP will have an edge on the 2012 nomination. Hopefully it will be someone who appeals to the base, and not another outside-the-party-mainstream pick.
Phil: "You are the gift that keeps on giving", how old are you?
He sound to me like a 10th grader. Why can't you too guys kiss and make up and get back to the topic, it's an interesting one and you are just driving people away with your blather. I was paid to sell not spell ask him what his net worth is.:-)
jscuba: Actually, I don’t think a 10th grade education or his dubious net worth is at the heart of Sam’s logic. Sam is just a typical Obama supporter — all emotion, hyperbolic, a semi-literate challenging my academic credentials because he disagrees with what I'm saying while offering nothing substantive in return, etc. You know, a liberal.
Since there’s nothing substantive to what he’s said, there’re really no point in continuing on with him. But, I will admit it is kind of funny to watch him reinforce the point I made in comment #5.
Phil: Again, regardless of your level of education, you still lack basic intelligence. Person like you thinks wisdom comes from your level of education but you are wrong. Your so called academic credentials are just pack of sorrows. Again, how old are you Dr. Phil? Surely, In few years, i will be better than whatever you are now. You are not smart Dr. Phil.
jscuba: I stand corrected. Anyone who has access to my website with my biography and still can't figure out how old I am isn't just emotional and hyperbolic. He's a few chads short of a full ballot.
Of course, we also have to consider the other possibility that Sam is actually a friend of mine just playing some kind of twisted joke on all of us by pretending to be marginally literate and intellectually vacant. I'm beginning to think we're all being had by assuming he's a real person.
Totally agree Phillip..He offered nothing to the discussion and like the Obama whiner that he is, he isn't capable of defending any position based on facts, just feelings. I've personally had enough of feelings and I don't want Obama taking this country over the cliff. Not that he can, the Blue Dog Democrats will keep him in line. Did you read the Pelosi from the Peoples Republic of Northern CA. has quietly been telling Dems to vote for off shore drilling when they come back into session because she know they will loose their seats? Sadly she is so entrenched in her district that she is unlikely to be defeated. We won't be hearing much from Sam.
The interaction with Sam seems typical of trying to debate issues with most liberals, they can’t stay on topic, get confused, emotional, some throw out the race card, insults, tough to keep a discussion going…kind of like herding grasshoppers.
jscuba: Pelosi's playing the same double game she did in 2006 with some success — running “conservative” Democrats against fair-weather Republicans. The war was an emotional issue in 2006 because it was going poorly, and the Republican base was pissed off at its party, which led to some tight victories in key races.
I think 2008 is different, though. The base is still ticked off, but Obama is the only viable option to McCain, and he’s showing his true colors as the ultra liberal he is. Add $4/gallon gas to the mix which, unlike an unpopular, somewhat abstract policy (Iraq), hits each voter directly, along with all the other reasons I cited, and I think McCain will win in 2008.
Weather he has coattails or not I’m not sure yet. But I see nervousness in the Dem party over the energy issue, which bodes well for some local races.
I agree with all the above points, they are on the nails.
I actually believe McCain will win and it won't be close.
OKAY PEOPLE. I will post this once and only once.
It's spelled LOSE (looz) EL- OH – OH -ES -E
LOOSE means NOT TIGHT.
LOOSER means less loose, it is not what you are ironically trying to call your mental sparring partner.
I never thought I would live to see the day that someone would be calling a PHD an idiot while he was spelling LOSE – LOSS.
But I saw it. Two or three times in this thread alone.
It seems to be systemic among Obama supporters. Could this just be an unfortunate coincidence? It must be. I heard leftists were far superior intellectually than right-wingers.
BTW. Great Essay.
From my perspective you have it absolutely correct.
The Bradley Syndrome can also be called the Dinkins Syndrome.
The problem with your detractors is that they think you are speaking about political sycophants. They do not understand that the swing voters DO decide to vote based on impression and instincts.
I have a question for any non-black who has labeled a non Obama supporter a racist.
If Obama announced his running mate and that person was black, and then he started to announce his cabinet and it was pretty much all black, would you vote for him?
If you say you wouldn't, does that make you a racist?
Well, the answer is that it most definitely does.
One you can tolerate, it would be novel, in fact you whole heartedly support it.
A black ticket – well, gee, I wasn't really expecting that. But, okay.
A black cabinet – all right, hold the phones here, what is this, Uganda?
The point being, racism is a lot like prostitution.
A guy offers the whore 5 bucks, she says "just what kind of a woman do you think I am?"
The guy says, "we know what kind of woman you are, we are merely haggling about a price."
If Obama takes on a black veep (which he won't) he would lose 75% to 25% which would reveal half of the liberals as racists.
ATVLICS: You touched on an issue that I’ve wondered about too.
If Obama picks Hillary for Veep, he gets her supporters — and her baggage (which is considerable, since it includes both her and Bill). Besides, do you really want Hillary to be one heartbeat away from the Oval Office when it’s your heartbeat?
If Obama picks a white woman, the Hillary crowd will be pissed off. Not only does it dis Hillary, it sets up another woman to succeed Obama after his election. It even positions another woman to become the 2012 standard bearer if he loses.
If Obama picks an Hispanic or Black (male or female), the racist Democrats will go into overdrive jumping ship.
If Obama picks a white man, the white women will get really pissed (how many primaries did the white guy win compared to Hillary?). A white guy as Veep is yet another slap at Hillary as those who stand when they pee gang up against those who sit when they pee.
The Democrat party is ruled by race and sex as key issues over ideology and competence. Any way they turn they lose.
Wow, this set of comments has gone over the edge. It is true that education does not indicate wisdom nor does it indicate common sense. The bottom line is that Phil's essay was a good one and it begins to point out some of the Omessiah's weaknesses. For those reading at a third grade level the latest O proclamation on energy is a humerous read leading one to conclude the Obama and advisors haven't the slightest idea about basic economics (simple supply and demand curve), they also apparently do not realize that we have the refining capability to do anything with a release from the strategic reserve (how long has it been since Democrats allowed a refinery to be built?), but the capstone of the idea of using feedstock to create an alcohol which attracts water provides the best humor.
The Ogaffes abound and increase each day…eventually a very humorous book will be written in the style of Bennet Cerf.
Well said Mickey G! I'm currently collecting strings from YouTube, Topic Obama gaffes or Obama on any topic. Drives my liberal "friends" which now number zero crazy. " Please take me off your extremist list" I just reply, "What is it you are willing to take a stand on, what is it you will fight for, and what facts can you provide to support the sound bites you babble. We are in a war for the future of our country and Democracy. If the Marxist makes it he will try and drive this country over the cliff. He and his handlers are beyond ignorant. Can you imagine Bush pulling the nonsense that ends up on the cutting room floor that Obama puts out not being played by the not so msm 24-7..Yep Change You Can Believe In..As in Believe he will change his view for political advantage on major issues to advance political gain!
Phil
If I didn't know you, I'd think that “Sam I am” was really your sock puppet! I mean if I’m gonna criticize someone, I’d do a spell check & also read over my criticism at least once, no?
More important to your article itself, & as noted by one of your commenters, I would add a qualifier about the effect of the MSM instant cover up of all bad Obamessiah news all the time, especially, um, inflating (I didn’t say that, did I?) Obamessiah’s claims, really gaffes, to make them seem reasonable &, QED, not gaffes. Now, the MSM party line spin is "Obamessiah is right, inflating your tires is a good thing, you silly Republicans; what's your problem? People of The World: Obamessiah was right; as usual!” See, e.g., re Time/CNN, http://www.deanesmay.com/2008/08/04/inflated-claims/
OK discount the effect of the MSM as we did in ’06, but as someone once said:
"You can fool all the people some of the time, &
Some of the people all the time, &
Two outta three ain't bad."
Tho, on the other hand, perhaps you are on to something after all! As noted by INSTAPUNDIT
OUCH: "In her first week at market, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sold just 2,737 copies of her book KNOW YOUR POWER, according to NIELSEN BOOKSCAN… [Since she couldn't get a big fat advance] Pelosi must have really thought people would want to buy her book. Chilling. That’s what enough time in Congress does to people.”
Maybe enough people will finally pay attention, or stop paying attention to the legend. As you never said: Obamessiah is the gaffe that keeps on gaffing & at some point enough voters may say enough. Or enough of the anticipated “youth vote”, rhapsodized over by the MSM as being beyond politics & responsible for Obamessiah’s anointment, um, presumed nomination, will see Obamessiah as not beyond politics, i.e., “same ol’ same ol”, & stay home.
PS Bumper Sticker (for those of us old enough though one of your commenters knew who Bennett Cerf was!):
"Whip Underinflation Now!"
jcscuba —
Here's a good link to follow as you add to your list.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/pundits-begin-to-worry-about-obama/
Look at the internal links too, like Obama's "predilection to lie". which leads to http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/rubin/18841
Phil
You might consider revising your Point 4 a bit since Commentary's Contentions Blog has suggested that Obamessiah's latest utterance suggesting that America has gone downhill, which at first seems like an ad lib, is really part of a theme.
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/category/contentions
See, it's one stupendously insipid continuing gaffe rather than a series of little insipid gaffes. Stop your number inflation, shall we say.
Phil:
Thoroughly enjoyable, vintage Phil Jackson piece. I loved “screw the polar bears” (under Reason #7) – you have a finely honed instinct for what the common man thinks and feels – and a very humorous way of expressing it. With your political expertise, I’m sure you know the seesaw nature of American politics could hand the victory to Obama. Folks, and not just those in America, grow tired of one party rule and will opt for a change, a well deserved change or just plain whim, it often doesn’t seem to matter which.
I urge you to consider writing an essay (or essay series) on how you see conservatism and conservative political philosophy in America for the next 5 to 10 years, or however far out on the horizon your vision takes you. McCain was a disappointment to conservatives, I don’t presume to know how many, but a sizable minority, I believe. What would the impact of a McCain loss be on conservatives rather than the country as a whole? What do you see as the likely profile of future conservative presidential candidates? How do you think our foreign policy and economic policy will change during the next presidential term, assuming McCain pulls it off?
But, that aside, keep on hitting em’, they deserve it and pay no attention to the liberal critics, if you weren’t dishing out some painful (and humorous) truths, you wouldn’t have to deal with their whining and feeble ad hominem attacks.
Pat: I'm tempted to take your advice and write about conservatism in America over the next 5-10 years, but the paleos would have a collective cow since I'd analyze it in practical policy terms and not measure it against a narrow ideological template. Still, one never knows what might strike my fancy …
Take care, Phil
Pat and Phil love your takes!
I'm currently reading Fleeced by Dick Morris and Leave us Alone by Grover Norquist. Morris lays out a scenario indicating that if McCain doesn't win the Hispanic Vote and win it big, the represent currently 20% of registered voters, and vote Democratic about 85% of the time, and Blacks currently represent 15% of the voters, and vote Democratic 80-85% of the time we will be face with the eventual extinction of the Republican Party. He bases this on virtually every election Republicans go in with a 35% group voting against conservative ideas.
Norquist sees the next fifty years playing out as the parties being relatively irrelevant, people taking the government back with two parties, the Leave Us Alone group vs The Takers. I just joined the America Deserves Better GoPAC http://www.OurCountryDeservesBetter.com Their thesis is that McCain just doesn't have what it takes to really go after the issues on Obama and they plan to do so. Simple things like Obama=Higher Taxes=Job Loss=Less tax revenue. Take on the Socialized Medicine scam etc. Basically expose him for what he is, and empty suit that will do anything and say anything to get him elected. They also plan to expose his ties to Radical Islam.
The Dems have a big problem. They are aborting their future constituency, so they need to bring in net-new voters (i.e. illegal aliens given amnesty and thus made "legal"). These people are lower socio-economic status, and thus beholden to the Dems redistributive policies for their economic survival. It’s the same model the big city bosses used in the 19th and 20th centuries to maintain power.
The Republicans are so stupid they think these people will one day convert to a free market capitalist way of thinking. Since the Dems will do everything they can to keep these people in a state of economic need, only a few will actually escape into the middle class. If by some chance a majority of these people do become self-sufficient, the Dems will simply pull in another net new group of lower socio-economic foreigners to replace them.
Our only long-term hope is to maintain vigilance against vote fraud, pursue sane immigration policies, and when all else fails, wait for the Dems to overplay their hand (like they’re doing now on $4/gasoline and “saving the planet”). We won’t always have someone with Obama’s obvious flaws to run against. The Jimmy Carters of the world only come around once every generation or so. In between we get the Clintons, who know how to say the right things to win an election.
McCain won’t “win” in November. Rather, Obama will lose. The real test becomes 2012, which is why McCain’s choice for VEEP is so important.
The media analysis after Obama loses is going to be priceless.
"The weight of Obama's problems with mainstream voters was heavier than anticipated," Chris. "It's clear that the dream of the first black president in history being a Muslim-born, socialist from the pews of Rev. Wright's black liberation church, has a friends list that looks a lot like the terrorist watch list, talks down to religious gun owners, is against drilling for oil when we really, really need oil and has a wife who's never been proud of her country has been dashed by some unaccounted for factor we failed to identify in the runup to this election…"
nick adams:
Re: Obama’s problems with mainstream voters
Some say the Edwards sex scandal will hurt Obama. But I say what’s the big deal? It’s only about sex, right?
The Democratic party is responsible for the sex revolution and the abolition of laws against abortion, adultery, fornication, sodomy, and any other perversion you can think of. It has promoted distribution of condoms in K-12, special rights for homosexuals, K-12 sex education, K-12 indoctrination into homosexuality, female masturbation workshops in universities, same-sex "marriage", and a general glorification of debauchery. It has even excused pedophilia. Their belief in moral equivalence and moral relativism and their lack of moral clarity have led to a general tolerance of evil. Therefore, I would have a lot more respect for them if, when one of them is caught having an affair, they would just say that, because it forms part of their core beliefs, they don’t think there is any more wrong with it than choosing Coke over Pepsi.
In addition, because of the above, Edwards' wife, being the good Democrat that she probably is, should have no hurt feelings at all and come right out and say so.
Mr. Jackson:
You should be ashamed: Taking poor Sam Adeyiga to task! For shame! As native speakers of the English Tongue, we must certainly make allowence for Frosh ESL students.
I am sure by his junior year in highschool he will have the whole subject/verb agree thing ironed out. As for his sophmoric grasp of reality, that might needs wait for remediation until his retirement at 65…
/sarc
Oh, BTW:
Add "…a man that has…" should be "…a man who has…"
Great piece. I only agree with you 60% of the time, (I keep careful data, dontchaknow…), but I believe you nailed it.
I don't know If I'm going to vote McCain or a (clean conscience) write in.
I was allowing myself to be persuaded by the LOTE crowd, until Graham pulled his maveric "gang of 10" on drilling — cutting the Rs in the House off at the knees. It didn't help that a Grahamnesty spokesman came out on mouthing McCain's usual cry when HE pulled that type of stunt. My vote-for-McCain/Against The Obomber reserve fell back almost to 0 after that.
Well, we'll see…
Mike: I never in my life thought I'd be voting for someone like McCain. But, since there are only two real choices in November (protest votes don't count), it's either McCain or Obama. Any vote for a candidate other than McCain helps elect Obama, and good intentions don't mitigate that fact.
Just think of it as a vote against Obama instead of a vote for McCain. That's the only way I can get through the process …
Take care, Phil
Mike, please think this over. Can your conscious allow more socialism, more taxes, a possible depression? Voting for anybody but McCain is giving the election to Obama. Certainly he is no conservative, but he represents our only hope in creeping socialism. McCain at least has some core beliefs that will benefit the next generation. Have a great day!
mike.musculus:
One of the most important issues we will be facing is the selection of Supreme Court justices since there is more than a good chance that several will retire in the next presidential term. A couple more Ruth Bader Ginsbergs will certainly help out the conservative cause.
"The indispensable condition of any conservative or traditionalist movement, as well as of our personal spiritual survival, is that we say NO to the prevailing values of the liberal order and that we keep saying no.” – Lawrence Auster
Sorry for the tardiness, I missed seeing your response in my email.
sedonaman, I expected better arguments than "the selection of Supreme Court justices…" spiel.
Lets analyze that:
1. the justices most likely to retire are the Liberal ones. That makes Liberal choices a wash.
2. That Sen McElectionGagOrder would nominate Conserv. justices.
I am so tired of this canard… Once again lets push that bolder up the hill…
We have Sen. McConfiscateUnseemlyProfits' own words from an unguarded moment early on in the process that Aleto, Thomas, and justices of that stripe are too conservative. So, what type will he nominate again? Well, if a Conserv. justice is too much so, that means, a more Kennedy-like choice…
Then, there is this: "nominate". Sen. McCarbonTax will nominate who he pleases, but when the Libs in Congress throw those choices back, McWhiteFlagConservative will wrench-out his back slithering across the isle to friends. OR the Libs just hold it up.. Say "Gang of 14" for me, will you…
As this election season passes it seems more & more like Teddy R. vs W. Wilson.
Teddy was considered a "flaming progressive", and Wilson the LOTE candidate. Wilson turned out to be a died-in-the-wool Fabin Progressive… more so than Teddybear dreamed of being.
Indeed, Wilson set the foundation in place, to be solidified by FDR later.
Sorry, accidently hit "submit"
…
And I believe that was because Wilson wanted a legacy. McTravesty's real love isn't for Country, but for his Legacy — his Place In History that was denied him by the way the Vietnam war ended and the way Vets were treated afterwards.
Look at his actions. A (mostly) conserv. voting record — until his presidential run was frustrated by conservatives, then he started taking every opprotunity to knife them in the back: because they kept him from his "rightful" place in history.
His nomination was engineered by the media, (who slobber for progressives) and the BlueBlood Rs, (who have always found conserv. an embarrassment). The Media goes over the top for the Obamassiah, but either way the win.
Except, if they win w/ McRight2AbortVP, they gain a new narrative: Conservatism/ Constitionalism was an accident. You have to keep lurching Left to win.
In closing, let me ask:
McAmnesty is today where Ds were before. When the Ds go leftward more, and McAmnesty drags us after them, what then?
As McLiberal Lurches Leftward, and candidates after him take a page from the "To get ahead, knife the Conservative Base" school of thought, where do you say: "this line, and no more!"?
At what point will you no longer LOTE?
McCain will not nominate truly conservative justices. Even if he did, the Senate as currently composed would not approve them.
This, however, is not the issue.
Obama WILL nominate ultra-leftist SCOTUS nominees. The Senate, as currently composed, will approve them.
With McCain we'll get another Sandra Day O'Conner at best. But with McCain we WON'T get another Ruth Buzzy Ginsburg.
And that is the real issue.
Phil:
"With McCain we'll get another Sandra Day O'Conner…"
It might be interesting to see two liberals battle it out to be the swing vote.
How is Obama going to lose when he will get so much more VOTES in November than John McBush ??
Who is to blame for 4.00 per gallon gas again ??? do tell Phillip.
NOw this really made me giggle
"There’s plenty of oil in ANWR that’s off limits because Democrats don’t want to risk potentially spoiling a pristine, 80-below-zero landscape the size of a few football fields. "
So Phil if the "pristine football field sized" ANWR is so small and so filled with oil, Why not slant drill into it ?? Do you really think that the ONLY oil in Alaska is DIRECTLY under ANWR ?? SERIOUSLY !!! Have you even read the report by OUR OWN ENERGY DEPARTMENT that CLEARLY states that … well i will just give it to you straight from their mouths
Try and absorb it. maybe read it twice.
In its May 2008 "Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge," the EIA concluded that oil drilling in ANWR would not impact the U.S. oil supply for at least a decade: "The opening of the ANWR 1002 Area to oil and natural gas development is projected to increase domestic crude oil production starting in 2018" [emphasis added]. Further, the report says: "This analysis assumes that enactment of the legislation in 2008 would result in first production from the ANWR area in 10 years, i.e., 2018." Further, based on its Annual Energy Outlook 2008 report, EIA estimated that the opening of ANWR would reduce the price of imported low-sulfur, light crude oil by $0.75 per barrel in 2025 (in the "mean oil resource case"), from a predicted reference case price of $64.49. As of the close of trading on August 13, the price of oil settled at $116 per barrel.
Dont you feel smarter after reading that?? Now you can go on without making yourself look moronic in the future.
You're welcome Phil