If misinformation concerning a candidate is to be limited, the candidate should make the facts known.
In another Blogcritics article and its associated comments, it has been suggested that there have been lots of false accusations concerning Senator Obama. One comment notes,A) He's an ArabThe author of the article, in a subsequent comment, observed
B) He is related to Osama bin Laden
C) He's going to be sworn in on the Qu'ran
D) He has "ties" to Al Qaeda
E) "Just look at his name. How can anyone vote for someone with a name like that. Besides John McCain is a war hero. Makes me want to run screaming.That McCain and Palin and the RNC are whipping up such innuendo and misinformation that people are extrapolating all kinds of things, and yes, just such claims have been circulating about Obama all OVER the web and all OVER Fox News and Rush and so forth. In fact, at a Palin rally the guy who introduced her made it a point to use Obama's middle name and emphasize it and there are bumper stickers all over with Obama/Osama on them.I don't doubt for a moment that such accusations make many people "want to run screaming." Unsupported allegations have a similar effect on me.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Dan(Miller)
The article refers to a video tape in the possession of the LA Times which that paper has thus far declined to release. Here is an article by Jeffrey Goldberg in The Atlantic suggesting that the refusal to release the tape adds to the confusion surrounding the question of just who is Senator Obama.
Dan(Miller)
27 - Dan(Miller)
Here is a link to another interesting article, pointing out some of the things I perhaps should have said but didn't. The perspective of the author of the article makes it well worth reading.
Dan(Miller)
28 - pablo
Dan,
I just love it when you refer to Murdoch and company as a valid reference. Better yet why not use the Washington (owned by Reverend Moon) Times?
hehehe
29 - Dan(Miller)
Pablo,
Gosh Darn! I am so happy that you are pleased. Your pleasure brings tears of joy to my eyes! I am delighted that you are changing your wicked ways.
Dan(Miller)
30 - Zedd
Clavos,
I don't think that Dan(Miller)is any title. He may be called something but I think he is much more complex than a title. Considering that conservatism is a blurry concept in today's landscape, calling him one is essentially meaningless.
So, because of the way that Dan communicates, I assume that he is a thinking man and beyond the immensely meaningless tags that folks like yourself like to through around, I assume to make things simple for them (???).
31 - Clavos
Quite right, Zedd. Allow me to re-submit a corrected version of my original statement:
I'm amused that because you Democrats find your Messiah so appealing, you insist that a [insert word of your choice here] like Dan(Miller) should also vote for him.
32 - bliffle
I predict an Obama landslide.
Why? Just judging from the hysterical ranting of Dave, and the fact that Dan(Miller) has changed from a mild mannered moderate republican into a fire-breathing Obama scandal monger.
They both read a lot of political hoohah and they must smell it in the air.
33 - Condor
If Obama doesn't win (just suppose), can we anticipate riots in the streets? If so, this is the last weekend to stock up on various items needed.
34 - Dr Dreadful
Condor, I can't speak for the rest of the country, but if the citizens of Fresno, California (my place of residence) haven't been provoked into rioting by the Bulldogs' fondness for throwing away prestigious and winnable home games, I very much doubt that an Obama loss will do it!
35 - Zedd
Clavos,
Thanks for the clarification. It helps
However.... Let's not dummy down the discourse by implying that those who have or will vote for Obama see him as some sort of messianic figure. He is the better of the two candidates. The nation is tanking and McCain is spouting the same ideas that got us into this mess. People are loosing their homes and jobs and it ain't gonna get any better any time soon and he wastes our time by invoking the idea that the alternative to his old notions is socialism; employing the scare tactics that brought on the ignorance which created this mess. It's enough. He's not good enough. He doesn't know how to think creatively enough to solve the issues that face us. SIMPLE(whether in English, Spanish or French... take your pick)!
As for you, you can let go of wanting to be right and choose the best man for the job today. So you loved Reagan or BushI or William F. Buckley and Friedman is your hero. Right now, today, we have this situation and McCain is not equipped to handle it. He doesn't have anything in his tool belt to use to solve this matter. He just wants a whack at it. Obama is a creative problem solver; a man of the time. He understands the global landscape and the workaround culture that we are in. He is not stale or hard and fast or prides himself on going against the grain. He is about solutions, period. Not evocative concepts from some MGM movie. Pensi a questo proposito, uomo!
36 - Condor
Doc,
You're remiss in forgetting the Philly factor... and they won!
37 - Zedd
the fact that Dan(Miller) has changed from a mild mannered moderate republican into a fire-breathing Obama scandal monger.
I feel disallusioned. Sigh.... I'm keeping hope alive. He's being held at gun point by some dumb redneck
38 - Dan(Miller)
Zedd,
I must confess to breathing fire. Gosh Darn! It is a great way to toast marshmallows. Wooooosh!
Dan(Miller)
39 - Zedd
Ruvy
I love how its perfectly acceptable to you that the European were making mandates on Arab lands in the 20's. AND that you think that every one else is fine with that. Funny stuff.
40 - Clavos
Zedd #35,
Appreciate your impassioned (if misguided) plea, but you're too late; I voted days ago.
41 - troll
gee...it's almost like Dan wants to be blind to the unresolved blood lust and racism at the heart of US polite society
(in these awkward situations it is best not to address the dragon directly or look him in the eye)
42 - Condor
And Zedd, he also has Pelosi and Reid! Wow, what a combo.
I happen to like Obama, but that freakin' house leadership is FUBAR. Too bad he is joined at the hip with all that party trash.
43 - troll
not to worry Condor - he's a Marxist or haven't you heard...he'll get rid of those pushy bastards in his first Stalinesque purge
44 - Clavos
Any chance he could be talked into getting rid of the entire Congress and Senate? And, while he's at it, about 95% of federal employees as well?
45 - Dr Dreadful
Appreciate your impassioned (if misguided) plea, but you're too late; I voted days ago.
That's too bad, Clav, but since it's Florida surely you can say you'd like another go.
Tell them your name is Dedman 'Stiffy' DeKay, the Voter from Beyond. I'm sure he's on the rolls somewhere.
Then vote for the other guy. It's only fair.
46 - Clavos
LOL, Doc!
I REALLY like your wry humor!
Oh, wait -- you were serious, weren't you?
47 - Dr Dreadful
You'd know, Clav...
One further observation: judging by Dave's current profile picture, there's at least one dead guy voting in Texas.
48 - Dan(Miller)
Doc, re Comment #34,
Do their concerns perhaps have some basis? Have we yet had a civil war over the outcome of a football game (or whatever the Bulldogs do)? Poor Jane Fonda. It's a pity. I feel so sorry for her*.This just in, from the horse's um, ah, oh yes, mouth. It's (allegedly) from an interview in Italy with Erica Jong.
Dan(Miller)
*snicker, pause, barf.
49 - Dr Dreadful
Have we yet had a civil war over the outcome of a football game (or whatever the Bulldogs do)?
Not yet, Dan, but as a resident of Central America I'm sure you're well aware that such an outcome is not outside the realm of possibility.
50 - Condor
Based on the Jong article above.... it's either real or just an excuse for a valium scrip.
I wonder if all the Hollywierdo's will have a collective orgasm if Obama wins? Obamagasm.
Is Alec Baldwin planning to move back from France? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.... what a clown town Hollywierd is.
51 - moon
Condor,
From your post, I would say that you don't exactly fall into the healthy normal category either.
52 - Cindy D
Who is Senator Obama?
I'll go with the assessment of the conservative who has written and spoken most about how important character is to her--former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan and Wall Street Journal columnist--Peggy Noonan.
Obama and the Runaway Train
The race, the case, a hope for grace.
He has within him the possibility to change the direction and tone of American foreign policy, which need changing; his rise will serve as a practical rebuke to the past five years, which need rebuking; his victory would provide a fresh start in a nation in which a fresh start would come as a national relief. He climbed steep stairs, born off the continent with no father to guide, a dreamy, abandoning mother, mixed race, no connections. He rose with guts and gifts. He is steady, calm, and, in terms of the execution of his political ascent, still the primary and almost only area in which his executive abilities can be discerned, he shows good judgment in terms of whom to hire and consult, what steps to take and moves to make. We witnessed from him this year something unique in American politics: He took down a political machine without raising his voice.
53 - Clavos
Yada, yada, yada...
Vote for the Messiah...
54 - Clavos
Peggy Noonan is a freakin' conservative!
She worked for Reagan, for crissakes! She's in the same party as Bush!
How can you trust anyone as stupid and unamerican as that?
Let us hope she doesn't hurt the
MessObama campaign too badly.55 - Cindy D
Clav,
Noonan also writes very positively about John McCain and expresses differences with Obama in that article.
My point has nothing to do with "vote for the Messiah", it has to do with assessment of character. Something Dan has expressed as a concern. I am simply providing the opinion of a very conservative woman who has written extensively on character.
56 - Clavos
But she's a conservative, Cindy!
You can't trust anything they say; they are the devil incarnate.
If she writes postively about McCain, that alone is reason enough NOT to vote for him.
My God, the woman's a...a...a...Republican!.
It makes my skin crawl to even type that word.
57 - Cindy D
Clav, you are silly. lol
And besides, you made a mistake...
How can you trust anyone as...unamerican as that?
That certainly doesn't belong in a sardonic comment aimed at me!
58 - Dr Dreadful
Out of interest, Clav (or Dan (Miller)) - can you point to anything at all that an Obama supporter has said or written in which he is actually referred to as the Messiah?
59 - Cindy D
Clav,
Concerning conservatives. Conservatives are fine with me. William Buckley, Goldwater and other pseudo-conservatives , which is the direction the conservative movement went after Buckley formed the National Review are the antipathy of my very fiber.
I'll take Ike or Taft. They were real conservatives. And they were very different than what has been hijacked as conservatism. Pseudo-conservatives these days have steadily moved into the realm of being anti-human. Not all in every way. But I think they have wandered very far from what conservatism was.
60 - Cindy D
Here's a picture:
If in M.A.S.H. (my favorite show of all time), Hawkeye is a liberal, and Colonel Potter is a conservative, then Majors Houlihan and Burns represent pseudo-conservatives.
61 - Cindy D
Finally Clav,
I didn't say I trusted Peggy Noonan. I just thought Dan might.
62 - moon
Dan,
I think you'd better remember that you are pretty darn close to Jane Fonda's age--your back (or some other painful part) could go out on you at any moment, too.
I know my neck went off its hinges a couple weeks ago--and I couldn't care less about the crises in Gringolandia.
Just part of the ageing package....
63 - Clavos
Out of interest, Clav (or Dan (Miller)) - can you point to anything at all that an Obama supporter has said or written in which he is actually referred to as the Messiah?
Search Louis Farrakhan and Obama on YouTube, Doc.
To my knowledge, Farrakhan's the only one to actually say it, but sleazebag opportunist that I am, I will probably never again refer to the Messiah any other way, not even when he occupies the highest office in the land, which all my grade school civics teachers tried in vain to teach me to respect.
Clav(os)
64 - Clavos
The next time fonda's back goes out of whack, we could help her fix it by stretching her neck...
I'll bring the rope.
65 - Zedd
And they were very different than what has been hijacked as conservatism. Pseudo-conservatives these days have steadily moved into the realm of being anti-human. Not all in every way. But I think they have wandered very far from what conservatism was.
And the angels sing... Haaaaa-le-lluuuuu-jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH!
Sad thing is these people don't even know what a conservative is. They are just caught up in a frenzy of high school gossip, who is "in" and who's got boogers and who should no one eat lunch with. They believe that all of their made up rules, loving fetuses, wanting people to pray in school (even though its not prohibited), being for family (even though everyone is, its a human condition), liking to kill animals (its supposed to mean that you are American some how), being angry at none Americans, all Earthlings. Maintaining an up-yours attitude no matter what (not sure why). Fearing all religions other than Christians and Jews who are in Israel but maintaining distrust towards the ones in America. These beliefs are what define important values. What is uncomfortable about it all is that these are all vague and not connected to conservatism. They are just a stance but not ideological really.
66 - moon
You could check with Hiassen on this, as I am not an expert on the group, but I believe that you just described part of the Cracker Code, Zedd.
67 - Zedd
Clavos,
But she's a conservative, Cindy!
You can't trust anything they say; they are the devil incarnate.
This is more so how you guys think. No one thinks conservatives are evil. Some may see them as misguided or even wrong but the practice of demonizing people because of their politics is a habit of modern day "conservatives". It's perplexing and really annoying to thinking people.
The reason that talk radio didn't work for people on the left is that belittling and demonizing isn't rational and doesn't work for thinkers. It is the very thing that they have come to dislike about the right.
Also, you may want to cease with the Messiah thing. It's just small and very Rush'esque. Might as well say Naner-naner-naaaaner. It just feeds into the dumb Republican thing. We don't want Republicans to be dumb. We want America to have divergent views and smart ideals that people debate. So don't be small. Argue for you ideas but pleas HAVE some ideas to argue for.
68 - moon
If you want gringos to be smart, put money into education (and not the spoon-feeding banking model called NCLB, which is worse than the Latin American model of 50 years ago),
and not into weapons and mercenaries.
69 - Cindy D
Zedd,
The reason that talk radio didn't work for people on the left is that belittling and demonizing isn't rational and doesn't work for thinkers. It is the very thing that they have come to dislike about the right.
And I'll add along with promoting a culture of greed and war. I'm sure I can list other things, but I'll stop with those two biggies.
You might be interested in some links I posted for Lisa in comment #25 on this thread.
70 - Lisa Solod Warren
I don't knw that it doesn't work. I listen to progressive talk radio all the time; it seems to have a pretty wide audience to me. I don't know about ad revenue, but I listen to Air America and NOVA radio..... Bill Press, the Young Turks, Ed Schults, Randi Rhodes, Rachel Maddow, and more, whenever I am in the car and sometimes at home....
They get a LOT of calls and break a lot of stories and Maddow was hired directly from Air America (where she still is) to be on MSNBC.
71 - Zedd
Ahhh Air America. I simply wasn't good enough. Too many ticked off raspy voiced people trying to make a name for themselves by having a shtick. Sound familiar? It's unbearable. I would rather listen to NPR and get the full spectrum, get smarter and appreciate life, instead listening to people who I generally agree with, who get mean and petty, who regularly drift off on unrelated rants; who focus on tit for tat as opposed to solutions for all people (rich and poor). It was a breath of fresh air when no one in the msm was holding Bush and the right accountable. It made me feel sane. However after a while, it got low brow and silly. Franken sounded drunk or high 2/3rds of the time. The one show that I did appreciate was the one with Kennedy. It was thoughtful, smart and provoking. But the mean spirited yakking is useless and no different than what Rush does. It dummies down the discourse. Don't need for people to agree with me always (not that needy), I just want good solid information.
72 - Lisa Solod Warren
I listen to it all, Zedd. NPR, BBC, NPR on Satellite (which has different stuff). I don't know what AIr America was like in the old days... I have only been listening for a year. But I like it, I do. Thom Hartmann is brilliant, and many of the others don't "shout" at all....
THings change from how the start. I have listened to Rush (just to know what he is like and I find very litte resemblance).
73 - Clavos
Also, you may want to cease with the Messiah thing.
And, I may not...
74 - Zedd
Lisa,
I haven't listen in a couple of years. I'll give it a whirl.
75 - Dan(Miller)
Doc, re Comment #58 -- Oh, OK.
Would you settle for Moses and "In Obama We Trust?"
Dan(Miller)