Ed Morrissey has the best breakdown on Obama’s aloof, elitist statement at a San Francisco fundraiser last weekend:
Let’s break this statement into its component insults:
“[T]hey cling to guns…” Cling to guns? Americans have “clung” to guns since the founding of the Republic. It’s such a core value to this nation that its founders placed it second on the Bill of Rights, right after freedom of speech and religion. Speaking of which … “or [they cling to] religion …” People don’t become religious because the economy hits a few bumps in the road. Obama may have chosen his religion based on politics, but most people follow a religion out of a deeper sense of spirituality. I can’t think of a more condescending and contemptuous analysis of religious dedication than this statement. “or [they cling to] antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment…” Small-town voters are bigots and xenophobes; there’s no other way to read the first part of this statement. The second part, about them being “anti-immigrant”, is a non-sequitur. They may be anti-illegal immigrant, but that’s a far different issue. Obama offers no proof that small-town voters are xenophobes, but the Frisco audience didn’t demand any, either. It’s part of their own bigotry that makes them see middle America in those terms. “or [they cling to] anti-trade sentiment …” And this is just jaw-droppingly hypocritical. This comes from the same candidate who opposes the Colombian free-trade agreement and wants to throw NAFTA out the window. Who’s clinging to anti-trade sentiment? Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Big Labor.
It would be difficult to be any more condescending or insulting in so many ways to so many voters in a single sentence. It reveals a deeply elitist and shockingly callow candidate. It’s the “Let them eat cake” of 2008.
Spot on analysis. Obama wants to paint small-town America as out-of-touch xenophobic gun-toting religious racists. Instead, he paints himself as an elite snob, and he’s got a pattern developing that supports my opinion. He remarked about the price of arugula at Whole Foods while in Iowa - where there are no Whole Foods to be found. He tried connect with the common man by showing off his bowling skills - and scored a 37. Then, while campaigning in Philly, he opts for rare imported Spanish ham instead of the traditional cheesesteak.
Now he bags on small-town America, making an emergent picture grow ever more clear of Obama as yet another Limousine Liberal claiming to know what’s best for the rest of us.
The junior Senator from Illinois has a particularly tricky balancing act when it comes to the subject of the Olympics: Chicago is vying to host the 2016 games and one of Obama’s top campaign advisors and close friends, Valerie Jarrett, is the vice chair of Chicago’s bid committee.
David Freddoso at the National Review passes along a chart showing how Democrats shift their stance (go figure, they are, after all, politicians) on the state of the American economy.
Democrats on the Economy in 1996: “Our economy is the healthiest it has been in three decades.” (President Bill Clinton, State of the Union Address, January 23, 1996)
Democrats on the Economy in 2008: “The bottom line is that this administration is the owner of the worst jobs record since Herbert Hoover.” (Senator Charles Schumer, Press Release, March 7, 2008)
1. U.S. Unemployment Rate: March 1996 - 5.5%, March 2008 - 5.1%
2. Number of Long-Term Unemployed: March 1996 - 1.33 million, March 2008 - 1.28 million
3. Average Weeks Unemployed: March 1996 - 17.3 weeks, March 2008 - 16.2 weeks
More back at The Corner. Odds on this making Mainstream Media? Naaaah, I didn’t think so, either.
It’s CSS Naked Day 2008. This is when thousands of web sites remove their CSS for a day. Why? To promote clean, semantic use of XHTML. Web Standards, in other words. With good design starting with good content, I, and many many others strip off our design for a day, leaving the pink bits of our content exposed to see how functional we are at our core.
In looking through the kitchen for dinner ideas, the only real main course I had was a bag of frozen chicken breasts. Hrmm… there’s also a can of pineapple chunks in the pantry. Bingo. Call it Caribbean Chicken, or Pineapple Jerk Chicken.
4 thawed chicken breasts (I used the frozen boneless variety)
1 can pineapple chunks (12oz can)
Caribbean Jerk seasoning
Garlic powder
Lemon pepper
Warm some olive oil in a large cooking pan over medium-high heat
Add the chicken breasts. After searing one side, flip to the other.
Season the top side with garlic powder, lemon pepper, and jerk seasoning.
Add 12-20 chunks of pineapple and about half the juice to the pan (pouring around the chicken, not on the chicken).
Cook for 7 minutes.
After 7 minutes, turn the chicken over.
Season this side lightly with the spices. Add the rest of the pineapple juice to the pan. If you wish, add the rest of the pineapples. I opted to leave these aside as a snack to enjoy while the chicken was cooking.
Cook for 7 more minutes, watching to make sure the juice doesn’t blacken all the way down. If necessary, add a little water to the mix to keep it from charring.
Remove from heat. Let sit for five minutes and enjoy.
One word: Tito’s hand-crafted vodka. Made in Austin, better than Absolut. If I can’t, for some reason, get my hands on a bottle of Tito’s, I’ll buy the French stuff, before I buy Absolut ever again.
I found these photos on the Library of Congress’s photo stream on Flickr. What you’re seeing are three old American battleships in the 1910s, most likely near New York, judging from some of the comments.
Lagavulin is a single-malt Scotch whiskey. It is best served mixed with nothing else in the glass. If you prefer, you can sprinkle a few drops of cold water on the whiskey's surface. This can bring out some pleasant flavors and aromas. I enjoy pairing Lagavulin with a smooth, non-sweet, non-flavored cigar.
"I understand why some dislike the idea, and fear the ramifications of, America as a liberator. But I do not understand why they do not see that anything is better than life with your face under the boot. And that any rescue of a people under the boot (be they Afghan, Kuwaiti or Iraqi) is something to be desired. Even if the rescue is less than perfectly realised. Even if the rescuer is a great, overmuscled, bossy, selfish oaf. Or would you, for yourself, choose the boot?" -- Journalist Michael Kelly
