Obama: Big Ego, Big Mouth, Big Trouble = Unity Ticket??

These have been an unsettling few days courtesy Obama’s big mouth and ego.

He started out with his pontificating on the subject of abortion. Using GOP framing, of course. This has been fully discussed over at The Confluence, so I won’t rehash all the problems with Obama’s statements here. But, dissing pro-choice folks by insinuating that ALL of them haven’t been willing to “acknowledge the wrenching moral issues involved in it” is completely inaccurate and demeaning. Declaring that “That nobody is pro-abortion, abortion is never a good thing” is another sweeping statement that doesn’t consider the very real heath concerns of women and the tragedies played out in the deaths of women who have been denied proper medical care. I recall a friend of mine who had an ectopic pregnancy…she was rushed to the nearest hospital, which happened to be a Catholic institution. Denied care there, she was then rushed to a public hospital where she had surgery that saved her life. I’m sure she and her husband considered that procedure to be a “good” thing.

Then we get to the latest faux pas (and that may be putting it kindly) about “small towns” which broke yesterday (Friday, 4/11). You can argue about context all you want, but the media doesn’t do context. So, next time you speak at fundraisers (especially those in “elite, liberal San Francisco), don’t say things like:

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not.

And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”

Obama on small-town PA: Clinging to guns, religion, xenophopia

Nothing like showing off your arrogance, superiority, and effete-ism to the well-heeled in San Francisco! (Is Nancy Pelosi cringing yet?) You also have to wonder how Obama squares his mention of religion with his own “clinging” to Rev. Wright for about 20 years.

John Edwards must be glad he has kept his powder dry over issuing an endorsement. Wife Elizabeth, of course, has come out with favorable comments about Clinton’s healthcare plans versus Obama’s which gives some insight into how the wheels might be turning in the Edwards camp.

But I do disagree with Elizabeth in her idea about a “Unity Ticket” even if it hints that Clinton should be at the top of it.

My thoughts are that Obama would drag such a ticket DOWN, because his weaknesses would continue to be prime fodder for the GOP and their 527’s, even surpassing Clinton’s. Sure, black voters may stay home, but not all of them. Some voters in largely black small towns and rural areas who have strong church ties might be insulted or, at the very least, confused by Obama’s statements. Or is he only talking about “white towns” in PA?

Of course, Obama’s comments add fuel to the Democratic Party’s problems with already shedding voters from the process in FL and MI, which Obama is helping perpetuate. The great “uniter” isn’t doing much uniting lately.

Yesterday I heard a pundit comment that McCain should pick Condi Rice as his running mate because she’s the only one left in this Administration that is “liked.” So does that mean Obama would be an effective counterweight to her presence on the ticket (am I racist for saying that?). Well, he certainly couldn’t argue effectively about her problems with that memo about planes flying into buildings before 911 because HE also apparently thinks no one could even have predicted a 911. His appearance on Hardball April 2 has been fully discussed by Kirsten Bretweiser, who considers Obama’s response to Chris Matthews “glib.” See 911: Where Barack Obama and Condi Rice Sound Alarmingly Alike

So, I’m not entirely convinced that Obama on the ticket will make a Democratic victory a sure thing.

Besides, maybe we’ll have nothing to worry about on that score since Obama has said that he won’t accept the VP nod because he is really only running for the Presidency. For once, I hope he actually means what he he has said…he could do a lot of healing if he gracefully declined and encouraged his followers to vote for the Democratic nominee in November.

But I have very little faith that he will keep to his word and not want VP and that he will do something graceful and good for the party. Of course, John Edwards has also stated that he doesn’t want the VP spot, but I sure wish he would change his mind, if it’s even a firm decision. At this point I’d settle for a Clinton-Edwards ticket so that the campaign wouldn’t be so enveloped in the racial divide that the media will exploit and which will continue what the primaries have started. There are some black commentators who feel Obama’s campaign has already set black Americans back years (See Four More Years of Black Irrelevance at The Black Agenda Report).

I guess I figure that if we are getting ready to lose in November, at least it should be with less ammunition for the Republicans to use in future elections to paint their image of the Democratic party. If Democrats really do some soul-searching and start with a new slate of candidates who have had no direct involvement with this unholy mess next time, perhaps the party can be rescued long term. Perhaps.

In the meantime, I keep having a recurring dream of John Edwards being nominated for President by acclamation at the convention…it’s not