Driving Miss Sarah

Obama wants to play chaffeur? Republicans need to sit at the back of the bus, err, car?  It looks as of the TOTUS Metaphor Masher has driven into that ditch Obama is always going on about; here is an abbreviated account of Obama at yet another fundraiser:

He said Republicans had driven the economy into a ditch and then stood by and criticized while Democrats pulled it out. Now that progress has been made, he said, "we can't have special interests sitting shotgun. We gotta have middle class families up in front. We don't mind the Republicans joining us. They can come for the ride, but they gotta sit in back."

Dave Poff at RedState deplores the racialy divisive imagery, and I certainly agree that if any Republican ever suggested Dems need to sit in the back of anything all we would be hearing about is Rosa Parks and unreconstructed racist redneck Republicans.

However, let's give our speech-impaired President the benefit of the doubt. I'm sure he is tired after focusing all year month week lunchbreak on jobs, jobs jobs.  And let's not fall into the trap that has ensnared him by thinking that everything is always about race - sometimes a dumb metaphor is just a dumb metaphor.

And FWIW, he has used the "driving into a ditch" routine many times, and even put the Republicans in the back seat on October 10.

AND WHAT I SHOULD HAVE NOTICED... Stuart Taylor at OTB notes a grievous problem with the Poff headline, which is "And Even STILL I Am Not Allowed To Make A Racial Slur About Our President? After THIS? AYFKM!?!?!?"

Taylor's point:

The thing, however, that is remarkably striking is the headline and the sentiment it conveys: “And Even STILL I am not Allowed to Make a Racial Slur About Our President?”  The suggestion seems to be that a)  Poff really, really has wanted to use racial slurs in the past, but simply hasn’t been “allowed” to deploy such, and b) that it is possible for a racial slur to be an appropriate response if, in fact, the President says something that really upsets Poff.

Well, yes, I wish I had noticed and commented on that.  I read the headline in the context of the stale lefty meme that sm that all of Obama's critics are motivated by racism and everything they say is racist, but of course, Taylor is right and that is not what the Poff headline says.

AND A BACK-HANDED DEFENSE:  Dan Riehl thinks Poff is on the "wrong track" but delivers a kinda-sorta defense:

Obama was talking cars, not buses - I don't think there's anything racial in it at all. However, it causes me even greater concern than if he had been. He's a Democrat and he was in New England. We all know what happens to people who ride in the backseat with those bastards. I have no intention of being in the back when this idiot Obama drives Democrats off the bridge on Nov 2nd.

 

Comments

[hit and run]

"we can't have special interests sitting shotgun."

Ed Morrissey http://hotair.com/archives/2010/10/26/obamateurism-of-the-day-385/>reports that Obama said:

“We can’t have special interest sh*tting… Sitting shotgun.”

It's come to this: you have to hide the kids when Obama comes around.

[centralcal]

Well, I for one, do not want to get into any car that Obama is driving. Much rather stand to the side, fanning myself, sippin' on a slurpee.

[narciso]

If you're in Rhode Island, one week out, as Cpl Hudson said 'game over man'

[Pagar]

"I'm sure he is tired after focusing all year month week lunchbreak on jobs, jobs jobs"

I'd be surprised if he has given a moment to the thought of jobs. If he has it would be in the context of creating more public service union workers so he can get more union dues money from them. The only other time he would possibly be thinking of jobs, if he saw the opportunity to eliminate more US private industry jobs.

[centralcal]

O/T and no thread appropriate for this wonderful awful news:

EXCLUSIVE: Fox News Channel's signature news anchor Shepard Smith has signed a new multi-year deal to continue as the channel's lead news anchor as well as anchor of FOX Report and Studio B. Smith's most recent pact with Fox News inked in 2007 was for 3 years and nets him $7 million-8 million a year. Fox News is expected to announce Smith's re-signing this afternoon.

[OldTimer]

Vote Fraud being reported in Nevada and elsewhere by Rush, even as we speak..

Damn the left, full speed ahead.

[narciso]

The hackery at 7, is so bad, with Tweety's rebroadcast and that non descript John King show, makes Shep just slightly less toxic except for sentient beings

[MarkO]

Shep? Not that there's anything wrong with it.

[Extraneus]

I'm tellin' ya, there's still plenty o' t-shirts left. 2-day delivery will get it to ya afore next Tuesday.

[MarkO]

Coming soon, the New Amos ‘n’ Andy, featuring Ruby, the head of the Mystic Knights of the Sea, The Kingfish, and his lovely wife, Sapphire.

Who will play them?

Get Plessy in the back seat.

[Jay]

The headline he used seemed asking for it when I saw it, I have to admit. I think in context to the story the "racial slur" he wanted to use was that people voted for him because he was black. I don't define this statement as a racial slur, but it seems in the article that he was finally done holding back wanting to say this specifically.

[bgates]

Spot on, Stuart Taylor.

Some people have one dominant characteristic that overshadows anything else about them. For instance, I couldn't imagine meeting Andre the Giant and noticing if he was left-handed. Likewise, I don't understand how anybody can pay any attention to Obama's race, when his overwhelmingly dominant characteristic is that he's such an asshole.

[centralcal]

Sorry to go O/T again, but over at MOTUS Mirror they discuss Michelle Antoinette's west coast campaigning and a commenter named "forkarrie" wrote the following:

"For MO so loved the world, that she gave her only begotten husband, that whoever believes and votes for him shall not work, but have eternal government."

[maryrose]

I'm with centracal. There is no way I ever get in a car with Obama driving his lemmings and party members over a cliff. Obama does want all the bitter clingers in the back of the bus. Howard Dean wanted all the rednecks with their pickup trucks and flags to pound salt as well. And what was Kerry's big pronouncement. "I don't need the South to win the presidency" And so he didn't win. What is it about dems that they have to alienate an entire section of the electorate and the country. Is this statement by Obama supposed to move Independents in his direction? He is truly a fatuous fool.

[Janet the tea-vangelist!]

Much rather stand to the side, fanning myself, sippin' on a slurpee.

Hahahah Too funny centralcal! and I ordered a Slurpee T-shirt. Thanks for the link Extraneus.

[MoodyBlu]

TM,

It's Steven Taylor, not Stuart Taylor as I am sure you wish to correct.

They, those people, can say all they want but no doubt Obama meant the back of the bus and demonstrated a rare moment of self control by saying back seat.

[Thomas Collins]

I think Obama was speaking to the ACORN types who will abet voter fraud, the neighborhood folks who will pass out walking around money and drive people to the polls, and the guilty rich folks who assuage their guilt by giving to prog causes, candidates and PACs. All of the people in the targeted audience understood that Obama was saying that they need to keep the GOP in the back of the bus. This has become a pure get out the base effort (Axelrod and Plouffe having advised Obama that the moderate independents are gone and not coming back), and this statement was in keeping with that. Obama is actually pretty good at stoking up resentment. He hasn't gotten credit with MSM for his resentment stoking skills because MSM wanted for a long time to keep the Mr. Transcendence Over Partisanship nonsense alive.

[Janet the tea-vangelist!]

OT a bit on the culture...I notice Charlie Sheen has checked himself into rehab for help after going on a drunken binge..an "escort" was at the scene.
His role on a TV show is of a rich guy that sleeps around & drinks a lot. I guess in real life that freedom doesn't bring much happiness. Too bad for our kids that the TV show makes that lifestyle look all fun. Sorta like Dan Quayle's point with the Murphy Brown TV show & single parenthood. I also think of Madonna not letting her kids watch TV when they were young...while peddling coarseness to our kids.
There is such a disconnect on what behaviors are sold as wonderful on TV...& the reality of those behaviors.

[Janelle]

Folks, I would really like to know whether he has a valid driver's license to drive the car.............opps, that record is sealed, too.

[Janet the tea-vangelist!]

If Mayberry was made today, all the main characters would be extremist losers & the guy that was always being put in jail by Barney would be played by the best looking actor & HE would be the cool guy.

[Captain Hate]

His role on a TV show is of a rich guy that sleeps around & drinks a lot. I guess in real life that freedom doesn't bring much happiness. Too bad for our kids that the TV show makes that lifestyle look all fun.

Maybe it's just me but his character recently hasn't seemed to have all that much fun. In fact he seems to be growing gracelessly old, lonely and bitter.

[NK]

Driving? in BarryO's world he's driving and we are all along for the ride. The ride ends well for no one. It's a one way ticket to palookaville.

[Pagar]

"Folks, I would really like to know whether he has a valid driver's license to drive the car............."

I'd also want to know what type of insurance he has?

[tommy mc donnell]

what makes him think the middle class are not republicans. i think the majority of the middle class are republicans. the majority of the democratic party is made up of rich ivy league elites and the welfare state poor and conscripted union workers.

[Tully]

I have no intention of being in the back when this idiot Obama drives Democrats off the bridge on Nov 2nd.

Just when the passing of Senator Kennedy had us thinking it was once again safe to go near the water ...

[MarkO]

I'm waiting for the Latinos to punish me.

[Ignatz Ratzkywatzky]

--However, let's give our speech-impaired President the benefit of the doubt.--

Ummm, why?

[Rick Ballard]

The Latinos are actually going to punish BOzo pretty severely on Tuesday. It's a currently unreported sub-theme of the election which will become very apparent on Wednesday. I'm not sure whether it's antipathy arising from BOzo's "some pigs are more equal" politics or adversion to sitting in the front seat of the Democrat clown car as he punches the accelerator to get it off the precipice.

[Threadkiller]

--"If Mayberry was made today, all the main characters would be extremist losers & the guy that was always being put in jail by Barney would be played by the best looking actor & HE would be the cool guy."--

POTUS the drunk.

[Bus driver? Now we're talking. Blunder bussa me mucho.]

Nope, no way is Obama a car guy. I can't wait for Iowahawk to get after it.
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[Pay your levy for your Chevy.]

Drivin' Miss America into the Big Muddy.
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[Something I tried to explain at PoliPundit, to general disapprobation, plus.]

I've a dearly beloved leftist relative who is convinced that Latinos are natcherul born Republicans.
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[Melinda Romanoff]

Rick-

Modern Weimar Charts.

[Melinda Romanoff]

oops, wrong thread.

[It was my lucky day.]

Who won China?
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[slarrow]

I've said for a while that the problem with Obama's car metaphor is that we aren't out of the ditch yet, and the reason why is that he hasn't been pushing, he's been trying to drive out of the ditch. We don't want it put in D or R; we want him to put it in park, stop hitting the gas (i.e., spending money), and step away from the vehicle.