The latest Washington Post survey is up. Obama is ahead of McCain, 48 to 42, but what I find more interesting is that only 11% of registered voters are concerned by Obama's race, while 44% are concerned by McCain's age. Granted, 11% is probably somewhat understated (admitting racism on the phone is awkward), nonetheless I don't think that makes up all the difference.
In general Obama and McCain's positives and negatives on traditional issues like defense and economics mirror the normal Democratic/Republican divide - McCain is more trusted to deal with foreign affairs and terrorism, while Obama is trusted to deal with domestic issues and the economy. The whole "voted for the Iraq war" while Obama had the judgement to be against it, doesn't seem to be carrying and changing the status quo storyline.
[Note: Thanks to Jesse and the gang at Group News Blog for lending us their power source here at the Big Tent. Thus, today at least, we're powered by GNB.]
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Morning Ian.
pasty old white men!
Be sure to read David’s open letter to the Associated Press….
And add your comment about how you’ve carried this forward to your local paper…I said I would. And did.
Not such good news for the wrinkly white-haired dude
Happy Denver, Democrats! Interesting. While we can be slightly optimistic about the small percentage admitting racism, the concern over age is not equivalent — it is not agism (which is also problematic). The concern over age is concern over stamina, memory, judgment, etc. The concern over pigment is a fantasy of otherness.
Will somebody please tell Bill Clinton to stop sulking and grow up…or this campaign will discredit him as it already has recent veep Democrats L’il Lie-Bee and Ratboy.
GOP (Grumpy, old, pasty), works for me.
Vote for this post on Reddit
We are still dealing with the consequences of that fantasy even after 400 years.
Obama didn’t vote against the war, either. But his VP choice did vote for it. The pressure on Congress from the WH to vote for the war cannot be overstated. I’m sure there are many people who said they were against the war but, if pressured by the WH, would have voted for it. I’m not saying Obama is one of them, but it is impossible to say what side he would have come down on had he been in the Senate at the time. We still do not know what kind of pressure (bribes, blackmail, etc) were used by Bush/Cheney.
What is the sound of many stocks falling?
cheering pilgrims.
The debates loom large
I’m more worried about McCain’s race. Seeing what old white men have done to screw up the country, I’m interested to see what a nonwhite president could accomplish.
When many stocks fall in the forest, should they be replanted?
The rethugs will blame it on the dems
Really:
Ethically
Twisted,
Heartless
Undersexed
Guys
Looking
Insipid;
Creeps
And
Nincompoops
Halperin says it’s good for McCain
‘zup !
‘But his VP choice did vote for it.’
Joe Biden was also one of the first to say it was a ‘mistake and tried to get that vote/subject/authorization revisited
What is the sound of many stocks falling?
In the past it would have been the steady pitter pat of CEOs hitting the sidewalk, but now they all have golden parachutes.
Hooray !
The stupidist, most racist people I know are all smart enough to SAY they’re not racist. This number is, unfortunately, much, much higher than 11%. I think it’s also safe to say that many people who are not voting for Obama because of race are not even admitting it to themselves. I talked to several Pennsylvanians who insist he’s too young, but when I questioned them further it turns out they happily voted for John Kennedy. Two of the young (white) men in my office have been anti-Obama on the grounds “he doesn’t have any foreign policy experience.” When I pointed out to them today that Obama has taken care of their objection, they both had the same reaction. One sniffed and the other shuffled embarrassedly, then they both added, “I’m still not comfortable with him.” “Not comfortable,” “too abstract,” “elitist,” “talks over my head,” “I don’t like his wife,” are in most cases mindless excuses. The people speaking those phrases are just grasping at a convenient tag to label their discomfort which comes from a place they don’t want to go. I desperately want Obama to win but if it’s going to happen he needs a large polling margin on election day to counter the Bradley effect.
Voters should be more worried about the media supporting candidates that are to the right of a present fascist government. Republicans are to the ‘Right’ of fascism…how worrisome is that?
I heard an interview with Howard Dean this morning and when asked if he would consider playing a role in an Obama administration if offered, he said he wouldn’t answer that question now, preferring to cross that bridge when he comes to it. Not exactly ruling it out. Has anyone heard any speculation regarding what position he might be well suited for?
lawsy, i’m countin’ on it!
next: Dems git mad and tough enuf to vote in droves.
And bad for Obama whatever “it” is.
someone was already blathering on about that on the teevee this am - but then again it was same someone saying McKept had the disadvantage of not being able to “emote like Bush”
I kid you not
Health, Education, and Welfare?
Or of course- Surgeon General
I would ask them if this was a concern they ever had about Geoge Bush. I would then point out to them that their racism was showing.
Halperin needs a big dose of codliver oil. Would pep him right up.
I want him chairing the FEC
Oops
Forgon
We don’t have health, education, or welfare anymore.
i agree.
racism is somewhat less socially acceptable than ageism. people have been taught not to admit to racism - doesn’t mean it’s not there.
So, gang, I’m new at this twitter thing. Anyone have any tips?
[O]nly 11% of registered voters are concerned by Obama’s race…[?] They’re the admitted bigots. As previous exit polls have shown, few will proudly state “I’m a bigot” let alone know it. I expect fewer people are ageists, so McBush’s age is more likely a true problem for him, while the true number of voting bigots isn’t as well known for Obama.
Can anyone explain what exactly is McCain’s foreign policy experience?
Mrs Greenspan just got thru interviewing Carly Fiorini (Ms Outsource) Ms outsource here in Denver to woo disaffected dems like she did yesterday in Penn w/ HRC’s brother
sadly, a lot of americans truly believe they are not racist simply because they don’t use the n word or don hoods
Yeah, bad wording. He was against it, but obviously not in the Senate. Corrected wording.
How about Hersheys a go go (aka exlax)
Okay, you’ve challenged them. They know where you stand.
Find some way to lure them onto the court with their own ball.
WHY on earth would they even think of voting for that old f[ ] with all the lost houses, who can’t figure out why there’s no Czechoslovakia on any map except his own, and forgot to leave a cookie crumb trail from Afghanistan to Iran.
if only it was so simple - i have relatives who think we need to be torturing people so long as they are not “anglo” because we must protect “ourselves” and yet they claim there is no racism in that position.
obviously, all my arguments have been a complete failure. at least so far.
WAR
was asking this morning - is there a FDL Twitter “page” ? or does everyone have their own page ?
and even then i bet i could find you some folks who would claim that was not racist because no on was getting lynched. it’s amazing how low the bar can go. :(
He was a POW, and he wants to bomb things.
John McCain (R - Hanoi)
’sall you need to know my good friend *g*
Percentage of Obama’s ancestry from Africa — maybe 50%.
Percentage of McCain over age 70 — pretty much 100%.
OMG, that’s like twice as much.
Health and Human Services HHS
‘i have relatives who think we need to be torturing people so long as they are not “anglo” because we must protect “ourselves”’
Protect ourselves from WHOM?
Bush/Cheney/McCain are a bigger threat to US and the World, then ANY outside force…
Thanks
Yeah- he could head THAT! (sounds grim though doesn’t it?)
That’s the expected answer from McCain. He should be vigorously challenged about his having any foreign policy experience.
we have our tweets on the front page for the convention. check out the old news box!
I think Dennis Kucinich should be be head of Homeland Security…. ;)
BTW Condi is an expert on RUSSIA
Well in fairness, he has warmed chairs in many senate committees for centuries.
I’ve known quite a few people who regularly indulged in racist comments and actions that they truly appeared not to regard as racist, or at least assumed were subtle enough that they were “harmless”.
Drove me NUTS while I was growing up in a northeastern state in the 40’s & 50’s. They seemed oblivious to the stony silence that resulted, depending on their audience. When combined with jocularity and mockery, that was the worst.
I have no doubt there are still plenty of folk still pretty blind to their own bias, to the point of unrecognized or even wanton cruelty. We still have work to do, as a multi-cultural society and world, and we always will.
imo
Some chairs in the bowels of the senate are permanently formed into the shape of John McCain’s ass!
Dennis Kucinich for speaker of the house
Labor?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUeeIoNxkEk
That was supposed to be reply to rwcole @ 56
Charlie Rangel?
omg there are too many terrific Dems.
what to do! *g*
Howard Dean is an excellent choice for HHS (Health and Human Services), or (a bit of a stretch) Surgeon General. I say Surgeon General is a bit of stretch because Dean has no substantial public health experience that I’m aware of. If he does, then either one’s great.
That’s good- although in fairness- that guy was about to put ME to sleep as well.
Actually, I think ageism is (even) more common in our society than racism, however there is a certain justice in the fact that unless they die prematurely, everybody with a prejudice against the elderly will eventually become old themselves.
Senior voters are just as likely (or more so) to think McCain is too old for the job. In their case that opinion is not based on prejudice as much as personal experience. They cannot imagine seeking such a demanding job at their age and observation of their peers informs them that people in their age group are more likely to experience a sudden decline in their mental and/or physical abilities.
Dean would be MY choice for president-
I cringe whenever someone begins a statement with, “I’m not a racist but,” knowing that the next thing they say will remove all doubt to the contrary.
probably my first choice, come to think of it….
I love the some of my friends are __________ .
He was always my favorite- he had actually RUN a state unlike the other candidates, he was fiscally conservative on budget matters, and incredibly logical in his analysis and problem solving as a good doctor should be..
No wonder he didn’t stand a chance.
It’s usually, “Some of my BEST friends are (fill in the blank),” which really eases the sting as they set that torch ablaze on your front lawn.
I think you misheard. They were saying, “I’m not a racist butt”. To which the correct reply is “Oh yes, you are.”
Martian cannibals
Single celled organisms
Republicans
OK, I was being a bit redundant there.
The fact that the song is a parody of one (written in the ’50s) made famous by Sam Cooke in 1960 is a nice touch, since it comes from the same era as most of McCain’s pop-culture references.
Whoops, stuck that in the wrong thread… Moving upstairs now and taking it with me.
McCain’s age handicap becomes more apparent everytime his handlers let him out on his own. He no longer has a good grasp of the problems facing the country. It’s pretty apparent that his aides have been doing the heavy lifting for a long time. There are lots of people his age who are really sharp. I have an older sister who is precisely the same age who is still teaching 5 classes a day in an all-boys’ prep school. John needs to be bouncing grandkids on his knee, not going for the most difficult job in the country. He is, most certainly, a sad pasty-faced old dude.
Wait a second - McCAIN IS NOT OLD!!! Where’s your patriotism? He was a POW, a POW, mind you, back in the Mexican — no, the Franco-Prussian - no, the Punic — no, the Pellopenisian — well, in a war, some war. He was DEFINITELY a POW.
Check with his staff…
Is Carly Fiorina a Dem? I thought she was Republican.
McCain is a grumpy old man who can’t remember anymore. But that may be due to the fact that he was a POW for five and a half years during which the KGB had constant access to him. Nobody knows what really happened.