The Obama supporters in the South Dakota blogosphere have started throwing around some pretty irresponsible statements about both candidates in the Democratic primary (I linked only to the main page of Madville Times, because, honestly, look at any of it and you'll see what I mean).
From Cory: Obama "inspires." How? Should we be looking to politicians for inspiration in the first place?
From David Newquist: Obama is "our best chance to restore America to what it can and should be." In what way? What specifically leads one to think this? What has Obama actually done in the past that would cause someone to believe this about him? He makes good speeches, but is there more to being president than making speeches?
From a Nation article that Cory approvingly reposts: Obama "does appear to offer a way out of the testosterone-addled GOP framework." How? Because I just heard Obama today on Meet the Press talking about how he agrees with pretty much every foreign policy stance Hillary Clinton has ever set forth in this campaign.
I've been thinking about this a lot ever since our campaign for Hillary has started in earnest. I tabled for Hillary at an event Friday night and heard surprisingly uninformed things coming from Obama supporters. Many people believe that Obama voted against the war in Iraq in the Senate. Many people believe that Obama supports universal health care and Clinton doesn't (totally false). The things I see South Dakota bloggers say about him really aren't that different than what I heard this past weekend. A lot of you are in outer space right now, and I hope you'll join us here on Earth really soon.
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10 comments:
Just so we're clear, gentle readers, I haven't said nor do I ascribe to any of the "uninformed things" Anna heard other unnamed supporters saying on Friday night. I will, however, stand by all of my own uniformed opinions. ;-)
"Should we be looking to politicans for inspiration in the first place?" Yes. It's called leadership, motivation, take your pick. There is no downside there.
Testosterone -- indeed, there isn't a lot of daylight between their positions. But Obama expresses more willingness to talk to foreign leaders, even the bad dudes, even when that leaves an opening for others to call him weak on foreign policy. Willingness to communicate is a strength.
The fact that instead of pushing his own policy positions, all Obama really says is "I agree with Hillary" ought to tell you something.
I find it amazing - AMAZING - that Obama supporters think it's great that Obama wants to talk to the leaders of North Korea, Iran, etc, while it's shocking and unbelievable that Hillary would talk to Richard Mellon Scaife. I love it.
So, that whole bit about how "insulting people who hold a different opinion does not help your candidate, no matter who your candidate might be" is just gone out the window, then?
Pointing out that people are getting carried away with Obama love, and that they're making irresponsible and/or demonstrably false statements as a result, is not something I see as insulting.
I think it's important to back assertions like "Obama is our best chance to restore America to what it can and should be" with proof, and that hasn't been happening lately. If I shared the reason why I think this is the case, that would be insulting, but I haven't done that and I won't.
If I shared the reason why I think this is the case, that would be insulting, but I haven't done that and I won't.
You just did.
I do think it's a little ridiculous to ask people to footnote their reasons for like someone. Obama inspires because people feel inspired by him. And what's so bad about that? The first time I saw Paul Wellstone speak, I was inspired. I can't tell you what exactly he said, but it made me feel good. I understand demanding some factual basis for criticism of a candidate, but can we not say nice things about people without having to defend it?
I think Anna is a smart and classy lady! I hope you can just believe me without making me list all the reasons:P
I can explain pretty clearly why I like (and, to some extent, feel inspired by) Hillary Clinton.
My concern is that all of these "Obama is our best chance to restore America to what it can and should be" people are going to be pretty disappointed by President Obama. I don't know how it's even possible for Obama as president to be everything he would need to be to these people. I don't think a president can do all of the things that his supporters expect him to do. I mean, he can't change Washington, at least not by himself. He can't change the way that members of congress are persuaded to vote for/against legislation, or how important legislation is passed. He is trying to be everything to everyone, and he simply won't be able to do that as president - or if he tries to do that after he's elected, he won't be much of a president.
I think with voters like the ones I talked to this week, Obama is just whatever they need for him to be. If they need to convince themselves that Obama was in the senate when the Iraq resolution was considered, then, well, he was in the senate and he voted against it. If they need to convince themselves that Hillary Clinton opposes universal health care, then she does. Those people are going to be just as annoyed with President Obama as they are with Bush once they find out that he isn't what they made up in their heads.
So I guess that's why I think it's important to think about why people are inspired and what Obama can reasonably do when he's elected. I think if people don't temper their expectations really really fast, they're going to end up pretty upset in 2009.
I just feel like you have a tendency to project what you've noticed in some Obama supporter on to all Obama supporters and I don't think that's fair. Especially among those in the SD blogosphere, I think there's a little more nuance to their support than you're giving them credit for. Just because they haven't posted a full analysis of their candidate's position, doesn't mean their support is completely superficial.
I wouldn't assume every person who says, "I think Hillary will be great president," believes that simply because Hillary has a vagina, despite the fact that I've had Hillary supporters tell me that's why they're voting for her.
As democrats in South Dakota, I think we've all come to expect pretty constant disappointment from even the most inspiring politicians. Would I be less disappointed in Hillary because I expect less from her? Probably. I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing.
Really? I mean, I don't read every blog every day, but I honestly can't remember the last time someone other than me in the left-wing SD blogosphere criticized Obama for anything, or looked critically at any of his campaign positions. I would be glad to be proven wrong, but I just haven't noticed it.
I don't think that these sweeping statements about being inspired, or about Obama being the change we've been waiting for, are exactly the same as the factually incorrect statements I'm hearing, but they're related to one another.
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