Obama and "The Audacity of Vanity", or - Who IS this guy?

Parent Cafe
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<p>bz, I think some of our very best presidents have been as young or younger than Obama when they were elected, and that alone doesn’t worry me. McCain’s age, on the other hand, does concern me - I think he is a very different man than the one who ran in 2000.</p>

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<p>Sounds like Obama is running in the image of President Bush. Which candidates this year didn’t do illegal drugs?</p>

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<p>unreg - you do know that McCain hiked the Grand Canyon in '06, and apparently is planning to do it again this summer. </p>

<p>[Democracy</a> Project: Democracy Project](<a href=“democracy-project.com - democracy project Resources and Information.”>democracy-project.com - democracy project Resources and Information.)</p>

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<p>Don’t worry about Mac’s age - he’ll be fine. ;)</p>

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<p>McCain didn’t! :)</p>

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<p>Oh please:rolleyes: That argument is patently disingenuous. When was the last time you knew of a poor (or even middle class) person with enough national celebrity and influence to encourage the nation’s youth to consider civil service? John F. Kennedy certainly had more money and a much larger estate than Barack Obama has ever had, but somehow nobody thought it disqualified him from issuing the challenge: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” If not for JFK, many service programs like The Peace Corp, would not exist today. The man was born with a proverbial silver spoon in his mouth, but he didn’t have to divest of all his worldly goods, and take a vow of poverty in order to credibly encourage service and sacrifice. </p>

<p>And somehow, it’s almost always a conservative that criticizes Obama for his success, claiming that his “6 bedroom, $1.65 million house” somehow disqualifies him from office or the ability to advocate for the poor—the same people who just love to bust black people’s chops for “lack of excellence, lack of success”:rolleyes:
Given your complete disdain for Obama, I’m sure it makes no difference in your book that he chose to work with the poor in inner city Chigcago, earning next to nothing after graduating from college. Teach for America, The Peace Corp, and many other service opportunities are what he’s encouraging young people to consider. How is that somehow now an indictment of his character? </p>

<p>Listen, there are plenty of legitimate reasons to question Obama’s suitability for POTUS without pulling out lame cr*p about the mere fact that the man has a little money—and it is a little money compared that that of the McCains. But some how, their money doesn’t bother you, does it?</p>

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<p>Care to employ a bit of grammar, and impart a bit of meaning?</p>

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<p>^^ I think that post (#45) sets the record for the highest number of sweeping generalizations in one post!</p>

<p>And talk about snarky - the last quote & comment was pretty mean considering it’s obviously just a typo - or s/he probably hit the post button before reviewing by mistake.</p>

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<p>Sets a record, huh? Care to innumerate those “sweeping generalizations”? What did I say that wasn’t true?</p>

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<p>poetsheart-
Nice assumptions. I never once mentioned his race, and it has no factor in my views of him. I would appreciate if you would not drag race into the discussion. I view him as a politician, not in terms of race.
I have no respect for a woman who criticizes those who enter certain fields because they are not serving the public, yet she makes around $300,000 as a vp at a hospital. Michelle recieved over a $100,000 bonus when BO won a seat on the senate.
Practice what you preach. Don’t tell people they need to sacrifice for the less forunate, and live in such an unneccasrily large house. When you’re in the top 1% income bracket, don’t complain about student loans, either. I don’t care if he is successful, but he should not encourage people to sacrifice any more than he is.
Is “Chigcago,” Chicago? If so, he worked for ACORN. Read up on how corrupt ACORN is. They nearly F-uped the primary here in PA by purposely filling countless fraudulent voter registration forms just to make a point. Luckily Ohio is not puting up with their antics, and have charged them with voter fraud. Interestingly enough, I worked for ACRON in January until I discovered how messed up their organization is.
MLK Jr was not a rich man. Malcolm X was not a rich man. Rosa Parks was not a rich woman. They sparked civil rights movements, which also encouraged people to participate in civil service. Mother Theresa, Ghandhi, the guys who directed that Darfur movie, etc.
There are plenty of people who are not rich that encouraged people to volunteer. But, once again, this is a worthless point of yours because you took my statement out of context. You may want to re-read it, as it simply means practice what you preach.
It is sad that you feel only the rich have such influence of society. They both had a profound effect on society, although they both went about social change in a much different way.
How am I criticizing BO for being “successful”? I am criticizing him for asking others to take a smaller piece of the pie so others can have more, yet he lives quite lavishly.
As you may recall, I listed four other major points as to not supporting BO. I simply said I do not appreciate his whole piece of the pie talk.
When did I state I am not supporting him simply because he HAS money? You completley misinterpreted my statement. I do not appreciate his families economic hypocrisy, that’s all. McCain is not rich, Cindy is. And they file seperate tax returns.<br>
I also clearly stated his character issues are rooted in his constant dishonesty and “flip flopping”. He is turning into John Kerry- constant flip flopping, and a wife who doesn’t know when to shut up(AKA the Theresea Heinz Kerry effect).
Don’t take my statements out of context. They were very clear.</p>

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<p>“or - Who IS this guy?”</p>

<p>I wouldn’t be surprised to see RNC commercials showing clips of his changing positions on issues and then announcer asking will the real Barrack Hussein Obama please stand up?</p>

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<p>That will come…the reality is most people don’t chime into the campaign until late Aug/early Sept…expect them to use his convention acceptance speech against him.</p>

<p>It might be in McCains best interest to let Obama run with the summer…the thought would be to give him enough chances to bite himself in the butt. It works well if you keep quiet and collect the info so that it can be used against himself.</p>

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<p>Ok - you asked for it. You asked me to enumerate the sweeping generalizations, so here goes. please note the bold priint.</p>

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<p>That’s just what I saw during a cursory look. If I were to dig deeper, beyond just the “language” I bet I could find a few more generalizations about the substance of your argument. Anyway, this was not my intent - I was just amazed at how broad you painted your picture.</p>

<p>Actually, I liked what you had to say, but when you quote JFK’s “Ask not what your country can do for you” speech, remember the next line is this:</p>

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<p>He also said this in that speech:

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<p>In fact, I’d suggest every American go back and read that speech. I keep a link in my favorites. Here it is:</p>

<p>url=<a href=“Find famous quotes, funny, movie and motivational”>The Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You speech by John F. Kennedy]The</a> Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You speech by John F. Kennedy</p>

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<p>Why do you care? Can’t understand the real issues like healthcare, the economy, etc. or are those too boring for you?</p>

<p>I seriously hope you guys aren’t adults… That would just be depressing.</p>

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<p>If you’re bothered by Obama’s flip-flopping, McCain’s most surely should keep you up at night. Come on, honestly. Have you researched all the issues McCain has flip-flopped on in the past year? Some of his flip-flops occurred mere hours apart. Listen, politicians flop-flop/change their minds/change positions when it’s politically expedient. Obama has done it. McCain has done it. Just don’t pretend Obama’s act as disqualifiers while McCain’s do not.</p>

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<p>I never said that you did. My point was that conservatives are often the ones who most vociferously criticize the Obama’s for their success and its attendant wealth (most of which came because his books were bestsellers) and then later turn around and criticize black people for not achieving wealth and “the American Dream”. It’s something I’ve observed on CC, the blogosphere, and on conservative talk radio. It was not aimed at you personally. </p>

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<p>Sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. Exactly what did Michele Obama say about “those entering certain fields”? Quotes and context would be well appreciated. Likewise, please show both quotes and context to justify the criticism that she told people that “they need to sacrifice for the less forunate”. And when did she “complain” about her student loans? I know she did mention that early on, they did have some hefty student loans to repay, and that it was a squeeze on their budget for a time, but I wouldn’t call that complaining. It was just sharing a little personal history. A lot of people have to work hard and budget tightly in order to repay educational loans. My understanding was that she was telling people she understood their dilemma because she had once experienced the same thing. How was it “complaining”? </p>

<p>And if you’re going to be offended by the Obama’s “unneccessarily large house”, I can show you those of many in the Senate that should send you into fits of rage.</p>

<p>“I am criticizing him for asking others to take a smaller piece of the pie so others can have more, yet he lives quite lavishly.”</p>

<p>How is he asking others to take a smaller piece of the pie? What pie? Please explain.</p>

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<p>I suppose that means that he lives out in the guest house, and doesn’t ride in the limo, or fly on her private jet.:rolleyes:</p>

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<p>a mind is a terrible thing to make up</p>

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<p>Here’s a bit from Greg Guttfield’s piece on Obama’s Middle East tour:</p>

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<p>And as one whose mind is obviously well and truly made up, you would surely know, now wouldn’t you rososen?</p>

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<p>Poet, I’ve never (personally) seen the Obamas’ wealth criticized. I have, however, heard criticism of Mrs. Obama’s prior penchant for pleading poverty. Those are two different things, and the second is, I think, a legitimate point to be raised.</p>

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<p>I can understand how the youth are so drawn to this guy. What I can’t understand is how someone in the 40+ range can’t see through his rhetoric? He’s a natural at speaking at great lengths while saying nothing. I must admit that years ago when I first heard him speak at the convention, I was amazed. After hearing him speak since, the novelty has worn off. Close your eyes and listen to him during a question and answer session with the media. You may form a different opinion. I’m definitely not bashing him here. This is just an opinion. Smart man–definitely. In my opinion, he’s not ready yet.</p>

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<p>not really attacking either side, poet, rather the futility of trying to change any opponent’s opinion who will always twist appearances toward the confirmation of pre-existent belief.</p>

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<p>A long time to go in this election, but:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-confidential-cafe/541265-time-magazine-mccain-long-shot-no-shot.html#post1060737994[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-confidential-cafe/541265-time-magazine-mccain-long-shot-no-shot.html#post1060737994&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;