Bad American

The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair. — H. L. Mencken

 Breitbart.tv link so you can read the comments of the usual idiots.

What Michelle Obama said:

“What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something — for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment. I’ve seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues, and it’s made me proud.”

You just knew what was going to happen, didn’t you?

Idiot roll call, sound off now!

John Podhoretz

Really proud of her country for the first time? Michelle Obama is 44 years old. She has been an adult since 1982. Can it really be there has not been a moment during that time when she felt proud of her country? Forget matters like the victory in the Cold War; how about only things that have made liberals proud — all the accomplishments of inclusion? How about the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991? Or Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s elevation to the Supreme Court? Or Carol Moseley Braun’s election to the Senate in 1998? How about the merely humanitarian, like this country’s startling generosity to the victims of the tsunami? I’m sure commenters can think of hundreds more landmarks of this sort. Didn’t she even get a twinge from, say, the Olympics?

The Olympics? Are you serious?

Patriotism … is a superstition artificially created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods; a superstition that robs man of his self-respect and dignity, and increases his arrogance and conceit. — Emma Goldman

Bill O!

Why is an explanation needed, you might ask? Well, because most Americans are proud of their country and don’t like it see it run down in any way. Michelle Obama is a prominent person. What she says carries weight all over the world. Also, what she says can be used against her.

Well, the fact that Michelle Obama has not clarified the situation is a major mistake for the Obama campaign.

Again, I don’t believe Michelle Obama dislikes her country. I sincerely hope she does not, but this is a big deal. It is not going away. And the Obama campaign should understand that.

Bill O also said this:

And I don’t want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there’s evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that’s how she really feels — that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever — then that’s legit. We’ll track it down.

How dumb does a man like Bill O’Reilly have to be?

Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive. - Henry Steele Commager

Michele Malkin:

If American ingenuity, a robust constitutional republic and the fall of communism don’t do it for you, hon, then how about American heroism and sacrifice?

How about every Memorial Day? Every Veterans Day? Every Independence Day? Every Medal of Honor ceremony? Has she never attended a welcome home ceremony for the troops?

For me, there’s the thrill of the Blue Angels roaring over cloudless skies.

At this point Malkin experienced an orgasm and had to resume writing 20 minutes later.

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross. — Sinclair Lewis

Matt Lewis in Townhall and Cindy McCain:

As MKH noted, Cindy McCain got some mileage out of Michelle Obama’s gaffe today, saying:

“I am proud of my country. I don’t know about you? If you heard those words earlier, I am very proud of my country,” Mrs. McCain said while revving up the crowd and introducing her husband.

snip

What is more, as Cindy McCain’s remarks demonstrate, the McCain campaign is ready to go on the attack — and are, in fact, already beginning to define Obama as a weak-kneed liberal Democrat – even before the General Election campaign begins.

What do we mean by patriotism in the context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility … a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. — Adlai Stevenson

Rich Galen:

There will be those who will excuse Michelle Obama’s acknowledgement that she, previous to this, had never been proud of America; had never been really proud of America.

The Statue of Liberty? Are you kidding?

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it. — Edward R. Murrow

And of course, Free Republic:

must have been a very uninformed GOPer to start with

anyone who pays attention knows Obama is a Mau Mau

guilty whites are enamoured with him

Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious - Oscar Wilde

Geez, the right has called Michelle Obama everything but the uppity negress. Oh wait, that’s what they say in private.

Well, I’m sure the folks who sleep wrapped up in the American flag are going to have a field day with this right through to the general election.

Of course, to the right, patriotism, as they know it, is:

Unquestioning support of war and interventionism as an instrument of foreign policy and a lionization of all things military.

Unquestionably believing America is a Christian nation, given a mantle of exceptionalism by God himself.

Unquestioning support of ‘free-market capitalism’ as the Only Economic System God himself would have approved.

Unquestioning belief of a peculiar form of American history where all of our sins (like the massacres in the Filipino insurrection for starters) are wiped clean by God, good intentions, or Mel and Norma Gabler.

And on top of all that, patriotism, conservative style, requires a cognitive separation from all forms of rationality when matters of National Interest are invoked.

And anyone who does not subscribe to the above tenets is an America-hating liberal pinko communist who should probably be put some FEMA camp in the near future.

From George Zornick in Eric Alterman’s Altercation (Media Matters):

NBC was forced to issue an apology this week after Jane Fonda said the word “cunt” in a discussion of the play The Vagina Monologues. “We would do nothing to offend the audience, so please accept that apology,” Today co-host Meredith Vieira told viewers.

What the network has not yet apologized for, nor is it likely to, is having Republican operative Roger Stone on Tucker Carlson’s MSNBC show this week. Stone is the leader of the anti-Hillary Clinton group Citizens United Not Timid, and acronym he may or may not have stolen from a seventh-grade kid. Stone regularly says a lot of things that are far more harmful to women than whatever damage Fonda allegedly did by letting that word slip; for example, Stone proclaims his group’s purpose is simply to give a “one-word education. That’s our mission. No issues. No policy groups. No position papers. This is a simple committee with an unfortunate acronym.” In other words, forget the issues, Hillary is a woman and she must be stopped. Stone also closed his Tucker interview by inexplicably saying this, about Barack Obama: “By the way, I’m not sure how you avoid assassination in those instances. When they see how naive he is, I think the American people will make a correct judgment.”

There probably won’t be an apology for presenting Stone and the deeply offensive misogyny he represents. It’s too bad he didn’t commit the gaffe of referring to his own group’s name.

See this is the double standard in the so-called ‘liberal media.’ Jane Fonda has to be apologized for and Stone, who led the so-called “Brooks Brothers riot,” when Republicans stormed the Miami elections office, trying to halt the recount in the 2000 election, gets a pass from that insufferable boob Tucker Carlson.

AND ALSO: why doesn’t Mr. Stone get a visit from the Secret Service for an allusion to assassinating Barack Obama? I suppose he gets a pass for that because of his conservatism as well.

THIS is the true face of Republicans and conservatives - pure undiluted hate. It doesn’t matter who gets the Democratic nomination, these bottom feeding slugs of human beings will make this the sleaziest campaign in American history.

Seems as though a lot of lefty pundits are driving a stake through Hillary’s heart this morning:

Sanford D. Horwitt in HuffPo:

Before the “it’s-still-a-horse-race” storyline is washed away by political reality, Hillary Clinton should move quickly to get the maximum political gain out of her impending loss. Fair or not, a big part of Clinton’s problem is her image as a scheming, conniving unprincipled politician. To be sure, the image is strongest among non-Democrats, but it’s a huge liability in the general election when independent voters determine the outcome. Hillary’s high personal negatives are the big reason why political handicappers think Clinton would not fare well against John McCain.

Joseph A. Palermo in HuffPo:

The meaningless negative attacks on Barack Obama that Howard Wolfson and Mark Penn unleashed in Wisconsin in full Rovian fashion backfired. After dredging up stupid accusations about “plagiarism” the Clinton campaign seems brain dead. The old Saul Alinsky notion that “organized people” will always defeat “organized money” is playing out in the form of Obama’s grassroots ground campaign. In Wisconsin, the Hillary camp bet on the idea that “organized attacks” can defeat “organized people” and ended up losing by 17 points.

Tom Hayden in Huffpo:

What about Hillary Clinton’s “firewall” states of Ohio and Texas? When the balance of forces shifts in a competition, when the general offensive is on, little can hold it back. Wavering voters shift their allegiances. Donors defect. The calculation of electability shifts. The old leadership is staggered, off balance, the ground collapsing under their feet. Even if Clinton wins in Ohio and Texas, the margins will not be enough to block his momentum.

What about the super-delegates? Won’t the party establishment become Clinton’s safety net? Not in the face of the running tide, not a chance.

Ron Fornier, AP:

After 10 consecutive defeats — including a heartbreaker in tailor-made Wisconsin on Tuesday — Hillary Rodham Clinton can’t win the nomination unless Obama makes a major mistake or her allies reveal something damaging about the Illinois senator’s background. Don’t count her out quite yet, but Wisconsin revealed deep and destructive fractures in the Clinton coalition.

It’s panic-button time.

That explains why Clinton’s aides accused Obama of plagiarism for delivering a speech that included words that had first been uttered by Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts governor and a friend of Obama. The charge bordered on the hypocritical — Clinton herself has borrowed Obama’s lines — and by itself was unlikely to have an impact on the race.

So let’s check my predictions vs. reality:

Hawaii — predicted: Obama 70-30; actual: Obama 76-24

Wisconsin — predicted: Obama 55-45; actual: Obama 58-41

I have to say, even I am surprised as Obama outperformed my calculations.

Here, as they stand, are my REVISED predictions for  March 4:

Texas primary - previous: Clinton, 52-48; today: 50-49 Obama

Ohio primary - previous: 50-50 split,today: 50-49 Obama

Vermont primary - previous: Obama 60-40; let it stand

Rhode Island primary - previous: Obama 55-45; today: Obama 58-42

Now the obvious question on everyone’s minds: is it over?

The answer is no.

For the simple reason that Hillary hasn’t spent her entire adult life to get to this point just to let it go gracefully.

Witness NRO’s take from Mark Penn:

On a conference call, top strategist Mark Penn just told reporters that in the next two weeks Hillary Clinton will go after Barack Obama on the issue of who is better qualified to be commander-in-chief — and Penn suggested that Clinton would be a better commander of the nation’s armed forces than both Obama and John McCain. “She is the only person in this race who is both ready to be commander-in-chief and would end the Iraq war and start to bring troops home within 60 days, compared to both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain,” Penn told reporters.

Later, Penn made it clear that Clinton will push the commander-in-chief issue in coming days. “The Republican nominee has extensive credibility in this area, and the Democrat is going to need to be commander-in-chief,” Penn said. Obama has “relatively no experience in national security,” Penn continued, an issue that “is going to be reflected in the debates that we have over the next couple of weeks.”

UPDATE: Later in the call, the Clinton team was asked whether the not-qualified-to-be-commander-in-chief criticism of Obama was going too far, given that it would be used by Republicans against Obama if Obama is the Democratic nominee against John McCain.  “We don’t believe that he is the one who will face John McCain,” Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said.  “This is a legitimate question that Sen. Obama would face if he were the nominee, and it is a question that he is facing as a result of criticism from Sen. McCain now, so I think it’s perfectly appropriate.”

So the plagiarism smear didn’t work. Don’t worry, the Clintons still have lots of tricks up their sleeves and they’re about to haul out the whole dirty pool toolbox.

My next guess is that in light of the charges of anti-Americanism against Michelle Obama, that Hillary Clinton will soon wrap herself in the flag and talk about how proud she’s always been to be an American.

And, noting the above, Hillary Clinton may do the entire progressive movement and the country a colossal disservice by pushing Obama toward a more rightist, militarist stance to win the nomination.

Yech! Yeah, its going to get that bad and one has to seriously ask if Obama’s people are ready for this.

But in a way, its probably for the better for Obama to learn how to handle the Clinton onslaught in the next two weeks because the McCain-hart right haters are going to be even worse.

And there is still the chance, despite Mark Penn’s earlier denials, that the Clinton people may come after Obama’s pledged delegates anyway, as well as the superdelegates. This, indeed, could go all the way to the convention and it could be brutal and ugly if the Clintons decide to play scorched earth (if we can’t have it, no one can).

I will say this without reservation: if Obama goes into the convention with a clear lead in pledged delegates and Hillary Clinton manages to wrest the nomination from him, we all get to call John McCain President for at least the next four years.

I have to believe, deep down inside, as bad as Hillary Clinton wants it, she wouldn’t do that.

So no, I’m not ready to put it in the bank for Barack. I’ve seen too much of what the Clintons are capable of.