Worth a read

[fpb]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-28/so-long-obama/1/

Comments

[saturndevouring.livejournal.com]

She reminds me of myself, when I was five and found out that wearing a cape didn't enable you to fly like Superman.

All seriousness aside, however, the article offers a kernel of an idea worth discussing, and that's how superficial and mean-spirited political attacks can be during election season.

This isn't to defend all of the comments made by the Democratic Party, but is the author even aware of the some of the nonsense aimed at Obama over the course of his candidacy from the other side of the fence? Does she really think Hillary Cliton wouldn't have received similar jabs from the right had she been the nominee?

Politics is a dirty game, I'm just wondering what took her so long to realize it.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Never mind. This evidently was not posted for you.

[saturndevouring.livejournal.com]

Didn't mean to intrude. I have issues with the sensational aspects of campaigning, and as a Democrat, I didn't get exactly what she found so shocking that it pushed her out of the party. Maybe I'm just immune (or too cynical).

[fpb.livejournal.com]

If you had not dismissed all that the blogosphere had come up with in the last twelve months as fear-mongering propaganda lies and "Rovian politics" - an expression I actually heard from an abortion supporter, although Karl Rove has nothing to do wtih the McCain campaign - and if you did not allow your party loyalty to completely override your religion (how can a so-called Catholic vote for someone who voted against the Born Alive Infants Act, and who promised to sign through the so-called Free Choice Act?), perhaps you would understand. As it is, I absolutely refuse to answer. If twelve months of campaign have not enlightened you as to your choice, I am not going to.

[saturndevouring.livejournal.com]

As I said, I didn't mean to intrude on a discussion that isn't for someone of my political bent. But please, let's be civil. I hear enough from people about being a pro-life Democrat, and how I should keep my "rosaries off women's ovaries."

Also, yours is one of the only political blogs I read, so any propaganda I've read, I've gotten some from you ;)

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Which means I have done much less than my duty. And I have done so because I was afraid of angering pro-Obama friends. But if you vote for Obama, you vote for the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever, and you do not even have the excuse not to have been warned. Dozens of bishops have spoken out on the matter. If you cannot bring yourself to vote for any other candidate, I beg you, abstain. If you are Catholic, you must realize that no amount of social advances can be worth electing a politician who would make it practically impossible to even object to, let alone work against, mass unrestrained abortion.

Just To Note

[saturndevouring.livejournal.com]

The "propaganda" line was a joke. And, I should also include there is nothing is the linked article about abortion, so I wasn't aware that was the issue. The thesis of the piece appears to revolve around how the candidates are portrayed. She only mentions how bad Republicans come across, but I think that's a problem no matter your party affiliation. Just consider that a study from U.T. at Austin recently revealed that 23% of Texans believe Obama is a Muslim.

But I do appreciate another perspective, and you make some excellent points. Ironically, I'm an Arizonan, so my electoral vote will most likely go to McCain anyway.

Re: Just To Note

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Well, no, of course it has nothing to do with abortion. What is significant is that if a McCain scriptwriter had abandoned the campaign and endorsed Obama, the media would have made such a noise you would never have heard the end of it. The media are deliberately running down McCain and up Obama, and this is only the umpteenth-squinchiethy instance of it.

This Is A Question, Not A Gauntlet

[saturndevouring.livejournal.com]

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/the_plank/archive/2008/10/24/reagan-appointee-and-recent-mccain-adviser-charles-fried-supports-obama.aspx

Has this really gotten noticeably more press than Ms. Button's essay? I know their roles within the campaign are different, but both cases feature a longtime member of the party involved in the campaign breaking rank and voting for the opponent.

This doesn't negate your essay on Obama and abortion, nor am I dismissing your words, which I do appreciate as they obviously required your time and energy, but I must respectfully disagree with you on this specific issue as I think the sheer volume of conservatives that have endorsed Obama coupled with the erratic, contradictory tone of her essay makes the media she her defection as too little, too late.

Re: This Is A Question, Not A Gauntlet

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I drew attention to that particular case because the newspapers (who have been highlighting every floor-crossing Obama supporter up to and including Colin Powell) never would. You might, for that, matter, look at this gentleman: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/08/31/2008-08-31_john_mccain_not_obama_is_following_in_th-2.html?print=1&page=all.

The behaviour of the press and the three largest TV network has been a scandal and seems to me to be a serious danger to democracy. That is why I have done a little to correct it. Not nearly enough, but a little.

Re: This Is A Question, Not A Gauntlet

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, I am not a conservative and am not interested in what people who define themselves as such do. The so-called conservatives who crossed the floor during this election were all motivated by one of two passions, neither of which I respect: one, what we Italians call "rushing to the aid of the victor" (Colin Powell, whom I never rated as a leader since his hesitant performance in the run-up to the Kuwait war); and two - the case of everyone who was bent out of shape by Sarah and Trig Palin - support for abortion.