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Death of a Messiah: Sad Ballad of the End of Barry the Organizer

by docweasel Nov 3 2008

Well I saw him in the city and on the mountains of the moon
His cross was rather bloody
He could hardly roll His stone
Oh Jesus save me! – Hymn 43 Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull

Remember 100 years ago when all the pundits were saying Obama had nothing but good choices for VP and McCain had only bad and worse. What a difference a couple weeks make.

All the sudden the mockery of Obama doesn’t seem like resentful and impotent flailings of a right that is resigning itself to an Obama presidency and is getting in its early licks. Instead, it’s the kicking of a loser when he’s down. It has resonance. The Oman is not just hurt, he’s finished.

Various reliable sages and oracles have now foretold the future, and it seems Obama has none.

The epitaph:
How Obama lost the election By Spengler

Obama will spend the rest of his life wondering why he rejected the obvious road to victory, that is, choosing Hillary Clinton as his vice presidential nominee. However reluctantly, Clinton would have had to accept. McCain’s choice of vice presidential candidate made obvious after the fact what the party professionals felt in their fingertips at the stadium extravaganza yesterday: rejecting Clinton in favor of the colorless, unpopular, tangle-tongued Washington perennial Joe Biden was a statement of weakness. McCain’s selection was a statement of strength. America’s voters will forgive many things in a politician, including sexual misconduct, but they will not forgive weakness.

That is why McCain will win in November, and by a landslide, barring some unforeseen event. Obama is the most talented and persuasive politician of his generation, the intellectual superior of all his competitors, but a fatally insecure personality. American voters are not intellectual, but they are shrewd, like animals. They can smell insecurity, and the convention stank of it. Obama’s prospective defeat is entirely of its own making. No one is more surprised than Republican strategists, who were convinced just weeks ago that a weakening economy ensured a Democratic victory.

The evidence is pretty indisputable.

The signs of the beginning of the end are piling up and events multiply:

  • Joe Biden, intentionally or not, insinuates that Sarah Palin doesn’t care about special needs kids because of conservative objections to stem cell research (and the objections of Biden’s own religion, natch).
  • Biden asks a guy in a wheel chair to stand-up in front of a large crowd of people. An honest mistake and I actually feel bad for Biden on this one, but it’s not exactly the kind of campaign tableaux you’re aiming for.
  • Long time Obama associate and unrepentant domestic terrorist William Ayers releases a bizarre statement via cartoon saying “I don’t violent resistance is NECESSARILY the answer.”
  • Barack Obama (again, intentionally or not) compares the opposing female vice-presidential candidate to a pig, at a time when she’s become a figure of public sympathy because of scores of vile, baseless attacks on Palin and her family by Obama supporters.

The dead pool is filling up, and the Powerline guys describe the weather:

Glenn Reynolds has a good roundup of commentary on the pig controversy here. I have mixed feelings about it. Watching the video, I think it’s plausible for Obama to say that he wasn’t talking about Governor Palin. On the other hand–come on. Does he seriously believe, given all the water under the bridge, that he can use the words “lipstick” and “pig” in the same sentence without people thinking he’s taking a shot at Palin? His audience certainly took it that way. Maybe it’s just another example of Obama’s lack of skill on his feet, when he doesn’t have a teleprompter to tell him what to say.

The more interesting question is whether Obama is starting to come apart at the seams. As his party’s Presidential nominee, he should be doing battle with John McCain, not Sarah Palin. But he seemingly can’t help himself. Over the last couple of days, several generally apolitical people have told me that they think Obama has been melting down ever since Palin’s nomination was announced. Hysteria does appear to be sweeping the Obama camp, with over the top attacks on both Palin and McCain. One wonders whether their internal polling numbers are really, really bad.

Even his acolytes are losing heart and jumping off the Obandwagon over at TalkLeft, a progressive site:

I’ve never been so angry at Obama (none / 0) (#234)
by aed on Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 01:48:57 AM EST
It was undisciplined. The “pig” thing was a talking point, I realize that. Biden mentioned it, Beckels mentioned it today. I’m not a neophyte about politics, I know how it works. But Obama must have been really angered or rattled to make such a hash of it. I’m a woman who did not back Hillary, I’ve backed Obama since before it was cool (a year ago March I was a volunteer).

Seriously, I think he lost the election today. I could give a flip about “sexism” or a stupid pig comment. It’s how it will play in the country. It just plays into every bad thing people think about him. Tonight I’m hopeless about the election and just disgusted at his indiscipline. Terrible terrible tactics.

I don’t see it as sexist per se (none / 0) (#235)
by daria g on Wed Sep 10, 2008 at 02:05:15 AM EST
I don’t know what it was.. His delivery, like he’s doing bad standup comedy.. the fact that it’s pretty vague as to what the “pig” is and what “stinks” – if he is talking about policy, WHAT policy? What in particular? I was more annoyed that it came off like he didn’t even have to bother drawing a specific comparison between himself and McCain, he could just get away with some cheap laughs and saying obviously the other guys stink. What’s that about? It was just kinda lame IMHO. It’s the dismissive attitude that seems insulting, like the other day when he said Palin was a “mother, governor, moose shooter.” Not offensive in and of itself, but being dismissive – yeah, she’s cool, she’s no big deal, who cares.

I would have Obama stop (5.00 / 3) (#184)
by Drewski233 on Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 11:18:59 PM EST
He needs to stop making stupid jokes like this one and stop with the sarcasm. He’s turning people off and he sure isn’t looking or sounding Presidential.

What has happened to his campaign? Obama sounds so different than he did a few months ago. He needs to get back on track NOW.

I’m offended and angry (4.45 / 11) (#121)
by Prabhata on Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 10:16:51 PM EST
The pig comment goes with:

“She’s got the kitchen sink flying, and the china flying, and the, you know, the buffet is coming at me”
“periodically, when feeling down, launches attacks”
“You challenge the status quo and suddenly the claws come out.”

Now we can add the pig remark as to why I won’t vote for a man who thinks it’s OK to wipe his shoulders and look at his shoe when talking about his opponent simply because the opponent happens to be a woman.

He can put a suit on, but he is classless and amateurish.

Jeralyn, I appreciate that you’re (4.60 / 10) (#99)
by FoxholeAtheist on Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 10:00:26 PM EST
doing what you believe needs to be done to get Obama/Biden elected. Like you, I also don’t want to see McCain/Palin win this thing.

However, this particular line of reasoning doesn’t further the desired outcome:

Maybe Gov. Palin shouldn’t have been so quick to call herself a pit-bull in lipstick. She’s the one who injected gender quips into the race with that statement during her RNC acceptance speech.

Compare Palin’s self-deprecating remarks to Obama’s threadbare quip about being a skinny, young guy with a “funny name”.

He’s repeatedly injected this meme into public discourse, beginning with his convention speech in 2004. Does this mean that his physicality, his age and his name are fair game for insensitive comments, intentional or otherwise. I don’t think so and neither does Obama or any Obama supporter.

I was more offended… (4.14 / 7) (#98)
by Dawn Davenport on Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 10:00:23 PM EST
…by his body language while delivering his quip:

pause…slowly scratches forehead…delivers punchline…smiles at audience whupping it up in response

If the remark were as innocuous as some folks want to believe, he wouldn’t have gotten the same thigh-slapping reaction as he did after his dirt-brushing and poo-scraping vaudeville bit during the primaries.

Ok, I take your point (5.00 / 5) (#131)
by magesuew on Tue Sep 09, 2008 at 10:22:32 PM EST
But do you think Obama helped defeat John McCain with his actions today? I agree this election is VITALLY important. Which is why you don’t do and say stupid things. And, after all the unpleasantness and resentment still left over from the primaries (if I can mention them without getting chastised) you would think Obama would be bending over backwards not to make any gaffes regarding the perception of sexism. Where is his greatest weakness right now? White, middle-class, middle-aged women. The very group who would be most sensitive to a remark like that.

At the risk of getting yelled at again, I have to say I don’t like the phrase at all to begin with, no matter who it’s directed toward. I think it’s a dumb construction and should be avoided at any cost. I’m not getting into an argument about whether or not he meant it or who should or should not be offended. The point is, the base of both parties is pretty well behind their candidates EXCEPT women, who Obama did himself no favors with tonight.

Go ahead, make the case he shouldn’t back down. Castigate McCain for being touchy or playing the gender card (it’s the sex card, not gender, btw, really) but that doesn’t get us votes and doesn’t undo the harm just because Jeralyn denies it or wishes it away.

Maybe if more Democrats had spoken up and told Kerry when he was being an ass we wouldn’t have a President Bush right now. And maybe since no one may speak out against Obama’s blunders, we’ll get a President McCain. That’s why it’s essential to speak up.

Remember, these are his supporters

  • Previous Hillary! says of her reputed Scissor Sister Huma Abedin: "I did NOT have sex with that woman!"15 years ago
  • Next The knives are out for Bob Dole for having the temerity to point out that McCain bashers are mostly full of shit15 years ago

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