John Hinderaker just can't wait to get his Obama Derangement Syndromeon with this post.
So I confess to some satisfaction in seeing Obama's likeness paraded at a hate rally in Jakarta, along with those of Mubarak and Olmert. The protesters were blaming Obama for Israel's attack on Hamas, when he hasn't even been inaugurated yet!
Hinderaker once called President Bush a genius, which gives us some insight about his acuity and stability "mentally."
It must be very strange to be President Bush. A man of extraordinary vision and brilliance approaching to genius, he can’t get anyone to notice. He is like a great painter or musician who is ahead of his time, and who unveils one masterpiece after another to a reception that, when not bored, is hostile.
The Middle East is a horrible situation, as we are witnessing; for this wingnut to take pleasure in ugly scenes like this just shows the Conservative mind at its best.
It's true indeed that Obama hasn't been sworn in yet, but the world's sickness over Bush was caused by his policies. After 9/11, the world was with us like never before and it did take a true destructive genius to wreck that. By attacking a country that didn't do anything to us, Bush has created an international hatred of America like never before.
The wonder of Bush's tenure is that we actually have a country still standing after eight years of misrule. Now it's up to Obama to pick up the pieces of an economy that is in utter shambles, and a global reputation as torturers and thugs -- which inspires scenes like the ones Hinderaker seems to enjoy.
January 01, 2008 C-SPAN Washington Journal
Ana Marie Cox responded to telephone calls and e-mail about her most recent article, "Washington's Five Biggest Losers," and other news of the day.
Throughout last night’s New Year’s eve broadcast, Fox News Channel allowed viewers to send in New Year’s greetings and wishes via text message. The messages were then scrolled across the bottom of the screen, replacing Fox’s normal crawling news headlines. While most messages were cordial, Fox allowed at least one racist message directed toward President-elect Obama to be broadcast. The message referenced Rush Limbaugh’s “Barack the Magic Negro” song.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND LET’S HOPE THE MAGIC NEGRO DOES A GOOD JOB. LOVE JEN AND JOHN C.
So true to form Fox has managed to stay classy even on New Years Eve. Bravo Fox News.
BILLO: Impact Segment tonight, a viewer warning, there is a satire called "Barack the Magic Negro" that will offend some people, no doubt about it. But in order for us to report on this, we have to play some of the satire, so be forewarned.
The parody is by Paul Shanklin, who writes comedy material for Rush Limbaugh among others. The problem is that Chip Saltsman, a former Tennessee Republican chairman, has sent Shanklin's satire to some RNC members, and that is causing some concern. Roll the tape ...
Dave N: Yes, it deeply pains BillO to run this tape. After playing it, Larry Elder tries to pretend that liberals say similar things all the time and get away with it (right).
None of the guests seem to remember that as soon as Barack Obama was elected, the airwaves were filled with right-wingers -- from Bill Bennett to Sarah Palin to Michelle Bachmann -- talking about how Obama's election made them feel good about America and themselves because it was such a racial landmark and how it proved racism was now dead in America. Talk about a magic Negro!
For nearly two years, Steve Kroft and 60 Minutes followed Barack Obama on the long and winding road to the White House complete with interviews, never-before-seen footage, and candid moments with Obama, his family, and his closest advisors.
Steve J. at Radamisto notices that even though Barack Obama hasn't even been sworn in yet, Sean Hannity is organizing the wingnuts already into a would-be force to attempt to stop him from enacting "radical" policies:
Since the election, Hannity has described his radio show as the outpost of "the conservative underground," as if a show that's legally on over 500 stations could be underground in any real sense of that word. There is little doubt that there are many conservatives who think America will become a radical country under the Democrats and last night I heard on Mike Gallagher's show of a group that is trying to organize these people - Grassfire. They ask people to "join the resistance" and sign a petition that opposes what they mistakenly think will happen if unopposed.
They hope to have 1,000,000 signatures on the petition by Inauguration Day and right now, they are quite a bit short of that goal ...
Conservatives are expected to oppose Obama, naturally. But only wingnuts will believe every bit of garbage thrown at him and spin it into a massive belief system about the looming oppression of a socialist state, yadda yadda yadda. It probably would happen to any elected Democrat, but it will be even worse for Obama.
In the final weekly address of 2008, President-elect Barack Obama calls for the season of giving to also be a season of common purpose and shared citizenship.
This is what CNN thinks passes for "news". Let's see...repeat John McCain campaign attack ad that didn't work...check. Pretend you're concerned with Obama's security and that's the reason you're covering this story...check. Ignore important things going on that you should be covering....check. Scrutinize Obama in a way that you never even gave a thought to doing with George Bush before he took office...check. These guys are trying to compete with Fox News for who can make me want to throw a shoe at my TV more frequently.
HILL: Who cares if he smokes? The President-elect, clearly not in Chicago where it's 31 and snowing -- he is in Hawaii at the beach doing the vacationing Presidents do but with a lot less flab. The picture -- and it is everywhere, trust me -- is a reminder that it's really been a while since we've had a camera-ready President-elect and first family.
But the question tonight, just what does glamour and charisma buy you as a President? And how could it hurt?
The "Raw Politics" from Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Take a good hard look, a bare-chested photo that made its way around the world hours after it was taken. At first, a big question, did the photographer breach security to get the shot? Turns out, the answer is no.
But there was lots more to talk about. Here's the front page of today's New York Post. "Fit for Office" is the headline and there are plenty more lines about Ab-bama and Beach Barack. Is this just more of the so-called rock star treatment some say Obama had during the election? The celebrity McCain used against him?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's the biggest celebrity in the world. But is he ready to lead?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: And during the campaign, Obama certainly used magazines like "US Weekly" and "People" which regularly features celebrities on the cover to help him win the election.
He appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine 14 times this year. Now the election is over and the questions remain. Is Obama getting great coverage because of his celebrity status?
It's not like he hasn't courted the coverage and generally the star treatment benefits a politician who can handle it.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's such a great gift. Reagan had it, John F. Kennedy had it. And it's become very valuable to a country when it's uncertain about its future.
How does he use it? Look at the way he's using it now; you inspire, you don't stop campaigning just because the campaign is over.
JOHNS: But on the other hand, right here in the New York Post next to the beach photos is a report that 45 percent of Americans believe either Obama or one of his top campaign aides is tied up in the Illinois governor scandal. That's no political honeymoon.
Being a celebrity President really cuts both ways. When you compare the kind of media Obama's gotten to say, Bill Clinton, his saxophone made for some sexy shots, but you'll probably find that the guy appeared on the front page of the tabloids a lot more than Obama, particularly when Monica Lewinsky surfaced.
So given all that, why did this photo generate so much fascination? Pretty simple, unlike some other Presidents or Presidents-elect, this guy is young, fit, trim, and he looks pretty good in a bathing suit.
Go figure.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Yes, but is it ever really that simple?
More on celebrity and the Presidency when we come back with Ed Henry who as the country is finding out, looks fine in shorts himself, doesn't he? David Gergen and Roland Martin also with us.
When you have questions about how upset the gay community is over the choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration, who better to ask than equally anti-gay homophobe Mike Huckabee?
Predictably, Huckabee's response is a big ol' heaping cup of "so what?":
VAN SUSTEREN: Let me jump to another topic, which you probably weren’t expecting, is that President-elect Obama has chosen Rick Warren to give the invocation and there are a lot of gay Americans very upset. What do you make of this?
HUCKABEE: Well, it’s ridiculous for people to be upset with Rick Warren. He’s one of the most influential spiritual leaders of this generation. I’ve known Rick for over 30 years. We were actually in seminary together in Ft. Worth, Texas, back in the mid-1970s. He is today what he always has been, and that’s a humble, gracious, thoughtful, very intellectual capable person. I think it’s a wonderful thing that Barack Obama reached out to him. I thought it was a tremendous expression on Barack Obama’s part. I’m proud that Rick Warren is going to do it and I think that people ought to recognize…look, that’s part of what being religious is all about. You have strong convictions and nobody is going to have a religious leader who is in agreement with everybody.
Talking about avoiding the question. No one is demanding a religious leader who is in agreement with everybody--what a strawman. But it would be nice to have -- in this post-partisan age Obama is allegedly ushering in -- to have "inclusiveness" actually mean all of us.
To understand how angry and disappointed many Democrats are that Barack Obama has invited evangelical preacher Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inaugural, imagine if a President-elect John McCain had offered this unique honor to the Rev. Al Sharpton -- or the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. I know, it's hard to picture: John McCain would never do that in a million years. Republicans respect their base even when, as in McCain's case, it doesn't really return the favor.
Only Democrats, it seems, reward their most loyal supporters -- feminists, gays, liberals, opponents of the war, members of the reality-based community -- by elbowing them aside to embrace their opponents instead.
Well, exactly. Ironically, Huckabee points out exactly why it's troubling to those that Warren has likened to pedophiles: he's one of the most influential spiritual leaders in the county...sending out a message of intolerance. But for fellow intolerant Huckabee, that's a tremendous message on the part of Barack Obama.
The insulated Beltway Bubble strikes again...it's all about the media, dontcha know? Without benefit of even having yet taken the oath of office (and near daily press briefings notwithstanding), Chris Matthews asks his panel of pundits whether Barack Obama will be worse than Richard Nixon and George Bush in keeping the press at arm's length.
Can he be any more biased by evoking the two (Republican, mind you, let's not lose sight of comparing apples to oranges) administration fighting for the title of Worst. Presidency. Ever.? How about comparing Obama to Jimmy Carter, a Democratic president who was hobbled by constant belittling by media types and the conservative infrastructure being laid in the media? Matthews points to the message discipline that Obama's campaign exercised as proof-positive that Obama has no love or trust for the media. How dare he not have leakers in his inner circle? But honestly, can you blame Obama for his distance from the media? What has the media done to earn trust? Cherry-pick snippets of Rev. Wright's sermons to try to demonize Obama as an America-hater? And Matthews seems more concerned with whether the press gets access to leaks within the administration than whether Obama fulfills his promise to the American people of transparency.
Hate to break this to you, Tweety, but the days where the media acts as the Fourth Estate and represents the American people died many years ago. That's why most Americans no longer trust YOU, not Obama. Because even with most Americans believing that we must pull out of Iraq, the media still frames it as an open question and continues to validate neo-con philosophy even though the country has shown by its votes that they favor the Democratic stances and stays conspicuously quiet on issues such as accountability and morality. Obama's responsibility is to the American people, not the D.C. cocktail class who are already inventing issues for a man yet to even assume the office. You've abdicated your responsibility long ago.
