McCain defends Obama against anti-Arab comment

[HenryReardon]

Re: Obama's not an Arab?

Well Henry I have a better question for you "Why do they want to hijack airplanes and fly them into your building?" It takes 2 to tango so maybe it has something to do with the way the US treats them. I have found that most people are reasonable and if they are treated fairly they will respond in kind.

So when a terrorist attacks us, it's somehow our fault? Get a grip. Do some research. The radical muslims are raised on hate.

The Obamination wants to sit down with Pres I-need-a-shave-abad and talk to him without preconditions. Frankly, that's insane, or naive, or perhaps simply naively insane. Such a move would be seen as weakness in the middle East.

You don't sit down and "talk" with people who want to destroy you.

 

[Spensed]

Re: Obama's not an Arab?

^ Much of the radical Muslims' hatred is driven by the US presence and influence in their holy land of Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. That's not to say that the attacks are our fault, but it's naive to think that we wear the white hats and never do anything wrong and they wear the black hats and are just evil and raised on hate.

Bush's refusal to "talk" with people who want to destroy us has resulted in both Iran and North Korea advancing their progress to nuclear arms and to a reversal of that policy. No one in their right mind thinks that you should never "talk" with your enemy, especially if the result is that he just grows more powerful.

The controversy about Obama wanting to talk without preconditions is a wholly manufactured one. He did try to score a debating point by saying, "I would.", which is now being used as a gotcha point against him by the very people that complain about gotcha politics. But Obama has consistently made it clear that he meant that within the usual diplomatic context and levels of interactions, which almost everyone here and internationally agrees with.

 

[NickCole]

There is absolutely nothing Arabic about either Kenya nor Indonesia.

Kenya and Indonesia have as much in common with Arabic countries as Ireland and Germany have with Brazil.

You've really got your finger on the pulse of the problem, there, bud.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[NickCole]

Re: Obama's not an Arab?

^ It's a naive and/or simply baiting comment to suggest that Obama's supporters should rebut assertions that Obama is a Muslim by saying that there's nothing wrong with being Muslim. In that assertion, the word isn't being used in a benign way and engaging in the exchange as you suggest just gives it traction and sound bite spin.

It's neither naive nor baiting.

"Arab" wasn't being used in a benign way when McCain rebutted the assertion that Obama is Arab. He probably lost some voters by standing up to that woman's mischaracterization -- or anyway standing up to half of it.

McCain didn't go far enough but I give him big kudos for at least having the character and courage to be willing to lose votes in exchange for an effort at doing the right thing. Never saw that from the Obama camp, not even after relatively benign things like Randi Rhodes calling Ferraro and Clinton "fucking whores," which is nothing compared to the way the Obama campaign has indirectly but consistently denigrated Muslims.

 

[FabFairy]

Henry i'm not in the US so I don't have to listen to the bull that is fed by the US Government and can access or research to get a true picture. As I said previously it takes 2 to tango and the US is not innocent in this the attacks were for a reason and until both sides sit down and talk it will never be resolved.

I happen to agree that the US should sit down without pre-conditions other than for safety for all. It is neither insane or naive and so far what have you achieved setting pre-conditions, Nothing.

Documented civilian deaths from violence to date are 96,355. Now had the US bothered to sit down and talk instead of lying to the world about WMD's then perhaps this would never have happened. The US is just as guilty as anyone else and perhaps even more so because it was told that there were no WMD's but didn't check or believe then set upon a course to convince the world they should attack.

If the US is genuine about sorting out problems then you can't come in with a big stick belt everyone over the head and dictate terms. It doesn't or wont work that way but you still haven't answered my question!!

 

[Spensed]

Re: Obama's not an Arab?

It's neither naive nor baiting.

"Arab" wasn't being used in a benign way when McCain rebutted the assertion that Obama is Arab. He probably lost some voters by standing up to that woman's mischaracterization -- or anyway standing up to half of it.

McCain didn't go far enough but I give him big kudos for at least having the character and courage to be willing to lose votes in exchange for an effort at doing the right thing. Never saw that from the Obama camp, not even after relatively benign things like Randi Rhodes calling Ferraro and Clinton "fucking whores," which is nothing compared to the way the Obama campaign has indirectly but consistently denigrated Muslims.

You're giving McCain credit for objecting to some crazy saying she wouldn't vote for Obama because he's an Arab. He was on film and had no other choice.

Randi Rhodes is a shock jock. Do you really expect Obama to chase every extreme comment she makes and give her the publicity she wants. I'm reasonably engaged in this election and I've don't recall hearing or reading about any "fucking whores" comment and, if I had, even as Hillary supporter, while I would have taken exception to it, I wouldn't have attached any weight to it or attributed it to Obama.

I don't accept that the Obama campaign has consistently denigrated Muslims. Quite the contrary.

 

[PabloZed]

Ed Rollins made a good point the other day when he said McCain must decide how he wants this to end and how he wants to be remembered. Regarding how it ends Rollins said McCain could drag the whole GOP down. Paul Begala said there is already squabbling about the campaign and Romney and Huckabee are out there saying Palin was the wrong choice, jockeying for 2012.

Rollins was probably also referring to the fact that McCain always talks about his father and grandfather who were admirals. If he is remembered as inciting violence in the waning days he will pretty much destroy his family's name and his sons will baar the burden.

Those who say a strong nation should be afraid to talk to its enemies I am just glad our countries has produced leaders that could talk to our enemy the British after our war of independence, FDR who met with Stalin, produced Kennedy who talked the missiles out of Cuba, Nixon who met Mao and Kruschev, and Reagan who talked to the Russians and met Gorbachev. Meeting those "enemies who wanted to destroy us" made America safer. (The peace between "enemies" Egypt and Israel has served them well too) I am proud that America has again produced a leader with strength and confidence enough to conduct tough diplomacy with our enemies in order to keep us safe.

 

[NickCole]

Re: Obama's not an Arab?

You're giving McCain credit for objecting to some crazy saying she wouldn't vote for Obama because he's an Arab. He was on film and had no other choice.

He did have a choice.

The concept of choice, and entitlement and responsibility, is clearly something you and some other Obama supporters have trouble comprehending.

McCain had a choice and he made the right one. At least as far as he went he deserves unqualified praise, not the dismissiveness of he "had no other choice," though IMO he should have gone further and pointed out that there's nothing to be scared about in a man simply because he's Arab.

Randi Rhodes is a shock jock. Do you really expect Obama to chase every extreme comment she makes and give her the publicity she wants.

It was at an event she did in support of Obama, an event promoted on the Obama website, not something she said on her radio show.

It was widely reported and of course it's on YouTube, and I referred to it several times when it happened. If you missed it, that only shows how easily you miss what's happening.

I don't accept that the Obama campaign has consistently denigrated Muslims. Quite the contrary.

There's that habit of mischaracterizing what I said so you can disagree with it.

I said the Obama camp (in which I include supporters) have "indirectly but consistently denigrated Muslims." And there's no question they have, by responding to assertions that Obama is Muslim with declarations he's Christian and failing to stand up for Muslims at the same time. As he and his supporters have with race relations, Obama fails to sieze opportunities to foster understanding and healing, but rather is only concerned with his own self protection and aggrandizement.

 

[Spensed]

Re: Obama's not an Arab?

He did have a choice.

The concept of choice, and entitlement and responsibility, is clearly something you and some other Obama supporters have trouble comprehending.

McCain had a choice and he made the right one. At least as far as he went he deserves unqualified praise, not the dismissiveness of he "had no other choice," though IMO he should have gone further and pointed out that there's nothing to be scared about in a man simply because he's Arab.

Obviously, he had a choice between distancing himself from a crazy bigot or endorsing what she said or even talking his clothes off. The point is that, in a filmed event, he had only one real choice, which is the one he took. If he didn't distance himself from her, he knew the clip would be played endlessly against him.

It was at an event she did in support of Obama, an event promoted on the Obama website, not something she said on her radio show.

It was widely reported and of course it's on YouTube, and I referred to it several times when it happened. If you missed it, that only shows how easily you miss what's happening.

A snippy comment doesn't change anything I said about Rhandi Rhodes being a shock jock, who shouldn't be indulged in her excesses.

There's that habit of mischaracterizing what I said so you can disagree with it.

I said the Obama camp (in which I include supporters) have "indirectly but consistently denigrated Muslims." And there's no question they have, by responding to assertions that Obama is Muslim with declarations he's Christian and failing to stand up for Muslims at the same time. As he and his supporters have with race relations, Obama fails to sieze opportunities to foster understanding and healing, but rather is only concerned with his own self protection and aggrandizement.

Once again, you're just projecting your own preconceptions.

As I've already said, it's just giving traction to the question to expand on a simple denial that you're not a Muslim, if you're not a Muslim, your Christian affiliation is well known and the background to the question is spin a bogus association between you and Muslim terrorists.

However, even in that context, Obama has asked for Muslims to be treated with dignity and respect.

Good sport to keep on tilting at Obama, but, hopefully, it will prove to be a complete waste of time.

 

[Sbaraglia]

I can't even imagine what it must be like to be a McCain-Palin supporter and see those "kill him!" rallies and know that those angry, racist morons are your peers...kind of like looking in the mirror and seeing...the truth.

Here is a response to McCain-Palin's encouragement of anger, hatred, racism, xenophobia, and mob mentality. It is from tomorrow's Washington Post (posted online early), and is written by Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner. I wonder if the McCain-Palin supporters here at JUB will even read this, or if the author's name will lead them to believe that reading his words would be like meeting with a terrorist... without preconditions...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/10/AR2008101002456_pf.html

I -- and, I suspect, millions of Americans like me, Republicans and Democrats alike -- couldn't care less about Obama's middle name or the ridiculous six-degrees-of-separation game that is the William Ayers non-issue. The Taliban are clawing their way back in Afghanistan, the country that I hope many of my fellow Americans have come to understand better through my novels. People are losing their homes and their jobs and are watching the future slip away from them. But instead of addressing these problems, the McCain-Palin ticket is doing its best to distract Americans by provoking fear, anxiety and hatred. Country first? Hardly.

 

[bokan800]

These people need to get educate seriously. They're like mindless drones that can be easily manipulated by their gorgon queen. That fucking Sarah Palin that uses dirty tactics to tap into the fears of these ignorant bigots.

DEEP SHAME...


And I thought I came from a third world country...

 

[Sbaraglia]

It seems that Obama is feeling more charitable than I am:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/obama-thanks-mccain-for-toning-down-supporters/?hp

The morning after Senator John McCain tried to tamp down heated comments from his supporters at a town-hall-style meeting in Minnesota, Senator Barack Obama offered him a quick nod of thanks.

“I want to acknowledge that Senator McCain tried to tone down the rhetoric in his town hall meeting yesterday,” Mr. Obama said, speaking at an early-morning rally in North Philadelphia. “I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Senator McCain has served this country with honor, and he deserves our thanks for that.”

 

[Spensed]

You know,Obama bears some responsibilty for this too..

He never once,that I know of ,said ''even if I was an Arab or a Muslim,that doesn't make me a criminal/terrorist or any less of an American..''

He let them own that ''slur'' when he should have made them wear it.

Can you imagine how American Arabs or Muslims feel every time they hear something like this?

Oh they know what's going on and that, if Obama answers that he isn't a Muslim, not that there's anything wrong with that, it'll be spun against him.

The fact remains that he isn't a Muslim and can show his respect for Muslims in wider contexts than just being asked if he is one.

Many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans support Obama:

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/aahome

 

[JayHawk]

Yep Obama is gonna win and be the next Herbert Hoover. Congrats. Or maybe the next FDR.

"The only thing we have to fear....is fear itself"

oh and the muslims

 

[Sbaraglia]

Yep Obama is gonna win and be the next Herbert Hoover. Congrats.

Bitter loser? "OK, I guess your guy will win, but he'll suck and you'll be sorry!"

ah...you edited before I posted my reply. Glad you give the opportunity for success... Sad to see you're a typical McCain supporter who hates all Muslims, though.

 

[unclaimedblessing]

McCain's defense was long overdue.
His campaign (the "She Bush" in particular) are responsible for formenting the hatred against Obama.

On the Maddow show Thursday night she read an article from a former cabinet Republican in the Baltimore(?) paper criticsing McCain and his campaign. His closing said something to the effect that inciting this kind of hatred in a country with a history of so many political assassinations is unforgiveable.

With McCain's poll numbers droppng, it seems obvious that many decent Republicans are probably distancing themselves from the candidate and the negative campaign rhetoric.

A female Republican reporter who has been travelling with the McCain campaign also said that after each rally, she and other reporters would go into the audience and interview attendees. She said there always was a small percentage of radicals who were vehement about the opposition and rallies attract all kinds but recently they all seemed to have been radical wingnuts.

On another issue discussed here, I get a subliminal message that somehow we deserved 9/11. Well, fundamentalist Moslem savagery started long before that. I recall the massacre of young Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics, the highjacking of and murder aboard the Achilles Lauro and many other atrocities. Not all Moslems should be painted with the same broad brush, but based upon some horrific events (and those who perpetuated them) there is some justification why some people harbor anti-Arab sentiment. Accusations of Obama being an Arab and/or a Moslem plays to that segment of our society and the purpose is evident.

 

[Kulindahr]

What politician or political group have you heard say that?

You read in this forum, right?

 

[JayHawk]

Bitter loser? "OK, I guess your guy will win, but he'll suck and you'll be sorry!"

ah...you edited before I posted my reply. Glad you give the opportunity for success... Sad to see you're a typical McCain supporter who hates all Muslims, though.

Sarcasm was not taught in your pub-bleck schools?

Get a grip on yourself. Whoever takes the helm will have a hoover like presidency to look forward to for the next five to ten years our economy will be working itself back to strong. Just as whoever is in office when it visibly becomes strong again will say they did it.

Fact is years of irresponsible policy that was promoted by both sides of the aisle are responsible for this mess. Until we have a leader willing to admit that we will not go forward.

 

[Kulindahr]

Kuli that is not equivalent to telling a crowd that Obama is "palling around with terrorists." Or someone in the crowd shouting that he should be killed with no response from the "leaders" of the rally being held.

That depends on where you sit -- which is my point.

 

[Kulindahr]

Re: Obama's not an Arab?

We have a big problem in the US with the divisions that Republicans have been nurturing for years to win elections, and Obama Democrats have been doing since early this year. It's widening and getting worse, not better. This Us versus Them, bullying, intimidating, shunning, dismissiveness, denigration of our fellow citizens is a destructive road. It was nice to see McCain make an effort in a way that could cost him votes, it's more than Obama has done, but as you rightly point out it wasn't enough.

Right here is an example of what I'm talking about: Nick sees Republicans as nurturing divisions -- but Republicans see Democrats as fueling divisions.
And neither can get a handle on the other's point of view.