Letters to the Editor
blacktop
Published Letters: 204 Editor's Choice: 4
-
Poor Fox News
[Read the article: Obama's easy "Sister Souljah moment"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I feel sorry for the deluded people at Fox News who thought they had found a fool-proof way to skewer both Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama in a single stroke. Instead, Obama get to maintain his consistent position as a stringent social critic and Jackson comes off lame, crass, and out of touch.
It is highly amusing to watch Fox stretch this one out. And to read the ridiculous and predictably racist comments from the McCainite trolls who infest this web site.
-
Self-debate
[Read the article: New McCain ad praises immigrants]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]McCain has taken so many positions in the discussion of immigration policy that he could stage a series of debates all by himself. I have given up trying to understand whether he supports the mainstream GOP views on this or not. I am sure that Latino and other voters are not duped by this latest ad campaign. Like the preposterous gas tax holiday proposal, this is a case of pandering pure and simple.
-
Calling it "satire" doesn't make it satire
[Read the article: Rush Limbaugh was right]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For me the point of satire should be to afflict the comfortable. (I wish mainstream journalists would get back to doing this as well, but that is another story.)
In this case, the comfortable are those willfully ignorant people who persist in believing the smears that Obama is a Muslim militant. They are comfortable in their anti-intellectualism. They are comfortable in their disdain for the multitude of the world's religions. They are comfortable in their prejudices and bigotries. They are smug in their narrow notions of "patriotism."
These small-minded people are rightfully the targets of satire. Instead, the unfunny New Yorker cover cartoon makes the Obamas the victim of this clumsy attempt. The misdirection of the cartoon is what makes it a big miss. The rightful targets do not know they are being satirized. They continue in their smugness and conceit.
As a result, I think it is fair to say that this confused cartoon is neither funny nor skillfully executed. It is a failure, which is too bad because the mean-spirited bigots of the world surely need as much skewering as we can manage.
-
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
[Read the article: "Straight talk" of the day]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Didn't Bush use identical language when referring to his determination to hunt down Bin Laden and al Qeda?
Next McCain will blare out "Bring it on!" and then declare "Mission accomplished." What a dangerous maroon!
-
Twisted logic
[Read the article: Forget what he said -- McCain's not against gay adoption]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]McCain's stutterings and flappings on this subject give new meaning to the term "straight talk," don't they?
-
Always the bridesmaid?
[Read the article: Hey, Emmy voters! Don't forget ...]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hugh Laurie's towering achievement on "House" has been overlooked by EMMY voters for the past four years. It is time to end the insanity, take down those James Spader posters, and select the actor whose consistency, linguistic agility, comedic timing, physical grace, complexity, heartrending torment, and intelligence make "House" a must-see every week. The fact that Laurie makes it seem so damn easy is no reason for him to be overlooked again.
-
Abandon hope
[Read the article: Planned Parenthood ad slams McCain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The latest Washington Post-ABC polls shows Obama leading McCain by more than 17 points among women. This ad from Planned Parenthood will help to increase that commanding lead. McCain should not receive one vote from any woman who respects herself, her family, her friends, or her intelligence. He shouldn't receive any votes from men either, by the way.
-
So?
[Read the article: Barack Obama's super marketing machine]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I am glad that the Obama campaign is using sophisticated marketing techniques and tools to promote the Democratic candidate. I would not expect less from a person attempting to lead the United States in the 21st Century. The fact that John McCain is an ignoramus about things technological (among others) is no reason for the Dems to emulate him.
Using the power of computer technology to reach out with efficiency and efficacy to millions of grass-roots supporters is one of the most heartening aspects of the Obama campaign. We need to win in November and using advanced communications techniques is an excellent way to make that happen.
-
Bush at convention
[Read the article: McCain advisor's new message on Iraq: Obama's just like Bush]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Perhaps this latest idiotic salvo is an indication of how the GOP will use Bush at their convention in August: Have the hated president endorse Barack Obama. This would solve the twin problems of what to do with Bush during primetime at the convention and how to de-attach the dead weight of his unprecedented unpopularity from poor John McCain.
-
Retractions, anyone?
[Read the article: Obama raised $52 million in June]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I hope we will see some new stories from the MSM retracting their faulty narrative of the past few weeks which claimed that Obama was having trouble raising money because of: a) opting out of public financing; b)continuing backlash from Clinton supporters; c)voting on FISA; d) commenting on Supreme Court opinions; d)left-wing discontent, and e) right-wing smear attacks.
This anti-Obama narrative was preposterous because it was not based on actual street-level reporting, but rather on scanning the blogosphere for expressions of outrage and umbrage. Maybe now journalists will try a little real reporting before they write their next wave of dubious campaign stories.
-
What I did on my summer vacation
[Read the article: McCain plans to keep up attacks while Obama's away]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Obama's historic trip to Europe and the Middle East is an excellent opportunity for John McCain to catch up on his much-needed rest by taking a little vacation. Why, he could visit several of his nine homes, or fly all around Arizona in that indispensible private jet, or debate the merits of Viagra vs. birth control pills with himself. When Obama gets back, McCain will be all rested and ready to go to the GOP convention.
-
Don't fall for it again
[Read the article: Conservatives claim bias in coverage of Obama trip]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I hope the media doesn't fall for this transparent trick again. During the primaries, the Clinton camp wept copious crocadile tears about what a soft time the press was giving Obama and like dutiful saps, the media started hammering Obama to prove her wrong.
Now the desperate GOP is trying the same lousy trick: they hope that by complaining in advance they can push the media to bend over backwards to attack Obama during the overseas trip in order to prove they are "fair and balanced."
On the other hand, the more the media does indeed cover the egregious McCain, the more he makes unforced errors of the mental kind that reveal his unsuitability for the presidency.