This is perhaps one of the dumbest questions ever. It’s written by Big Tent Democrat over at Daily Kos.
Here is the relevant text:
. . Now, I was urged by some of my liberal supporters not to take this statement seriously. To them, Mr. Keyes was an extremist, his arguments not worth entertaining.
What they didn’t understand, however, was that I had to take him seriously. For he claimed to speak for my religion – he claimed knowledge of certain truths.
Perhaps so, but does Obama deny that Keyes is an extremist? If so, why so? Keyes is undoubtedly an extremist and Keyes was his political opponent. Did Obama fear telling voters the truth about Keyes? Did he fear damaging his image?
Now forgive me, but is there anyone that got the impression that Obama didn’t think Keyes was a right wing kook? Seriously, anyone in Illinois who took anything Obama said about the man as to indicate that Keyes was not a extremist kook?
I know it’s fun to poke holes in the Obama myth, but it would be nice if we took reality into account.
The slightly under-the-radar indie-ish band starts selling a lot of records and getting radio play…next thing you know they aren’t “cool” anymore. In fact, it’s cool to knock the band.
That’s all any of this is. The music is the same, just with more people buying it so the hipsters have to knock it.
You know…I can’t specifically recall Obama denouncing Hitler.
I’ll be damned! Obama is a Nazi sympathizer! Someone alert David Sirota. STAT!
The problem with your premise(s) Arch, Rich and Buck is that the general public catches maybe 1/10th of what political junkies pick up on.
So if Candidate A doesn’t specifically, loudly and forcefully denounce Hitler (or wave the flag, or eat apple pie, or whatever) then some segment of swing voters is going to notice and the opposition is going to pounce.
So while we Illinoisans got the distinct impression that Obama thought Keyes was a 10 gallon hat-wearin’ kook… by his words alone Obama didn’t express that in any simple terms, like “He’s a kook.” In fact, he tiptoed around it out of the diplomatic politeness Big Tent and Sirota and even Bowers to a degree have been complaining about (they’re taking to the unflattering term “triangulation”).
“We can disagree without being disagreeable.”
-Barack Obama
Why should Obama have called Keyes an extremist when Keyes was busy as all get out convincing people that Keyes was an extremist?
“…Obama myth”
There’s an Obama myth?
well stated cermak_rd
Obama didn’t need to do a damn thing to crush in that election once Jack! Ryan dropped out.