At least that seems to be the new attack against our presumptive nominee. He's not allowed to say he likes his chances of victory, because that makes him "arrogant." He can't present himself as Presidential, because that's too presumptuous, and he should know better. He can't even say that he's become a symbol of what can be achieved in America, because that makes him "cocky". These are the stories that are being promoted now. I honestly think a lot of it is jealousy. If ANY other politician, hell even if regular people, had managed to do what Obama has done in this election, they'd be the same way. Overall, Obama is very humble (it's hard not to be when people are constantly trying to knock you down).
So after all of the gaffes of McC[ompl]ain, the media is now focusing on a quote where Obama said that he has sort of become a symbol of what is possible in America, I don't see how that's any different than Senator Clinton saying she made 18 million cracks in a glass ceiling (no one called her arrogant)
I have a real problem with this notion that Senator Obama is arrogant, cocky, and/or presumptuous. You HAVE to have a healthy ego and a good bit of self confidence to run for President. There have been many times when I have seen Senator Obama self-depreciate himself. He constantly praises his opponent (in my opinion most of it is unwarranted since his opponent is showing himself to be a jerk) and always talks about how difficult it's going to be to win in November.
Yesterday I read an article titled "Obama Still Does Not Know His Place." Of course when I read the title of this piece, I already had a preconceived notion of what the article was going to say but was pleasantly surprised:
The man who slayed Democratic royalty, who has raised more money than any political campaign in US history, drawn record-breaking crowds in the US and abroad, who has been ahead of John McCain since widespread general election polling began four months ago, this man is presumptuous for thinking he has a good shot at becoming president and should therefore get to know his potential counterparts and visit the sites of US military activity?
I mean seriously, do we WANT a candidate who thinks he's going to lose? McC[ompl]ain thinks he's going to lose, and we are seeing all sorts of desperate stuff come out of that campaign. I think some of this smacks of ageism and racism, as Jenkins points out in the article.
Now McCain is recycling some version of this superciliousness, heavily aided by a traditional media still so easily scared into thinking it is not tough enough on Obama. McCain can hardly hide his rage at this uppity kid who thinks he can hobnob with world leaders just as he does -- who thinks he has more judgment than a septuagenerian war-mongering former prisoner of war. And who sees no reason to wait his turn when barely 1 in 10 Americans think the country is on the right track, thanks to his elders' enlightened leadership. In a weird echo of the Clinton attacks, McCain smirks his way through one sarcastic comment after another, his face twisted in hatred and disbelief. Not only is Obama "presumptuous," he also "doesn't understand." It is never clear what Obama doesn't understand since he actually has not gotten his facts or, so far, his analysis wrong, as opposed to McCain whose errors in fact and in judgment are so numerous as to make one wonder where he has been for the past 20 years (poring over Cold War era reports on Czechoslovakia? Hanging out at the Iraq-Pakistan border? Plotting to bomb-bomb-bomb bomb-bomb Iran?). McCain is the most arrogant of Senators (not a light charge), yet even by his standards the tone he adopts towards Obama is so densely patronizing that here too it is hard to dismiss it as purely a matter of age gap. McCain's joke of an economic advisor, Carly Fiorina, is now also laying it on thick: she is glad that Obama is consulting with experts. This from the woman who nearly ran a Fortune 100 company into the ground and whose candidate knows so little about economic issues after three decades in Congress that Fiorina is reduced to repeating that McCain "has been understanding [economic issues] for months."
Obama has been a victim of ageism since the primary season, not for being too old, but for being too "young" even though he's older than Bill Clinton was when he was elected. People talk about Barack Obama as if he's NOT a U.S. Senator, it almost harkens back to the "boy" mentality, where white people refused to call Black men "men." I hate to go there, but that's really what I'm thinking this is leading to subconsciously. Barack Obama is not a child, kid, boy, youth, or any of that. The man is damn near 50. He's old enough to be my father (I'll be 25 next month), yet people talk about him as if he was young enough to be in my class.
What angers John McCain and bemuses many traditional observers is how unflappable Barack Obama remains in public, no matter how condescending the attacks. There is little doubt that the thick skin he grew over decades came in handy as he started to run for president. The past 18 months surely were not the first time Obama was baited for being black, for being white, for being Muslim, or for not being from "here," and it must be fascinating, although not unexpected, for him to see these patronizing attitudes resurface at this stage of his life. For the rest of us, what is fascinating is to witness how these old-school mindsets are backfiring on those who hold them, making them look less wise, more prejudiced, less fit to lead and altogether completely unappealing. And to witness that in America in 2008, it is perhaps not a bad thing not to know your place.
And right now, Joe Scarborough is on Morning Blow Joe raging about Obama's ego because he dares to say he has good chances, and that if he is elected the world will look at him as a symbol of the "old" America to come back. Perhaps they want Obama to just not be confident, and not be who he is. Obama is comfortable in his skin and doesn't really pander (which I love), but now he's "uppity." Johnathan Capehart literally just said he's "bumping up against that uppity line" on TV. I suppose Capehart will get away with it because he's black too. And now they are pulling the Michelle "proud" quote back up. And when someone points out that Reagan did much the same thing, and that the Michelle quote is taken out of context, it gets ignored. Out of all of the gaffes and straight up BS that McCain has spouted in the last couple of days, this is the stuff the media chooses to focus on.
I know that had ANYONE else said it, like McC[ompl]ain, it would have been fine. In fact, McC[ompl]ain has gotten away with saying he "knows how to win wars" with no one questioning what war he's won, he "knows how to catch Bin Laden" with no comment, he is a "foreign policy expert" with no comment. He's been allowed to be completely disrespectful to Obama and his accomplishments (when he wasn't speaking to an African American audience that is) and no one calls him on that. He's been allowed to say Obama wants to lose the war to win an election, and no one calls him on that.
And nevermind the fact that the quote was taken from what he said to the Democratic leadership, NOT the press or supporters. It's no wonder he doesn't want to deal with the press. Everything he says is taken completely out of context and stripped of all meaning.
So here it comes, Obama needs to know his role and shut his mouth. Don't express any confidence, don't be smart, don't have a brain, don't refuse to "eat the donut."
I've actually thought that Obama has been TOO humble in the past (and still today sometimes), but they are going to paint him as the "uppity negro that doesn't love America" and hope it sticks. We need to fight against this. I'm not worried about Obama's ability to handle this crap, but we will still need to make sure there is some serious push-back on this notion that he's uppity.
As always, comments, tips, and recs are welcome.
UPDATE: Here are the quotes they are using to say he's arrogant/cocky/uppity:
while attending a fundraiser in Arlington, Va., Monday night. Talking to about 40 supporters, he opined that when he began his White House quest, "there weren’t too many people who thought we were going to pull this off."
Now, he said, "We are ... in a position where the odds of us winning are very good. But it’s still going to be difficult.... We’re not going to see a huge gap develop between now and Nov. 4 [in the polls]. This is going to be a close election. I’m new on the national scene. People sort of like what they see, but they’re not sure."
Yep, sounds uppity to me. How DARE HE! He thinks his odds of winning are very good? What election is HE watching?
Sen. Barack Obama paid an upbeat visit to House Democrats, his first meeting with the full group of lawmakers whose fortunes are tightly tied to his this fall. "This is your moment," he told them.
The Democratic presidential candidate told the group that the positive response he received in Germany and the rest of Europe was "not about him," said House Democratic Whip James Clyburn of South Carolina. Rather, Obama said he was a "symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions." Lawmakers gave that remark a standing ovation.
Notice, how Clyburn ALSO said that Obama told them it was was "not about him" this part is being conveniently left out of the discussion. Context is everything, and the media has stripped all context from this.
Do you think these quotes make him "uppity"?
UPDATE #2: Apparently there is some push-back coming on this latest try by the right to paint Obama as an "uppity negro":
When you scroll through the newspapers today -- or our summaries of them below -- you’ll discover developing narratives about Obama and McCain that have the ability to dent the images of both men. For Obama, it’s that he has become too arrogant and too confident. The Washington Post has him telling House Democrats yesterday: "I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions." But Politico is reporting that that wasn’t the entire quote. Per a Democratic source, "[The Post] left out the important first half of the sentence, which was along the lines of: ‘It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol..." Regardless of the context now, this narrative has been ready to explode at some point and even a misreported quote was enough to spark this arrogance watch. Some see him violating the cardinal sin of politics, acting as if this campaign is about him.
Hopefully Dana Milbank, and everyone who was promoting this BS will lose some credibility after this. But I doubt it.
UPDATE #3: Something someone said in a comment made me remember another point. While Obama is being called presumptuous for acting Presidential, McCain and Bush were not treated that way for thinking they deserved the presidency. In fact, I have heard people (and not just callers to C-SPAN, so called political pundits have done it too) state that McCain "deserves" the Presidency because of his service. Because he was a POW he deserves the presidency? And NO ONE is questioning this logic. Had someone said Obama said he somehow DESERVED the presidency for ANY reason, Obama and the person who said it would be raked over the coals. White men who feel "entitled" are fine (note: does not apply to white women who feel "entitled" just look at what they did to Hillary), but a Black man who has worked his way up from basically nothing (remember, Obama's mother was on FOOD STAMPS at one point) shows some confidence and is labeled arrogant and cocky? This, ladies and gents, is the world we live in.
UPDATE #4: Obama is in Missouri with Senator McCaskill right now, and she addressed the arrogance meme! I love this woman. She literally said "blah, blah, blah" and told them that he is "as red, white, and blue that you can possibly get." She told the audience that he's a patriot, a great man, a man who loves his family and his country. She also said that he's one of the most humble people she knows, and that everyone tends to be wrong about him. Her intro was AWESOME. I hope what she said ends up on YouTube, everything she said about him was awesome, but her tone and everything was perfect, and the look on Obama's face was priceless. You can tell he was proud to have her stick up for him. Here's the video:
In case you can't watch the video (dial up can be a real pain in the ass, I know), I've transcribed her intro:
You know, "they" SAID that "a young Black guy by the name of Barack Obama couldn’t get elected in the state senate in Illinois." And you know what? They were wrong (cheers)
And "they" said, when he got to Washington he was going to be a flash in the pan, not going to be taken seriously, and you know what? They were wrong (more cheers)
And "they" said, well he’s not going to run for President, he’s not ready, and you know what? They were wrong (now some of the crowd is chanting "they were wrong" with her)
And THEN "they" said, he doesn’t have a chance to win that primary in Missouri, and you know what? They were wrong (everyone is saying "they were wrong" with her)
And then "they" said NO WAY this guy gets nominated to be President of the United States of the Democratic Party, and you know what? They were wrong
And then "they" said, well he can’t go across the ocean and stand toe to toe with the world’s leaders? And you know what? They were wrong!
(in a softer voice) And most importantly I want to tell you something on my heart this morning is something "they" say. They say that he’s "arrogant" that he’s "unpatriotic", blah blah blah blah blah blah blah (I may be off on the number of blahs, she said it a lot). And let me tell ya, I know this man. He is humble. He is. . . devoutly Christian. He loves his family more than anything else in the world. (crowd claps) He cares about families. He reveres our men and women in uniform. And he (pause for cheers and applause). And he is as "red, white, and blue" as you could possibly get. (Obama looks down bashfully as the crowd stands up and cheers). He will tell you that this election is not about him, and he means that. He will tell you, that it’s about you. It’s about your checkbook, it’s about your children, it’s about your families, it’s about you.
(now she’s back to being fired up) And the last thing "they" said was that Barack Obama will NEVER come to Springfield, They were wrong! (this gets the crowd back fired up, and Barack looks up again)
Southwest Missouri, YES WE CAN, my friend, the next President of the United States, Barack Obama! (huge loud cheers)
That is actually the entire townhall, I'm just posting it for the intro. h/t to Harrison P
UPDATE #5 I can't embed MSNBC video, but here's a link to Jonathan Capehart calling Obama "uppity" saying he's bumping the "uppity" line h/t paddybraska
UPDATE #6: I thought I was done updating, but Roland Martin has Dana Milbank on his show now talking about this, and Dana is STILL promoting his article as accurate. He's using the quotes out of context. I can't believe this! Even after everyone is pretty much debunking this, he's still trying to say that Obama is arrogant. And he sounds like a real ass talking to Roland, he's talking down to him saying things like "well if you really read my article, then you know what he said." We need more pushback on this, this guy sounds like a real douche. Dana Milbank is officially getting filed in my "assholes to ignore" file.
Roland has a good point that people WANT the candidate to look Presidential.
UPDATE #7: The Obama camp has come out with another presumptuous ad about John McC[ompl]ain:
I think it's great that he's hitting back, while this ad is directed at McCain, the beginning could also go for the media. They are using the same old game of division to paint Obama into a box he won't fit in. And talk about pushback, the ad quotes an editorial from TODAY.
UPDATE #8: Apparently Rachel Maddow just put a smackdown on Pat Buchanan (that's always fun to watch). I personally haven't seen it yet, but this comment from LincolnLightshould prove helpful:
"Pat, when you're on here ignoring the fact that McCain has run ads calling himself president McCain, but criticizing Obama for saying something far less damning, I think that says a lot more about you than about the candidate."
Basically, Pat kept referring to Millbank's column using it as factual evidence - and couldn't catch on that it'd been disproved as a negative point but rather was a positive. And Rachel just schooled him this segment.
Also h/t to crysinpdx for pointing it out. You guys are great!
When MSNBC puts up the video I'll add it. As always, gotta love Rachel. The line about the reaction saying more about the person reacting than the candidate is sooooooooooooo true!
UPDATE #9: KO dropped the ball. Not only did he NOT blast Milbanks for his crappy hit piece on Obama, he didn't mention it at all. Race for the White House mentioned it close to its opening, and Dan Abrams just addressed it at the top of his show. Keith's silence on this is disappointing. I guess he can only rail against injustice when it doesn't involve his friends. Too bad.
On Abrams, Tucker Carlson played the "Republican" role and basically said that Obama is trying to act like a Messiah. Roy Seacof (sp) pointed out that there have been football players that said they were going to win the Superbowl, and President Kennedy said we were going to go to the moon, and no one called THEM arrogant or cocky, they were called AMERICAN HEROS.
I'm not sure how far this meme is going to go, but I don't think many people are going to fall for this. As someone else pointed out (can't remember who) this is a race to define Obama, and Obama himself has to start defining himself to the people who AREN'T paying close attention before it's too late. The media is already trying to turn this into a referendum on Obama and make it so they are voting "against" Obama instead of "for" McCain.
Country singer Toby Keith, who is on a media blitz promoting his pro-lynching movie, Beer For My Horses, said during a radio interview with Glenn Beck today that he believes "black society" will pull for Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), even though "they think in the back of their mind that...he talks, acts and carries himself as a Caucasian":
KEITH: I think that the black people would say he don’t talk, act, or carry himself as a black person.
BECK: What does that even mean?
KEITH: I don’t know what that means, but I’m saying that’s what I think that they would say. Even though the black society would pull for him, I still think that they think in the back of their mind that the only reason that he is in is because he talks, acts and carries himself as a Caucasian.
[snip]
The day after Beck’s "colorless" remark, Rush Limbaugh said that Obama should "renounce" his race and just "become white."Extreme conservative talker Melanie Morgan has called Obama a "halfrican" who "is not allowed to wear the African-American badge because his family are not the descendants of slaves."
So let me get this straight, not only is Obama an "uppity negro" but he's an "uppity negro who acts white." Are you serious? This is the crap people are listening to on "right wing radio"? And who the hell is TOBY KEITH to tell ANYONE why BLACK PEOPLE are voting for Obama? Why can't BLACK people be articulate and carry themselves well? For some reason, this offended me even more than the Dana Milbank story. What do you think?
