Loading ...Bloggers And Media Have Field Day Over Barack Obama’s Reference To Himself As A “Symbol of success”
Top of the fold over at MemeOrandum as of the moment of this writing — in order:
“Obama’s Symbolic Importance” — The Washington Post‘s Jonathan Weisman of The Trail — and then:
“President Obama Continues Hectic Victory Tour” — The Washington Post‘s Dana Milibank of the Washington Sketch
“What did Barry O-Bomber say THIS time?”, I asked myself as I dug deeper into the latest Obama controversy. The Weisman article reavealed the following words, allegedly came directly from the mouth of “Number 44″ himself:
… “It has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign — that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. It’s about America. I have just become a symbol.” …
Of course, the Right is jumping to the conclusion ole’ Barry was trying to say he is “The Symbol Of America”, or better yet, “The Symbol Of Arrogance”. I don’t know how they (the Right) can jump to this conclusion so quickly. After all, perhaps ole’ Barry was referring to the fact that German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, sees Barack Obama as a “Sex Symbol”? To MOI (and again, yes, I am part French for the new readers), for one to just settle on the former possibility without ruling out the latter, well — let’s just say I find it a bit confusing to rule either possibility out. WHICH — means, there is a legitimate question as to what Senator Obama was referring to.
For example, being the critical thinker I am, I kept watching this unravel before my eyes, on both the ‘Nets and the cable news channels, and it appears there was more to the quote according to ABC’s Political Punch [ahem] “blogger“, Jake Tapper — just kiddin’ withya’, Jake — “Kudos” to ya’ for digging up the rest of the “story”:
What Did Obama Tell House Democrats About His Symbolism?
The Washington Post has an interesting quote this morning from the meeting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, held with House Democrats yesterday afternoon.
“I have become a symbol of the possibility of America returning to our best traditions,” Obama said, a witness told the Post. …”
(Snip!)
“… “His entire point of that riff was that the campaign is NOT about him,” says a House Democratic staffer. The Post “left out the important first half of the sentence which was something along the lines of ‘it has become increasingly clear in my travel, the campaign, that the crowds, the enthusiasm, 200,000 people in Berlin, is not about me at all. Its about America. I have just become a symbol.’”
Other staffers with whom I spoke back that up, and a Democratic Congressman who isn’t a particular fan of Obama agrees… “
So, there ya’ go — much to John McCain and his followers’ dismay, ole’ Barry wasn’t trying to say he was a “Sex Symbol” or “The Symbol Of America” at all — he was simply making the point that the enthusiam demonstrated at his recent appearances throughout the Middle East and Europe was all about “change” and the fact he does, INDEED, “symbolize American Change”…
Now, if only we can pinpoint what “change” shall be seen under an Obama presidency, we could all unite with our brothers and sisters across the pond for an Obama landslide.
***
A couple of great blogger reactions (please read the whole post):
Mark Ambinder of The Atlantic:
“… He’s kind of right. Not universally so, and there’s real way to know how Iraqis or Jordanians viewed his visit, but if the European elite even marginally reflects or influences the views of Europeans, then a whole lot of them associate Obama with a restoration of American (a) glory or (b) humility, depending on the country. To put it another way, Europeans see Obama as being on the right side of history. Not all of them. But a lot of them. …”
Joe Gandelman of The Moderate Voice:
Obama’s Biggest Obstacle To The White House
Will it be his own potentially self-defeating hubris? …”
it’s been said, but is anyone tired of the character assassination in this election? so what if obama IS full of himself? so is clinton, and he did a great job. i hope this campaign doesn’t continue to be just a back-and-forth of potshots. this country needs better.
you know, if you want to see actual DISCUSSION, sans all the silly insults, check this out:
http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/who-has-the-right-plan-for-america-s-economy
it’s an actual intellectual debate between the obama/mccain campaigns. it’s moderated and everything, but not totally vapid like the twitter debate.
we need more of this type of discourse.