Comments on: Pardon My Laughter and Cynicism

By: Pat

Pat — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:06:21 +0000

Obama’s speaking style comes from the same place that Huckabee’s does.

Obama is a stereotype of the status quo in America. The only fresh thing about him is his packaging.

I wrote the following essay about him last summer and nothing has improved since.

Barack Obama: A Stereotype of Conventional Wisdom
http://aleftindependent.blogspot.com/2007/08/barack-obama-stereotype-of-conventional.html

He talks a good talk but frankly he is the stereotype of conventional wisdom on drug war policy. He is riding that ‘political third rail’ on a unicycle as he is at times vague and illusive when speaking about criminal justice and prison issues but then he is firm and incisive when cosponsoring more Draconian prohibition laws. Even when those laws are foolishly counter-productive for American society.

By: Billy Buntin

Billy Buntin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 02:51:54 +0000

Yeah … this one starts out with some real flair and humor then kind of quickly becomes a sort of ridiculous Obama love affair, without warrant. He’s able to be critical of everyone but Obama, some how focused on Obama’s “class” and “articulate” tone. Ridiculous.

That’s what makes the man leaps and bounds better than Bush … that’s all John needs in a president. I’m gonna hold out for something a bit more.

By: fb445

fb445 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:38:08 +0000

I have listened to Obama over and over and all I see is style over substance. Granted, alot of style. The Obama cult is in a drug-like trance, but I know that at some point they will need to wake up to reality. I also would like to believe that we can all hope and dream our way out of two wars, a recession, an energy crisis, a broken healthcare system, and no end in sight to the pro/anti abortion, gay marriage, stem cell culture wars around us. Unfortunately, I live in the real world where there are no easy answers.

By: delia ruhe

delia ruhe — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:47:46 +0000

Chuckman has always been quite brutal in his honesty, but his ex-patriot American takes on the US political scene are almost always accurate. He could be right about Obama, but I would not forget that Obama is being advised by Zbigniew Brzezinski, a man ruthless in his desire to repair the imperial status of America. American readers of this site may well feel uncomfortable with Chuckman’s grim analysis, but the truth is that the Republicrat party elite is not going to stand for anything but a Clinton vs. McCain run for the White House and will do everything in its power to make sure that this is the outcome of the primaries. The only thing that could result in a different outcome would be a revolution — a resolve on the part of a critical mass of Americans to put life and liberty on the line to ensure that candidates who actually represent the majority of Americans get a fair kick at the can. So far as I can tell, there is only one pair of candidates who represent that majority: the libertarian Ron Paul and the social democrat Dennis Kucinich. Slickly marginalized by the mainstream media and the party elite, it would indeed take a revolution to put them back in play.

By: Timber

Timber — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:31:50 +0000

The “corporate rulers of our countries” have nothing to worry about. People are more than willing to spend, breed, and worship themselves into slavery on their own.

Who is this imaginary Colossus of reason ready to wake from slumber? He doesn’t exist. Fantasies to the contrary are nonsense. Travel around the country; look at the number of poor people working themselves to death to drive a Tahoe or support a houseful of children they had in obedience to some church’s prohibitions against birth control. Look at the feverish rush of people to jump onto every consumer bandwagon, from SUVs to fake Rolexes to Bluetooths. This is the behavior of a society disgusted with the status quo?

Give a slave a Land Rover and he’ll never ask for real freedom.

By: Ray, Mechanicsville, VA

Ray, Mechanicsville, VA — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:01:03 +0000

I like all the descriptions! Right on all counts! I’d like to add to the Huckabee description…his ‘freshness’ does indeed show itself unique in comparrison to the grotesque stone (Thompson) or bloated face (McCain) or the eyepopping every other word about 9/11 candidate(Guiliani) or the I’m really a Liberterian, I’ve got a Constitution and I’m not afraid to use it! (Paul) or the blah, blah, blah bland guy nobody knows why he’s still hanging around (Hunter) that make up the other GOP wannabees, but… Huckabee’s ‘Aw shucks’ quality reminds me of the Jim Nabors ‘fillin’ station attendant turned marine character from Mayberry, Gomer Pyle…’Shazam! I wanna be President.’ Gawwly!

By: siamdave

siamdave — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:44:48 +0000

- I think John is sort of a mainstream Cdn ‘progressive’, looking for good things where none actually exist. I think Obama is a sign that the corporate rulers of our countries realise they have gone too far the last few years, and are actually in some danger of waking up a lot of people to what is really happening, and need to regain control. Sort of like Clinton was a ‘good cop’ to the Reagan-Bush ‘bad cop’ 15 years ago - but of course none of the central policies changed with Clinton, nor, I strongly suspect, will they no matter which ‘good cop’ Dem gets elected this year. It’s all a con. People need to get out of the box - They’re Building a Box - and You’re In It - http://www.rudemacedon.ca/dlp/box/box-intro.html - and start looking for REAL democracy.

By: Alice

Alice — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:41:01 +0000

NPR did a spot with some women from NH who voted for Hillary. Apparently the phony-ness that is seen by some including Cindy Sheehan, was lost on some people, including these women on NPR tonight who were so moved by her display of oprah-motion that they almost made me feel like the world would end if we didn’t elect Hillary Clinton as President of the United States, (of which I am a citizen of through no well known fault of my own)… ;)

By: HR

HR — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:11:06 +0000

Entertaining article, particularly the last paragraph, which is so sadly true here in the Christofascist land of the brainwashed, home of the non-thinking.

By: road ahead

road ahead — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 23:46:14 +0000

there goes the last human voice, and there goes the last dj.

By: Shabnam

Shabnam — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:50:02 +0000

What you have described to some degrees is the representative of candidates running for the office of presidency for the “Free world.” However, I do hesitate to agree with your prediction of the Republican Party that “[To] promote Clinton indirectly since I am sure she is seen as the more vulnerable ultimate opponent. “
I believe, like you, that Republican Party has a plan through which wants to continue the status que and expand the empire to protect the imperialist/Zionist interest by rearrangement of the Islamic countries through massacre of Muslim civilians like what is
http://heyetnet.org/en/content/view/490/27/
happening in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and by financial and military support of both the manufactured separatists and elites including the military to promote destabilization of these countries towards further division of Islamic world on ethnic and religious ground.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7705

The plan is to push Obama, whom you have described as “decent, thoughtful politician” against the republican nominee, McCain, for the presidency of the “civilized world.”
Obama has repeatedly said: “All the options including military action are on the table” and has passed the loyalty test, for AIPAC, yet he is not fully trusted.
Bush and his associates, neocon, have full support from McCain with their empire building erected on millions of Muslim death bodies to plunder their wealth.
The Boston Globe is owned by the New York Times supports McCain for Republican Party and Obama for the Democrats. The NYT has recently hired William Kristol, one of the Neocon pro Israel who was very helpful to sell the destruction of Iraq to ignorant Americans. He is going to occupy Judith Miller’s empty desk that was sacrificed to keep the “liberal voice” of the newspaper for further actions. Now they need Kristol, another neocon like Miller to sell future war based on campaign of lies and deceptions to sit another warmonger into the presidency.
William Kristol is supposeto create “suitable environment” for the Zionist candidate, McCain, by waging disinformation campaign against Obama who is seen as the more vulnerable ultimate opponent.

By: messianicdruid

messianicdruid — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:34:18 +0000

Well, I sort of enjoyed it. I was almost hurrying through to see what he would say about Ron Paul. But, alas, more ignoring, or should I say mendaciously overlooking the one person who might be able to limit the Empire’s bloatedness, if the Americans could be made aware of him.

By: John Halle

John Halle — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:02:22 +0000

Indeed, a terrible article. (Though it does get points for style and clarity, alas).

I never thought I’d had to retch while reading a piece on DV but this paragraph nearly did it for me:

“Obama has what Americans like to call ‘class,’ a form of grace that is almost indefinable and very rare in American national politics. There are echoes in his speech of John Kennedy with just a light touch of Dr. King’s cadences. He has the same effortless ability to deliver a line with subtle force. Most importantly, Obama literally breathes a sense of freshness and honesty,” etc.

As for Obama’s alleged “decency” let’s see if that’s the adjective which applies to him after his likely use of the 100,000 additional troops which he has called for results in the expansion of our military presence in the Middle East. That’s one instance of Obama’s “decency” and there are many others, e.g. his abject genuflections to AIPAC, his calls for expansion of coal and ethanol, his failure to consider even a weak variant of universal health coverage.

That Obama’s “soaring rhetoric” has “captured the imagination” of more than a few otherwise rational leftists is among the most depressing realities in the current political scene-something for which there’s plenty of competition.

For those needing a respite, I recommend, among others:

http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com/
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=90&ItemID=14670
http://www.blackagendareport.com/

I’d appreciate others’ suggestion for relief from Obamamania.

By: JE

JE — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 17:10:55 +0000

and of course you live in…Canada. This is a terrible article with a dearth of substantive analysis you, ironically, malign candidates for not possessing. And way to parrot the corporate pundits…what did you sit in your underwear and watch Fox News while taking notes for the last six months? How pathetically decadent has the so called left become .