Comments on: What Was To Be Done? http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/2008/09/23/what-was-to-be-done/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-was-to-be-done n. the principle of good order<br /><br /> "Observe the strange inversion of all order and sense! Dignity debased; how vilely is the function of a consul prostituted!" ~The Craftsman Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:25:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: conradg http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/2008/09/23/what-was-to-be-done/comment-page-1/#comment-14291 conradg Tue, 23 Sep 2008 22:18:04 +0000 http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/09/23/what-was-to-be-done/#comment-14291 The idea that the GOP would somehow have failed to attack Obama for not being American enough, that they would have laid off on the "Obama is a Muslim" meme, if somehow a few insider pundits and Daily show types hadn't pointed out that he's got real international appeal, or made fun of these silly charges, is worse than fantasy, it's blaming the very people who have worked hardest at defeating this meme. You can't defeat this meme by pretending Obama has no international appeal, and you can't pretend that Obama is your basic white, non-cosmopolitan candidate. The fact is, the sophistication and elite intelligence and multicultural background that would make for a good President in our day and age is a disadvantage in electoral politics, and no one can hide that fact. One can argue that the advantages this might give a President Obama are exagerrated, but no one can say they don't exist. And no one can say that Republicans wouldn't take advantage of the electoral disadvantages they represent regardless of whether Democrats or pundits mention their soft diplomacy advantages. This is just working out a personal antagonism Daniel has towards progressives and pundits, as if it is assumed that we should all be in cahoots together to hide the "truth" about Obama, which is precisely what the right wing is charging anyway. Actually being in cahoots would just make things worse, don't you think? The idea that the GOP would somehow have failed to attack Obama for not being American enough, that they would have laid off on the “Obama is a Muslim” meme, if somehow a few insider pundits and Daily show types hadn’t pointed out that he’s got real international appeal, or made fun of these silly charges, is worse than fantasy, it’s blaming the very people who have worked hardest at defeating this meme. You can’t defeat this meme by pretending Obama has no international appeal, and you can’t pretend that Obama is your basic white, non-cosmopolitan candidate. The fact is, the sophistication and elite intelligence and multicultural background that would make for a good President in our day and age is a disadvantage in electoral politics, and no one can hide that fact. One can argue that the advantages this might give a President Obama are exagerrated, but no one can say they don’t exist. And no one can say that Republicans wouldn’t take advantage of the electoral disadvantages they represent regardless of whether Democrats or pundits mention their soft diplomacy advantages. This is just working out a personal antagonism Daniel has towards progressives and pundits, as if it is assumed that we should all be in cahoots together to hide the “truth” about Obama, which is precisely what the right wing is charging anyway. Actually being in cahoots would just make things worse, don’t you think?

]]> By: rawshark http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/2008/09/23/what-was-to-be-done/comment-page-1/#comment-14278 rawshark Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:02:38 +0000 http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/09/23/what-was-to-be-done/#comment-14278 'As I said many times over the last year, I thought that Andrew Sullivan’s arguments about Obama’s alleged appeal among Muslims were doing the candidate real and perhaps irretrievable harm. ' Because most people are really stupid, can't think on their own and allow someone like Rush to paint the issue a certain way. Right? You think it's a bad strategy move because stupid people will be led to believe he's muslim (who cares?) not because it suggests he's muslim right? Maybe we should fix the stupid people and not cater to them. ‘As I said many times over the last year, I thought that Andrew Sullivan’s arguments about Obama’s alleged appeal among Muslims were doing the candidate real and perhaps irretrievable harm. ‘

Because most people are really stupid, can’t think on their own and allow someone like Rush to paint the issue a certain way. Right? You think it’s a bad strategy move because stupid people will be led to believe he’s muslim (who cares?) not because it suggests he’s muslim right?
Maybe we should fix the stupid people and not cater to them.

]]> By: kenb http://www.theamericanconservative.com/larison/2008/09/23/what-was-to-be-done/comment-page-1/#comment-14274 kenb Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:52:39 +0000 http://www.amconmag.com/larison/2008/09/23/what-was-to-be-done/#comment-14274 <I> Kristof, Sullivan, Cohen and other unhelpful Obama admirers </i> Well, they may personally be Obama admirers, but I assume that professionally they would consider themselves journalists and not Obama advocates. Seems like it would be distasteful for them to filter their columns based on what might help or hurt a particular candidate. Kristof, Sullivan, Cohen and other unhelpful Obama admirers

Well, they may personally be Obama admirers, but I assume that professionally they would consider themselves journalists and not Obama advocates. Seems like it would be distasteful for them to filter their columns based on what might help or hurt a particular candidate.

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