Obama And The LOL Effect

Obama's Iowa victory and the sudden opportunity of the Dem party (bloggers included!) to make and shape history has led to unfortunate but predictable results.  This was flagged by
Andrew Stuttaford of The Corner, who excerpts this euphoric analysis of The Obama Effect as penned and experienced by Ezra Klein:

Obama's finest speeches do not excite. They do not inform. They don't even really inspire. They elevate. They enmesh you in a grander moment, as if history has stopped flowing passively by, and, just for an instant, contracted around you, made you aware of its presence, and your role in it. He is not the Word made flesh, but the triumph of word over flesh, over color, over despair...

A comedy classic?  Of course.  But Mr. Stuttaford may have omitted the highlight, namely, the lead:

I've been blessed to hear many great orations. I was in the audience when Howard Dean gave his famous address challenging the Democratic Party to rediscover courage and return to principle.

Ahh, the Dean speech!  They'll be talking about that whenever people gather and discover that not even Britney's latest gurney ride can hold their attention.  Now, if someone could help me out with a link to that speech, or even a date or venue, that would be lovely.  Lacking that, I will have to suspend judgment as to whether Dean offered a timeless classic or simply preached fervently to Mr. Klein's choir.

But let's take a moment to applaud Obama's vast improvement in speaking skill - was it only yesterday that Mr. Klein told us that Obama's closing speech in Iowa was "actually pretty good"?  Nooo, it was back on New Year's Day.  And now he is elevating! (I have video.)

Well.  I guess we have anecdotal evidence to confirm this new threat, anyway.  And Jonah Goldberg is right about this - If Barack Hussein Il Jong Obama is nominated and goes on to defeat at the hands of some oppressive Republican or other, a certain predictable segment of the commentariat will explain to the rest of us that it is because America is a racist, undeserving country that will forever be on the wrong side of history.  Can I groan now, or should I wait?

Or this may all reverse in a day or two - as ccaroll at the Heritage Blog noted, Obama's win is not a win for the Nutroots.

REALLY UNFAIR:  Jon Henke reminds us that Mr. Klein is not exactly a tough critic - here is he on Kerry's 2004 "Reporting for Duty" speech:

Stunning. He did it. I didn't think he could, not after Obama and Clinton and Edwards and Cleland. But he did it. He gave the perfect speech for this moment, for this race, for this crowd. He couldn't rely on his charisma and so he instead told the country where it needed to go. He couldn't do flash so he did substance...and he did it. There's nothing I can say beyond that...I'm sorry...I just don't have the words for it. I'm inspired. I'd forgot what this felt like.

Well I'm sorry, too, but I just can't laugh any harder.

P.S. - I would have guessed that the great dean speech was from the '04 Dem convention, which had Mr. Klein  in attendance.  Yet his recitation of orations from the convention omits that one.

IT TAKES A GREENWALD:  Glenn Greenwald presents the notion that Jonah Goldberg and Glenn Reynolds were fretting that American blacks would become unhinged in the event of an Obama defeat.  I have no idea whether he or others believe his own BS, but let me just say that it was perfectly plain to me, and to Bill Quick, that the topic of discussion was the Nutroots, parts of the media, and the Bush Derangement Syndrome sufferers (yes, those groups overlap extensively.)

As "evidence" Greenwald pointed to this old Reynolds post where blacks get mentioned late in a second update.  Some context:

UPDATE:  More here.  And Marc Ambinder has a post, too.  And there are some angry Obama fans in the comments.

This underscores a problem for Hillary -- if she beats Obama, but in a way that Obama supporters think is dirty, via smears or excessive reliance on "superdelegate" votes -- they may not turn out in November.

...

ANOTHER UPDATE:  Juan Paxety emails:

An interesting post on potential dissatisfied Obama voters if Hillary wins. But what will the reaction be when the Obama voters realize that Florida and Michigan, two states with substantial minority populations that might be prone to support Obama, will not be allowed to have delegates at the Democratic Convention?

This is not the first time the Democrats have pulled a similar stunt. In 1968, before the street demonstrations, the Democrats packed the convention balconies with "observers" then took a voice vote on whether to seat the legal delegations from several Southern states. The "observers" could clearly be seen shouting votes to remove the delegates. The Georgia delegation was replaced by one led by Julian Bond, of all people. Georgians fled the Democratic Party in droves and didn't support another Democrat for President until Jimmy Carter ran in 1976.

Will the Obama supporters similarly abandon Hillary in the fall?

Yes, this is an issue. If Hillary beats Obama soundly in the early primaries that's one thing. If it's close, and it looks like she's won by smears, or by clever insider manipulation, then she may lose not only Obama supporters, but black voters who are generally supportive of the Clintons.

Glenn quite sensibly distinguished between "Obama supporters" and "black voters", since polls indicate the two groups don't strongly overlap.  Too subtle for Greenwald.

But folks looking for the Obama-race connection need look no further than the front page of  the Saturday Times, which covers the dawning of a new day in America:

Daring to Believe, Blacks Savor Obama Victory

By DIANE CARDWELL

For Sadou Brown in a Los Angeles suburb, the decisive victory of Senator Barack Obama in Iowa was a moment to show his 14-year-old son what is possible.

For Mike Duncan in Maryland, it was a sign that Americans were moving beyond rigid thinking about race.

For Milton Washington in Harlem, it looked like the beginning of something he never thought that he would see. “It was like, ‘Oh, my God, we’re on the cusp of something big about to happen,’ ” Mr. Washington said.

How Mr. Obama’s early triumph will play out in the presidential contest remains to be seen, and his support among blacks is hardly monolithic.

But in dozens of interviews on Friday from suburbs of Houston to towns outside Chicago and rural byways near Birmingham, Ala., African-Americans voiced pride and amazement over his victory on Thursday and the message it sent, even if they were not planning to vote for him or were skeptical that he could win in November.

Gee, did Goldberg say something about "the media invest[ing] as heavily in him as I think we all know they will".  Check.

Comments

[SteveMG]

If Obama loses, the claim will be that the Republicans stole the election, that the new President is a fascist diabolical idiot, that the GOP used code words and emotional language to win, and that it's now time to leave America for other shores.

Er, wait...

[Foo Bar]

"Now, if someone could help me out with a link to that speech, or even a date or venue, that would be lovely"

I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Mr. Klein is referring to Dean's "what I want to know..."/"I'm here to represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic party" speech.

Lacking that, I will have to suspend judgment as to whether Dean offered a timeless classic or simply preached fervently to Mr. Klein's choir.

Even if it only preached to Mr. Klein's choir, it helped propel Dean from relative obscurity to the lead in the polls heading into Iowa, so I think one would have to acknowledge its efficacy if not the merits of its contents.

[clarice]

Time blog reports Hillary was booed twice tonight at the biggest Dem dinner in NH:
"If the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s 100 Club dinner is any bell weather – Barack Obama will handily win here. When Obama, the dinner’s last speaker, took the stage the crowd surged forward chanting “O-bam-a” and “Fired Up, Ready to Go!” So many people pressed toward the stage that an announcer asked people to “please take their seats for safety concerns.”

By comparison Hillary was twice booed. The first time was when she said she has always and will continue to work for "change for you. The audience, particularly from Obama supporters (they were waving Obama signs) let out a noise that sounded like a thousand people collectively groaning. The second time came a few minutes later when Clinton said: "The there are two big questions for voters in New Hampshire. One is: who will be ready to lead from day one? The second," and here Clinton was forced to pause as boos from the crowd mixed with cheers from her own supporters. "Is who can we nominate who will go the distance against the Republicans?”

The dinner held in the Hampshire Dome in Milford is the largest political dinner in New Hampshire history, Republican or Democrat. More than 3,000 people attended."

[narciso]

Corrections are in order; according to the WSJ; Beitullah Mehsud was not the Gitmo detainee, turned Taliban commander that was
his brother Abdullah: but the same point about Burlingame's discovery of the Gitmo
detainee's P.R. strategy. A byproduct of this lawsuit by convicted terrorist Jose
Padilla, against John Yoo. Apparently using
Yoo' own words to indict him for the crime
of defending America from the likes of
Jose Padilla, ahem Abdullah Muhajir 'Servant
of the Foreigner" The same WSJ has a warm and fuzzy piece today on Khalid Wagar, a leader of the Salafi Jamaati Ul Islami Islamist Party, and the MMA coalition which has control over Waziristan since 2002. Waziristan is where the Mehsud brothers, the
live Beitullah (not for long, one hopes) and
the dead Abdullah hang their hat. The former
believes in a nice legal theocracy. Thank God, I knew I shouldn't have been concerned.
I feel much better now, after all, Musharaff
is the real enemy. Always remember that.

So Huck a buck and the protege of the older larger Cuba and Libya visiting, cop mau-mau-ing, CIA conspiracy spouting JeremiahWright,
Barack Obama, are in the lead. I'm sure that issue was really focused on in Iowa
(Crickets chirping) Who am I kidding, in the
Democratic Party, they'd probably waive the need of attending the next two primaries.

[[email protected]]

obama : potus :: lamont : us senate

miore here:

http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/01/is-barack-obama-presidential-version-of.html

[[email protected]]

split to fit:

http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com/2008/01/
is-barack-obama-presidential-version-of.html

[clarice]

Nothing there, relia.

[abw]

Here's my guess for the speech.

Let me thank Peter Clavell, who's been a great friend, a parent and a great mayor for many, many years. I think it's 14. Let me thank Jim Jeffords. I am so proud of Jim Jeffords' courage. The courage to stand up for what's right in America and put his principles before party.

[Sara]

Via Talk Left:

Barack Obama got more of the vote in Iowa, but he didn't get much of a delegate bump. The delegate numbers work out to be:

* Obama 16
* Hillary 15
* Edwards 14

By contrast, Huckabee's Iowa vote win also translated into a big delegate win:

* Huckabee 30
* Romney 7

John Edwards has been touting his victory over Hillary today. The actual vote tally, with 100% of Iowa precincts reporting, shows he got 7,000 more votes than her but by percentages:

* Edwards 29.7%
* Clinton 29.5%

[Topsecretk9]

Sara

Thanks for that. That helps explain the weird glimpse of a graphic I saw on Fox this afternoon.

--

Time blog reports Hillary was booed twice tonight at the biggest Dem dinner in NH

I keep forgetting to say, but I hope this all karma for having employed the biggest slime merchant in recent history - her own personal Smear manufacturer Sidney Blumenthal - pathetic excuse for a human being and the MSM payback for having to played by that swindler for so many years (but still afraid to reveal it save for Chris Hitchens, who blew the whistle on how disgusting Sidney is)

[clarice]

This is almost as gratifying as watching Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons getting hissed at the opera.

[clarice]

WSJ agrees with me that Obama's success is creating a division between older Black pols and younger voters:
"In some black organizations and churches there are signs that Mr. Obama's surge is creating divisions between political leaders and their supporters. Lucille Whipper, a Clinton supporter and current leader of South Carolina's Woman's Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention, said she worried that it will be "difficult for me to keep the influence I have and not affect my validity in all the other areas that I work. We have to be very careful that we don't develop in the minds of others that we are not for youth, we are not for change."

The Rev. Joseph Darby, whose Morris Brown AME Church in Charleston, S.C., has hosted most of the Democratic candidates at Sunday services but who has not endorsed a candidate, said some friends who chose Mrs. Clinton "are having stomach aches."

"How do you stop an obviously electable candidate who happens to be of African-American descent, and how do you do it without ticking off black folk?" the Rev. Darby said."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119949950505869431.html?mod=PageOne_1>Quandry

[clarice]

Way past my current post-nicotine bedtime--I meant, of course, the booing of Marquise de Merteuil , not Valmont.

Niters

[clarice]

"Hillary Clinton didn’t get the answer she was looking for when she finished her speech at the 100 Club Dinner, an annual event hosted by the New Hampshire Democratic Party.

Clinton
A subdued Clinton gave a condensed version of her standard stump speech at the event, which featured speeches from several Democratic candidates. She ended the talk by asking, “Who will be the best president from day one?” the crowd let out a huge “Obama!” cheer, standing on chairs and drowning out the Clinton supporters.

A fired up Barack Obama, fresh from his strong win Thursday night in the Iowa caucuses, later took the stage. “In four days you can do what Iowa did last night. In four days, you can do what America will do all next year and that is transform this country and make it the kind of country we’re proud of, in four days time,” he said to a standing ovation of nearly 3,000 Democrats waving his signature “Hope” signs.

He went on to address attacks against his lack of experience. “People say ‘Obama hasn’t been in Washington long enough. He has to be seasoned and stewed. We have to boil all the hope out of him.’ But you know what, that argument didn’t work in Iowa and it won’t work in New Hampshire. The gamble is to have the same old game plan in Washington with the same old players and expect a different result,” he said.

The dinner was held at the Hampshire Dome, a giant enclosed sports facility, and also featured speeches by Bill Richardson and Dennis Kucinich, who is launching his presidential bid here. "

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/

That's fot OT and Jane

[Topsecretk9]

Clarice

"Obama's surge is creating divisions between political leaders and their supporters."

You mean the young-in's are getting smart that the elders are bought and paid for by the DNC? and Dem establishment?

Who are the Uncle Toms they say? Look no further than the Dem establishment ---> William Jefferson, commandeering National guard to protect and extract his 100 grand in marked bills

[Topsecretk9]

and Dennis Kucinich, who is launching his presidential bid here.

Launching? Huh?

Hasn't he been running for president for like the last 50 years?

[Jor]

ccaroll analysis of the netroots support for obama is not very good. Although large lefty bloggers were lukewarm to Obama, it was clear that the readers of their sites were overwhelmingly supporting obama. This is obvious to anyone who spent any time in the comments sections at DailyKos, Atrios, TPM, Washington Montly, or even a-political social bookmarking sites like Reddit. When you look at the exit polls from iowa -- young and educated broke obama's way big time -- who do you think reads blogs?

My thoughts on why the bloggers themselves were more hesitant than the readers is that they are more enmeshed in the Democratic establishment than their readers.

Although the need for partisanship is a belief of some of the lefty bloggers, I only think that partly accounts for their luke-warmness.

In terms of the day after Obama's win, almost all major lefty blogs are warming up to him big time. So ccarrol's comments are already out-of-date. Drum, Atrios, and TPM are much more enthusiastic ab out obama today then a week ago.

[Jor]

Let me put it this way -- the white house has no shame in saying that the conservative blogosphere is its mouth peice. This is partly why the righty bloggers unanimously hate huck -- but people actually seem to like him.

To some extent, the lefty blogosphere has been semi-co-opted by the democratic machine -- however nowhere nearly as badly as you guys. I'd say this co-option, unfortunately led to blinders on some people.

[bgates]

I now understand the reason for the evolution of language, nay, for the existence of sound itself: that Barack Obama may speak.

It has been given to me to be alive at this happy moment that I can hear this singular talent. If anything can match the delight and soul-fulfilling peace of that experience, it is pity for those who have not shared it. A moment's reflection on its perfection convinces me that the only thing that can convey the deep, abiding joy of hearing a Barack Obama speech, is another Barack Obama speech. Suffice it to say:
Williams Jennings Bryan?
John F Kennedy?
Martin Luther King?
Morons.

There is something unseemly about comparing any other utterance in the shabbiness that is human history to what I have just experienced; comparing a Barack Obama speech to any other is like explaining the difference between the collected works of Mozart and the fart of an old Cuban-pork-fed dog. A Barack Obama speech does not communicate mere information or emotion, nor does it need to. Instead, as he spoke, I was seized with unique knowledge of my purpose in life. For all of the five agonizing years of my adult life, I have been wrestling with the fact that I am stuck in America. Warfighting America. Slaveowning America. NASCAR America. But Barack Obama will make it possible for me to create an America which is worthy of the world and my presence in it.

I'm voting for a black guy for President.

[Jor]

While I'm trashing the right side of the blogosphere -- let me add one more thing. If anything, Iowa showed that the right-side of the blogosphere is completely detached from the evangelical base. I haven't been able to find a good blog myself to get better insight into evangelicals. If anyone has suggestions, please do post links.

[SunnyDay]

I think you are mistaken, Jor. A couple of us are evangelicals.

I do hope you get the important slots filled. ;)

[SunnyDay]

Iowa was a fraction of a fraction of the voters in one state. Really.

[Topsecretk9]

Let me put it this way -- the white house has no shame in saying that the conservative blogosphere is its mouth peice.

Jor - you are in denial. Townhouse listserv and it's sister reformation one un -exposed, what is it? Barnstorm.listserv?

If you can address the tight nit connection between lefty bloggers, main steam media and party establishment's extensive, choreographed coordination and talking points huddle up then you are just foolish and in dumb.

I'd like to live in your naive and spoon fed world, but I have to pay bills and take care a family idiot.

Firedoglake is the worst of the srv. You can see that 90% of their posts track with the srv email directive.

It's pretty sad those pups are so pabulum fed.

[Topsecretk9]

Also Jor

The MSM lefty blog coordination is well known by many in government.

The sad part is mainly, they all lie to you.

They coordinate lies to spoon feed you and then break bread with the people they tell you to hate,

Wake up little friend. The democrats in congress actually hate you more them me. HEH.

[Cecil Turner]

Even if it only preached to Mr. Klein's choir, it helped propel Dean from relative obscurity to the lead in the polls heading into Iowa . . .

So it stands up there in "great moments in oration" such as the Gettysburg Address, I Have a Dream, Ask Not, or Tear Down This Wall? Of course not. If Klein had a point there, it's a bit obscure . . . or perhaps, not ever having been present for any truly great oratory, he just chose a bad example.

This is partly why the righty bloggers unanimously hate huck -- but people actually seem to like him.

Possibly righties aren't particularly thrilled with Huck because he ain't very right. Lefties, on the other hand, seem to like him a lot (though mostly, I suspect, because they--correctly--view him as a weak candidate).

[Other Tom]

"...the white house has no shame in saying that the conservative blogosphere is its mouth peice."

Eh? When did the White House say this?

How about the guy at HuffPo who is already saying that with Blackwater, Halliburton and others still abroad in the land, Obama might well get assassinated.

Thanks, Clarice--once again you beat me to it. I already had that passage about the answer Hillary got on my clipbook, ready for pasting right here.

Dare we hope that the Lewd Varlet was there to hear it?

[Other Tom]

Wahoo! The Vile Banshee just dropped below 50 at Tradesports! Forty-nine plus to Obama's 47 plus.

I was around for the mass swooning over JFK, and what's going on now is the closest thing I have seen to that. We can at least take comfort--a great deal of comfort--in the humiliating repudiation of everything Clintonian.

[Elliott]

OT,

We can also take comfort in the fact that Joseph C. Wilson IV is in grave danger of falling to 0-2 in endorsing Presidential candidates.

[Topsecretk9]

OTom

The dirty little secret on with the lefty bloggers is, they DID support Hillary.

Joe Wilson as campaign supporter? - sucked again!

Scary Larry is in a snit. He says the Iowa primary is a "pimple", Hillary will rule the day! Heh.

[Topsecretk9]

Get out of my head Elliot!

[JM Hanes]

Wilson and Larry probably sold themselves to Jarch as Clinton insiders.

OT: I think it was someone like Ken Mehlman (?) who talked, with some measure of pride, about righty bloggers regurgitating White House talking points.

[Jor]

Topsekret -- I don't think its a dirty little secret that several big name bloggers were leaning for HRC. But as I said before, if you read the comments on those sites, there was an all out open revolt in the comments sections. So maybe the establishment was trying to spoon feed us crap (even through some blogs), but at least on the left, we spit out spoon fed crap -- unlike you guys who swallow it and then smile. And like I said, the establishment's control over blogs just isn't as strong on the left, given the absolute strong disapproval of the democratic congress for lack of blocking or doing anything significant.

Cecil, I think if you exclude evangelicals as conservatives -- the republican base is about as large as the number of ron paul supporters. Good luck winning an election with just that.

[Topsecretk9]

Wilson and Larry probably sold themselves to Jarch as Clinton insiders.

I am sooo dumb.

You are right JMH.

sold himself as Clinton a insider...Just like Norman HSU did!

duh!

[Topsecretk9]

Jor

You won't address Townhouse eh?

[Sara]

Gee, I feel slighted. In 3 1/2 years of blogging and commenting, not once did someone from the White House give me a talking point. Of course, I'm one of those rare breeds called moderate Republican not a Conservative or Evangelical, so maybe I'm not a good depository for those words reigning down from on high. And I seriously doubt that Malkin and her minions were taking many talking points from the Admin. when they fought immigration reform, the Dubai Ports deal, or the Harriet Miers nomination.

[JM Hanes]

Jor:

"So maybe the establishment was trying to spoon feed us crap (even through some blogs), but at least on the left, we spit out spoon fed crap -- unlike you guys who swallow it and then smile."

Now that sounds like crap somebody fed you on a lefty site. We argue with each other here too, not just with drop ins. I'm a pro-choice, social liberal who would vote for a Democrat before I'd vote for Huckabee. I post here so I can argue with folks without the kind of streaming insults that greet any deviation from liberal orthodoxy on the left.

[JM Hanes]

TSK9 -- So dumb, you are NOT. Those are probably the first two Wilson dots I've ever come close to connecting before you posted 'em yourself, or Rocko lit a match.

[BarbaraS]

Is it my nasty suspicious mind or has it occurred to anyone else that supporters of Hillary crossed over and voted in the Republican caucus to ensure that the rep winner would be Huckabee thereby causing Hillary's defeat? Of course, that would mean she is down but far from out. A grisly idea, no?

[M. Simon]

You know, I'm from Illinois. We had a chance to make history before. I fell for it. Carol Moseley Braun. Other than her stance on the Drug War (leave the pot heads alone) I had nothing in common with her policies. But. I. Wanted. To. Make. History.

I helped make history alright. That dead turkey stunk up the house (Senate actually) for six years. Defeated by Peter Fitzgerald who was a good guy but too straight for the big time. He was a one termer. And then through the machinations of a leaker of Ryan's divorce proceedings and my state Senator Dave Syverson(R) we got the Keyes vs Obama match up.

So here we are today. BTW Obama came from U. Chicago and Braun went to U. Chicago after her term. Seems suspicious to me. And I'm an alum and my son graduated from there in June.

IMO Fred is the only good guy in the race and the Rs are doing to him what the Ds did to Tsongas. I believe some one asked Tsongas what would happen if he didn't get the nomination. I think his reply was along the lines of "You're screwed". Which brings us to Bill and Shrillary.

Oh. Well. I survived.

[M. Simon]

BTW I was at a Lefty Site the other day

And found this:

Obama stump speech strategy of conciliation considered harmful.

Not so rabid as most lefty sites but Not Happy With Obamarama.

Why are they unhappy? He seems too willing to take positions that will get Republican votes.

When he was a Chicago poll he had a lot of communist support. They were none to happy about some of his positions on the war in '004. He has since reverted to his roots despite a small move to the right during his campaign.

We are so screwed.

[M. Simon]

Day 198: Last day with Obama. We had it out. He said he never liked coming over, didn’t get anything from the conversation and sure wasn’t going to start acting like a liberal progressive. I said that was fine, I only spent time with him because Dennis Kucinich wasn’t electable, but I still wished him well. It all happened so fast that when I saw him leave it didn’t register, not at first. It was like Obama was here, now the door is open…what’s on TV?

from: Obama & the Progressive: a Diary.

I think it is unanimous we will all be screwed by Obama.

[Tom Maguire]

From "jor":

ccaroll analysis of the netroots support for obama is not very good. Although large lefty bloggers were lukewarm to Obama, it was clear that the readers of their sites were overwhelmingly supporting obama. This is obvious to anyone who spent any time in the comments sections at DailyKos, Atrios, TPM, Washington Montly, or even a-political social bookmarking sites like Reddit.

Helpful. Now maybe jor can explain this post from Kos himself posted on the morning of the Iowa caucuses and summarizing the online DkKos reader's polls going back to March 2007.

Snippet - Obama was at 26 percent in Mar 07 and surged to, well, 27 percent by the morning of the caucus.

And what about Edwards, the angry man seemingly channeling the anger of the Nutroots? 38 pct. in Mar 07, up to 48 pct on Jan 3 '08.

Possible explanations:

1. Edwards supporters managed to spoof Kos and the Kos community by rigging polls right at the Kos website?

2. Jor is not reality based.

To be fair, "both of the above" may be an option.

As to this:

In terms of the day after Obama's win, almost all major lefty blogs are warming up to him big time. So ccarrol's comments are already out-of-date. Drum, Atrios, and TPM are much more enthusiastic ab out obama today then a week ago.

Really? gee, the whole point of the Stufttaford excerpt of Klein, which he intro'ed with "Expect more of this" is that the lefty bloggers will get on Obama's bus now that it is leaving the station.

Or was I too subtle when I wrote "the sudden opportunity of the Dem party (bloggers included!) to make and shape history has led to unfortunate but predictable results...".

On the off-chance that I *was* too subtle, the "unfortunate" result was the excerpted purple prose.

Let me put it this way -- the white house has no shame in saying that the conservative blogosphere is its mouth peice.

When did lefties begin to believe that the White House saying it is true makes it true?

I would note that the WH was not afraid to embrace rightly blogs, but the Dems, most notably Obama, seem to be running away from the Nutroots (except when a check is being waved).

As to the accuracy of the WH claim, it was widely rebutted, but not so widely at lefty blogs.

[Jane]

I liked Ace's response to the little ditty of Obama's "elevating" speech:

Did he just call Obama, essentially, the Lamb of God?

So we've got Huckabee with Jesus as his running mate versus, it seems, the Second Coming of Jesus Himself. I guess religious voters are going to have a hard time deciding here.

Good Lord.

[Donald]

Interesting note on when Chris dumped on Sid. He didn't want to! They were bestest buddies. But, being as how Hitchens is a pretty damned straight up dude as many of the cro magnon right learned in this episode (Meant with much affection), Hitchens talked about Blumenthal's trashing of Lewinsky because he couldn't let it happen. Hey, he may be an atheist, drunken English fuck, but he's OUR atheist, drunken English fuck and I love him.

[Pofarmer]

And then through the machinations of a leaker of Ryan's divorce proceedings and my state Senator Dave Syverson(R) we got the Keyes vs Obama match up.

Thanks for reminding me how Barack got to be a Senator in the first place. Would he have beat Ryan without the dirt? Could Ryan have still won if he'd stood his ground?

[SunnyDay]

After Iowa's caucus, I wake up to learn the Republican party is in disarray and Obama will be our first black president. hmmmm.

This method of choosing candidates needs changing so bad.

[RichatUF]

Thanks for the Ryan reminder. Thinking back that looked like a CREW op-leaking "details" of the divorce and custody agreement without either party. Maybe Obama has been trained in the art of the " permanent campaign" and is better at it than the Clinton's.

Wonder what dirt the Clinton's are going to go with...

[RichatUF]

oops...

without either party...->either party's consent. IIRC, Jerry Ryan, interceeded to get the story spiked then released a no comment through her lawyer.

[PeterUK]

"It has been given to me to be alive at this happy moment that I can hear this singular talent. If anything can match the delight and soul-fulfilling peace of that experience, it is pity for those who have not shared it. A moment's reflection on its perfection convinces me that the only thing that can convey the deep, abiding joy of hearing a Barack Obama speech, is another Barack Obama speech"

Does that come with a portion of hand picked,dew fresh meadow mushrooms cooked in a delicate creme fresh and white wine sauce?
What is it like when it is defrosted?

[clarice]

HEH! If worse comes to worst you can write menus in the US,PUK. Sounds like the kind of hyperbolic prose our restaurants are known for.

[PeterUK]

"A moment's reflection on its perfection convinces me that the only thing that can convey the deep, abiding joy of hearing a Barack Obama speech, is another Barack Obama speech"

I can't beat that though,he makes Obama sound like a crack addiction.

[clarice]

Fresh minted prose rolled off his tongue and into the history books....

[bgates]

For Obama's sake, I hope you didn't think I was serious. Ezra Klein making James Lipton look like Simon Cowell seemed like a fun thing to try to parody.

[bgates]

SunnyDay - Barack Hussein Il Jung Chavez will be our second black President, won't he? You have to reach far back to find the first one, which is why the AP is now referring to him as a relic.

[Rick Ballard]

Bgates,

I'm shattered. I read your The Passion of Hussein and my heart soared like a beagle.

Does this mean my tickets to the Obamagammergau are no good?

[PeterUK]

"SunnyDay - Barack Hussein Il Jung Chavez will be our second black President, won't he?"

Only if he can play the saxophone.

[Sara]

The Edwards Campaign says it is down to a 2 man race, Edwards and Obama.

[WAS]

Bill Clinton was Adolf Hitler. He had charisma. Bill knew this and said nothing. Bill was using and we all voted, but what's more important were the four more years and the threats of pain, heart attacks, seeing, hearing, etc.

So, unlike Jesus who was damned by God,like us, The Lamb of God; Obama has probably pained and has been paid for his sin of using other's bodies; so, understanding his rights are important if he has gone after the Eucharist like the Lamb of God> has forgiven us for being damned humans who's bodies belong to God and Jesus; not luciferians who think they are forgiven in church with the Eucharist.

Charisma is the same as Cheney being Chalabied and we are still wondering if it was that South American blog that the said 'I F myself' and assumed Dick and got someone shot that had it removed. I guess that Grande Ville (big village as opposed to small village)bled to death after being accidentally shot.

I'm just saying the thing that was pictured on the blog is REAL FUGLY and looks like something went wrong with it's genetics or something.

[Jor]

TM,
Kos is the one of the leftier sites -- so yes, edwards supporters there do outnumber obama supporters. But the key finding is, support for hillaray is anemic. On other blogging sites that are little less left (atrios, TPM, Washingtonmonthly) any discussion about obama vs. clinton, was almost totally in obama's favor in the comments sections.

Edwards/Obama are the the change candidates. HRC is the status quo. Readers of the blogs, support her significantly less than they support the other "change" candidates. However. the liberal bloggers themselves were much more supportive of HRC than their readers.

[Jor]

In terms of obama's relationship with the left -side of the blogosphere. He got a lotta underserved grief from the liberal side blogosphere, spear-headed by Krugman over minor policy details at the expense of ignoreing the big picture issues driving this election. CHANGE and Unity A lof of this Krugman inspired attack claimed Obama was running to much to the right.

Whats absolutely hilarious now is that Hillary is saying OBama is toooo liberal.

[M. Simon]

We will be screwed with Obama. How badly screwed?

Here is a bit on Obama's Church:

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan received the "Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright,Jr. Lifetime Achievement Trumpeteer" Award at the 2007 Trumpet Gala at the the United Church of Christ.

More at:

Trinity United Church of Christ

[M. Simon]

Pofarmer,

I do not think Obama could have lost in Illinois that year. However, his reduced margin of victory would have taken some of the wind out of his sails.

[Ray Robison]

I still dont get Obama. All I hear him say in his speeches is "they did this, they didn't that" yet he never explains who is "they". He also keeps saying he is going to join everyone together. What kind of morons think anybody can get republicans and democrats to work together? I mean really, isnt that the point of a multiparty system anyway? That the people have different views and they must compete to advance any agenda in a free society?

I don't think he will be the first black president so much as the first MTV president. Yeah, he is flashy but there is really nothing under the suit.

Ray Robison is the author of Both In One Trench: Saddam's Secret Terror Documents'

http://www.bothinonetrench.com

[william]

The first time Dinkins ran against Giuliani, Dinkins truly looked more magesterial. Dinkins had the cadences and the presence of a statesman. The argument was that after the divisiveness of the Koch years, Dinkins would bring peace and unity to NYC. Well, no such luck. Dinkins presided over four years of mounting crime with an impeccable presence and deeply felt cliches about the need for tolerance. The election of Dinkins proved not so much that a back man can become Mayor of NYC, but that a black man can become a hapless mayor of NYC. I hope for all our sakes that there is something more substantial than backlighting behind Obama's glow, but there is no way to know for sure.

[M. Simon]

More Obama links at Obamarama.

He is at minimum an Islamic stooge (useful idiot) and at worst in league with them.

[Knemon]

The Dean speech he's referring to is probably the one at the California Democratic Convention in, I think, 2003. At this convention, Lieberman got booed/heckled by Larouchites, and Dean raised the roof. It marked the beginning of the netroots' crush on him.

[cloris]

i'm wondering how it is that hilldog's people sleep at night framing the choice between their candidate and barack obama as they do. i don't just mean the stuff about the "american people" (read: northern trade union democrats) not being "ready for a black president". i mean stuff like the implicit assasination threats, like when francine torge, responding to obama likening himself obliquely to jfk, noted that jfk was assasinated, and that lbj went on to actually enact civil rights.

that's the kind of stuff that drops your jaw to the floor. particularly when you consider that lbj rationalized his "gift" to african americans thusly:

"These Negroes, they're getting pretty uppity these days and that's a problem for us since they've got something now they never had before, the political pull to back up their uppityness. Now we've got to do something about this, we've got to give them a little something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference."

but in a rotten stew with other presidential contenders like chris dodd announcing that senior senate democrat and kkk grand kleagle, robert byrd "would have been right during the great conflict of civil war in this nation," what can you expect? this is who progressives are