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Obama Gets All Manish

TUESDAY MAY 20 2008 6:00 AM

Submitted by FearTheReaper. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: Barack Obama, Republicans, John McCain

Holy shit, who invited a man to the party? Yesterday, Barack Obama stood up and acted more like a man than any presidential candidate I�ve ever seen. The Republican Party in Tennessee decided it would be a super idea to attack Michelle Obama, but Barack told them to back their shit up. And it was impressive.

I like the end, just before he remembered to smile. That was a, "Keep it up and I'm going to kick the shit out of you" moment.

That clip will go down as one of the most important in this campaign. That�s what men who care about their wives do. Nobody gets to talk shit about my wife or disrespect her while I�m around. It�s just not going to happen. Maybe that�s chauvinistic, I don�t really give a shit. You want to talk shit about my wife, you better be prepared for what you have coming. End of fucking story.

The Republicans seem to think being a tough guy means attacking countries that have no ability to defend themselves against our incredible firepower � or to talk a big game. George Bush�s �Bring it on� comment is a pretty classic example, as was his ridiculously stupid invasion of Iraq. All the right wing talking heads lap it up and proclaim the Democrats to be weak, spineless creatures. At the same time, these big bad GOP men launch endless verbal assaults against Democratic politician�s families.

One needs only look at the attacks on Hillary Clinton while Bill was in charge of the White House. It was endless. And they even went after Chelsea Clinton. In 1998, John McCain made a joke about Chelsea at a Senate fundraiser.

�Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?" he asked. "Because her father is Janet Reno."

For me, this is Sonny Corleone time. If I was Bill Clinton, I'd get on a plane, fly to wherever the old man is and break his nose. Obviously, the president can�t do that. But I'd sure as hell call him out. I�d call a press conference, walk out to the White House lawn and tell McCain to come on up and say it to my face. I�d look into the cameras and make sure America heard one thing:

A real man does not say such things. A real man does not attack his opponent�s daughter. That is what a coward does.

Besides being the right thing to do, it would score so many political points it would be insane. Most men in America would want to kick the shit out of a grown man who called their daughter ugly. This was the most relatable moment Barack Obama has ever had.

This is the kind of shit Republicans have been able to get away with for years � and it needs to stop now, with Michelle Obama. This latest attack will go down as a tremendous backfire. Barack knows how to frame it. Honestly, I got a little tingly watching it. My wife called me and said, �That�s exactly what you would say.� It is. Barack Obama just stood up and acted like any other man who cared about his wife would. Welcome to the world of relatable politics, you calculating GOP fucks.

Attacks on a politician�s family are the ultimate act of cowardice. I don�t give a shit if McCain was shot down over Vietnam and then spent five years as a POW; his entire slate was erased when he made a public joke about Chelsea Clinton. The man is a fucking coward. He�s trash. Let�s take a look at the difference between how the two men treat their wives. From 1992...

At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

Sorry, when I get tired I call my wife a "cunt." That man is common trash. That moment was witness by three reporters. I�ve got some man rules in my head and that doesn�t match up with any of them. It does meet my "weak fuck" criteria, however.

Obama seems to be cut from a different cloth. It�s rare to see a politician have an uncalculated moment of honesty, but I�ve seen more from Obama in his short time in the spotlight than all other politicians combined. One thing is for sure � yesterday we saw a man stand up and tell a bunch of punks to back the fuck up off his lady. And that man just won over a lot of men in America. The game just changed. Thanks, GOP, for being a bunch of classless cowards.

FearTheReaper understands this is a feminist website, but on some shit he�s old fashioned. Deal with it.

309 Comments

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bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

MAY 20, 2008 11:34 AM

livertarian said:

bean said:

livertarian said:
I will respectfully argue that Obama ducks real issues as well as any politician who aspires to be President. If the argument is desired, anyway, I will see it through. No doubt, though, the guy has more class and style by far than anyone else on the trail. I got burned voting for a rock star in '92, so this time I am more skeptical.

Can you provide some examples? It's possible that I see a lot more Obama coverage than you, so maybe there are examples that I can't remember, but I honestly can't think of one time when he's dodged any real issues. He can dodge questions like a pro, for sure, but when those questions are all about peripheral tabloid issues, I don't see that as being the same thing.

Well, to begin a debate on this, we'd have to agree on what the "real issues" are. I would propose a few for starters.

Social Security. Obama said in his speech in Portland yesterday that higher-income people need to shoulder more of the burden. This resonates with voters - nobody really likes rich people, so of course they should pay more. This kind of statement I find highly typical of politics, and completely lacking practicality; SS is conceptually flawed from the ground up, and I don't believe anyone who's as educated and savvy as Obama can honestly see a way around it. Even if rich people were to be denied SS, plus taxed highly to support the lower brackets, the system will still go broke eventually. More importantly, Obama never mentions Medicare/Medicaid in his speeches, because it turns out these entitlements dwarf SS in cost. SS/Medicare/Medicaid is straight-up guaranteed to bankrupt the government. The accountants at the GAO can fill in details, but it's a $50 trillion problem as of today.

Drug War. Obama says nothing substantial that I can find. The implication is that he wants to stay the course by keeping drugs illegal and funding the War effort. I believe drug criminalization is by far the number one issue impacting African Americans as a group. Prison stats and crime stats might back me up on this.

Military policy. Withdrawal from Iraq is the only thing Obama has pledged so far that I can get behind. But he fails to discuss our military policy with any depth or candor. Would he back another UN resolution to essentially rebuild more nations deemed rebuild-able? How successful are these effort, considering the cost in lives and dollars, and what kind of results do we expect? Iraq was a disaster - most Americans agree - and yet the UN is not taken to task for resolving to make this happen.

It would be wonderful if there were more candidates out there discussing what the role of government truly ought to be. Protecting our rights would be my answer. Transformation of society is assumed to be the role, however, with little debate. Obama's speech on balancing religion with politics is an eloquent one, but sidesteps this very important issue to me and most true conservatives.

I realize that Obama has little to gain by sticking his neck out. But I also have to assume that the Hope and Change thing is just talk. I am prepared to see the mess we call the federal government become worse under this guy, or the other. It's really just a matter of how fast you wanna slide.

None of those are examples of him "ducking" any issues or "dodging" anything. Whether you disagree with his statements, or can't find statements from him about an issue, those don't constitute ducks or dodges. Try again.

Nolan_Void

Salisbury, NC

July 2004

MAY 20, 2008 11:39 AM

Holy mother of God.... When you said this I thought it was some kind of joke. Who the fuck does that? I'd hate to see what would happen if McCain had a "long day" in the Oval Office. Suddenly the leader of Iran is a "dick-sucking butthole" and we're in war for twenty more years...

coyotemike

Kearney, NE

May 2006

MAY 20, 2008 11:44 AM

FellOnEarth said:
Echoing bean's sentiment, I hear livertarian's type of comments all the time (or an amalgamation of don't know what he stands for, what his record is, can't trust him etc.). Just once I wished these uninformed and misinformed media slaves would stop waiting to be spoon fed, get off their couch and actually do some research on Obama instead of simply parroting what they hear from some conservative luddite. For goodness sakes, this man could very likely be the next president and people are simply willing to be told what to think of him instead of actually looking into him for themselves (for better or worse!!!) I highly suggest people research all candidates before deciding to vote for instead of just settling for who you're told to vote against, otherwise why the hell are you recklessly voting?!?

Abso-fucking-lutely!

During debates, Obama can only answer the questions asked. And if you have asshats asking inane questions about idiotic non-issues, there simply isn't time to get to the issues. And partisan "news" sources sure as hell aren't going to outline the position of someone they don't like. How much time was spent by right-wing talking-heads on Obama's middle name? How many weeks were spent on Jeremiah Wright, or on an "elitist" remark. How much time was spent talking about Clinton having a little catch in her voice early on in the campaign at the end of a hard day, or her taking a shot and a beer in a bar?

The information on the issues is readily available. Go look for it. In fact, I'll provide you with a nice link:

All info can be found here.

MisterLinguist

Birmingham, AL

October 2005

MAY 20, 2008 11:55 AM

Nolan_Void said:

I'm more concerned about the McCain family spousal abuse that isn't documented by the media.

Nolan_Void

Salisbury, NC

July 2004

MAY 20, 2008 11:58 AM

coyotemike said:

I'll do ya one better, mike.

Obama's stances on...

Healthcare

Military/Foreign Policy

Social Security

If I missed any, livertarian, all the rest are right there on the site. Maybe he hasn't been able to fit all that into every speech that he's given, but it's up on the site and I found it with one single Google search, so it can't be that hard for anyone else to get a hold of.

Nolan_Void

Salisbury, NC

July 2004

MAY 20, 2008 12:02 PM

Narghile said:

Nolan_Void said:

I'm more concerned about the McCain family spousal abuse that isn't documented by the media.

You and me both. I'm not going to lie, I found McCain kind of charming in his own way, even though I completely distrusted his change from being "disgusted" with Bush so many years ago to being his best fucking buddy. I worry about the truthfulness of the reporters saying that he called his wife a "cunt", but seeing as how he is known for his temper I wouldn't find it much of a stretch to find that it really happened. And domestic issues aside, it's just terrifying to think of having someone who might just flip the fuck out on a foreign dignitary that he didn't agree with as our president.

livertarian

Fairfax, VA

February 2008

MAY 20, 2008 12:07 PM

bean said:
None of those are examples of him "ducking" any issues or "dodging" anything. Whether you disagree with his statements, or can't find statements from him about an issue, those don't constitute ducks or dodges. Try again.

You might be right, bean. It would perhaps be more accurate to call Obama duplicitous, though I would still argue he is a dodger.

On the Drug War, I actually did find

this nice write up. So he plans to win the Drug War after all, by keeping drugs illegal and somehow making first offenders less likely to repeat their "crimes".

On SS/Medicare/Medicaid, his policy statements indicate he actually believes you can manage a system where everyone receives more money than they put into it. But without a real numerical connection from "reducing waste" in M/M to actually depositing enough cash into the Treasury to allow the money to grow at the needed rate, I have to call this ducking and/or dodging.

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

MAY 20, 2008 12:11 PM

Narghile said:

Nolan_Void said:

I'm more concerned about the McCain family spousal abuse that isn't documented by the media.

I'm not entirely sure I buy any of that. I know he's got a temper, but as far as I can tell, there's one source for all of those rumors (a book called "The Real McCain" by Cliff Schecter), and none of them have been confirmed with any real diligence. Indeed Matthew Yglasias, who quoted the story from the book and blogged about it, had this to say:

So yesterday I blogged this story about John McCain having called his wife a "cunt" and a "trollop." The story was the kind of thing that's known in the journalism business as "too good to check," which is to say I just kind of linked to it thoughtlessly without considering the sourcing. The sourcing, however, is not very good -- "Three reporters from Arizona, on the condition of anonymity, also let me in on another incident" which wasn't reported on at the time and of which there's no evidence over the past 16 years outside of Cliff Schecter's book.

Cliff's a good guy, and no doubt reporters from Arizona really did tell him this anecdote. But still, if I'm honest with myself about what I would think of this story if it were being told about a politician I admire, I'd say it was mighty thin and the reality is that it's thin as an anti-McCain story too. There is, clearly, ample evidence that McCain has a short fuse and an occasional penchant for inappropriate name-calling, but there's no evidence that this particular incident happened that meets a reasonable journalistic standard.

If we're going to reject these sorts of peripheral rumors and bullshit non-issue attacks, we should be consistent in that rejection.

FearTheReaper

NEWSWIRE

I'm lost

MAY 20, 2008 12:12 PM

It's not ducking or dodging. You disagree with his policy.

End of story.

bean

STAFF

Los Angeles, CA

MAY 20, 2008 12:13 PM

livertarian said:

Then your definition of "ducking" and "dodging" is different from mine.

DevilsReject

Cleveland, OH

February 2007

MAY 20, 2008 12:18 PM

FellOnEarth

Temecula, CA

April 2006

MAY 20, 2008 12:20 PM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that it was the growing cost of medical treatment that threatens to bankrupt the country (or anyone who gets injured without medical insurance), and not the number of recipients... Cut medical & drug costs and your medicare/medicaid costs go down with it.

Here's some food for thought: The largest segment of society entering retirement (boomers) are largely Anglo-American (white), while the fastest growing segment of society entering the workforce is hispanic... (Insert snarky ironic comment here). Seriously though, the more people working and paying into the system, the easier it is to balance current recipient costs, therefore the medical problem is directly tied to an economic solution. Part of Barack Obama's economic policy is to support the development of newer technologies that support job growth and help stabilize local economies that depend on domestic manufacturing. Lets not forget that higher wages also mean higher pay outs and more revenue for these social programs. Barack Obama also supports a livable wage, helping people reduce the social burden they might otherwise place on the government purse... I could go on, but I'm afraid I'm out of time. If you want to look further into Obama's "issues", here's a good place to start: Blue Print For Change

FellOnEarth

Temecula, CA

April 2006

MAY 20, 2008 12:26 PM

DevilsReject said:

LOL! About 54 seconds into the video, if you watch the woman's ASL signing and read her lips, it looks like she's saying "We're All Fucked!".

livertarian

Fairfax, VA

February 2008

MAY 20, 2008 12:38 PM

FellOnEarth said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that it was the growing cost of medical treatment that threatens to bankrupt the country (or anyone who gets injured without medical insurance), and not the number of recipients... Cut medical & drug costs and your medicare/medicaid costs go down with it.

Here's some food for thought: The largest segment of society entering retirement (boomers) are largely Anglo-American (white), while the fastest growing segment of society entering the workforce is hispanic... (Insert snarky ironic comment here). Seriously though, the more people working and paying into the system, the easier it is to balance current recipient costs, therefore the medical problem is directly tied to an economic solution. Part of Barack Obama's economic policy is to support the development of newer technologies that support job growth and help stabilize local economies that depend on domestic manufacturing. Lets not forget that higher wages also mean higher pay outs and more revenue for these social programs. Barack Obama also supports a livable wage, helping people reduce the social burden they might otherwise place on the government purse... I could go on, but I'm afraid I'm out of time. If you want to look further into Obama's "issues", here's a good place to start: Blue Print For Change

This does not address the very simple math involved with entitlements: How do you pay for a system in which the beneficiaries receive more value than what they put in? Unless we are talking about an equality of investment/return that somehow works better than the private retirement market, this is a pyramid scheme. Designed to get votes.

Nolan_Void

Salisbury, NC

July 2004

MAY 20, 2008 12:41 PM

livertarian said:

This is the quote from Obama that your linked utilized to make their argument.

"I'm not interested in legalizing drugs,'' Obama said, adding that he prefers an approach that puts more emphasis on a public health approach to drugs and less emphasis on incarceration.

He said there should be more programs to keep young people from using drugs. And he said first-time offenders should be given help to overcome their drug use instead of being locked up at massive taxpayer expense from which they emerge as unemployable ex-convicts.

"All we do is give them a master's degree in criminology,'' Obama said.

Did you read anything in that quote that says "I'm going to in the Drug War?" I sure as hell didn't. And for everyone else out there, does his response really sound so unreasonable? Despite whether or not first time offenders are actually jailed for drug use or possession (from personal experience, I know that at least some of them are, depending on the quantity of illegal substances in question), I think his sentiment and reasoning are sound in this quote, and I think it reflects the sentiments of the greater portion of the voters out there.

As for funding social security, I'm sure if we hadn't already spent 500 billion + dollars on this war we're in, we could find some extra cash to dump in to making sure old people aren't left out in the cold after they worked their whole fucking lives.

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