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Jet Gorgon

^^ Yep, good quote and comment, Tex. I liked the part about the news conference with American & Jordanian journalists -- he still to scared the Euros will ask tough questions so they're barred from joinng in? 555The latte crowd on both sides of the Atlantic mebbe. I think people are waking up on this side and seeing him for what he is -- a freewheeling politician who will say and do anything to win.

sabang

For all the warnings from the media about how "risky" Barack Obama's world tour would be -- and I was one of the people who issued such a warning very early on -- so far, it's hard to imagine how it could have gone better for him. There's more yet to go, and the ultimate effect of it probably will not be determined until polls afterwards. But let's take a look at what Obama's gotten out of it so far.

Separate from, but surely deliberately timed to, Obama's trip, is the now quite indisputable fact that the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is more aligned with Obama on a U.S. troop pullout than his Republican opponent, John McCain. There can be no more denials or ambiguities on this, thanks to third party translations of Maliki's original remarks and subsequent comments by a spokesman that point to substantial agreement with Obama. He's gotten good news in other ways, too, such as Great Britain's own plans for Iraq. He's gotten tons of images of himself looking presidential, one of the areas where he's lagged behind McCain in the polls, by meeting with foreign leaders. He's getting more glowing press than ever, perhaps more than he will ever get, which is saying something. As Obama's jump shot with the troops has made evening news rundowns, McCain has been left, somewhat pitifully, complaining about the lack of news coverage, being greeted by crickets in Maine and despite his own history of receiving glowing press, just generally being left in the dust in this category. Meanwhile, McCain's gotten attention primarily for increasing press notice of his own, foreign policy-related gaffes.

That's not to say Obama's trip has gone perfectly. His uncertain response in a television interview about the apparently successful troop surge that he opposed but McCain backed shows that this particular issue continues to be an advantage for the Republican and a weak point for the Democrat. There are grumblings that maybe he's been a little too concerned with appearing presidential, prematurely, something that plays into the perception of some voters that Obama is arrogant (whether it's accurate or not, this perception could be damaging -- on my last visit to my hometown in Indiana, more than a few relatives who tend to vote Democratic but only follow politics casually and vote said they were having a hard time embracing him for this very reason). Obama's done as well as he can explaining away his apparent shifts on Israel, but they still count as stumbles.

Add it all up, though. When you combine the successes and failures of the trip to this point, can anyone say Obama has done more harm than good to his presidential bid with the trip? Coming soon is the Europe wing. There are plenty of subjects he can discuss there.

Across The Pond | DW-WORLD

[Across the Pond is a joint German-American blog about the U.S. election campaign 2008 with a focus on international aspects of the presidential race.]

I agree- this tour has definitely been a winning strategy for Obama. John McCains assertion that Obama lacks any foreign policy credentials ( and he doesn't?) has basically had the wind taken out of it's sails, and as far as I can see all he's really got going for him at the moment is taking credit for the 'Surge' in Iraq. His gripes about lack of Press coverage are telling too. Apart from already sounding like a loser, it raises the question- what is he saying or doing that in fact is newsworthy?

Hard to see the European leg going badly for Obama- it's no secret that the Euro leaders would much prefer not to see another Republican term, or a leader that says he is willing to stay for 'a hundred years' in Iraq.


Right now, the Obama campaign is on a roll -

Obama trounces McCain ... in sales of T-shirts, badges, caps

WASHINGTON (AFP) — \Barack Obama is trouncing John McCain in the race for the White House -- at least in sales of T-shirts, badges, baseball caps and other campaign merchandise.

"Everyone is going for Obama," a sidewalk vendor whose stand was smothered in Obama and McCain T-shirts, along with garb for visitors to Washington, told AFP.

"We sell about 70 percent Obama stuff -- way more than McCain," said the vendor, who asked not to be named

AFP: Obama trounces McCain ... in sales of T-shirts, badges, caps

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Bugs

Well the Obama trip so far is going about as well as Obama could have hoped for – probably has a bit to do with the level of control the Obama campaign has levied against any possible disruption in the message Obama wants to send as opposed to an open dialogue.

What does one do if they lack it, they fake it:
OBAMA FAKING IT - Yahoo! News

I don't quite agree with the below.
Poor John is living in the past (not sure what past that might be, because it seems in politics deeds have not really mattered in some time).

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"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion" - Steven Weinberg

Bugs

Also no doubt things are generally going pretty good for Obama, but it is not all sugar and spices with Democrats in general. There does still seem to be an outside chance for the convention to be anything but conventional.

Preston on Politics: PUMAs stalking Obama - CNN.com
Still some that are holding out hope for Clinton - maybe they'll make some noise at the convention, maybe not?


This is probaly a lot of hot air.

Quote:

If PUMAs are unsuccessful in preventing Obama from getting the nomination, what will they do? Bower and Mann said they would cross party lines and vote for McCain; Navot noted she might write in Clinton's name or not vote at all. Tarpley said he would turn his gaze towards Green Party nominee Cynthia McKinney, Libertarian Party nominee Bob Barr or independent candidate Ralph Nader.

But this is kind of interesting:

Quote:

Tarpley said a McCain victory might be the best result if Obama is the Democratic nominee. It would allow the party an opportunity to reflect and perhaps "radicalize it in a New Deal direction."

Yea, just what the US needs - a radicalized Democratic party?

ItsRobsLife

I just watched his Berlin speech on Channel 4 (UK) The impression was that this was a campaign speech aimed at the US electorate with a European background and the overiding message was 'I will make Americans popular again in the rest of the world'

attaboy

It's coming. Obama is going to dictate how much goes on your plate. Eat your peas! Shut your face!

Milkman

There are different perceptions, and these differing perceptions are more linked than separate.

I percieved it (perhaps accurate, semi-accurate, or innacurately) that

He was getting international credibility in front of an international (foreign) audience in the ME and Germany, and other nations.

Because he's new on the scene, he's beefing up his international stature, perhaps.


This race may be very tight. We still don't know who'll win.

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ItsRobsLife

Oh definately that was also part of the reason for his visit, to show that he is capable of meeting world leaders and to show he has credibility with them, but at the end of the day he is still on the election campaign and giving that message to the American electorate was his priority.

His whole stance and outlook was diametrically opposite from the 'with us or against us' rhetoric of the Bush administration.

Interesting also was that he spoke about common security needs and the need for an ongoing conflict in Afganistan, no doubt to appease the US industrial-military complex after gaining public support with his anti war stance, as with all politicians his convictions and promises will become more watered down the closer he gets to the seat of power.

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Texpat

By Gerard Baker
Times Online
July 25, 2008

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organization with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.

And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the appointed year, the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the light unto all the world.

He traveled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the Taleban had harbored the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror on all the world.

And the Child spake and the tribes of NATO immediately loosed the Caveats that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and the threat of terror was no more.

From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy it.

And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.

And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares.

From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through the gate seated on an ass. The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet.

In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long enmity and lived for ever after in peace.

As word spread throughout the land about the Child's wondrous works, peoples from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites.

And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the Child's journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over.

The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one generations had been waiting for.

And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall, spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again.

Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it.

And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.

Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length.

But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for him.

And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes. And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets.

Thence he travelled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with the Child, but he was tempted not.

On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One.

And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: “Yes, We Can.”

He ventured forth to bring light to the world | Gerard Baker - Times Online


***

Clever piece of writing. I'm amused at how this 46-year-old, first-term senator is acting and equally amused at the reception he's getting from other countries' leaders. It's a bit embarrassing.

Norton

Good find Tex. First rate satire. Gotta love it.

chinthee

Great find Tex. This campaign has now swung to completely OTT with regard to Obama, and that piece is a closer to life than satire it seems at this point.

I thought one of the funniest lines I heard was that someone was commenting on Obama shadowing JFK and how he uttered the famous "Ich bein ein Berliner!" - and how that Obama would be expected to follow in those famous footsteps with:

"Ich bein ein Beginner!"

Bugs

Indeed, but I don't think Obama wants to shadow JFK to the very end.

Milkman

I see the the joke, but I'm just checking.

Did Obama really repeat that famous, "I am a Jelly Roll" German phrase?

I doubt he did.

And yes, as you said CT, the campaign is waaaay OTT. Getting very silly, and the candidates seem to be focusing on the Independent Low-Info voters.

The campaign is over basically. Now it's mixed messages, false accusation, nuances, and confusion, during the final stretch.

Jet Gorgon

Thanks for the read, Tex. I was disappointed the writer said nothing about 666 branding.

chinthee

No, of course Obama didn't re-utter JFK's phrase. I worded it hastily.

I really wonder how either side can beat this dead horse any further. McCain is old and forgetful. Obama is inexperienced and flip flopping. If it doesn't get more entertaining I may tune out too. However, the McCain getting forgetful thing is more serious. I read a piece that outlined all his slips of the tongue, such as Czechoslavakia etc., and like most people in their 70s, yes, he is guilty of confusion. If that happens during some major campaign moments, he will look bad. Obama impressed me that he made no gaffs whatsoever on his overseas trip, which is impressive for someone so little traveled.

The funniest thing I've heard about McCain lately is how people are wishing he'd quit smiling, because they're calling it the "horror smile." I wonder if he had some plastic surgery that gives him that grimace when he smiles?

Norton

Or worse yet if he becomes President!

Te