Indeed --
STEPHANOPOULOS: "Senator, two questions. Number one, do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do?"No, really. That was an actual question.
STEPHANOPOULOS: "Senator, two questions. Number one, do you think Reverend Wright loves America as much as you do? And number two, if you get the nomination, what will you do when those sermons are played on television again and again and again?""Thank you for asking that hard-hitting question of lapel flag pins. That is the question that has been on my mind for some time now (and on the mind of many in my community). Well, tonight I got my answer and I have now decided for whom to vote."
SENATOR OBAMA: "You know, George, look, if it's not this, then it would be something else..."
STEPHANOPOULOS: "But you do believe he's as patriotic as you are?"
[...]
STEPHANOPOULOS: "[B]ut first a follow-up on this issue, the general theme of patriotism in your relationships. A gentleman named William Ayers, he was part of the Weather Underground in the 1970s. They bombed the Pentagon, the Capitol and other buildings. He's never apologized for that. And in fact, on 9/11 he was quoted in The New York Times saying, "I don't regret setting bombs; I feel we didn't do enough."
"An early organizing meeting for your state senate campaign was held at his house, and your campaign has said you are friendly. Can you explain that relationship for the voters, and explain to Democrats why it won't be a problem?"
SEN. OBAMA: "George, but this is an example of what I'm talking about.
"This is a guy who lives in my neighborhood, who's a professor of English in Chicago, who I know and who I have not received some official endorsement from. He's not somebody who I exchange ideas from on a regular basis.
"And the notion that somehow as a consequence of me knowing somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago when I was 8 years old, somehow reflects on me and my values, doesn't make much sense, George."
"The biggest disservice to American voters that I have seen in a long time."
"What ever happened to the responsibility of the press to inform our citizens with unbiased information on the pressing issues facing the nation so that they can make an informed decision in the governance of this country?"
"Yes, we are bitter!"
"SENATOR OBAMA, how old were you when you first decided not to distance yourself from the tropical island also home to Dog the Bounty Hunter? I ask this because America wants to know whether you hate the mainland enough to not have a flag pin tattooed just south of your hairline.And to you SENATOR CLINTON...Obama is the same height as most Black Terrorists. Comments?"
"My only question was why it too so long for the audience to start booing the moderators."
These and many more disparaging comments left at ABC News, here.
7 comments:
Ah, fuck those debates! They're not meant to be meaningful exchanges of info, they're just circus acts where the participants try to look pretty for a national audience. Even when they were run by a reputable organization like the League of Women Voters, it was more like a charm offensive than anything substantial. The current debate format (as opposed to the days of Abraham Lincoln when they could last 5 hrs) really doesn't lend itself to lengthy, nuanced intelligent discussion/exploration of issues --it's more about 30 second answers/quips, body language, playing defense (ie; not making any big gaffes), and 'words from our sponsors'.
People who make up their political mind based on debates are probably the same ones who decide which car to buy based on the TV commercials...
Many Democrats who aren’t caught up in the messianic NLP love zeal for Barack had these kinds of things to say about his crappy performance. Examples below lifted from:
http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/and www.correntewire.com :
http://www.correntewire.com/w_a_a_a_a_a_h
Well boo-f%@king-hoo.
Schadenfreude beeyotches!
He he he
Bill Clinton for First Dude!!!
ABC went after Obama, true, but they exposed him, rather than smeared him (The actual media hit jobs have Clinton in their cross-hairs). The true disgrace was how Obama fucked himself over with a pitiful performance. The blame lies with Obama, however, it’ll be spun as a racist, hillbilly media conspiracy against The Beloved.
It’s about damn time the Obama fan boys wake the hell up. This is just a taste of what Obama would face if he’s the nominee. His supporters have done him a terrible disservice by refusing to even allow legitimate criticism of him, especially considering his titanic, hyper-sensitive ego. He has a horrible track record in debates when questioned and his tell is so damn obvious: he becomes absolutely furious, lashing out at Clinton, or he chokes, desperately trying to cover with either a bald-faced lie or an empty platitude.
In South Carolina, he lied about Rezko, claiming he was just some “individual” who he worked on behalf of for 5 hours. In that same debate, when Clinton twice called him out for not accounting for $50B in his policy plans he said he would be “happy” to answer it but he never did, instead used it to launch that “Wal-Mart” tirade against her. And his arrogance always gets the best of him; he just flat-out lies, and with ease, to boost his ego (e.g., boasting about his ethics bill; claiming he was running for US Senate when he spoke out against Iraq). There’s no way in hell Obama will be allowed to get away with so much as breathing the wrong way if he’s the nominee (see: Al Gore’s “sighs”).
ABC News was mean to Prince Obama last night. For some unknown reason, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopolous broke with the MSNBC/CNN tradition and went after Barack Obama with the assault-style politics that is normally reserved for Hillary Rodham Clinton. And they took away his teleprompter!
The Obamabots are horrified. They are aghast. They are furious. And they are throwing a hissy-fit all over the shrillosphere.
Oh woe and gnashing of teeth! The young Prince was beaten by a girl!
The same attack-style journalism that inspires cheers and raucous jubilation when it is fired at the girl draws gasps of outraged horror when it is dumped upon the young Prince.
Well, isn’t that just too bad for the Precious. And welcome to the club, Obamabots. The U.S. media is sick and deranged, but for some reason surviving the derangement is a presidential test. Last night Obama finally got a taste of the treatment that Hillary Rodham Clinton has long been accustomed to. The untested Prince failed miserably.
Over at Obama Post, this atrocity is condemned as: A Shameful Night for the U.S. Media! At American Prospect, we are told that THESE QUESTIONS ARE A DISGRACE! And Barack Obama’s most loyal subject, Andrew Sullivan, calls it The ABC News “Freak Show”!
In the 10,000+ comments at ABC News, we learn that Obamabots WILL NEVAH EVAH WATCH ABC NEWS AGAIN!!!
Initial withering assessments of The Horrid and Shameful National Disgrace that has been wrongfully Imposed upon Poor Poor Prince Obama follow:
Debate: ABC News Was Mean to the Messiah
http://guerillawomentn.blogspot.com/
Sorry, I have a different take. Full disclosure, I did not watch the debate and while Obama was not my first choice, he is my choice at this stage in the proceedings. People do buy cars based on car commercials--if they din't there would be no car commercials and we would get more ads for other things. Each of the items I have heard brought up has recieved news or blog coverage in the past and while they may have been asked in a "gotcha' manner, Obama was given a chance to frame his position on them. He at least tried to put Ayers in perspective. He could have pointed out Rev Wright's military service. My understanding is that he finds wearing Asian made flag pins the sort of false patriotism that republican tax cheats engage in while avoiding doing anything substantive to aid the country. All of these"issues" are out there and the fault is not ABC if they gave Obama a chance to defuse them and he failed.
1.800.crymeafuckingriver
Obama is an empty suit, and how it showed last night. why is ok for the media to dis Hillary for EVERYTHING under the sun to include her laugh, dress, etc Obama gets the red carpet treatment and all is well. well this time Obama got it and it's about fucking time.
he's such a pissy crybaby.
As Big Em said, "fuck the debates". Look, this isn't about Clinton OR Obama. They're both pretty unsatisfactory candidates but this has nothing to do with them. This is about the failure of a major media outlet to deal seriously with the issues that will be important to anyone who aspires to become the president of the US. The significance of grandiose stories of surviving sniper fire or whether one wears replicas of the flag on his clothing does not address issues of importance. You know the issues. Healthcare, education, defense, environment, Supreme Court nominations, taxation, the economy, housing... I could go on.
Why can we no longer engage our candidates in an appropriate discussion of the issues?
Because the people who are making a lot of money under the current way of doing things - the media companies and those who buy advertising time - are not interested in a real discussion of the issues. Things are fine the way they are, thank you.
So the rich get richer, and Democrats are screaming at each other about who is an empty suit or a pathological liar or whatever, and Daddy Warbucks is laughing all the way to the bank.
So keep bashing each other. See where that gets you.
Let's all just buy another made in China ribbon to put on our SUV's and everything will be all right.
Actually I'm more likely to vote for someone who doesn't wear a made in China flag pin. I'm more likely to vote for someone who seems to understand that the working class has been screwed for years. The buying power of wages peaked in 1973 and has been going downhill ever since.
Rev. Wright joined the Marines after hearing JFK talk about doing things for your country. He has more right to talk about this country than someone who had better things to do or someone whose daddy got him a nice spot in the Air National Guard and then didn't have the balls to go the all the weekend drills.
Well said Kulkuri. Too bad that Obama was not as eloquent on Wednesday. Of course, it would be nice to get into nuanced discusions concerning health care, falling real wages for most Americans, defense of the whole Constitution etc, but none of that decides elections no matter how much 10% of us or so wish that it did.
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