Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Bittergate and Obama's navy

David Geffen's Yacht

David Seaton's News Links
Maureen Dowd, who normally seems to favor Barack Obama -- whom she calls the "Wonder Boy" -- over hapless Hillary, published a scathing article about the freshman senator from Illinois and Bittergate in the New York Times.
Obama comes across less like a candidate in Pennsylvania than an anthropologist in Borneo. His mother got her Ph.D. in anthropology, studying the culture of Indonesia. And as Obama has courted white, blue-collar voters in “Deer Hunter” and “Rocky” country, he has often appeared to be observing the odd habits of the colorful locals, resisting as the natives try to fatten him up like a foie gras goose, sampling Pennsylvania beer in a sports bar with his tie tight, awkwardly accepting bowling shoes as a gift from Bob Casey, examining the cheese and salami at the Italian Market here as intriguing ethnic artifacts, purchasing Utz Cheese Balls at a ShopRite in East Norriton and quizzing the women working in a chocolate factory about whether they could possibly really like the sugary doodads.(...) What turns off voters is the detached egghead quality that they tend to equate with a wimpiness, wordiness and a lack of action — the same quality that got the professorial and superior Adlai Stevenson mocked by critics as Adelaide. The new attack line for Obama rivals is that he’s gone from J.F.K. to Dukakis. (Just as Dukakis chatted about Belgian endive, Obama chatted about Whole Foods arugula in Iowa).
It looks like Obama really hit a lace-curtain nerve of Maureen's, doesn't it?

One of the most interesting things I have read about how Bittergate came to light is from Bill Bradley via RCP. Catch this:
When Arianna Huffington, thousands of miles away in the South Pacific where she was staying on billionaire Obama backer David Geffen's 454-foot yacht, learned of the brewing issue. She signed off on the story, which was then underway.
On reading this a few awkward questions spring to mind.

Why exactly does someone who espouses progressive politics go to Tahiti to lounge on a 454 foot yacht and why is the owner of such a monster yacht backing Obama?

What are these people "clinging" to?

Is it that unfair to doubt that these people have much real empathy or any reason to feel any empathy at all for the "lunch pail" set?

Is it poisonous to think that they might be just a little elitist? I mean I know, there is always going to be someone with a bigger yacht, but 454 feet is not your normal "bass buster", is it?

Could it be that we have stumbled onto a rich vein of phoniness in the obamistas, if not in Obama himself?

What kind of bad joke is the Democratic Party anyway? DS

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This so-called Bittergate is a non issue, despite all the hype. Not even one poll has shown Obama losing any votes. His national lead over Clinton is still increasing. Her lead in Pa is still shrinking. No one cares about Bittergate except people who were already supporting Clinton or McCain, and I guess, the news media, who hype everything.

David Seaton's Newslinks said...

Maureen Dowd is not a Republican and isn't favoring Hillary that I notice. The remark in the context it was made is Obama's "Earl Butz moment".

Anonymous said...

If I had more faith in people, I would take the astounding triviality of US politics as a sign that the country is in terrific shape. After all, if people can afford to focus so heavily on things that matter so little, you have to assume either that there are no problems, or that some sort of consensus has been reached on how to deal with the problems that do exist.

Anonymous said...

Hillary and Bill don't have very very rich friends? Are you serious? Has your sometimes thoughtful commentary on events been a pose? What is the source of your animosity to Obama, and now the Democratic party? Are you a sleeper? Are you Rendon group, perhaps?

David Seaton's Newslinks said...

Hillary and Bill don't have very very rich friends?

Please, don't ever get the idea that I am endorsing Hillary Clinton! What I think is obvious is that the Democrats in no way represent ordinary working people, which they say they do.

I would define myself as European style social democrat and I don't think that the Democrats are anywhere near that. I think that they are a huge fraud.

Anonymous said...

America being what it is, both parties will have rich partisans. I think it is thoroughly commendable that people don't back a shrew correctly described as a monster.