Yes, Dear Leader, we can!

I have the skivy on Obama:
theupsidedownworld.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/the-anti-christ-revealed/

Public interest in politics is one thing; overwrought women fainting at rallies is another. He's a politician, not The Beatles. But you're right about some conservatives and St. Ronald. Cults of personality are kinda creepy, whichever side of the spectrum. Once more, with feeling: "Put not your trust in princes, in sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish." Now if I could only figure out why there are so many campaign bumper stickers on cars in the church parking lot...

A Dostoyevsky moment. When the most "liberated" generation in history finally looks up from its navel long enough to give a rip about something, the result comes out sounding vaguely personality-cult Stalinist.

If not Maoist.

I say this as someone who admires Obama's ability as a stump speaker, as well as the hopeful message he's delivering. OK, I also can't stand Hillary.

And I won't vote for McCain. Not gonna happen.

"Barak will make you work." Huh? Is he running for president or to be a religious leader--or a neo-pagan dictator?

Reader John, you need to get hip to the scene, dude. Did you not recognize Jessica Alba (she who wants a cleaner earth for the child she's bringing into the world very soon), or the tall, sexy girl from Friday Night Lights (which, to be fair, is a wonderful show)? As for Ryan Phillipe, he is the ex Mr. Reese Witherspoon. They split when he reportedly began having an affair with his co-star on the set of a movie...

I've already forgotten who the rest of the zombies are – saw this yesterday at NRO and couldn't bear to watch it again. I think Rod makes an excellent point with his comment to Phillipe, though. This Obama-worshipping generation believes all problems can be solved by the collective "we," (or, if you prefer, the government), but they have no intention of holding the "I" to any strict standards of conduct. For them, the only personal "virtues" that seem to matter are tolerance and recycling.

Oh goodness, I am so tired of hearing about the so-called "Obama cult" nonsense. If there is anything sad or pathetic about it, it's only because (ahem) there is a real desperation for some kind of competent leadership around this place. Ah, competency. What was that like?

Brian? Ever heard of forgiveness? And notice, that "on the left" all of the immoral behavior you tag your righty-list with is actually celebrated and encouraged by Democrats. Sodomy to a lefty is a school subject taught to be embraced by pre-schoolers. They haven't yet had any remorse about that pal. Just the opposite. Parents don't have rights "to a Leftist," EXCEPT to slaughter an inconvenient child, re-define marriage and family or mechanically change the appearance of their child's gender.

This Obama thing proves that The Anti-Christ is not a metaphor.

People are now conditioned to chant and march in mindless parades following an un-Godly character. Leaning forward or holding out your right hand to take the Mark of the Beast is now (as always) absolute reality. It is only a few more religious sounding politicians and terrorist bombings away. Bamahead Dolls are just a dry run for the "powers and principalities" ruling over the nations to see how mindless the populace really is. They got there demonic wish granted.

LOL at liberal fascism nonsense, since John McCain is actually pushing for perpetual war as a way of improving the American people and that's REAL fascism. Which is honestly more dangerous? But Rod won't make fun of McCain the way he'll make fun of Obama, because McCain is talking about scary dangerous war and you can't make fun of that, war deserves to be taken seriously unlike domestic affairs which are ultimately less important.

When you start making fun of McCain's warmongering, instead of just proudly "renouncing" it, then I'll be impressed.

Labeling people Maoists or Communists may not keep sticking. The brainwashed baby-boomers need to change their tactics. They're still stuck in the 80s with the last vestige of McCarthyism: Rambo. To their credit Republicans are trying to label anybody that disagrees with them as terrorist sympathizers.

Good grief, Brian, please go down to Target and buy a sense of humor. For one thing, I'm too young to be a Baby Boomer, but that's beside the point. Are you so sold out to the sanctity of Obama that you can't recognize something ridiculous when you see it? Is Obama's campaign above mockery? Saints preserve us from a politician who is too high and mighty to be mocked (to be sure, it's not Obama's fault that he attracts people who are more groupie than supporter, but still).

A word to the irony-deficient in the readership: when I refer to B. Obama as "Dear Leader," I'm engaging in what we know on our planet as "comic hyperbole." It refers not to Obama, per se, but to the cultishness of a portion of his supporters. It's called "teasing." Ye whose sphincters contract at the sight of a So-Called Good Christian Blogger engaging in mockery, please understand that any expression of righteous indignation will trigger on this end an extended bout of eye-rolling and tee-hee-hee-ing.

Rod,
How do you know I'm not laughing on my end? Honestly the right-wing crew is funny as well as sad. Sad for the fact that people think these pundits and corporate puppets are saints.
Please know Rod that I think you have some great opinions, or I wouldn't be reading your blog.
Can you please make fun of McCain's perpetual 100 year Iraq war he wants us engaged in?

Doesn't all this "we are the ones we've been waiting for" jazz sit strangely beside Obama's self-characterization as "a person of faith" of the Christian sort. Isn't the idea of self-salvation the very essence of the Christian conception of sin? And didn't "the one" we were waiting for come a long time ago -- at least if one accepts Christianity's claim? And, again according to Christianity's claim, isn't our task now to recognize -- and to help others recognize -- the moral obligation we owe to "the one" who has *already* come, based on a gift of salvation that is *already* ours? Wouldn't that recognition do more to change the world than (dare I say it) Barack Obama's presidential campaign?

A challenge for Donny-- can you write one single post anywhere on this blog that doesn't refer to sodomy, homosexuality, pederasty et. al.? Is that really an obsession you want to be associated with? Hmmm?

Rod-- believe me, I get it. I'm just a little tired of the continued misuse of the idea of fascism on both the left and right. Aren't you?

Brian seems to miss one of the bases of this blog-there's a lot of people who cloak themselves in conservatism who aren't very conservative at all, just a different kind of big government. We've gone from a country founded on guys blowing Redcoats' heads off because they thought their breakfast beverage was overtaxed and wanted to be left alone. Don't tread on me ring a bell? Do it yourself and leave me alone.

And now we have the whiny Obama cultists who FEEL(oeprative word for all lefties, thinking being a different more objective activity) that by electing Saint Obama every problem down to kids whining about doing their homework, tooth decay and past expiration milk in your fridge will be solved upon his inagaural. Hopefully Michele can get the girls high quality and cheap dance and piano lessons, and may they never have to work for an odius, evil corporation. Pardon us if that's quite worthy of parody.

Sal Mineo-

Yes, when terrorist murder your neighbors, as happened to some of my neighbors on 9/11, war is more important. Mccain gives many of us pause, but for the most part, he's at least grown up. But don't lose your chip on that shoulder, pal. And may you never have to go to a funeral of a friend way before his time and with no body.

Rod-- believe me, I get it. I'm just a little tired of the continued misuse of the idea of fascism on both the left and right. Aren't you?

Whenever anyone refers to any aspect of mainstream American politics, Democratic or Republican, using the word "fascist" without deploying the term in a comic context, I immediately chalk that person up as Unserious.

Donny's great. He brings back to mind all the good times I had in Sodomy class back in grade school. Everyone loved the teacher, Mrs. Inya Rearend. She made learning fun. Sad to say, like Algebra, it's one of those subjects I haven't got much use of out of school. But Donny can't post a word without somehow slipping that topic in from behind. Dinner at his house must be entertaining.

I also enjoy Bugg's "a country founded on guys blowing Redcoat's heads off because they thought their breakfast beverage was overtaxed and wanted to be left alone." 5 points for the most Grossly Oversimplified Explanation for the American Revolution ever. Weirdly, it's presented in a positive light, as if his style of conservatives would PREFER to go back to those fine days, maybe slaughtering IRS people and the woman ringing up the sales tax at the car dealership. (Remember: the Redcoats didn't create the sales tax...they just enforced it for the people who did. The metaphor holds.)

As to the whole "terrorists murdered my neighbor thing", in return we've made it our policy to murder the neighbors of terrorists for the last 6 years or so, bombing weddings, blowing up vans full of innocent women, and generally being all four Horsemen rolled into one for the people of Iraq, all as part of this misguided war. In so doing, every intelligence agency out there points out we've actually STRENGTHENED the terrorist numbers, Afghanistan is falling back under Taliban control, and we've made ourselves a global laughing stock.

Honestly, if this is the best you've got, go home and let the big people run the country.

I'm sorry, R Boggs, there's really nothing you can do about that. Except submit! Bwahahahahaha!

The Obama defenders are completely missing the political salience of all this. Arguments about Bush or McCain's enthusiasm for the Iraq War are beside the point. The worshipful, vapid devotion to Obama is quickly becoming an object of ridicule because, to ordinary apolitical people it is genuinely funny.

The mockery is going to continue, without any assistance needed from McCain, the GOP, or conservatives. It will work its way into the general public consciousness and stay there until Obama completely shifts away from his air-headed message of Hope! Change! and "We are the Ones we have been waiting for!"

But if he makes that shift, what's he got left?

John McCain's still got an uphill battle. But with Obama as the Democratic nominee, this at least has the potential to become the most delightfully entertaining presidential campaign since poor old Mike Dukakis climbed into that tank.

Rod,

I'm going to recommend Greenwald again. I'm not too sure you've done enough penance for your support for a president who most certainly had a cult of personality around him for years -- up until Katrina, at least.

However, I think there's an issue here -- but not one you're really trying to draw out: is Obama more an authoritarian leader (agenda set from top) or a populist (agenda set from bottom). There's an important difference. Currently, I'm persuaded in favor of the populist -- especially in light of "The Audacity of Hope", but I'm open to persuasion. (Still haven't read that? Guess you're too busy researching Michelle's writing -- which is CLEARLY more pertinent, right?)

W's leadership cult was clearly authoritarian. I'll reject (and denounce) Obama faster than a whip can snap if he takes an authoritarian turn.

Another facet of this is that YES, I think Obama is going to have to broaden his message to working-class Democrats. If he succeeds, he'll have proven his political adroitness; if not, he very well may neither deserve nor receive the nomination.

One more thing: isn't judging a candidate by highlighting the worst characteristics of his supporters a form of straw-man?

ChuckDFW,

The fact that Obama's message isn't *already* broad enough to include working-class Democrats is evidence he must not be as "populist" as you take him to be. With the exception of African-Americans, his base of support is drawn almost entirely from "elites" -- upper-income professionals on the one hand and impressionable kids (of upper-income professionals) on the other. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but Obama is hardly the second coming of William Jennings Bryan (let alone of Jesus Christ).

What I don't understand is, how is Obama gonna give us a world without fear AND make us go to work?

""Put not your trust in princes, in sons of men, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to his earth; on that very day his plans perish." Now if I could only figure out why there are so many campaign bumper stickers on cars in the church parking lot..."

And none of them anywhere near as long as the above citation from the Psalm. (Having a bumper wide enough to hold THAT may be the one good excuse for getting a Hummer.)

"Whenever anyone refers to any aspect of mainstream American politics, Democratic or Republican, using the word "fascist" without deploying the term in a comic context, I immediately chalk that person up as Unserious."

I'm not quite sure that's fair, but OTOH nobody is promising to make the trains run on time. I might support anybody who did.

"As for me, I'm hoping McCain will hire that Chicago-based Mariachi band that sings "This Land is My Land" in Spanish. After all, it might attract some important Hispanic swing votes..."

This Land is My Land, even in Spanish, does not qualify as Hispanic swing. (Hispanically yours, Marian Henriquez Neudel)

Simon: As for the right's enthusiasm for Reagan, keep in mind that at least developed after Reagan had actually done something substantial. When a candidate with no record of accomplishment in public life gets people to swoon over empty lines like "We are the ones we have been waiting for," and "Hope is making a comeback," that stuff is going to get ridiculed.

Well said, Simon, and it should be pointed out as well that not a few conservative pundits this primary season criticized the GOP presidential candidates for relying on vapid Reagan nostalgia in the absence of a fresh and compelling message. That's no knock on Reagan, but a knock on his would-be heirs for trying to conjure something out of sentiment.

I'm probably the wrong person to have anything to say about this, because I was apparently born with a deficiency in charisma receptors. I didn't even oo and ahh at JFK, and I was in high school and college at the time.

simon, lying isn't christian.

"G.W. Bush has never enjoyed anything close to a "personality cult" on the right."

incredible. read this glen greenwald post, pay particular attention to the clear channel billboard ad in the secessionist state of florida from 2004 with the pic of bush and giant text that says "our leader". guess what "fuhrer" means in german. disgusting. i know none of you want to take responsibility for foisting that messianic twit on us, but you did.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/03/06/scary/index.html

Rod - yes, I agree that Reagan nostalgia is overdone on the right (as many conservatives have said). That nostalgia is sort of like Democrats in the 1970s looking for the next FDR. Politically foolish and suggestive of a certain intellectual bankruptcy.

But I can't recall any political phenomenon as earnestly worshipful as this Obama adulation. In a culture in which irony is (unfortunately) so deeply ingrained, it's almost impossible for this bubble not to burst.

Actually, the "Morning in America" line was in 1984, after 4 years of Reagan-engineered turnaround from the misery of the '70s. So it was not his opening line.

Exactly right, scurvyoaks. That's an urban legend about Reagan. In 1980 he was by far the most ideologically well-defined (and polarizing) candidate ever elected President.

The feel-good rhetoric mostly came later, after Reagan's success in office. He was dubbed "The Great Communicator" by Tip O'Neill, and that moniker became a way for Democrats to convince themselves that the public didn't really agree with Reagan's policies but were merely bamboozled by his winning smile and lofty words.

"Morning in America" was the Reagan reelection campaign's slogan in the summer of 1984, when he was obviously coasting back into the White House. But even in that election, the slogan was dropped in October as the Reagan campaign shifted tactics to pummeling Mondale relentlessly over Fritz's insane promise to raise taxes.

Attacking Barack Obama for Ryan Philippe (whose "trade-her-in" Hollywood philosophy, even when it comes to one of America's prettiest and most famous actresses, is admittedly dispicable) is like attacking John McCain for Charles Keating (or Vicki Iseman) or Hillary Clinton for Marc Rich.

(Oh, wait, those charges are perfectly legitimate.)

Hey, at least if you could get out of your (not altogether wrong) distaste for the cult of Hollywood and attack Tony Rezko instead of Ryan Philippe, I'd give you points for consistency.

as for reagan being a conservative hero based on his record BEFORE being president, pardon me, i just puked in my mouth. if, today, a republican governor from commiefornia who signed legislation LEGALIZING abortion and raised taxes wanted to get the nomination, well, he wouldn't.

More revisionism. Go back and read up on the 1960s, and you'll discover that Ronald Reagan's upset landslide election as California governor in 1966 provoked an earthquake in national politics. This an articulate, outspoken Goldwaterite destroying the career of a supposedly invincible two term incumbent with an entirely issues-based campaign.

Abortion, of course, wasn't a significant political issue in those pre-Roe v. Wade days, and for Governor Reagan it was essentially an issue of first impression. He signed the liberalizing bill into law, but later publicly regretted it. Most importantly, his regrets were expressed at a time when most pro-lifers were still Democrats, and there was no obvious political advantage to a Republican politician taking a pro-life stand. The stand Reagan eventually took -- opposing legal abortion even in cases of rape and incest -- was bold and genuine. This was no Mitt Romney flip-flop, or George H.W. Bush reluctantly signing off on the demands of the conservative base.

On taxes, Reagan governed with huge Democratic majorities in the state legislature. And in any case, tax cuts weren't politically associated with either the Republican Party or the conservative movement until Reagan himself adopted the Kemp-Roth tax cut plan in 1979. Prior to that time, the only national candidate who had ever made tax cuts the centerpiece of a campaign had been John F. Kennedy. Republicans typically had run merely as budget balancers -- a big reason why they usually lost.

Easy Simon, let's not let facts get in the way of a good meme.

Reagan should be on the $20 bill. If people knew half the stuff Andrew Jackson did......

Looking forward to seeing how the word "meme" can be incorporated into as many comments as possible.

that kind of platitude-shrieking suits the room better at DKos, but not here.

Yeah, we like the calm, drip-poison-in-your-ear style around here (you dirtbag slut).

Mrs. Pringle

"no longer relevant"

How rich is that?! Republicans have won 7 of the last 10 presidential elections, with prospects for 8 of 11 improving every day. Just keep believing that you're part of a large majority, "somewhat." A significant part of why your side loses again and again is that y'all misjudge where the political center is in this country. But, please, by all means, keep it up!

somewhatstunned,

If the (grand old) party of rural, conservative protestant whites is as racist as you say, how can it be that that the current president -- whatever else he may have done wrong -- has done right by Africa far, far more than any previous president of either party did? And since charitable giving benefits African-Americans disproportionately, how can it be that every state in which per capita charitable giving adjusted for income is *above* the national average is a state that tends toward the aforementioned (grand old) party of rural, conservative, protestant whites, while every state in which per capita charitable giving adjusted for income is *below* the national average is a state that tends toward the other party, the one that has never found a race (or a racist) card that it wouldn't play, and that is now in the process of tearing itself apart, along racial lines?

I ask this as someone who doesn't have a dog in this fight, in terms of party i.d.

Barack Obama will require you to work.

Sounds fine. Just let me know where to send the bill.

How can I gay-bash you if you're straight? See, Larry, this is why I left you for the transgendered dolphin. You're just so touchy. You better give me back my scarf!

I don't have time to read all these comments, so I don't know what the discussion has been about, but I finally watched the video. I'm not sure whether it's more dumb, creepy, or scary (that chanting!).

Settling on "dumb" for a moment, I'm reminded of a cartoon I saw years ago. As my memory has it: a group of scraggly young hippie types is seated under a tree. One girl has a guitar and is singing "Go 'way, you old gypsy moth..." The caption is "Youth discovers that folk songs are not always enough."

Simon-His speeches have been light on specifics but not totally empty, at least the ones I have seen. At this point he is running against someone with mostly similar policies so I dont really expect to see lots of details. Choosing between Hillary and Obama is largely a matter of temperment and style. He has explained well his beliefs about not supporting mandates for healthcare e.g. in one of the areas where they have a clear difference. I dislike Hillary's top-down approach to politics. Obama has a background in community work and his campaign has done a remarkable job of organizing against an opponent who should have been inevitable.

So, if he wins his party's nomination, I wont really care about a few weirdos making videos. I will listen to what both candidates say when they make their case and decide. BTW, whats wrong with an emotionally uplifting campaign?

O, final question. Why do you find their in depth policy statements irrelevant? In these made for TV campaigns you seldom get more than a minute or two on any topic. In or two minutes a good salesman can make anything (almost) sound good. Before I sign any contracts I read the details.

Steve

Rod, you are a writer for goodness sakes. You have got to believe. Get fired up. You can change the world. Yes you can.

You are mostly right though much as I wish people would make some effort to learn rather than just regurgitate sound bites.

Steve

The fact that you don't think it's possible to gay-bash a person if you know he's straight, even if you clearly think he's effeminate/"swishy" simply due to his supporting gay rights, says an awful lot about you, o blogmeister.

I have no idea if you're effeminate or not, and the thought never crossed my mind. And I don't care. For heaven's sake, Larry, we're talking about transgendered marine life! Hello! I'm not making these jokes (partly at my own expense) because of your views on gay rights, though your chronic sense of self-drama seems to require it. I'm making them because I don't want to be drawn into your neurotic ... thing, and I thought being absurdist would be a way to letting you know how silly I find the whole mess.

How does one detect effiminancy in marine mammals? I mean, aren't they supposed to be swishy? That's how they get around.

Anyway, Larry, you go boy! You flip that flipper all you want!

Can we make fun of McCain supporters as brainwashed cultists now?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_A53PAxeR8&eurl

Just for the record, everyone knows that dolphins engage in same-sex stimulation, and form long-term same-sex pair bonds. It's not "effeminate" for dolphins--it's normal. Behold.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0vGamcQIYs

Max--wow! Finally you get it! : D