[Rhodes22-list] Say What, Barack?

[Brad Haslett]

Pete,

The last time I checked, Bush 43 wasn't running for office. But as to your
suggested discussion, I'm reminded of what Zhou Enlai had to say when asked
for his opinion about the French Revolution, "it's too early to tell".

Methinks there is a bit more to leadership than being a good orator,
although that may help. If one reads Obama's words rather than listen to
them they are less than inspiring.  I realize Ms Obama isn't the one running
for office, but if you're going to put her on the campaign trail, her words
have value for making an assessment as well.  What a spoiled brat!  There's
some good material there if one recycles Jewish American Princess jokes into
African-American Princess jokes.  The bleak picture the Obama's paint of the
US is not quite my experience, and I grew up near her with far fewer
opportunities.  I did OK and so did they.  Quit whining!

Brad

On Fri, Mar 7, 2008 at 7:18 AM, petelargo <petelauritzen at earthlink.net>
wrote:

>
> Really. This is seriously nit-picky.  The march to which Obama referred
> was
> not one of the famous Martin Luther King Selma marches, which started in
> 1965. In 1955, a group of black women walked home instead of taking the
> bus,
> a preface to the more famous Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1956. As well,
> civil
> rights marches had started occurring in late 50s.
>
> As regards his oratory abilities.  Compared to a president that can't
> conjugate a verb, speak in complete sentences, or pronounce words, anybody
> looks smooth AND less embarrassing.
>
> For a more substantiative political critique I suggest the discussion of
> whether the bush presidency will be eventually considered a catastrophe or
> a
> disaster. I am undecided, but willing to hear arguments on both sides.
>
> Pete Hussein Lauritzen
> Key Largo
>
>
>
> Hank-5 wrote:
> >
> >  Here is some more slick talking from Obama.
> >
> > Hank
> >
> >
> >
> >
> http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/03/obamas_selma_speech_text_as_de.html
> >
> >
> >
> > Say What, Barack?
> >
> >
> >
> > By Paul R. Hollrah
> >
> >
> >
> > Tuning in to C-Span recently, I found myself listening to a speech by
> > Senator Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. He was standing in the pulpit of a
> black
> > church in Selma, Alabama, and as I studied the body language of the
> dozen
> > or
> > so black ministers standing behind the senator, I couldn't help but be
> > reminded of the little head-bobbing dolls that people used to place in
> the
> > rear windows of their 1957 Chevrolets. If their reactions are any
> > indication, the new "Schlickmeister" of the Democrat Party is actually a
> > pretty accomplished public speaker.
> >
> >
> >
> > However, as he spoke, I found my b.s. alarm going off, repeatedly. But I
> > couldn't quite figure out why until I actually read excerpts of his
> speech
> > several days later. Here's part o f what he said:
> >
> >
> >
> > "...something happened back here in Selma, Alabama. Something happened
> in
> > Birmingham that sent out what Bobby Kennedy called, "ripples of hope all
> > around the world." Something happened when a bunch of women decided they
> > were going to walk instead of ride the bus after a long day of doing
> > somebody else's laundry, looking after somebody else's children.
> >
> >
> >
> > "When (black) men who had PhD's decided 'that's enough' and 'we're going
> > to
> > stand up for our dignity,' that sent a shout across oceans so that my
> > grandfather began to imagine something different for his son. His son,
> who
> > grew up herding goats in a small village in Africa could s uddenly set
> his
> > sights a little higher and believe that maybe a black man in this world
> > had
> > a chance.
> >
> >
> >
> > "So the Kennedy's decided we're going to do an airlift.  We're going to
> go
> > to Africa and start bringing young Africans over to this country and
> give
> > them scholarships to study so they can learn what a wonderful country
> > America is.
> >
> >
> >
> > "This young man named Barack Obama got one of those tickets and came
> over
> > to
> > this country. He met this woman whose great great-great-great-
> grandfather
> > had owned slaves; but she had a good idea there was some craziness going
> > on
> > because they looked at each other and they decided that we know that,
> (in)
> > the world as it has been, it might not be possible for us to get
> together
> > and have a child. There was something stirring across the country
> because
> > of
> > what happened in Selma, Alabama, because some folks are willing to march
> > across a bridge. So they got together and Barack Obama Jr. Was born. So
> > don't tell me I don't have a claim on Selma , Alabama. Don't tell me I'm
> > not
> > coming home to Selma, Alabama."
> >
> >
> >
> > Okay, so what's wrong with that? It all sounds good. But is it?
> >
> >
> >
> > Obama told his audience that, because some folks had the courage to
> "march
> > across a bridge" in Selma, Alabama, his mother, a white woman from
> Kansas,
> > and his father, a black Muslim from Africa, took heart. It gave them the
> > courage to get married and have a child. The problem with that
> > characterization is that Barrack Obama, Jr., was born on August 4,
> > 1961,while the first of three marches across that bridge in Selma didn't
> > occur until March 7, 1965, at least five years after Obama's parents
> met.
> >
> >
> >
> > Obama went on to tell his audience that the Kennedys, Jack and Bobby,
> > decided to do an airlift. They would bring some young Africans over so
> > that
> > they could be educated and learn all about America. His grandfather
> heard
> > that call and sent his son, Barrack Obama, Sr., to America.
> >
> >
> >
> > The problem with that scenario is that, having been born in August 1961,
> > the
> > future senator was not conceived until sometime in November 1960. So if
> > this
> > African grandfather heard words that ''sent a shout across oceans,''
> > inspiring him to send his goat-herder son to America, it was not a
> > Democrat
> > Jack Kennedy he heard, nor his brother Bobby, it was a Republican
> > President,
> > Dwight D. Eisenhower.
> >
> >
> >
> > Obama's speech is reminiscent of Al Gore's claim of having invented the
> > Internet, Hillary Clinton's claim of having been named after the first
> man
> > to climb Mt. Everest, even though she was born five years and seven
> months
> > before Sir Edmund climbed the mountain, and John Kerry's imaginary trip
> to
> > Cambodia.
> >
> >
> >
> > As one of my black friends, Eddie Huff, has said, "We need to ask some
> > very
> > serious questions of the senator from Illinois. It's not enough to be
> > black,
> > it's not enough to be articulate, and it's not enough to be eloquent and
> a
> > media darling. The only question will be how deaf an ear, or how blind
> an
> > eye, will people turn in order to turn a frog into a prince."
> > __________________________________________________
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> >
> >
>
> --
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>
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