DISQUS

katestone · 1 year ago

I disagree that Obama's statement on rural Pennsylvanians was "foolish." It was only "foolish" if he needed to think ahead that his detractors would take one sentence out of his entire speech and turn it into a failure on his part to grasp how people cope when they have to struggle day in and day out. In my opinion, Obama was right!

Here is a snippet from that talk: "Our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

If Obama is wrong, why do Republicans keep encouraging the bitterness by manufacturing social problems to win elections?

I believe that Obama respects what average Americans are dealing with and takes their issues seriously. The Republicans are gleefully exploiting one inartful sentence to drive home the "elitist" label.

Now, could you take on the "Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" sentence of McCain, please?

haddockfish · 1 year ago

It is not often that I would go to a newspaper, especially this far away and leave a comment. However, after hearing the remarks that Sen. Obama made at a meeting in San Francisco several weeks ago, I must give me two cents worth.
As I understand the context of the story, Sen. Obamaa was providing advice to a volunteer.He did not believe he was talking to a national audience.He was providing his own experience to a difficlt human situation to a volunteer.
Many commentators have made negative comments about his remark. Even Heath wrotes that because the Senator made a poor word choice somehow the Senator has failed to show voters he understands and respects them. At least Sen. Obama had compassion enough to say something.Have you heard anyone else say anything positive?
What is context? My Merriam-Websters Dictionary defines it as the parts of a discourse that surrounds a word or passage and helps to explain its meaning.
From my rame of reference I believed he was giving advice to someone who was about to find themselves in an economic environment of unemployed. perplexed, angry and even disallusioned citizens who were without a job, perhaps without a purpose, and who did not have a positive future outlook, either in life or for future employment. They had seen their life-long dreams disappear overseas.
If the reader has ever been unemployed for several weeks or months, the mind, the conscience, and even your well-being begins to feel inadequate. This would be especially so if they were a head of household with family responsibilities, or interacted with family or friends who did not fit into the same circumstances. I was unemployed for three months and I never want to experience it again.
I would appreciate for any reader to tell me what do those persons who find themselves in such circumstances cling to if it is not their religion, their hobbies, and their alienation. I can only think of one other life situation to cling to and that is consumerism. However, consumerism is what might have trapped a person who finds themselves in such a situation. Sometimes people in such situation take matters into their own hands by becoming violent.
I have not seen, nor have I hear one person provide context to visulize such persons(s) plight. I have not heard one smidgen of sympathy, or anyone provide a solution except to hammer home how unthoughtful this was of Sen. Obama to even think of such a thing, and to say it. Ridicule was the only answer. But what if the person who was going out on the field had no knowledge of what lay before them, how would they have reacted? Here was a community organizer now presidential candidate giving advice to a volunteer.
But here we are months later and our nation is in the most desperate situation it has faced in my lifetime. Persons are losing their homes, their livellhood, but yet these persons who have no sympathy will be the first in line to deny them their vote. It is reported this will happen by the Republicans in Michigan and Ohio. So what does a person to do, what is their way out if it not their religion, their hobbies, or their alienation? As one of the candidates says, "you are on your own". So what do those persons cling to when their way of life becomes desperate.
Even Heath believed this would blow over. But why did he think or believe that it would. How is Sen. Obama to show that he respects these voters and take the issues seriously? With so much at stake, are we just to let them slowly twish in the breeze as be become on-lookers without reason or cause?
Last, but not least I have found in my own life that until a stuation hits our family we have no understanding what it is like to be unemployed with no future, has cancer, no means to eliminate the hurt.
I am looking forward to an answer.

lokipv · 1 year ago

Barack Obama Campaign Head quarters,

THey are all complaining where is Hillary, how come she is not out more Campaigning for Barack Obama, Pelosi & Dean and Barack said month ago they don't need Hillary, and Barack can stand on his Own, but guess what, Obama can not stand on his own, and Pelosi & Dean are FORCING CLINTONS to campaign, Obama should stand and do it all on his own, But Obama want an affirmative action, He think he should be given the presidency, I know I voted for Hillary Now McCain,

riteizrite · 1 year ago

What's this nonsense about, "he thought his words were private so no one is offended"? You are simply proving Sarah Palin's point that the guy is a two-faced man pleaser with no morals to stand on. Worse than the comments themselves is a man with no backbone, trying to gain votes from the present crowd, while stabbing everyone else in the back. The whole country sees it. Now he's appealing for the gun owner's vote. Right. They know he'd sneak in their bedroom and swipe their guns if he had half the chance -- his record proves it. Keep it up obama, this election is all but over. He knows it and he's running scared. McCain doesn't even have to do anything except sit there watch as obama repeatedly opens his mouth and inserts foot. A classic case of self-destruction.

thomasjames · 1 year ago

Kate I am not sure I agree with you stance that it is the Republicans that are manufacturing social problems to win elections. I would say both parties inject social issues into national elections. Issues that should not even be considered at the federal level. Both parties are wrong in convincing the people that issues of abortion, marriage, etc. are best decided at a federal level. Anybody with an ounce of common sense can see that social and moral issues are best decided by communities. These issues are never black and white so why do expect that a federal government thousands of miles away from the problem is going to be able to give you the correct answer.

barbwire · 1 year ago

With the dishonest and downright hypocritical rhetoric being used every day by the McCain-Palin campaign I find it telling that the writer takes Obama to task about words. Want to be fair and balanced? Go over the verbal records of McCain and Palin with a fine tooth comb like you have with Obama and fact check what they have been saying. Document the numerous complete about-faces that McCain has taken on so many issues since he decided he needed to placate the worst forces within the GOP to have a chance for the nomination.

If "rural voters" are so concerned that Obama sees the complexities of complex issues and doesn't resort to bumpersticker sound-bite speak that they vote for McCain, I hope they enjoy it when the economy collapses due to GOP policies and they get no help because McCain et al. think government is the problem and people should pull themselves up by themselves or perish. Every election is a matter of priorities. If the "rural voters" and "independents" are still hung up on god, guns and gays, I guess they don't get what's really happening with the economy, health care, jobs and civil liberties thanks to the Republicans. If they don't see the trainwrecks coming in those areas due to "conservative" policies, maybe they really are clinging to what they find familiar in the way of refuges from reality.

thomasjames · 1 year ago

Ummm Barb your little attack on Heath is cute, but God, guns, and gays are actually issues surrounding civil liberties. Lol, have you read the Constitution namely the 1st and 2nd amendments?.....I don't what your personal beef is with Heath but you look foolish when talk of civil liberties and don't even know what they are. I promise Heath isn't a secret Republican operative. I would also bet that rural and independent voters have a much better taste for what is going with the economy, health care and jobs than you do. Just because they aren't embracing the higher taxes and socialism of the dems doesn't mean that they don't get it. Oh and one more mistake, the trainwrecks coming are the product of "neo-con" policies not "conservative" policies, I don't know if you can grasp that, but there are big differences.

barbwire · 1 year ago

I do know that equality to all is offered by the U.S. Constitution and I am not enjoying that equality due to the religious beliefs and prejudices of "conservatives" AND the "neocons" who manipulate them. McCain may have been a conservative once, but he is a neocon now.

The point is that the primary challenges to civil liberties are not related to guns or religion at this time but to free speech, privacy and equality for all.

No, I don't believe rural voters have any better idea of what's going on with the economy, health care and jobs because too many hold the view that those in power for the last 8-10 years have nothing to do with creating these problems.

The higher taxes are on future generations thanks to Rs running up a massive deficit with spending for their cronies, an unjust and unnecessary war and and granting huge tax breaks to the wealthy and subsidies for the corporations. Obama's plan would cut taxes for working people, not rich Republican elites. A safety net to ensure our security and the granting of certain rights like access to healthcare that every developed nation has except us do not equal socialism.

Conservative policy dictates that help for those in need, as you claim, is "socialism." Therefore, when the economy continues to experience serious upheaval or even collapse, as many minds more informed than myself on financial matters predict, those folks will be on their own, starving in the street. Maybe a thousand points of light will help them, but the Rs will not.

new_mexican · 1 year ago

I agree with Kate 100%. I had only heard the edited version of what Obama said. It makes sense when you read the whole thing. Thanks for posting the whole thing Kate.

And how can thomasjames "promise Heath isn’t a secret Republican operative". That is unless thomasjames is Heath!!!!!!