March 15, 2007

The "Visionary" Obama, as Rotten as the Rest of Them

Barack Obama, widely regarded as "uplifting," "visionary," rising above the nasty political fray, etc. ad nauseam, charmingly offered these recent remarks:
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) slipped in a compliment — of sorts — about a fellow 2008 hopeful during his appearances on the Iowa stump last weekend.

"I want to wait and hear what John Edwards has to say, he’s kind of good-looking," Obama envisioned Iowa caucus-goers from the small town of Clinton telling themselves. During an appearance in West Burlington, Iowa, the phrase appeared again, this time with Edwards as "kind of cute."

One Edwards supporter was nonplussed by the reference, coming as Obama stresses rising above petty politics and chafes at press attention to his own good looks.

...

Obama’s campaign declined to comment on his curious praise for the 2004 vice presidential nominee.
Employed in this manner, these are well-known coded phrases, used to demean, to diminish, and to feminize the male opposition. They rely on our culture's unquestioned assumption that to be feminine is to be weak; in this sense, Obama is engaged in the identical kind of character assassination that Ann Coulter recently utilized.

Therefore, two very brief notes. First, to those of you who bought the campaign propaganda and hype about Obama being a "new" and "better" kind of politician -- this with regard to a man who uses more utterly empty, meaningless, vacuous phrases per speech than any politician in recent memory (and if that's the kind of "achievement" you want, knock yourselves out): you really will fall for anything, won't you? That must be why almost none of the libloggers dare criticize the Democrats for doing all they can to lead us straight into Armageddon. Among other problems, serious cognitive impairment would appear to be implicated here: most of these people wouldn't recognize Armageddon even as nuclear clouds drifted over their heads. And/or, to the extent Armageddon was unleashed by Democrats, it would be, you know, the good kind.

Second, and I say this with all the respect due, Mr. Obama: God damn you to hell, too.