Flashback to January 2008–The “Not Invested” Weasel Obama on the 60’s (and More)

Yesterday over at No Quarter, a post referred to Barack Obama as “the front man for radicals.”  With the Ayers’ connection now part of the McCain ad roster, my memory brought me back to Obama’s interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal in Nevada around the time of the primary.

At the time, the Washington Post published a story on January 17 which focused on Obama’s comments about the legacy of Ronald Reagan (Obama’s Reagan Comparison Sparks Debate).

By some fluke, the video is still available.

Now Playing

Afternoon with Barack Obama

Video by James Ball

Presidential candidate Barack Obama took time between campaign stops Monday to drop by the Reno Gazette-Journal’s office. In an hour-long chat, he discussed issues like potential running mates, the war in Iraq, Nevada’s mortgage crisis and the back-and-forth with Hillary Clinton’s campaign over race remarks.

The section which has never left my mind and which is interesting now that Ayers is on the national radar starts at Minute 20:49 and ends at about Minute 22:00. Here’s a transcript of the relevant part of the video:

There’s maybe a generational element to this partly, in the sense that I didn’t come of age in the battles of the ’60’s; I’m not as invested in them. And, so I think I talk differently about issues, and I think I talk differently about values, and that’s why, I think, we’ve been resonating with the American people. What I’m saying is that, I think, the average baby boomer has moved beyond a lot of the arguments of the 60’s but our politicians haven’t. We’re still having the same arguments. You know, it’s all around culture wars, even when you discuss war, the frame of reference is all Vietnam. Well, that’s not my frame of reference…my frame of reference is “what works?”  Even when I first opposed the war in Iraq, my first line was that was I don’t oppose all wars. Specifcally to make clear that this is not just a anti-military, you, know, 70’s, love-in kind of approach…

Ironic, isn’t it? That Obama’s friend Ayers himself hasn’t moved “beyond the 60’s” and yet Obama criticizes politicians for still arguing as if they’re still in the 60’s?

But the media doesn’t catch ANY of this…

There are a couple of other parts of the interview that also relate to the current hot topics in the presidential race at the moment–racism and the mortgage problem.

Listen to the slimy S.O.B wiggle around the Martin Luther King/LBJ controversy he laid on Hillary Clinton, as he laughs about how he ‘never made a statement about it” and then launches into his desire for a “tone” that is focused on the American people.  You’ll also love the part where he opines about the “danger of being dragged into the muck” and his ideas about “correcting” the record (Minute 22:28 to 25:49)

As for the mortgage problems, listen to how he cites the lack of oversight by the agencies in charge, the Fed, the Comptroller of the Currency, and a “lack of political will” as the chief culprits in the then-brewing mess…but leaves out any mention of the lack of Congressional oversight by the Democrats in charge, of course…(Minute 2:40-3:20 and 20:50 forward).

Oh, and in case you’re interested…the subject of talking directly to Iran comes in at Minute 34:49.

There are so many more moments of policy assumptions, arrogant statements, facial expressions (gee, he purses his lips just like George Bush!) and other nails-scratching-a-blackboard moments that the entire 49 minute interview could make the viewer scream from frustration–to name a few, his talk about accountability, his belief that he’s a “fiscal conservative,” his management style, making government “cool,” etc.

By the way, the Las Vegas Gazette-Journal was charmed by his presence…they endorsed Obama in the Nevada primary.

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NOTES

*No “preacher-street thug” voice in this interview, only serious, “elite” Obama here…

*Previous post on Ayers,I Found This Tidbit When I Wasn’t Watching the Debate….RE: Ayers/Obama Early Relationship

*Commenter “thetowncrier” posted some interesting links specifically on Tom Brokaw’s handling of Ayers here...

My (Unpleasant) Encounter with an Honest-to-God Radical ’60’s Professor Whom I Finally Got to SHUT UP…(Just Say No Deal)

I’ve been getting allergy shots for the past year and during that time have often encountered a retired professor with whom I’ve had some fairly interesting chats. I won’t name him, but he retired from Michigan State University in 1992 after a stint that began in 1966.

In appearance, he is a real throwback. Tall, with long, scraggly white hair down his back, he always wears a vest full of peace sign pins and the like. He is extremely loud and whenever I brought up a topic of conversation, he would launch into a rant. Frankly, I’ve always been polite and have let him talk, but I know that he was indifferent to the fact that other people in the room probably think he is nuts. My observation is that he simply LOVES to hear himself pontificate and show off how SMART he is.

The professor, according to Seekers and Thoughts, “received his master’s degree in political philosophy from Columbia University and his doctorate in early modern intellectual history from the University of Missouri. Under the name of Dick Martin, he taught in the Humanities Department at Michigan State University (1966-1992) where he also aided in the creation of the Whole Works and Contemporary Humanities programs as well as a course on England during the Enlightenment.” His previous book, Towards a History of Consciousness: Space, Time and Death, sells for anything from $80 to over $200…and is obviously geared toward college libraries and the academic crowd.