Comments on: Barack Obama's Night Out http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/ A blog about politics. Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:02:59 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: mccainfluffer http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-3/#comment-34136 mccainfluffer Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:30:57 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34136 While I understand Obama's motivation for breaking bread with this infamous bunch of scoundrels, I think he is wasting his time. While I understand Obama's motivation for breaking bread with this infamous bunch of scoundrels, I think he is wasting his time.

]]> By: wvng http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-3/#comment-34086 wvng Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:14:18 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34086 Speaking of the "post-racial" meme, here is an offering from the incomparable DH in my local paper. . <i>Unless you are new to My Unbased Opinions, you know I did not support election of Barack Obama. I worried about his patriotism, his allegiances, his liberal bias, and the damage he might do to our country’s underpinnings through executive orders. I still do. . BUT! I am warming to some possible ramifications of his election. Recent news stories illustrate my points. . January 10, Washington Post, an article written by Robert Barnes details acceptance of a voting rights case by the Supreme Court. At issue is whether our federal government must still monitor and approve changes in voting procedures by certain states made accountable to federal authorities by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In light of the election of an African American as President of the United States, must our government still insist upon insuring that citizens of such lineage gain special consideration when voting? . The same article briefly addressed another case accepted by the Supreme Court. White firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut brought a discrimination lawsuit against the city which decided to throw out a promotion exam because not enough black applicants did well on it. I’d guess it will be tough to make a case for dumbing down such exams based on race when a member of that race won election as President.........</i> . Teh stoopid never ends, and will never end. Speaking of the "post-racial" meme, here is an offering from the incomparable DH in my local paper.
.
Unless you are new to My Unbased Opinions, you know I did not
support election of Barack Obama. I worried about his patriotism, his allegiances, his liberal bias, and the
damage he might do to our country's underpinnings through executive orders. I still do.
.
BUT! I am warming to some possible ramifications of his election.
Recent news stories illustrate my points.
.
January 10, Washington Post, an article written by Robert Barnes details acceptance of a voting rights case by the Supreme Court. At issue is whether our federal government must still monitor and approve changes in voting procedures by certain states made accountable to federal authorities by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In light of the election of an African American as President
of the United States, must our government still insist upon insuring that citizens of such lineage gain special consideration when voting?
.
The same article briefly addressed another case accepted by the
Supreme Court. White firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut brought a discrimination lawsuit against the city which decided to throw out a promotion exam because not enough black applicants did well on it. I'd guess it will be tough to make a case for dumbing down such exams based on race when a member of that race won election as President.........
.
Teh stoopid never ends, and will never end.

]]> By: yoshiattack http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34085 yoshiattack Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:13:28 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34085 Dee, I don't think this is about the color of Obama's skin as much as how the perception of him as one who could do no wrong was perpetrated in the campaign, by his followers and the media itself. Then of course there is this blogosphere that has sprung up. When you have hundreds of different high-profile outlets that have to churn out politiwonk pieces every day just to stay afloat, including opinion pages, is it any wonder that the whole politics-addicted infrastructure fills with meaningless redundancies most of the time? I used to be addicted to opinion pages in the primaries. Now that I've realized there's really nothing interesting in them most of the time, I don't bother as much. Dee, I don't think this is about the color of Obama's skin as much as how the perception of him as one who could do no wrong was perpetrated in the campaign, by his followers and the media itself. Then of course there is this blogosphere that has sprung up.

When you have hundreds of different high-profile outlets that have to churn out politiwonk pieces every day just to stay afloat, including opinion pages, is it any wonder that the whole politics-addicted infrastructure fills with meaningless redundancies most of the time?

I used to be addicted to opinion pages in the primaries. Now that I've realized there's really nothing interesting in them most of the time, I don't bother as much.

]]> By: sgwhiteinfla http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34084 sgwhiteinfla Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:10:35 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34084 Of course I am pwned by the Rev Wright thing, but who knew? Of course I am pwned by the Rev Wright thing, but who knew?

]]> By: sgwhiteinfla http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34082 sgwhiteinfla Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:08:15 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34082 Spencer Ackerman is thinking like im thinking. . http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2009/01/14/hes-the-master-of-the-game/ . <em>One of the more frustrating aspects of counterinsurgency involves talking to the people who were recently shooting at you -- sometimes while they're shooting at you. Often that gets misinterpreted as softness, but it's more of a recognition that the only way to achieve a true victory is by co-opting your opponents. What looks like a decisive victory one day can easily be overturned by a simmering sense among the vanquished that they have no place in the new regime, and therefore have little recourse besides resistance. The objective in launching these sorts of parleys with your opponents is two-fold. First, to see if they can be placated, and whether the price of doing so is acceptable. And second, to visibly demonstrate to the broader population that you've taken every reasonable step at reaching out to these adversaries -- so if they rebuke you and you counterattack, you look like the reasonable party and they look like the rejectionists. It's generally a sound strategy, and it's achieved real results. . Am I talking about Iraq? Sure. Afghanistan? I hope so. But the lesson also applies to Barack Obama's dinner with Bill Kristol, David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer, and George Will.</em> . K Teezie . We are definitely NOT post racial. We talk about that a lot over on Ta Nehisi Coates' blog on the Atlantic website. . As for the quote you posted I still don't see where he said he hated drama. The "no drama" theme can mean a lot of things. Most people who claim they have a no drama lifestyle mean they don't want people around them who START controversy. Now controversy comes whether we want it to or not, thats just a fact of life. But you can cut down on it if you keep people around you who try to steer clear of drama and shunning those who seek it out. To me thats the difference that I don't think a lot of the MSM folk get. When sh!t happens then it just happens. Not a lot you can do about that. But when you reject people who say controversial stuff or do controversial stuff I believe thats what Obama means when he says "no drama". And thats why I think he didn't reach out to a lot of the "usual suspects" during his run for the presidency. Spencer Ackerman is thinking like im thinking.
.
http://attackerman.firedoglake.com/2009/01/14/hes-the-master-of-the-game/
.
One of the more frustrating aspects of counterinsurgency involves talking to the people who were recently shooting at you -- sometimes while they're shooting at you. Often that gets misinterpreted as softness, but it's more of a recognition that the only way to achieve a true victory is by co-opting your opponents. What looks like a decisive victory one day can easily be overturned by a simmering sense among the vanquished that they have no place in the new regime, and therefore have little recourse besides resistance. The objective in launching these sorts of parleys with your opponents is two-fold. First, to see if they can be placated, and whether the price of doing so is acceptable. And second, to visibly demonstrate to the broader population that you've taken every reasonable step at reaching out to these adversaries -- so if they rebuke you and you counterattack, you look like the reasonable party and they look like the rejectionists. It's generally a sound strategy, and it's achieved real results.
.
Am I talking about Iraq? Sure. Afghanistan? I hope so. But the lesson also applies to Barack Obama's dinner with Bill Kristol, David Brooks, Charles Krauthammer, and George Will.
.
K Teezie
.
We are definitely NOT post racial. We talk about that a lot over on Ta Nehisi Coates' blog on the Atlantic website.
.
As for the quote you posted I still don't see where he said he hated drama. The "no drama" theme can mean a lot of things. Most people who claim they have a no drama lifestyle mean they don't want people around them who START controversy. Now controversy comes whether we want it to or not, thats just a fact of life. But you can cut down on it if you keep people around you who try to steer clear of drama and shunning those who seek it out. To me thats the difference that I don't think a lot of the MSM folk get. When sh!t happens then it just happens. Not a lot you can do about that. But when you reject people who say controversial stuff or do controversial stuff I believe thats what Obama means when he says "no drama". And thats why I think he didn't reach out to a lot of the "usual suspects" during his run for the presidency.

]]> By: ivb3016 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34078 ivb3016 Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:56:33 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34078 OT - KT on the other post you noted the perils of the dreaded alphabetical order which caused you to move to the last spot. I totally sympathize -- I was born an S and the fact that I married a B was a big reason not to keep my birth name, which was just becoming fashionable. OT -
KT on the other post you noted the perils of the dreaded alphabetical order which caused you to move to the last spot. I totally sympathize -- I was born an S and the fact that I married a B was a big reason not to keep my birth name, which was just becoming fashionable.

]]> By: Andy from MA http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34076 Andy from MA Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:53:49 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34076 I'm just thinking that Obama got a free lunch(dinner) from a bunch of Republicans. I hope he asked them all for contributions too. I'm just thinking that Obama got a free lunch(dinner) from a bunch of Republicans. I hope he asked them all for contributions too.

]]> By: middlegirl http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34075 middlegirl Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:53:37 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34075 Politico, CNN, MSNBC all flogg this meme about no drama means perfection. It's so irritating. Huffington Post is becoming the worst. Yesterday,they featured a huge screaming front page headline, "NO DRAMA OBAMA" attached to an article about Tim Geitner's tax issues. No subtle understanding from Huffpo, the so-called new media, that no drama means no ego. The truth is the media is addicted to drama and prefers the drudge siren style to a simple presentation of the facts. Politico, CNN, MSNBC all flogg this meme about no drama means perfection. It's so irritating. Huffington Post is becoming the worst. Yesterday,they featured a huge screaming front page headline, "NO DRAMA OBAMA" attached to an article about Tim Geitner's tax issues. No subtle understanding from Huffpo, the so-called new media, that no drama means no ego. The truth is the media is addicted to drama and prefers the drudge siren style to a simple presentation of the facts.

]]> By: jayackroyd http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34069 jayackroyd Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:44:28 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34069 Weird spam in my inbox: . <blockquote> Hello, . As I was surfing around google , I discovered your website: http://swampland.blogs.time.com I am trying to add as many informative websites as possible to my site. Which in turn will benefit my users as well as provide you with relevant traffic to your site. I have a website with about 5,000 - 7,000 people on it per day who fit the same demographic as your site.</blockquote> Weird spam in my inbox:
.

Hello,
.
As I was surfing around google , I discovered your website: http://swampland.blogs.time.com I am trying to add as many informative websites as possible to my site. Which in turn will benefit my users as well as provide you with relevant traffic to your site. I have a website with about 5,000 - 7,000 people on it per day who fit the same demographic as your site.

]]> By: Karen Tumulty http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/01/14/barack-obamas-night-out/comment-page-2/#comment-34061 Karen Tumulty Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:29:29 +0000 http://swampland.blogs.time.com/?p=9649#comment-34061 Also, Dee, in talking to my own black friends, I am finding that nothing annoys them more than people who claim the country has become "post-racial." Had a great discussion of that very question with a diverse group of girlfriends at a wine-fueled dinner recently. Also, Dee, in talking to my own black friends, I am finding that nothing annoys them more than people who claim the country has become "post-racial." Had a great discussion of that very question with a diverse group of girlfriends at a wine-fueled dinner recently.

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