Presidential Hopeful ...

[crosby]

Obama is indeed a safe n-word -- he's not that black, after all -- he is not angry all the time, never brings up discrimination, civil rights. Also, as a new school safe n-word he can hang out and make appearances at black churches and organizations to show that he is still "hip" and one of them. For one thing, the new school safe n-word can be all things to all people. As long as he can skim any topic and never tells it like it really is. The point is the same as always: pretend that you don't know about any of that deeper "black" stuff, do not appear interested in white women, and most of all -- do not scare white people under any circumstance.

[The Negotiator]

He doesn't have the composure, doesn't project the manly image needed -- he looks likes those skinny hyperactive kids in elementary school that run around and stumble on words when reading too fast.

Exactly! For a black man to be credible he has to be big and strong to fit the stereotype! Obama is nothing like Colin Powell, for instance. And he is too soft, not at all convincing and brashy like Condy for example. 

I couldn't agree more! Obama is a mutt, he doesn't even act black, he's all passive and just too quiet. In the present case, "acting black" means standing up for himself, Obama is the kind of guy who just lets stuff roll right off of him, and that's not a true black person. He's too docile.

[9]

As a skinny kid with a funny name who grew up with white parents and grandparents in Hawaii and for a while in Indonesia, Barack Obama is no stranger to racial insults. So Rush Limbaugh's description of him as a "Halfrican American" along with the repeated playing of a racially insulting song deriding Obama as a "magic negro" will come as no great surprise. Limbaugh prides himself on being a shock jock but in truth his bigotry is not that shocking.

Nor is the fact that CBS had to disable people from commenting on Obama stories on its website because of the sheer volume and intensity of racist comments. These things are depressing. They also stand in stark contrast to the ridiculous claim that being black will go in his favour when the polls open. And while they are not inevitable, they are expected. Every time I write on this site I expect it. And I am rarely disappointed. There is, it seems, a critical mass of white people out there who does not simply loathe what a black person might say, but who hates the idea that they have a voice at all.

The problem is not confined solely to race. And as ever it is the work of a tiny minority. But a very vocal and belligerent one. And somehow their numbers are amplified on the internet, where people hide behind anonymity in a medium for the time being dominated by white men. The result is a curious and irritating form of white noise -- a ribald gabfest in which either black people in general or a specific black person in particular become the target for considerable animus. Despite stellar individual contributions the standard of these conversations only occasionally rises above those you might overhear in a pub. The difference is you chose who you talk to in a pub.

Obama has done well to simply parry these comments and get on with his campaign. But he can only do this for so long. For these remarks do not come in isolation. Some push the boat out and make threats, creating a sense of siege that has a real effect. It was Alma Powell who convinced her husband Colin not to run for president back in the 1990s, for fear of assassination. Now comes news that Obama has secret service protection. I wonder why that would be?

[9]

The Secret Service said that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama was being placed under its protection, the earliest ever for a presidential candidate. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff authorized Obama's protection after consultations with the bipartisan congressional advisory committee, according to Chertoff spokesman Russ Knocke and the Secret Service.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren would not provide details of what led to the extra security, but said, "I'm not aware it was based on any threat." According to the Department of Homeland Security, there were no known threats and Obama requested the protection. Obama campaign officials will not say why they requested early protection, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. But one source inside the campaign said there is concern about the size of Obama's crowds, and the crush of people who want to press close or even touch a candidate who exudes rock star appeal.

Obama's rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, has a Secret Service detail that is provided to all former first ladies. The agency and the department would not comment on the scope of Obama's protection or provide any other security details. Obama's campaign did not immediately respond to questions about the extra security. In the last election, Democratic candidates John Kerry and John Edwards received their protection in February 2004 as they were competing for the party's nomination. Obama's detail comes nine months before the first votes are cast. Federal law allows candidates to seek protection if they meet a series of standards, including public prominence as measured by polls and fundraising. The members of the congressional advisory committee are the Speaker, the House and Senate majority and minority leaders as well as one additional member.

In a February interview with 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft, Obama's wife, Michelle, addressed the possibility that her husband could be the target of an assassination attempt. "I don't lose sleep over it because the realities are that, you know, as a black man, you know, Barack can get shot going to the gas station, you know," she said. "So you can't make decisions based on fear and the possibility of what might happen. We just weren't raised that way." In a Feb. 12 interview with The Associated Press, Obama dismissed concerns about his own security, but would not answer directly when asked if he had received death threats. The Rev. Jesse Jackson drew early Secret Service protection because of violent threats during his campaigns for president in the 1980s.

"I face the same security issues as anybody," the Illinois senator told the AP. "We're comfortable with the steps we have taken."

[Everything But The Girl]

[solicitor]

Take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.

You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes....

Remember, all I'm offering is the truth, nothing more....

[interestoninterest]

LOL friedman, I know what ya mean!

I liked best the cave thing -- the special underground shelters in Missouri, yanoo

[toss my salad]

After Harvard Law, Obama returned to Chicago to practise civil rights law -- rejecting the big corporate law firms to represent victims of housing and employment discrimination. Obama still practised law before washingtoning it up, and also did some teaching at the University of Chicago Law School which he says keeps him sharp when it comes to issues like abortion, gay rights and affirmative action.

- In a 2004 fund-raising letter for her husband, Michelle Obama referred to the brutal partial birth abortion as a "legitimate medical procedure."

- In 2001 and 2002, Obama was the only Illinois senator to speak against the "Born Alive Infants Protection Act" on the Senate floor and in 2003 killed the bill in committee. This would have outlawed a practice first uncovered in his state known as a "live birth abortion," where labor is induced and an infant is delivered prematurely only to be put in some dark corner of a hospital until she expires on her own.

http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/diagram.html

[bigotlaw]

The Secret Service said that Democratic Sen. Barack Obama was being placed under its protection, the earliest ever for a presidential candidate. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff authorized Obama's protection after consultations with the bipartisan congressional advisory committee, according to Chertoff spokesman Russ Knocke and the Secret Service.

Secret Service spokesman Eric Zahren would not provide details of what led to the extra security, but said, "I'm not aware it was based on any threat." According to the Department of Homeland Security, there were no known threats and Obama requested the protection. Obama campaign officials will not say why they requested early protection, reports CBS News correspondent Bob Orr. But one source inside the campaign said there is concern about the size of Obama's crowds, and the crush of people who want to press close or even touch a candidate who exudes rock star appeal.

Now we may finally know why. In the Fox exclusive, the imperial wizard of the Klan confessed just how far people can be motivated by hate.

www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=3271179&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

[paladin]