Posted on 09/10/2008 7:07:25 AM PDT by Publius804
September 10, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist
From the Gut
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
If John McCain can win this election race with a 50-pound ball called “George W. Bush” wrapped around one ankle and a 50-pound ball called “The U.S. Economy” wrapped around the other, then he deserves to represent America in the next Olympics in any race he wants — swimming, cycling or track — I don’t care how old he is. He would be the Michael Phelps of politics.
I confess, I watch politics from afar, but here’s what I’ve been feeling for a while: Whoever slipped that Valium into Barack Obama’s coffee needs to be found and arrested by the Democrats because Obama has gone from cool to cold.
Somebody needs to tell Obama that if he wants the chance to calmly answer the phone at 3 a.m. in the White House, he is going to need to start slamming down some phones at 3 p.m. along the campaign trail. I like much of what he has to say, especially about energy, but I don’t think people are feeling it in their guts, and I am a big believer that voters don’t listen through their ears. They listen through their stomachs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
How nice of Friedman to give B. Hussein campaign pointers. Why not just put the NY Times on the Obama payroll and get it over with.
Why does anyone let them get away with these economy barbs? The biggest economic problem we have are high fuel costs and who’s fault is that? All the Dems and a few panty-waist Republicans. Easy answer, places blame back on them...smack em down and be done with it.
I love the Friedman’s attempt to say that “he watches politics from afar”. What a farce.
By all means. Let’s see if Obama can do better than he has.
Good catch!
Completely wrong and flawed analogy.
The author needs to get out of the NYT newsroom once every 5 years.
Do this! Do that!
Attack Palin!
Ignore Palin!
Talk about Bush! Talk this! Talk about that!
hehehe... I’m McLovin’ it!
And CNN and MSNBC as well. I call them "The Obama Campaign Channels."
The thrill is gone!
If John McCain can win this election race with a 50-pound ball called “George W. Bush” "outrageous pro-Obama mainstream media bias" wrapped around one ankle and a 50-pound ball called “The U.S. Economy” "soaring energy costs due to 'Rat pandering to environMENTAL extremists" wrapped around the other,
Fixed.
If John McCain can win this election race with a 50-pound ball called “George W. Bush” "outrageous pro-Obama mainstream media bias" wrapped around one ankle and a 50-pound ball called “The U.S. Economy” "soaring energy costs due to 'Rat pandering to environMENTAL extremists" wrapped around the other,
Fixed.
Liberals are from Planet Nutz and the NYTs is one of the larger moons to that planet.
Then I realized if they took a straight bribe they wouldn't be able to fool themselves.
So they take the coin of the MSM realm - leaks. Sometimes leaks so secret that they'll damage the country.
Worth more than mere cash.
Payoffs. Always ugly. No matter what form they take.
That said, I don't put Friedman in this category - he's an ethical writer.
I like much of what he has to say, especially about energy, but I don’t think people are feeling it in their guts, and I am a big believer that voters don’t listen through their ears. They listen through their stomachs. If you as a politician connect with voters on a gut level, they will follow you anywhere and not fret about the details…. As Neil Oxman, political consultant at The Campaign Group, put it to me: For half the country, “Sarah Palin is Roseanne from the ‘Roseanne’ show. ‘Roseanne’ was the No. 1 comedy five years in a row and seven out of nine in the top 10.” She is connecting at a gut level. So does McCain — and, therefore, they don’t need to give their constituents many details.
They never stop trying to sell this particular line of bullshit. People who follow conservative politicians don’t need to think, they’re emotional (and, naturally, white trash like Roseanne.) Liberals demand specifics.
As a political theory, it’s completely asshead backwards. Has there ever been a politician who so completely and emotionally enthralls his braindead constituency like Obama? He can make them blubber like idiots in the middle of his speech by pausing and tilting his head. It doesn’t even matter what the latest platitude to fall out of his mouth was.
And details?!?! His entire platform is smoke and mirrors and promises without any plan how he’s going to pay for Christmas. I mean Obamamas.
Friedman’s a jackass.
He needs to update is resume
The Times next move will be pay cuts.
Only a new arrival from another planet would take Obama at his word if he said said what Friedman wants him to say.
Obama has a trail of broken promises he's made to his constituents
"I'll provide good housing for our neighborhood;"
"I'll improve education in Chicago."
"I'll stay in the Senate, instead of running for the presidency,"
"I'll get rid of the Bush tax cuts"
"I'll take public financing for my candidacy
"I'll debate John McCain...any place, any time"
“As Neil Oxman, political consultant at The Campaign Group, put it to me: For half the country, “Sarah Palin is Roseanne from the ‘Roseanne’ show.”
This is the lowest slur the left has yet concocted.
When the MSM and liberal media start to try to shape campaign policy, you know they’re in trouble. They did the same thing with Kerry...tried to give pointers, but it didn’t help.
that’s perfect...He is no longer COOL!
They're calling her a pig again?
That's his problem -- he feels; he doesn't think. Like most liberals.
In the interest of proving he is non-partisan, will Friedman be giving pointers to the McCain/Palin ticket tomorrow?
Friedman can’t see the forest for the trees.
“They’re calling her a pig again?”
How do you interpret a comparison of a human to Roseanne Barr in any other way.
The other interesting thing about the quoted language is what it says about the leftist mind. In their opinion, the Roseanne character, a course, foul-mouthed, trailer-trash woman epitomizes flyover country for them. They think she’s our hero. So when he says Sarah Palin is Roseanne, he thinks he has hit the essence of Palin’s appeal outside NY, SF and LA.
You’re forgetting who works for who here. Obama is the one slumping the load for the MSM. He is their pet.
Look no further than this article for proof. They are upset with their underlings performance. This is an MSM warning to Obama about his sub par performance. Either he hops to or he’s going to get the boot.
On Glenn Beck’s show he made a comment this last section that I had not heard: Obama’s campaign is ASKING the Dinosaur Media for suggestions as to what he should put in his speeches so they can play them back?!?? Let me suspend belief... I really find it hard to accept that they are that much in the tank for him.
Then, he played side by side tapes of Olbermann saying “Enough - we’ve had enough- that is what obama should be saying he needs to use more interjections like that - get angry” Maybe this was an interview withObama?... followed by part of Obama’s pig response tape today where he does EXACTLY that at one spot ... “Enough!”
Is the Media actually running for President now? Does America want Olberman?
News flash Tom, W ain’t running and the attempt to tie McCaine to W ain’t working.
Besides, Republicans like W fine.
Now that was worth repeating!
W has kept us safe and I bet that’s been a whole lot more difficult than we’ll ever know.
Right! An Op-Ed columnist who watches politics from afar.
Bravo Sierra
>>>You’re forgetting who works for who here. Obama is the one slumping the load for the MSM. He is their pet.
Look no further than this article for proof. They are upset with their underlings performance. This is an MSM warning to Obama about his sub par performance. Either he hops to or he’s going to get the boot.<<<
Very good point.
The problem is, when he gets out of the NYT newsroom, he's still in NYC. Talk about a circle jerk, they have one going on up there on a grand scale.
btt
I respect Thomas Friedman for getting the war of Islamo-fascism, but he lives in a typical lib bubble where big-government intervention is what’s needed to run things. What Tom Friedman needs to read is another Friedman...Milton Friedman, a person ( a giant actually) who understood how a free-market is supposed to work. I seriously doubt that Milton would like Tom’s analysis of what’s wrong with the economy.
I understand what you mean here, since the person of Roseanne Barr was detestible and gross. But the character of Roseanne on the television show was someone else who was scripted. People are making the connection with the character - a character who was tough, no-nonsense, savvy without pretense, loyal to her family, and honest in a gritty fashion.
In general, Americans like women who are smart and tough. We have a whole raft of those kinds of woman characters in our history - think about Katharine Hepburn, perhaps. Even while trying to insult Sarah, the left succeeds in making her look good.
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