What's Mallard raving about today?
Barack Obama
One might be tempted to say that Barack Obama committed an unpardonable sin when he phrased something in a manner which the Right Wing Noise Machine could easily take out of context and use against him.
But, in reality, it simply does not matter as they can twist anything to suit their needs. Were Francis of Assisi to run for President as a Democrat, Republicans would accuse him of bestiality.
A week of Mallard's sanctimony on his topic, given that Mallard routinely insults "Average Americans," will be pretty much more than I can bear, so you'll have to cut me some slack.
12 comments:
So Americans are supposed to what, rebel and vote in the OTHER Ivy league presidential candidates who sneer at them?
Obama called it like he saw it. Was it insulting? Perhaps, it was a broad generalization that people who think or act above what is essentially pettiness don't like being applied to them. I understand that, especially when it isn't true, and it won't be true for every American.
But that doesn't make it 100% wrong. Goodness knows my personal experience with the very people this cartoon is aimed at says otherwise. People lash out in hard times in a bitter manner and cling to something that makes them feel in control.
Yesterday, GeoX asked, "is it just me, or are the letters in the "word verification" box lately becoming so twisty and distorted that it's often difficult or impossible to decipher them?"
No, it's not just you. I'm looking at a string of (um) eight letters that, if I stare at 'em for more than three seconds, make me start trippin'. (Oh, goody, I guessed wrong. Now it's just six letters, with the "c" and "j" crammed together into a "g," and an "l" and "k" so tightly packed, I'm only guessing it's two letters.)(...F***! Seven letters now, but at least this time they're readable.)
I've seen more than one "progressive" blog or cartoonist strive (even harder than Tinsley does here) to twist something a Clinton has said into some form of vile, unforgivable hate crime (or just an assault on their character) without a trace of hesitation, introspection, or irony.
Regardless, DaveyK is spot-on to point out than Tinny has based his entire career on pissing upon--then pretending to be the spokesperson for--"average Americans."
...Dammit, I have to stop reading Mallard Fillmore first. If you haven't checked out Monday's Get Fuzzy, by all means do so now.
Darb understands the neocon mindset so well.
Is he reading him a bedtime story with his hard hat on?
Well, at the very least you've got to give the neocon noise-machine their due: Could they possibly have done a better job of diverting the debate away from Obama's real point into a quibble over the way he phrased things.
OK, maybe "bitter" might not be the exactly right word here; but I mean, good god, can anyone here really tell me that they don't know hoards of people who are seriously ticket off with what Bush and his handlers are doing the US? Whether it's because they are watching their life savings --and house-equity-- going up in smoke; or seeing their parents unable to sustain minimal health coverage; or the daily reports of lives of these same "decent average americans" being poured down the rat hole of Iraq?
This weekend they announced a 69% disapproval rating for the way things that Bush is running things. If there are any "elitists" who are "out of touch" with the way that "average americans" feel about things, surely it is anyone who finds anything at all particularly unusual with the term "bitter".
Once again, if there were anything truly of substance to attack either Clinton or Obama with, the right would be all over it. The fact that they resort to cheap shot, tired memes over and over and over just underscores their complete lack of substance.
I will shamefully admit, however, that this did make me laugh: http://cartoonbox.slate.com/hottopic/?image=14&topicid=131
I'm confused. Did Mallard just show a non-liberal father telling his son to pay taxes?
Also, this cartoon would have made more sense if the father actually was a gun-toting bigot, pissed about being called bitter. Come on, Tinsley, put him in a Klan hood with an NRA patch, but SMILING.
Couldn't his words be used in a positive (for him, not the other candidates!) manner - he wants to make people less bitter, so they don't use religion and/or guns in anger, or to blame others.
AND BUSH WENT TO AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL.
You need ivy league connections to get the money to run for president.
But only the liberals went there.
I'm liberal, and the U of M is awesome, but it's not ivy league. After all, I can afford to go here.
Imagine if Mallard's colorist had used brown instead of pink on Mr. Hardhat:
"Remember son, work hard, pay your taxes, play by the rules and some day you can have the rightwing attack you for saying that people get mad when their jobs go away."
Who has worked harder and played by the rules more than Obama? Geez, he excelled in college, worked for the community, won elections and is running for president on a campaign of hope! American traditionalists should looooove him!
Hasn't a significant portion of the criticism of the "bitter" remark come from Hillary's camp, rather than from the "Right Wing Noise Machine?"
You got me, Bruce! I hate regular Americans so much, especially the ones who pay taxes. Guess I'm busted!
My devious trick of actually supporting policies that benefit middle class and poor Americans didn't fool you, you saw through it and deduced that I secretly hate them.
I actually love rich people, which is why I am spending my career trying to stop them from looting the country.
It's very confusing, and only makes sense when you look at it through your patented Tinsley Logic.(tm)
We all know you would never take a statement out of context and exaggerate it and turn it into a lie to try to make someone on the left look bad.
You win this round, Tinsley! Damn you and your love for Regular Americans!
anon-
No.
Some of it from Hillary? Likely.
But the sites with the soundbytes and rather tart comments when I looked up the speech to get "context" were all very much right-wing. They also are rather rabidly opposed to being seen as Hillary supporters.
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