As If Spoken Only Yesterday / We Go Back To The Future

Timeless wisdom from a Dem strategist, with emphasis added:

"Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter got elected because they were comfortable with their faith," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, a former Clinton aide. "What happened was that a part of the electorate came open to what Clinton and Carter had to say on everything else - health care, the environment, whatever - because they were very comfortable that Clinton and Carter did not disdain the way these people lived their lives, but respected them."

He added: "We need a nominee and a party that is comfortable with faith and values. And if we have one, then all the hard work we've done on Social Security or America's place in the world or college education can be heard. But people aren't going to hear what we say until they know that we don't approach them as Margaret Mead would an anthropological experiment."

That was Rahm Emmanuel assessing the Dem debacle in 2004 but it could be EveryDem assessing the upcoming 2008 adventure.

The good news - in Barack [He Who Must Not Be Middle-Named] Obama the Dems have a man who appears to be comfortable in his faith and in his church. So comfortable, in fact, that he dozed right through all those "God Damn America" sermons.

But as to that second criteria - "we don't approach them as Margaret Mead would an anthropological experiment" - uh, gee, Rahm, could you lower the bar?  How about, "we approach them as an anthropological experiment but smile a lot as we do so"?

In Barack, the Dems have found a miracle worker - someone who makes John Kerry look like Everyman.

Can we have some pop sociology from the candidate, please?

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

By November that will be better known than "I voted for the bill before I voted against it."  Heck, I think it will be bigger than "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles onions on a sesame seed bun."  And I made a special effort to avoid learning that, yet years later, valuable neurons remain wasted.  Or is it ganglia?  See, I would know the answer if not for my little sister chanting the McDonalds thing all the time... Sorry.

Let's move on by moving back - Nick Kristof assessed the Dem Doom in 2004 with words that ring true today:

In the aftermath of this civil war that our nation has just fought, one result is clear: the Democratic Party's first priority should be to reconnect with the American heartland.

I'm writing this on  tenterhooks on Tuesday, without knowing the election results. But whether John Kerry's supporters are now celebrating or seeking asylum abroad, they should be feeling wretched about the millions of farmers, factory workers and waitresses who ended up voting - utterly against their own interests - for Republican candidates.

Baffling - there go those daffy Republicans, embittered, clinging to their guns and voting for Bush in preference to the out-of-touch Harvard fop.  Well, maybe Ohio will be close enough this time around that Obama can win the election in court.  Keep hope alive!

Let's check out Tom Wolfe, assessing the 2004 contest (I am getting all this from an old post):

"I think support for Bush is about not wanting to be led by East-coast pretensions. It is about not wanting to be led by people who are forever trying to force their twisted sense of morality onto us, which is a non-morality. That is constantly done, and there is real resentment.

Those who do not understand the past are condemned to being laughed at while they repeat it to our amusement and gratitude.  Can you give me a "God Damn America!"?

Well, what is it we say about Dems who lose yet another election because they offer yet another candidate totally alien to the rest of the country?   Ah, yes -  it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to explanations involving guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Comments

[Elliott]

Bravo, TM. Some fine work there.

And I made a special effort to avoid learning that, yet years later, valuable neurons remain wasted.

I will write to the editors of Barlett's in the morning.

[narciso]

Si se puede,

[Daddy]

"...people aren't going to hear what we say until they know that we don't approach them as Margaret Mead would an anthropological experiment."

IIRC, Mead's "Coming Of Age In Samoa" has fallen from its former lofty status, and is now considered to be the shining example of how not to do cultural anthropology; that falling due in large part to her pre-conceived notions of what natives ought to act like, her refusal to accept evidence in opposition to those preconceptions, and her gullibility at their yanking her chain. Seen in this light, I therefore dub Barack Obama as the Margaret Mead of Pennsylvania. I can't wait til he comes up here and does Alaska.

[lonetown]

"pop sociology "

The sad part to me is that pop sociology is what passes for science at Harvard.

We've gone from scientists who can calculate the circumference of the earth with a whittled stick to those who can't see the forest for the trees.

[PeterUK]

"the out-of-touch Harvard fop." is an exemplar of the kind of creature which inhabits the liberal left across the Western world.The name Versailles springs unbidden to mind,one can hear the faint rumble of the tumbrils and bare feet on the cobblestones.

[Sharon]

It's like deja vu all over again. Great article.

[MikeS]

With some small changes Obama's comments could be a movie plot

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, where there has been a lot of inbreeding and hazardous waste has polluted the water and the food supply, the the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it's not surprising then their mental capacity degenerates, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

[liamascorcaigh]

Excellent, informative post.
"When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn."

For a satiric take on Obama's elitism go to 'Chris Matthews other Leg' blog at
http://chrismatthewsotherleg.blogspot.com/

[Neo]

In Barack, the Dems have found a miracle worker - someone who makes John Kerry look like Everyman.

You're killing me ... I can't stop laughing.

[GMax]

I said this yesterday. I thought they pulled their haughtiest and most out of touch caucus member for the slog 4 years ago, but the rookie on the bench is going great guns in Spring training to prove me totally and completely wrong.

[Neo]

I can't get over the last part of the now "infamous" quote ..

anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations

I mean, this is said a week ago Friday, and a few days later the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-NewD irection) exercises the trade "nuclear option," changes the rules and stops the clock ticking on the 90 day up or down vote on the Columbian Free Trade Agreement.

I guess this was to save face and not look frustrated and bitter and whatever ..

By Jack Cafferty's logic, I expect to see the Congressional Democrats in al Qaeda training camps by next week.

[DebinNC]

Last Sunday, the NYT magazine had an article about BO's efforts in PA and focused on Levittown where the writer grew up. Bo referenced that article in his talk later that day. The writer ends with a conversation in a bar:

"I drove over to Gleason’s Bar, around the corner from my old house. That, too, was a sort of a reality check after spending a few days dwelling with Obama’s devout enthusiasts. Eight men sat around the bar, and not one of them supported Obama."

And BO seems to have "borrowed" from the writer this observation:

"The cascade down the job ladder — with one job not as good as the last — is a particularly working-class syndrome. It is the sort of slide that makes a person less likely to take a chance and more prone to cling to the familiar."

[Neo]

I need some clarification .. is Obama "apology" in fact a form of a "modified limited hangout" ?

[Neo]

Obama’s only major contact with religious people revolves around his 20 years at Trinity UCC. From the "GD AmeriKKKa", I get the sense that they may be frustrated and bitter, so by obvious extension .. what guns are they clinging to ?

[Ranger]

Well, it looks like the hard left never got those memos.

Here is what some are saying about the impact of Obama's statements:

http://agonist.org/numerian/20080412/sheeple_awake>Sheeple Awake!

Could this be one of those moments when the middle class and poor people in this country awaken to the reality of their economic distress? It will be if people really listen to what Barack Obama had to say on this subject rather than digest only the snippets of quotes that the opposition are ranting about.

They seem to completely miss the point that his entire rant amounted to explaining that the reasons these people don't vote for him is that they are racists, but their racism is embedded in a whole range of negative beliefs which makes it even harder to overcome.

[Neo]

awaken to the reality of their economic distress?

I don't think that anybody awakens to this reality, they see it coming for quite a while.

[Danube of Thought]

TM, you've been in extremely fine form in recent days. Dare we hope that you're building toward a crescendo as November approaches?

One of the most memorable quotes I've read in a long time was something I saw attributed to Richard Reeve the other day. He said, "The president doesn't run the country. He leads the nation." FDR and Reagan led the nation. JFK appeared to be leading it when he was shot; that's probably why he still polls off the chart even though no one can point to any real accomplishments.

Jimmy Carter was simply too small a man to lead the nation. Both Bushes just seem incapable of it. Clinton merely entertained and embarrassed us. I think John McCain can lead the nation. I know to a certainty that neither Democrat candidate can do so.

[M. Simon]

DoT,

We are Americans and we will never surrender, they will"

The unAmericans will vote for the other guy.

[glenn]

You go into these urban "neighborhoods" (Don't go at night)and you see 70%+ illegitimacy rates, 50%+ highschool dropout rates, high crime, murder rates that would do Iraq proud, hundreds of thousands of children being raised by their grandparents. Preachers who tell their flocks deliberate lies to inflame their passions No wonder people are bitter and frustrated. All that time and money for so little resuls. Then Bakack Obama comes along and criticises us. Can't short him for nerve.

[MikeS]

glenn,
HEH
HEH

[Habu]

Brickhead Hussein O'Bombed-it just FUBARED the 3AM telephone call...just stay out of his way and by the convention he'll be flanked by Jimma Cater and Ramsey Clark.

[M. Simon]

Chris Matthews Other Leg.

[Thomas Jackson]

Sir what a wonderful anaylsis and survey you have provided. Keep it up.

[battery]

Sir what a wonderful anaylsis and survey you have provided. Keep it up.