I am not an Obama fan politically, and really the more I see as a person. I don't see the problem with saying you don't like him though. I mean its clear that Obama is a pompous jackass that is out of touch with anyone who doesn't subscribe to his exact belief system, but who says that matters in a President? He can think I'm a backwards redneck without any human thought for the rest of his life, as long as politically he supports what I support. End the war, Help the economy, protect all rights from gay rights to the right to bare arms... Now, don't hear me wrong, i don't think he supports my political views at all, but if he honestly supports your political views, why the hell do you care if he's a guy you'd want to have a beer with? Of course he's not likeable, the guy ran for President, and made it clear that he thinks he is better than anybody that doesn't live on the East Coast, the guy is probably a bigger biggot than Rush as far as respect for people that are different than him, but the truth is, I don't care if he is racist/sexist/or narrow minded about the cultures of others if he does his job well, it doesn't really matter. Would we care that Nixon hated Jewish people, if he had done a good job in office? Probably not. I don't like his political views, but frankly not liking him personally should have very little to do with your political support for him.

He was elected on the basis of identity politics for thing, i.e. those who voted for him could feel smarter and better about themselves in general for doing so. The fact that he is kind of a pompous ass makes them feel slightly less high minded for the choice. Also there are those, Kaus probably being one, who sort of identified with Obama personally, in that he is sort of their type of guy as opposed to the good ol boys who identified with George Bush. The fact that Obama has now clarified what is in the hearts of this type is not a particularly pleasant look in the mirror for some.

Nobody felt the identity politics you mention except for a few pundits and when did the national media do anything right. If there was anything likable about Barrack Obama, it was that he was not little george bush who along with his vice president was one of the most disliked presidential combination of all times.

The concept of Obama as a worshiped candidate was something that FAIX News and to a lesser impact (because they had little impact on the election) the McCain/Palin campaign cooked up.

I guess that thing about if you say it long enough and often enough, people listening will believe it is still true. I thought the internet was suppossed to stop that. It seems to be making it worse.

"those who voted for him feel smarter and better about themselves in general for doing so"

No, it was the personal and intellectual failings of McCain voters that made us feel superior to them.

Feeling smarter is simply inevitable when your opposition is a group of Palin-huggers.

-- MrJM

Strong words with a man who has the word "Jayem" in his name, or if you prefer "em" Also, I really don't know what makes you believe in the intellectual capability of Obama voters, after all, these are the same people that claimed their canidate should have won, because the Gore voters couldn't figure out how to vote for Al Gore. Also, your paradigm is based on obsolete collegiate views, which come from an educational system that fail to educate. The College system is too busy indoctrinating their students to bother teaching skills or facts.

I see a contradiction here.

You are obviously an idiot; your first four lines clearly show that to be the fact. But then you use the word paradigm--and, surprisingly, you spell it correctly. Then you revert to idiocy.

What's up with that? Have you been taking those Bill O'Reilly Male Vocabulary Enhancement supplements?

Obama supporter = pompous ass.

He was elected on the basis of identity politics for thing, i.e. those who voted for him could feel smarter and better about themselves in general for doing so. The fact that he is kind of a pompous ass makes them feel slightly less high minded for the choice. Also there are those, Kaus probably being one, who sort of identified with Obama personally, in that he is sort of their type of guy as opposed to the good ol boys who identified with George Bush. The fact that Obama has now clarified what is in the hearts of this type is not a particularly pleasant look in the mirror for some.

------------------------------­-----------------

It worked! I voted for President Obama and felt better about myself right away! And, you know what? I still do! It is great to have a president who is not a dolt, a disgrace to the nation.

And you have the nerve to overlook this: <link> while calling President Obama pompous! Get your head out.

Trebuchet: Are you really saying, after 95 percent of all black voters voted for Obama, that NO identity politics was involved?

I'm not saying identity politics was entirely the deciding factor (I've always seen it as primarily an anti-war and hence anti-Bush vote), but clearly there was SOME identity politics involved.

trap, there was definitely some identity politics involved, no question. I do remember, though, hearing him on the radio years ago (I'm an Illinoisian) for the first time, not knowing who he was, and thinking "Wow. This guy gets it" and also "He is committing political suicide" because he happened to be denouncing the reliance on race as a catch-all excuse. Being on the radio, I couldn't discern his color from his voice, but liked his very frank, timely, articulately expressed message.

What I think you have with Obama is a lot of projection onto a relatively unknown quantity (much like Palin receieved from the right). He shows thoughtfulness but not much bully-pulpit style leadership. As far as "liking" the guy, I haven't met him. Maybe he is an ass. I know most of us would be called an ass if the camera were trained on us 24/7. I also know I hate when smart people pretend to be "jes' folks," but lots of people seem to eat that shit up. So I have no problem with his professorial ("pompous") demeanor.

Hellzapoppin; As sort of a "small L libertarian" I find myself voting Republican on most national policy issues, so I don't agree with a lot of Obama's agenda items. My take on him as president isn't quite as low as those who regard him as an utterly empty suit, but I think he does lack experience, and that he sometimes substitutes liberal ideology for data.

Likeability? He seems likeable to me, but like a lot of college professors and lawyers he comes of as regarding education and intelligence as the same thing -- I don't see a lot of respect in him for the working class people who he's supposed to support.

Can you site a single reason why more than five percent of the black population would have for voting for McCain? Perhaps it would be a better question to wonder why people voted for McCain/Palin at all.....perhaps that is the identity politics you are really talking about....

I think McCain would have done a much better job on the Afghanistan war, which would benefit African Americans as well as all Americans. I also think McCain had better solutions for healthcare reform, which would have benefited all Americans, blacks included. But when I wrote about identity politics I did not mean racial identity. I meant his identity as an Ivy league elitist who holds all the generally accepted board stamp certified views on all the issues one has studied in all the accepted topics. Oddly enough when I was speaking about people looking in the mirror and seeing themselves, I was not talking about blacks necessarily.

Spado, you may be right about McCain's handling of the wars; personally, I think there's less significant difference between either parties' candidates on defense matters as compared to real differences in domestic policies. I think Obama's calm and measured approach to foreign policy is much-needed after Bush's posturing. The way Obama handled the Iranian elections, for example, was far more expert than McCain, who would have felt obligated to posture like a tough guy, only to have to publically rescind his belligerent stance (much like Bush did with China).

My take on McCain is that this is a man past his political expiration date. I think he would have made a very decent president in 2000. But he spent the time since then kowtowing to the wrong people.

If your house was on fire, would you want a firefighter who jumped in and put it out, or one who was calm and deliberative while the flames licked at your rafters and floor joists?

"Calm and deliberative" seems to me to be a euphemism for "indecisive" when it comes to Obama's handling of some things. Take the "troops to Afghanistan" thing. If he doesn't want to send them, he's the Commander in Chief. He should just tell McChrystal "Sorry, come up with a different strategy as I'm not sending you more troops." Of he could "man up" and pull the troops all the way home. Or he could send the extra troops. Saying "wait, maybe..." is merely ignoring the flames.

McCain's age was an issue in his election as president, but both sides have had very old men in the Senate and very seldom has someone said any of them were beyond their expiration date (Strom Thurmond clearly WAS but the point still stands).