Prometheus 6

Actually, Obama has been greating a disproportionately large share of the Jewish American vote. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency). What is so impressive about that is that he's done so well among Jewish voters in states where the DLC has a strong presence, e.g., Connecticut.

And yes, I would say Clinton blew the dog whistle over Farrakhan. Basically I think the thing no one is picking up is, what Obama has is talent, not charisma. He has the latter too, but that only goes so far. Also, charisma is universal; a charismatic Pakistani, for example, would have her effect on Usonians or Brazilian. Talent is something else again: it's more focused and involves (in this field) cognitive logic, or semantic intuition. Clinton talks about her experience, but she simply has no semantic intuition so she has no idea that her behavior is becoming repulsive. When he's there and she knows she's in mixed company, she sucks up to him; when she's with her amen corner, she disses him for stupid reasons (e.g., he criticized her health plan on the merits--quelle horreur!). I'm not seeing any outreach at all, just a lot of projection.

When you first started the "anyone but Hillary" theme I thought you'd gone over the top but now I understand. I wonder if she's simply melting down because it's like she's entered a piano competition against Evgeny Kissin, and she had no idea.

James,

I think that your reference to talent as being the distinguishing factor in Obama's rise and eclipse of Clinton is on target. Folks who are genuinely talented and secure don't express the degree of peevishness toward their rivals that Clinton has shown toward Obama. Your reference to Evgeny Kissin reminds me of the story about the great Thomas "Fats" Waller. Waller was playing to a packed club one night when he happened to look up from the piano and saw a familiar figure making his way through the crowd. He abruptly stopped playing because, as he announced to his audience, God was in the house. The person that Waller was referring to was the even more phenomenally talented pianist Art Tatum. People with real talent like Fats Waller are always magnanimous in their praise and appreciation of others.

of the DIFFERENCE between the treatment of Obama with regards to Farrakhan, and McCain with his TRULY hate-filled supporter. Jews need to get over it. Obama's not a Hamas recuit. He supports Israel, but happens to think that Palestinians are people too...just accept it so that we can go forward. As far as Billary are concerned, I'm to the point where I'm NEVER voting for her. She revealed her ass; her true self, and it's a very very UGLY person.

Rik -

The status of Israel and U.S. relations is only a sideshow here. This is really about some folks wanting to maintain hegemony over the American black electorate and their elected and appointed leaders. See when Obama refused to respond to the dog whistles I knew that Israel, the Palestinians, Louis Farrakhan et al. would be trotted out at some point. Billary and her supporters want to call the shots in the black community and Obama's campaign is threatening all that has gone before. 

that I think I've posted here this week on the seriousness of Obama's threat to the Status Quo- money wise, and all those implications? I'm going to tell you that I don't believe for one frigging second that any of those whiners have actually been threatened by Black folk. I believe that Black folk have called them up and told them, under no circumstances, are they to help Billary STEAL this from Obama, and if they do, then they better get ready for the consequences. It's Black politicians being held ACCOUNTABLE, which is something that they rarely have to face. Have you listened to some of those whiners, pushing this BS story, that, I believe is completely A LIE, but being done to tarnish Obama.

 http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/022608.html

As I wrote elsewhere, it just came to me like a bolt - WHAT OTHER ETHNIC GROUP...

Would tolerate their ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, being loyal to someone in opposition to someone in their own ethnic group..

POST RACE-BAITING?

You're going to sit here and tell me that if a Jew was running, and the opposition had used Anti-Semitism against the Jew, that the Jewish community would tolerate THEIR representative STILL voting for the one who used Anti-Semitic language against 'their own'?

You really gonna sit here and tell me that?

You mean, after they gave those half-assed non-apologies...what other community would accept that kind of bullshit, and then have elected representatives think that it was OK to STILL support the RACE-BAITER?

You get where I'm going, pt?

When I thought about it in those terms; when it came to me that clearly, the patent absurdness of Hillary's Handkerchief Heads became even more obvious.

Part of the solution to this problem is to find more sisters and brothers like Donna Edwards and turn up the heat on the remaining Albert Wynns. I think that we should also begin to work to minimize the influence of the black clergy in secular affairs regardless of their politics.

I don't believe for one frigging second that any of those whiners have actually been threatened by Black folk. I believe that Black folk have called them up and told them, under no circumstances, are they to help Billary STEAL this from Obama, and if they do, then they better get ready for the consequences. It's Black politicians being held ACCOUNTABLE, which is something that they rarely have to face. Have you listened to some of those whiners, pushing this BS story, that, I believe is completely A LIE, but being done to tarnish Obama.

Rikyrah, I don't believe all that death threat stuff either and, being prominent Black folk in Ameri-KKK-a, they were all acting way too brand new like they had never received death threats. All the heightened emphasis on it is what makes it sound so phony to me but I won't rule it out but they have overplayed that card, throwing it out there just to see what kind of reaction (read: sympathy) they get. They should get none.

Whether the whiners do it to tarnish Obama or not, one thing they've explicitly done is try to tarnish Black people in the process by both insulting our intelligence while defending Sen. Clinton indefensible race-baiting made worse, IMO, by her appearance at the SOBU and by reducing people who support Obama just because of his race.

As far as the Jewish community and politics...

In responding to questions about Mr. Farrakhan, the first lady [Hillary Rodham Clinton] did not condemn him for anti-Semitic statements, as politicians typically do, presumably out of concern that such words might be used against Mr. Lieberman. Instead, she said that she would not meet with him ''because I don't find that would be a very useful thing for me to do.

My only question is: is her memory selective or creative?

that for ONCE in a campaign, we don't see Obama indulging in that traditional Democratic game of bend-over-backwards pandering to the Jewish community to see who can position themselves as being more pro-Israel.  (When Bush did it, you just knew he had something up his sleeve, and he did.)  Despite this, Obama is doing well with them, just as he is with most demographic sectors.  After 8 years of facism and idiocracy, this country is eager to elect an intelligent, progressive young President who might make mistakes, but shows willingness to work through problems in ways others would never consider.  That he's a Black man is just gravy.