Letters to the Editor
debaser
Published Letters: 653 Editor's Choice: 11
-
let's take a breath here guys
[Read the article: Obama: "We're on the same team"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Let's lay off the adulation just a little here fellas...yes he deftly handled the crisis, managing to make himself look like the bigger man (and I might add, letting Clinton feed herself into the stereotype of the hysterical woman...which is pretty slick. Whenever you can get your opponent to hang themselves out to dry it's a good day).
But let's hold off on the coronation for a spell eh? I mean, yes, it was a great response, but it's one that only a frontrunner can give...and one frontrunners have been giving forever.
oh and p.s. "ebb and flow" was satirical, and pretty funny :)
-
C'mon Wes
[Read the article: Obama: "We're on the same team"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I know you like to see yourself as a straight shooter, but please stop with the "Obama can't beat McCain" crap. It's pretty disingenious and you know it.
McCain simply will not beat Obama, nor will he beat Clinton. Hell if Nader ran for the Dems he'd beat McCain. An Inanimate Carbon Rod could beat McCain.
McCain is quite simply one of the weakest Republican candidates in recent memory...he's old, offers 4 more years of Bush/Cheney policy, and is as corrupt as sin.
He Will Not Win.
can we move along now?
cheers,
-
Oh Wes...
[Read the article: Obama: "We're on the same team"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]c'mon now...you know as well as I do that this year belongs to the dems...there's nothing left in the Republican tank - the divisive politics of the last 8 years don't work anymore, people have smartened up, AND the Repubs, in all their wonderous glory, have selected a man who says EXACTLY what the least popular president since Hoover says.
They simply are not winning, no way. If they do win, I swear to god I'll move to Iceland ;)
-
@chrislrob
[Read the article: Obama: "We're on the same team"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry,
what I meant was that he was turning the attack back on her by acting above the fray and reminding her that they're on the same side. It reinforces the notion that she'll do anything to win.
It's campaign strategy 101 when you're in the lead...he executed it with ease it appears.
-
@soopergrover
[Read the article: Obama: "We're on the same team"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry, the dig about moving to Iceland was a play on Wes' famous line on King Kaufman's sports page that if X team loses in the playoffs he'll leave the country :)
still, I just don't think the repubs can win...I think we need to remember the midterms and how they tried like hell to turn Kerry's joke into a hellstorm, and it just didn't work. I think The People have finally smartened up...a quaint notion maybe, but I still have faith.
cheers
p.s. I've enjoyed your posts for a while now, good work!
-
or maybe
[Read the article: Obama: "We're on the same team"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]we can stop being afraid of these guys? Let's treat em like the punks they are!
(look, obviously I don't know if The Dems will beat the Repubs...but I do know if we spend all of our time afraid of what they'll say next, we can't win...or at least really hurt our chances)
-
snl?
[Read the article: Clinton alleges pro-Obama slant in debate]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]what's this about saturday night live? can someone elucidate please?
thanks!
-
@phoebe
[Read the article: "SNL" writer says Clinton sounded "whiny" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]you wrote:
"The LBJ comment, for example, was pure straight-ahead historical fact and look at what happened to that."
I'm only mentioning this, because I've seen it posted a few times, and kind of wanted to weigh in on it :)
I have no problem at all with what you said (history grad that I am, I can't argue with your facts). Hillary's mistake here, in my humble opinion, was that she took on a Sacred American Myth. The Civil Rights Movement = MLK, Selma, Rosa Parks. That's just the way it is...MLK has taken a place within the pantheon of American Heroes (rightfully so, I was especially fond of his later life and the anti-vietnam movement, but I digress)...to denigrate his legacy in any way, no matter if it's factually correct, is simply a suicidal thing to do politically.
I mean look at The Myth of The Greatest Generation, and the Ultimate Battle of Good vs. Evil (WWII). You would be insane to ever cast even the slightest of aspersions on the nobility of that cause and it's participants. It's been burnished into Legend at this point (Howard Zinn published an interesting article detailing WWII, his involvement in it, and whether any war can be considered "just". I can't recall the name of it, but it's in A Howard Zinn Reader...it's a very interesting read)
What I'm trying to say is that regardless of the factual correctness of her statement, she shouldn't have taken on Myth, because there's no way you can win that battle.
cheers!
p.s. I use the term "Myth" with the highest of respect, in a Joseph Campbell, Northrop Frye kinda way :)
-
@burlydee
[Read the article: "SNL" writer says Clinton sounded "whiny" ]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment as well. But I think history has shown that a key factor (not the only, or the major factor...actually, I can't even remember what Clinton said specifically) was that there was a President who had to expend an Enormous amount of political capital (the assassination of JFK) in order to get it passed. This point is glossed over in the public consciousness. In our sound bite society all we really know is 1)Selma 2)Rosa Parks 3)"I Have A Dream" and presto change-o we have Civil Rights.
(i fear I'm getting close to launching a history nerd diatribe here...so I'll cut myself off :)
I can see Clinton's reason for bringing it up...while it might not be as "sexy", you need someone in charge willing to make the stand (she was comparing herself to LBJ...which actually when i think about it, isn't so outrageous a comparison).
I still stand by my assertion that MLK is Mythic at this point, and it's nuts to touch it.
cheers
p.s. Nice work on the W.E.B Dubois reference! The Harlem Renaissance is a source of endless fascination for me :)