The backdrop for Obama’s video is Charlie Crist’s anticipated announcement at around 5:00 p.m. today that he’s leaving the Republican Party to run as an independent candidate. It finalizes the far right leaning Republican reality as we head into election season 2010.
But it’s Obama’s pitch that seems terribly out of place in the political climate we are now living. It’s like he was dropped in front of the camera from the presidential bubble. However, we all know Pres. Obama knows very well what’s going on. He’s just ignoring it.
As TM.com reader Joyce Arnold wrote yesterday In the News, Obama also ignored something else. No mention of gays and lesbians in the video. Whether it’s an honest omission or a slight, it’s just sloppy, especially considering that some of these very people are fighting for our country, as well as against our country to get DADT repealed.
There is just something oddly out of touch about this video.
It’s obviously trying to re-invigorate the same successful tens of thousands that came out for Barack Obama in 2008, but it’s doing so in a climate that no longer resembles where Obama began. Worst of all, it appears that the President intends to ignore this fact.
Earth to White House, this isn’t 2008 America anymore.
Oklahoma’s 19th century abortion law, vetoed by Gov. Brad Henry, a Democrat, proves it, as the legislature overruled Henry, officially making women’s self-determination in Oklahoma dependent on the state.
The Oklahoma Legislature voted Tuesday to override the governor’s vetoes of two abortion measures, one of which requires women to undergo an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before getting an abortion.
Though other states have passed similar measures requiring women to have ultrasounds, Oklahoma’s law goes further, mandating that a doctor or technician set up the monitor so the woman can see it and describe the heart, limbs and organs of the fetus. No exceptions are made for rape and incest victims.
A second measure passed into law on Tuesday prevents women who have had a disabled baby from suing a doctor for withholding information about birth defects while the child was in the womb.
Opponents argue that the law will protect doctors who purposely mislead a woman to keep her from choosing an abortion.
My pal Peter Daou has it exactly right:
The pervasive abuse of girls and women across the globe and the entrenched sexism in our society supports the argument that this is more about suppressing women’s rights than protecting new life. If men were the ones carrying babies, do you really think Oklahoma would enact such laws? Do you think doctors would be gunned down for providing a legal service? Do you think rape and incest victims would be further humiliated? For some reason, I doubt it.
In the gear up pitch from Pres. Obama, as he talks about what he inherited, there is absolutely no acknowledgment of what’s happening today across America as Tea Party people and the further unhinged right-wing mobilize against progress and everything for which Obama stands, which also includes the feud over Arizona’s immigration law, which the Administration may challenge.
The Obama video pitch is just weirdly out of sync with reality. Someone needs to pop Obama’s presidential bubble.
Taylor – I feel that the entire Democratic establishment is out of sync. Matter of fact I think all of Washington is out of sync. I wonder if they are living in lala land and don’t know what is going on outside the Beltway. It’s almost as though they’re not paying attention.
Well, as I’ve written before, I don’t think there is a “Beltway” bubble for everyone. Certainly you didn’t hear that from McCaskill during the Wall Street finreg hearings.
I think the Obama White House believes that if they don’t talk about the disconnect it won’t impact the elections. That talking about being out of the Bush-Cheney disaster is enough.
Look, America, it’s morning again!
Sorry, couldn’t resist.
The Obama ad is just weirdly tone deaf.
Taylor: Unfortunately, McCaskill is Weiner is Sanders. During hearings; in front of cameras, they ALL talk BIG, they are all righteous indignation, they all prattle on as if they believe in something. But when push comes to shove, when the rubber hits the road, they ALL — every single one of them — will sell you out. They will all have an excuse why they cannot do the thing they promised to do.
The dripping contempt I have for these people astonishes even me. And it all happened so suddenly and abruptly during the HCR imbroglio which was the absolute last straw.
AS for Obama, not only is he tone deaf. He has absolutely no courage.
Yes, the “HCR imbroglio”… I cannot forget seeing what they did to wrest away from HCR the big wins she had in Florida and Michigan so as to fix the way they wanted it for Mr. O.
Hillary has been more forgiving than I have been able to be.
But that bitch Karma, I don’t know about her.
Don’t count on Valery Jarrett to do it! I think he is surrounded by O worshipers.
Talor is it true what I heard that Maryland and Virginia have much better employment situations due to the Government being their employer one way or another?
Employment numbers are measured separately, so I’m not sure it’s an issue. That said, when government jobs rise it’s good in general.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040603967.html
“If you take a shorter run view of change, [just] January and February 2010, Maryland has net job loss,” Dillingham said. “But again, job loss is concentrated in construction and some other sectors of the economy, including financial services. But on the government side, employment goes up by 6,000. I think that’s kind of an example of the benefits in this area of having government employment.”
Oh good lord! Taylor..too quick to click.
Color me not surprised, his administration has not passed any opportunity to stick it’s elbow in the eyes of the GLBT community. Flowery rhetoric not withstanding they have done very little and in fact have impeded progress. David Mixner and several other anonymous democratic sources have stated that the administration is tone deaf and is flirting with disaster for it’s treatment of a very important democratic demographic.
Bored?
He does look bored.
heh-heh…. Oh, that is hilarious.
TM, I am glad you wrote this. I, and probably many others, looked at that ad and wondered does he seriously think that his erstwhile consituencies who “powered” his ’08 win will be all that enthused by his request.
and I hadn’t noticed his exclusion of the gay constituency, good of Joyce to point that out
enthused by his request
Just think about that one for a second.
cue Carly Simon’s “Your So Vain”.
oh no!
oh, yeah
This president better get a clue. The democratic base cracking fast. Gay Americans have fought so hard to get where there at today. They deserve the same rights as everyone else and not be excluded. Gay Americans are a minority also and it seems when the democrats want money or votes they say whatever they can to get it then stab Gay Americans in the back as well as women and others. Asian Americans are another growing minority in this country. I guess Washington jusr does not get it.
Though a ‘life-long’ Democrat, I wasn’t on Obama’s pony ride in 2008. It’s a bubble of his own making, I think we call it self-absorption.
From David Remick’s book”
Remnick quotes Obama’s long-time Chicago political ally Valerie Jarrett recalling Obama’s 1990s in Chicago (p. 274):
“I think that he has never really been challenged intellectually. … So what I sensed in him was not just a restless spirit but somebody with such extraordinary talents that they had to be really taxed in order for him to be happy.” Jarrett was quite sure that one of the few things that truly engaged him fully before going to the White House was writing Dreams from My Father. “He’s been bored to death his whole life,” she said.”
Heya tfitz, pilgrim had that up this week, with people jumping all over it In the News:
http://www.taylormarsh.com/2010/04/27/obama-bored/
GALL DANG I hate being
able to say I told ya so.
In all sincerity, this is a situation in which one truly does hate “to be able to say I told ya so.” It’s a situation in which one — for the sake of the country and its people — would wish rather to be wrong and to be able to say, oh, now I see the light.
Instead of which, a dread, a worry….
Maybe it’ll all work out yet. God, I hope so.
(But I feel like Ramsgate.)
I would love to be able to say I was wrong,that I just did not get it.