Barack Obama: Candidate of the Past

[ArtieBoy]

It flummoxes me how the Barack Obama campaign has managed to promote him as the candidate of "change," the candidate "of the future," yet the imagery used in this sell is over 40 years old: Martin Luther King, Jr., Jacqueline Kennedy and of course, JFK. It all makes me think of him as a candidate of nostalgia instead of the present day. Though he draws the youth vote, it seems to be from those who are frustrated they missed the colorful history of the `60s, and their grandparents who want to live the `60's again.

...And now the part where I plug my blog entry on this subject! http://www.artsbarandgrill.net">Art's Bar & Grill.

[Kittycat]

1. Only 48 hours to go...

Then we can set all the kitties free.

[VolcanoJen]

10. Oh noes! Free the kitty!!

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

[sniffa]

2. It's just a ploy to break into Hillary's base

It's apparently working.

[stop the bleeding]

3. Appreciate your post, but Good things, ideas, songs etc are timeless nt

[fightthegoodfightnow]

6. ....... and Certainly Worth Remembering

.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

14. Yeah we believed in silly things like peace and love.

peace be with you all!

[fightthegoodfightnow]

15. ........... and also with you!!!!

Hope and love beat out war and despair any day of the week.

[fightthegoodfightnow]

4. Right ........... because the Past Politics of Hope are soooooooooooo

..............much worse than the past politics of fear and cynicism.

Got it.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. I'll explain it. The reason for that is that right now we're going through a period of fascism.....

in the past, we went through a period of seeking freedom and equality (MLK, JFK, etc.) The past is better than the present. That's why.

[skipos]

7. Seriously. Who gives a f@#K about that old fart Martin Luther King? Or JFK? What did they ever do?

:eyes:

[FrenchieCat]

8. What you want him to do,

show you a time machine?

He's a fucking Black candidate with a funny name.

I believe he walks around representing change.

If you can't see it......there's nothing more to say.

[ArtieBoy]

19. Original Poster here, with a rebuttal

No, I don't expect that any candidate would never reference the past, but I find it interesting he's supposed to represent the future but the way he does that is by invoking dusty history. Why talk about MLK when you can talk about the status of the civil rights movement today? Why wear a Jacqueline Kennedy frock when you could just sell yourself as you (referring to Michelle here)?

If he gets the nomination I'll support him, of course, but at this time...let me enjoy grasping my straws!

Art's Bar & Grill, a blog designed to entertain and enlighten one and all.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

9. wow.

That's a twist.

So by your standard any candidate in history who has ever talked about a historical figure is a candidate of the past then.

[gerrilea]

17. He's equated himself with these figures of the past.

So, how is that change...when HRC mentions the past, you all say she's riding on her husbands coattails...how's O any different?

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

21. How has he "equated himself" with them?

Did he claim to be the reincarnation of MLK? Did I miss that? :rofl:

[MojoMojoMojo]

22. Youve never heard Obama do his MLK impersonation?

Listen to any speech in the south.Not Texas though ,thats "y'all" territory.

[Binka]

24. Dear He Is Aligning With Great Folks From The Past Because Their Message Resonates

Hillary is equating the past of Bill's achievements as her OWN. Big difference. Aligning oneself with past greats is to continue and propel their message in an era where we need change. He is not CLAIMING their victories as his. He is Aligning with them. Get a dictionary and read some Howard Zinn. Nothing wrong with digging into the past in fact all great leaders claim to stand on the shoulders of GIANTS. You sound quite immature, and reading as a hobby is probably not your strong suit. Bah, this is my first, last, and only post to you.

[Mz Pip]

11. McCain's talking points?

How cleaver.

[Johnny__Motown]

12. Everything old is new again.. We are speaking of the past 20 years not the entire history of mankind

[VolcanoJen]

13. "Frustrated they missed the colorful history of the 60's"

Thanks for completely writing off this historic youth voting movement as a "they're jealous of the sixties" thing. Got anything to back that up?

We're going to need those kids in the fall... and I happen to think they are freaking AWESOME. Haven't met a one of them who gives a lick about the 1960's yet, to be honest.

[The Wielding Truth]

16. Progressive is the label and it will always mean the change.

Those, who you mentioned, led from a progressive point of view. Human rights in an inhumane world will always sound and ring of change.

[Buck Laser]

18. Desperation. It's nothing but desperation.

Hillary's supporters are just grasping at straws. You've chosen a particularly flimsy one.

[earthlover]

20. Barack Obama: A Candidate Who Understands History!

I am a history teacher, and i appreciate his breadth of knowledge about our Constitution and our history.

I resent someone like you implying that he is a man of the past, because, I guess he is inspirational in the way JFK, MLK, RFK, and others were.

I suppose there were people like you in JFK's, MLK's time trying to throw water on the hot coals of change. Some people always find a way to try to discredit change when it comes.

Obama does not base his campaign on nostalgia, but rather on learning from our past. It was people like JFK and MLK and RFK who undersood the idea that some people see the world as it is and ask why, while others see the world as it should be and ask why not? That is a paraphrase of RFK who paraphrased it from someone else, but essentially the idea of change goes beyond accepting the way things are as the ultimate reality. RFK's ideals live on, even though his physical body died. People who carry the torch brought to them by the likes of JFK, MLK and RFK are not nostaltia buffs....they are carrying the torch into the future! They refuse to accept the bullshit that the establishment promotes that the way things are is the way they have to be. Now THAT bullshit is nostalgia!!!!!!!!!!!

[HowHasItComeToThis]

25. BINGO

[k8conant]

23. Grandparents???? Maybe parents like me...

who were inspired while in school in the 60s. Three of my four kids are voting age now and I don't even have grandchildren yet.

Their surviving grandparents are f*ing stick-in-the-mud gratingest generation repukes.

[GeorgeGist]

26. Experience has a way of ....

influencing all of us. Maybe you're too young to remember the nostalgia of JFK, MLK, and RFK being assassinated, but for me, unlike Goldwater boys and girls, that time was the beginning-of-the-end of America's great deception. If I vote at all, it will be for the candidate my adult children prefer; if they can agree.

[cali]

27. Judging by this vapid post, I can only decline your kind invitation

to visit your blog. No thanks.