Obama is promoting a dream, not reality.

[goldcanyonaz]

"I like Barack Obama. The Clintons, not so much. But the Clintons are right and Obama is wrong.

Over the last week, the Obama camp has tried to suggest, insinuate, whisper or wink that the Clintons are somehow racist. Obama’s staff sent out a memo compiling some quotes that allegedly demonstrate the “racial insensitivity” of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

The Obama folks are fanning the overreaction to her suggestion that President Lyndon Johnson was a more substantive agent of change on civil rights than the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Obama is also fueling the flatly erroneous view that Bill Clinton called Obama’s historic run as the first credible black presidential candidate a “fairy tale.” Clinton used that phrase in reference to Obama’s claim to have been consistently antiwar.

However poorly the Clintons or their subalterns may have chosen their words, does anyone seriously believe the Clintons are racists? Anyone? Of course not.

And this points to the real reason Obama’s candidacy is a fairy tale, and it has nothing to do with being black or opposing the war. It’s because he’s selling a dream, not reality."

http://www.kansascity.com/273/story/447973.html

[ellacott]

1. People are stuck on this notion that they were accused of being racists

They are now the victims.

[lisa58]

2. enough already...vote for whomever you wish

[ursi]

3. that's pretty funny! when Barack was in Reno on Monday he said ...

that people were criticizing him now for his message of HOPE. He then said people are saying he is not "SEASONED ENOUGH" to be in DC at the White House. He then said that some people want to "BOIL ALL THE HOPE OUT OF HIM" before he can be in DC in the White House.

[Connie_Corleone]

4. Donna Brazille and Rev. Lowery were the ones who spoke out about this first.

And Obama never said that Bill Clinton's fairy tale comment was referring to his run for president. Obama rebutted Bill's claim about his Iraq war stance.

[Evergreen Emerald]

8. please. Obama's surrogets were sending out press releases on it

And you cannot tell me that Obama did not make well placed phone calls to Lowery, and Brazille and Clyburn.

The spin was the media and Obama. And the "black community" blew up in outrage. Obama let them stew for a week before he told the truth.

He used race for political gain. And the "black community" is apparently so sensitive that they cannot tolerate a white person talking about MLK. They are gonna have to get the hell over that. Well, they don't have ownership of MLK. He is as much the history of Clinton's as he is Obama's.

[ellacott]

15. What you just posted showed a total lack of understanding

And one of the reasons that we have this issue.

You've made up in your mind that there was some collusion with Clyburn and Brazille. I know many people who reacted in a similar manner who are regular people with political connections.

Your comments about MLK shows that you don't have the slightest clue of what the issue was.

I really wish that a lot of people would get the hell over a lot of things. It won't happen because many are stuck in their skewed mindset and won't be moved regarldess of what people say.

You folks are something else.

[Evergreen Emerald]

18. Look. If they had a "problem" with what Clinton said, they misunderstood it

or it was designed that they misunderstand it with the media and the Obama spin. Just like the "fairy tale" comment that had nothing to do with race and was twisted to be about race.

Fabricated. Distorted. Twisted. Outrage over fake crap.

And if you cannot see that--you are "something else."

[ellacott]

21. According to Bills explanation and the context it WAS misunderstood

Bill did a good job of cleaning it up. If that was the only issue I would agree with you.

What you can not see he wasn't being called a racist. Many of you throw that word around too liberally and it's not an accurate description of the problem. The Clintons should know this also and that's why many were surprised that they were so outraged that they(of all people) were being called racists. That wasn't true.

But, because we are so hung up on that word we fail to even consider the real issue.

And the beat goes on........

[Evergreen Emerald]

ok ella. Explain to me what I am missing.

[ellacott]

25. The MLK issue is mostly trying to understand what Hillary was trying to say

Most understand that you need a President to sign legislation. Most also understand that MLK was a driving force(through his speeches and his sacrifice)in getting this legislation proposed. Many don't understand what she was trying to say.

If she's comparing herself to LBJ and Barack to MLK it still doesn't make sense. It sounded like she was saying that you can have all the flowery speeches but you still need a President. If this is her argument then,theorectically, you can have Obama and have 2 for the price of one.

Was she saying that the blacks can march and do the hard work but it takes a white person to finally get it done? This might sound like an insane question to you but because there was such ambiguity in her statement that many are left to draw their own conclusions.

Many made an issue of the memo where the Obama camp catalogued all the instances where insensitive remarks came from the Clinton camp. The problem is they don't say anything about the list that the Clintons have compiled. Bill said they have a list of at least 80 instances where the Obama camp has insulted Hillary. Why is it ok for the Clintons to keep a list but it's a problem when Obama's camp does the same.

Bob Johnson's presence was not an advantage to the Clinton campaign. Many view Clarence Thomas better than Bob Johnson.

Many have seen a pattern, not of racism but of insensitivy coming from the Clintons and this has been disappointing because the Clintons were the last politicians that blacks thought would be this insensitive.

[Evergreen Emerald]

26. thanks Ella.

I don't have time to respond as I am off to work, but I appreciate your response.

[niceypoo]

9. The media and Obama's defenders insinuated it

and Obama didnt bother to step in to clarify or debunk. It is what he does.

[ellacott]

10. There was no insinuation

Something that most don't want to accept is that saying something racial is not the same thing as being a racist. People are stubbornly stuck on that word and by doing any further discussion is stalled.

[rodeodance]

11. What bothered me was that Obama, by his silence for several days, fueled the fire.

He did not speak up till late Monday evening---after lots of speculation, falsehoods-were in place. That is not a mark of leader.

[alcibiades_mystery]

5. It's very clear that that's the argument that the Clintons have settled on

Style v. substance, flash v. truth, rhetoric v. reality, dream v. reality, fairy tale v. history, and the million other variations of the same tired shite. I think everyone gets it. Ad nauseam.

Whether the argument has any merit is another question altogether. But it's quite clear that this board is destined to see 10,000 posts all repeating the same thing in various forms.

Because repetition makes it so.

[Skidmore]

23. The reality is what needs to be changed, and the dream is the

catalyst for that change.

[alcibiades_mystery]

31. I think the whole distinction itself is rhetorical

Distinguishing style from substance is itself a style.

[ellisonz]

6. "I have a dream..."

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

[JVS]

7. None of the candidates are promoting reality.

[Vinca]

12. Sometimes you need a dream. nt

[Avalux]

13. What a bullshit article. Carry on......

:eyes:

[Skidmore]

14. For some of us the dream did not die with MLK, JFK, or RFK.

Nor did dreaming become a subversive act. Dreams and actions are intertwined, and I would dare say that that symbiotic relationship has been behind most great acts in history. As far as the Clintons are concerned, I don't know about racism, but any person in this day and age that would seek to disenfranchise people and control message to the extent that truth is wanting does not deserve consideration after the events of the Bush years.

[ellacott]

16. Also, the dream is not fully realized n/t

[Skidmore]

19. Amen.

[1776Forever]

20. If it is between the good ole' boys again and a dream for the future I take the dream!

Will Murdock and others like old man Bush be the characters in the Clinton Administration that we see walking in and out or will it be a vision of the future that will bring the truly best and talented to the table? I pick the dream! Never stop visualizing that the best is truly yet to come!:applause:

[rucky]

17. I think it comes down to a matter of style with the two...

to really boil it down, personality-wise, it's type-A vs. type-B - product vs. process.

They never understand each other. And with Obama and with Clinton, either you get 'em or you don't. In the end, either one will take the country in a better direction and that's all that matters. It's our unwillingness to move forward until we have that imaginary perfect superhero to lead us. That's getting in the way of progress - not either one of them.

[ellacott]

22. Very well said n/t

[Sulawesi]

24. No dream is reality, yet...I think its sad that the clinton's are on the side of lower expectations.

[peoli]

27. what a sad man who wrote this

[goldcanyonaz]

28. lol.

[RaleighNCDUer]

29. Few ever believed that the Clintons are racist.

Many believe that they are cynical opportunists who are not above USING racists, and exploiting racial themes.

[ellacott]

32. Very true

And this has been the hardest thing to get people to understand.

[Bonobo]

30. Well, we're in the middle of a nightmare right now, so GOOD IDEA!

[Beacool]

33. The Clintons comments may not have been artfully constructed.

But of course the Obama campaign fanned the flames and the media added the fuel!!! The memo was passed around and reporters received many emails encouraging them to speak out on this issue. Andrea Mitchell said that she had received several emails from the Obama camp.

Obama himself had to respond to it when asked about the memo during Tuesday's debate. How naive do you folks really think that this guy is? Please, he comes out of the Chicago machine for goodness sakes!!!! When are some of you going to wake up and realize that politics is a dirty game and all practice it, including the new guy on the block!

[ellacott]

34. This article was written by Johah Goldberg

His new book is entitled, Liberal Fascism and says there are no poor people in America.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/01/11/goldberg/