Would the REAL Barack Obama please stand up? (from the tv show"What's My Line")
By ladyluna
@ladyluna (7004)
United States
January 14, 2009 9:36am CST
Whether you’re a Democrat, Independent, or a Republican you’ve got to admit that this is bizarre …
How can Barack Obama be:
Kennedy-esque, then Reagan-esque, then Lincoln-esque – all the while following an FDR blueprint? Geesh, next he’ll be putting on a Teddy Roosevelt mask. Is this symptomatic of a more serious ‘identity issue’? Or, are we being led down the ‘rabbit hole’ about who this man really is, and what he really intends to do with the power of the presidency? Or, could it be that he lacked the substance or 'gravitas' to run and win on his own, without the power of marketing making him appeal to ‘everyman’ as if he is the reincarnation of every one of America’s greatest past presidents? Why do you think that the unending comparisons abound?
It would seem that our soon to be next president is ‘like’ everyone but Barack Obama. Hmmm, should we be laughing at the absurdity of one man being compared to a series of polar opposites, or should we be terribly concerned???
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Below is just the tip of the iceburg of news stories and opinion pieces noting the plethora of comparisons between Obama and other past presidents. Correction: silly me, I forgot that in today's world of journalism hard news and opinon are synonymous. Please accept my apology for any confusion that my 'gaff' may have caused. (Snicker, snicker)
“Caroline Kennedy says Obama like her father JFK”
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/01/caroline_kennedy_says_obama_li.html
“Sorenson Says Obama Like Kennedy -- Political Wire”
politicalwire.com/archives/2008/06/23/sorenson_says_oba...
“Obama Compares Himself To Reagan, JFK...But Not Bill Clinton”
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/16/obama-compares-himsel...
“Obama's Reagan Comparison Sparks Debate | The Trail |”
blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/17/obamas_rea...
“Race to the Finish : Obama and the Echoes of Lincoln”
blog.newsweek.com/blogs/racetothefinish/archive/2008/10...
“Obama's Lincoln - Blogrunner”
www.blogrunner.com/snapshot/D/1/9/obamas_lincoln/
“Inaugural lunch to recall Lincoln's favorite foods - The Oval:”
content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/6...
“Daily Kos: How Obama is Like FDR...or...Why Appalachia Should Give”
www.dailykos.com/story/2008/5/13/184013/749/634/514995
“OpEdNews » Will Barack Obama Be More Like FDR or Bill Clinton?”
www.opednews.com/articles/Will-Barack-Obama-Be-More-by-... www.opednews.com/articles/Will-Barack-Obama-Be-More-by-John-F-Miglio-081101-733.html
1 person likes this
5 responses
@snowcat46 (2322)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Everyone has something in themselves of a lot of other people. Each person sees traits in Obama that they want to see, good or bad. It's easier for them to say, "he's like..." than it is to say, "he handles that in a remarkably suave way". People like to compare things. (Maybe it's from all those sesame street shows: One of these things is not like the others...)
If he's trying to find guidance from some of our greatest presidents, more power to him. It's silly to think one man can fix everything. But if he gathers together all the greatest minds and puts them to work on it also, that's using pretty good delegation skills.
We all have strengths and weaknesses. A smart person picks and chooses between other's strengths for additions to his own.
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Hello Snowcat,
Cudos for taking the time to earnestly answer my question. I absolutely respect your willingness to put your thinking cap on, yet I have seen nothing to demonstrate the accuracy of your explanation.
I hope that you are right; that Obama is wise enough to pick and choose the characteristics he wishes to emulate from among some of our greatest presidents. I just have serious doubts!
@snowcat46 (2322)
• United States
14 Jan 09
I hope so too. We really need someone with vision to bring this country out of the pit.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
14 Jan 09
I do not think we will ever see the "real" Obama. The real man is so obscured by the role he has chosen to play or should I say the image he has chosen to project to satisfy all his adoring fans that I think even he does not know who he is. I am afraid of the repercussions when the day arrives and the real man is bared for everyone to see.
1 person likes this
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Hello Whiteheather,
Happy New Year! Were your holidays as bright and joyful as you had hoped for?
Well, if history is any guide, the great deception will continue long enough to try to see the man re-elected. Geesh, Team Obama, the DNC, and Obama himself are already 'planning' his second term. Honest -- check out his website.
If he dared to let his true persona sneak through before then, he would surely turn off some voter block. So, I'd say that you are absolutely correct in suggesting that we may never see the "real" Obama. Very astute observation!
@redyellowblackdog (10629)
• United States
14 Jan 09
Some nameless media person high up in that hiearchy or perhaps some 0bama PR person, has been taking lessons from the life of this guy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Goebbels
That would explain a lot.
1 person likes this
@Destiny007 (5805)
• United States
14 Jan 09
The 0bamunist is trying to be everyman to everyone.
This is destined to fail, as he cannot possibly make everyone happy, nor can he keep all of the conflicting promises that he has made.
We have been led down the rabbit hole by a press who has done everything in their power to see that this ineligible, unqualified, and naive usurper got elected... the same press which now says it is their responsibility to see that this moron's presidency is successful in the same way that they ensured that Bush's presidency was a failure.
They need not have bothered with Bush, because as soon as he turned his back on democracy, the Constitution and the free market for this socialist bailout of the financial sector and now industry, he ensured his legacy as the man who turned America into a socialist country.... thus undoing all of the positive things that he did accomplish.
As to the 0bamunist... he will do whatever benefits him the most, because that is what he is about.
Like the liberals on both sides of the aisle, he is more concerned with personal power and wealth than he is with the welfare of this country.... and the Soros press is going to make sure that only positive things are reported about him.
As to any opposition... well the reimposition of the Fairness Doctrine by whatever means... whether it be regulatory or by Congressional action will ensure that nothing negative will be discussed.
Liberals cannot survive free and open discussion of the issues, so they will make sure that there can be none.
1 person likes this
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
16 Jan 09
Hello Destiny,
Sorry, the forest fires flared up and I was called away from MyLot world to deal with the real world. Unpredictability can be so dad gum inconvenient, eh?
Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts here. Don't we Humans typically learn that 'everyman' is an unachievable intention in grade school, when we encounter the incompatibility of clique's? I simply cannot imagine carrying that absurd goal into adulthood.
As for the Fairness Doctrine, the Soros Press, the media sabotage/pedestalizing of non-preferred and preferred polititicians, as well as the inability to 'debate' the application of liberal policies ... excellent points, all!
If the 'no chalk messages on sidewalks' news out of D.C. portends "The Change" that we've all been promised, then we're in for a really rough ride!
".... The Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department has forbidden a pro-life gathering and chalk display during Inauguration Week – and now the group is fighting back with a lawsuit against the department.... He cited other cases where police permitted sidewalk chalking – including a youth chalk art contest the city hosted for three years, and a D.C. event in 2005 where children were invited to "chalk for peace." He included pictures of the incidents...."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86217
Might the following cautionary note summarize what every American ought to be shaking in their shoes over?
The situational application of the law and regulations is none other than a pretentious, benevolent description of tyranny!
@Fortunata (1135)
• United States
15 Jan 09
I comparison to Lincoln I find to be really bizarre. He might want to reconsider his Lincoln theme at the inaugertion, too-The NAACP's none too happy with the plantation dressed girls on the parade route. I spit my coffee out on my monitor when I saw the picture on Drudge. Lincoln freed the slaves, but when he was alive there was slavery, too. There's also supposed to be food eaten by people during that time. Let's hope there won't be fried collard greens and watermelon!!!
1 person likes this
@ladyluna (7004)
• United States
16 Jan 09
Hello Fortunata,
Please accept my sincere apology for the delay in responding to you.
Hmmm, yes the Lincoln comparison is particularly offensive to me. Though, I imagine that the intent behind creating perceived similarities is to soften the blow when America begins to recognize how much power Obama intends to consolidate in government. While Liberals would most likely argue that prediction 'till blue in the face; from a historical perspective, the glaringly obvious parallel between what Lincoln did as president, and what Obama has promised to do as president is an emphasis on the consolidation and expansion of governmental power. Let me correct myself, the more appriate way to phrase that is as an emphasis on the expansion of governmental powers concurrent with the disempowerment of the American taxpayer!
