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Home Front: Politix
Barack Obama: jerk
2008-09-16
Jim Treacher

My initial reaction to Bacongate was, "Well, it's just another gaffe. Obama couldn't possibly be dumb and mean enough to call Palin a pig." Yeah, she mocked him during her convention speech, but it was all about his record (or lack thereof) and soaring rhetoric. Which isn't nice, perhaps, but that stuff is fair game in a political campaign. Could he really be so thin-skinned and self-serious that he'd start hitting back with personal insults?

At first I thought it was a mistake for the McCain camp to demand an apology. As I told my close personal friend Glenn Reynolds, I thought they should have said something like:

"We're pleasantly surprised by Senator Obama's newfound sense of humor, and look forward to watching it develop over the coming weeks and months."

You know, rise above it, while still reminding everybody that Obama is a stiff, humorless, gaffe-prone scold.

But now I'm having second thoughts. I think he meant exactly what the crowd obviously thought he meant, because it fits a clear pattern of behavior.

Putting aside the astonishing smear campaign against Palin, which is definitely not grassroots, just look at some of Obama's past antics. In no particular order:
  • What was the Obama camp's initial reaction to Palin's announcement?
    "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."

    • Yeowtch! And her palmprints on the podium were still warm. (Quite a contrast to McCain's ad, less than 24 hours earlier, congratulating Obama on his achievement.) But then, later that same day, Obama walked it back:
    "I think that... campaigns start getting these hair triggers and the statement that Joe and I put out reflects our sentiments," he said, according to the pool report, apparently criticizing his staff for going overboard, as he did occasionally in the primary.

    So he's not the hostile, panicky jackass. It was his staff's fault. Yes We Can... Pass the Buck!

  • Speaking of McCain's congratulatory ad, which as far as I know is unprecedented, how did Obama return the gesture? By finally going on The O'Reilly Factor, after months of begging by O'Reilly, on the night of McCain's speech. Your opponent goes out of his way to show some class on your big day, and you thank him by trying to steal his thunder?


  • After Bill Clinton, ahem, swallowed his pride and endorsed Obama at the DNC, what song did they play afterward? "Addicted to Love." Classy!


  • During a campaign event last April, Obama emphasized a point about Hillary by scratching his cheek. With his middle finger. Innocent, offhand gesture? I thought so at first. Now I'm not so sure.


  • The "dirt off your shoulder" thing. At first I thought it was funny, and I like that Jay-Z song, but in retrospect the gesture seems -- much like Jay-Z -- arrogant and deeply unpleasant. And based on what we've seen from Obama over the past week, it's obviously delusional. Not only can't he brush the dirt off his shoulders, but he's piling even more on them as he digs this deep, deep hole.


  • And to go beyond mere jerkiness: What's up with putting out an "Obama Action Wire" to try to shut down a Chicago radio station for talking about his ties with William Ayers? If Ayers is just a guy in Obama's neighborhood, why launch thousands of phone calls and e-mails at the station, all spouting the same talking points? You can download an MP3 of the show in question here. It's one thing for MoveOn or Kos or Media Matters (at the risk of redundancy) to do that kind of crap, but this came from the official campaign site. Does it bother anybody else that a presidential candidate is openly trying to stifle dissent? Doesn't Obama know that as president, he would be criticized every minute of every day? Does he plan to shout them all down?

But hey, I could be wrong. These could all be coincidences and/or innocent mistakes. Maybe it's everybody else's fault. Maybe he isn't really throwing rocks and hiding his hand.

P.S. And before you start? In the words of the immortal Harvey Keitel: "I didn't make a statement. I asked a question."
Posted by:Mike

#9  Of course, these are merely unfortunate and unrelated coincidences. Hussein, being the polite Muslim he is, would never directly offend any kufir, until he knows he's got him under his thumb. Standard Muzz procedure.
Posted by: Woozle Elmeter 2700   2008-09-16 16:55  

#8  "He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview, according to Taheri. . . .

This is red meat, and McCain should jump on it.
Negotiations without portfolio can be treason.
Posted by: lollypop   2008-09-16 15:10  

#7  Betty, I remembered that NRO article after I clicked through to it, but I hadn't made the connection.

I'm wondering if despite his exceedingly cool, calm, pleasant demeanor, Obama is a much angrier guy than he lets on. Not swearing at colleagues and blowing-off-steam angry (as John McCain reputedly is), but that he's driven by a quiet, white-hot, continually burning anger, seeing great injustice everywhere, and compelling him to accumulate more and more power to set things right as only he can.

I do believe you are on to something here.
Posted by: Mike   2008-09-16 13:39  

#6  white hot anger

I thought this piece in NRO might provide a good explanation.
Posted by: Betty Grating2215   2008-09-16 12:52  

#5  http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y25/mluphoup/hos.jpg
Posted by: Anonymoose   2008-09-16 11:08  

#4  What about his admission that he DID ask the Iraqis to delay an SFA till after the election?

Of course in the most surreal statement of all time the campaign screeched about the lie and the smear while confirming what was said.


In the New York Post, conservative Iranian-born columnist Amir Taheri quoted Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as saying the Democrat made the demand when he visited Baghdad in July, while publicly demanding an early withdrawal.

"He asked why we were not prepared to delay an agreement until after the US elections and the formation of a new administration in Washington," Zebari said in an interview, according to Taheri. . . .

But Obama's national security spokeswoman Wendy Morigi said Taheri's article bore "as much resemblance to the truth as a McCain campaign commercial."

In fact, Obama had told the Iraqis that they should not rush through a "Strategic Framework Agreement" governing the future of US forces until after President George W. Bush leaves office, she said.

In the face of resistance from Bush, the Democrat has long said that any such agreement must be reviewed by the US Congress as it would tie a future administration's hands on Iraq.

Posted by: AlanC   2008-09-16 11:05  

#3  You know what the military says.

"Once is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action."

Or as it's sometimes said "Where there's smoke there's fire".
Posted by: DLR   2008-09-16 10:32  

#2  1) I think he is a street corner magpie...
2) How did bomber William Ayers and his bombet get hold of the Annenberg fund in the first place?
Posted by: 3dc   2008-09-16 09:56  

#1  Treacher must have missed that middle finger bit the second time it happened.

I've seen two videos in two different locations where Zero is giving the exact same speech and at the exact same point in that speech he scratches his cheek with his middle finger.

This is a classy guy, NOT.
Posted by: AlanC   2008-09-16 09:47  

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