Letters to the Editor
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Tim Russert is a mess
Josh Marshall at TPM is doing a good job live blogging and he has focused some scorn which had occurred to me on Tim Russert's performance.
How important is Louis Farrakhan in a world of recession, war, and government corruption? Beyond the silly gotcha angle, he is taking a frankly adversarial tone not appropriate for a debate. This is not Meet The Press where his gotchas are part of his schtick. Moreover, he is not nearly as hard nosed in his approach on that show as he gets credit for. Remember this is Dick Cheney's favorite forum to broadcast his propaganda as in the outing of Valerie Plame.
Tom Russert has now joined the pantheon of worthless journalists along with Judith Miller and Jeff Gannon (Guckert?)
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What is Next?
Making sure all of your supporters only use the missionary position?
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Reject and denounce.
Good. Correct. Let's move on.
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I think she meant to scold Obama for not denouncing her rejection
Anywho, shame on everyone not in the Clinton's immediate family.
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Reject and Denounce
Hillary made a mistake in saying anything. Obama was having a hard time answering the question. He was hestitant even stuttering. The Republicans and conservative talk radio would have had a field day. She did him a big favor.
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How important is Louis Farrakhan? Well, since he's the head of a hate group, pretty damned important.
I have great respect for Morris Dees, a co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Dees' SPLC has listed the Nation of Islam as a hate group.
The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Nation of Islam as a "Hate Group." See http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp?T=32&m=5 . Also, see the Anti-Defamation League site, http://www.adl.org/main_Nation_of_Islam/default.htm .
Yes, NOI is a hate group ... and Farrakhan can be compared to David Duke, even though one is black and the other is white.
I'll go with the SPLC in this debate.
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RUKiddingMe
Tom Russert has now joined the pantheon of worthless journalists along with Judith Miller and Jeff Gannon (Guckert?)
He has been part of that pantheon for at least a decade now.
You might recall Timmeh's obsession with the Clenis.
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Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan is not the evil man many make him out to be. Unfortunately, due to his positions on Israel vis-a-vis the Palestinians and the potential he had at one time to influence U.S. public opinion on the matter, he has long been smeared as an anti-Semite. Pat Buchanan suffered the same abuse at the hands of the Likudniks in this country, but his reputation never really took much of a hit because those who know Pat know how absurd the smear was. But unfortunately for Farrakhan, he is both Muslim and dark-skinned, and so has no chance of being treated fairly in this country for his contrarian views.
For anyone looking to learn more about the real Farrakhan, I recommend searching online for several pieces the since-departed Jude Wanniski wrote about him. Jude was an interesting person - an economic adviser in the early Reagan years and one of the founding fathers of "supply-side" economics, he had a severe falling-out with the right over the Iraq war and was viciously smeared by the Neocrazies and their ilk. He appeared on the Bill O'Reilly's show not long before the invasion and was mercilessly attacked by O'Reilly for stating that Iraq posed no threat to the U.S. and all evidence pointed to Iraq having destroyed their WMDs in the early 90's (that information was out there even before the war, people). Whatever you think of his economics, he was a good man and an independent thinker and there are not many like him left today.
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Louis Farrakhan isn't only an anti-Semite, he's anti-white
Obama should have had the cajones to disavow Farrakhan's endorsement in clear, unequivocal language. But, he didn't disavow because he knows that Farrakhan brings a lot of black votes to his cause.
He who giveth, can taketh away...Obama didn't want to annoy any of the NOI. No sirree.
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Viva Obama!
Clinton tried to outdo Obama and instead got hoist with her own petard. He made her sound prissy and foolish, and demonstrated once again his unflappability and good humor. As an author and former professor of English, I had always assumed that to denounce was more powerful than to reject, and the dictionaries I've double checked tonight confirm that. Her rhetorical ploy failed.
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Okay, Everybody's Israel credentials checked out?
Now if just somehow somebody could approach brokering a true, just, and lasting peace between the Palestinians and Israelis. Clinton is not that person. Bill Clinton made Martin Indyk, an important and influential pro-Israel lobbyist, an important diplomat and advisor in his administration. Lobbyists and neo-con nutcases should not be shaping American foreign policy in a very delicate and volitile part of the world.
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Webster
Hillary shows her command of the English language is stronger. Another example of how she is more capable, which should be troubling given that Obama is supposed to be America's 2008 Poet Laureate.
The Webster dictionary definitions below. Webster's is a pretty universally accepted as a reputable source for definitions. "To Reject" and "to Denounce" have a distinction. I can accept someone's support and still denounce their bigotry. Or, I can reject the support of bigots. If I reject the support, it is a one step deal and no confusion. Obama's website even embraces the marketing genius of Farrakahn's "A million" . . ."A million man march"..."A million family" etc. Obama's take "A million people." Would Obama have the same tentativeness to reject David Duke's support.
Auacity of hope -- hope that core values take center stage without hesitation.
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REJECT
Pronunciation: ri-ˈjekt
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin rejectus, past participle of reicere, from re- + jacere to throw — more at jet
Date: 15th century
1 a: to refuse to accept, consider, submit to, take for some purpose, or use b: to refuse to hear, receive, or admit : rebuff, repel
2obsolete : to cast off
3: throw back, repulse
4: to spew out
5: to subject to immunological rejection
synonyms see decline
— re·ject·er or re·jec·tor -ˈjek-tər noun
— re·ject·ing·ly -tiŋ-lē adverb
— re·jec·tive -ˈjek-tiv adjective
denounce
DENOUNCE
Pronunciation: di-ˈnau̇n(t)s, dē-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): de·nounced; de·nounc·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French denuncier to proclaim, from Latin denuntiare, from de- + nuntiare to report — more at announce
Date: 13th century
1: to pronounce especially publicly to be blameworthy or evil
2archaic a: proclaim b: to announce threateningly
3: to inform against : accuse
4obsolete : portend