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It's Not Race, It's Arugula -- Obama's real electoral challenge.
Weekly Standard ^ | 06/23/2008 | Noemie Emery

Posted on 06/14/2008 8:55:10 PM PDT by Ooh-Ah

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To: Ooh-Ah
Barone broke the electorate down into two large divisions--academics and state employees who live in these places, whom he calls Academicians, and Jacksonians, who live elsewhere, especially in the regions close to the Appalachian mountains.

Excellent analysis, but too wordy. I'd call these groups the two Americas. One pays the taxes, the other consumes them. The group which pays the taxes is getting sick and tired of supporting a growing royal class.

21 posted on 06/15/2008 5:06:02 AM PDT by Vigilanteman ((Are there any men left in Washington? Or are there only cowards? Ahmad Shah Massoud))
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To: Ooh-Ah
Time Magazine gets their history wrong, unsurprisingly:

Richard Nixon won in '68 with 43% of the vote. The angry whites voted for George Wallace in that election. And notice contempt that elite whites writing for Time have for middle and working class whites written off as the 'Silent Majority'.

22 posted on 06/15/2008 5:19:31 AM PDT by Jabba the Nutt (Elected Republicans don't have even the survival instincts of an amoeba.)
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To: Ooh-Ah

Thank you for posting. excellent article.


23 posted on 06/15/2008 5:23:29 AM PDT by DugwayDuke (What's more important? Your principles or supporting the troops? Vote McCain!)
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To: nathanbedford
I don't agree that all politics is racial. It wouldn't matter who the democrats threw up there- they are always the academician. We were fooled once about Jimmy Carter being a Jacksonian. Still trying to figure out how Clinton got elected- except maybe people thought he was a Jacksonian in the way that he fought the "personal attacks".

I've always told the people that I work with- they are all Obamaniacs- that I would be voting as a security mom. They know that he does not fit this need- so they immediately shut up and leave me alone.

24 posted on 06/15/2008 5:33:20 AM PDT by republicangel
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To: Veto!
Add it up. He’s an arrogant stupid Marxist phony.

Arrogant stupid Marxist phony = haughty intellectual. Same thing.

Well, ok, if you insist on drawing distinctions, he's a haughty pseudointellectual.

Satisfied now?

25 posted on 06/15/2008 5:46:54 AM PDT by Cheburashka (Liberalism: a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.)
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To: republicangel
I've always told the people that I work with- they are all Obamaniacs- that I would be voting as a security mom.

Can you give me any persuasive reason, other than Obama's race, that explains why he has been nominated?

I am sure you do feel that you are voting as a security mom and by the following question I do not mean to impugn your integrity. Let us suppose, however, that you were opposed to Obama because he has been nominated only because he is black and that apart from his race he is utterly unqualified to become president of the United States of America.

Would you under these circumstances be to any degree uneasy about telling your colleagues flatly that you will be voting against Obama because he is an unqualified black man, nominated only because he is black?

I confess I would be uneasy in that situation.


26 posted on 06/15/2008 5:48:18 AM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat attack!" Bull Halsey)
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To: nathanbedford
Would you under these circumstances be to any degree uneasy about telling your colleagues flatly that you will be voting against Obama because he is an unqualified black man, nominated only because he is black?

At work, family functions, social situations, I tell everyone he's unqualified.

I bring up negotiating with terrorist, neglecting his senatorial responsibilities, his associations with Ayres , Phfelger etc. , The fact that he wants to use a percentage of the gross domestic product as a tax for the U.N.

I bring all these things up tell them its because hes a cute black man, thats all he is.

I then tell them about Black men I respect and would vote for, Walt Williams, Thomas Sowell, Clarence Thomas and Herman Cain.

Sometimes I'm called a racist most often I'm not, but I got over being labled. I simply don't care anymore if they label me.

27 posted on 06/15/2008 6:00:08 AM PDT by Kakaze (Exterminate Islamofacism and apologize for nothing.....except not doing it sooner!)
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To: Ooh-Ah

email rescently recieved:
You don’t have to agree with me but you need to consider how you will use
your vote in November. We need to be INFORMED voters. I hope I have not
offended anyone, and I do hope the truth is not offensive to anyone. Do we
vote for someone because they are charismatic and can put across a speech
well? Do we vote for someone who’s mentor was a racist minister and who’s
wife was NEVER proud to be an American until her husband became the probable
nominee for President? Do we vote for someone who tells half-truths?
Didn’t we have enough of that with Bill Clinton who never seemed able to
find the REAL truth?

Maybe you feel you could NEVER vote for any Republican. Well, you have a
real choice in November. You could vote for Obama’s promise of a “change”
which he never really outlines and then live with what he ultimately decides
we need or you can vote for a man who would have willingly given his life
for this country.

Do we allow a backlash for the sins of our fathers due to slavery, to
determine who will be our President?

Search your conscience and really look into this man’s REAL background. I
believe that once you know him, really know him, and know his wife and the
people with whom he surrounds himself, you will NEVER vote for him.

I ask God to bless you with the knowledge we all need when we make decisions
such as this.

Obama’s Not Exactly’s:

1.) Selma Got Me Born - NOT EXACTLY, your parents felt safe enough
to have you in 1961 - Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in
1965.
(Google’Obama Selma’ for his full March 4, 2007 speech and articles about
its various untruths.)

2.) Father Was A Goat Herder - NOT EXACTLY, he was a privileged,
well educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.

3.) Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter - NOT EXACTLY, he was part
of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.

4.) My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom - NOT EXACTLY,
your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn
a legitimate election in 2007, in Kenya. It is the first widespread violence
in decades. The current government is pro-American but Odinga wants to
overthrow it and establish Muslim Sharia law. Your half-brother, Abongo Obama, is
Odinga’s follower. You interrupted your New Hampshire campaigning to speak
to Odinga on the phone. Check out the following link for verification of that....and
for more.

Obama’s cousin Odinga in Kenya ran for president and tried to get
Sharia muslim law in place there. When Odinga lost the elections, his
followers have burned Christians’ homes and then burned men, women and
children alive in a Christian church where they took shelter.. Obama
SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started. Google Obama
and Odinga and see what you get. No one wants to know the truth.

5.) My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian - NOT EXACTLY, she
does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to
mention, Christianity wouldn’t allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1
man.

6.) My Name is African Swahili - NOT EXACTLY, your name is Arabic
and ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language.
Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama.

Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected, he would be
the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack
Hussein Obama is 50% Caucasian from his mother’s side and 43.75% Arabic and
6.25% African Negro from his father’s side. While Barack Hussein Obama’s
father was from Kenya, his father’s family was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein
Obama’s father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father’s
birth certificate even states he’s Arab, not African Negro). From....and for
more....go to.....

http://www.arcadeathome.com/newsboy.phtml?Barack_Hussein_Obama_-_Arab- Americ
an,_only_6.25%25_African

7..) I Never Practiced Islam - NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily
at school, where you were registered as a Muslim and kept that faith for 31
years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office.

4-3-08 Article “Obama was ‘quite religious in islam’”
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559

8.) My School In Indonesia Was Christian - NOT EXACTLY, you were
registered as Muslim there and got in trouble in Koranic Studies for making
fac es (check your own book).

February 28, 2008. Kristoff from the New York Times a year ago:
Mr. Obama recalled the opening lines of the Arabic call to prayer,
reciting them with a first-rate accent. In a remark that seemed delightfully
uncalculated (it’ll give Alabama voters heart attacks), Mr. Obama described the call to
prayer as “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.” This is just
one example of what Pamela is talking about when she says “Obama’s narrative
is being altered, enhanced and manipulated to whitewash troubling facts.”

9.) I Was Fluent In Indonesian - NOT EXACTLY, not one teacher says
you could speak the language.

10.) Because I Lived In Indonesia, I Have More Foreign Experience
- NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even
speak the language. What did you learn, how to study the Koran and watch
cartoons.

11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs - NOT EXACTLY, except for
Africa (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise), you have never been
anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest
allies.

12.) I Blame My Early Drug Use On Ethnic Confusion - NOT EXACTLY,
you were quite content in high school to be Barry Obama, no mention of Kenya
and no mention of struggle to identify - your classmates said you were
just fine.

13.) An Ebony Article Moved Me To Run For Office - NOT EXACTLY,
Ebony has yet to find the article you mention in your book. It doesn’t, and
never did, exist.

14.) A Life Magazine Article Changed My Outlook On Life - NOT
EXACTLY, Life has yet to find the article you menti on in your book. It
doesn’t, and never did, exist.

15.) I Won’t Run On A National Ticket In ‘08 - NOT EXACTLY, here
you are, despite saying, live on TV, that you would not have enough
experience by then, and you are all about having experience first.

16.) Voting “Present” is Common In Illinois Senate - NOT EXACTLY,
they are common for YOU, but not many others have 130 NO VOTES.

17.) Oops, I Misvoted - NOT EXACTLY, only when caught by church
groups and Democrats, did you beg to change your misvote.

18.) I Was A Professor Of Law - NOT EXACTL Y, you were a senior
lecturer ON LEAVE.

19.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer - NOT EXACTLY, you were asenior lecturer ON LEAVE.

20.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill - NOT EXACTLY, you
didn’t write it, introduce it, change it, or create it.

21.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass - NOT EXACTLY, it took just
14 days from start to finish.

22.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill - NOT EXACTLY, your bill was
rejected by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation -
mainly because of your Nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.

23.) I Have Released My State Records - NOT EXACTLY, as of March,
2008, state bills y ou sponsored or voted for have yet to be released,
exposing all the special interests pork hidden within.

24.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess - NOT EXACTLY,
you were part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens. You
failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.

25.) My Economics Bill Will Help America - NOT EXACTLY, your 111
economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and
even YOU voted against your own bill.

26.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois - NOT EXACTLY, even
your own supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.

27.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year - NOT EXACTLY, they
were not YOUR bills, but rather hand ed to you, after their creation by a
fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.

28.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about NAFTA - NOT
EXACTLY, the Candian Government issued the names and a memo of the
conversation your campaign had with them.

29.) I Am Tough On Terrorism - NOT EXACTLY, you missed the Iran
Resolution vote on terrorism and your good friend Ali Abunimah supports the
destruction off Israel.

30.) I Want All Votes To Count - NOT EXACTLY, you said let the
delegates decide.

31.) I Want Americans To Decide - NOT EXACTLY, you prefer caucuses
that limit the vote, confuse the voters, force a public vote, and only operate
during small windows of time.

32.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate - NOT EXACTLY, you
passed 26, most of which you didn’t write yourself.

33.) I Believe In Fairness, Not Tactics - NOT EXACTLY, you used
tactics to eliminate Alice Palmer from running against you.

34.) I Don’t Take PAC Money - NOT EXACTLY, you take loads of it.

35.) I don’t Have Lobbysists - NOT EXACTLY, you have over 47
lobbyists, and counting.

36.) My Campaign Had Nothing To Do With The 1984 Ad - NOT EXACTLY,
your own campaign worker made the ad on his Apple in one afternoon.

37.) I Have Always Been Against Iraq - NOT EXACTLY, you weren’t in
office to vote against it AND you have voted to fund it every single time.

38.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care - NOT EXACTLY,
your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000 who don’t have to buy it


28 posted on 06/15/2008 6:02:49 AM PDT by ronnie raygun (IF YOU ARE NOT CONSERVATIVE BY 35 YOU HAVE NO BRAIN. W CHURCHILL)
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To: Kakaze
Good on you!


29 posted on 06/15/2008 6:06:08 AM PDT by nathanbedford ("Attack, repeat attack!" Bull Halsey)
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To: ronnie raygun

Great post.


30 posted on 06/15/2008 6:15:25 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: nathanbedford

Oh hell yeah. However, I’m uneasy telling people that I’m not supporting Obama because they are all people suffering from “Bush Derangement Syndrome”. It’s only me and the VP of Finance that will openly say that we are supporting McCain.


31 posted on 06/15/2008 6:19:18 AM PDT by republicangel
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To: nathanbedford

Oh hell yeah. However, I’m uneasy telling people that I’m not supporting Obama because they are all people suffering from “Bush Derangement Syndrome”. It’s only me and the VP of Finance that will openly say that we are supporting McCain.


32 posted on 06/15/2008 6:19:18 AM PDT by republicangel
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To: Ooh-Ah
At the end, where the author talked about "Colonel Obama", I immediately thought of Lt. Col Allen West.

He - or a black man like him - is more likely to be the first black President than "Poseur Obama". I hope so, anyway, for the sake of America.

33 posted on 06/15/2008 7:27:51 AM PDT by Gritty (Nothing in Obama's resume suggests he's the man to remake America and heal the planet-Mark Steyn)
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To: Ooh-Ah

Why Obama will lose is because he is another in a long list of extreme liberals (McGovern, Dukakis, Mondale, Kerry) that won the Democratic nomination but are too out of touch with mainstream America to win the general election. His liberal voting record will be thoroughly exposed, even though he will try to moderate himself just like Hillary did (and you see how successful she was in doing that). Bill Clinton was the only liar masterful enough to fool enough Americans to get elected (coupled with Ross Perot pulling away 20% of the vote from George Bush) but Obama is not as good a liar as Bill Clinton, although he will try his best. I’m waiting for Obama to showcase his “white roots” since you still need the white vote to win a general election in this country. There is an element of race in this election (Obama, his wife and minister are part of the “hate whitey” crowd) and that will tick some white people off enough not to vote for him, which it should. But the bigger issue is that this guy is the most extreme liberal that the Democrats have ever put up and extreme liberals don’t win general elections.


34 posted on 06/15/2008 8:11:20 AM PDT by Contra
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To: Ooh-Ah

Good article-I love the Jacksonian references, but I have always liked Barone..


35 posted on 06/15/2008 8:32:29 AM PDT by cardinal4 (Obama and Osama, whats the difference?)
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To: Veto!

I agree with everything Veto says. B.O.’s father (B.O. Senior) was a smooth talking con man with an addiction to alcohol. B.O. Junior is a smooth talking (when the teleprompter is present) con man with an addiction to nicotine.


36 posted on 06/15/2008 9:50:43 AM PDT by Malesherbes
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To: Ooh-Ah
My working class grandparents knew what Arugula was. Then again, they were also Italian. They were also drinking espresso long before Howard Schultz was even a thought in his father's head.

PA should be a win for Obama, as all of the black votes in Philly can't compensate for all of the elderly Catholics/Eastern Orthodox throughout the state who just can't bring themselves to support Obama, whether because of his personal tastes/worldview, his parlor pink criticisms of his own country, or (yes, I will admit), his race. They may not vote for McCain, but there is a good chance they will spend the first Tuesday in November visiting grandkids/great-grandkids and enjoying some Yuengling.

Watch also the Jews on the Main Line, and "liberal Republican women" in the Philly suburbs.

37 posted on 06/15/2008 10:52:25 AM PDT by Clemenza (No Comment)
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To: Ooh-Ah
Thanks for pointing me to this, it's nice to read the whole article and people comments.

fwiw, I'm a 'mulatto' myself, yet there's no way in H-E-double-hockey-sticks I'll be voting for him. Good luck, Obama supporters, calling me racist.

38 posted on 06/15/2008 11:05:30 AM PDT by the anti-liberal (Write in: Fred Thompson)
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To: AZLiberty
Mind you I don’t know whether you’ve really considered the advantages of owning a really fine set of modern arugulas.

You sure you're not an encyclopedia salesman?

39 posted on 06/15/2008 11:09:21 AM PDT by realdifferent1 (I hope the 'War on Terror' goes better than the 'War on Poverty'.)
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To: Ooh-Ah

It’s always been my contention that the first black or female President will be a Republican. All the Democrats are just WAY too liberal.


40 posted on 06/15/2008 1:58:07 PM PDT by SuziQ
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