This is a piece from yesterday’s The Wall Street Journal. It’s written by a Democrat… If the president is viewed as so divisive, what does it mean to our country? our political risk? our macro investment outlook? Thoughts? ------------------- By PATRICK H. CADDELL AND DOUGLAS E. SCHOEN During the election campaign, Barack Obama sought to appeal to the best instincts of the electorate, to a post-partisan sentiment that he said would reinvigorate our democracy. He ran on a platform of reconciliation—of getting beyond “old labels” of right and left, red and blue states, and forging compromises based on shared values. President Obama’s Inaugural was a hopeful day, with an estimated 1.8 million people on the National Mall celebrating the election of America’s first African-American president. The level of enthusiasm, the anticipation and the promise of something better could not have been more palpable. And yet, it has not been realized. Not at all. Rather than being a unifier, Mr. Obama has divided America on the basis of race, class and partisanship. Moreover, his cynical approach to governance has encouraged his allies to pursue a similar strategy of racially divisive politics on his behalf. The ‘Beer Summit’: President Barack Obama, right, and Vice President Joe Biden, left, have a beer with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., second from left, and Cambridge, Mass. police Sgt. James Crowley in the Rose Garden of the White House, July 30, 2009. We have seen the divisive approach under Republican presidents as well—particularly the administrations of Richard Nixon and George W. Bush. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now. By dividing America, Mr. Obama has brought our government to the brink of a crisis of legitimacy, compromising our ability to address our most important policy issues. We say this with a heavy heart. Both of us share the president’s stated vision of what America can and should be. The struggle for equal rights has animated both of our lives. Both of us were forged politically during the crucible of the civil rights movement. Having worked in the South during the civil rights movement, and on behalf of the ground-breaking elections of African-American mayors such as David Dinkins, Harold Washington and Emanuel Cleaver, we were deeply moved by Mr. Obama’s election. The first hint that as president Mr. Obama would be willing to interject race into the political dialogue came last July, when he jumped to conclusions about the confrontation between Harvard Prof. Henry Louis “Skip” Gates and the Cambridge police. During a press conference, the president said that the “Cambridge police acted stupidly,” and he went on to link the arrest with the “long history in this country of African-Americans and Latinos being stopped by law enforcement disproportionately.” In truth, the Gates incident appears to have had nothing to do with race—a Cambridge review committee that investigated the incident ruled on June 30 that there was fault on both sides. Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) has said the president told him in a closed-door meeting that he would not move to secure the border with Mexico unless and until Congress reached a breakthrough on comprehensive immigration reform. That’s another indication Mr. Obama is willing to continue to play politics with hot-button issues. Add in the lawsuit against the Arizona immigration law and it’s clear the Obama administration is willing to run the risk of dividing the American people along racial and ethnic lines to mobilize its supporters—particularly Hispanic voters, whose backing it needs in the fall midterm elections and beyond. As the Washington Post reported last week, two top White House strategists, speaking on condition of anonymity, have indicated that “the White House plans to use the immigration debate to punish the GOP and aggressively seek the Latino vote in 2012.” On an issue that has gotten much less attention, but is potentially just as divisive, the Justice Department has pointedly refused to prosecute three members of the New Black Panther Party for voter intimidation at the polls on Election Day 2008. It is the job of the Department of Justice to protect all American voters from voter discrimination and voter intimidation—whether committed by the far right, the far left, or the New Black Panthers. It is unacceptable for the Department of Justice to continue to stonewall on this issue. During the 2008 presidential campaign, Mr. Obama’s campaign emphasized repeatedly that his minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was being unfairly stereotyped because of racially incendiary sound bites that allegedly did not reflect the totality of his views. In the Gates incident and others, Mr. Obama has resorted to similar forms of stereotyping. Even the former head of the Civil Rights Commission, Mary Frances Berry, acknowledged that the Obama administration has taken to polarizing America around the issue of race as a means of diverting attention away from other issues, saying: “the charge of racism is proving to be an effective strategy for Democrats. . . . Having one’s opponent rebut charges of racism is far better than discussing joblessness.” The president had a unique opportunity to focus on overarching issues of importance to whites and blacks. He has failed to address the critical challenges. He has not used his bully pulpit to emphasize the importance of racial unity and the common interest of poor whites and blacks who need training, job opportunities, and the possibility of realizing the American Dream. He hasn’t done enough to address youth unemployment—which in the white community is 23.2% and in the black community is 39.9%. Mr. Obama has also cynically divided the country on class lines. He has taken to playing the populist card time and time again. He bashes Wall Street and insurance companies whenever convenient to advance his programs, yet he has been eager to accept campaign contributions and negotiate with these very same banks and corporations behind closed doors in order to advance his political agenda. Finally, President Obama also exacerbated partisan division, and he has made it clear that he intends to demonize the Republicans and former President George W. Bush in the fall campaign. In April, the Democratic National Committee released a video in which the president directly addressed his divide-and-conquer campaign strategy, with an appeal to: “young people, African-Americans, Latinos, and women who powered our victory in 2008 [to] stand together once again.” President Obama’s divisive approach to governance has weakened us as a people and paralyzed our political culture. Meanwhile, the Republican leadership has failed to put forth an agenda that is more positive, unifying or inclusive. We are stronger when we debate issues and purpose, and we are all weaker when we divide by race and class. We will pay a price for this type of politics. Mr. Caddell served as a pollster for President Jimmy Carter. Mr. Schoen, who served as a pollster for President Bill Clinton, is the author of “The Political Fix” (Henry Holt, 2010).
Did your handle used to be PRTrainer? Posting articles that suit your beliefs. If a Republican wrote an article on how great Obama was doing his job, would you post it? disclosure: I am not an Obama supporter and felt the same way when people were blaming Bush on everything.
Maybe if the right wingers would stop calling Obama a communist, marxist, hitler, kenyan, illegal alien, anti-christ, muslim, affirmative action product, the n word, notmypresident, obummer, et al some of the divisiveness might end.
Marcus, the article proves that it was Obama who’s responsible for all those nasty name calling things. If he weren’t a communist, marxist, hitler, kenyan, anti-christ, muslim, affirmative action product, the n word, notmypresident we would have a nice harmonius society.
marcus phoenix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Maybe if the right wingers would stop calling > Obama a communist, marxist, hitler, kenyan, > illegal alien, anti-christ, muslim, affirmative > action product, the n word, notmypresident, > obummer, et al some of the divisiveness might end. Come on now, Obummer is funny.
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > marcus phoenix Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Maybe if the right wingers would stop calling > > Obama a communist, marxist, hitler, kenyan, > > illegal alien, anti-christ, muslim, affirmative > > action product, the n word, notmypresident, > > obummer, et al some of the divisiveness might > end. > > > Come on now, Obummer is funny. Agreed. I also like Oblahma, Obambi, Obongo, Odumbo and Obammy.
Does that mean that we can’t refer to W. as President “OhBomb’Em”.
“The vast majority of our imports come from outside the country.” - George W. Bush “If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure.” - George W. Bush “One word sums up properly the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is ‘TO BE PREPARED’.” - George W. Bush “The future will be better tomorrow.” - George W. Bush “We’re going to have the best educated American people in the world.” - George W. Bush “We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We are a part of Europe.” - George W. Bush “A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.” - George W. Bush “We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.” - George W. Bush “For NASA, space is still a high priority.” - George W. Bush “It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment. It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.” - George W. BushSee more
marcus phoenix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > Agreed. I also like Oblahma, Obambi, Obongo, > Odumbo and Obammy. Don’t think I’ve seen Oblahma before. I like that one too. As a moderate conservative, I am troubled by the Hitler and anti-christ references, and obviously racial slurs. Those types of references are entirely out of line and invalidate any associated comments that might otherwise have some merit. Although I’m not a supporter of his policies, he is my president and deserves my respect, which he has.
thommo77 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > “The vast majority of our imports come from > outside the country.” > - George W. Bush > > “If we don’t succeed, we run the risk of failure.” > > - George W. Bush > > “One word sums up properly the responsibility of > any Governor, and that one word is ‘TO BE > PREPARED’.” > - George W. Bush > > “The future will be better tomorrow.” > - George W. Bush > > “We’re going to have the best educated American > people in the world.” > - George W. Bush > > “We have a firm commitment to NATO, we are a part > of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe. We > are a part of Europe.” > - George W. Bush > > “A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer > people going to the polls.” > - George W. Bush > > “We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or > may not occur.” > - George W. Bush > > “For NASA, space is still a high priority.” > - George W. Bush > > “It isn’t pollution that’s harming the > environment. It’s the impurities in our air and > water that are doing it.” > - George W. BushSee more You got a link for that? I don’t doubt it, but I like to find things like that.
Top 10 Bushisms http://politicalhumor.about.com/cs/georgewbush/a/top10bushisms.htm 10) “Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.” —LaCrosse, Wis., Oct. 18, 2000 (Listen to audio clip) 9) “I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.” —Greater Nashua, N.H., Jan. 27, 2000(Listen to audio clip) 8) “I hear there’s rumors on the Internets that we’re going to have a draft.” —second presidential debate, St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 8, 2004 (Listen to audio clip) 7) “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” —Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 29, 2000 (Listen to audio clip) 6) “You work three jobs? … Uniquely American, isn’t it? I mean, that is fantastic that you’re doing that.” —to a divorced mother of three, Omaha, Nebraska, Feb. 4, 2005 (Listen to audio clip) 5) “Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren’t able to practice their love with women all across this country.” —Poplar Bluff, Mo., Sept. 6, 2004 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip) 4) “They misunderestimated me.” —Bentonville, Ark., Nov. 6, 2000 3) “Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” —Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000 2) “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” —Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2004 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip) 1) “There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” —Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002 (Watch video clip; listen to audio clip)
higgmond Wrote: > > Don’t think I’ve seen Oblahma before. I like that > one too. As a moderate conservative, I am > troubled by the Hitler and anti-christ references, > and obviously racial slurs. Those types of > references are entirely out of line and invalidate > any associated comments that might otherwise have > some merit. Although I’m not a supporter of his > policies, he is my president and deserves my > respect, which he has. W was called the anti-Christ and Hitler all the time. He was a fascist too, correct? It goes both ways. Neither were/are good presidents. m
mep_cfa’10 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > higgmond Wrote: > > > > > Don’t think I’ve seen Oblahma before. I like > that > > one too. As a moderate conservative, I am > > troubled by the Hitler and anti-christ > references, > > and obviously racial slurs. Those types of > > references are entirely out of line and > invalidate > > any associated comments that might otherwise > have > > some merit. Although I’m not a supporter of > his > > policies, he is my president and deserves my > > respect, which he has. > > W was called the anti-Christ and Hitler all the > time. He was a fascist too, correct? It goes both > ways. Neither were/are good presidents. > > m Didn’t agree with it then either. No matter how much someone disagrees with or even personally dislikes a president, he (maybe someday, she) should be treated with respect. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with good natured jokes. A lot of the Bushisms are hilarious.
marcus phoenix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Maybe if the right wingers would stop calling > Obama a communist, marxist, hitler, kenyan, > illegal alien, anti-christ, muslim, affirmative > action product, the n word, notmypresident, > obummer, et al some of the divisiveness might end. you forgot ‘O-blo-me’ and ‘O-sama’ W was the fascist-hitler, not sure how you confused that
I was under the impression that both parties seek to polarize the electorate with dual forms of semi-unreality. Fanatical liberals and fanatical conservatives are much less flaky than moderates/independents.
nocareer Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- its semi-‘reality’ - close to reality w/ some spin to turn the populus in your direction
haha these are great. I miss good 'ol W.