Letters to the Editor
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You got it
Far more notable is Barack Obama's response to these depressingly familiar attacks. In response, he's not scurrying around slapping flags all over himself or belting out the National Anthem ... He's not on the defensive at all. Instead, he's swatting away these slurs with the dismissive contempt they deserve, and then eagerly and aggressively engaging the debate on offense because he's confident, rather than insecure, about his position
You go it, Mr. Greenwald. This is what I was talking about the other week -- the GOP's boilerplate attacks aren't going to work the same way against Obama that they've worked against so many of the Democrats in the past. "Dismissive contempt" is exactly how he's going to treat the noise machine, and such a reaction is precisely what the machine deserves, especially when coupled with a nice countering jab that gets right at what's wrong with the Right. Definitely time for the Democrats to play offense once again. Long overdue.
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That's true change
What you've just pointed out is WHY Obama represents true change, not just the same old politics forced into liberal terminology.
I had to laugh when Hillary was screeching "enough with the speeches..." this weekend, while Obama was simply pointing out why he's a different kind of candidate who wants to create a different kind of political discourse.
I hope we have the wisdom to give him a chance.
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And if you watched 60 minutes
Bill Canary, the person apparently behind the railroading of Don Siegelman could be seen prominently wearing an American Flag Pin.
The moment I see a Republican wearing one I know that the wearer, if asked about burning the constitution, would respond, oh that all right, but make sure you nail up the bill of rights in the outhouse so we can use it first.
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What about CNN's patriotism?
-- and that of the other mainstream media outlets -- who take these trivial and misleading slurs and elevate them to the status of "real news"?
If these mainstream reporters really loved and wanted the best for their country, wouldn't they want to elevate political discussion to a level where substantive issues are discussed and their readers/viewers are educated about the political process and important issues?
Dealing in tabloid "journalism" on issues so important to our country is the worst kind of unpatriotic behavior.
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The emperor is butt naked
The only way these attacks have currency is if they're over-reacted to.
And the 19%ers have zero credibility left.
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Heartening
A very heartening response from Obama. Rhetorically, it shifts the gaze back on the smearers. And it doesn't take much inspection for american voters to recognize a sewer when they see it.
A Kerry-for-Obama speech was carried on CSPAN last night, out of Galveston, Texas I believe. In response to a question on Swiftboating, Kerry said that his campaign had learned the hard way that these types of smears must be returned with "greater force and energy than they came in with".
He then mentioned that some/many of the folks who had worked with him were now with Obama's campaign. Apparently, we can look forward to very vigorous responses from Obama on smears of this sort. So, in a way, I guess experience does make some difference after all.
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Whoa, my Dad was right
Apparently standing up to bullies really is a better policy than running away from them on the playground. At least, I hope so. I'd hate to see Barack get his lunch money stolen.
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Shhh
It's almost as if Mr. Greenwald didn't read the talking points given him by Clinton campaign. Don't you know Hillary's supposed to be the tough one? She keeps insisting Senator Obama will simply roll over for the Republicans. Silly little things like the fact Obama has already defended himself effectively agains the Republicans aren't supposed to get in the way.
On a more serious note: great article. And I completely concur with the other posters Obama is handling this just right. Respond, but don't overreact. Lay out the facts before the public, show them the Republican miscues, how they try to wrap themselves in the fla, and let the public make up their own mind.
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In a Nutshell
This is a perfect example of why so many people are climbing on the Obama bandwagon. He just GETS IT.
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Bingo
Attention Hillary: you know those words and speeches of Obama's you criticize so often? See, this is where they do matter. If Obama were elected and promptly went to sleep for 4 straight years, it still would have been worth it solely for this opportunity, the chance to demonstrate to the rest of the spineless Democrats and to the American public that putting the GOP fearmongering in check is exactly what we've wanted the whole damned time.
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Obama attacked by the right? He's had the biggest free ride in election history...
Given the fact that the G.O.P. and Karl Rove are responsible for the Obama candidacy in the first place, your argument lacks merit. Obama's principle speechwriter is Ben Rhodes, brother of Fox News VP David Rhodes, which tells you something right there about the candidate's proximity group. Obama was a co-sponsor of the Patriot Renewal Act and voted yes on every war appopriation that crossed his desk. He was not in Congress in 2002, when the war was authorized, despite his constant Rudy Giuliani-like haranging about how only he opposed it. When Bill Clinton calls this grandstanding a fairy tale, he's not speaking metaphorically. These are the facts. If the right wanted to hit Obama in a way to really hurt his candidacy with voters, they would be talking nonstop about his declaration of support for giving undocumented immigrants drivers licenses. This is a sacred cow issue for conservatives, yet there's not a peep out of them. Why is that, do you suppose? Rove and his dirty trickers have got the wool so far across the eyes of the youth vote and progressives, they need seeing eye dogs at this point. For more on the Rove strategy and how the right-wing really views Obama, see the article I've posted at thecityedition.com. Click on my screen name for a direct link.
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Bravo to Obama, Greenwald, and the "New Way"
This is exactly the new tone Washington needs. People are calling it "postpartisnship." I don't know about all that, but I think it works.