Clinging To A Stereotype
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Submitted by BDBlue on Fri, 04/18/2008 - 1:02am
Thread:
Tomorrow's Krugman column today (at least on the west coast).
Will Barack Obama’s now famous “bitter” quote turn out to have been a big deal politically? Frankly, I have no idea.
Mr. Obama’s comments combined assertions about economics, sociology and voting behavior. In each case, his assertion was mostly if not entirely wrong.
Silly, Krugman, caring about facts. I can't believe he's managed to keep his job with the Times.
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Comments
This is a Democratic Primary
One thing I'm very tired of is the implication from the Obama camp that when he loses key battleground states it is because of race, as if Democratic primary voters are the traditional racist block in today's politics. There are plenty of people who won't vote for Obama just because of his race. They are called Republicans. The working class Democratic voters won't vote for him because he has offered them no reason to, and Hillary has.
Evaluation rather than criticism
Krugman evaluates Obama mind bugling stupid statement about small town America. I doubt many expect Obama to be intellectually refined as Krugman is; after all, he isn't Bill Clinton. I don't read Krugman's piece as criticism.
As for Obama and Bill Clinton. My guess is that Obama really hates Bill. Obama probably has several reasons for it. First and foremore, Bill was the "first black president" and he did it on merit without resorting to Obama's race baiting. Bill also intellectually towers over Obama who, in my opinion, has just an average intellect. Last and not least, Bill presided over an extremely prosperous period and his policies went a long way to help the great opportunities the country had. Obama is green with envy and doubts he can do it that himself as well.
Koshembos, I'm not sure if...
"mind bugling" is a typo or a neologism (Google shows over 1000 citations).
But, perhaps as intended, it blows my mind!
The Telling Thing
Isn't that Obama made the comment it's that so many liberal commenters defended it as true. They didn't even check the facts, they just knew them to be so.
And that's ultimately why the people Obama was talking about are offended, it's not that he said some truth about them in an indelicate way, it's that he was perpetuating a false stereotype about them. They know who they voted for and why (and, btw, who they voted for in Pennsylvania was Clinton-Clinton-Gore-Kerry).
Oops, Double Post N/t
Sorry.
yup-he described GOP voters, not Dems--
and wtf is Dean doing? -- http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/200...
"An increasingly firm Howard Dean told CNN again Thursday that he needs superdelegates to say who they’re for – and “I need them to say who they’re for starting now.”
“We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time,” ..."
So all the remaining primaries/states don't matter?
...so many liberal commenters defended it as true.
The "bitterness" comment, that is. Well not conservative types like Ol' Giblets at Fafblog:
http://fafblog.blogspot.com/2008/04/bara...
"These people aren't "bitter." Far from it! America's impoverished working class are a chipper and cheerful lot, prancing and scampering about their foreclosed homes and crumbling industrial sectors with a spirit of adorable pluckiness, smiling and laughing through their unemployment and their black lung disease like a pack of hardscrabble leprechauns!"
"the only Democratic administration most Americans remember"
"...he'll stop denigrating the very good economic record of the only Democratic administration most Americans remember. ..."
yup--and it's why the Dem base isn't going for him.