by Ironduke
2/11/08Barack Obama’s presidential effort more closely resembles a religious movement than a presidential campaign. An underwhelming lightweight when it comes to issues of substance, issues, and policy, Obama has managed to garner mass popular support through his mastery of rhetoric and oratory. With gatherings that are closer to cult religious services than political rallies, Barack Obama speaks in messianic language, as if he is the Second Coming of Christ rather than a candidate for president of the United States.
At least Hillary Clinton doles out regular doses of specific policy proposals, she can be given credit for that much. On the other hand, Barack Obama doles out vague, indefinite yet somehow inspiring and mesmerizing messages of “change” and “hope”. “We are hungry for change, and we are ready to believe again,” says Obama. Cast a look at his followers, and you’d think the man could feed thousands with two loaves and five fishes, turn water into wine. To see the way some of the people behind him grasp and cling to every word he says, one might expect him to turn around, place his hand upon her head like a healing Evangelical pastor, and cast the cancer right out her body.
He occasionally, fleetingly speaks of the issues faced by ordinary Americans, such as the mortgage that can’t be paid, crumbling schools, and so on. But the only real proposal that he’s made is that tax breaks will be taken away from companies like Maytag that “ship jobs overseas.” So how do we fix the problems of foreclosures and crumbling schools, Barack? Any ideas? I’ve yet to hear one.
Obama sounds an awful lot like Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King used a similar style of oratory to inspire the masses to march toward a worthy goal – civil rights for blacks. At least he had an end goal that was concretely defined. Obama steals a page from Dr. King’s playbook, yet there are no defined end goals to accompany his message.
With lines such as “our time has come” and “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” perhaps Barack Obama is actually the Messiah returned in the flesh to establish the Kingdom of God. If he isn’t, he needs to drop the vagaries and start talking some substance. Perhaps all we need is for Walter Mondale to pop his head around the corner and ask, “Where’s the beef?”
The Buck Stops Here
Tags: campaign tactics, cult, Election 2008, facts, Martin Luther King, Ohio, Pennsylvania, preacher, religious, rhetoric, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, where's the beef
March 1, 2008 at 9:41 pm |
I do think that Obama’s presidential efforts seems more like a movement than it does a campaign for presidency. Alot of people may be followers of Obama and he may even mean well, but we need more than rhetoric and motivational dynamics from the man. As a nation, we tend to sometimes be swayed more by appearances than substance. But when it comes right down to producing results, I think he will have to deliver on his promises and vision. We really have only his words at this point, because we do not have a record of achievements and shortcomings the way we do of both Clinton and McCain that we can base some patterns of behavior and expectations on.
March 15, 2008 at 7:17 pm |
How can anyone believe that Obama didn’t know his preachers views? When a preacher is as passionate as his is it is inconceivable that he didn’t know. Couple that with his wife’s comment of a couple of weeks ago saying ‘this is the first time I’ve been proud of my country.’ It isn’t good enough. I need and want a president who wants to represent all americans, not just the african americans. I am deeply saddened and troubled by all of this.
March 16, 2008 at 3:35 pm |
Who is Senator Obama trying to fool? Now he wants to do damage control by denouncing his pastor, but he still attends church there. I am SHOCKED that it took over a month for Senator Obama to finally say something about his pastor. This is the same pastor that Senator Obama supports through his regular tithing! The Senator’s family donates thousand of dollars to this church annually. That means he support his pastor’s RACIAL overtones and revolutionary statements of overthrowing America. Who does Senator Obama trying to fool and what is he trying to hide? Why is he openly, freely, and devotedly donated all that money to a cause if he doesn’t believe in it? Why is Senator Obama lying to America? This is as bad as Senator Obama still accepting all that money from his crooked land developer that he supposedly hasn’t seen nor talked to in years? HE’S JUST TRYING TO DO THIS BECAUSE HE NEEDS THE CHRISTIAN VOTE! HOW CAN HE CALL HIMSELF A CHRISTIAN WHEN HE SUPPORTS A CHURCH THAT OPENLY PREACHES THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA AND CHRISTIANITY! GO TO HIS CHURCH WEBSITE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!
June 5, 2008 at 3:39 am |
Stop the bus.